"Taylor Hebert, you have been chosen."
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Thunder of the Gods (Worm/DC)
- Thread starter Solarion
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Statistics (19 threadmarks, 45k words)
User Total Solarion 19
Chosen - 1
Solarion
For Light and Life
"Taylor Hebert, you have been chosen."
Taylor stumbled out onto the street, hardly able to believe what had just happened.
That had to be some sort of crazy dream, right? It couldn't have happened.
It was just…impossible.
But it wouldn't hurt to say the word then, right? A little voice whispered in the back of her mind. A voice that wasn't entirely her own.
Right. She could just say the word, and when nothing happened, she'd know it was just a dream. Just some wild hallucination, not real.
She just had to say the word.
Taylor hesitated for a moment longer, before finally-
"Shazam."
The instant the word left her lips, there was a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder, even though the sky was a clear vivid blue, the sun shining brightly above.
And as the lightning struck her, Taylor felt alive.
The sensation was indescribable. It felt like someone had poured lightning into her veins. Like every cell in her body was lighting up. But…it didn't hurt like being electrocuted should.
It felt good. Amazing, even. She was blinded by light, but she didn't feel uncomfortable or confused but energized. She felt as if she had just had the best meal and bath of her life, no, as if she had gone on the world's most amazing vacation.
And even as the light faded and she was able to see again, the sensations didn't fade.
It was as if she had been stuck inside a cave full of mud her whole life, and she was finally free to see the light of day.
The whole world seemed so much brighter and sharper. Taylor could pick out the tiny cracks on the pavement below, so small as to be invisible. She could hear people talking across the street, inside the building opposite of her. The smell of the sea wafted through her nose even though the docks were far away from where she was right now.
And the feeling of lightning coursing through her veins didn't fade. There was this amazing power just humming under her skin, waiting to be used.
It finally occurred to Taylor to look at herself, turning around the corner of the alley to find a reflective window, and she couldn't help but gasp.
She had always been tall for her age, but now she was taller, much taller, easily over six feet. Her arms looked as if they had been sculpted from marble, and she was wearing some kind of red tunic decorated with golden lightning bolts, knee-high red boots, and a flowing white cape trimmed in gold.
She hurried closer to the window, and couldn't restrain the sharp intake of breath as she stared at herself in the glass.
Is…Is that me?
The woman in the mirror was beautiful, with perfect skin, large brown eyes, full red lips, and curly raven hair that fell to her shoulders.
She looked like Mom-
Taylor pushed the thought away, even as she reached up to touch her face.
She didn't even wear make-up normally, but now it was as if she had been transformed into a supermodel.
Except no supermodel had muscles that large and defined, like those ancient Greek statues.
Is this what being Alexandria is like? Taylor wondered dazedly, staring at her reflection.
But even as she thought of the famous heroine, another thought struck Taylor.
Can I fly?
The man had said she would be able to. She had thought he was just a crazy old man, but…
Turning away from the window, Taylor looked up at the sky. All her childhood dreams of being a cape came rushing to the forefront of her mind, of pretending to fly while playing heroes and villains with Emma.
Licking her lips nervously, Taylor screwed her eyes shut, bending her knees…and then she leaped into the air.
She expected to come crashing down any second and faceplant on the pavement. But when nothing happened, she hesitantly opened her eyes.
And the sight that greeted her was breathtaking.
Below her was Brockton Bay. Taylor had no idea how she had leapt so high, but even the tops of Brockton Bay's skyscrapers were below. She was surrounded by fluffy white clouds, and Taylor couldn't resist touching them, feeling her fingers grow wet as they passed through the water.
From up here, the city looked like one of Emma's expensive Lego models. Taylor had the absurd thought that maybe she could just knock one of the buildings over if she wanted.
Then it finally hit her.
She was flying.
She was flying.
Taylor let out a hysterical giggle at the thought. All her dreams of being like Alexandria and Legend, of flying like this…she had never thought they would be anything except dreams.
It occurred to Taylor she should have been feeling cold or maybe struggling to breathe at this altitude, but there was none of that. The sunlight was pleasant against her skin, and she was able to breathe as easily as she ever did.
Deciding to try out her abilities, she flew around and her giggles became delighted laughter as she realized it was so easy.
She flew through the sky, looping around, going up and down, standing upside down just because she could. She flew through the clouds, and as she grew bolder, she rose higher and higher into the air, until the blueness of the sky gave way to the darkness of space. Eventually, the air grew so thin that Taylor stopped, not daring to go any further as she retreated to safer heights, but her heart was still hammering with excitement.
It was the most amazing experience of her life.
Nothing could compare to it. If anyone ever asked her, Taylor wasn't sure how she'd even put it into words.
Laughing, Taylor dove towards Brocktown Bay, feeling a rush as she hurtled towards the city, accelerating as she did so.
At this speed, she should have crashed but just before she reached the ground, Taylor pulled up.
It wasn't even hard. It was as if she had known how to do this all her life.
Letting out a whoop, Taylor flew through the city, eyes darting around. People passed her in a blur, even the cars below were unable to keep pace with her.
Maybe she should have been more careful but she couldn't help it. This was all her childhood dreams come true, and it was impossible to explain how good it felt.
Taylor might have stayed like this forever, giddy and delighted, but then she heard something that cut her through joy.
"STOP!"
Stopping abruptly, Taylor spun around, searching for the source of the voice. It had come from that inside one of the buildings below her, she realized, a large grey building, seemingly entirely unremarkable.
But the scream had come from inside, Taylor was sure of it. As she focused, Taylor could also hear sobs, people whispering, begging for someone to save them. It should have been impossible to hear through the thick walls of the building, but with her new powers, the sounds might as well have come from someone floating right beside Taylor.
Maybe Taylor should have been more careful. Should have thought things through.
But as she heard another scream, Taylor threw all caution to the wind.
Bursting into the building, the walls shattering like dust against her form, Taylor strode inside and nearly threw up at what she saw.
There were cages everywhere, and there were people inside them. There were men and women and children, all of them in tattered clothes, many of them wearing shackles and chains, staring at her fearfully. They had been shoved in there, so many of them that they were barely able to fit inside the cages, The stench of human waste and blood was strong, almost suffocating.
This was a place of hate and misery, of pain and terror. Many of them were shrieking at the exploding wall, covered in dust, plaster, and brick.
Taylor felt her blood boil as she saw one of the smaller children inside the cages. A little girl who couldn't have been more than five years old, clutching with tiny hands wrapped in chains at what was presumably her mother, both of them sobbing
Around the room were a bunch of skinheads, wearing symbols of white supremacy and Nazism, all of them gaping at Taylor in shock.
And in the center of the room was a tall, bulky man, with long blonde hair, shirtless and shoeless, wearing only a pair of jeans and a metal mask that concealed his face.
Hookwolf. Member of the Empire 88. Serial-killing psychopath. Taylor had seen him on the news before. He was a monster and had been sentenced to the Birdcage before, but he had always escaped.
More importantly, he was holding a terrified dark-skinned girl by her hair, one even younger than Taylor herself. There was a bruise on her face, and her mouth was bleeding, with tears streaking her face. She must have been the one to scream.
But the instant he laid eyes on Taylor, Hookwolf let go of the girl, morphing into a gigantic wolf of silver blades, loping across the floor on all-fours to lunge at her faster than should have been possible. His entire body was a blur as his metal began to move at high speeds, a living buzz-saw.
Taylor didn't hesitate for a second. She drew her fist back and punched.
Taylor stumbled out onto the street, hardly able to believe what had just happened.
That had to be some sort of crazy dream, right? It couldn't have happened.
It was just…impossible.
But it wouldn't hurt to say the word then, right? A little voice whispered in the back of her mind. A voice that wasn't entirely her own.
Right. She could just say the word, and when nothing happened, she'd know it was just a dream. Just some wild hallucination, not real.
She just had to say the word.
Taylor hesitated for a moment longer, before finally-
"Shazam."
The instant the word left her lips, there was a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder, even though the sky was a clear vivid blue, the sun shining brightly above.
And as the lightning struck her, Taylor felt alive.
The sensation was indescribable. It felt like someone had poured lightning into her veins. Like every cell in her body was lighting up. But…it didn't hurt like being electrocuted should.
It felt good. Amazing, even. She was blinded by light, but she didn't feel uncomfortable or confused but energized. She felt as if she had just had the best meal and bath of her life, no, as if she had gone on the world's most amazing vacation.
And even as the light faded and she was able to see again, the sensations didn't fade.
It was as if she had been stuck inside a cave full of mud her whole life, and she was finally free to see the light of day.
The whole world seemed so much brighter and sharper. Taylor could pick out the tiny cracks on the pavement below, so small as to be invisible. She could hear people talking across the street, inside the building opposite of her. The smell of the sea wafted through her nose even though the docks were far away from where she was right now.
And the feeling of lightning coursing through her veins didn't fade. There was this amazing power just humming under her skin, waiting to be used.
It finally occurred to Taylor to look at herself, turning around the corner of the alley to find a reflective window, and she couldn't help but gasp.
She had always been tall for her age, but now she was taller, much taller, easily over six feet. Her arms looked as if they had been sculpted from marble, and she was wearing some kind of red tunic decorated with golden lightning bolts, knee-high red boots, and a flowing white cape trimmed in gold.
She hurried closer to the window, and couldn't restrain the sharp intake of breath as she stared at herself in the glass.
Is…Is that me?
The woman in the mirror was beautiful, with perfect skin, large brown eyes, full red lips, and curly raven hair that fell to her shoulders.
She looked like Mom-
Taylor pushed the thought away, even as she reached up to touch her face.
She didn't even wear make-up normally, but now it was as if she had been transformed into a supermodel.
Except no supermodel had muscles that large and defined, like those ancient Greek statues.
Is this what being Alexandria is like? Taylor wondered dazedly, staring at her reflection.
But even as she thought of the famous heroine, another thought struck Taylor.
Can I fly?
The man had said she would be able to. She had thought he was just a crazy old man, but…
Turning away from the window, Taylor looked up at the sky. All her childhood dreams of being a cape came rushing to the forefront of her mind, of pretending to fly while playing heroes and villains with Emma.
Licking her lips nervously, Taylor screwed her eyes shut, bending her knees…and then she leaped into the air.
She expected to come crashing down any second and faceplant on the pavement. But when nothing happened, she hesitantly opened her eyes.
And the sight that greeted her was breathtaking.
Below her was Brockton Bay. Taylor had no idea how she had leapt so high, but even the tops of Brockton Bay's skyscrapers were below. She was surrounded by fluffy white clouds, and Taylor couldn't resist touching them, feeling her fingers grow wet as they passed through the water.
From up here, the city looked like one of Emma's expensive Lego models. Taylor had the absurd thought that maybe she could just knock one of the buildings over if she wanted.
Then it finally hit her.
She was flying.
She was flying.
Taylor let out a hysterical giggle at the thought. All her dreams of being like Alexandria and Legend, of flying like this…she had never thought they would be anything except dreams.
It occurred to Taylor she should have been feeling cold or maybe struggling to breathe at this altitude, but there was none of that. The sunlight was pleasant against her skin, and she was able to breathe as easily as she ever did.
Deciding to try out her abilities, she flew around and her giggles became delighted laughter as she realized it was so easy.
She flew through the sky, looping around, going up and down, standing upside down just because she could. She flew through the clouds, and as she grew bolder, she rose higher and higher into the air, until the blueness of the sky gave way to the darkness of space. Eventually, the air grew so thin that Taylor stopped, not daring to go any further as she retreated to safer heights, but her heart was still hammering with excitement.
It was the most amazing experience of her life.
Nothing could compare to it. If anyone ever asked her, Taylor wasn't sure how she'd even put it into words.
Laughing, Taylor dove towards Brocktown Bay, feeling a rush as she hurtled towards the city, accelerating as she did so.
At this speed, she should have crashed but just before she reached the ground, Taylor pulled up.
It wasn't even hard. It was as if she had known how to do this all her life.
Letting out a whoop, Taylor flew through the city, eyes darting around. People passed her in a blur, even the cars below were unable to keep pace with her.
Maybe she should have been more careful but she couldn't help it. This was all her childhood dreams come true, and it was impossible to explain how good it felt.
Taylor might have stayed like this forever, giddy and delighted, but then she heard something that cut her through joy.
"STOP!"
Stopping abruptly, Taylor spun around, searching for the source of the voice. It had come from that inside one of the buildings below her, she realized, a large grey building, seemingly entirely unremarkable.
But the scream had come from inside, Taylor was sure of it. As she focused, Taylor could also hear sobs, people whispering, begging for someone to save them. It should have been impossible to hear through the thick walls of the building, but with her new powers, the sounds might as well have come from someone floating right beside Taylor.
Maybe Taylor should have been more careful. Should have thought things through.
But as she heard another scream, Taylor threw all caution to the wind.
Bursting into the building, the walls shattering like dust against her form, Taylor strode inside and nearly threw up at what she saw.
There were cages everywhere, and there were people inside them. There were men and women and children, all of them in tattered clothes, many of them wearing shackles and chains, staring at her fearfully. They had been shoved in there, so many of them that they were barely able to fit inside the cages, The stench of human waste and blood was strong, almost suffocating.
This was a place of hate and misery, of pain and terror. Many of them were shrieking at the exploding wall, covered in dust, plaster, and brick.
Taylor felt her blood boil as she saw one of the smaller children inside the cages. A little girl who couldn't have been more than five years old, clutching with tiny hands wrapped in chains at what was presumably her mother, both of them sobbing
Around the room were a bunch of skinheads, wearing symbols of white supremacy and Nazism, all of them gaping at Taylor in shock.
And in the center of the room was a tall, bulky man, with long blonde hair, shirtless and shoeless, wearing only a pair of jeans and a metal mask that concealed his face.
Hookwolf. Member of the Empire 88. Serial-killing psychopath. Taylor had seen him on the news before. He was a monster and had been sentenced to the Birdcage before, but he had always escaped.
More importantly, he was holding a terrified dark-skinned girl by her hair, one even younger than Taylor herself. There was a bruise on her face, and her mouth was bleeding, with tears streaking her face. She must have been the one to scream.
But the instant he laid eyes on Taylor, Hookwolf let go of the girl, morphing into a gigantic wolf of silver blades, loping across the floor on all-fours to lunge at her faster than should have been possible. His entire body was a blur as his metal began to move at high speeds, a living buzz-saw.
Taylor didn't hesitate for a second. She drew her fist back and punched.
Last edited:
Chosen - 2
Solarion
For Light and Life
Hookwolf in his alternate form was a deadly nightmare. He had the strength, speed, and durability of a tank. He could shrug off bullets and tear through steel like paper. Coupled with his his ability to move his metal at such speeds that they appeared invisible to the naked eye, he was one of the most deadly capes in the city.
So it was more than a shock when he met Taylor's fist and the force of her blow sent him crashing through the air, into the back of the building, and through the wall.
Taylor lowered her fist, all her earlier euphoria replaced by fury.
How dare the Empire do this? Taylor had always known, intellectually, that the Empire was one of the worst criminal gangs in the city. They were Neo-Nazis after all and she had heard the stories of them raiding houses.
She had even seen news reports of them being involved in crimes like human trafficking.
But there was a difference between knowing something and seeing it.
All these poor people in cages, herded like cattle, being enslaved by a bunch of delusional racist monsters…it made Taylor so angry.
Hookwolf's goons shifted, finally unfreezing from their shock, some of them drawing their guns and beginning to move towards the people in the cages and the girl on the ground.
Hostages. Taylor connected the dots. They wanted to use these people as shields against her.
Icy rage gripped her heart, and Taylor moved.
She moved faster than she had ever moved in her entire life, faster than should have been possible.
…except she had just spent the last few hours doing the impossible.
Grabbing the gangsters by the scruff of their collars, she threw each and every one of them into a corner. Taylor heard a few bones crack, but she couldn't make herself care.
Not when she looked at all these people in the cages, still cowering and covered in dust from the rubble.
Dusting her hands off contemptuously, Taylor turned away from the pile of moaning Nazis to the girl on the ground.
The girl was looking up at her with something like awe in her eyes, but when Taylor approached her, she backed away, her terror obvious.
Taylor faltered for a moment, unsure of what to say.
She opened her mouth, searching for something reassuring to tell the girl, but before she could come up with anything, the other girl's eyes widened.
"Look out!" She cried out.
Taylor spun on her heel…just in time for Hookwolf's gigantic metal jaws to close around her upper body.
For a moment, Taylor was struck by dread. Was this really how this was going to end? She was going to die, torn apart by a Nazi monster her first time out as a hero, not even a day after getting her powers?
But even as fear almost overwhelmed her, it was wiped away in the next instant as Hookwolf's teeth broke against her skin. The razor blades squealed and screamed, trying to dig into her flesh and costume… and while sparks flew, there was no blood.
Hookwolf let out a howl, swearing up a storm as he realized she was invulnerable, backing away from her and letting Taylor see again. His metal teeth were broken, reforming now, and she was…fine, Taylor realized. Fine.
Hookwolf hadn't even scratched her skin.
She couldn't help but laugh at the realization.
Hookwolf snarled in response, voice echoing from his metal form, clearly furious. His form shifted, becoming sleeker and smaller, and he tensed for a moment.
But the attack Taylor expected never came.
Instead, Hookwolf spun around and ran.
Oh no, you don't!
Taylor sprinted after him, reaching out with one hand to grab him by the tail.
Even as he struggled in her grip, Taylor swung him up and brought him crashing down to the ground on the other side of her…and then she repeated the process on the other side, smashing Hookwolf against the ground again and again, swinging him around like the world's deadliest yo-yo.
For a moment his body shifted, the metal expanding to lurch out and away, but she was fast enough to shift her hood on him, and begin the smashing anew.
His struggles grew progressively weaker until finally, he stopped moving at all. Taylor barely caught herself from smashing him against the ground again as his metal form receded and vanished, leaving her holding Hookwolf by the ankle.
She not-so-gently dropped him on the ground, noting with interest that even though he was unconscious, he wasn't hurt. Apparently, none of her blows to his shifted form had done any damage to his real body.
Not that she would have cared much if it had, Taylor admitted to herself.
Turning back to the prisoners, Taylor noticed there was a complete hush over the room, everyone staring at her as if they were waiting for her to lash out at them. She felt a surge of guilt as she saw how many of them were covered in plaster and dust, finally realizing how dangerous that could have been, accompanied by a rush of anger that went through her at what the Empire had done to these people.
Taylor squashed it. It took more effort than fighting Hookwolf.
These people needed help. Hope. Not more fear.
Smiling as best as she could, Taylor stepped forward to the girl Hookwolf had been beating earlier, gesturing to the chains wrapped around her wrists and ankles.
"May I?" Taylor asked, trying to make her voice as soft and gentle as possible.
The girl stared up at her for the longest moment of Taylor's life, before nodding slowly.
Bending down, Taylor snapped the chains like they were made of paper, removing them from the girl as gently as she could. But there were still vivid red marks where the chains had been digging in, which sent another thrum of anger through Taylor.
Standing up, Taylor strode over to the cages, ripping the bars off one by one with new strength.
It was like a flood, as people practically ran out of the cages through the gaps she made, many of them sobbing with relief.
"Thank you," One woman whispered as she passed her by. Taylor just gave an awkward nod, not trusting herself to speak.
When the last cage was empty, Taylor turned around to look at the crowd of crying, traumatized people…and realized she had no idea what to do.
All eyes were on her, and Taylor's mind frantically churned for a solution.
The PRT! She needed to call the PRT.
But how? Her gaze sweeping across the room, Taylor's eyes landed on the pile of unconscious Nazi thugs she had made earlier.
At least one of them should have a cellphone.
Hurrying over to the pile, Taylor did her best to ignore the bewildered looks people were giving her as she dug through the pockets of the various gangsters. It had been a long time since she had handled a cell-phone…
To her irritation, most of them were smart enough not to keep phones on themselves, and Taylor had to go through nearly a dozen pockets before she found a smartphone.
Relieved, Taylor opened the phone, using the emergency call feature.
"Hello, what is your emergency?" Came a voice from the other side, made tinny by the phone.
"This is…" Taylor faltered as she realized she didn't have a cape name yet. "Uh, I need to report a crime."
Taylor stood to the side as the various paramedics tended to the prisoners, giving them first aid and putting them in the ambulances.
"Will they be okay?" She asked quietly.
Miss Militia turned to her, offering her a gentle smile. "We'll do our best to help them, I promise."
Taylor nodded, even as she clutched at her arms. Her eyes moved from the former prisoners to the Nazis. The gang members were all being taken away by the police, while Hookwolf had been sprayed with what the PRT called containment foam. The PRT troopers were loading him into a special van.
Miss Militia caught her gaze, looking over at Hookwolf herself. "Don't worry," She said quietly. "He'll go to the Birdcage. He was already sentenced there once. This time, he won't escape to hurt anyone else."
Are you sure? Taylor wondered. What if he breaks out again?
But she didn't voice these thoughts.
"So, what is your name, exactly?" Miss Militia asked, focusing her gaze on Taylor. There was nothing unfriendly in the gaze, but it was still piercing enough that Taylor couldn't help but shift, feeling like she had been caught outside of class by one of her teachers.
"Uh, well, I haven't picked one yet," Taylor said lamely.
This was not how she had wanted her first meeting with one of Brockton Bay's top heroes to go.
Miss Militia's eyebrows rose. "Really?"
"Yeah," Taylor said, resisting the urge to fidget. "Today is my first day."
Miss Militia's eyebrows clambered even higher on her face. "This was your first outing?"
Taylor nodded sheepishly.
The older woman out a chuckle. "Well, let me be the first to congratulate you. You did well today. You saved a lot of people."
Taylor warmed inside at the admission. She had already been happy to help, but being praised by a professional, experienced hero felt amazing.
"You could have been more careful about it, though." Miss Militia continued. "You scared a lot of the victims at first when you entered, and it was lucky that you didn't hurt them."
Taylor cringed, shame churning in her gut. "I know," She said quietly, remembering the fear in their eyes.
"I'm not trying to discourage you," Miss Militia said gently. "But these are the sort of things you have to keep in mind as a hero, as a parahuman."
Taylor nodded.
"On top of that, your actions today will have painted a target on your head," Miss Militia continued. "The Empire will come after you for taking down Hookwolf."
If someone had told her a day ago that the Empire would be coming after her, Taylor would have been scared to death.
But as she remembered all those scared people in the cages, how terrified they had been, the girl that Hookwolf had been beating…
Taylor raised her chin defiantly. "Let them come."
Miss Militia smiled faintly. "That's brave of you," She said. "But it would be easier for you to deal with them if you had a team on your side. Have you considered joining the Protectorate?"
Taylor had half-expected the offer, but she still didn't know what to say.
On one hand, this was the Protectorate! They were the heroes of Brockton Bay. What kid hadn't dreamed of joining them?
But on the other hand…Taylor knew they wouldn't let her keep her identity secret. They'd want to know who she was. And once they saw her real form, they would make her join the Wards.
…and they'd probably want her to tell Dad the truth too.
God, what was she going to tell him?
Hey Dad, I got magic superpowers from a crazy old man claiming to be a wizard and now I'm a superhero?
Taylor had no clue how he would react to that.
She wasn't sure she wanted to find out.
If mom were here, it would be easier but Annette Hebert was gone and she was never coming back.
Seeing that Miss Militia was still waiting for a response, Taylor forced herself to answer. "I…don't know. I'd need to think about it."
Miss Militia nodded. "I understand," There was no pressure or judgment in her voice, even as she pulled out a card and offered it to Taylor. "Call me, if you decide to join. And remember, it's always good to have proper training and a team on your side to back you up."
Taylor took the card. "Thanks."
Suddenly feeling incredibly awkward, Taylor took off into the air before Miss Militia could say anything else, speeding away as quickly as she could.
Before long, she found her way home. Taylor almost entered through the open window of her bedroom before remembering that she needed to change back to normal.
And it would be pretty hard to explain a hole in the roof to Dad.
Slipping away to a nearby alley, Taylor landed on the ground.
"Shazam," she whispered.
The instant loss of power was disheartening. Taylor shrank, and then the sensation of lightning bubbling below her skin vanished. The world grew greyer and duller, less vibrant than it had been moments before.
Her normal clothes had reappeared as if they had never gone, and Taylor was acutely aware of the weight of the glasses on her face in a way she hadn't been in years.
She was just ordinary old Taylor Hebert again.
Letting out a breath of disappointment, Taylor walked back to her house.
Letting herself in, she entered the drawing room and saw her dad sitting there, watching TV.
"Taylor!" Danny said, turning his head to offer her a tired smile. He looked exhausted, but also pleased. "Good to see you, out of your room. Should I make dinner?"
Taylor smiled back. "Yeah, I'd like that."
An image on the TV caught her eye. "What are you watching, dad?"
"Oh, some new hero appeared in the city today," Danny said, standing up and stretching. "She took down that metal man- Hookwolf, I think they called him. Freed a bunch of the Empire's human trafficking victims. Good on her."
Taylor beamed, suddenly feeling much better. "That's great to hear, dad."
"It is," Danny said with a chuckle. "Maybe she'll take down the whole Empire next, huh?"
Taylor's mind whirled as she followed her father into the kitchen.
"Yeah, maybe."
Author's Note: Thank you so much to @Ridtom for editing this fic, and @Fancy Face and @Silvan Eldar for workshopping ideas with me.
So it was more than a shock when he met Taylor's fist and the force of her blow sent him crashing through the air, into the back of the building, and through the wall.
Taylor lowered her fist, all her earlier euphoria replaced by fury.
How dare the Empire do this? Taylor had always known, intellectually, that the Empire was one of the worst criminal gangs in the city. They were Neo-Nazis after all and she had heard the stories of them raiding houses.
She had even seen news reports of them being involved in crimes like human trafficking.
But there was a difference between knowing something and seeing it.
All these poor people in cages, herded like cattle, being enslaved by a bunch of delusional racist monsters…it made Taylor so angry.
Hookwolf's goons shifted, finally unfreezing from their shock, some of them drawing their guns and beginning to move towards the people in the cages and the girl on the ground.
Hostages. Taylor connected the dots. They wanted to use these people as shields against her.
Icy rage gripped her heart, and Taylor moved.
She moved faster than she had ever moved in her entire life, faster than should have been possible.
…except she had just spent the last few hours doing the impossible.
Grabbing the gangsters by the scruff of their collars, she threw each and every one of them into a corner. Taylor heard a few bones crack, but she couldn't make herself care.
Not when she looked at all these people in the cages, still cowering and covered in dust from the rubble.
Dusting her hands off contemptuously, Taylor turned away from the pile of moaning Nazis to the girl on the ground.
The girl was looking up at her with something like awe in her eyes, but when Taylor approached her, she backed away, her terror obvious.
Taylor faltered for a moment, unsure of what to say.
She opened her mouth, searching for something reassuring to tell the girl, but before she could come up with anything, the other girl's eyes widened.
