Aegis pulled a wheeled whiteboard in front of the TV. The rest of the Wards, myself included, were sitting on the couches, looking at our leader.
"Alright, before we get to the gangs, I want to have our own talk about Friday." Aegis – Carlos – was in civilian clothes, taking advantage of the heater in our underground base with a sleeveless tank.
I was in my usual spot, though Missy had joined me on the slightly separate couch. She'd gotten in late today, [frustrated] and [resentful]. But she'd now settled to [inquisitive].
Carlos was slightly [solemn], with the rest of the boys being shades of [relaxed] or [ready].
And I was avoiding this conversation. Piggot had chewed me out already, but best get this over with. I met Carlos' eyes.
"I'm saying this to the whole team, not just you Seneschal."
That made me feel better. Sort of. I didn't want anyone else annoyed at me because of this lecture.
Carlos cleared his throat. "So, with the Merchants, the problem was that we did not prepare for the fight. We did good, but we basically charged in without thinking."
I stared at him. I'd had a plan. I'd told him and Dean what it was. They'd followed it even.
"We had no plan B," Carlos continued, "we didn't think about what would happen if it wasn't just Mush. We didn't check if the goons were armed. We have to have plans for these things – especially when we don't have full information on the engagement."
The rest of the Wards nodded or made noises of agreement. I nodded too, but my mind was racing. When fighting the Merchants, I hadn't had a plan for myself beyond tasing Mush. I should have anticipated that the changer would be effected differently to a normal person. And I had floundered after that, letting Skidmark reach Squealer.
Better planning. I could do that. I was glad, even, to have the lesson now, rather than realising it halfway through a fight.
"Now, Seneschal." I tamped down on my annoyance at being singled out. Carlos had said he wouldn't but…
"You had good instincts. We do need to stop the gangs from hurting people. And your plan was tactically sound." Carlos smiled, feeling [cautious]. "Just, next time, let me make the plans."
I focused on him. Fully. His eyes widened, but he kept that gentle smile.
"Your ideas are good, but you weren't patrol leader." Carlos said, apologetic but firm.
I realised I was grinding my back teeth thanks to the biology-sense I got from Carlos's power. I shifted my focus back to all the powers I got from the Wards. Everyone was [apprehensive].
"And if there's a crisis?" I wasn't going to wait for 'permission' if that meant people getting hurt.
Carlos nodded. "Then you do what you did. And let the team know what's going on. Just make sure that it's a crisis."
I sat back. Missy shifted a bit beside me. Looking at the back of my hands was not as interesting as I wanted it to be.
"I can't just wait. I'm not going to let people get hurt because of procedures." I couldn't help but look at the door. Where Sophia had – "Or because of ignorance."
The rest of the Wards suddenly spiked with [guilt]. Like they did whenever Sophia came up. That hadn't been my intention, but it still vindicated a part of me I didn't want to think about.
"You felt like you had to do something right?" Carlos broke the silence.
I nodded, ready for him to turn my agreement against me.
"We all feel that. But you're versatile. There are many things you can do besides attacking." I looked back at Carlos. He had a point, but people had been in danger. I'd been justified. "Alright. So, I thought about how we could've dealt with the Merchants differently. We did well – you especially Taylor, for your first deep patrol – but next time we can be cleaner."
Cleaner. Okay. I could aim for that.
"Things got messy because we were missing a heavy hitter at the start of that fight. We couldn't stop Mush. We couldn't grab Skidmark. But once Dauntless arrived, we could take them down." That was true. "So, if we were going to do that again, Taylor should have kept monitoring the Merchants."
I narrowed my eyes. That's what I had done.
"Ugh, that came out wrong." Carlos squeezed his eyes shut in a long blink. "If you'd kept in earshot of the Merchants without attacking, Dean and I could have gotten into position. Even if we had to engage before Dauntless arrived, having all of us ready would be better than you attacking alone. And then we might have realised it was more than just Mush."
I relaxed my shoulders, which had been starting to hunch. Carlos was right. People had been in danger, but they hadn't been in danger that moment. I could have waited – not for an adult – but for a better plan.
I blinked. Everyone was looking at me. No negative emotions, just [expectation].
"Yeah. Getting into a better position makes sense."
Carlos smiled with a little [relief]. "Awesome. And let's not forget that the Merchant engagement was a massive success!"
I let myself grin at everyone's [satisfaction].
