'the Captain' with no further description is also the scruffiest member of nextwave
we're digging a very deep referential rabbit hole here
we're digging a very deep referential rabbit hole here
Thunder of the Gods (Worm/DC)
- Thread starter Solarion
- Start date
- Crossover
Making Waves - 3
Solarion
For Light and Life
- Location
- From Cybertron
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
- Location
- From Cybertron
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.
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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.
Thx for the chapter!
Great Story, hope to see more <3
Great Story, hope to see more <3
Nimodes
Weary Worldwalker
- Location
- Arizona
This could go gloriously or tragically with regards to Emma. At least she isn't likely to have shaved her head and gone Tinker as she enacts a personal war against the ABB for vengeance, while having a grudge against heroes for not being there when actually needed.
Making Waves - 5
Solarion
For Light and Life
- Location
- From Cybertron
After spending most of the summer flying around the city from above, Taylor couldn't help but feel incredibly awkward as she walked down the street towards Emma's house.
It was strange. She had only been capable of flight for a few short weeks, while she had spent most of her life walking. This had been her regular route to Emma's house for as long as she could remember.
But now it just felt slow and irritating. Walking down the street as slow and awkward Taylor was nothing like soaring through the skies above, the speed and power of the gods surging through her veins.
This is the safest way. She reminded herself. If she didn't want to expose her secret identity, she couldn't call down a thunderbolt around the neighbourhood all the time. Not when Armsmaster had pointed out that people were noticing the lightning.
Even if it was frustrating to have to do this when Taylor knew she could have reached Emma's house in a heartbeat if she was transformed.
As she turned the corner, the neighbourhood slowly became nicer, and richer. Not that her home was in a bad neighbourhood, really, but the houses were older, and more worn down. The Hebert home itself had been built in the seventies, inherited by Taylor's mother from her parents.
But the houses here, near Emma's home, were newer, shinier. The pavement of the sidewalks wasn't as grey or cracked, and every other house had a garage and a driveway, with expensive-looking cars gleaming in the sunlight parked in the latter.
The Barnes house was roughly halfway down the street, and when she finally reached it, Taylor noticed that their car was conspicuously absent.
It was probably still getting repaired from the damage done to it during the…incident, she realized.
Jogging down the garden path, Taylor rang the doorbell, waiting for a response.
The door swung open after a minute, revealing Mrs. Barnes. A tall, dark-haired woman with blue eyes her daughter had inherited, she smiled warmly at Taylor. She was wearing an apron dusted with flour along with oven mitts and had clearly been baking something.
"Taylor! Come in, come in. I was just making some cookies."
"Hey, Mrs. Barnes," Taylor greeted as she stepped inside onto the wooden floor.
The inside of the Barnes' house was as pristine as always. It was large and well-lit, and as Taylor followed Mrs. Barnes to the kitchen, she was reminded of how much larger it was than her own. The latest appliances were everywhere, and the whole room was gleamed with chrome and stainless steel.
Taylor's mouth watered as Mrs. Barnes removed a tray of cookies from the oven, the smell of chocolate filling the room. Emma's mom had always made the best cookies.
"You're here to see Emma, right?" Mrs. Barnes asked as she arranged a few of the cookies onto a plate. "Take this up with you, okay? You two can share it and-" She lowered her voice slightly. "It might make Emma feel better. She had a nightmare last night. I'm glad you're here, Taylor, it'll do Emma good to have something to take her mind off things."
Taylor sobered, distracted from the delicious-looking chocolate chip cookies. "I'll do my best," She promised, taking the plate from Mrs. Barnes.
"Good girl," Mrs. Barnes was still smiling, but it was tinged with sadness now. "Run along now, I'll bring you two something to drink later."
Balancing the cookies in one hand, Taylor made her way up the stairs to Emma's room. She knocked on the door. "Emma, it's me!"
The door swung open and Emma appeared. She looked tired with shadows under her eyes, but to Taylor's relief, she otherwise looked better than she had the other day. The last time Taylor had visited, her friend had looked worryingly thin and haggard, but it was clear she was eating properly again, at least. Her hair was longer than Emma usually kept it, clearly not having been cut in some time and she was just wearing a set of pink pajamas rather stylish clothes.
"Hey, Taylor," Emma said, smiling, though it was a smaller, fainter expression than Taylor was used to. "Are those cookies?"
"They sure are, your mom just made them! Come on, let's eat."
Emma stepped back to let Taylor enter the room. The room wasn't too different from how Taylor had always known it to be. The walls were painted a bright blue, there was a large, comfortable bed on one side of the room and a dressing table with a mirror directly opposite.
Various posters of models and movie stars decorated the room, and there was even a television in the corner.
But all the same, Taylor couldn't help but notice the small differences, the…almost-mess. Emma had never been a neat freak exactly, but she had been well-organized.
Now…the make-up and comb and brush on the dressing table were strewn across it rather than all neatly laid out, and they clearly hadn't been touched in a while. The bed was rumpled, the blanket strewn across it and Emma had been curled up inside it not long ago.
The room wasn't neglected, per se. Even if Emma wasn't there to take care of things, her parents and her sister had been doing everything they could to make her comfortable.
But it wasn't how Emma had used to keep the room either.
A heartbeat too late, Taylor realized she'd been staring and the silence was stretching on. She hastily deposited the cookie plate on Emma's side table and turned to beam at her friend, desperately scrambling for something to talk about.
But before she could, Emma spoke up first. "Hey, Taylor, have you seen the new cape on the news?"
Taylor startled at the question. "Uh, yeah," She said. "The one in red and gold with the lightning bolts?"
"Yeah," Emma said softly, her eyes looking distant. "She…" The blonde hesitated for a moment. "She's the one who rescued me that day."