"Look out!" She cried out.
Taylor spun on her heel…just in time for Hookwolf's gigantic metal jaws to close around her upper body.
For a moment, Taylor was struck by dread. Was this really how this was going to end? She was going to die, torn apart by a Nazi monster her first time out as a hero, not even a day after getting her powers?
But even as fear almost overwhelmed her, it was wiped away in the next instant as Hookwolf's teeth broke against her skin. The razor blades squealed and screamed, trying to dig into her flesh and costume… and while sparks flew, there was no blood.
Hookwolf let out a howl, swearing up a storm as he realized she was invulnerable, backing away from her and letting Taylor see again. His metal teeth were broken, reforming now, and she was…fine, Taylor realized. Fine.
Hookwolf hadn't even scratched her skin.
She couldn't help but laugh at the realization.
Hookwolf snarled in response, voice echoing from his metal form, clearly furious. His form shifted, becoming sleeker and smaller, and he tensed for a moment.
But the attack Taylor expected never came.
Instead, Hookwolf spun around and ran.
Oh no, you don't!
Taylor sprinted after him, reaching out with one hand to grab him by the tail.
Even as he struggled in her grip, Taylor swung him up and brought him crashing down to the ground on the other side of her…and then she repeated the process on the other side, smashing Hookwolf against the ground again and again, swinging him around like the world's deadliest yo-yo.
For a moment his body shifted, the metal expanding to lurch out and away, but she was fast enough to shift her hood on him, and begin the smashing anew.
His struggles grew progressively weaker until finally, he stopped moving at all. Taylor barely caught herself from smashing him against the ground again as his metal form receded and vanished, leaving her holding Hookwolf by the ankle.
She not-so-gently dropped him on the ground, noting with interest that even though he was unconscious, he wasn't hurt. Apparently, none of her blows to his shifted form had done any damage to his real body.
Not that she would have cared much if it had, Taylor admitted to herself.
Turning back to the prisoners, Taylor noticed there was a complete hush over the room, everyone staring at her as if they were waiting for her to lash out at them. She felt a surge of guilt as she saw how many of them were covered in plaster and dust, finally realizing how dangerous that could have been, accompanied by a rush of anger that went through her at what the Empire had done to these people.
Taylor squashed it. It took more effort than fighting Hookwolf.
These people needed help. Hope. Not more fear.
Smiling as best as she could, Taylor stepped forward to the girl Hookwolf had been beating earlier, gesturing to the chains wrapped around her wrists and ankles.
"May I?" Taylor asked, trying to make her voice as soft and gentle as possible.
The girl stared up at her for the longest moment of Taylor's life, before nodding slowly.
Bending down, Taylor snapped the chains like they were made of paper, removing them from the girl as gently as she could. But there were still vivid red marks where the chains had been digging in, which sent another thrum of anger through Taylor.
Standing up, Taylor strode over to the cages, ripping the bars off one by one with new strength.
It was like a flood, as people practically ran out of the cages through the gaps she made, many of them sobbing with relief.
"Thank you," One woman whispered as she passed her by. Taylor just gave an awkward nod, not trusting herself to speak.
When the last cage was empty, Taylor turned around to look at the crowd of crying, traumatized people…and realized she had no idea what to do.
All eyes were on her, and Taylor's mind frantically churned for a solution.
The PRT! She needed to call the PRT.
But how? Her gaze sweeping across the room, Taylor's eyes landed on the pile of unconscious Nazi thugs she had made earlier.
At least one of them should have a cellphone.
Hurrying over to the pile, Taylor did her best to ignore the bewildered looks people were giving her as she dug through the pockets of the various gangsters. It had been a long time since she had handled a cell-phone…
To her irritation, most of them were smart enough not to keep phones on themselves, and Taylor had to go through nearly a dozen pockets before she found a smartphone.
Relieved, Taylor opened the phone, using the emergency call feature.
"Hello, what is your emergency?" Came a voice from the other side, made tinny by the phone.
"This is…" Taylor faltered as she realized she didn't have a cape name yet. "Uh, I need to report a crime."
Taylor stood to the side as the various paramedics tended to the prisoners, giving them first aid and putting them in the ambulances.
"Will they be okay?" She asked quietly.
Miss Militia turned to her, offering her a gentle smile. "We'll do our best to help them, I promise."
Taylor nodded, even as she clutched at her arms. Her eyes moved from the former prisoners to the Nazis. The gang members were all being taken away by the police, while Hookwolf had been sprayed with what the PRT called containment foam. The PRT troopers were loading him into a special van.
Miss Militia caught her gaze, looking over at Hookwolf herself. "Don't worry," She said quietly. "He'll go to the Birdcage. He was already sentenced there once. This time, he won't escape to hurt anyone else."
Are you sure? Taylor wondered. What if he breaks out again?
But she didn't voice these thoughts.
"So, what is your name, exactly?" Miss Militia asked, focusing her gaze on Taylor. There was nothing unfriendly in the gaze, but it was still piercing enough that Taylor couldn't help but shift, feeling like she had been caught outside of class by one of her teachers.
"Uh, well, I haven't picked one yet," Taylor said lamely.
This was not how she had wanted her first meeting with one of Brockton Bay's top heroes to go.
Miss Militia's eyebrows rose. "Really?"
"Yeah," Taylor said, resisting the urge to fidget. "Today is my first day."
Miss Militia's eyebrows clambered even higher on her face. "This was your first outing?"
Taylor nodded sheepishly.
The older woman out a chuckle. "Well, let me be the first to congratulate you. You did well today. You saved a lot of people."
Taylor warmed inside at the admission. She had already been happy to help, but being praised by a professional, experienced hero felt amazing.
"You could have been more careful about it, though." Miss Militia continued. "You scared a lot of the victims at first when you entered, and it was lucky that you didn't hurt them."
Taylor cringed, shame churning in her gut. "I know," She said quietly, remembering the fear in their eyes.
"I'm not trying to discourage you," Miss Militia said gently. "But these are the sort of things you have to keep in mind as a hero, as a parahuman."
Taylor nodded.
"On top of that, your actions today will have painted a target on your head," Miss Militia continued. "The Empire will come after you for taking down Hookwolf."
If someone had told her a day ago that the Empire would be coming after her, Taylor would have been scared to death.
But as she remembered all those scared people in the cages, how terrified they had been, the girl that Hookwolf had been beating…
Taylor raised her chin defiantly. "Let them come."
Miss Militia smiled faintly. "That's brave of you," She said. "But it would be easier for you to deal with them if you had a team on your side. Have you considered joining the Protectorate?"
Taylor had half-expected the offer, but she still didn't know what to say.
On one hand, this was the Protectorate! They were the heroes of Brockton Bay. What kid hadn't dreamed of joining them?
But on the other hand…Taylor knew they wouldn't let her keep her identity secret. They'd want to know who she was. And once they saw her real form, they would make her join the Wards.
…and they'd probably want her to tell Dad the truth too.
God, what was she going to tell him?
Hey Dad, I got magic superpowers from a crazy old man claiming to be a wizard and now I'm a superhero?
Taylor had no clue how he would react to that.
She wasn't sure she wanted to find out.
If mom were here, it would be easier but Annette Hebert was gone and she was never coming back.
Seeing that Miss Militia was still waiting for a response, Taylor forced herself to answer. "I…don't know. I'd need to think about it."
Miss Militia nodded. "I understand," There was no pressure or judgment in her voice, even as she pulled out a card and offered it to Taylor. "Call me, if you decide to join. And remember, it's always good to have proper training and a team on your side to back you up."
Taylor took the card. "Thanks."
Suddenly feeling incredibly awkward, Taylor took off into the air before Miss Militia could say anything else, speeding away as quickly as she could.
Before long, she found her way home. Taylor almost entered through the open window of her bedroom before remembering that she needed to change back to normal.
And it would be pretty hard to explain a hole in the roof to Dad.
Slipping away to a nearby alley, Taylor landed on the ground.
"Shazam," she whispered.
The instant loss of power was disheartening. Taylor shrank, and then the sensation of lightning bubbling below her skin vanished. The world grew greyer and duller, less vibrant than it had been moments before.
Her normal clothes had reappeared as if they had never gone, and Taylor was acutely aware of the weight of the glasses on her face in a way she hadn't been in years.
She was just ordinary old Taylor Hebert again.
Letting out a breath of disappointment, Taylor walked back to her house.
Letting herself in, she entered the drawing room and saw her dad sitting there, watching TV.
"Taylor!" Danny said, turning his head to offer her a tired smile. He looked exhausted, but also pleased. "Good to see you, out of your room. Should I make dinner?"
Taylor smiled back. "Yeah, I'd like that."
An image on the TV caught her eye. "What are you watching, dad?"
"Oh, some new hero appeared in the city today," Danny said, standing up and stretching. "She took down that metal man- Hookwolf, I think they called him. Freed a bunch of the Empire's human trafficking victims. Good on her."
Taylor beamed, suddenly feeling much better. "That's great to hear, dad."
"It is," Danny said with a chuckle. "Maybe she'll take down the whole Empire next, huh?"
Taylor's mind whirled as she followed her father into the kitchen.
"Yeah, maybe."
Author's Note: Thank you so much to @Ridtom for editing this fic, and @Fancy Face and @Silvan Eldar for workshopping ideas with me.
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Chosen - 3
Solarion
For Light and Life
Taylor circled above Brockton Bay, watching the clouds pass by. It was peaceful up here. From this far up, she couldn't hear anything happening in the city below even with her enhanced senses.
Flying had become her escape, these past few days. Even now, a week after she had got her powers, it was just… amazing. She loved it. The feeling of power and freedom, of gliding through the air on her own made her feel so great.
Beyond that, just floating in the blue sky, surrounded by all those fluffy white clouds, sometimes even 'lying' on them…it made everything slip away for a while, just letting her rest and be at peace.
Though Taylor hadn't just spent the last week lazing around on clouds, she had been experimenting with her other powers too. Miss Militia had been correct. She couldn't afford to rush in recklessly and hurt other people.
So Taylor had found a quiet place, in the abandoned Boat Graveyard, where she had started trying to test her powers.
To her surprise, it had been easier than she had thought. The control and precision came almost instinctively. It wasn't perfect, she still needed to focus and not be careless like she had been that first day, but it wasn't as hard as she had thought it would be either.
It sort of made sense, now that she thought about it. Given how strong she was now, capable of punching holes straight through the hull of a ship, there had to be some kind of control factor. Otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to touch anyone or anything when she was shifted like this.
What had the old man said? The Wisdom of Solomon? Taylor wasn't sure how much she believed that she had the wisdom of the legendary King Solomon, but that was probably what he had meant. The control to use her powers without hurting people or bringing entire buildings crashing down every time she so much as moved around.
Maybe there was more to that, but she mostly knew of him from the infamous biblical story. She would have to go digging later.
Testing her new powers out, just being in this shifted form…it had honestly been the best week of her life. She had decided to skip summer camp for once, because using and hiding her powers there would be much harder, surrounded by other kids and the camp counselors.
It was easier to just…stay home, and explore her powers.
Her dad had been surprised, but he hadn't questioned it too much.
Taylor wasn't sure how she felt about that, but it had been convenient.
You should take advantage of this to spend more time with Emma. A voice whispered in the back of her mind. She's your best friend and you haven't been talking to her for ages.
Taylor cringed at the thought. It was true. She had been distant from Emma for ages. It had been hard, because Emma tended to remind her of her mom, in ways that honestly surprised her. It ranged from casual comments about how Taylor dressed, to accidentally mentioning a time her mom had taken the both of them for a Friday night movie surprise.
Taylor felt guilty, like she had been a bad friend, to neglect Emma for so long.
She should go over to her house, and have fun with her again. It would be nice. Maybe Emma's mom would make them some cookies... It hurt to see Emma with a happy, living, mom… but she could deal.
Taylor drifted downwards, floating towards Emma's house at a leisurely pace. She could transform a block or so away, and then walk the rest of the way.
…should she tell Emma about her powers? Emma would be delighted, of course, but…secret identities were thing for a reason.
Taylor didn't want to put her friend in danger.
But she really wanted to tell her.
Taylor groaned to herself. She'd work it out later. For now, she just wanted to see Emma.
But as she flew over the city, nearing Emma's house, she heard a man screaming. It was a sound of pure fear and anguish.
Distracted, she changed directions to follow the screaming. Focusing her eyes, she was able to see where it was coming from even though she was far above it.
The screaming was coming from a narrow alley, there was a car, a model she had seen before. There was a man outside the vehicle, screaming as people held him, and a figure wearing dark clothes perched on top of the vehicle. It seemed like the people in the alley were giving the figure a lot of space.
The alley had been blocked off, on one end by a dumpster, and the other by a white van.
The group of twenty young men and women, Taylor realized with a jolt, were members of the ABB. One of them was straddling a young redhead girl on the ground, holding a knife to her face.
In the next instant, Taylor connected the dots.
The man screaming was Mister Barnes. Her sort of unofficial uncle.
The girl pinned to the ground was Emma.
Taylor's vision went red.
She hardly even knew what happened next. One instant, she was flying above the alleyway, and when her vision cleared, she was standing in it.
The pile of ABB goons lay around her, moaning and screaming in pain, except for the bastard who had been straddling Emma.
She was holding him by the throat, choking him. His breathing was strained, skin looking red and purple as he clawed at her hand.
All of them looked young.
Emma was still on the ground, looking scared out of her mind and Taylor dropped the gangster on the ground, rushing over to her friend.
She knelt, speaking to Emma as gently and soothingly as she could. "Hey, it's okay. It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be fine."
Emma's face was streaked with tears as she looked up at Taylor with wide eyes. And then, to her surprise, Emma buried her face in her shoulder, sobbing.
Taylor reeled for a moment, at a complete loss. This wasn't the first time she had seen Emma cry, but this was different. The previous occasions had been over a skinned knee or a broken toy, and Taylor had either been crying herself as well or had run to get an adult.
Emma had been someone strong in Taylor's life. This was… not right.
In the end, she awkwardly wrapped an arm around Emma, not knowing what else to say as she held her crying friend close and tried to comfort her.
Looking up, Taylor saw that Mister Barnes was rising to his feet and rushing towards them…and that the figure in dark clothes had vanished.
"Can you call 911, sir?" Taylor asked, making her voice as professional and calm as she could. "I'm here to help, but your daughter needs medical attention and I don't have the authority to arrest these people.
Mister Barnes nodded, his eyes wide. "Yes, of course. Thank you…Thank you so much."
"It's no trouble at all," Taylor assured him. "That's why I'm here."
But even as Mr. Barnes dialed his phone and Emma cried into her shoulder, Taylor thought of the dark figure who had just stood there and watched as Emma was tortured and nearly killed.
Had that been another member of the ABB, one who had escaped? She had been so quiet that Taylor's hearing hadn't even picked up on it.
Worrying.
Well, she wouldn't escape for long.
After a police car had shown up and an ambulance had come for Emma and Mister Barnes, Taylor reluctantly tried to disentangle herself from her friend.
She wanted to stay, but while Taylor Hebert sticking around to comfort her friend would be normal, the new cape on the scene doing so wouldn't be.
It might even make the Barnes a target if people thought that Taylor was fond of them.
But Emma refused to let go, clutching at Taylor's cape. "Please," She whispered. Her voice was hoarse and ragged, and she had exhausted her tears, but she was still clearly very scared. Mister Barnes had tried to pull her away earlier, before the ambulance, but she had refused, clinging to Taylor even more tightly.
"It's going to be alright, Miss," Taylor tried to reassure her. "These people will take care of you, and then you can go home."
"But what if this happens again?"
"It won't," Taylor insisted. "I'm almost always patrolling the city. If there's any trouble, I'll save you."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
They had made promises to each other before, but this one was far heavier. Even as the weight of it settled on Taylor's shoulders, she refused to regret it.
Emma was her oldest, closest friend. She had tried to help Taylor for a year, even as Taylor had shut down after her mom died. And she hadn't stopped, no matter how sad Taylor had been or how much she couldn't find the energy to tell Emma how thankful she was.
And what kind of superhero would she be if she couldn't even keep a promise to her best friend?
At last, Emma let go, letting the paramedics gently lead her away to the ambulance to get her patched up.
Taylor stood, but before she could leave, Mister Barnes rushed forward.
"Miss, I…again, thank you so much for saving us," He said, clearly overwhelmed by emotion. "I…I don't know what I'd have done if anything had happened to Emma. My daughters mean everything to me."
Taylor offered him a comforting smile. "It's alright, Mr. Barnes. I'm happy I could help."
"If you need anything, my door is always open," Mr. Barnes offered. "I can never repay you, but if you ever need anything…"
"Uh…thanks," Taylor said uncertainly. What could she say to that?
With those words, Taylor beat a hasty retreat. She didn't know what else to do.
Rising into the sky, Taylor looked across Brockton Bay. She wanted to be with Emma but she couldn't do that right now even if she transformed back to normal. Emma would be going to the hospital, maybe even staying overnight.
So instead, Taylor began to look for that shadowy figure.
Flying more slowly than usual but still fast, Taylor cast her gaze across the buildings. It felt stupid and aimless to do, but she had no idea where else to even start. And surely the figure couldn't have gotten away that fast, right?
Not unless they were a cape.
The utter silence stuck out to her again. She had fought Hookwolf by sheer instinct, but this felt… scarier. More intense. She didn't know who this figure was or what they could potentially do.
Maybe nothing would happen. Maybe she had gotten far away in the time it took for the ambulance and police to arrive.
She was right. Taylor quickly caught sight of the shadowy figure a few blocks away from where Emma had been attacked, on the rooftop of an apartment building. Farther away than any normal person could have made it, but not far enough.
She almost looked like she was waiting.
Speeding towards the rooftop, Taylor landed in front of the figure as it moved, crossing her arms.
Don't mess this up.
"Halt, miscreant!"
The instant she said those words, Taylor regretted them. Halt, miscreant? Really?
But it was too late to take them back now.
The figure seemed to glower at her from behind a hockey mask, which was impressive given the lack of expression. "What do you want?" The figure demanded, the voice revealing her as a girl. Probably one around Taylor's age, though the girl tried to make it sound deeper and raspier.
"I saw you there," Taylor said coldly, her anger displacing her embarrassment. "Where that young girl and her father were being attacked. I won't let you get away with assaulting them."
"Assaulting-, I'm not a member of the ABB! I didn't fucking attack those two."
Taylor scoffed. "Then what were you even doing there? Having a party?"
"I'm a hero," The other girl spat. "I was going to take out those thugs before you burst in."
"Then why did you just stand there and watch?" Taylor hissed, stepping closer, feeling the lightning under her skin surge closer to the surface. "You were there before me, you could have intervened first."
The self-proclaimed hero took a step back, but her voice didn't waver as she answered. "I was waiting for the girl to fight back. Had to wait for probable cause so they wouldn't just get off with a slap on the wrist. Don't you know anything?"
Probable cause? Of course, she knew what that was! She watched T.V. and had even seen the Miss Militia power-hour special on ABC!
Taylor was so affronted by the tone and accusation that it took her a few moments to realize that wasn't the point.
Taylor glared furiously at her. "Okay, but that doesn't mean you should have done nothing! What the heck would you do if they had gotten hurt before then!? If you're a hero, you save everyone in time!"
But even as she took another step forward, the hooded girl changed.
She faded from a strangely dressed but still solid person into a human-shaped shadow.
Startled, Taylor barely had time to react before she fled, jumping down into the alley below.
Taylor made to follow…except that she heard another cry for help some distance away, accompanied by the sound of glass breaking and gunshots.
For a moment, she froze…before gritting her teeth and rushing off toward the source of the cry.
By the time she had dealt with the problem (a few men trying to rob a small store), called the police, and returned, the parahuman she had been pursuing had vanished.
Leaping down into the alley, the only things she found were the hockey mask and hooded cloak abandoned on the ground.
The girl was gone, having long since vanished into the crowd. And Taylor had no idea what she looked like.
Damn it!
Later that night, Taylor sat at home in front of the family computer, frowning as she looked at the screen. Her dad had bought it a few weeks ago after he had gotten his new job.
SHADOW STALKER STRIKES AGAIN, the headline of the news article she had opened read.
The other girl had been telling the truth. Sort of. She wasn't a hero, but she was some kind of violent vigilante that had popped up in the last few months, going after criminals and hurting them, hurting them badly.
But not a member of a gang.
Still, the girl's words kept echoing in her mind and no matter how many times Taylor turned them over in her mind, she couldn't make sense of them.
Wasn't Emma getting dragged out of the window and being hurt by those scumbags enough, if the sight of the busted car wasn't? What more needed to be done for Shadow Stalker to act?
Taylor didn't understand it.
She was shaken out of her thoughts at the sound of the door opening behind her, and she turned to see her father enter.
"Hey, Dad," Taylor said, noting how tired he looked. "Tough day?"
"Just the usual," her dad said, waving a hand. He was holding a plastic takeout bag in his other hand, which he placed on the table. "I brought dinner."
"Great!" Taylor said eagerly. She knew her father had been unhappy about giving up his job at the Dockworkers Union, but his new work at the PRT paid a lot better.
Though, Taylor wasn't really clear on what he did. Lots of paperwork.
Even if it did mean that he was home even less than he used to be, she was happy that he wasn't so… down. She had been bad when Mom died, but her dad had been worse.
Him being a part of the PRT was another reason she was reluctant to tell him about her powers. She didn't know how he would react and the thought of him going back to before was enough to give her chills.
As her father unpacked the bag and began digging into the Chinese food, Taylor's mind drifted back to the girl, called Shadow Stalker by the media.
What life did she have, to make her act this way?
Somehow, Taylor had a feeling they would meet again.
Author's Note: If you're interested in having access to one advanced chapter for this story, please consider checking out my Patreon!
I should emphasize that none of my content is permanently locked behind a paywall and will all be released publicly eventually. My Patreon offers early access only.
Flying had become her escape, these past few days. Even now, a week after she had got her powers, it was just… amazing. She loved it. The feeling of power and freedom, of gliding through the air on her own made her feel so great.
Beyond that, just floating in the blue sky, surrounded by all those fluffy white clouds, sometimes even 'lying' on them…it made everything slip away for a while, just letting her rest and be at peace.
Though Taylor hadn't just spent the last week lazing around on clouds, she had been experimenting with her other powers too. Miss Militia had been correct. She couldn't afford to rush in recklessly and hurt other people.
So Taylor had found a quiet place, in the abandoned Boat Graveyard, where she had started trying to test her powers.
To her surprise, it had been easier than she had thought. The control and precision came almost instinctively. It wasn't perfect, she still needed to focus and not be careless like she had been that first day, but it wasn't as hard as she had thought it would be either.
It sort of made sense, now that she thought about it. Given how strong she was now, capable of punching holes straight through the hull of a ship, there had to be some kind of control factor. Otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to touch anyone or anything when she was shifted like this.
What had the old man said? The Wisdom of Solomon? Taylor wasn't sure how much she believed that she had the wisdom of the legendary King Solomon, but that was probably what he had meant. The control to use her powers without hurting people or bringing entire buildings crashing down every time she so much as moved around.
Maybe there was more to that, but she mostly knew of him from the infamous biblical story. She would have to go digging later.
Testing her new powers out, just being in this shifted form…it had honestly been the best week of her life. She had decided to skip summer camp for once, because using and hiding her powers there would be much harder, surrounded by other kids and the camp counselors.
It was easier to just…stay home, and explore her powers.
Her dad had been surprised, but he hadn't questioned it too much.
Taylor wasn't sure how she felt about that, but it had been convenient.
You should take advantage of this to spend more time with Emma. A voice whispered in the back of her mind. She's your best friend and you haven't been talking to her for ages.
Taylor cringed at the thought. It was true. She had been distant from Emma for ages. It had been hard, because Emma tended to remind her of her mom, in ways that honestly surprised her. It ranged from casual comments about how Taylor dressed, to accidentally mentioning a time her mom had taken the both of them for a Friday night movie surprise.
Taylor felt guilty, like she had been a bad friend, to neglect Emma for so long.
She should go over to her house, and have fun with her again. It would be nice. Maybe Emma's mom would make them some cookies... It hurt to see Emma with a happy, living, mom… but she could deal.
Taylor drifted downwards, floating towards Emma's house at a leisurely pace. She could transform a block or so away, and then walk the rest of the way.
…should she tell Emma about her powers? Emma would be delighted, of course, but…secret identities were thing for a reason.
Taylor didn't want to put her friend in danger.
But she really wanted to tell her.
Taylor groaned to herself. She'd work it out later. For now, she just wanted to see Emma.
But as she flew over the city, nearing Emma's house, she heard a man screaming. It was a sound of pure fear and anguish.
Distracted, she changed directions to follow the screaming. Focusing her eyes, she was able to see where it was coming from even though she was far above it.
The screaming was coming from a narrow alley, there was a car, a model she had seen before. There was a man outside the vehicle, screaming as people held him, and a figure wearing dark clothes perched on top of the vehicle. It seemed like the people in the alley were giving the figure a lot of space.
The alley had been blocked off, on one end by a dumpster, and the other by a white van.
The group of twenty young men and women, Taylor realized with a jolt, were members of the ABB. One of them was straddling a young redhead girl on the ground, holding a knife to her face.
In the next instant, Taylor connected the dots.
The man screaming was Mister Barnes. Her sort of unofficial uncle.
The girl pinned to the ground was Emma.
Taylor's vision went red.
She hardly even knew what happened next. One instant, she was flying above the alleyway, and when her vision cleared, she was standing in it.
The pile of ABB goons lay around her, moaning and screaming in pain, except for the bastard who had been straddling Emma.
She was holding him by the throat, choking him. His breathing was strained, skin looking red and purple as he clawed at her hand.
All of them looked young.
Emma was still on the ground, looking scared out of her mind and Taylor dropped the gangster on the ground, rushing over to her friend.
She knelt, speaking to Emma as gently and soothingly as she could. "Hey, it's okay. It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be fine."
Emma's face was streaked with tears as she looked up at Taylor with wide eyes. And then, to her surprise, Emma buried her face in her shoulder, sobbing.
Taylor reeled for a moment, at a complete loss. This wasn't the first time she had seen Emma cry, but this was different. The previous occasions had been over a skinned knee or a broken toy, and Taylor had either been crying herself as well or had run to get an adult.
Emma had been someone strong in Taylor's life. This was… not right.
In the end, she awkwardly wrapped an arm around Emma, not knowing what else to say as she held her crying friend close and tried to comfort her.
Looking up, Taylor saw that Mister Barnes was rising to his feet and rushing towards them…and that the figure in dark clothes had vanished.
"Can you call 911, sir?" Taylor asked, making her voice as professional and calm as she could. "I'm here to help, but your daughter needs medical attention and I don't have the authority to arrest these people.
Mister Barnes nodded, his eyes wide. "Yes, of course. Thank you…Thank you so much."
"It's no trouble at all," Taylor assured him. "That's why I'm here."