"So, once Taylor can patrol again, we'll set up a rotating schedule so she can get experience with each of us." This time Carlos' words made me smile.
"I just wanna say," Dennis spoke up, "you are infinitely better than Stalker. She never listened to any of this stuff. You, I literally cannot tell if you're paying attention. 0% listening to at least 1% – infinite improvement!"
Dean chuckled. Carlos snorted. Missy nudged me and grinned. I rolled my eyes. I appreciated Dennis' jokes more after the early monotony of Friday's patrol. We all had to pass the time somehow. And other people didn't have mental maps or emotion and biology senses.
"Alright guys." Carlos called our attention. "Now," he tapped the whiteboard, "I want to make sure we're all on the same page with the Empire and ABB."
What followed was a very informative exercise for me, but the others sounded (and emoted) like it was revision. Which I suppose it would be for them. Still, everyone felt [purposeful] and mostly [satisfied].
The ABB, Azn Bad Boys, were… you guessed it! Asian. Mostly operating in the east of the city in the Docks. When I'd been growing up, various parts of the Docks shifted hands between a number of ethnic Asian gangs. Then Lung came along. Now, if you were Asian in any way and young, living in the Docks meant being pressured into the ABB. Winslow's school counsellor office had posters about what to do if the ABB tried to recruit you. They kept getting torn down.
Common crimes of the ABB turned out to be theft, protection rackets, peddling contraband at the Docks' black market, prostitution, and – a Winslow rumour I hadn't wanted confirmed – enslaving girls.
I was well aware of the ABB's two capes. Lung and Oni Lee. Turns out Lung didn't simply turn into a dragon. His power ramped up relative to the threat he was facing. The harder he fought, the stronger he got, the faster he regenerated, the hotter he burned. I was suddenly very glad our patrol encountered the Merchants on Friday.
Oni Lee teleported, like me, but left clones behind that operated independently for a short while. That allowed him to essentially duplicate his equipment. He was also evidently a psychopath because his clones regularly suicide bombed his enemies with grenades.
So yeah, the ABB only had two capes. But they were both scary and strong enough that attacking the gang meant stalemating (and eventually losing) once Lung arrived. Or vicious retaliation from Oni Lee.
In contrast, the Empire Eighty-Eight had the most parahumans in the city. And they were the most united gang, having the shared ideology of being literal Nazis. Remembering that always helped erode just a little more of my faith in humanity.
Empire goons were relatively easy to spot, with the shaved heads and tattoos and such. They sold drugs Downtown, ran their own protection rackets, robbed places that served people of colour, and were responsible for most assaults in the city.
The Empire was led by Kaiser, who'd inherited the position from Allfather (possibly a family relation). Krieg and Hookwolf were apparently lieutenants under Kaiser, with the other capes working under them. I found out that Purity, a glowing flying laser cannon, had split from the Empire and was trying to be a hero. I also found out the PRT doubted her intentions, because she'd only arrested people of colour and didn't care about excessive force.
The Empire was especially dangerous because they coordinated. They had enough capes – 12! Nearly double the Protectorate! – to travel in groups. And they had enough movers to reinforce each other. Not all of their members were strong, but whenever one got captured, the rest attacked the prison transport.
The existing Ward strategy when encountering the major gangs involved retreating or waiting for backup. But if there weren't too many Empire capes and they were doing something vile (like their initiation ritual), we could engage. We always retreated from Lung or Oni Lee.
As Carlos capped his whiteboard marker and summarised the notes everyone had made, I reflected on the meeting. The information about the gangs was useful, a perspective I'd only started to build for myself in my first month of having powers. And the recap on the Merchant fight had been… fair. People in authority still rubbed me the wrong way, but Aegis hadn't talked down at me. And his idea about being cleaner (better) was logical.
I straightened my back just as Carlos called out again. "Hey! Guys! Yeah, yeah, Dennis, one final thing. New psych rotating in. They start in two weeks."
A psychologist. The PRT had a psychologist? Or hadn't had a psychologist but should have? I looked at Missy for answers.
She saw my raised eyebrow and groaned. "Right. We have mandatory psych meetings thanks to the Youth Guard. Except one psych was being manipulative this one time so now every PRT base rotates therapist staff." Missy felt very [resigned] about that, and I had to agree.
Everything I'd heard about therapy and psychologists was about long term improvement. Rotating the person who was supposed to help you, who you were supposed to trust, felt…
…Exactly like something the PRT would decide is a good idea. I groaned.