For a moment, Taylor wasn't sure why Emma was acting like this was a grand revelation, before she remembered that no one had ever told Taylor Hebert the details of what had happened. Her other self knew, but all Taylor knew was that her friend had been attacked and saved by a cape.
"Really?" Taylor tried to inject as much surprise into her voice as she could. "That's awesome, Emma."
"She was amazing," Emma said softly. "I…don't know what would have happened to me if she hadn't shown up, Taylor." Her friend looked pale and withdrawn, even the small smile she'd had earlier now gone.
Taylor swallowed. She didn't want to think about that. The way those goons had been standing over Emma, holding a knife…she really didn't want to think about it.
"Well, I'm happy she was there," Taylor said instead. "I'm just…I'm so glad you're okay, Emma." She said quietly, reaching out to take Emma's hand with her own.
Thankfully, Emma responded in kind, her fingers curling around Taylor's tightly. Her nails were trimmed short and a little unevenly, Taylor noticed. Not badly, but it was something that had been done at home as opposed to the professional manicures that Emma loved.
"I'm happy she was there too. I don't…it was so scary, Taylor. I was terrified. They…they were talking about selling me as a slave." Emma's words came out small and afraid as if it was a shameful revelation.
Taylor stiffened with outrage, feeling her temper flare. How dare they think of doing something like that!?
But as soon as the anger came, it was doused by concern for Emma, who looked smaller and more afraid than Taylor had ever seen her.
Without thinking, Taylor reached forward and pulled Emma into a hug, just like she had done after rescuing her. She wasn't the Captain right now, not a living goddess capable of conjuring lightning bolts from her hands, but it felt like the thing to do.
Emma was surprised, but she didn't resist, wrapping her around Taylor.
"You're okay, Emma," Taylor whispered. "I promise, everything is okay."
Emma clung to Taylor just like she had that day, even if she didn't know it. "I know," She whispered. "I just…I wish I could thank the cape for saving me."
"I'm sure you'll get your chance," Taylor promised. "I don't think the new cape is going anywhere, after all."
Emma pulled back slightly and gave her a watery smile. Her eyes still looked haunted, making Taylor shiver.
Taylor couldn't put it into words. There was something in that look that scared her more than any of the bad guys she beat up.
"Yeah, good point," Emma said as she wiped her eyes and cleared her throat before speaking again, clearly trying to appear stronger. "Now, how about those cookies, huh?"
As Taylor walked back towards her house a few hours later, she wondered what to do next.
Emma wanted to meet the cape who had rescued her again, but Taylor wasn't sure how to justify that.
It wasn't as if she could say 'Hello, Emma, your friend, Taylor Hebert, reached out to me and asked me to meet you again'
Maybe she could just say she'd wanted to check in on someone she'd rescued? But then people would wonder why she'd only checked in on Emma alone, instead of all the other people she'd saved.
Maybe…maybe she should tell Emma the truth? Taylor was sure Emma wouldn't betray her secret, but part of her wondered if it would put Emma in danger.
But it would be nice to have someone to talk to about all this, about her new powers, about what she was trying to do.
Maybe she could ask Victoria and Crystal for advice. They didn't have secret identities, they must have some experience with the idea of people knowing who they were.
The meet-up wasn't for another…Taylor checked her watch. Another two hours.
Taylor sighed. What was she going to do for two hours?
She didn't feel like going home, so Taylor wandered a little aimlessly, around the Boardwalk. She didn't bother going into any of the shops, though. She didn't have any money to buy anything and she didn't feel like dealing with any of the enforcers.
The Boardwalk was a hive of activity right now, in the morning at the height of summer, filled with both citizens of Brockton Bay and tourists doing their shopping. It was easy enough for Taylor to fade into the crowd as walked around, window shopping and wondering what on Earth to do.
She wished she could talk to Dad, but…he'd been so distant since Mom died. And Taylor knew he'd want her to join the Protectorate, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to.
Victoria's words about the Protectorate having their problems swirled through her mind, as did Crystal's warnings about the police.
Even if the PRT didn't have as many problems as the police, that didn't mean they didn't have problems at all. Dad might work for them, but Taylor wasn't sure if that made them trustworthy or not. Should she call Miss Militia? Ask her about it? The older heroine would be biased in the Protectorate's favor, but still, it would help to have a second opinion.
Maybe she should go to the Rock of Eternity again. Not just for her magic lessons, but maybe the Wizard would have some advice-
Taylor's train of thought was cut off as she passed a row of televisions in a store, her eyes widening at what she saw.
"The gang known as the Chorus has attacked the Bright Star Mall," A newscaster was saying. "New Wave, which was already at the scene, has engaged them, and evacuation efforts are underway, but things remain tense. Citizens are advised to stay away from the mall and surrounding areas until-"
Taylor didn't wait to hear more. She took off, sprinting down the street and jumping into the first quiet-looking alley she found.
A moment later, the sound of thunder echoed across the Boardwalk despite the cloudless sky, startling everyone and distracting them from the red-gold blur that shot through the sky, heading directly for downtown.
Author's Note: For anyone interested, I now have six advance chapters available on my Patreon, for the same price as I was previously offering three advance chapters.
It was strange. She had only been capable of flight for a few short weeks, while she had spent most of her life walking. This had been her regular route to Emma's house for as long as she could remember.
But now it just felt slow and irritating. Walking down the street as slow and awkward Taylor was nothing like soaring through the skies above, the speed and power of the gods surging through her veins.
This is the safest way. She reminded herself. If she didn't want to expose her secret identity, she couldn't call down a thunderbolt around the neighbourhood all the time. Not when Armsmaster had pointed out that people were noticing the lightning.
Even if it was frustrating to have to do this when Taylor knew she could have reached Emma's house in a heartbeat if she was transformed.
As she turned the corner, the neighbourhood slowly became nicer, and richer. Not that her home was in a bad neighbourhood, really, but the houses were older, and more worn down. The Hebert home itself had been built in the seventies, inherited by Taylor's mother from her parents.