But even as Mr. Barnes dialed his phone and Emma cried into her shoulder, Taylor thought of the dark figure who had just stood there and watched as Emma was tortured and nearly killed.
Had that been another member of the ABB, one who had escaped? She had been so quiet that Taylor's hearing hadn't even picked up on it.
Worrying.
Well, she wouldn't escape for long.
After a police car had shown up and an ambulance had come for Emma and Mister Barnes, Taylor reluctantly tried to disentangle herself from her friend.
She wanted to stay, but while Taylor Hebert sticking around to comfort her friend would be normal, the new cape on the scene doing so wouldn't be.
It might even make the Barnes a target if people thought that Taylor was fond of them.
But Emma refused to let go, clutching at Taylor's cape. "Please," She whispered. Her voice was hoarse and ragged, and she had exhausted her tears, but she was still clearly very scared. Mister Barnes had tried to pull her away earlier, before the ambulance, but she had refused, clinging to Taylor even more tightly.
"It's going to be alright, Miss," Taylor tried to reassure her. "These people will take care of you, and then you can go home."
"But what if this happens again?"
"It won't," Taylor insisted. "I'm almost always patrolling the city. If there's any trouble, I'll save you."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
They had made promises to each other before, but this one was far heavier. Even as the weight of it settled on Taylor's shoulders, she refused to regret it.
Emma was her oldest, closest friend. She had tried to help Taylor for a year, even as Taylor had shut down after her mom died. And she hadn't stopped, no matter how sad Taylor had been or how much she couldn't find the energy to tell Emma how thankful she was.
And what kind of superhero would she be if she couldn't even keep a promise to her best friend?
At last, Emma let go, letting the paramedics gently lead her away to the ambulance to get her patched up.
Taylor stood, but before she could leave, Mister Barnes rushed forward.
"Miss, I…again, thank you so much for saving us," He said, clearly overwhelmed by emotion. "I…I don't know what I'd have done if anything had happened to Emma. My daughters mean everything to me."
Taylor offered him a comforting smile. "It's alright, Mr. Barnes. I'm happy I could help."
"If you need anything, my door is always open," Mr. Barnes offered. "I can never repay you, but if you ever need anything…"
"Uh…thanks," Taylor said uncertainly. What could she say to that?
With those words, Taylor beat a hasty retreat. She didn't know what else to do.
Rising into the sky, Taylor looked across Brockton Bay. She wanted to be with Emma but she couldn't do that right now even if she transformed back to normal. Emma would be going to the hospital, maybe even staying overnight.
So instead, Taylor began to look for that shadowy figure.
Flying more slowly than usual but still fast, Taylor cast her gaze across the buildings. It felt stupid and aimless to do, but she had no idea where else to even start. And surely the figure couldn't have gotten away that fast, right?
Not unless they were a cape.
The utter silence stuck out to her again. She had fought Hookwolf by sheer instinct, but this felt… scarier. More intense. She didn't know who this figure was or what they could potentially do.
Maybe nothing would happen. Maybe she had gotten far away in the time it took for the ambulance and police to arrive.
She was right. Taylor quickly caught sight of the shadowy figure a few blocks away from where Emma had been attacked, on the rooftop of an apartment building. Farther away than any normal person could have made it, but not far enough.
She almost looked like she was waiting.
Speeding towards the rooftop, Taylor landed in front of the figure as it moved, crossing her arms.
Don't mess this up.
"Halt, miscreant!"
The instant she said those words, Taylor regretted them. Halt, miscreant? Really?
But it was too late to take them back now.
The figure seemed to glower at her from behind a hockey mask, which was impressive given the lack of expression. "What do you want?" The figure demanded, the voice revealing her as a girl. Probably one around Taylor's age, though the girl tried to make it sound deeper and raspier.
"I saw you there," Taylor said coldly, her anger displacing her embarrassment. "Where that young girl and her father were being attacked. I won't let you get away with assaulting them."
"Assaulting-, I'm not a member of the ABB! I didn't fucking attack those two."
Taylor scoffed. "Then what were you even doing there? Having a party?"
"I'm a hero," The other girl spat. "I was going to take out those thugs before you burst in."
"Then why did you just stand there and watch?" Taylor hissed, stepping closer, feeling the lightning under her skin surge closer to the surface. "You were there before me, you could have intervened first."
The self-proclaimed hero took a step back, but her voice didn't waver as she answered. "I was waiting for the girl to fight back. Had to wait for probable cause so they wouldn't just get off with a slap on the wrist. Don't you know anything?"
Probable cause? Of course, she knew what that was! She watched T.V. and had even seen the Miss Militia power-hour special on ABC!
Taylor was so affronted by the tone and accusation that it took her a few moments to realize that wasn't the point.
Taylor glared furiously at her. "Okay, but that doesn't mean you should have done nothing! What the heck would you do if they had gotten hurt before then!? If you're a hero, you save everyone in time!"
But even as she took another step forward, the hooded girl changed.
She faded from a strangely dressed but still solid person into a human-shaped shadow.
Startled, Taylor barely had time to react before she fled, jumping down into the alley below.
Taylor made to follow…except that she heard another cry for help some distance away, accompanied by the sound of glass breaking and gunshots.
For a moment, she froze…before gritting her teeth and rushing off toward the source of the cry.
By the time she had dealt with the problem (a few men trying to rob a small store), called the police, and returned, the parahuman she had been pursuing had vanished.
Leaping down into the alley, the only things she found were the hockey mask and hooded cloak abandoned on the ground.
The girl was gone, having long since vanished into the crowd. And Taylor had no idea what she looked like.
Damn it!
Later that night, Taylor sat at home in front of the family computer, frowning as she looked at the screen. Her dad had bought it a few weeks ago after he had gotten his new job.
SHADOW STALKER STRIKES AGAIN, the headline of the news article she had opened read.
The other girl had been telling the truth. Sort of. She wasn't a hero, but she was some kind of violent vigilante that had popped up in the last few months, going after criminals and hurting them, hurting them badly.
But not a member of a gang.
Still, the girl's words kept echoing in her mind and no matter how many times Taylor turned them over in her mind, she couldn't make sense of them.
Wasn't Emma getting dragged out of the window and being hurt by those scumbags enough, if the sight of the busted car wasn't? What more needed to be done for Shadow Stalker to act?
Taylor didn't understand it.
She was shaken out of her thoughts at the sound of the door opening behind her, and she turned to see her father enter.
"Hey, Dad," Taylor said, noting how tired he looked. "Tough day?"
"Just the usual," her dad said, waving a hand. He was holding a plastic takeout bag in his other hand, which he placed on the table. "I brought dinner."
"Great!" Taylor said eagerly. She knew her father had been unhappy about giving up his job at the Dockworkers Union, but his new work at the PRT paid a lot better.
Though, Taylor wasn't really clear on what he did. Lots of paperwork.
Even if it did mean that he was home even less than he used to be, she was happy that he wasn't so… down. She had been bad when Mom died, but her dad had been worse.
Him being a part of the PRT was another reason she was reluctant to tell him about her powers. She didn't know how he would react and the thought of him going back to before was enough to give her chills.
As her father unpacked the bag and began digging into the Chinese food, Taylor's mind drifted back to the girl, called Shadow Stalker by the media.
What life did she have, to make her act this way?
Somehow, Taylor had a feeling they would meet again.
Author's Note: If you're interested in having access to one advanced chapter for this story, please consider checking out my Patreon!
I should emphasize that none of my content is permanently locked behind a paywall and will all be released publicly eventually. My Patreon offers early access only.
Chosen - 4
Solarion
For Light and Life
"I'm sorry, Taylor, she doesn't want to talk to you or see any visitors."
Taylor let out a deep sigh, unable to contain her disappointment.
"That's okay, Mrs. Barnes." She said into the phone. "I understand."
"I'll let you know as soon as Emma is feeling up to taking visitors, dear, I promise."
"Thanks."
"Stay safe, Taylor."
The line went dead, and Taylor put the landline's handset back into place.
It had been two days since Emma had been attacked, and though she had been released from the hospital, she was still refusing to see anyone except her family.
She couldn't blame Emma for not wanting to see her, as much as it hurt. Taylor had shut down for the past year after her mom had died, how could she blame Emma for doing the same after what had happened?
But it made Taylor feel so helpless and afraid. This wasn't a problem she could solve with her powers. She couldn't punch Emma's trauma away.
All she could do was try to make the city safer.
A quick look at the clock said it was only 1:00 PM or so. Dad wouldn't be home until six, if not later.
Quietly, Taylor grabbed the house and locked up, before slipping out.
Five minutes later, she was once more flying above Brockton Bay, looking for trouble to deal with.
Hearing the sound of a child crying, Taylor swooped down near the richer part of town, in the suburbs, where she found a small boy with brown hair sobbing on the sidewalk, next to a tree.
"Hey," She said, looking around for the kid's parent or guardian. "Is everything okay? Are you lost?"
The boy was dressed in clean, expensive clothes and didn't seem hurt, so that was something.
"Kitty!" The boy said tearfully, pointing up at the tree.
Taylor looked up…and saw a small white kitten on the higher branches. It had well-groomed, fluffy white fur and a collar around its neck. It must have been the kid's pet.
It was also obviously unable to get down.
Huh. A bit stereotypical in her opinion, but… well, she was here to help as a hero, right? And no hero would just ignore a crying kid, even for something so small.
Taylor floated up, gently reaching out the cat. It backed away, but she was faster and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, dropping back to the ground a moment later.
"Is this your cat?" She asked the boy, offering the kitten to him.
"Kitty!" The boy said, overjoyed, taking his pet back.
Taylor smiled at the boy cuddling the cat, before taking off again.
Now, to find some real crime to tackle.
Over the next few hours, Taylor stopped a mugging, a robbery, broke up a gang fight and interrupted a drug deal. That last one was admittedly an accident, since she just happened to land for a rest where the two were, and they ditched everything as they ran.
She felt so bad she didn't even go after them.
It was honestly a little disheartening to realize just how much crime there was in Brockton Bay. Not that Taylor had ever thought her home city was particularly safe, her parents had drilled her on what kind of people to avoid for as long as she could remember, but still.
It was all small stuff for now, nothing that would make the news, especially without villains around. It did sort of make her realize that villains probably had days off of crime as well, which would be annoying if she just spent hours flying around and found no one.
More than that however , the real problem was that her mind kept drifting back to Emma.
Her best friend had always seemed so strong, so bold. Whenever Taylor had hesitated, Emma had always been eager to jump on the next adventure, to delve into the unknown, to try out the newest, most daring thing.
Seeing Emma as she had been that day, holding her as she wept, bloody and bruised…Taylor hoped she was never in that position again. That Emma was never in that position again, hurt and vulnerable and needing to rely on someone she thought was a stranger for support.
Taylor let out a frustrated sigh.
She didn't know what to do. She really wanted to talk to Emma, to at least see her…and maybe she could. Taylor Hebert might not be able to visit her best friend, but in her transformed state, she could at least check in on her from a distance.
Pleased with her logic, Taylor flew towards Emma's house. The flight didn't take long, and soon she was hovering some distance away, using her enhanced eyesight to peer in through Emma's window.
It was still closer and more visible than she would have liked to be, but unfortunately, her enhanced senses weren't that good.
Emma was inside her room, curled up on her bed. But she wasn't alone. Her older sister, Anne, was with her, an arm curled around her younger sibling.
Emma wasn't crying, but she was unusually still and quiet, content to seemingly just let Anne chatter on to fill the silence, curling deeper into her older sister's side.
It was a deeply personal, intense scene and seeing it like, without either Emma or Anne's consent, made Taylor feel like an intruder.
…this had been a bad idea.
Taylor fled, rocketing away as fast as she dared. What had made her think she could spy on Emma on like that? That she should intrude her privacy like this?
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Taylor only stopped after completing several circuits of the city…and then realized where she was.
Looking down was the street where she had met the old man…the Wizard, and the building where he had given her her powers.
Taylor hadn't dared to go back yet, part of her afraid that it would all turn to be some trick or dream of the night. How else had she gone from her room to some strange building? She hadn't wanted to test things, but…maybe it was time to finally do that.
Flying downwards, Taylor landed in front of the old building. It was strange yet nondescript, utterly unremarkable in any way. It wasn't even breaking down. It wasn't in peak condition, exactly, but it also wasn't in perpetual disrepair like a lot of buildings around Brockton Bay.
It just looked…normal. Too normal.
Wavering for a moment, Taylor steeled herself. No turning back.
She marched towards the door, seizing the door handle and flinging it open, almost ripping it off its hinges.
Entering, she slammed the door behind her, looking around the inside.
It hadn't been a dream after all.
The inside of the building didn't look like a building at all. It was a vast, cavernous hall, far larger than should have fit inside the building. It was large enough to host a thousand people comfortably, in fact.
The ceiling rose nearly a hundred feet above her head, and around her were great pillars and arches of stone in a fashion that vaguely reminded Taylor of ancient monuments she had seen on television.
Most prominent of all, though, were the seven statues to the side of the hall.
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF MAN, read the inscription etched on the wall behind them. It was in a language Taylor had never seen before, had no idea how to read, but she understood it all the same. She had understood it the first time she entered this place, even before being given her powers.
The statues themselves were hideous, demonic, three times as large as any real person. They stood on an upraised platform, burning braziers in front of them casting an ominous light. And in the same language as the inscription above, there was a description of each statue on a plate below them.
PRIDE. ENVY. GLUTTONY. ANGER. HATRED. LUST. SLOTH.
Taylor swallowed, turning her gaze away from the statues to the throne at the end of the hall.
It was large but simple and unadorned, carved from grey rock.
It was also empty.
Taylor's heart sank. Had she come all this way here for nothing? Had the old man just left after giving her her powers? Had he-
Her thoughts were interrupted as a door behind the throne slid open, and the man she had been looking for emerged. He was old, dressed in white robes, with soft, pleasant features and long white hair and a thick beard, both of which reached his waist and contrasted with his dark skin. His features were soft and pleasant, his eyes surrounded by smile lines.
"Taylor!" The Wizard smiled broadly at the sight of her. "It is good to see you. I was wondering if you would ever come back."
Taylor opened her mouth, but before she could respond, something else emerged from the door behind the Wizard.
A tiger. An enormous tiger with orange fur and black stripes…standing on two legs as it followed the Wizard out.
A tiger dressed in a suit. It was wearing black slacks, a white shirt and a smart green jacket. A tie with a tiger-stripe pattern hung around his neck, and a bowler hat the same shade of green as the jacket was perched on top of his head, covering his ears.
"Ah, where are my manners?" The Wizard said, looking between the tiger and the gobsmacked Taylor. "Taylor, this is my old friend, Tawny. Tawny, this is my new champion, Taylor Hebert."
"Greetings, Champion," Tawny said, tipping his hat. "It is an honour to meet you."
"Hi," Taylor said uncertainly. "Um…are you a parahuman? Did your power make you look like that?" She had heard of parahumans being warped by their power before, seen some on old B-movie horror, so maybe this was that.
The Wizard let out a laugh at her question. Tawny, fortunately, did not seem offended at the question.
"No, I am not a parahuman," Tawny said simply. "I am a tiger."
"...really?"
The Wizard chuckled again, striding forward. "Taylor, I do not mean to be rude, but you are a champion of the gods, standing here in the Rock of Eternity at the centre of all space and time. Is the idea of Tawny here being a talking tiger really all that difficult to believe?"
"No," Taylor admitted sheepishly. Not that she really believed or understood the entirety of what that meant. Still when he put it like that, it did feel rather foolish. "Sorry, Mister Tawny."
"It is quite alright, Champion," Tawny said simply. "I understand that you are new to all this and an adjustment period is needed."
"Now, Taylor, I am glad to see you, but I must admit, I am curious as to why you have returned here now, after several weeks. And I sense great turmoil in your heart," The Wizard said, stopping in front of Taylor to look her over. "Is something wrong?"
Taylor wrung her hands, hesitating for a moment. But the Wizard's expression was honest, open and kind. He reminded her of Dad, before…everything.
"Well, uh, you see…"
The Wizard nodded attentively as Taylor finished her story, and she waited anxiously for him to listen.
"You did not do anything wrong, Taylor," The Wizard said finally. "Indeed, you did everything one could reasonably expect."
"But Emma is still so…" Taylor trailed off. "I don't know how to help her."
"You have already helped her," The Wizard said gently, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You saved her from being hurt, and comforted her in the aftermath. She will need time to recover, yes, but that is simply the way of things."
"I just feel like I should be able to do more," Taylor whispered. "What's the point of having all these powers if I can't even help my best friend?"
The Wizard sighed softly. "I understand your conundrum, Taylor. I too have struggled with these questions before. To have magic in your hands, to wield the power of creation itself and yet be unable to fix everything that ails those you love…it is a heavy burden to bear. But it must be borne. You cannot force your friends to get better, not even with all these powers. You must give Emma space and time, and I am sure she will return to you."
Taylor nodded, feeling a lump in her throat.
"You ask what is the point of having these powers?" The Wizard continued. "As I already said, did you not help Emma already? Would you rather that you did not have powers and she was dependent on the stranger you encountered for support?"
"No!" Taylor said quickly. "Of course not, I just…"
"I understand," The Wizard told her, his voice kind. "But I did not give you these powers so that you could fix everything that ever went wrong in the world, Taylor. I gave them to you simply so that you can do what you can. I promise, in time, your friend will heal and you have already helped with that.
Taylor nodded, feeling a lump in her throat. How long had it been since she had talked to someone like this? Since she had had someone she thought she could go to for advice, depend on?
Not since before mom died.
"Now, Taylor, why don't I make you a cup of hot chocolate before you go?" The Wizard suggested, guiding her towards the door behind his throne.
"You have a kitchen here?" Taylor asked, surprised.
The Wizard chuckled again. "Taylor, I am a Wizard. I have everything here."
And that was that.
Author's Note: I now have three advance chapters available on Patreon. If you're interested, please do consider checking it out.
Taylor let out a deep sigh, unable to contain her disappointment.
"That's okay, Mrs. Barnes." She said into the phone. "I understand."
"I'll let you know as soon as Emma is feeling up to taking visitors, dear, I promise."
"Thanks."
"Stay safe, Taylor."
The line went dead, and Taylor put the landline's handset back into place.
It had been two days since Emma had been attacked, and though she had been released from the hospital, she was still refusing to see anyone except her family.
She couldn't blame Emma for not wanting to see her, as much as it hurt. Taylor had shut down for the past year after her mom had died, how could she blame Emma for doing the same after what had happened?
But it made Taylor feel so helpless and afraid. This wasn't a problem she could solve with her powers. She couldn't punch Emma's trauma away.
All she could do was try to make the city safer.
A quick look at the clock said it was only 1:00 PM or so. Dad wouldn't be home until six, if not later.
Quietly, Taylor grabbed the house and locked up, before slipping out.
Five minutes later, she was once more flying above Brockton Bay, looking for trouble to deal with.
Hearing the sound of a child crying, Taylor swooped down near the richer part of town, in the suburbs, where she found a small boy with brown hair sobbing on the sidewalk, next to a tree.
"Hey," She said, looking around for the kid's parent or guardian. "Is everything okay? Are you lost?"
The boy was dressed in clean, expensive clothes and didn't seem hurt, so that was something.
"Kitty!" The boy said tearfully, pointing up at the tree.
Taylor looked up…and saw a small white kitten on the higher branches. It had well-groomed, fluffy white fur and a collar around its neck. It must have been the kid's pet.
It was also obviously unable to get down.
Huh. A bit stereotypical in her opinion, but… well, she was here to help as a hero, right? And no hero would just ignore a crying kid, even for something so small.
Taylor floated up, gently reaching out the cat. It backed away, but she was faster and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, dropping back to the ground a moment later.
"Is this your cat?" She asked the boy, offering the kitten to him.
"Kitty!" The boy said, overjoyed, taking his pet back.
Taylor smiled at the boy cuddling the cat, before taking off again.
Now, to find some real crime to tackle.
Over the next few hours, Taylor stopped a mugging, a robbery, broke up a gang fight and interrupted a drug deal. That last one was admittedly an accident, since she just happened to land for a rest where the two were, and they ditched everything as they ran.
She felt so bad she didn't even go after them.
It was honestly a little disheartening to realize just how much crime there was in Brockton Bay. Not that Taylor had ever thought her home city was particularly safe, her parents had drilled her on what kind of people to avoid for as long as she could remember, but still.
It was all small stuff for now, nothing that would make the news, especially without villains around. It did sort of make her realize that villains probably had days off of crime as well, which would be annoying if she just spent hours flying around and found no one.
More than that however , the real problem was that her mind kept drifting back to Emma.
Her best friend had always seemed so strong, so bold. Whenever Taylor had hesitated, Emma had always been eager to jump on the next adventure, to delve into the unknown, to try out the newest, most daring thing.
Seeing Emma as she had been that day, holding her as she wept, bloody and bruised…Taylor hoped she was never in that position again. That Emma was never in that position again, hurt and vulnerable and needing to rely on someone she thought was a stranger for support.
Taylor let out a frustrated sigh.
She didn't know what to do. She really wanted to talk to Emma, to at least see her…and maybe she could. Taylor Hebert might not be able to visit her best friend, but in her transformed state, she could at least check in on her from a distance.
Pleased with her logic, Taylor flew towards Emma's house. The flight didn't take long, and soon she was hovering some distance away, using her enhanced eyesight to peer in through Emma's window.
It was still closer and more visible than she would have liked to be, but unfortunately, her enhanced senses weren't that good.
Emma was inside her room, curled up on her bed. But she wasn't alone. Her older sister, Anne, was with her, an arm curled around her younger sibling.
Emma wasn't crying, but she was unusually still and quiet, content to seemingly just let Anne chatter on to fill the silence, curling deeper into her older sister's side.
It was a deeply personal, intense scene and seeing it like, without either Emma or Anne's consent, made Taylor feel like an intruder.
…this had been a bad idea.
Taylor fled, rocketing away as fast as she dared. What had made her think she could spy on Emma on like that? That she should intrude her privacy like this?
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Taylor only stopped after completing several circuits of the city…and then realized where she was.
Looking down was the street where she had met the old man…the Wizard, and the building where he had given her her powers.
Taylor hadn't dared to go back yet, part of her afraid that it would all turn to be some trick or dream of the night. How else had she gone from her room to some strange building? She hadn't wanted to test things, but…maybe it was time to finally do that.
Flying downwards, Taylor landed in front of the old building. It was strange yet nondescript, utterly unremarkable in any way. It wasn't even breaking down. It wasn't in peak condition, exactly, but it also wasn't in perpetual disrepair like a lot of buildings around Brockton Bay.
It just looked…normal. Too normal.
Wavering for a moment, Taylor steeled herself. No turning back.
She marched towards the door, seizing the door handle and flinging it open, almost ripping it off its hinges.
Entering, she slammed the door behind her, looking around the inside.
It hadn't been a dream after all.
The inside of the building didn't look like a building at all. It was a vast, cavernous hall, far larger than should have fit inside the building. It was large enough to host a thousand people comfortably, in fact.
The ceiling rose nearly a hundred feet above her head, and around her were great pillars and arches of stone in a fashion that vaguely reminded Taylor of ancient monuments she had seen on television.
Most prominent of all, though, were the seven statues to the side of the hall.
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF MAN, read the inscription etched on the wall behind them. It was in a language Taylor had never seen before, had no idea how to read, but she understood it all the same. She had understood it the first time she entered this place, even before being given her powers.
The statues themselves were hideous, demonic, three times as large as any real person. They stood on an upraised platform, burning braziers in front of them casting an ominous light. And in the same language as the inscription above, there was a description of each statue on a plate below them.
PRIDE. ENVY. GLUTTONY. ANGER. HATRED. LUST. SLOTH.
Taylor swallowed, turning her gaze away from the statues to the throne at the end of the hall.
It was large but simple and unadorned, carved from grey rock.
It was also empty.
Taylor's heart sank. Had she come all this way here for nothing? Had the old man just left after giving her her powers? Had he-
Her thoughts were interrupted as a door behind the throne slid open, and the man she had been looking for emerged. He was old, dressed in white robes, with soft, pleasant features and long white hair and a thick beard, both of which reached his waist and contrasted with his dark skin. His features were soft and pleasant, his eyes surrounded by smile lines.
"Taylor!" The Wizard smiled broadly at the sight of her. "It is good to see you. I was wondering if you would ever come back."
Taylor opened her mouth, but before she could respond, something else emerged from the door behind the Wizard.
A tiger. An enormous tiger with orange fur and black stripes…standing on two legs as it followed the Wizard out.
A tiger dressed in a suit. It was wearing black slacks, a white shirt and a smart green jacket. A tie with a tiger-stripe pattern hung around his neck, and a bowler hat the same shade of green as the jacket was perched on top of his head, covering his ears.
"Ah, where are my manners?" The Wizard said, looking between the tiger and the gobsmacked Taylor. "Taylor, this is my old friend, Tawny. Tawny, this is my new champion, Taylor Hebert."
"Greetings, Champion," Tawny said, tipping his hat. "It is an honour to meet you."
"Hi," Taylor said uncertainly. "Um…are you a parahuman? Did your power make you look like that?" She had heard of parahumans being warped by their power before, seen some on old B-movie horror, so maybe this was that.
The Wizard let out a laugh at her question. Tawny, fortunately, did not seem offended at the question.
"No, I am not a parahuman," Tawny said simply. "I am a tiger."
"...really?"
The Wizard chuckled again, striding forward. "Taylor, I do not mean to be rude, but you are a champion of the gods, standing here in the Rock of Eternity at the centre of all space and time. Is the idea of Tawny here being a talking tiger really all that difficult to believe?"
"No," Taylor admitted sheepishly. Not that she really believed or understood the entirety of what that meant. Still when he put it like that, it did feel rather foolish. "Sorry, Mister Tawny."
"It is quite alright, Champion," Tawny said simply. "I understand that you are new to all this and an adjustment period is needed."
"Now, Taylor, I am glad to see you, but I must admit, I am curious as to why you have returned here now, after several weeks. And I sense great turmoil in your heart," The Wizard said, stopping in front of Taylor to look her over. "Is something wrong?"
Taylor wrung her hands, hesitating for a moment. But the Wizard's expression was honest, open and kind. He reminded her of Dad, before…everything.
"Well, uh, you see…"
The Wizard nodded attentively as Taylor finished her story, and she waited anxiously for him to listen.
"You did not do anything wrong, Taylor," The Wizard said finally. "Indeed, you did everything one could reasonably expect."
"But Emma is still so…" Taylor trailed off. "I don't know how to help her."
"You have already helped her," The Wizard said gently, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You saved her from being hurt, and comforted her in the aftermath. She will need time to recover, yes, but that is simply the way of things."
"I just feel like I should be able to do more," Taylor whispered. "What's the point of having all these powers if I can't even help my best friend?"