"Hey Missy, I'm going to the cafeteria for lunch, you wanna join?" I said, standing.
Her mood soured to [resigned irritation]. "Can't. Mom complained about me being late yesterday, so we need to have a 'bonding day'." Missy made the finger quotes with [contempt]. Then suddenly brightened with [remembered excitement]. "Hey! Hey, Carlos!" She jumped up. "Can we have a training day on the Rig?!"
Carlos looked up from where he'd dragged the whiteboard. "Oh. Yeah, I can send a booking request for that. Good idea Missy!"
Missy's wavy blonde hair bounced as she turned and quickly hugged me. "Come on, I'll walk to the elevator with you."
[>[>/^\<]<]
The PRT cafeteria had way more food options than even Arcadia. Although there wasn't much of each choice, given that it was a Sunday. I'd grabbed some butter chicken curry, which was actually hot. In temperature. Not spice – there was a reason I hadn't taken the vindaloo.
I was enjoying my lunch. Sitting alone, not really watching the PRT workers (all office staff) finishing up with their own meals. I did feel a bit out of place, everyone else being adults. But it was easier to relax than in Arcadia's cafeteria. Probably because the atmosphere still felt professional.
And then Dean sat down across from me. He was also wearing a basic black domino mask, but our casual outfits contrasted a lot. He wore a T-shirt and chinos that screamed designer without having a visible logo. I wore my baggy jeans and brown hoodie.
He'd picked up a salad sandwich for lunch.
I felt like that would have meant something in the books Mom gave her college classes. Before I could properly work out what Dean's lunch choices said – as if this were some story – he opened his mouth.
"I should have done something about Shadow Stalker."
Well, I hadn't expected that. Dean had felt [determined] and [reflective], but that could've meant anything.
"She was a really bad Ward, you know?" Dean paused, but I kept eating my lunch. Curry over conversation. "Bad with teamwork, bad with protocol, bad with the public. The only thing she ever did well in was capturing criminals. Even then, she kept bungling the legal arrest part. Until someone told her why that mattered."
It was… almost amusing, to learn that Sophia was incompetent. With the implication that I wasn't, hopefully.
Dean set his sandwich down and continued. "I had no idea what she was doing… off-shift. I could have guessed, should have known that she wouldn't always hold back that much anger. But more than that, I should have addressed what Shadow Stalker was doing in the Wards."
I put my spoon down. Looked him. He was looking down. [Remorseful].
"She was a bad Ward. A bad person who was bad for the team. I started telling the others to file complaints this year, you know? But even then, I thought that if the right moment came, I could get through to her. I kept telling myself she'd chosen to be a hero, that she was good. Just… hurt and lashing out. In hindsight, that's probably still true. But she never once stopped lashing out." Dean was back to [reflective], though [guilt] and [pity] lingered. He was speaking evenly, like delivering a speech.
Another spoon of my curry and a moment of reflection made me realise that if he wasn't being so calm about this, then I just might have thrown my lunch in his face. I didn't like someone reading me like that, knowing my secrets like… Emma. I took a deep breath and kept eating.
"I've been thinking about this a lot, you know? Not doing anything about Shadow Stalker is probably my biggest failure." I choked on the last of my mouthful, airways forming a biological airlock that opened just in time for my cough to clear everything. I was distracted from wondering how exactly my version of Aegis's power operated by Dean's [bashfulness].
"Its so much easier to compare emotions between people now – with your boost. Things are clearer, like I can see the painting when before I just saw the paint." He smiled for a moment, until [remorse] rose again. "But even so, normal people aren't angry every single time I see them."
Oh. Wow. Apparently, my power deeming Sophia a [psychopath] wasn't my bias.
"Yeah, uh... I tried to justify waiting for her to open up as, uh, not being racist. Cause a lot of the wealthy people here kind of are." That and his next words were rushed out, like a shameful secret. "And I didn't want to condemn the only black Ward. But even that was –" Dean took a breath "– an excuse because I can see everyone's emotions and they're all the same so people are all the same and the biggest danger of the Empire is that it makes racism kind of allowed especially when Lung doesn't play PR and just burns blocks down."
I stopped eating to digest that. Leant back and looked at Dean, who was already staring, [inquisitive] despite his eyes not moving. I really wasn't sure what I was feeling at the moment. Hopefully that meant he couldn't figure it out either.