But the houses here, near Emma's home, were newer, shinier. The pavement of the sidewalks wasn't as grey or cracked, and every other house had a garage and a driveway, with expensive-looking cars gleaming in the sunlight parked in the latter.
The Barnes house was roughly halfway down the street, and when she finally reached it, Taylor noticed that their car was conspicuously absent.
It was probably still getting repaired from the damage done to it during the…incident, she realized.
Jogging down the garden path, Taylor rang the doorbell, waiting for a response.
The door swung open after a minute, revealing Mrs. Barnes. A tall, dark-haired woman with blue eyes her daughter had inherited, she smiled warmly at Taylor. She was wearing an apron dusted with flour along with oven mitts and had clearly been baking something.
"Taylor! Come in, come in. I was just making some cookies."
"Hey, Mrs. Barnes," Taylor greeted as she stepped inside onto the wooden floor.
The inside of the Barnes' house was as pristine as always. It was large and well-lit, and as Taylor followed Mrs. Barnes to the kitchen, she was reminded of how much larger it was than her own. The latest appliances were everywhere, and the whole room was gleamed with chrome and stainless steel.
Taylor's mouth watered as Mrs. Barnes removed a tray of cookies from the oven, the smell of chocolate filling the room. Emma's mom had always made the best cookies.
"You're here to see Emma, right?" Mrs. Barnes asked as she arranged a few of the cookies onto a plate. "Take this up with you, okay? You two can share it and-" She lowered her voice slightly. "It might make Emma feel better. She had a nightmare last night. I'm glad you're here, Taylor, it'll do Emma good to have something to take her mind off things."
Taylor sobered, distracted from the delicious-looking chocolate chip cookies. "I'll do my best," She promised, taking the plate from Mrs. Barnes.
"Good girl," Mrs. Barnes was still smiling, but it was tinged with sadness now. "Run along now, I'll bring you two something to drink later."
Balancing the cookies in one hand, Taylor made her way up the stairs to Emma's room. She knocked on the door. "Emma, it's me!"
The door swung open and Emma appeared. She looked tired with shadows under her eyes, but to Taylor's relief, she otherwise looked better than she had the other day. The last time Taylor had visited, her friend had looked worryingly thin and haggard, but it was clear she was eating properly again, at least. Her hair was longer than Emma usually kept it, clearly not having been cut in some time and she was just wearing a set of pink pajamas rather stylish clothes.
"Hey, Taylor," Emma said, smiling, though it was a smaller, fainter expression than Taylor was used to. "Are those cookies?"
"They sure are, your mom just made them! Come on, let's eat."
Emma stepped back to let Taylor enter the room. The room wasn't too different from how Taylor had always known it to be. The walls were painted a bright blue, there was a large, comfortable bed on one side of the room and a dressing table with a mirror directly opposite.
Various posters of models and movie stars decorated the room, and there was even a television in the corner.
But all the same, Taylor couldn't help but notice the small differences, the…almost-mess. Emma had never been a neat freak exactly, but she had been well-organized.
Now…the make-up and comb and brush on the dressing table were strewn across it rather than all neatly laid out, and they clearly hadn't been touched in a while. The bed was rumpled, the blanket strewn across it and Emma had been curled up inside it not long ago.
The room wasn't neglected, per se. Even if Emma wasn't there to take care of things, her parents and her sister had been doing everything they could to make her comfortable.
But it wasn't how Emma had used to keep the room either.
A heartbeat too late, Taylor realized she'd been staring and the silence was stretching on. She hastily deposited the cookie plate on Emma's side table and turned to beam at her friend, desperately scrambling for something to talk about.
But before she could, Emma spoke up first. "Hey, Taylor, have you seen the new cape on the news?"
Taylor startled at the question. "Uh, yeah," She said. "The one in red and gold with the lightning bolts?"
"Yeah," Emma said softly, her eyes looking distant. "She…" The blonde hesitated for a moment. "She's the one who rescued me that day."
For a moment, Taylor wasn't sure why Emma was acting like this was a grand revelation, before she remembered that no one had ever told Taylor Hebert the details of what had happened. Her other self knew, but all Taylor knew was that her friend had been attacked and saved by a cape.
"Really?" Taylor tried to inject as much surprise into her voice as she could. "That's awesome, Emma."
"She was amazing," Emma said softly. "I…don't know what would have happened to me if she hadn't shown up, Taylor." Her friend looked pale and withdrawn, even the small smile she'd had earlier now gone.
Taylor swallowed. She didn't want to think about that. The way those goons had been standing over Emma, holding a knife…she really didn't want to think about it.
"Well, I'm happy she was there," Taylor said instead. "I'm just…I'm so glad you're okay, Emma." She said quietly, reaching out to take Emma's hand with her own.
Thankfully, Emma responded in kind, her fingers curling around Taylor's tightly. Her nails were trimmed short and a little unevenly, Taylor noticed. Not badly, but it was something that had been done at home as opposed to the professional manicures that Emma loved.
"I'm happy she was there too. I don't…it was so scary, Taylor. I was terrified. They…they were talking about selling me as a slave." Emma's words came out small and afraid as if it was a shameful revelation.
Taylor stiffened with outrage, feeling her temper flare. How dare they think of doing something like that!?
But as soon as the anger came, it was doused by concern for Emma, who looked smaller and more afraid than Taylor had ever seen her.
Without thinking, Taylor reached forward and pulled Emma into a hug, just like she had done after rescuing her. She wasn't the Captain right now, not a living goddess capable of conjuring lightning bolts from her hands, but it felt like the thing to do.
Emma was surprised, but she didn't resist, wrapping her around Taylor.
"You're okay, Emma," Taylor whispered. "I promise, everything is okay."