The Wizard sighed softly. "I understand your conundrum, Taylor. I too have struggled with these questions before. To have magic in your hands, to wield the power of creation itself and yet be unable to fix everything that ails those you love…it is a heavy burden to bear. But it must be borne. You cannot force your friends to get better, not even with all these powers. You must give Emma space and time, and I am sure she will return to you."
Taylor nodded, feeling a lump in her throat.
"You ask what is the point of having these powers?" The Wizard continued. "As I already said, did you not help Emma already? Would you rather that you did not have powers and she was dependent on the stranger you encountered for support?"
"No!" Taylor said quickly. "Of course not, I just…"
"I understand," The Wizard told her, his voice kind. "But I did not give you these powers so that you could fix everything that ever went wrong in the world, Taylor. I gave them to you simply so that you can do what you can. I promise, in time, your friend will heal and you have already helped with that.
Taylor nodded, feeling a lump in her throat. How long had it been since she had talked to someone like this? Since she had had someone she thought she could go to for advice, depend on?
Not since before mom died.
"Now, Taylor, why don't I make you a cup of hot chocolate before you go?" The Wizard suggested, guiding her towards the door behind his throne.
"You have a kitchen here?" Taylor asked, surprised.
The Wizard chuckled again. "Taylor, I am a Wizard. I have everything here."
And that was that.
Author's Note: I now have three advance chapters available on Patreon. If you're interested, please do consider checking it out.
Chosen - 4
Solarion
For Light and Life
The Wizard set the steaming mug of hot chocolate on the table in front of Taylor. "Here you are, my dear."
"Thank you, sir," Taylor wrapped her hands around the mug.
The kitchen was surprisingly normal. It was well-maintained and clean, with a polished counter and a gas range. There were wooden shelves and cupboards, a round table and chairs…everything you'd expect in a kitchen.
It wasn't even particularly expensive or large. It was nice, but the kitchen at the Barnes house was larger, with more expensive things lying around.
The kitchen here could have belonged to anyone. It could have been a completely normal place…except for the little things.
Like how the ladles inside the pots on the stove were stirring themselves at regular intervals. How the fires on the stove were gold instead of white, blue and orange.
And of course, Wizard at the stove and the talking tiger sitting next to Taylor at the table.
"And here you go, old friend," The Wizard said, depositing a bowl in front of Tawny. Or rather, levitating it over, as it floated in front of the Wizard and gently plopped itself down on the table without shedding so much as a single drop. "Your favorite, potato leek soup."
"Thank you," Tawny said with a toothy smile, using a spoon to begin his meal. It was weird seeing a tiger try to smile like a human, exposed fangs and all.
Taylor hastily raised her mug to her lips to take a sip, not wanting to appear rude.
But as the mug hit her tongue, her eyes widened. It was…amazing. It was the sweetest thing she had ever had, and yet it somehow wasn't so sweet as to be toxic. It tasted like the light of the sun and a gentle summer breeze. A warm, tingling feeling spread through her entire body, energizing her yet calming her at the same time.
Calling it just hot chocolate seemed like a disservice.
Taylor eagerly gulped down the rest of the mug, and it was empty before she knew it.
Licking her lips, Taylor couldn't help but regret her impulse. It had been so good. She should have savoured it.
"Ah, I'm glad you liked it," The Wizard said, chuckling as he took a seat at the table.
"What was it, sir?" Taylor said, the feeling of warmth making her feel cozy and comfortable as if she was wrapped in a warm blanket.
"Hestia's special recipe for hot chocolate," The Wizard said cheerfully. "Granted, she usually adds some nectar, but you're too young for that, I'm afraid."
"Hestia, as in…the Greek Goddess Hestia?" Taylor ventured. She had done some research for Solomon and had found herself down the rabbit hole of various religions. It had reminded her of her mom, in a way, talking about the classical literature.
"Oh, yes, indeed. Nice lady, though quite a temper if you somehow manage to make her angry. Fortunately, that's quite difficult."
"So…I really do get my power from the gods," Taylor questioned. "They're real? Like in the old stories?"
The Wizard steepled his fingers, smiling indulgently at her question. "They are indeed. And yes, the power you wield comes from the Olympians. Well, except for the Wisdom of Solomon."
Why, Taylor thought. Taylor had had weeks to think about this matter, and yet even now, she had trouble wrapping her mind around the connection
Still, Annette Hebert would have been delighted to discover this, she thought. Her mother had loved the classics and would have cherished the chance at questioning the man about history.
But Taylor didn't know what to make of it.
"Then…why don't the gods do anything, sir? I mean…I've never heard of them or seen them. Lots of people don't believe they exist."
The Wizard inclined his head. "Yes. The gods do not usually spend much time on Earth these days, I'm afraid. They have matters of their own to tend to in the higher realms."
"What do you mean?"
The Wizard sighed slightly, his smile fading somewhat. "Part of it is simple disinterest. The gods do not have much on Earth that compels their attention these days. Beyond that…the universe is a large place, my dear. Earth is important, in ways that are difficult to explain, but it is still only one planet."
Taylor's eyes bulged. "Wait, there are other planets? Other civilizations?"
"Indeed there are," The Wizard nodded. "And there are other gods as well. There are countless pantheons across the universe, and the ones that the people of Earth know of only make up a small number. They include some of the most powerful and important gods in the universe, granted, but far from all of them."
"I…wow." Taylor didn't know what to say. She considered herself a decently smart student, but this was way out of left field for her.
"There are many matters of cosmic import that are ongoing as we speak. Much like Earth, the universe is not a quiet place. Such matters are usually sufficient to occupy the attention of most gods and distract them from Earth."
Taylor sat quietly for a moment, trying to wrap her head around what the Wizard had just told her.
The idea of gods, of other planets…it is all so fantastical and ridiculous and just a little unbelievable.
But…she was sitting here, at a kitchen table with a wizard and a talking tiger, transformed by the power of magic into a superhero.
Who was she to say that this was all unbelievable and impossible?
The Wizard reached across the table, patting her shoulder gently. "Do not worry too much about it, Taylor. I understand this is all quite shocking for you, but it is not something you need to worry about either."
"Okay," Taylor said, as another question she had been mulling over came to mind. "Is this how all heroes and villains get their powers? From the gods?"
The source of parahuman powers was heavily debated and had never been answered, but maybe this was it?
However, the Wizard shook his head. "I am afraid not, Taylor. Truth be told, I am not certain of the source of parahuman powers myself. You are a special case, entirely unique."
Taylor blushed a little at the last statement, even as she felt a sting of disappointment that he didn't know. She wasn't sure she believed it entirely; too many things made sense if everyone had powers from gods after all.
Yet he also looked genuinely stumped as he sat in silence, looking into his own cup.
There was still one more question she had on her mind.
"Um, you said my powers are magic. Does that mean there's more I can do with them? Like cast spells?"
"There is indeed. Magic is incredibly versatile and what you know so far is only the tip of the iceberg. In time, as you grow and refine your powers, you will find that there is almost nothing you cannot do."
"Can you teach me?" Taylor asked eagerly. "I want to learn, I want to know what more I can do with all this stuff."
"I would be happy to teach you-" Taylor lit up, visions of grand spells and sorcery dancing through her mind. "-But not today I am afraid."
She deflated, disappointed by the answer. "Why not?" The words sounded petulant, even to her ears, but she couldn't help it.
"I have some other work to attend to, I am afraid. But I will teach you soon," The Wizard promised her. "Now, in the meantime…" He turned to Tawny. "Tawny, would you mind accompanying Taylor home and staying with her for a while?"
"What?" Taylor asked indignantly. I don't need a babysitter! What she chose to say was, "I don't think my house would make for a good hiding spot for a tiger. And I'm pretty safe, so a… bodyguard isn't something I need.
"That is not Tawny's purpose," The Wizard assured her. "He will simply be there to advise you, and perhaps teach you a few simple uses of magic. Tawny here is not unskilled in the art himself, you know."
"Really?" Taylor asked, turning wide eyes to the tiger.
"I am," Tawny confirmed. "I have nowhere near the Wizard's breadth of knowledge and skill, I fear, but I would still be happy to teach you what I do know."
Taylor was just about to say 'yes' but then a thought came to mind, piercing through her excitement.
"I still can't take you home," She repeated, shaking her head. "My dad would never accept a stranger in the house. Or a talking tiger for that matter."
"It is of no concern, Champion," Tawny told her. "I can take care of myself, do not worry. I will not stay in your home if it would make you or your father uncomfortable."
"If you're sure," Taylor said uncertainly.
"I am. I would be honoured to help you."
"It is decided, then!" The Wizard said, clapping his hands. "Now, I'm afraid I must go. But I am certain you two will do well."
Before Taylor could say anything, he clapped his hands again, and suddenly, both she and Tawny were standing outside the building, as if they had never even intervened.
It was evening now, the light of the setting sun casting an orange light on Brockton Bay.
She blinked, taken aback, while the tiger let out a sigh of annoyance. "I do wish he would stop doing that," He murmured. "Shall we go, Champion?"
"Uh, yeah. But if people see you…" Taylor was interrupted as the talking tiger shrank and fell onto all fours, until in front of there was an ordinary-looking orange tabby cat, indistinguishable from any other.
"Is this form more acceptable, Champion?"
Taylor shook off her astonishment. "Uh, yeah, this is fine. Should I pick you up?"
"That would be appreciated. I am fast, but I fear I am not quite as fast as you."
Crouching to pick up the cat, Taylor took off into the air, flying back towards her house.
"So, uh, what kind of magic can you teach me?" She asked as they flew, trying not to sound too eager.
"Well, we must begin with the basics. First and foremost, I will teach you to sense and cast magic. Though you must already have a grasp of the latter, thanks to the Power of Zeus."
"I should?" Taylor blinked. "But I haven't cast any spells yet."
"Ah. Well, no matter, that is where we will start," Tawny said, his tail waving. "It should come instinctively, once you have an idea of what to do. However, we will need to find a safe place to do so. The Power of Zeus is not something to be used lightly."
"I think I know a place," Taylor told him. "Out of the way, without any people around."
"Excellent. We can begin tomorrow, then. But for now, I believe we should enjoy this beautiful sunset."
Taylor looked up, and she realized the sunset was beautiful. She had somehow never paid attention to it before, but now that she was looking at it, from high in the sky…the sun slowly sinking behind the vastness of the sea, illuminating the waters in hues of warm red and gold…it was beautiful.
The two of them didn't say much after that until they were a block away from Taylor's house.
Landing in a nearby alleyway, Taylor set Tawny down.
"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"
"I will be fine, Champion," Tawny assured her. "Do not worry."
Giving him a nod, Taylor called out her phrase. "Shazam!"
After the lightning had struck her and she had de-transformed, Taylor trudged her way home. Tawny followed her most of the way but slipped out of sight once she was at the staircase leading up to the door.
Seeing that the lights were on, Taylor called out as she went in. "Hey, Dad, I'm home!"
"Taylor!" Danny Hebert emerged from the living room, looking nervous. "I was just going out to pick you up from the library. I have a call from the Barnes."
Taylor's heart jumped into her throat.
"Emma wants to see you."
Taylor entered Emma's room, calling out for her friend. "Emma?"
Her friend turned to look at her. Emma looked better than she had that day, but still not up to her usual self. Her hair wasn't groomed, there were blotchy tear marks on her face and she was wearing blue and pink pajamas instead of her usual stylish clothes.
But when she saw Taylor, she rushed forward, with her arms open.
Taylor returned the hug without hesitation, squeezing her best friend close.
"It's good to see you," Emma said, her voice muffled, even as she squeezed back Taylor just as hard. "I missed you."
It had only been a few days, but Taylor understood the feeling perfectly. "Missed you too." She whispered back. "Are you okay?"
"No," Emma said, drawing back and giving her a watery smile. "But I will be. Thanks to that hero who saved me. I don't know what would have happened to me without her."
"It was really lucky she was there," Taylor agreed, warmed by Emma's words.
"She saved my life," Emma said. "I wish I could thank her properly."
It was on the tip of Taylor's tongue to just tell her friend the truth, let her know she had saved her.
But the stories of capes who had their secrets exposed and their friends and families hurt flashed through her mind.
"I'm sure you'll get the chance to, someday."
"Here's hoping." Emma hesitated for a moment. "Can we have a sleep over tonight? It's been a long time since we did that."
The fact that they hadn't done it since before Taylor's mom died went unsaid but Taylor heard it all the same.
"Of course!" Taylor smiled encouragingly at her oldest friend. "Let's make it the best sleepover ever!"
Emma smiled back brightly.
And just for one night, there were their old selves again.
Just two girls, two friends being together and having fun, without any worries or burdens on their shoulders.
Author's Note: As a reminder, for anyone interested, I do have three advance chapters on my Patreon.
"Thank you, sir," Taylor wrapped her hands around the mug.
The kitchen was surprisingly normal. It was well-maintained and clean, with a polished counter and a gas range. There were wooden shelves and cupboards, a round table and chairs…everything you'd expect in a kitchen.
It wasn't even particularly expensive or large. It was nice, but the kitchen at the Barnes house was larger, with more expensive things lying around.
The kitchen here could have belonged to anyone. It could have been a completely normal place…except for the little things.
Like how the ladles inside the pots on the stove were stirring themselves at regular intervals. How the fires on the stove were gold instead of white, blue and orange.
And of course, Wizard at the stove and the talking tiger sitting next to Taylor at the table.
"And here you go, old friend," The Wizard said, depositing a bowl in front of Tawny. Or rather, levitating it over, as it floated in front of the Wizard and gently plopped itself down on the table without shedding so much as a single drop. "Your favorite, potato leek soup."
"Thank you," Tawny said with a toothy smile, using a spoon to begin his meal. It was weird seeing a tiger try to smile like a human, exposed fangs and all.
Taylor hastily raised her mug to her lips to take a sip, not wanting to appear rude.
But as the mug hit her tongue, her eyes widened. It was…amazing. It was the sweetest thing she had ever had, and yet it somehow wasn't so sweet as to be toxic. It tasted like the light of the sun and a gentle summer breeze. A warm, tingling feeling spread through her entire body, energizing her yet calming her at the same time.
Calling it just hot chocolate seemed like a disservice.
Taylor eagerly gulped down the rest of the mug, and it was empty before she knew it.
Licking her lips, Taylor couldn't help but regret her impulse. It had been so good. She should have savoured it.
"Ah, I'm glad you liked it," The Wizard said, chuckling as he took a seat at the table.
"What was it, sir?" Taylor said, the feeling of warmth making her feel cozy and comfortable as if she was wrapped in a warm blanket.
"Hestia's special recipe for hot chocolate," The Wizard said cheerfully. "Granted, she usually adds some nectar, but you're too young for that, I'm afraid."
"Hestia, as in…the Greek Goddess Hestia?" Taylor ventured. She had done some research for Solomon and had found herself down the rabbit hole of various religions. It had reminded her of her mom, in a way, talking about the classical literature.
"Oh, yes, indeed. Nice lady, though quite a temper if you somehow manage to make her angry. Fortunately, that's quite difficult."
"So…I really do get my power from the gods," Taylor questioned. "They're real? Like in the old stories?"
The Wizard steepled his fingers, smiling indulgently at her question. "They are indeed. And yes, the power you wield comes from the Olympians. Well, except for the Wisdom of Solomon."
Why, Taylor thought. Taylor had had weeks to think about this matter, and yet even now, she had trouble wrapping her mind around the connection
Still, Annette Hebert would have been delighted to discover this, she thought. Her mother had loved the classics and would have cherished the chance at questioning the man about history.
But Taylor didn't know what to make of it.
"Then…why don't the gods do anything, sir? I mean…I've never heard of them or seen them. Lots of people don't believe they exist."
The Wizard inclined his head. "Yes. The gods do not usually spend much time on Earth these days, I'm afraid. They have matters of their own to tend to in the higher realms."
"What do you mean?"
The Wizard sighed slightly, his smile fading somewhat. "Part of it is simple disinterest. The gods do not have much on Earth that compels their attention these days. Beyond that…the universe is a large place, my dear. Earth is important, in ways that are difficult to explain, but it is still only one planet."
Taylor's eyes bulged. "Wait, there are other planets? Other civilizations?"
"Indeed there are," The Wizard nodded. "And there are other gods as well. There are countless pantheons across the universe, and the ones that the people of Earth know of only make up a small number. They include some of the most powerful and important gods in the universe, granted, but far from all of them."
"I…wow." Taylor didn't know what to say. She considered herself a decently smart student, but this was way out of left field for her.
"There are many matters of cosmic import that are ongoing as we speak. Much like Earth, the universe is not a quiet place. Such matters are usually sufficient to occupy the attention of most gods and distract them from Earth."
Taylor sat quietly for a moment, trying to wrap her head around what the Wizard had just told her.
The idea of gods, of other planets…it is all so fantastical and ridiculous and just a little unbelievable.
But…she was sitting here, at a kitchen table with a wizard and a talking tiger, transformed by the power of magic into a superhero.
Who was she to say that this was all unbelievable and impossible?
The Wizard reached across the table, patting her shoulder gently. "Do not worry too much about it, Taylor. I understand this is all quite shocking for you, but it is not something you need to worry about either."
"Okay," Taylor said, as another question she had been mulling over came to mind. "Is this how all heroes and villains get their powers? From the gods?"
The source of parahuman powers was heavily debated and had never been answered, but maybe this was it?
However, the Wizard shook his head. "I am afraid not, Taylor. Truth be told, I am not certain of the source of parahuman powers myself. You are a special case, entirely unique."
Taylor blushed a little at the last statement, even as she felt a sting of disappointment that he didn't know. She wasn't sure she believed it entirely; too many things made sense if everyone had powers from gods after all.
Yet he also looked genuinely stumped as he sat in silence, looking into his own cup.
There was still one more question she had on her mind.
"Um, you said my powers are magic. Does that mean there's more I can do with them? Like cast spells?"
"There is indeed. Magic is incredibly versatile and what you know so far is only the tip of the iceberg. In time, as you grow and refine your powers, you will find that there is almost nothing you cannot do."
"Can you teach me?" Taylor asked eagerly. "I want to learn, I want to know what more I can do with all this stuff."
"I would be happy to teach you-" Taylor lit up, visions of grand spells and sorcery dancing through her mind. "-But not today I am afraid."
She deflated, disappointed by the answer. "Why not?" The words sounded petulant, even to her ears, but she couldn't help it.
"I have some other work to attend to, I am afraid. But I will teach you soon," The Wizard promised her. "Now, in the meantime…" He turned to Tawny. "Tawny, would you mind accompanying Taylor home and staying with her for a while?"
"What?" Taylor asked indignantly. I don't need a babysitter! What she chose to say was, "I don't think my house would make for a good hiding spot for a tiger. And I'm pretty safe, so a… bodyguard isn't something I need.
"That is not Tawny's purpose," The Wizard assured her. "He will simply be there to advise you, and perhaps teach you a few simple uses of magic. Tawny here is not unskilled in the art himself, you know."
"Really?" Taylor asked, turning wide eyes to the tiger.
"I am," Tawny confirmed. "I have nowhere near the Wizard's breadth of knowledge and skill, I fear, but I would still be happy to teach you what I do know."
Taylor was just about to say 'yes' but then a thought came to mind, piercing through her excitement.
"I still can't take you home," She repeated, shaking her head. "My dad would never accept a stranger in the house. Or a talking tiger for that matter."
"It is of no concern, Champion," Tawny told her. "I can take care of myself, do not worry. I will not stay in your home if it would make you or your father uncomfortable."
"If you're sure," Taylor said uncertainly.
"I am. I would be honoured to help you."
"It is decided, then!" The Wizard said, clapping his hands. "Now, I'm afraid I must go. But I am certain you two will do well."
Before Taylor could say anything, he clapped his hands again, and suddenly, both she and Tawny were standing outside the building, as if they had never even intervened.
It was evening now, the light of the setting sun casting an orange light on Brockton Bay.
She blinked, taken aback, while the tiger let out a sigh of annoyance. "I do wish he would stop doing that," He murmured. "Shall we go, Champion?"
"Uh, yeah. But if people see you…" Taylor was interrupted as the talking tiger shrank and fell onto all fours, until in front of there was an ordinary-looking orange tabby cat, indistinguishable from any other.
"Is this form more acceptable, Champion?"
Taylor shook off her astonishment. "Uh, yeah, this is fine. Should I pick you up?"
"That would be appreciated. I am fast, but I fear I am not quite as fast as you."
Crouching to pick up the cat, Taylor took off into the air, flying back towards her house.
"So, uh, what kind of magic can you teach me?" She asked as they flew, trying not to sound too eager.
"Well, we must begin with the basics. First and foremost, I will teach you to sense and cast magic. Though you must already have a grasp of the latter, thanks to the Power of Zeus."
"I should?" Taylor blinked. "But I haven't cast any spells yet."
"Ah. Well, no matter, that is where we will start," Tawny said, his tail waving. "It should come instinctively, once you have an idea of what to do. However, we will need to find a safe place to do so. The Power of Zeus is not something to be used lightly."
"I think I know a place," Taylor told him. "Out of the way, without any people around."
"Excellent. We can begin tomorrow, then. But for now, I believe we should enjoy this beautiful sunset."
Taylor looked up, and she realized the sunset was beautiful. She had somehow never paid attention to it before, but now that she was looking at it, from high in the sky…the sun slowly sinking behind the vastness of the sea, illuminating the waters in hues of warm red and gold…it was beautiful.
The two of them didn't say much after that until they were a block away from Taylor's house.
Landing in a nearby alleyway, Taylor set Tawny down.
"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"
"I will be fine, Champion," Tawny assured her. "Do not worry."
Giving him a nod, Taylor called out her phrase. "Shazam!"
After the lightning had struck her and she had de-transformed, Taylor trudged her way home. Tawny followed her most of the way but slipped out of sight once she was at the staircase leading up to the door.
Seeing that the lights were on, Taylor called out as she went in. "Hey, Dad, I'm home!"
"Taylor!" Danny Hebert emerged from the living room, looking nervous. "I was just going out to pick you up from the library. I have a call from the Barnes."
Taylor's heart jumped into her throat.
"Emma wants to see you."
Taylor entered Emma's room, calling out for her friend. "Emma?"
Her friend turned to look at her. Emma looked better than she had that day, but still not up to her usual self. Her hair wasn't groomed, there were blotchy tear marks on her face and she was wearing blue and pink pajamas instead of her usual stylish clothes.
But when she saw Taylor, she rushed forward, with her arms open.
Taylor returned the hug without hesitation, squeezing her best friend close.
"It's good to see you," Emma said, her voice muffled, even as she squeezed back Taylor just as hard. "I missed you."
It had only been a few days, but Taylor understood the feeling perfectly. "Missed you too." She whispered back. "Are you okay?"
"No," Emma said, drawing back and giving her a watery smile. "But I will be. Thanks to that hero who saved me. I don't know what would have happened to me without her."
"It was really lucky she was there," Taylor agreed, warmed by Emma's words.
"She saved my life," Emma said. "I wish I could thank her properly."
It was on the tip of Taylor's tongue to just tell her friend the truth, let her know she had saved her.
But the stories of capes who had their secrets exposed and their friends and families hurt flashed through her mind.
"I'm sure you'll get the chance to, someday."
"Here's hoping." Emma hesitated for a moment. "Can we have a sleep over tonight? It's been a long time since we did that."
The fact that they hadn't done it since before Taylor's mom died went unsaid but Taylor heard it all the same.
"Of course!" Taylor smiled encouragingly at her oldest friend. "Let's make it the best sleepover ever!"
Emma smiled back brightly.
And just for one night, there were their old selves again.
Just two girls, two friends being together and having fun, without any worries or burdens on their shoulders.
Author's Note: As a reminder, for anyone interested, I do have three advance chapters on my Patreon.
Interlude: Danny
Solarion
For Light and Life
"We are going to take advantage of the Empire's humiliation-"
"We need to rescue Hookwolf before he can reach the Birdcage-"
"The new cape humiliated us, there must be retribution."
"This is the plan for the attack…"
"We need to figure out where the PRT is getting its information…"
Danny Hebert opened his eyes, wincing slightly at the headache he had.
The office he was sitting in was plain and simple. There was a metal desk, a computer, and a wheeled chair, in which he was sitting. There was a shelf lined with a few books that he never bothered to read.
It could have been the office of any office worker anywhere in the world.
But the work he did here was much different from that.
Reaching out, Danny started the computer and began typing out his latest report.
Nearly a year ago, he had…triggered, as his bosses called it. He had discovered he was a parahuman and that something had pushed him over the edge, granted him powers that he had once felt were too fantastical to really grasp, despite living in Brockton Bay for years. Even now, he still couldn't quite connect the idea of the superheroes and supervillains with his own existence.
It didn't help that the powers came so suddenly.
Danny still wasn't sure what the cause of it had been. Losing Annette? The fear that he would fail his daughter? The ever-mounting problems for the Dockworkers Union?
Maybe all at once.
In any case, his new powers had been a shock at first, messing with his perspective on things. For a bit, he wondered if he was actually going crazy, and what that would mean for Taylor.
That fear didn't last long, as eventually he understood what was happening and began to explore them.
A combination of Thinker/Master powers, as the PRT described them. Put simply, Danny could control up to two dozen insects, birds, or rodents of any kind at a given time, more if he pushed himself. He could direct them to go anywhere and make them do anything.
More importantly, Danny could see through their eyes and ears. Whatever they saw and heard, he also did, as if he was sitting right there.
It wasn't a power that was very good for combat, since Danny could control so few at a time, even when he strained himself. It wasn't always pleasant either. Danny had more than once caught sensations he would very much have preferred to avoid, especially in the early stages when he had still been having trouble controlling his…familiars.
But for recon and intelligence gathering? It was very, very good. Especially since he hadn't discovered a limit to his range yet. His little 'agents' had gone as far as the city limits, and Danny had never felt any strain whatsoever.
He couldn't fight villains or even ordinary criminals in the field, but he could do some good. The PRT had been eager to take advantage of it when he went to them for help, having him spy on all of the city's significant gangs and crime syndicates, covertly gathering information for them to use against them.
Which had been easier said than done, considering how much ground he had to cover, and the smarter groups knew better than to stay in one place. Some even had ways of noticing his agents, or at least that they were being spied on somehow, and would flee.
The information that Danny had gathered had led to more than a few raids and crackdowns on organized crime in the city. It drove the various gangs nuts, trying to figure out where precisely the PRT was getting its information, but they had been very, very careful to keep his name and abilities under wraps. As far as most of the world was concerned, Danny Hebert was a simple office drone in the PRT, filing paperwork and doing nothing else.
Danny could empathize with the criminals in this case, regarding frustration at the least. He hated what they and the corrupt officials of the city, and felt so powerless and inept sitting here doing nothing but fake paperwork.
Director Piggot had at least shown she had fast tracked his application to Watchdog, the group of heroes who tackled systemic injustice and corruption. If he was accepted they would grant him access to funding, information, and prioritize cases he built against politicians in the city.