"Ok, none of that matters. Not right now." Dean picked up his sandwich again. "Shadow Stalker was a bad Ward. I was a bad Ward for downplaying how the other bad Ward was hurting the team. If I had done something, then she wouldn't have hurt you as much. And more than a few other people, most likely."
I didn't pick up my spoon while he paused to take a bite. Didn't raise an eyebrow either, though part of me felt it was justified. Dean was… [earnest]. Almost as a default.
"I wasn't a good hero and that meant you got hurt. Even if Sophia is the one at fault, being annoyed at me is justified. I am sorry I didn't do anything sooner."
Dean nodded after his monologue, then went back to his sandwich after a pause where I tried to figure out if I even wanted to reply.
I… didn't. Want to reply, that is. He'd said his piece. He felt more [content] but no less [remorseful]. He occasionally looked up between bites of his sandwich, though I never held eye contact.
Eventually, I decided that even if I couldn't decide whether I liked Dean or not, I appreciated the apology.
"Thanks."
He nodded. I picked up my spoon and finished my curry.
[>[>/^\<]<]
"Also, thanks for being good with Vista." Dean had finished his sandwich a few minutes ago. "Stalker was especially mean to her, and she uses the Wards as an escape." I held his eyes at that last comment.
"She, uh, also," Dean grew [embarrassed], "has a crush on me. I'm pretty sure you talked to her about that?"
I was definitely not saying anything in response to this conversation.
"So, uh, thanks. I've said she's too young but that just makes her angry." Dean was still [earnest] despite his [embarrassment]. "But she's a good kid. And a good hero. I appreciate –"
I stood up. My biology sense showed my bicep healing steadily.
Dean blinked. [Self-deprecating realisation]. "Right. Wrong time. Sorry."
Superpower assistance made workouts rather more effective. I needed more protein.
I walked back to the cafeteria station to get… schnitzel this time.
Arcadia was infinitely better than Winslow. Socially, academically, bureaucratically. I wasn't being harassed multiple times a day, the teachers were better (and my grades were finally my own), and the half-day work program (being a Ward) didn't mess up any classes. I still wasn't excited to go to school, but going had a purpose now.
But good as it was, Arcadia had nothing – nothing – on this.
I was hanging back now, watching the others. The room was large, stretched even larger by Vista. Walls padded by some kind of forcefield – made by the same tinker that outfitted the outside of the Rig. A few hard plastic barriers – the ones they used in roadworks – were set up throughout the room.
And I was hiding behind one of them. Eyes shut, focused on my mental map.
Aegis' static-shape was darting around, avoiding little solid-energy points that fired from Kid Win's pistols. Kid Win's new equipment had surprised all of us. Aegis had knocked Chris off his hoverboard almost immediately into the fight. But Chris hadn't waited for Vista to bend space and save him. The hoverboard had actually teleported onto his back, where he'd quickly replaced… something… and flown back up into the air.
To keep firing his pistols. Which, according to Clockblocker, were "too accurate you cheating asshole!" Dennis' claim had been proved correct by how he got nailed in the face and stunned for a minute in the previous round.
This round, Carlos had flown at Chris straight away, while Dennis and I advanced on Gallant and Vista. We'd failed in taking them on one at a time, so now we each had targets. Dennis had actually inspired my current plan; annoy. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee," he'd said (with unnecessary fake martial arts poses).
Missy shrunk my cover to the size of my foot, her [focus] rising with Dean's [recognition]. Sure enough, blasts of emotion soared my way. But I was gone.
Warping behind Dean, I shouted. He spun, emotion-altering rays streaking from all ten fingers. But I was gone.
Warping in front of Missy, I shouted again and paused. She jumped backwards, a gulf growing between us. Quicky, she was out of sight, replaced by Dean, who sent a few blasts to impact my time-locked form with the same effect as changing the emotions of concrete.
Dean [realised] as soon as the first blast hit. Once the last impacted, I unpaused and warped behind him again. He spun, I warped. But behind him again.
This time, I jabbed him with a fake taser. The paint water-pistol left a nicely contrasting orange splotch on his gunmetal grey power armour.
I warped in front of Vista – well, off to the side, since she was bending the floor into a wall-ramp in front of her. She'd just started reacting when I was, once again, gone.
Appearing in mid-air next to Chris made him actually swear. The multiple squeezes of orange paint that streaked across his right side made him swear again. I felt like laughing, I really did. But I didn't have a hoverboard.