Emma clung to Taylor just like she had that day, even if she didn't know it. "I know," She whispered. "I just…I wish I could thank the cape for saving me."
"I'm sure you'll get your chance," Taylor promised. "I don't think the new cape is going anywhere, after all."
Emma pulled back slightly and gave her a watery smile. Her eyes still looked haunted, making Taylor shiver.
Taylor couldn't put it into words. There was something in that look that scared her more than any of the bad guys she beat up.
"Yeah, good point," Emma said as she wiped her eyes and cleared her throat before speaking again, clearly trying to appear stronger. "Now, how about those cookies, huh?"
As Taylor walked back towards her house a few hours later, she wondered what to do next.
Emma wanted to meet the cape who had rescued her again, but Taylor wasn't sure how to justify that.
It wasn't as if she could say 'Hello, Emma, your friend, Taylor Hebert, reached out to me and asked me to meet you again'
Maybe she could just say she'd wanted to check in on someone she'd rescued? But then people would wonder why she'd only checked in on Emma alone, instead of all the other people she'd saved.
Maybe…maybe she should tell Emma the truth? Taylor was sure Emma wouldn't betray her secret, but part of her wondered if it would put Emma in danger.
But it would be nice to have someone to talk to about all this, about her new powers, about what she was trying to do.
Maybe she could ask Victoria and Crystal for advice. They didn't have secret identities, they must have some experience with the idea of people knowing who they were.
The meet-up wasn't for another…Taylor checked her watch. Another two hours.
Taylor sighed. What was she going to do for two hours?
She didn't feel like going home, so Taylor wandered a little aimlessly, around the Boardwalk. She didn't bother going into any of the shops, though. She didn't have any money to buy anything and she didn't feel like dealing with any of the enforcers.
The Boardwalk was a hive of activity right now, in the morning at the height of summer, filled with both citizens of Brockton Bay and tourists doing their shopping. It was easy enough for Taylor to fade into the crowd as walked around, window shopping and wondering what on Earth to do.
She wished she could talk to Dad, but…he'd been so distant since Mom died. And Taylor knew he'd want her to join the Protectorate, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to.
Victoria's words about the Protectorate having their problems swirled through her mind, as did Crystal's warnings about the police.
Even if the PRT didn't have as many problems as the police, that didn't mean they didn't have problems at all. Dad might work for them, but Taylor wasn't sure if that made them trustworthy or not. Should she call Miss Militia? Ask her about it? The older heroine would be biased in the Protectorate's favor, but still, it would help to have a second opinion.
Maybe she should go to the Rock of Eternity again. Not just for her magic lessons, but maybe the Wizard would have some advice-
Taylor's train of thought was cut off as she passed a row of televisions in a store, her eyes widening at what she saw.
"The gang known as the Chorus has attacked the Bright Star Mall," A newscaster was saying. "New Wave, which was already at the scene, has engaged them, and evacuation efforts are underway, but things remain tense. Citizens are advised to stay away from the mall and surrounding areas until-"
Taylor didn't wait to hear more. She took off, sprinting down the street and jumping into the first quiet-looking alley she found.
A moment later, the sound of thunder echoed across the Boardwalk despite the cloudless sky, startling everyone and distracting them from the red-gold blur that shot through the sky, heading directly for downtown.
Author's Note: For anyone interested, I now have six advance chapters available on my Patreon, for the same price as I was previously offering three advance chapters.
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Aurora Moon
Verfied Insomniac with too much time on her hands
- Location
- USA, Earth
- Pronouns
- She/Her
They were the ones who fatally shot glory girl and made Pancea trigger.
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Ah, New Wave jr trauma time ft. Tayzam, fun!
Making Waves - 6
Solarion
For Light and Life
- Location
- From Cybertron
Bright Star Mall was in pure chaos when Taylor arrived.
People were screaming and running away, but more than that, a lot of them were wounded. Everywhere Taylor could see, there were shards of glass falling everywhere and barely any intact windows or screens.
A lot of people were bleeding, and injuries were only relatively few as they were probably due to the shimmering red force-fields hovering above the crowd.
Some distance away, on the main floor of the mall, Taylor spotted Crystal and Victoria, and along with them, the adult members of New Wave. Lady Photon, Manpower, Brandish and Flashbang. They weren't wearing their costumes but were instead all dressed in civilian clothes - meaning Taylor could only recognize them by the light grenades, lasers, and energy swords flashing around - though that didn't seem to be slowing the heroes down.
Their opponent was a cape dressed in black and white, with long, startlingly white hair and white/black face paint covering her face.
Taylor recognized her after a moment. Silver Banshee, leader of the gang known as the Chorus. She had the ability to manipulate sound, using it in several ways to create sonic blasts and even to fly, which could make her beyond lethal to deal with it.
She didn't know much about the villains as a whole. Silver Banshee was really the only one who made the news, and it was usually about her fighting other gangs or robbing jewelry stores.
She was currently flying above the ground, being engaged by Lady Photon, the two of them flying around each other and hurling blasts, while Flashbang seemed to be serving as fire support from the ground, trying to hit Silver Banshee whenever he saw an opening.
He was flinging light spheres like they were going out of style, ricocheting them off of walls or even each other in mid-air explosions. Lady Photon didn't seem to be putting up a lot of pressure, in comparison, only doing short bursts of lasers. Was she trying to not blow up the mall?
Victoria, Manpower and Brandish seemed to be trying to conduct a controlled evacuation as best as possible, but they were having trouble due to the sheer amount of people scrambling away. Crystal was hovering near them, beads of sweat dripping down her face,
Why wasn't Crystal also helping her mother with fire support? As a flier, she'd be better suited to it than her uncle. Crowd control was important, but it didn't seem like there was anything they were in danger of at the very moment.
The answer came to Taylor an instant later as Silver Banshee opened her mouth and screamed.