Director Piggot had bluntly stated to not get his hopes up, however. Watchdog was a tangled knot with layers of inspections and overwatch. They were likely spying on him even now, making sure he didn't step out of line in a way that made him look compromised or untrustworthy.
More rules and guidelines in place, keeping him caged. He at least respected the woman's honesty, in that regard.
Finishing typing out his report, Danny sent it to Director Piggot. She'd decide what to do about the Empire's plan to break Hookwolf out before he could be sent to the Birdcage.
The Protectorate would probably lay a trap for the Empire. Danny hoped it would help, at the least.
Hookwolf was a slaving, murderous bastard of a Nazi who had hurt a lot of people, and he deserved to go to the Birdcage for what he had done.
Standing up, Danny stretched his arms, shaking off some of the stiffness he had felt. Time for some coffee.
Leaving his office, Danny made his way towards the small private kitchen in the Protectorate Headquarters. It still amazed him, sometimes, to walk through the gleaming halls of the refitted oil rig. It was like something out of a sci-fi series, with gleaming silver and chrome everywhere, automatic doors, and security scanners.
The kitchen was more ordinary-looking but still well-equipped. It was easily as large as the entire lower floor of Danny's house, equipped with a large fridge, a gas range, and most importantly, an expensive coffee maker.
One of the benefits of working for the Protectorate was that they had damn good coffee, Danny mused as he started up the coffee maker.
Filling his mug and taking a sip, Danny turned around just in time to see Armsmaster, Colin, enter the kitchen.
It still felt strange to think of the leader of the Protectorate ENE as a colleague, by his first name, but that was what he was now. He was a man who was in many way's Danny's opposite; muscular, with a strong jaw, a full head of hair, and an almost constant air of business attitude.
Even when Danny had officially joined, it had been a cordial affair, guiding him through the necessary do's and don'ts of the workplace before scanning him with some glowing piece of technology.
Not that he wasn't nice or polite, but Danny often wondered if there had been any time that Colin wasn't thinking of work.
Not that I'm any better.
"Oversight," The taller man nodded as he opened the fridge and began assembling his lunch. "Good afternoon."
"Afternoon," Danny nodded as the machine finished his coffee and he began pouring it into a cup. The name 'Oversight' still didn't feel real, didn't feel like him, but it was the codename that Protectorate had given him. "You see my report?"
"I did," Colin nodded. "Director Piggot and I have a meeting scheduled for later today, we'll work out a plan then."
"Glad to hear it."
"I noticed you didn't mention the new cape in your report," Colin noted. "Nothing much on her yet?"
Danny shook his head, taking a sip of coffee, feeling the warm liquid settle on his tongue and go down his throat. "Nope. She just did her usual thing, helping people around the city before vanishing. Never sticks around one place for long. Flies faster than my agents can keep up with."
Armsmaster let out a huff as he sat down at the kitchen table. "We need to find a way to recruit her. It would be good to finally have another heavy hitter on the team, especially one who can take down Hookwolf without so much as taking a scratch."
"It really would." Danny agreed.
Not that he was an expert on strategy, but having talked to both Armsmaster and Miss Militia frequently for a year, one of the biggest weaknesses of the Protectorate ENE team was the lack of a powerful Brute.
Armsmaster and Miss Militia brought some serious firepower to the table, but there wasn't anyone among the local heroes who could take a lot of big hits and keep standing. Assault and Battdry were strong and tough, but not impossible to overcome. Dauntless had his forcefield, but not much offensive power, at least until his power grew more. Triumph and Aegis were with the Wards for now, which had some limitations on what they could do.
It had made dealing with the likes of Lung and the Empire's huge numbers difficult, because getting up close wasn't a viable tactic most of the time when their own personal tanks came onto the field.
Not that the heroes were weak by any stretch of the imagination. He had seen Armsmaster make absolute fools of the giant twins after all. But they needed a powerhouse.
Having a hero that could get up close and personal with the villains, and act as a shield for the rest of the team on top of that… would help a lot, make the eternal fight against Brockton Bay's many gangs less lopsided.
Unfortunately, the city's newest cape had so far declined to join the team, spending most of her time doing her own thing.
Not that that was necessarily bad. She had saved Emma, after all.
Danny still felt a wave of relief at the thought. Emma had been like a niece to him for a long time, and Alan was one of his closest friends. The idea of what could have happened to them if the new cape hadn't intervened was too terrifying to consider.
It made Danny wonder if he should use his…familiars to keep track of his friends, to keep track of Taylor, but he knew that was crossing the line into stalking/paranoia. Besides, it could strain his time and resources to push himself that far.
In the end, he had settled for just having one familiar watching his house, but the nagging feeling that he could do more had never really gone away.
"Strange that she doesn't wear a mask, though." Danny mused, thinking about the New Wave team's claim to fame in the city. "Or that nobody'sused it track her down yet." Not just the PRT, Danny knew the Empire had been hunting for her, but they had made no progress locating the cape despite the fact that she hadn't made any real effort to conceal her face.
"It is strange," Colin agreed. "The PRT at least is making efforts to not look too deeply into her identity. Too many potential issues, but the lack of known reprisal from others is telling. Could be that she was like Challenger, wearing a disguise as a civilian, instead of a cape. Might be some kind of Stranger effect, we'll have to look into it." He stood, depositing his now empty plate into the sink. "But I should go, I have a patrol soon. I'll see you later, Oversight."
"Good luck!" Danny called after Armsmaster as he left the room.
The man ate fast. Danny hadn't even finished his coffee yet.
Not that he was in any hurry to. His headache still hadn't faded.
Taking another sip of his coffee, Danny savored the taste. You didn't get coffee like this as a Dockworker.
But he'd be damned if there weren't days where Danny wished he could go back to his old job, though. He missed his friends, he missed the work he had done for years, and he still wished he could have done more for them.
He still talked to them, but it was… a growing distance.
But the PRT job was the better option. He was still doing good work and…it was better for Taylor. He was better paid now, he could afford more things for her, pay her school bills more quickly, and buy her a few gifts. He had almost considered selling the house to buy a larger one… but that was a step too far. Too many memories.
It was the least she deserved after how much he had failed.
He cringed as the memory of Alan confronting him about his failure to properly look after and even feed Taylor came to mind. That had been a brutal wake-up call, even if it had been one he had needed. Before that, he had been neglecting himself, essentially neglecting Taylor, not looking after her.
A few hours away, where he came home late, were worth the sacrifice.
At least now he was able to ensure she had a future ahead of her. He had already started an account to serve as a college fund for her. Danny hoped, eventually, he'd be able to send her to a college outside of Brockton, to a city that wasn't dying, where she could build a real life for herself.
She deserved a better life than the one he had.
Author's Note: If you're interested, I have three advance chapters available on my Patreon.
"We need to rescue Hookwolf before he can reach the Birdcage-"
"The new cape humiliated us, there must be retribution."
"This is the plan for the attack…"
"We need to figure out where the PRT is getting its information…"
Danny Hebert opened his eyes, wincing slightly at the headache he had.
The office he was sitting in was plain and simple. There was a metal desk, a computer, and a wheeled chair, in which he was sitting. There was a shelf lined with a few books that he never bothered to read.
It could have been the office of any office worker anywhere in the world.
But the work he did here was much different from that.
Reaching out, Danny started the computer and began typing out his latest report.
Nearly a year ago, he had…triggered, as his bosses called it. He had discovered he was a parahuman and that something had pushed him over the edge, granted him powers that he had once felt were too fantastical to really grasp, despite living in Brockton Bay for years. Even now, he still couldn't quite connect the idea of the superheroes and supervillains with his own existence.
It didn't help that the powers came so suddenly.
Danny still wasn't sure what the cause of it had been. Losing Annette? The fear that he would fail his daughter? The ever-mounting problems for the Dockworkers Union?
Maybe all at once.
In any case, his new powers had been a shock at first, messing with his perspective on things. For a bit, he wondered if he was actually going crazy, and what that would mean for Taylor.
That fear didn't last long, as eventually he understood what was happening and began to explore them.
A combination of Thinker/Master powers, as the PRT described them. Put simply, Danny could control up to two dozen insects, birds, or rodents of any kind at a given time, more if he pushed himself. He could direct them to go anywhere and make them do anything.
More importantly, Danny could see through their eyes and ears. Whatever they saw and heard, he also did, as if he was sitting right there.
It wasn't a power that was very good for combat, since Danny could control so few at a time, even when he strained himself. It wasn't always pleasant either. Danny had more than once caught sensations he would very much have preferred to avoid, especially in the early stages when he had still been having trouble controlling his…familiars.
But for recon and intelligence gathering? It was very, very good. Especially since he hadn't discovered a limit to his range yet. His little 'agents' had gone as far as the city limits, and Danny had never felt any strain whatsoever.
He couldn't fight villains or even ordinary criminals in the field, but he could do some good. The PRT had been eager to take advantage of it when he went to them for help, having him spy on all of the city's significant gangs and crime syndicates, covertly gathering information for them to use against them.
Which had been easier said than done, considering how much ground he had to cover, and the smarter groups knew better than to stay in one place. Some even had ways of noticing his agents, or at least that they were being spied on somehow, and would flee.
The information that Danny had gathered had led to more than a few raids and crackdowns on organized crime in the city. It drove the various gangs nuts, trying to figure out where precisely the PRT was getting its information, but they had been very, very careful to keep his name and abilities under wraps. As far as most of the world was concerned, Danny Hebert was a simple office drone in the PRT, filing paperwork and doing nothing else.
Danny could empathize with the criminals in this case, regarding frustration at the least. He hated what they and the corrupt officials of the city, and felt so powerless and inept sitting here doing nothing but fake paperwork.
Director Piggot had at least shown she had fast tracked his application to Watchdog, the group of heroes who tackled systemic injustice and corruption. If he was accepted they would grant him access to funding, information, and prioritize cases he built against politicians in the city.
Director Piggot had bluntly stated to not get his hopes up, however. Watchdog was a tangled knot with layers of inspections and overwatch. They were likely spying on him even now, making sure he didn't step out of line in a way that made him look compromised or untrustworthy.
More rules and guidelines in place, keeping him caged. He at least respected the woman's honesty, in that regard.
Finishing typing out his report, Danny sent it to Director Piggot. She'd decide what to do about the Empire's plan to break Hookwolf out before he could be sent to the Birdcage.
The Protectorate would probably lay a trap for the Empire. Danny hoped it would help, at the least.
Hookwolf was a slaving, murderous bastard of a Nazi who had hurt a lot of people, and he deserved to go to the Birdcage for what he had done.
Standing up, Danny stretched his arms, shaking off some of the stiffness he had felt. Time for some coffee.
Leaving his office, Danny made his way towards the small private kitchen in the Protectorate Headquarters. It still amazed him, sometimes, to walk through the gleaming halls of the refitted oil rig. It was like something out of a sci-fi series, with gleaming silver and chrome everywhere, automatic doors, and security scanners.
The kitchen was more ordinary-looking but still well-equipped. It was easily as large as the entire lower floor of Danny's house, equipped with a large fridge, a gas range, and most importantly, an expensive coffee maker.
One of the benefits of working for the Protectorate was that they had damn good coffee, Danny mused as he started up the coffee maker.
Filling his mug and taking a sip, Danny turned around just in time to see Armsmaster, Colin, enter the kitchen.
It still felt strange to think of the leader of the Protectorate ENE as a colleague, by his first name, but that was what he was now. He was a man who was in many way's Danny's opposite; muscular, with a strong jaw, a full head of hair, and an almost constant air of business attitude.
Even when Danny had officially joined, it had been a cordial affair, guiding him through the necessary do's and don'ts of the workplace before scanning him with some glowing piece of technology.
Not that he wasn't nice or polite, but Danny often wondered if there had been any time that Colin wasn't thinking of work.
Not that I'm any better.
"Oversight," The taller man nodded as he opened the fridge and began assembling his lunch. "Good afternoon."
"Afternoon," Danny nodded as the machine finished his coffee and he began pouring it into a cup. The name 'Oversight' still didn't feel real, didn't feel like him, but it was the codename that Protectorate had given him. "You see my report?"
"I did," Colin nodded. "Director Piggot and I have a meeting scheduled for later today, we'll work out a plan then."
"Glad to hear it."
"I noticed you didn't mention the new cape in your report," Colin noted. "Nothing much on her yet?"
Danny shook his head, taking a sip of coffee, feeling the warm liquid settle on his tongue and go down his throat. "Nope. She just did her usual thing, helping people around the city before vanishing. Never sticks around one place for long. Flies faster than my agents can keep up with."
Armsmaster let out a huff as he sat down at the kitchen table. "We need to find a way to recruit her. It would be good to finally have another heavy hitter on the team, especially one who can take down Hookwolf without so much as taking a scratch."
"It really would." Danny agreed.
Not that he was an expert on strategy, but having talked to both Armsmaster and Miss Militia frequently for a year, one of the biggest weaknesses of the Protectorate ENE team was the lack of a powerful Brute.
Armsmaster and Miss Militia brought some serious firepower to the table, but there wasn't anyone among the local heroes who could take a lot of big hits and keep standing. Assault and Battdry were strong and tough, but not impossible to overcome. Dauntless had his forcefield, but not much offensive power, at least until his power grew more. Triumph and Aegis were with the Wards for now, which had some limitations on what they could do.
It had made dealing with the likes of Lung and the Empire's huge numbers difficult, because getting up close wasn't a viable tactic most of the time when their own personal tanks came onto the field.
Not that the heroes were weak by any stretch of the imagination. He had seen Armsmaster make absolute fools of the giant twins after all. But they needed a powerhouse.
Having a hero that could get up close and personal with the villains, and act as a shield for the rest of the team on top of that… would help a lot, make the eternal fight against Brockton Bay's many gangs less lopsided.
Unfortunately, the city's newest cape had so far declined to join the team, spending most of her time doing her own thing.
Not that that was necessarily bad. She had saved Emma, after all.
Danny still felt a wave of relief at the thought. Emma had been like a niece to him for a long time, and Alan was one of his closest friends. The idea of what could have happened to them if the new cape hadn't intervened was too terrifying to consider.
It made Danny wonder if he should use his…familiars to keep track of his friends, to keep track of Taylor, but he knew that was crossing the line into stalking/paranoia. Besides, it could strain his time and resources to push himself that far.
In the end, he had settled for just having one familiar watching his house, but the nagging feeling that he could do more had never really gone away.
"Strange that she doesn't wear a mask, though." Danny mused, thinking about the New Wave team's claim to fame in the city. "Or that nobody'sused it track her down yet." Not just the PRT, Danny knew the Empire had been hunting for her, but they had made no progress locating the cape despite the fact that she hadn't made any real effort to conceal her face.
"It is strange," Colin agreed. "The PRT at least is making efforts to not look too deeply into her identity. Too many potential issues, but the lack of known reprisal from others is telling. Could be that she was like Challenger, wearing a disguise as a civilian, instead of a cape. Might be some kind of Stranger effect, we'll have to look into it." He stood, depositing his now empty plate into the sink. "But I should go, I have a patrol soon. I'll see you later, Oversight."
"Good luck!" Danny called after Armsmaster as he left the room.
The man ate fast. Danny hadn't even finished his coffee yet.
Not that he was in any hurry to. His headache still hadn't faded.
Taking another sip of his coffee, Danny savored the taste. You didn't get coffee like this as a Dockworker.
But he'd be damned if there weren't days where Danny wished he could go back to his old job, though. He missed his friends, he missed the work he had done for years, and he still wished he could have done more for them.
He still talked to them, but it was… a growing distance.
But the PRT job was the better option. He was still doing good work and…it was better for Taylor. He was better paid now, he could afford more things for her, pay her school bills more quickly, and buy her a few gifts. He had almost considered selling the house to buy a larger one… but that was a step too far. Too many memories.
It was the least she deserved after how much he had failed.
He cringed as the memory of Alan confronting him about his failure to properly look after and even feed Taylor came to mind. That had been a brutal wake-up call, even if it had been one he had needed. Before that, he had been neglecting himself, essentially neglecting Taylor, not looking after her.
A few hours away, where he came home late, were worth the sacrifice.
At least now he was able to ensure she had a future ahead of her. He had already started an account to serve as a college fund for her. Danny hoped, eventually, he'd be able to send her to a college outside of Brockton, to a city that wasn't dying, where she could build a real life for herself.
She deserved a better life than the one he had.
Author's Note: If you're interested, I have three advance chapters available on my Patreon.
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Making Waves - 1
Solarion
For Light and Life
Taylor could barely resist bouncing up and down in place as she waited for Tawny to begin.
Magic! She was going to learn real magic. Spells and enchantments, just like from the fantasy books she had read when she was younger.
It was almost impossible to believe.
But here she was, on one of the abandoned ships in the Boat Graveyard, standing in front of a talking tiger. They were surrounded by the hulking masses, some as large as small skyscrapers.
Tawny was frowning as he looked around the rusted, abandoned ship, which somehow managed to look grey and gloomy despite the mid-morning sun shining overhead in a clear blue sky. "Is this truly the best place for this, Champion?"
"The best one I know," Taylor admitted. She had to admit that this carcass of a ship, covered in rust and dust, trapped among a crowd of other ships was not exactly what came to her mind when thinking of a magic classroom. But it was the best she had. "There might be better places outside the city."
"Very well," Tawny decided, though he still looked dubious. "Now, let us begin by covering what magic actually is."
Taylor nodded eagerly.
"Magic is the stuff of wonders and dreams, energy that can reshape reality," Tawny began. "But above all, it is the power of the gods. It is the domain of the divine and the celestial, existing outside of the mortal realms."
"So…if you want to use magic you need to have a divine patron? Like how I got my powers?" Taylor inquired.
"Not quite. Magic comes from the Sphere of the Gods, which exists above this reality, but it does not necessarily have to come from a specific god. Drawing upon the power from the Sphere of the Gods without having a specific divine patron is difficult, but by no means impossible."
"The Sphere of the Gods," Taylor blinked, distracted. "How does that work?"
"Well, think of the cosmos as an onion, if you will," To emphasize his words, Tawny held up a hand, a glowing sphere the size of a football forming in his palm, not unlike a hologram. It flashed and swirled, darkening until it was almost pitch black…except for being dotted with countless stars and clouds in colours Taylor had never seen before.
It was the universe in miniature, she realized as she peered at it in awe.
"And like all onions, reality has layers. The universe you know and live in is the mortal realm," One by one, fresh layers of shimmering light formed around the small cosmos, in several different colours from burning red to glittering silver. But the last to form was a shimmering gold. "But there are other realms, and the highest of all these realms, of the layers of the cosmos, is the Sphere of the Gods."
"Wow," Taylor breathed. She wasn't a scientist, so it was a little difficult to wrap her mind around what Tawny was describing. But she could visualize it, and the implications were just…wow. She wondered how the alternate Earth of Aleph figured into all of this. Were there multiple gods and spheres in different realities?
Was this how other heroes and villains got powers? Somehow, everyone knew how to perform magic? But then, what about those who could do cool tech stuff?
So many questions.
"Now, as I was saying, all magic is from the Sphere of the Gods, but it does not necessarily come from a specific divine or demonic entity-"
"Wait, demonic?" Taylor interrupted. "Demons are real too?"
"Indeed they are," Tawny confirmed patiently. "And they are quite dangerous and powerful. Fortunately, they are often at war with each other or with the gods and rarely pay attention to mortals these days."
"Huh." The idea of real demons was scary, but Taylor almost wanted to fight one.
She blinked. Where did that come from?
"Now, if we could return to the lesson at hand?" Tawny asked a little wryly. Taylor had the decency to look embarrassed , realizing she had interrupted her teacher twice now.
"Sorry."
"It is quite alright, Champion. I do not mind answering questions," Tawny assured her. "Now, where was I? Ah yes. While having a divine or demonic patron is not a necessity for wielding magic, you will find that mages with patrons are often more powerful than those without. That said, there are indeed those who can wield magic mighty enough to rival the gods themselves. You have already met one."
"The Wizard?" Taylor realized. "He's that powerful? On his own?"
"Indeed he is. My old friend does derive power from divine pacts but believe me, so many gods would not trust him with their power if they did not also respect him as a peer."
It was strange to think of that kindly, ordinary-looking old man who had made her hot chocolate as someone respected by the gods, but he had given her this power, hadn't he?
"Do you have a divine patron, Mister Tawny?" Taylor asked another question erupting from her lips.
Tawny chuckled. "That would be the Wizard, of course. It is thanks to him that I have the gift of speech, of higher thought rather than simply being another animal."
"Oh, are you…" Taylor hesitated. "...dependent on him for that?" She didn't like the idea of Tawny essentially being a slave, unable to have free will and thoughts on his own.
To her relief, the tiger shook his head. "No. A more capricious and cruel wizard may have done so. Indeed, that was how I first achieved sapience. But my old master and the Wizard came into conflict, and I was able to circumvent my bonds enough to aid my friend. After he defeated my master, he freed me and gifted me with the ability to be who I am now, not bound to any other being or their whims."
"That's great," Taylor said, smiling hesitantly, sensing that she unintentionally stumbled on something personal. Thankfully, Tawny didn't seem to mind, returning to the lesson at hand.
"Now, you, of course, are blessed with mighty magics indeed. You have already used them in many ways, with your transformation, your strength of arms, and your flight. But that is all using magic on yourself, within yourself. Today, we will explore how to externalize that power."
"I'm ready," Taylor said, clenching her fists. She could hardly wait.
"Let us start simple. You wield the Power of Zeus," Tawny crossed his arms. "I'm sure you have felt it within yourself."
The lightning pulsing inside her veins, the way it surged closer to the surface when she got emotional like it was about to erupt out of her…Taylor nodded. "Yeah, I have."
"Good," Tawny moved to stand beside her, instead of in front now. "Now, I want you to strike that with a lightning bolt," He pointed at the abandoned captain's cabin in front of them. "Just a small lightning bolt, nothing more."
"Got it," Taylor said, pointing a finger at the cabin.
"Visualize it, imagine the lightning bolt striking the cabin and blowing a small hole through the wall," Tawny continued. "Then, actualize it. Simply believe that it can happen and it will."
Sparks of golden lightning began to crackle around the tip of Taylor's index finger as she concentrated, and her eyes lit up.
"I'm doing it," She said, excitedly. "I'm really doing it!"
"Yes," Tawny agreed warmly. "And now, you just have to expel it-"
A golden lightning bolt erupted from Taylor's finger before Tawny could finish speaking, far, far larger than she had expected. It was easily twice as tall as her even in her transformed state, and the sound of thunder echoed around them in a boom as the massive thunderbolt surged forward and utterly vaporized the cabin in front of them.
As the smoke of the explosion cleared, Taylor realized it hadn't just vaporized the cabin, it had obliterated a portion of the deck and blasted through the ships in front of them, punching a hole clean through several of them.
As she gawked at what she had done, Tawny straightened up from behind her. "Ah…I wasn't expecting that. Though perhaps I should have, given that this is the Power of Zeus you are wielding."
"Yeah," Taylor said weakly, still dumbstruck by the sheer damage she had caused without even meaning to.
They were both quiet for a long, long time, watching as the smoke began to clear slowly, pieces of metal folding and falling to pieces. Where it was red hot, it seemed to crumple like melted plastic, pieces of it falling to the ocean with a fizzle and steam.
Both them were stunned-
"Hey!" Taylor's head snapped around and upwards towards the source of the voice.
Her eyes widened as she saw a pretty blonde teenager in a one-piece white dress trimmed in gold, a white cape over one shoulder, and a golden tiara on her head. Bright blue eyes were staring down at her and Tawny with surprise, and widened further as they drifted behind her to look at the damage she had done.
Glory Girl. The newest member of New Wave who had been making waves in the city, and was already quite popular.
"You're that new cape," Glory Girl said, the fifteen year old floating downwards to stand in front of Taylor. Without flight, she would have had to look up at Taylor. "The one who beat up Hookwolf."
"Um, yeah," Taylor said, caught off-guard.
"Did you do this?" The blonde asked, gesturing to the devastation behind Taylor.
"I did," Taylor admitted, feeling the colour rise to her cheeks.
Glory Girl's eyebrows rose. "Aren't you a hero? Why are you going around wrecking old ships?"
"I am a hero," Taylor said defensively. "I was just…um, testing my powers. I didn't expect it to do this much damage."
"You did this by accident?" Glory Girl said, bemused. "Damn, that must be some power you've got there."
"Yeah, I don't really have a hold on it yet," Taylor said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.
"I saw," Glory Girl said with a grin, and Taylor relaxed as she saw that there was no judgment in it. "Don't worry, I know how these things happen. I'm new to my powers too, and I've been having trouble controlling them."
"I know what you mean," Taylor agreed, only just realizing that Tawny had abruptly vanished.
"So do you have a name?" Glory Girl asked curiously, crossing her arms. "A cape name, I mean," She added hastily. "Not asking for your real one."
"I haven't really come up with one yet," Taylor admitted. "I've been busy." She honestly hadn't given much thought to what her cape name should be.
"Well, you should pick one before the media or the PRT give you one and it sticks," Glory Girl said with a laugh. "You know my name, of course."
"Yeah, of course," Taylor said, unable to resist smiling back. "Glory Girl. Victoria Dallon."
The newest member of New Wave had been on the team for less than a year, but she had already made some impressive showings in the news. Taylor had seen headlines about her, and she had to admit, Glory Girl was even more dazzling in person. And of course, like every other member of New Wave, her identity was public. Taylor had seen people arguing about the news, about whether or not it was smart to have a teenaged cape whose identity was exposed, but New Wave had gone ahead with it.
She supposed it wasn't really a choice, considering Victoria had done interviews since she had been Taylor's age, even before powers.
"Call me Victoria," Glory Girl said, extending a hand. "Anyone who took down that bastard Hookwolf is a friend in my book."
"Thanks," Taylor said, tentatively taking the offered hand. Glory Girl's grip was strong…but maybe not as strong as her own. Taylor tried to relax it to avoid hurting the other girl.
"So, you want some company while you wait?" Glory Girl-Victoria asked.
Taylor blinked. "Wait?" She asked dumbly. "Wait for what?"
"The PRT, of course," Victoria told her. "I don't think I'm the only one who saw or heard the huge lightning bolt and explosion. They're going to show up to investigate. You could leave, of course, but…"
"...yeah, no," Taylor said, cringing. "I should stay to explain." As embarrassing as the idea was, she knew what sort of alarm it might cause in the city at the idea of an unknown parahuman causing explosions, even out here in the Boat Graveyard where no one could be hurt by them.
"So, do you want some company?" Victoria repeated. "I don't have anything else to do right now."
"Sure," Taylor said more confidently than she felt. Emma had been her only friend for years, and without her around, Taylor wasn't quite sure of what to say to another girl around her age.
Well, Taylor realized, she probably looked older while in her Shazam form.
Victoria leaned forward, a gleam in her eyes. "So tell me more about how you beat up Hookwolf? My family has been trying to get that bastard for years."