Falling and laughing is not a good combo. Last round it had left me coughing onto the ground when, in my elation, I forgot the implications of pausing not interrupting momentum. I hadn't gotten anything worse than bruises thanks to the odd padded-forcefield room – and bruises barely showed on me thanks to the power from Aegis.
Even so, this time I paused high up in the centre of the room, only resuming my fall when Carlos had swooped under me.
Being carried through the air by a muscly hero was a… distracting experience. Thankfully, everyone else's [happy determination] got my head back in the game.
Since my momentum had been halted, I warped from Aegis' arms to a corner of our arena. Rolled and jumped to my feet.
Kid Win was off to the side – my paint had been his 'second' hit after Aegis managed to catch his leg with a burst-balloon earlier. Gallant was distracted by Aegis now, the red suited brute circling and weaving to dodge the colourful emotion blasts. Until Gallant did the ten-finger-rays trick and the beams closed like a cage.
My mental map showed Clockblocker far from the rest of us, basically out of the fight in a new, distant corner of the room. He was far enough away I couldn't see him. And rectangular rooms shouldn't have five corners anyway.
Aegis' orbiting flight suddenly turned into a dive. My map showed that space had suddenly bent until 'in front of him' was 'the floor'. Carlos crashed immediately, the distance to said floor shrinking to nothing.
"Shit! Sorry!"
Vista. Shaker 9. Near complete control over the terrain and positioning. Missy had prevented our win last round. Hard to take down someone together when your partner is a football field away from you.
I didn't pay attention to Carlos replying to Missy. His particular brute abilities meant he would be fine, no matter how much his body was not fine. But Missy's worry about our leader was an opportunity.
One that I readily took, spraying orange paint at the youngest Ward's back after warping behind her. Except she ducked and the paint shifted up, passing over her head. And Missy had stepped away again, space shifting till she was nearly on the other side of the room.
Except I'd also warped. But she knew that because paint missed her again, this time veering sideways almost at a right angle.
Vista ran off yet again, the room warping and bending until I was facing Gallant with no cover against his emotion blasts. I escaped into a distant corner again.
The annoyance plan let Aegis take down Kid Win, but Gallant and Vista both had extra senses. Gallant could tell when we were going to do something if he could see us; I felt his flickers of [recognition] whenever Aegis tried to dive. And Vista felt where people were the same way I did.
I could tag Gallant again. Harass him until the 'extra hits' his armour gave him were gone. But Vista would drag things out and generally make everything harder for us.
Just like she was – dammit. Clockblocker was suddenly close to Gallant again, who turned and backed away. Which let Aegis dive down. Clock ducked to the side and reached out… to find Gallant far away and Aegis barrelling into him.
Vista just made my teammates friendly fire. If Clock wasn't able to cancel his effects now, that would have decided the round. Gallant can wait.
How to take Missy down? Surprising her wasn't happening. She could divert paint- I had to use my water pistol at short range anyway, pretending it was a taser.
What if I used it like the contact taser Kid Win had made for me? That might interfere with Vista's power too, since my mental map was distorted by people-static.
Well, this whole thing was for testing tactics. May as well try.
I warped behind Vista, as close to her as I could manage. This time, the orange spray of paint landed on her back. She had jumped forwards and it had bent, but our proximity must have slowed how quickly she could twist space between us. I warped behind and stepped into her space, adding another two splotched of paint to her back.
Missy spun on her heel and glared at me. Her eyes were hidden behind the green visor, but I felt her [indignation]. I did my best to bite back my laughter, but a chuckle still escaped. Missy's [indignation] grew, but broke into [amusement] and [frustration].
A few seconds later, [triumph] surged in Dennis and Carlos. Whoops from them and a groan from Dean signalled that my team had won this round.
Missy huffed. [Resignation] rising then giving way to [friendly competition]. "You guys got lucky! Hey! Aegis!" She turned to our team leader as the room unbent, untwisted, and generally returned to its natural dimensions. "Tiebreaker!"
Dennis started heckling her, but Carlos spoke over both of them. "No tiebreaker!" Groans and muttered complaints from Missy and Dennis and even Chris. They settled at Carlos' next words even if their [disappointment] and [competitiveness] was real.
"We've only got limited time in here and we can't just repeat the same exercise the whole time."