The sound was uncomfortable even for Taylor, making her stagger, and the members of New Wave were clearly struggling to stay standing, protected only by Crystal and Lady Photon's force-fields. Only Glory Girl seemed relatively unaffected, which wasn't that surprising. She was invulnerable, after all.
But not even she could do anything as the sound wave exploded across the area, more glass shattered, and even stone and metal cracked.
The world slowed to a crawl as Taylor watched the pieces of rubble rain down towards the crowd and Crystal's force fields. Purple ones appeared above those, a backwards glance by Lady Photon as Flashbang took up the attack
Glory Girl and Manpower pressed themselves above and over the closest civilians to shield them with their bodies, while Brandish summoned two flat shields of light in both her hands, raising them up as high as she could.
None of them looked confident.
The Speed of Mercury, a part of her whispered.
She'd already been using it on some level, to take in the situation, but now it seemed to deepen, as if the world was suddenly in slow motion. The rubble was falling inch by inch, and the people seemed to be barely moving, even though Taylor objectively knew they were running.
People wouldn't get away in time. And given the apparent exhaustion on Crystal's face, and how distracted Lady Photon appeared, Taylor didn't know how well her force-fields would hold up.
There was only one thing to do.
Taylor moved. Faster than she ever thought possible, she grabbed every member of the crowd she could, depositing them outside.
A part of her distantly noted that moving at the speed she was at should have hurt the people, but another voice in her mind, a stronger one, said they'd be fine.
And they were. As she evacuated the mall one by one, grabbing tourists, shoppers, employees and security guards, they all seemed fine. A little disoriented and some of them vomiting, but nothing like what they would have gone through if the laws of physics were to be believed.
Magic is amazing, Taylor thought distantly, barely even able to believe she was doing this.
Somehow, even as the world moved in slow motion, Taylor knew exactly how long it had taken her to evacuate the entire mall.
In the end, it only took a few moments to move everyone outside, away from the battle.
After the last person was away, Taylor flew back in and stopped right next to Victoria.
Abruptly, the world snapped back to normal speed, and Victoria startled as she realized Taylor was there.
"Captain?" She exclaimed. "What-"
She trailed off as she realized the mall was now completely empty except for the capes.
The other members of the New Wave team looked just as shocked, and even Silver Banshee paused.
A chill went down Taylor's spine as the leader of Chorus looked right at her with inhuman eyes, white orbs against black sclera.
She's different.
Somehow, Taylor knew that Banshee wasn't a parahuman. Her abilities were magic. Taylor couldn't have said how she knew, she just did.
And Banshee knew it too, her eyes narrowing as they landed on Taylor.
But if Taylor had hoped that both of them being powered by magic would give Banshee more than a moment's pause, that hope fell through as Banshee opened her mouth again.
Taylor dashed ahead, trying desperately to re-summon the ability to see the world in slow motion, to be as fast as the speed of thought, but it didn't come. The power was there, Taylor could feel it, but it was as if it was just out of reach. She had grasped it long enough to save the civilians, but now it had slipped away again. She was still superhumanly fast, but the perception had slipped away.
Another scream erupted from Banshee's throat, but it was somehow more controlled, more focused, directly on Taylor herself.
"BEGONE, INTERLOPER!"
And this time there was pain.
Taylor buckled against the sonic blast, raising her arms to protect herself but being pushed back anyway. The sound rattled her to her very bones, and she could hear them cracking.
Taylor had never been in a fight before she had powers, and with these powers, she had been immune to attacks from what she had dealt with during her Hookwolf beatdown.
This was different than what she could have imagined. It was like feeling the heat of a thrashing fireplace hit her in the face, but it was every part of her, every single bit of her body dealing with a sensation she had never could have dreamed of before.
Pain. Hurt. Fear.
Had this been Taylor, she would have floundered.
But The Captain refused to yield. She wasn't so weak! She gritted her teeth, taking a single step forward against the sonic blast…only for it to abruptly end as a barrage of blasts rocketed straight for Silver Banshee, forcing her to let up on the scream and dodge.
New Wave was on the offensive once again, moving like a well-oiled machine as they hemmed the villain in with forcefields, lasers, grenades, and even the elongated spear of Brandish jabbing her way.
Taylor hardly had time to move in to assist before Glory Girl descended from above, overlooked due to the barrage, her fist crashing straight into Banshee's face.
The blow was strong, a dull meaty-sound echoing in the building.
Amazingly, even as the blow threw Banshee back several feet, it didn't seem to knock her out or even stop her from flying.
If anything, it only seemed to enrage her further.
"You dare?" She shrieked in a ghostly, unearthly voice, her words conjuring another wave of sound, but Taylor dashed in to intercept it this time. It wasn't as focused and powerful as the blast from before, only making her stagger.
Before Banshee could attack again, she was tackled by Manpower from behind. The older hero might not be able to fly, but he could clearly jump, and he and Banshee crashed back into the ground.
Even as they did, Manpower didn't let up, delivering a superhumanly strong jab straight into Banshee's throat, making the villain choke and splutter as Manpower moved back from her.
Before Banshee could recover, she was bombarded with blasts from Lady Photon, Laserdream and Flashbang, blasting her halfway across the ground floor of the mall.
When the smoke cleared, Silver Banshee was out cold on the ground, unconscious.
"So you're the Captain, yes? Or so my daughter and niece tell me."
Lady Photon stared at her, several inches shorter than Taylor herself, but imposing nevertheless. Piercing blue eyes raked over Taylor, her expression sombre.
"Uh, yeah," Taylor said a little lamely. The PRT and other emergency services had finally arrived at the scene, and Silver Banshee was being put away in a van, Armsmaster himself on guard for the sedated villain.
Lady Photon's expression stayed serious for a moment before she smiled. It was a warm, kind expression and some of the tension left Taylor's frame at the sight of it.