Now that, at least, was something Taylor could talk about it. "Well, I was just flying when I heard a cry for help…"
"Oh man, that's awesome," Victoria laughed. "The idea of you swinging Hookwolf around like that: classic!"
"Thanks," Taylor said, smiling. Victoria's good cheer was infectious and she found herself enjoying talking to her.
But their conversation was abruptly interrupted as Taylor heard the sound of a motorcycle nearby, and looked towards the street to see Armsmaster driving up.
Time to face the music, then.
Victoria followed her gaze, spotting Armsmaster herself. "Hey, don't worry about it," She assured Taylor. "You caused a bit of a mess, but you didn't hurt anyone. Armsmaster is kind of stuck-up, but he's super cool too, he's not going to make a big fuss about you blowing a hole in a few old ships."
"Yeah, here's hoping," Taylor muttered, rising up into the air.
"I can come with you, if you want," Victoria offered. "We could talk to Armsmaster together."
"...I'd like that." Taylor admitted quietly.
"Then let's go!" Victoria said, taking off in the direction of the leader of the Protectorate, Taylor following after her.
Author's Note: If you're interested, I have three advance chapters available on my Patreon.
Magic! She was going to learn real magic. Spells and enchantments, just like from the fantasy books she had read when she was younger.
It was almost impossible to believe.
But here she was, on one of the abandoned ships in the Boat Graveyard, standing in front of a talking tiger. They were surrounded by the hulking masses, some as large as small skyscrapers.
Tawny was frowning as he looked around the rusted, abandoned ship, which somehow managed to look grey and gloomy despite the mid-morning sun shining overhead in a clear blue sky. "Is this truly the best place for this, Champion?"
"The best one I know," Taylor admitted. She had to admit that this carcass of a ship, covered in rust and dust, trapped among a crowd of other ships was not exactly what came to her mind when thinking of a magic classroom. But it was the best she had. "There might be better places outside the city."
"Very well," Tawny decided, though he still looked dubious. "Now, let us begin by covering what magic actually is."
Taylor nodded eagerly.
"Magic is the stuff of wonders and dreams, energy that can reshape reality," Tawny began. "But above all, it is the power of the gods. It is the domain of the divine and the celestial, existing outside of the mortal realms."
"So…if you want to use magic you need to have a divine patron? Like how I got my powers?" Taylor inquired.
"Not quite. Magic comes from the Sphere of the Gods, which exists above this reality, but it does not necessarily have to come from a specific god. Drawing upon the power from the Sphere of the Gods without having a specific divine patron is difficult, but by no means impossible."
"The Sphere of the Gods," Taylor blinked, distracted. "How does that work?"
"Well, think of the cosmos as an onion, if you will," To emphasize his words, Tawny held up a hand, a glowing sphere the size of a football forming in his palm, not unlike a hologram. It flashed and swirled, darkening until it was almost pitch black…except for being dotted with countless stars and clouds in colours Taylor had never seen before.
It was the universe in miniature, she realized as she peered at it in awe.
"And like all onions, reality has layers. The universe you know and live in is the mortal realm," One by one, fresh layers of shimmering light formed around the small cosmos, in several different colours from burning red to glittering silver. But the last to form was a shimmering gold. "But there are other realms, and the highest of all these realms, of the layers of the cosmos, is the Sphere of the Gods."
"Wow," Taylor breathed. She wasn't a scientist, so it was a little difficult to wrap her mind around what Tawny was describing. But she could visualize it, and the implications were just…wow. She wondered how the alternate Earth of Aleph figured into all of this. Were there multiple gods and spheres in different realities?
Was this how other heroes and villains got powers? Somehow, everyone knew how to perform magic? But then, what about those who could do cool tech stuff?
So many questions.
"Now, as I was saying, all magic is from the Sphere of the Gods, but it does not necessarily come from a specific divine or demonic entity-"
"Wait, demonic?" Taylor interrupted. "Demons are real too?"
"Indeed they are," Tawny confirmed patiently. "And they are quite dangerous and powerful. Fortunately, they are often at war with each other or with the gods and rarely pay attention to mortals these days."
"Huh." The idea of real demons was scary, but Taylor almost wanted to fight one.
She blinked. Where did that come from?
"Now, if we could return to the lesson at hand?" Tawny asked a little wryly. Taylor had the decency to look embarrassed , realizing she had interrupted her teacher twice now.
"Sorry."
"It is quite alright, Champion. I do not mind answering questions," Tawny assured her. "Now, where was I? Ah yes. While having a divine or demonic patron is not a necessity for wielding magic, you will find that mages with patrons are often more powerful than those without. That said, there are indeed those who can wield magic mighty enough to rival the gods themselves. You have already met one."
"The Wizard?" Taylor realized. "He's that powerful? On his own?"
"Indeed he is. My old friend does derive power from divine pacts but believe me, so many gods would not trust him with their power if they did not also respect him as a peer."
It was strange to think of that kindly, ordinary-looking old man who had made her hot chocolate as someone respected by the gods, but he had given her this power, hadn't he?
"Do you have a divine patron, Mister Tawny?" Taylor asked another question erupting from her lips.
Tawny chuckled. "That would be the Wizard, of course. It is thanks to him that I have the gift of speech, of higher thought rather than simply being another animal."
"Oh, are you…" Taylor hesitated. "...dependent on him for that?" She didn't like the idea of Tawny essentially being a slave, unable to have free will and thoughts on his own.
To her relief, the tiger shook his head. "No. A more capricious and cruel wizard may have done so. Indeed, that was how I first achieved sapience. But my old master and the Wizard came into conflict, and I was able to circumvent my bonds enough to aid my friend. After he defeated my master, he freed me and gifted me with the ability to be who I am now, not bound to any other being or their whims."
"That's great," Taylor said, smiling hesitantly, sensing that she unintentionally stumbled on something personal. Thankfully, Tawny didn't seem to mind, returning to the lesson at hand.
"Now, you, of course, are blessed with mighty magics indeed. You have already used them in many ways, with your transformation, your strength of arms, and your flight. But that is all using magic on yourself, within yourself. Today, we will explore how to externalize that power."
"I'm ready," Taylor said, clenching her fists. She could hardly wait.
"Let us start simple. You wield the Power of Zeus," Tawny crossed his arms. "I'm sure you have felt it within yourself."
The lightning pulsing inside her veins, the way it surged closer to the surface when she got emotional like it was about to erupt out of her…Taylor nodded. "Yeah, I have."
"Good," Tawny moved to stand beside her, instead of in front now. "Now, I want you to strike that with a lightning bolt," He pointed at the abandoned captain's cabin in front of them. "Just a small lightning bolt, nothing more."
"Got it," Taylor said, pointing a finger at the cabin.
"Visualize it, imagine the lightning bolt striking the cabin and blowing a small hole through the wall," Tawny continued. "Then, actualize it. Simply believe that it can happen and it will."
Sparks of golden lightning began to crackle around the tip of Taylor's index finger as she concentrated, and her eyes lit up.
"I'm doing it," She said, excitedly. "I'm really doing it!"
"Yes," Tawny agreed warmly. "And now, you just have to expel it-"
A golden lightning bolt erupted from Taylor's finger before Tawny could finish speaking, far, far larger than she had expected. It was easily twice as tall as her even in her transformed state, and the sound of thunder echoed around them in a boom as the massive thunderbolt surged forward and utterly vaporized the cabin in front of them.
As the smoke of the explosion cleared, Taylor realized it hadn't just vaporized the cabin, it had obliterated a portion of the deck and blasted through the ships in front of them, punching a hole clean through several of them.
As she gawked at what she had done, Tawny straightened up from behind her. "Ah…I wasn't expecting that. Though perhaps I should have, given that this is the Power of Zeus you are wielding."
"Yeah," Taylor said weakly, still dumbstruck by the sheer damage she had caused without even meaning to.
They were both quiet for a long, long time, watching as the smoke began to clear slowly, pieces of metal folding and falling to pieces. Where it was red hot, it seemed to crumple like melted plastic, pieces of it falling to the ocean with a fizzle and steam.
Both them were stunned-
"Hey!" Taylor's head snapped around and upwards towards the source of the voice.
Her eyes widened as she saw a pretty blonde teenager in a one-piece white dress trimmed in gold, a white cape over one shoulder, and a golden tiara on her head. Bright blue eyes were staring down at her and Tawny with surprise, and widened further as they drifted behind her to look at the damage she had done.
Glory Girl. The newest member of New Wave who had been making waves in the city, and was already quite popular.
"You're that new cape," Glory Girl said, the fifteen year old floating downwards to stand in front of Taylor. Without flight, she would have had to look up at Taylor. "The one who beat up Hookwolf."
"Um, yeah," Taylor said, caught off-guard.
"Did you do this?" The blonde asked, gesturing to the devastation behind Taylor.
"I did," Taylor admitted, feeling the colour rise to her cheeks.
Glory Girl's eyebrows rose. "Aren't you a hero? Why are you going around wrecking old ships?"
"I am a hero," Taylor said defensively. "I was just…um, testing my powers. I didn't expect it to do this much damage."
"You did this by accident?" Glory Girl said, bemused. "Damn, that must be some power you've got there."
"Yeah, I don't really have a hold on it yet," Taylor said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.
"I saw," Glory Girl said with a grin, and Taylor relaxed as she saw that there was no judgment in it. "Don't worry, I know how these things happen. I'm new to my powers too, and I've been having trouble controlling them."
"I know what you mean," Taylor agreed, only just realizing that Tawny had abruptly vanished.
"So do you have a name?" Glory Girl asked curiously, crossing her arms. "A cape name, I mean," She added hastily. "Not asking for your real one."
"I haven't really come up with one yet," Taylor admitted. "I've been busy." She honestly hadn't given much thought to what her cape name should be.
"Well, you should pick one before the media or the PRT give you one and it sticks," Glory Girl said with a laugh. "You know my name, of course."
"Yeah, of course," Taylor said, unable to resist smiling back. "Glory Girl. Victoria Dallon."
The newest member of New Wave had been on the team for less than a year, but she had already made some impressive showings in the news. Taylor had seen headlines about her, and she had to admit, Glory Girl was even more dazzling in person. And of course, like every other member of New Wave, her identity was public. Taylor had seen people arguing about the news, about whether or not it was smart to have a teenaged cape whose identity was exposed, but New Wave had gone ahead with it.
She supposed it wasn't really a choice, considering Victoria had done interviews since she had been Taylor's age, even before powers.
"Call me Victoria," Glory Girl said, extending a hand. "Anyone who took down that bastard Hookwolf is a friend in my book."
"Thanks," Taylor said, tentatively taking the offered hand. Glory Girl's grip was strong…but maybe not as strong as her own. Taylor tried to relax it to avoid hurting the other girl.
"So, you want some company while you wait?" Glory Girl-Victoria asked.
Taylor blinked. "Wait?" She asked dumbly. "Wait for what?"
"The PRT, of course," Victoria told her. "I don't think I'm the only one who saw or heard the huge lightning bolt and explosion. They're going to show up to investigate. You could leave, of course, but…"
"...yeah, no," Taylor said, cringing. "I should stay to explain." As embarrassing as the idea was, she knew what sort of alarm it might cause in the city at the idea of an unknown parahuman causing explosions, even out here in the Boat Graveyard where no one could be hurt by them.
"So, do you want some company?" Victoria repeated. "I don't have anything else to do right now."
"Sure," Taylor said more confidently than she felt. Emma had been her only friend for years, and without her around, Taylor wasn't quite sure of what to say to another girl around her age.
Well, Taylor realized, she probably looked older while in her Shazam form.
Victoria leaned forward, a gleam in her eyes. "So tell me more about how you beat up Hookwolf? My family has been trying to get that bastard for years."
Now that, at least, was something Taylor could talk about it. "Well, I was just flying when I heard a cry for help…"
"Oh man, that's awesome," Victoria laughed. "The idea of you swinging Hookwolf around like that: classic!"
"Thanks," Taylor said, smiling. Victoria's good cheer was infectious and she found herself enjoying talking to her.
But their conversation was abruptly interrupted as Taylor heard the sound of a motorcycle nearby, and looked towards the street to see Armsmaster driving up.
Time to face the music, then.
Victoria followed her gaze, spotting Armsmaster herself. "Hey, don't worry about it," She assured Taylor. "You caused a bit of a mess, but you didn't hurt anyone. Armsmaster is kind of stuck-up, but he's super cool too, he's not going to make a big fuss about you blowing a hole in a few old ships."
"Yeah, here's hoping," Taylor muttered, rising up into the air.
"I can come with you, if you want," Victoria offered. "We could talk to Armsmaster together."
"...I'd like that." Taylor admitted quietly.
"Then let's go!" Victoria said, taking off in the direction of the leader of the Protectorate, Taylor following after her.
Author's Note: If you're interested, I have three advance chapters available on my Patreon.
Making Waves - 2
Solarion
For Light and Life
Armsmaster was getting off his motorcycle as Taylor and Victoria landed in front of him, his halberd going from a condensed point along his back into spinning within the palm of his hand in a single smooth motion, just before he planted it in the ground
Taylor couldn't immensely help the rush of nervousness that flooded through her at the sight of him. His visor seemed to stare straight through her.
This was the leader of the Protectorate ENE, one of the top heroes in America. Being introduced to him because he had come to investigate a huge explosion she had just caused by accident was not how Taylor had wanted to meet him.
"Glory Girl," Armsmaster said as he saw them, a touch of surprise colouring his voice. "And the new cape. What happened here? I heard reports of a bomb in the area."
"Nothing like that," Victoria assured him, nudging Taylor slightly. "Nobody was hurt."
Taylor stepped forward, resisting the urge to wring her hands. With his gleaming blue armour, his gaze piercing even from behind his visor and tall enough to see eye to eye with her even in her transformed state, there was no denying that Armsmaster cut an imposing figure.
She felt like she was confessing something she had done wrong to a teacher, but what choice did she have?
"Uh, hello," She said hesitantly. "There was no bomb or anything, I was just testing out my powers."
Armsmaster's upper face wasn't visible, but his tone as he spoke undoubtedly gave the impression that his eyebrows were raised. "You did this?" He said, gesturing to the damage to the ships in the Boat Graveyard behind them.
Taylor cringed slightly. "Yeah. I didn't mean to! I just…underestimated how powerful my lightning would be."
"Your lightning?" Armsmaster repeated. "You're a Blaster too?"
Taylor nodded. She hadn't heard the term 'Blaster' from anyone else before, but it wasn't as if it was a complicated word to understand.
Armsmaster rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "We've been getting reports of random lightning bolts falling out of the sky around the city. I assumed it was some other cape, but now…was that you?"
Taylor reddened. It had never even occurred to her to consider what people would think upon seeing those. "Yes," She admitted with some embarrassment. "I didn't hurt anyone, though!"
"She really didn't," Victoria spoke up in support of her. "Not here either. I saw the scene from the sky, only the old boats were damaged. No one was hurt, not even any property damage. Technically at least."
Armsmaster huffed a laugh, "Technically indeed. Whether the city likes it or not, those ships do belong to them. There's no need to be so nervous," He assured Taylor, his voice turning slightly wry. "I'm not going to arrest you for wrecking a few abandoned boats. I'm more concerned about cleaning up the wreckage and making sure the smoke and debris don't cause a panic."
Some of the tension left Taylor at the confirmation. Victoria had said the same thing, but part of her had still been worried. It didn't hurt that he had a nice smile. "Sorry for the trouble," She apologized.
"It's not a huge issue for now, but you should be more careful in the future," Armsmaster advised her. "I know Miss Militia already made you this offer, but remember, the Protectorate is always there if you want to join. We have facilities for testing powers and older heroes you can ask for advice. We have Triumph, Miss Militia, and Dauntless if you need experience with ranged power use, but you can always make a phone call to Protectorate members in other cities as well."
"Of course," Taylor nodded. To be honest, she was wondering if she should join the Protectorate. Her dad worked for the PRT, after all, and both Miss Militia and Armsmaster had been pretty nice so far.
"Oh, you could also ask my aunt and cousin for help! My dad too!" Victoria added. "I'm sure they'd be willing to give you a few tips. Or we can set you up with an appointment with the power testing clinics that I used. A bit pricier though."
Taylor could have sworn she saw Armsmaster's lips turn downwards slightly for a moment, but then he nodded in agreement. "That's an option too. Lady Photon and Flashbang are skilled and experienced heroes who have had a long time to hone their powers. And most of those power testing clinics are PRT adjacent."
"I'll think about it," Taylor said, trying not to seem overwhelmed. The idea of getting lessons from New Wave or Protectorate heroes in other cities, maybe even Legend, was more than a little exciting.
But she didn't want to rush into anything...especially not when the PRT might insist she should tell her dad about her powers.
Armsmaster thankfully didn't press the point, instead asking a different question. "All that aside…have you chosen a cape name yet? I have to admit, we'd like to be able to refer to you as something other than 'the new cape'."
Oh, right.
She had been so busy recently that choosing a cape name had completely slipped Taylor's mind.
She frantically cast her mind around for a good name to use, something she could give Armsmaster. It was one thing to admit she hadn't chosen a name for Victoria. It was another to admit it to the leader of the Protectorate, especially after she'd already told his teammate the same thing a few weeks ago.
"You can call me the Captain."
The instant the words left her mouth, Taylor wanted to sink through the floor. Was that the best she could do? Really? She couldn't even think of a reason for it, it was just off the top of her head!
"The…Captain?" Armsmaster inquired, the tinge of incredulity in his voice echoing Taylor's thoughts. "Just 'the Captain'?
Unwilling to admit she was wrong, Taylor nodded. "Just the Captain."
She cast a glance at Victoria, praying the other teenager wouldn't call her out on making a name up on the spot. Fortunately, the blonde said nothing, even though eyebrows had risen high during the conversation.
"Alright, Captain," Armsmaster accepted. Taylor had the distinct feeling he knew that she had only just chosen a name, but he didn't seem interested in poking at her bluff. "If that's what you want… but I'll hold off on announcing it for now. You should investigate to see if there are any other capes with that name. It's not a bad name, but with thirty years of caping, someone might have claimed it already."
"Thanks," Taylor mumbled, scratching the back of her neck, feeling embarrassed that she didn't even think of that. "Do you need anything else? Do I need to fill out paperwork or…"
Armsmaster waved her off. "It's fine, don't concern yourself over it for now. My visor recording everything and I'll file the report myself for now. If you had caused actual, official, property damage, then you'd have to fill out paperwork, as I'm sure Glory Girl can tell you."
Taylor's eyes turned to Victoria, who flushed. "It was an accident," She grumbled. "Still getting used to super strength."
"I know, I've seen it before," Armsmaster nodded dryly. "But no, you're free to go, if you want, Captain."
Relief flooded Taylor but before she could take off, Victoria spoke. "Hey, do you want to go on patrol with me? It'd be fun!"
Taylor started at the idea, but looking at Victoria's hopeful face, she couldn't bring herself to say no. "Sure."
"Great!" Glory Girl beamed, rising into the air. "Bye, Armsmaster!"
"Goodbye, sir," Taylor said more formally, before following suit.
The older hero gave a crisp nod, folding his arms as he watched them fly away.
Once they were out of Armsmaster's hearing, Victoria turned to Taylor with a grin.
"The Captain? That's what you went with?" She asked, laughing.
"He put me on the spot!" Taylor said defensively. "I couldn't admit I hadn't chosen a name."
Victoria shook her head in amusement. "Well, you're stuck with it now, but you should probably add something to the name to make it sound cooler and more unique like Armsmaster warned."
"Like what?"
Victoria shrugged. "I don't know, Captain Thunder, maybe? You do have the whole lightning motif going for you."
"Captain Thunder," Taylor mused. "It doesn't feel right. I like the idea, though."
"Think about it. The Captain just sounds so generic and is definitely taken," Victoria told her. "Captain Thunder too, probably. But anyway, let me show you my usual patrol route."
Taylor followed Victoria as they flew over the city. It was nearly evening now, and the roads were thick with traffic as people began to leave work. The sun hadn't quite sunk yet, but it had started too, and tinges of orange were creeping into the sky.
"Do you all have patrol routes?" Taylor asked curiously. "Everyone in New Wave?"
"Yep," Victoria confirmed. "It's the best way to keep track of our slice of the city. We switch up how we do patrols so that people can't predict us and to keep ourselves safe. The Protectorate does patrols too, and we work with them sometimes."
"Makes sense. I've just kind of been flying around the city at random, honestly," Taylor admitted, feeling embarrassed.
"Hey, no harm done. You beat up Hookwolf and saved that girl, I saw it on the news. And saved a few cats," Victoria added cheekily.
"I couldn't just leave them there!" Taylor protested.
"It wasn't a criticism," Victoria replied, her smile widening, her golden hair flowing in the wind. "I thought it was a cute thing to do. Cheesy, but cute."
"Thanks," Taylor said softly.
"But yeah, this is my usual patrol route," Victoria said, returning to the main subject and waving a hand at the buildings below, halting her flight. "I'm supposed to watch over this block."
"Just this one block?" Taylor asked as she pulled herself to a stop.
"Yeah," Victoria said, her voice turning a little sulky. "My parents only recently let me start going on patrol without them. Before that, one of the adults was always with me. I still have to patrol with Crystal, Lasedream."
Taylor looked around, coming to a realization. "The Boat Graveyard isn't exactly close to this place," She pointed out. It was in fact, pretty far, given that the Graveyard was on the coast and Victoria's patrol route was downtown.
Victoria grinned again, her cheer returning. "Well, I don't always stick to the routes my parents plan for me. Promise not to tell?"
"Of course not," Taylor agreed, unable to resist Victoria's infectious cheer. "As long as you don't tell anyone that I came up with the name on the spot."
"Deal," Victoria shook her hand. "Now come on, I've got to introduce you to Crystal!"
They flew a little more, but they didn't have to go far before Taylor spotted someone else flying towards them.
It was another girl, a few years older than Victoria, who halted a short distance away. The resemblance between her and Glory Girl was undeniable. The two of them could easily have been sisters, with their bright blonde hair and blue eyes. Her costume was white too, though it was decorated with zigzagging red and magenta lines, and she didn't have a cape, only a headband.
But there were differences too, once you got closer. Laserdream's hair was a slightly darker shade of blonde, the shape of her eyes was different and her chin was a little more pointed. She looked like a high school senior.
Most prominent though, was that, unlike the cheerful Victoria, she was frowning, her arms crossed as she waited for them to approach.
Victoria's smile seemed to become a little forced at the sight of her cousin's mood, but she stayed peppy.
"Hey cuz-" She began.
"Don't 'hey cuz' me, Glory Girl," Laserdream said, clearly unamused. "Why didn't you stick to the patrol route? Or wait for me?"
"I just thought I'd go exploring a little," Victoria claimed. "You know, go around the city, see some sights."
"You mean that you got bored and decided to go against what Mom, Dad, and Aunt Carol said," Laserdream retorted sharply, before sighing a little. "Come on, Vicky, you know that there's a good reason they're not letting you patrol alone yet. I had to go through the same thing. You could have at least invited me along."
"I don't need a babysitter!" Glory Girl replied, her voice taking on an edge of its own. "I can look after myself."
Laserdream pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. This was an old argument. "It's not about having a babysitter, it's about not being alone. Even the adults don't go on patrol alone if they can help it. What if you'd gotten hurt?"
"The Protectorate does individual patrols," Victoria protested. "Armsmaster goes out all alone all the time."
"You're not Armsmaster!" Laserdream snapped. "And we're not the Protectorate. You'll get to go on patrols alone soon enough, can't you just wait?" Her tone softened, "Besides, I was bored flying here and waiting for you, little cuz. Not to mention that if our parents find out, they're going to rake me over the coals too."
"Whatever," Glory Girl huffed out sulkily. "Anyway, I don't want to fight about this right now. This is my new friend, the Captain."
Laserdream's gaze shifted to Taylor as if only just recognizing she was there. "Oh! I'm Laserdream, Crystal," She introduced herself before a spark of recognition appeared in her eyes. "You're the new cape who took down Hookwolf, yeah?"
"Yes," Taylor said a little self-consciously. She should probably have expected it, but it was a little startling to be known as the new girl who took down Hookwolf by so many other capes in the city.
"Nice job there," Laserdream grinned, her resemblance to Victoria becoming even more obvious when she smiled. "And nice to meet you. We'll talk more about this later, 'cause you owe me little cuz," She added to Glory Girl, before returning her focus to Taylor. "Sorry for rehashing the drama in front of you. Since you're here, I guess Vicky brought you along for patrol?"
"She invited me along, yeah," Taylor said, casting a nervous glance at Glory Girl, who was still pouting a little.
"Alright then," Laserdream said with a grin. "Feel free to come along. But I want to hear more about how you took down that Nazi bastard."
"Well, it all started when I heard a scream…"
Author's Note: For those interested, I do have three advance chapters on Patreon.
Taylor couldn't immensely help the rush of nervousness that flooded through her at the sight of him. His visor seemed to stare straight through her.
This was the leader of the Protectorate ENE, one of the top heroes in America. Being introduced to him because he had come to investigate a huge explosion she had just caused by accident was not how Taylor had wanted to meet him.
"Glory Girl," Armsmaster said as he saw them, a touch of surprise colouring his voice. "And the new cape. What happened here? I heard reports of a bomb in the area."
"Nothing like that," Victoria assured him, nudging Taylor slightly. "Nobody was hurt."
Taylor stepped forward, resisting the urge to wring her hands. With his gleaming blue armour, his gaze piercing even from behind his visor and tall enough to see eye to eye with her even in her transformed state, there was no denying that Armsmaster cut an imposing figure.
She felt like she was confessing something she had done wrong to a teacher, but what choice did she have?
"Uh, hello," She said hesitantly. "There was no bomb or anything, I was just testing out my powers."
Armsmaster's upper face wasn't visible, but his tone as he spoke undoubtedly gave the impression that his eyebrows were raised. "You did this?" He said, gesturing to the damage to the ships in the Boat Graveyard behind them.
Taylor cringed slightly. "Yeah. I didn't mean to! I just…underestimated how powerful my lightning would be."
"Your lightning?" Armsmaster repeated. "You're a Blaster too?"
Taylor nodded. She hadn't heard the term 'Blaster' from anyone else before, but it wasn't as if it was a complicated word to understand.
Armsmaster rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "We've been getting reports of random lightning bolts falling out of the sky around the city. I assumed it was some other cape, but now…was that you?"
Taylor reddened. It had never even occurred to her to consider what people would think upon seeing those. "Yes," She admitted with some embarrassment. "I didn't hurt anyone, though!"
"She really didn't," Victoria spoke up in support of her. "Not here either. I saw the scene from the sky, only the old boats were damaged. No one was hurt, not even any property damage. Technically at least."
Armsmaster huffed a laugh, "Technically indeed. Whether the city likes it or not, those ships do belong to them. There's no need to be so nervous," He assured Taylor, his voice turning slightly wry. "I'm not going to arrest you for wrecking a few abandoned boats. I'm more concerned about cleaning up the wreckage and making sure the smoke and debris don't cause a panic."
Some of the tension left Taylor at the confirmation. Victoria had said the same thing, but part of her had still been worried. It didn't hurt that he had a nice smile. "Sorry for the trouble," She apologized.
"It's not a huge issue for now, but you should be more careful in the future," Armsmaster advised her. "I know Miss Militia already made you this offer, but remember, the Protectorate is always there if you want to join. We have facilities for testing powers and older heroes you can ask for advice. We have Triumph, Miss Militia, and Dauntless if you need experience with ranged power use, but you can always make a phone call to Protectorate members in other cities as well."
"Of course," Taylor nodded. To be honest, she was wondering if she should join the Protectorate. Her dad worked for the PRT, after all, and both Miss Militia and Armsmaster had been pretty nice so far.
"Oh, you could also ask my aunt and cousin for help! My dad too!" Victoria added. "I'm sure they'd be willing to give you a few tips. Or we can set you up with an appointment with the power testing clinics that I used. A bit pricier though."
Taylor could have sworn she saw Armsmaster's lips turn downwards slightly for a moment, but then he nodded in agreement. "That's an option too. Lady Photon and Flashbang are skilled and experienced heroes who have had a long time to hone their powers. And most of those power testing clinics are PRT adjacent."
"I'll think about it," Taylor said, trying not to seem overwhelmed. The idea of getting lessons from New Wave or Protectorate heroes in other cities, maybe even Legend, was more than a little exciting.
But she didn't want to rush into anything...especially not when the PRT might insist she should tell her dad about her powers.
Armsmaster thankfully didn't press the point, instead asking a different question. "All that aside…have you chosen a cape name yet? I have to admit, we'd like to be able to refer to you as something other than 'the new cape'."
Oh, right.
She had been so busy recently that choosing a cape name had completely slipped Taylor's mind.
She frantically cast her mind around for a good name to use, something she could give Armsmaster. It was one thing to admit she hadn't chosen a name for Victoria. It was another to admit it to the leader of the Protectorate, especially after she'd already told his teammate the same thing a few weeks ago.
"You can call me the Captain."
The instant the words left her mouth, Taylor wanted to sink through the floor. Was that the best she could do? Really? She couldn't even think of a reason for it, it was just off the top of her head!
"The…Captain?" Armsmaster inquired, the tinge of incredulity in his voice echoing Taylor's thoughts. "Just 'the Captain'?
Unwilling to admit she was wrong, Taylor nodded. "Just the Captain."
She cast a glance at Victoria, praying the other teenager wouldn't call her out on making a name up on the spot. Fortunately, the blonde said nothing, even though eyebrows had risen high during the conversation.
"Alright, Captain," Armsmaster accepted. Taylor had the distinct feeling he knew that she had only just chosen a name, but he didn't seem interested in poking at her bluff. "If that's what you want… but I'll hold off on announcing it for now. You should investigate to see if there are any other capes with that name. It's not a bad name, but with thirty years of caping, someone might have claimed it already."
"Thanks," Taylor mumbled, scratching the back of her neck, feeling embarrassed that she didn't even think of that. "Do you need anything else? Do I need to fill out paperwork or…"
Armsmaster waved her off. "It's fine, don't concern yourself over it for now. My visor recording everything and I'll file the report myself for now. If you had caused actual, official, property damage, then you'd have to fill out paperwork, as I'm sure Glory Girl can tell you."
Taylor's eyes turned to Victoria, who flushed. "It was an accident," She grumbled. "Still getting used to super strength."
"I know, I've seen it before," Armsmaster nodded dryly. "But no, you're free to go, if you want, Captain."
Relief flooded Taylor but before she could take off, Victoria spoke. "Hey, do you want to go on patrol with me? It'd be fun!"
Taylor started at the idea, but looking at Victoria's hopeful face, she couldn't bring herself to say no. "Sure."
"Great!" Glory Girl beamed, rising into the air. "Bye, Armsmaster!"
"Goodbye, sir," Taylor said more formally, before following suit.
The older hero gave a crisp nod, folding his arms as he watched them fly away.
Once they were out of Armsmaster's hearing, Victoria turned to Taylor with a grin.
"The Captain? That's what you went with?" She asked, laughing.
"He put me on the spot!" Taylor said defensively. "I couldn't admit I hadn't chosen a name."
Victoria shook her head in amusement. "Well, you're stuck with it now, but you should probably add something to the name to make it sound cooler and more unique like Armsmaster warned."
"Like what?"
Victoria shrugged. "I don't know, Captain Thunder, maybe? You do have the whole lightning motif going for you."
"Captain Thunder," Taylor mused. "It doesn't feel right. I like the idea, though."
"Think about it. The Captain just sounds so generic and is definitely taken," Victoria told her. "Captain Thunder too, probably. But anyway, let me show you my usual patrol route."
Taylor followed Victoria as they flew over the city. It was nearly evening now, and the roads were thick with traffic as people began to leave work. The sun hadn't quite sunk yet, but it had started too, and tinges of orange were creeping into the sky.
"Do you all have patrol routes?" Taylor asked curiously. "Everyone in New Wave?"
"Yep," Victoria confirmed. "It's the best way to keep track of our slice of the city. We switch up how we do patrols so that people can't predict us and to keep ourselves safe. The Protectorate does patrols too, and we work with them sometimes."
"Makes sense. I've just kind of been flying around the city at random, honestly," Taylor admitted, feeling embarrassed.
"Hey, no harm done. You beat up Hookwolf and saved that girl, I saw it on the news. And saved a few cats," Victoria added cheekily.
"I couldn't just leave them there!" Taylor protested.
"It wasn't a criticism," Victoria replied, her smile widening, her golden hair flowing in the wind. "I thought it was a cute thing to do. Cheesy, but cute."
"Thanks," Taylor said softly.
"But yeah, this is my usual patrol route," Victoria said, returning to the main subject and waving a hand at the buildings below, halting her flight. "I'm supposed to watch over this block."
"Just this one block?" Taylor asked as she pulled herself to a stop.
"Yeah," Victoria said, her voice turning a little sulky. "My parents only recently let me start going on patrol without them. Before that, one of the adults was always with me. I still have to patrol with Crystal, Lasedream."
Taylor looked around, coming to a realization. "The Boat Graveyard isn't exactly close to this place," She pointed out. It was in fact, pretty far, given that the Graveyard was on the coast and Victoria's patrol route was downtown.
Victoria grinned again, her cheer returning. "Well, I don't always stick to the routes my parents plan for me. Promise not to tell?"
"Of course not," Taylor agreed, unable to resist Victoria's infectious cheer. "As long as you don't tell anyone that I came up with the name on the spot."
"Deal," Victoria shook her hand. "Now come on, I've got to introduce you to Crystal!"
They flew a little more, but they didn't have to go far before Taylor spotted someone else flying towards them.
It was another girl, a few years older than Victoria, who halted a short distance away. The resemblance between her and Glory Girl was undeniable. The two of them could easily have been sisters, with their bright blonde hair and blue eyes. Her costume was white too, though it was decorated with zigzagging red and magenta lines, and she didn't have a cape, only a headband.
But there were differences too, once you got closer. Laserdream's hair was a slightly darker shade of blonde, the shape of her eyes was different and her chin was a little more pointed. She looked like a high school senior.
Most prominent though, was that, unlike the cheerful Victoria, she was frowning, her arms crossed as she waited for them to approach.
Victoria's smile seemed to become a little forced at the sight of her cousin's mood, but she stayed peppy.
"Hey cuz-" She began.
"Don't 'hey cuz' me, Glory Girl," Laserdream said, clearly unamused. "Why didn't you stick to the patrol route? Or wait for me?"
"I just thought I'd go exploring a little," Victoria claimed. "You know, go around the city, see some sights."
"You mean that you got bored and decided to go against what Mom, Dad, and Aunt Carol said," Laserdream retorted sharply, before sighing a little. "Come on, Vicky, you know that there's a good reason they're not letting you patrol alone yet. I had to go through the same thing. You could have at least invited me along."
"I don't need a babysitter!" Glory Girl replied, her voice taking on an edge of its own. "I can look after myself."
Laserdream pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. This was an old argument. "It's not about having a babysitter, it's about not being alone. Even the adults don't go on patrol alone if they can help it. What if you'd gotten hurt?"
"The Protectorate does individual patrols," Victoria protested. "Armsmaster goes out all alone all the time."
"You're not Armsmaster!" Laserdream snapped. "And we're not the Protectorate. You'll get to go on patrols alone soon enough, can't you just wait?" Her tone softened, "Besides, I was bored flying here and waiting for you, little cuz. Not to mention that if our parents find out, they're going to rake me over the coals too."
"Whatever," Glory Girl huffed out sulkily. "Anyway, I don't want to fight about this right now. This is my new friend, the Captain."
Laserdream's gaze shifted to Taylor as if only just recognizing she was there. "Oh! I'm Laserdream, Crystal," She introduced herself before a spark of recognition appeared in her eyes. "You're the new cape who took down Hookwolf, yeah?"
"Yes," Taylor said a little self-consciously. She should probably have expected it, but it was a little startling to be known as the new girl who took down Hookwolf by so many other capes in the city.
"Nice job there," Laserdream grinned, her resemblance to Victoria becoming even more obvious when she smiled. "And nice to meet you. We'll talk more about this later, 'cause you owe me little cuz," She added to Glory Girl, before returning her focus to Taylor. "Sorry for rehashing the drama in front of you. Since you're here, I guess Vicky brought you along for patrol?"
"She invited me along, yeah," Taylor said, casting a nervous glance at Glory Girl, who was still pouting a little.
"Alright then," Laserdream said with a grin. "Feel free to come along. But I want to hear more about how you took down that Nazi bastard."
"Well, it all started when I heard a scream…"
Author's Note: For those interested, I do have three advance chapters on Patreon.
Making Waves - 3
Solarion
For Light and Life
As they flew across Brockton Bay under the light of the afternoon sun, the tension seemed to lighten. As her annoyance at her cousin ebbed, Laserdream proved herself animated and cheerful, willing to talk about any number of topics.
"Having trouble with your Blaster powers, huh?" Crystal chuckled as the conversation reached about how Taylor and Victoria had met. "I know the feeling. Got to admit, though, I don't think I ever did that much damage by accident."
Taylor blushed. "I really wasn't expecting it to go like that." She wondered for a moment if she should mention Tawny…but her teacher had clearly not wanted to reveal himself to other people just yet.
"Can you help, Crystal?" Victoria interjected, her sour mood seemingly gone as quickly as it had arrived. "Cap here could use some advice before she blows a hole through a skyscraper." The cheeky grin removed the sting from her words, and Taylor mock-frowned back at her.
"Sounds like you're speaking from experience," She shot back. "Is that why you had to fill out paperwork for the PRT?"
"Hey! I've never blown a hole through a skyscraper!" Glory Girl protested.
"She hasn't," Laserdream agreed, her smile taking on a mischievous tinge. "She did get thrown through an office building once, though."
"That wasn't my fault!" Victoria protested. "Fenja was the one that grabbed me and threw me into the building. And you put holes in the street with your lasers. Stupid Nazis," she added at the end.
"I remember seeing that on the news," Taylor recalled. "You crashed straight through the glass, right?"
"Yeah," Laserdream replied wryly. "Thankfully, we'd just evacuated the building to save them, and it was just the corner part, so they were very understanding. The fact that they had insurance didn't hurt, I'm sure."
"Anyway," Victoria said loudly, clearly trying to change the subject. "Crystal, could you help Cap out?"
Crystal and Taylor exchanged grins, but they let the topic change pass. "I'll do my best," Laserdream promised. "All powers are different, so I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I can offer a few tips, at least. A power testing clinic or the PRT would really have the best facilities for this, though."
Taylor resisted the urge to squirm as the two cousins looked at her. "I…don't really have the money for a testing clinic." She mumbled. It felt distinctly embarrassing to admit, but she couldn't think of any other excuse. "And the PRT is…it's complicated."
"Fair enough," Crystal said, her voice gentle. "Don't worry about it too much. You should keep it in mind though. Little cuz and I both did it, just to make sure nothing was wrong or overlooked."
Taylor nodded, now finding herself the one eager to change the subject. "So, do you guys have any specific targets on these patrols?"
"Nah, not really," Victoria said. "If we want to attack someplace, we make a plan, maybe talk to the Protectorate, and definitely more than two of us come along. The patrols are just for reminding people that we're here and dealing with small stuff. Not really petty crimes, but if there's a car chase or someone in danger. Or people just openly committing a felony. Speaking of which…" She nodded downwards.
Taylor and Crystal stopped flying, pausing in the air to peer down at where Victoria was pointing. There were a bunch of people on top of an apartment building, who looked normal enough…except for the fact that one was holding open a suitcase full of weapons, and many of them were holding guns, glowering at each other suspiciously.
"Arms deal," Crystal muttered. "They've been really bold lately. I remember when I first started and I saw something like this once every other month. Must be new guys, if they didn't think to plan for flyers."
Taylor waited a moment, expecting Crystal to explain some sort of strategy or plan, but instead, Laserdream just grinned. "Let's go!"
She dove downwards towards the arms deal, Victoria following her and a slightly startled Taylor just a moment behind.
A crimson forcefield engulfed the case of weapons, making both sides jump in panic. Beams of crimson light exploded outwards from Laserdream's hands, raining down towards the arms dealers, who shrieked in surprise.
Despite that, Taylor noticed that none of them were harmed by the lasers, and most of them weren't even hit by them. Crystal clearly intended to scare them more than anything.
Laserdream stopped some distance away from the roof of the building, continuing to fire lasers, even as Taylor and Victoria swooped down, landing in front of the criminals.
Some of them had enough presence of mind to draw their guns, but Taylor disarmed them quickly, using her super-speed to her advantage.
In short order, the criminals had all been disarmed, rendered unconscious, and rounded up, and Taylor was brushing the dust off her hands.
"Damn, I didn't even get to do anything," Victoria groaned, looking disappointed, as Crystal flew down to join them, giving Taylor a surprised look.
"You have super-speed too?" Laserdream asked.
"Yup." Taylor agreed. Well, divine speed, technically, but she didn't think Crystal and Victoria would believe it if she told them she had the Speed of Mercury.
Crystal let out a long, low whistle. "Alexandria package, blaster powers, and super-speed? You really hit the jackpot with your powers. I think even Alexandria can only fly fast."
"Thanks," Taylor said. She had never really thought of it that way, but it was true wasn't it? Rifling through her memories, she realized she could only think of a handful of capes who had more than one power. Even Lung, as ridiculous as he was, technically only had a single ability.
"I wish I had super-speed," Victoria pouted. "I fly pretty decently, but man, it would make things so much easier. With everything, not just cape stuff. I could do all my homework and chores in like…five minutes."
"It's definitely a lot of fun." Taylor agreed. It hadn't actually occurred to her to use her powers for things like chores and homework, but now that Victoria mentioned the idea, the allure of it was undeniable.
"God, the things I could do with superspeed," Crystal said wistfully, before shaking her head. "Anyway, let me call the police to pick these guys up." Producing an expensive-looking smartphone, Crystal walked to the other side of the rooftop, speaking into her phone.
As she did so, Taylor looked over the dealers, analyzing them intently.
"Whatcha looking for?" Victoria asked, noticing Taylor's focus.
"Trying to see if they belong to any gang or anything," Taylor explained. "Maybe some clue if they work for something bigger."
"Oh, no, you won't find anything like that," Glory Girl said, shaking her head. "All the big gangs are smart about this kind of stuff, unfortunately. They'd never assign stuff like arms deals to their low-level idiots, only to people smart enough to know how to actually hide what they're doing. These idiots, making an arms deal out here on the top of a building in broad daylight? No way they're working for someone bigger. Best guess is like Crystal said; new guys trying to carve out a small bit of turf, maybe two or three blocks, and fucked it up."
"Oh, right," Taylor said, disappointed with herself for not having thought of that. Of course, the more significant gangs hadn't gotten this far by being idiots.
"Hey, don't look so down," Victoria assured her. "You'll figure this stuff out. I wouldn't know it if I didn't have teachers."
Taylor smiled back a little. "Here's hoping."
Crystal returned, tucking her phone back into a pocket. "Called the police, they should be here any minute."
For a while, the three of them just stood there, engaging in idle chatter. Glory Girl was asking about whether her speed had any limitations, going on about how she had been diving into a textbook talking about the variety and quality of speedsters, but Taylor felt bad about not really knowing much more than that she had super-speed in the first place. About ten minutes later, the door on the rooftop opened, and a squad of police officers dressed in blue flooded out.
"Laserdream, Glory Girl…Miss," One of the men, a tall, fair-skinned brunette said, moving towards them as the rest began cuffing the criminals. Unlike the rest of them, he wasn't dressed in uniform but in black slacks, a white shirt, and a brown jacket. But there was a gun holstered at his waist and a police badge pinned to the left breast of his shirt. "We can take it from here, I'm sure you have other matters to attend to." His tone was slightly cold, and Taylor could have sworn she saw a flicker of disdain in his blue eyes.
"Detective," Crystal returned just as coolly. "I'm sure you can. We'll see you later. Come on, girls, let's go." She took into the air, Victoria following her. Taylor paused to take one last look back at the criminals and was surprised to see one of the cops glowering at her.
"...goddamn capes, always making us look bad…" The words were muttered in a low breath, and an average person wouldn't have heard them, but Taylor.
Taken aback, Taylor almost said something, anything…but in the end, she just took off after the two blondes. They had paused above another building, apparently having noticed Taylor hadn't followed them, but she caught up quickly.
"Hey," She said as she rejoined. "Uh," Taylor hesitated for a moment. "Do you guys have some kind of beef with the cops?" She asked uncertainly. "They didn't seem to like us very much.
Laserdream and Glory Girl exchanged a glance. "You haven't run into a lot of cops these past few weeks, I take it," Crystal said finally.
"Not really," Taylor replied, unsure where the other girl was going with this.
Crystal huffed, running a hand through her hair. "Come on, we should have this conversation somewhere a bit more private," She said, flying off in the direction of one of the skyscrapers.
Taylor followed, puzzled, and shortly thereafter, the three of them were above a skyscraper, floating around a crown of decorative spires.
This was one of the really nice parts of the city, Taylor noticed. She'd always known downtown was a better place to live, but seeing it from up here, with the skyscrapers and expensive-looking apartment buildings dotting the area, the streets seeming cleaner, and more people buzzing around…it drove it home.
Crystal leaned against a spire, a considering expression on her face. "Okay, so…I have to be honest with you, Cap. Brockton Bay's cops are the worst."
Taylor started, taken aback by Laserdream's bluntness. "Really?" She inquired hesitantly.
Crystal grimaced at the question. "Really," She confirmed with a sigh. "Look, as a new cape, you should know this. Most of the cops in this city? They're super corrupt. A bunch of them take bribes from the big gangs, especially the Empire. Even the ones who don't…" She shook her head. "They've basically given up and don't think things can get better, so they just try to keep their heads down."
"They're that bad?" Taylor asked, a little shocked. She had always been taught to trust the police, and while she knew that they couldn't deal with powerful capes, she hadn't thought they were that untrustworthy.
Crystal and Victoria nodded grimly. "They are, yeah. Like, you can trust them to do small stuff like this, but major operations," Crystal shook her head. "More than one sting on the Empire that our parents have planned with the Protectorate has gone sideways because a bunch of high-ranking officers are on Kaiser's payroll."
"And people don't do anything about this?" Taylor demanded, astonished. "The PRT?"
Crystal looked pained. "They try, and things have gotten better since Mayor Christner was elected, but…it's a work in progress. Things are actually better now than they were before if you can believe it. My mom once told me that back when New Wave was starting out as the Brockton Bay Brigade, Allfather had the Commissioner in his pocket. It was…bad. We play nice in the open, because the police have a lot of community power, but there's tension between us."
"There's a reason the PRT prefers to rely on its own troopers," Victoria added. "It's not like they're immune to corruption or anything, but it's not so…entrenched. Well, they have their own problems, which is why we never joined. But my mom gave me the rundown of how the police do even simple things like focus their efforts on minority groups, which just adds fuel to the fire. Add in the fact that there's a heavy push by the public and PRT for capes to focus more on cape crimes, which gets more publicity because supervillains are loud and scary, you get cops who are upset at being overlooked."
Taylor bit her lip, unsure of what to say. It wasn't exactly surprising to hear, but…it did make sense, now that she thought about it. The villainous capes were powerful, sure, but there were only so many of them. And they were human too, they needed to sleep, eat, all those things. It wasn't like the villains and heroes were brawling with each other in the streets every day.
The villains relied a lot on ordinary human criminals under their employment to get things done, and if the police were able to deal with them, then things in Brockton Bay shouldn't have been so bad.
"It's why our parents prefer to deal with the PRT too," Crystal continued. "Piggot, the local director…she isn't nice and I don't think she likes us very much, but at least we can trust her not to be in some villain's pocket."
Taylor nodded.
"Sorry for dropping all this on you so quickly," Victoria said, an apologetic note in her voice. "But if you want to be a hero in Brockton Bay, you have to know these things."
"No, it's okay," Taylor nodded. "You're right, I should know these things. It's just… a lot to take in? I feel like more should be done with them."
"There should be, but our powers aren't great for investigating corruption. Can't pew pew away bribes and stuff. Just be…careful with the police, yeah? Not saying you need to treat them as if they're going to start shooting people the instant you turn your back, but you never know which one you can trust not to blab." Crystal said.
"Got it."
Crystal exhaled. "Okay!" She said, clapping her hands. "All that aside, come on. We still have a patrol to finish."
Author's Note: For those of you interested, I do have three advance chapters on Patreon.
"Having trouble with your Blaster powers, huh?" Crystal chuckled as the conversation reached about how Taylor and Victoria had met. "I know the feeling. Got to admit, though, I don't think I ever did that much damage by accident."
Taylor blushed. "I really wasn't expecting it to go like that." She wondered for a moment if she should mention Tawny…but her teacher had clearly not wanted to reveal himself to other people just yet.
"Can you help, Crystal?" Victoria interjected, her sour mood seemingly gone as quickly as it had arrived. "Cap here could use some advice before she blows a hole through a skyscraper." The cheeky grin removed the sting from her words, and Taylor mock-frowned back at her.
"Sounds like you're speaking from experience," She shot back. "Is that why you had to fill out paperwork for the PRT?"
"Hey! I've never blown a hole through a skyscraper!" Glory Girl protested.
"She hasn't," Laserdream agreed, her smile taking on a mischievous tinge. "She did get thrown through an office building once, though."
"That wasn't my fault!" Victoria protested. "Fenja was the one that grabbed me and threw me into the building. And you put holes in the street with your lasers. Stupid Nazis," she added at the end.
"I remember seeing that on the news," Taylor recalled. "You crashed straight through the glass, right?"
"Yeah," Laserdream replied wryly. "Thankfully, we'd just evacuated the building to save them, and it was just the corner part, so they were very understanding. The fact that they had insurance didn't hurt, I'm sure."
"Anyway," Victoria said loudly, clearly trying to change the subject. "Crystal, could you help Cap out?"
Crystal and Taylor exchanged grins, but they let the topic change pass. "I'll do my best," Laserdream promised. "All powers are different, so I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I can offer a few tips, at least. A power testing clinic or the PRT would really have the best facilities for this, though."
Taylor resisted the urge to squirm as the two cousins looked at her. "I…don't really have the money for a testing clinic." She mumbled. It felt distinctly embarrassing to admit, but she couldn't think of any other excuse. "And the PRT is…it's complicated."
"Fair enough," Crystal said, her voice gentle. "Don't worry about it too much. You should keep it in mind though. Little cuz and I both did it, just to make sure nothing was wrong or overlooked."
Taylor nodded, now finding herself the one eager to change the subject. "So, do you guys have any specific targets on these patrols?"
"Nah, not really," Victoria said. "If we want to attack someplace, we make a plan, maybe talk to the Protectorate, and definitely more than two of us come along. The patrols are just for reminding people that we're here and dealing with small stuff. Not really petty crimes, but if there's a car chase or someone in danger. Or people just openly committing a felony. Speaking of which…" She nodded downwards.
Taylor and Crystal stopped flying, pausing in the air to peer down at where Victoria was pointing. There were a bunch of people on top of an apartment building, who looked normal enough…except for the fact that one was holding open a suitcase full of weapons, and many of them were holding guns, glowering at each other suspiciously.
"Arms deal," Crystal muttered. "They've been really bold lately. I remember when I first started and I saw something like this once every other month. Must be new guys, if they didn't think to plan for flyers."
Taylor waited a moment, expecting Crystal to explain some sort of strategy or plan, but instead, Laserdream just grinned. "Let's go!"
She dove downwards towards the arms deal, Victoria following her and a slightly startled Taylor just a moment behind.
A crimson forcefield engulfed the case of weapons, making both sides jump in panic. Beams of crimson light exploded outwards from Laserdream's hands, raining down towards the arms dealers, who shrieked in surprise.
Despite that, Taylor noticed that none of them were harmed by the lasers, and most of them weren't even hit by them. Crystal clearly intended to scare them more than anything.
Laserdream stopped some distance away from the roof of the building, continuing to fire lasers, even as Taylor and Victoria swooped down, landing in front of the criminals.
Some of them had enough presence of mind to draw their guns, but Taylor disarmed them quickly, using her super-speed to her advantage.
In short order, the criminals had all been disarmed, rendered unconscious, and rounded up, and Taylor was brushing the dust off her hands.
"Damn, I didn't even get to do anything," Victoria groaned, looking disappointed, as Crystal flew down to join them, giving Taylor a surprised look.
"You have super-speed too?" Laserdream asked.
"Yup." Taylor agreed. Well, divine speed, technically, but she didn't think Crystal and Victoria would believe it if she told them she had the Speed of Mercury.
Crystal let out a long, low whistle. "Alexandria package, blaster powers, and super-speed? You really hit the jackpot with your powers. I think even Alexandria can only fly fast."
"Thanks," Taylor said. She had never really thought of it that way, but it was true wasn't it? Rifling through her memories, she realized she could only think of a handful of capes who had more than one power. Even Lung, as ridiculous as he was, technically only had a single ability.
"I wish I had super-speed," Victoria pouted. "I fly pretty decently, but man, it would make things so much easier. With everything, not just cape stuff. I could do all my homework and chores in like…five minutes."
"It's definitely a lot of fun." Taylor agreed. It hadn't actually occurred to her to use her powers for things like chores and homework, but now that Victoria mentioned the idea, the allure of it was undeniable.
"God, the things I could do with superspeed," Crystal said wistfully, before shaking her head. "Anyway, let me call the police to pick these guys up." Producing an expensive-looking smartphone, Crystal walked to the other side of the rooftop, speaking into her phone.