"Thank you for your help," She said sincerely. "If you hadn't been here to evacuate everyone…well, there would have been a lot more collateral damage before we took down Silver Banshee."
"It's no trouble," Taylor said, unable to stop her gaze from drifting over all the people who were being tended to by the paramedics, feeling a pang of guilt at just how many people were injured. "I just...I wish I had gotten here sooner."
"I know the feeling," Lady Photon nodded. "We all go through it. But you should remember it's not your fault. You came as soon as you could, and you saved lives."
I could have been here sooner if I'd already been transformed when the attack happened. Taylor thought, but she didn't voice it.
Lady Photon seemed to read her expression anyway. "Don't torture yourself over it," she advised, her voice firmer. "Believe me, this life is hard enough as it is. Feeling guilty for things out of your control won't make it easier."
Taylor huffed a laugh. "Fair. Thank you, Lady Photon."
"Please, call me Sarah," The older woman said with a smile.
Taylor blinked, startled by the offer…before she remembered that Lady Photon didn't know who she was. She thought Taylor was a grown-up. Younger than her, sure, but still a grown-up.
"Thank you, Sarah," Taylor said, the name feeling incredibly awkward in her mouth. Transformed or not, calling someone her mother's age by their first name just didn't seem right.
"That aside, are you sure you're alright?" Lady Photon asked, a hint of concern entering her tone as she looked Taylor up and done. "You took the brunt of Silver Banshee's attack. Have you had the paramedics look at you?"
"I'm fine," Taylor said. "I think I have some kind of accelerated healing, I'm feeling much better than I was even ten minutes ago." It was true Taylor's body still ached from the battle, the first time she had ever felt any kind of real pain in her transformed state, but it was already fading. She had a feeling she'd be just fine.
"You think?" Lady Photon said with a raised eyebrow.
Taylor shrugged helplessly, resisting the urge to squirm a little. "I'm still figuring out my powers."
Lady Photon's eyebrows furrowed in a way that reminded Taylor vaguely of her mother, and for a moment, she was afraid the woman would press the matter. She just sighed. "Well, if you're sure."
"I am," Taylor said as firmly as she could. She was fine, she didn't need to distract the paramedics from the people who needed their help.
"Hmm," Sarah hummed. "Actually, on the subject of your powers, my daughter tells me you've been having some trouble with your Blaster powers and could use some advice. I'd be happy to offer a few tips."
Taylor lit up at the idea. She had hesitated to use her lightning against Silver Banshee, afraid that she might accidentally kill the villain or cause massive collateral damage, but maybe Lady Photon could help.
"I'd love to," Taylor said eagerly.
The leader of New Wave rubbed her chin. "Well, it can't be today, I'm afraid, as I'm sure you understand, but…this weekend, perhaps? I'll think of a place we can meet and see how I can help you refine your powers."
Taylor beamed. "Thank you so much!"
"It's no trouble at all," Sarah assured her. "Your help might have saved some of our lives today. If nothing else, I don't think we could have beaten her without taking some serious injuries. Some advice on how to control your powers is the least I can do."
Taylor opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, she was interrupted.
"Captain!" Victoria appeared out of nowhere.
"Hey Glory Girl," Taylor greeted, offering the blonde a smile.
"Thanks for the help today," Victoria said cheerily. "You did great! That evacuation was amazing."
Taylor blushed at the praise. "Thanks, Victoria."
Lady Photon, however, arched an eyebrow at her neice. "Victoria, aren't you supposed to be calling your sister? I'm sure she's seen the news by now and is worried sick."
"Oh, I totally forgot." Victoria cringed. "Ames will be so worried! I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, Cap," She added swiftly and then flew off before Taylor could say anything.
Sarah huffed a laugh. "I apologize for my niece. She means well, she's just very energetic."
"It's fine," Taylor told her, once more feeling awkward at being treated as a peer by an adult, especially when it involved someone near her age. "I like her."
"That's good," Sarah said. "Now, about those lessons, I have a few ideas on where we could meet…"
People were screaming and running away, but more than that, a lot of them were wounded. Everywhere Taylor could see, there were shards of glass falling everywhere and barely any intact windows or screens.
A lot of people were bleeding, and injuries were only relatively few as they were probably due to the shimmering red force-fields hovering above the crowd.
Some distance away, on the main floor of the mall, Taylor spotted Crystal and Victoria, and along with them, the adult members of New Wave. Lady Photon, Manpower, Brandish and Flashbang. They weren't wearing their costumes but were instead all dressed in civilian clothes - meaning Taylor could only recognize them by the light grenades, lasers, and energy swords flashing around - though that didn't seem to be slowing the heroes down.
Their opponent was a cape dressed in black and white, with long, startlingly white hair and white/black face paint covering her face.
Taylor recognized her after a moment. Silver Banshee, leader of the gang known as the Chorus. She had the ability to manipulate sound, using it in several ways to create sonic blasts and even to fly, which could make her beyond lethal to deal with it.
She didn't know much about the villains as a whole. Silver Banshee was really the only one who made the news, and it was usually about her fighting other gangs or robbing jewelry stores.
She was currently flying above the ground, being engaged by Lady Photon, the two of them flying around each other and hurling blasts, while Flashbang seemed to be serving as fire support from the ground, trying to hit Silver Banshee whenever he saw an opening.
He was flinging light spheres like they were going out of style, ricocheting them off of walls or even each other in mid-air explosions. Lady Photon didn't seem to be putting up a lot of pressure, in comparison, only doing short bursts of lasers. Was she trying to not blow up the mall?
Victoria, Manpower and Brandish seemed to be trying to conduct a controlled evacuation as best as possible, but they were having trouble due to the sheer amount of people scrambling away. Crystal was hovering near them, beads of sweat dripping down her face,
Why wasn't Crystal also helping her mother with fire support? As a flier, she'd be better suited to it than her uncle. Crowd control was important, but it didn't seem like there was anything they were in danger of at the very moment.