As she did so, Taylor looked over the dealers, analyzing them intently.
"Whatcha looking for?" Victoria asked, noticing Taylor's focus.
"Trying to see if they belong to any gang or anything," Taylor explained. "Maybe some clue if they work for something bigger."
"Oh, no, you won't find anything like that," Glory Girl said, shaking her head. "All the big gangs are smart about this kind of stuff, unfortunately. They'd never assign stuff like arms deals to their low-level idiots, only to people smart enough to know how to actually hide what they're doing. These idiots, making an arms deal out here on the top of a building in broad daylight? No way they're working for someone bigger. Best guess is like Crystal said; new guys trying to carve out a small bit of turf, maybe two or three blocks, and fucked it up."
"Oh, right," Taylor said, disappointed with herself for not having thought of that. Of course, the more significant gangs hadn't gotten this far by being idiots.
"Hey, don't look so down," Victoria assured her. "You'll figure this stuff out. I wouldn't know it if I didn't have teachers."
Taylor smiled back a little. "Here's hoping."
Crystal returned, tucking her phone back into a pocket. "Called the police, they should be here any minute."
For a while, the three of them just stood there, engaging in idle chatter. Glory Girl was asking about whether her speed had any limitations, going on about how she had been diving into a textbook talking about the variety and quality of speedsters, but Taylor felt bad about not really knowing much more than that she had super-speed in the first place. About ten minutes later, the door on the rooftop opened, and a squad of police officers dressed in blue flooded out.
"Laserdream, Glory Girl…Miss," One of the men, a tall, fair-skinned brunette said, moving towards them as the rest began cuffing the criminals. Unlike the rest of them, he wasn't dressed in uniform but in black slacks, a white shirt, and a brown jacket. But there was a gun holstered at his waist and a police badge pinned to the left breast of his shirt. "We can take it from here, I'm sure you have other matters to attend to." His tone was slightly cold, and Taylor could have sworn she saw a flicker of disdain in his blue eyes.
"Detective," Crystal returned just as coolly. "I'm sure you can. We'll see you later. Come on, girls, let's go." She took into the air, Victoria following her. Taylor paused to take one last look back at the criminals and was surprised to see one of the cops glowering at her.
"...goddamn capes, always making us look bad…" The words were muttered in a low breath, and an average person wouldn't have heard them, but Taylor.
Taken aback, Taylor almost said something, anything…but in the end, she just took off after the two blondes. They had paused above another building, apparently having noticed Taylor hadn't followed them, but she caught up quickly.
"Hey," She said as she rejoined. "Uh," Taylor hesitated for a moment. "Do you guys have some kind of beef with the cops?" She asked uncertainly. "They didn't seem to like us very much.
Laserdream and Glory Girl exchanged a glance. "You haven't run into a lot of cops these past few weeks, I take it," Crystal said finally.
"Not really," Taylor replied, unsure where the other girl was going with this.
Crystal huffed, running a hand through her hair. "Come on, we should have this conversation somewhere a bit more private," She said, flying off in the direction of one of the skyscrapers.
Taylor followed, puzzled, and shortly thereafter, the three of them were above a skyscraper, floating around a crown of decorative spires.
This was one of the really nice parts of the city, Taylor noticed. She'd always known downtown was a better place to live, but seeing it from up here, with the skyscrapers and expensive-looking apartment buildings dotting the area, the streets seeming cleaner, and more people buzzing around…it drove it home.
Crystal leaned against a spire, a considering expression on her face. "Okay, so…I have to be honest with you, Cap. Brockton Bay's cops are the worst."
Taylor started, taken aback by Laserdream's bluntness. "Really?" She inquired hesitantly.
Crystal grimaced at the question. "Really," She confirmed with a sigh. "Look, as a new cape, you should know this. Most of the cops in this city? They're super corrupt. A bunch of them take bribes from the big gangs, especially the Empire. Even the ones who don't…" She shook her head. "They've basically given up and don't think things can get better, so they just try to keep their heads down."
"They're that bad?" Taylor asked, a little shocked. She had always been taught to trust the police, and while she knew that they couldn't deal with powerful capes, she hadn't thought they were that untrustworthy.
Crystal and Victoria nodded grimly. "They are, yeah. Like, you can trust them to do small stuff like this, but major operations," Crystal shook her head. "More than one sting on the Empire that our parents have planned with the Protectorate has gone sideways because a bunch of high-ranking officers are on Kaiser's payroll."
"And people don't do anything about this?" Taylor demanded, astonished. "The PRT?"
Crystal looked pained. "They try, and things have gotten better since Mayor Christner was elected, but…it's a work in progress. Things are actually better now than they were before if you can believe it. My mom once told me that back when New Wave was starting out as the Brockton Bay Brigade, Allfather had the Commissioner in his pocket. It was…bad. We play nice in the open, because the police have a lot of community power, but there's tension between us."
"There's a reason the PRT prefers to rely on its own troopers," Victoria added. "It's not like they're immune to corruption or anything, but it's not so…entrenched. Well, they have their own problems, which is why we never joined. But my mom gave me the rundown of how the police do even simple things like focus their efforts on minority groups, which just adds fuel to the fire. Add in the fact that there's a heavy push by the public and PRT for capes to focus more on cape crimes, which gets more publicity because supervillains are loud and scary, you get cops who are upset at being overlooked."
Taylor bit her lip, unsure of what to say. It wasn't exactly surprising to hear, but…it did make sense, now that she thought about it. The villainous capes were powerful, sure, but there were only so many of them. And they were human too, they needed to sleep, eat, all those things. It wasn't like the villains and heroes were brawling with each other in the streets every day.
The villains relied a lot on ordinary human criminals under their employment to get things done, and if the police were able to deal with them, then things in Brockton Bay shouldn't have been so bad.
"It's why our parents prefer to deal with the PRT too," Crystal continued. "Piggot, the local director…she isn't nice and I don't think she likes us very much, but at least we can trust her not to be in some villain's pocket."
Taylor nodded.
"Sorry for dropping all this on you so quickly," Victoria said, an apologetic note in her voice. "But if you want to be a hero in Brockton Bay, you have to know these things."
"No, it's okay," Taylor nodded. "You're right, I should know these things. It's just… a lot to take in? I feel like more should be done with them."
"There should be, but our powers aren't great for investigating corruption. Can't pew pew away bribes and stuff. Just be…careful with the police, yeah? Not saying you need to treat them as if they're going to start shooting people the instant you turn your back, but you never know which one you can trust not to blab." Crystal said.
"Got it."
Crystal exhaled. "Okay!" She said, clapping her hands. "All that aside, come on. We still have a patrol to finish."
Author's Note: For those of you interested, I do have three advance chapters on Patreon.
Making Waves - 4
Solarion
For Light and Life
The rest of the day passed by in a blur. It was mostly quiet, save for a few minor incidents, such as preventing a car crash or two, but they didn't run into any more crimes.
According to Victoria and Crystal, this wasn't surprising. While the criminal underworld was always at work, criminals were generally not stupid enough to work in broad daylight.
As the day continued, Taylor found herself liking Laserdream and Glory Girl very much. They were fun, they were nice, and they knew a lot more about cape work than she did.
It was only after they had rescued a family from a fire caused by a gas leak that Taylor spotted the setting Sun and realized how late it was.
"Sorry, I've got to go," She apologized to the other girls. "I've got, um, obligations." It felt awkward to conceal her identity from the two given she knew their real names, but Taylor couldn't bring herself to share that just yet.
(And, a part of her mind whispered, that just because Crystal and Victoria liked the ridiculously powerful new cape who had taken out Hookwolfdidn't mean they'd like plain old Taylor Hebert.)
"It's all good," Victoria said, waving a hand. "You should hang out with us again, though! Wanna meet tomorrow?"
Taylor hesitated for a moment, but… "Sure. What time?"
"Say… noon tomorrow?" Crystal suggested. "We have plans to go school shopping in the morning, but we can hang out after. We could meet on top of the skyscraper where we had that chat earlier."
School. Taylor had almost forgotten that summer vacation was nearing its end. School was only two weeks away.
It felt so strange and silly to go back to school after a summer running around being a cape, but it wasn't like she could just skip it.
At least she'd get to hang out with Emma every day again.
"Sounds good." She told Crystal and Victoria. "See you tomorrow!"
Waving goodbye, Taylor took off, flying across the city. As she flew, the gleaming skyscrapers of downtown were replaced by the shorter, more worn-down buildings of her neighbourhood.
She was halfway home when she remembered Armsmaster talking about how he'd gotten reports of lightning bolts falling from the sky. If she did it too often near her home, that was probably a clue that would lead people to her.
Grimacing, Taylor circled away, briefly floating over the Boardwalk. Cast a speculative eye downwards, wondering if she should try to find a quiet place to switch forms down there before deciding against it.
In the early evening, at the height of summer, the Boardwalk was brimming with people. Tourists visiting the city, people doing their shopping. It wasn't worth the trouble. Someone was bound to see a bolt of lightning from an otherwise cloudless sky.
Instead, Taylor found a quiet street some ways off from the Boardwalk and dropped down into an alley.
Within walking distance of her home, but hopefully not too close.
Again, detransforming felt…disheartening. Tiring. The power flowed out of her, leaving her as just another teenage girl.
Not even one like Emma, just…just Taylor.
There were times when Taylor wished she just didn't have to change back.
That she could just stay transformed forever.
"Champion."
Taylor spun, her heart wildly thumping in her chest as she began to speak "Sha-"
She trailed off as she saw it was just Tawny in his cat form, perched on top of a wall, peering down at her.
"Goddamnit," She breathed, trying to relax. She didn't swear often, but her heart was hammering in her chest. "Don't scare me like that."
"My apologies, Champion," Tawny said, his tail flicking slightly in embarrassment, "I did not mean to startle you."
"It's okay," Taylor replied, forcing her breathing to slow. "Where have you been all day? You vanished when Victoria-er, Glory Girl showed up."
"I thought it best to avoid meeting with others without getting their measure first," Tawny explained, leaping down from the wall. "Humans, I have found, do not tend to react well to that which is…different."
Taylor winced. Living in a city that was sometimes called 'the Nazi capital of America' by its own populace, she couldn't exactly dispute the claim.
"I don't think Victoria would be like that," She said instead, kneeling down to speak to Tawny on a more even level. "She was nice. No pressure, though."
Tawny folded his paws. "I am glad to hear it, Champion. Perhaps in time, I will meet her as myself."
"No pressure," Taylor assured him, her eyes drifting across Tawny's soft orange fur. "This is going to sound weird, but…Can I touch you?" She ventured.
Tawny blinked at her in a distinctly non-cat-like way which still wasn't human, his golden eyes bemused. "Touch me?"
"It's just…your fur looks really soft," Taylor admitted sheepishly.
The tiger in the cat's form radiated amusement, but fortunately, he didn't seem to take any offense. "Certainly, then."
Taylor reached out, tentatively touching the fur, and finding to her delight that it was soft as it looked. So soft that couldn't resist the urge to softly stroke Tawny's back.
The tiger purred in pleasure, before speaking again. "Now, since our lesson earlier was interrupted, I believe we should resume tomorrow. Though perhaps in a different, less…conspicuous location this time."
Taylor blushed. "Yeah, sorry."
"It is of no consequence, I should have thought of it as well," Tawny told her firmly. "That said…I think the Rock of Eternity would be the best place to practice. Even if my old friend does not have the time to tutor you himself right now, I am sure he will not mind giving us a spare room or two."
"Oh!" Taylor perked up. She'd found the Rock rather spooky the first time she'd visited it, but after the second time…she was kind of curious about what else was there except the Wizard's throne room and the kitchen. "You really think so?"
"I am certain," Tawny said. It occurred to Taylor that maybe she should have been put off by the deep masculine voice coming from a cat's body, but it just…didn't seem worth remarking on that, after what she'd seen this past month. "But that is a matter for tomorrow. For now, I believe is it time for you to return home. Your father should be returning shortly, I believe."
"Oh, right!" Taylor hissed, standing up. She'd forgotten all about her dad.
Maybe if she hurried home, she'd be able to get there before him.
She sprinted down the streets, and by the time she reached the house, Taylor was panting heavily.
Ignoring the ache in her legs, Taylor made her way up the stairs, fumbling with her keys to open the door…and saw that none of the lights were on. There was no sound, the house completely and totally quiet.
Nobody was home.
Dad must be working again.
A mixture of relief and disappointment flooded through her as Taylor shut the door behind her. She was glad that she wouldn't have to explain herself to her father, but…
"Is your father not home, Champion?" Taylor looked down to see Tawny had entered the house with her, his paws padding softly, almost noiselessly across the floor of the house. Though unlike her, he seemed entirely unwinded.
"Doesn't seem like it." She admitted quietly.
Tawny frowned slightly (and god, how could Taylor tell that the cat was frowning?). "Should he not be home by now?"
"Uh, yeah. But, well, his work keeps him late sometimes." A lot of the time, if she was being honest.
She couldn't remember the last time she and Dad had talked outside of dinner and breakfast. He was always hurrying off to work.
Taylor knew the PRT work was essential and that he was making a lot more money now, without having to constantly worry about whether or not he was going to lose his job, but…Taylor missed how things had been before…before mom died.
Tawny made a noise that Taylor didn't quite understand. "I see. How do you plan to feed yourself?"
"I'll make myself something," Taylor shrugged. "Or order from a nearby place. Dad has a tab with some of the takeout places nearby, they'll deliver now and let him pay later."
"It has been a long day, Taylor," Tawny said, calling her by her name for once. "Would you like to me cook for you?"
"You can cook?" Taylor asked, baffled. The idea had never even occurred to her.
Tawny swelled in size, standing up on his hind legs as he did so, his clothes appearing in a flash of shimmering green light until he was once more the smartly dressed humanoid tiger she had met at the Rock of Eternity.
"Of course, I can," Tawny said, smiling down at her. Despite his bared fangs, Taylor didn't feel afraid. If anything, it was…oddly comforting. "What self-respecting adult cannot? Now, let us see what there is in your kitchen, hm?"
***
The following day, Taylor was awoken by the sunlight streaming in through her window.
For a moment, she just lay there. For the first time in a long time, she just felt…okay.
The meal Tawny had whipped up last night had been delicious. He had taken a few vegetables and some chicken from the fridge to make a stew that would have made five-star chefs jealous in something like half an hour. Taylor had no idea if he had used magic or if he was just that good, but it had been the best meal of her life. She had eaten until she couldn't eat anymore and had been on the verge of falling asleep.
Tawny had left through her bedroom window after wishing her a good knight and Taylor had gone to sleep, feeling full and comfortable.
She had almost forgotten what it felt like.
"Taylor?"
She started, turning in bed to see her father opening the door, and looking in. Danny Hebert looked exhausted, with bags under his eyes, still wearing the rumpled clothes he had been wearing yesterday.
"Hey kiddo," He said quietly. "I'm sorry I missed dinner last night, a lot of work suddenly came up. Were you okay?"
Taylor sat up, smiling at her father. "Hey, Dad. And yeah, I was fine, I made some stew."
Danny gave her a tired smile. "Glad to hear it. How about I make us breakfast before I go, huh?"
"Huh? But it's Saturday today, Dad! Don't you have the day off?"
Danny shook his head. "Sorry, kiddo, there's a big project going on and they've asked me to put in overtime."
"Oh," Taylor said, disappointed. "Okay."
"It should be done soon," Danny tried to reassure her. "Then I'll take a few days off. Maybe we'll take a vacation after that, huh? I've got some money saved up now."
Taylor wasn't sure she believed him, but she nodded anyway. A vacation would be fun at least, in theory. "Sounds good, Dad."
The rest of the morning passed by quickly, with Danny departing after he had deposited a plate of toast and eggs in front of Taylor. He didn't even wait until she was done, kissing the top of her head and hugging her, before disappearing out of the door with a promise to be back before dinner tonight.
Taylor ate her breakfast, but she couldn't help but feel lonely. Eating alone at home was nothing like her dinner with Tawny last night or the hot chocolate she'd had with the Wizard in his kitchen, with the old man's kind eyes and warm advice.
She polished off her breakfast quickly, cleaning the plate in the basin and putting it away before she wondered what to do next.
It was only 9:00 AM, three hours to go before she was scheduled to meet Victoria and Crystal.
Maybe she could go back to the Rock of Eternity? Tawny had discussed giving her lessons there.
Or maybe…she could check in on Emma, and see how she was feeling this morning.
The sleepover they'd had the other night was good, but they hadn't talked since. And Emma had still been quieter, sadder than Taylor was used to.
Not the vibrant, upbeat girl she had been before the attack.
A quick check-in couldn't hurt, Taylor decided, pulling on her shoes and heading out of the house.
Magic lessons could wait, she needed to see how her best friend was doing.
Author's Note: If you want to hang out with me on Discord, here's a link to my server: Join the Craftworld Iyanden Discord Server!
And I do have three advance chapters on my Patreon for anyone interested.
According to Victoria and Crystal, this wasn't surprising. While the criminal underworld was always at work, criminals were generally not stupid enough to work in broad daylight.
As the day continued, Taylor found herself liking Laserdream and Glory Girl very much. They were fun, they were nice, and they knew a lot more about cape work than she did.
It was only after they had rescued a family from a fire caused by a gas leak that Taylor spotted the setting Sun and realized how late it was.
"Sorry, I've got to go," She apologized to the other girls. "I've got, um, obligations." It felt awkward to conceal her identity from the two given she knew their real names, but Taylor couldn't bring herself to share that just yet.
(And, a part of her mind whispered, that just because Crystal and Victoria liked the ridiculously powerful new cape who had taken out Hookwolfdidn't mean they'd like plain old Taylor Hebert.)
"It's all good," Victoria said, waving a hand. "You should hang out with us again, though! Wanna meet tomorrow?"
Taylor hesitated for a moment, but… "Sure. What time?"
"Say… noon tomorrow?" Crystal suggested. "We have plans to go school shopping in the morning, but we can hang out after. We could meet on top of the skyscraper where we had that chat earlier."
School. Taylor had almost forgotten that summer vacation was nearing its end. School was only two weeks away.
It felt so strange and silly to go back to school after a summer running around being a cape, but it wasn't like she could just skip it.
At least she'd get to hang out with Emma every day again.
"Sounds good." She told Crystal and Victoria. "See you tomorrow!"
Waving goodbye, Taylor took off, flying across the city. As she flew, the gleaming skyscrapers of downtown were replaced by the shorter, more worn-down buildings of her neighbourhood.
She was halfway home when she remembered Armsmaster talking about how he'd gotten reports of lightning bolts falling from the sky. If she did it too often near her home, that was probably a clue that would lead people to her.
Grimacing, Taylor circled away, briefly floating over the Boardwalk. Cast a speculative eye downwards, wondering if she should try to find a quiet place to switch forms down there before deciding against it.
In the early evening, at the height of summer, the Boardwalk was brimming with people. Tourists visiting the city, people doing their shopping. It wasn't worth the trouble. Someone was bound to see a bolt of lightning from an otherwise cloudless sky.
Instead, Taylor found a quiet street some ways off from the Boardwalk and dropped down into an alley.
Within walking distance of her home, but hopefully not too close.
Again, detransforming felt…disheartening. Tiring. The power flowed out of her, leaving her as just another teenage girl.
Not even one like Emma, just…just Taylor.
There were times when Taylor wished she just didn't have to change back.
That she could just stay transformed forever.
"Champion."
Taylor spun, her heart wildly thumping in her chest as she began to speak "Sha-"
She trailed off as she saw it was just Tawny in his cat form, perched on top of a wall, peering down at her.
"Goddamnit," She breathed, trying to relax. She didn't swear often, but her heart was hammering in her chest. "Don't scare me like that."
"My apologies, Champion," Tawny said, his tail flicking slightly in embarrassment, "I did not mean to startle you."
"It's okay," Taylor replied, forcing her breathing to slow. "Where have you been all day? You vanished when Victoria-er, Glory Girl showed up."
"I thought it best to avoid meeting with others without getting their measure first," Tawny explained, leaping down from the wall. "Humans, I have found, do not tend to react well to that which is…different."
Taylor winced. Living in a city that was sometimes called 'the Nazi capital of America' by its own populace, she couldn't exactly dispute the claim.
"I don't think Victoria would be like that," She said instead, kneeling down to speak to Tawny on a more even level. "She was nice. No pressure, though."
Tawny folded his paws. "I am glad to hear it, Champion. Perhaps in time, I will meet her as myself."
"No pressure," Taylor assured him, her eyes drifting across Tawny's soft orange fur. "This is going to sound weird, but…Can I touch you?" She ventured.
Tawny blinked at her in a distinctly non-cat-like way which still wasn't human, his golden eyes bemused. "Touch me?"
"It's just…your fur looks really soft," Taylor admitted sheepishly.
The tiger in the cat's form radiated amusement, but fortunately, he didn't seem to take any offense. "Certainly, then."
Taylor reached out, tentatively touching the fur, and finding to her delight that it was soft as it looked. So soft that couldn't resist the urge to softly stroke Tawny's back.
The tiger purred in pleasure, before speaking again. "Now, since our lesson earlier was interrupted, I believe we should resume tomorrow. Though perhaps in a different, less…conspicuous location this time."
Taylor blushed. "Yeah, sorry."
"It is of no consequence, I should have thought of it as well," Tawny told her firmly. "That said…I think the Rock of Eternity would be the best place to practice. Even if my old friend does not have the time to tutor you himself right now, I am sure he will not mind giving us a spare room or two."
"Oh!" Taylor perked up. She'd found the Rock rather spooky the first time she'd visited it, but after the second time…she was kind of curious about what else was there except the Wizard's throne room and the kitchen. "You really think so?"
"I am certain," Tawny said. It occurred to Taylor that maybe she should have been put off by the deep masculine voice coming from a cat's body, but it just…didn't seem worth remarking on that, after what she'd seen this past month. "But that is a matter for tomorrow. For now, I believe is it time for you to return home. Your father should be returning shortly, I believe."
"Oh, right!" Taylor hissed, standing up. She'd forgotten all about her dad.
Maybe if she hurried home, she'd be able to get there before him.
She sprinted down the streets, and by the time she reached the house, Taylor was panting heavily.
Ignoring the ache in her legs, Taylor made her way up the stairs, fumbling with her keys to open the door…and saw that none of the lights were on. There was no sound, the house completely and totally quiet.
Nobody was home.
Dad must be working again.
A mixture of relief and disappointment flooded through her as Taylor shut the door behind her. She was glad that she wouldn't have to explain herself to her father, but…
"Is your father not home, Champion?" Taylor looked down to see Tawny had entered the house with her, his paws padding softly, almost noiselessly across the floor of the house. Though unlike her, he seemed entirely unwinded.
"Doesn't seem like it." She admitted quietly.
Tawny frowned slightly (and god, how could Taylor tell that the cat was frowning?). "Should he not be home by now?"
"Uh, yeah. But, well, his work keeps him late sometimes." A lot of the time, if she was being honest.
She couldn't remember the last time she and Dad had talked outside of dinner and breakfast. He was always hurrying off to work.
Taylor knew the PRT work was essential and that he was making a lot more money now, without having to constantly worry about whether or not he was going to lose his job, but…Taylor missed how things had been before…before mom died.
Tawny made a noise that Taylor didn't quite understand. "I see. How do you plan to feed yourself?"
"I'll make myself something," Taylor shrugged. "Or order from a nearby place. Dad has a tab with some of the takeout places nearby, they'll deliver now and let him pay later."
"It has been a long day, Taylor," Tawny said, calling her by her name for once. "Would you like to me cook for you?"
"You can cook?" Taylor asked, baffled. The idea had never even occurred to her.
Tawny swelled in size, standing up on his hind legs as he did so, his clothes appearing in a flash of shimmering green light until he was once more the smartly dressed humanoid tiger she had met at the Rock of Eternity.
"Of course, I can," Tawny said, smiling down at her. Despite his bared fangs, Taylor didn't feel afraid. If anything, it was…oddly comforting. "What self-respecting adult cannot? Now, let us see what there is in your kitchen, hm?"
***
The following day, Taylor was awoken by the sunlight streaming in through her window.
For a moment, she just lay there. For the first time in a long time, she just felt…okay.
The meal Tawny had whipped up last night had been delicious. He had taken a few vegetables and some chicken from the fridge to make a stew that would have made five-star chefs jealous in something like half an hour. Taylor had no idea if he had used magic or if he was just that good, but it had been the best meal of her life. She had eaten until she couldn't eat anymore and had been on the verge of falling asleep.
Tawny had left through her bedroom window after wishing her a good knight and Taylor had gone to sleep, feeling full and comfortable.
She had almost forgotten what it felt like.
"Taylor?"
She started, turning in bed to see her father opening the door, and looking in. Danny Hebert looked exhausted, with bags under his eyes, still wearing the rumpled clothes he had been wearing yesterday.
"Hey kiddo," He said quietly. "I'm sorry I missed dinner last night, a lot of work suddenly came up. Were you okay?"
Taylor sat up, smiling at her father. "Hey, Dad. And yeah, I was fine, I made some stew."
Danny gave her a tired smile. "Glad to hear it. How about I make us breakfast before I go, huh?"
"Huh? But it's Saturday today, Dad! Don't you have the day off?"
Danny shook his head. "Sorry, kiddo, there's a big project going on and they've asked me to put in overtime."
"Oh," Taylor said, disappointed. "Okay."
"It should be done soon," Danny tried to reassure her. "Then I'll take a few days off. Maybe we'll take a vacation after that, huh? I've got some money saved up now."
Taylor wasn't sure she believed him, but she nodded anyway. A vacation would be fun at least, in theory. "Sounds good, Dad."
The rest of the morning passed by quickly, with Danny departing after he had deposited a plate of toast and eggs in front of Taylor. He didn't even wait until she was done, kissing the top of her head and hugging her, before disappearing out of the door with a promise to be back before dinner tonight.
Taylor ate her breakfast, but she couldn't help but feel lonely. Eating alone at home was nothing like her dinner with Tawny last night or the hot chocolate she'd had with the Wizard in his kitchen, with the old man's kind eyes and warm advice.
She polished off her breakfast quickly, cleaning the plate in the basin and putting it away before she wondered what to do next.
It was only 9:00 AM, three hours to go before she was scheduled to meet Victoria and Crystal.
Maybe she could go back to the Rock of Eternity? Tawny had discussed giving her lessons there.
Or maybe…she could check in on Emma, and see how she was feeling this morning.
The sleepover they'd had the other night was good, but they hadn't talked since. And Emma had still been quieter, sadder than Taylor was used to.
Not the vibrant, upbeat girl she had been before the attack.
A quick check-in couldn't hurt, Taylor decided, pulling on her shoes and heading out of the house.
Magic lessons could wait, she needed to see how her best friend was doing.
Author's Note: If you want to hang out with me on Discord, here's a link to my server: Join the Craftworld Iyanden Discord Server!
And I do have three advance chapters on my Patreon for anyone interested.