The answer came to Taylor an instant later as Silver Banshee opened her mouth and screamed.
The sound was uncomfortable even for Taylor, making her stagger, and the members of New Wave were clearly struggling to stay standing, protected only by Crystal and Lady Photon's force-fields. Only Glory Girl seemed relatively unaffected, which wasn't that surprising. She was invulnerable, after all.
But not even she could do anything as the sound wave exploded across the area, more glass shattered, and even stone and metal cracked.
The world slowed to a crawl as Taylor watched the pieces of rubble rain down towards the crowd and Crystal's force fields. Purple ones appeared above those, a backwards glance by Lady Photon as Flashbang took up the attack
Glory Girl and Manpower pressed themselves above and over the closest civilians to shield them with their bodies, while Brandish summoned two flat shields of light in both her hands, raising them up as high as she could.
None of them looked confident.
The Speed of Mercury, a part of her whispered.
She'd already been using it on some level, to take in the situation, but now it seemed to deepen, as if the world was suddenly in slow motion. The rubble was falling inch by inch, and the people seemed to be barely moving, even though Taylor objectively knew they were running.
People wouldn't get away in time. And given the apparent exhaustion on Crystal's face, and how distracted Lady Photon appeared, Taylor didn't know how well her force-fields would hold up.
There was only one thing to do.
Taylor moved. Faster than she ever thought possible, she grabbed every member of the crowd she could, depositing them outside.
A part of her distantly noted that moving at the speed she was at should have hurt the people, but another voice in her mind, a stronger one, said they'd be fine.
And they were. As she evacuated the mall one by one, grabbing tourists, shoppers, employees and security guards, they all seemed fine. A little disoriented and some of them vomiting, but nothing like what they would have gone through if the laws of physics were to be believed.
Magic is amazing, Taylor thought distantly, barely even able to believe she was doing this.
Somehow, even as the world moved in slow motion, Taylor knew exactly how long it had taken her to evacuate the entire mall.
In the end, it only took a few moments to move everyone outside, away from the battle.
After the last person was away, Taylor flew back in and stopped right next to Victoria.
Abruptly, the world snapped back to normal speed, and Victoria startled as she realized Taylor was there.
"Captain?" She exclaimed. "What-"
She trailed off as she realized the mall was now completely empty except for the capes.
The other members of the New Wave team looked just as shocked, and even Silver Banshee paused.
A chill went down Taylor's spine as the leader of Chorus looked right at her with inhuman eyes, white orbs against black sclera.
She's different.
Somehow, Taylor knew that Banshee wasn't a parahuman. Her abilities were magic. Taylor couldn't have said how she knew, she just did.
And Banshee knew it too, her eyes narrowing as they landed on Taylor.
But if Taylor had hoped that both of them being powered by magic would give Banshee more than a moment's pause, that hope fell through as Banshee opened her mouth again.
Taylor dashed ahead, trying desperately to re-summon the ability to see the world in slow motion, to be as fast as the speed of thought, but it didn't come. The power was there, Taylor could feel it, but it was as if it was just out of reach. She had grasped it long enough to save the civilians, but now it had slipped away again. She was still superhumanly fast, but the perception had slipped away.
Another scream erupted from Banshee's throat, but it was somehow more controlled, more focused, directly on Taylor herself.
"BEGONE, INTERLOPER!"
And this time there was pain.
Taylor buckled against the sonic blast, raising her arms to protect herself but being pushed back anyway. The sound rattled her to her very bones, and she could hear them cracking.
Taylor had never been in a fight before she had powers, and with these powers, she had been immune to attacks from what she had dealt with during her Hookwolf beatdown.
This was different than what she could have imagined. It was like feeling the heat of a thrashing fireplace hit her in the face, but it was every part of her, every single bit of her body dealing with a sensation she had never could have dreamed of before.
Pain. Hurt. Fear.
Had this been Taylor, she would have floundered.
But The Captain refused to yield. She wasn't so weak! She gritted her teeth, taking a single step forward against the sonic blast…only for it to abruptly end as a barrage of blasts rocketed straight for Silver Banshee, forcing her to let up on the scream and dodge.
New Wave was on the offensive once again, moving like a well-oiled machine as they hemmed the villain in with forcefields, lasers, grenades, and even the elongated spear of Brandish jabbing her way.
Taylor hardly had time to move in to assist before Glory Girl descended from above, overlooked due to the barrage, her fist crashing straight into Banshee's face.
The blow was strong, a dull meaty-sound echoing in the building.
Amazingly, even as the blow threw Banshee back several feet, it didn't seem to knock her out or even stop her from flying.
If anything, it only seemed to enrage her further.
"You dare?" She shrieked in a ghostly, unearthly voice, her words conjuring another wave of sound, but Taylor dashed in to intercept it this time. It wasn't as focused and powerful as the blast from before, only making her stagger.
Before Banshee could attack again, she was tackled by Manpower from behind. The older hero might not be able to fly, but he could clearly jump, and he and Banshee crashed back into the ground.
Even as they did, Manpower didn't let up, delivering a superhumanly strong jab straight into Banshee's throat, making the villain choke and splutter as Manpower moved back from her.
Before Banshee could recover, she was bombarded with blasts from Lady Photon, Laserdream and Flashbang, blasting her halfway across the ground floor of the mall.
When the smoke cleared, Silver Banshee was out cold on the ground, unconscious.
"So you're the Captain, yes? Or so my daughter and niece tell me."
Lady Photon stared at her, several inches shorter than Taylor herself, but imposing nevertheless. Piercing blue eyes raked over Taylor, her expression sombre.
"Uh, yeah," Taylor said a little lamely. The PRT and other emergency services had finally arrived at the scene, and Silver Banshee was being put away in a van, Armsmaster himself on guard for the sedated villain.
Lady Photon's expression stayed serious for a moment before she smiled. It was a warm, kind expression and some of the tension left Taylor's frame at the sight of it.
"Thank you for your help," She said sincerely. "If you hadn't been here to evacuate everyone…well, there would have been a lot more collateral damage before we took down Silver Banshee."
"It's no trouble," Taylor said, unable to stop her gaze from drifting over all the people who were being tended to by the paramedics, feeling a pang of guilt at just how many people were injured. "I just...I wish I had gotten here sooner."
"I know the feeling," Lady Photon nodded. "We all go through it. But you should remember it's not your fault. You came as soon as you could, and you saved lives."
I could have been here sooner if I'd already been transformed when the attack happened. Taylor thought, but she didn't voice it.
Lady Photon seemed to read her expression anyway. "Don't torture yourself over it," she advised, her voice firmer. "Believe me, this life is hard enough as it is. Feeling guilty for things out of your control won't make it easier."
Taylor huffed a laugh. "Fair. Thank you, Lady Photon."
"Please, call me Sarah," The older woman said with a smile.
Taylor blinked, startled by the offer…before she remembered that Lady Photon didn't know who she was. She thought Taylor was a grown-up. Younger than her, sure, but still a grown-up.
"Thank you, Sarah," Taylor said, the name feeling incredibly awkward in her mouth. Transformed or not, calling someone her mother's age by their first name just didn't seem right.
"That aside, are you sure you're alright?" Lady Photon asked, a hint of concern entering her tone as she looked Taylor up and done. "You took the brunt of Silver Banshee's attack. Have you had the paramedics look at you?"
"I'm fine," Taylor said. "I think I have some kind of accelerated healing, I'm feeling much better than I was even ten minutes ago." It was true Taylor's body still ached from the battle, the first time she had ever felt any kind of real pain in her transformed state, but it was already fading. She had a feeling she'd be just fine.
"You think?" Lady Photon said with a raised eyebrow.
Taylor shrugged helplessly, resisting the urge to squirm a little. "I'm still figuring out my powers."
Lady Photon's eyebrows furrowed in a way that reminded Taylor vaguely of her mother, and for a moment, she was afraid the woman would press the matter. She just sighed. "Well, if you're sure."
"I am," Taylor said as firmly as she could. She was fine, she didn't need to distract the paramedics from the people who needed their help.
"Hmm," Sarah hummed. "Actually, on the subject of your powers, my daughter tells me you've been having some trouble with your Blaster powers and could use some advice. I'd be happy to offer a few tips."
Taylor lit up at the idea. She had hesitated to use her lightning against Silver Banshee, afraid that she might accidentally kill the villain or cause massive collateral damage, but maybe Lady Photon could help.
"I'd love to," Taylor said eagerly.
The leader of New Wave rubbed her chin. "Well, it can't be today, I'm afraid, as I'm sure you understand, but…this weekend, perhaps? I'll think of a place we can meet and see how I can help you refine your powers."
Taylor beamed. "Thank you so much!"
"It's no trouble at all," Sarah assured her. "Your help might have saved some of our lives today. If nothing else, I don't think we could have beaten her without taking some serious injuries. Some advice on how to control your powers is the least I can do."
Taylor opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, she was interrupted.
"Captain!" Victoria appeared out of nowhere.
"Hey Glory Girl," Taylor greeted, offering the blonde a smile.
"Thanks for the help today," Victoria said cheerily. "You did great! That evacuation was amazing."
Taylor blushed at the praise. "Thanks, Victoria."
Lady Photon, however, arched an eyebrow at her neice. "Victoria, aren't you supposed to be calling your sister? I'm sure she's seen the news by now and is worried sick."
"Oh, I totally forgot." Victoria cringed. "Ames will be so worried! I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, Cap," She added swiftly and then flew off before Taylor could say anything.
Sarah huffed a laugh. "I apologize for my niece. She means well, she's just very energetic."
"It's fine," Taylor told her, once more feeling awkward at being treated as a peer by an adult, especially when it involved someone near her age. "I like her."
"That's good," Sarah said. "Now, about those lessons, I have a few ideas on where we could meet…"
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JmonsterNEO
Spouter of nonsense
- Location
- The quest forums
The Panacea has not been produced this time around.
Interesting to see Silver Banshee here, does this mean that we can expect Taylor to encounter other DC villains?
also great chapter, looking forward to the next one.
also great chapter, looking forward to the next one.
If we were to have more DC villains appear in the story, then I'm personally hoping for either Klarion the Witch Boy, Gentleman Ghost, Solomon Grundy or Psycho-Pirate, as either one of them would be interesting for Taylor to meet.
Thats probably a good thing. Panacea would have been happier without her powers.
Do you mean like Doctor Fate.
- Location
- Best England - United Kingdom
Unfortunately I fear that this has only delayed The Amy becoming The Panacea.
Unfortunately she still has to live with Worm's biggest MILPO* Carol Dallon.
*Mothers I would Like to Punch Out
- Location
- USA
But think of the sheer number of people who won't survive the upcoming EB Battles!
Plus, who knows, if the gangs are reduced/removed from BB, Amy would have less nights spent in the Hospital healing, leading to a healthier cape life. Maybe even spend some time experimenting with her power. (Giving Heroes slight enhancements, making super crops ,etc.)
Is that Canon?
I mean isn't that one of Her Rules. No Experimenting?
Would Carol be as much of a bitch if Amy never Triggers? How much of Carol's Bitchness is because she feared Amy would snap? Without powers Carol might end up even Bonding with Amy since Amy would not have the potential to cause widespread damage.
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Personally I would love it if Amy never triggered. Thats such a fun idea to explore.