"But one more time?" Dennis' voice rose in pitch, halfway between singing and wheedling.
Carlos raised both eyebrows. "I thought we wanted to move onto real equipment?"
Missy and Chris suddenly surged with [remembrance] and changed their tunes. Dennis promptly declared them "traitors to the cause!" then went along with the consensus anyway.
I had enjoyed what had turned out to be our warmup. Some part of me had expected the team-bonding exercise to resemble ineffective P.E. activities: a coach demanding things from people that didn't want to be there.
But the Wards were heroes. And all wanted to be heroes. They saw the purpose in this. Officially a 'team-bonding' exercise but really tactics training. Although, from everyone's underlying[satisfied enjoyment], maybe the bonding was real too.
[>[>/^\<]<]
As Aegis was talking to the PRT agent that had been overseeing our activity from a reinforced window halfway up the wall, the door – hidden by forcefields when they were on – swung open.
Miss Militia walked in, stylised soldier uniform sharp and American flag scarf hiding her face. Yet the way her eyes flickered between each of us Wards felt undeniably caring.
"Ma'am." The PRT agent stood to attention before she waved him down fondly.
"Relax sergeant," Miss Militia kept walking, "I'm just here to… referee this bonding exercise." She raised an eyebrow at the emphasis. "Wouldn't want to leave you without reinforcements."
"That's the window ma'am." The sergeant's utterly deadpan tone and facial expression was truly impressive.
Dennis gaped in [awe]. I almost thought he'd found a new idol. Dean glanced between the sergeant and Dennis, hiding [amusement] in a cough.
Miss Militia was unreserved with her laugh. "Excellent. I'll join the reserves after briefing."
The sergeant's mouth twitched upwards as the Protectorate ENE's second in command beckoned us forwards. Missy felt a spike of [mischief] before the space between Miss Militia and the rest of us Wards shrunk to a few feet. The heroine rolled her eyes at my – [friend] – who felt very [proud] of herself.
"Seems I've missed the start," Miss Militia motioned to our paint-splattered costumes. "What's been happening?"
The rest of the Wards spoke – triumphantly, jokingly, in a rush, calmly, over each other, and somehow still legibly – about the two rounds we'd just had. Aegis stepped out of the room with the PRT sergeant to carry a bin and roll of paper towels in.
I looked over myself. Thanks to Chris' spark pistols and Dean's emotion blasts, only Missy was using paint on their team. I made sure I didn't need cleaning regardless. The paint was oily and came off easily, all to preserve our costumes (and the sanity of the Image department).
As the painted Wards grabbed towels from Carlos, he [refocused]. "Alright guys, we're moving onto one-against-alls. I've also been told there's a power researcher up there trying to figure out if Seneschal's boost is standard or –"
"Bullshit nonsense like all powers?"
"– yes… that. Thank you Clockblocker." Aegis managed to fit an impressive amount of his [resigned irony] into those words. "Some more rules for this, since its asymmetrical and that's how most real fights are. The solo person wins if they last five minutes – we'll call that backup arriving. The attackers win if they land three hits. An attacker is knocked out for ten seconds if they get hit and out permanently on three hits." Carlos looked at Miss Militia, who nodded approvingly.
The Ward Leader, [affirmed], spread his hands. "So, who wants to go first?"
A deceptively complicated question.
All against one? One against all? My research on fights between gangs and the Protectorate had shown that it usually was like that. One hero against several gang members, usually supported by a cape (or many if it was the Empire). It seemed that that aspect of hero-ing was the same in reality and on the news.
The fight with the Merchants shared many similarities with the two warmup rounds we'd had. Even numbers. I'd watched and harassed by warping. There had been a team at my back. Yet the two experiences could not be more different. The excitement had a different taste. My enemies weren't really enemies. Winning…
Both times today, I'd felt safe. Even when I'd thought I was losing. Maybe it was the stakes? Was I waiting for a… need – or some imperative – for things to feel real? Had victory not felt like victory?
It hadn't, actually. This was training. Some part of my body – or my mind – knew there was no danger here. No real fight. No one in the fight was [wanting pain].
Training with my team was good. Working together felt right. But working together against each other also felt wrong. More than just me not wanting to hurt my frie – people I respected.
I thought about this even as Aegis stepped forwards with a "fine, make the leader lead, very funny."
He would go first, be first to be challenged alone. My mind drifted to remembered stories of knights at a round table. Of soldiers in war. Of sailors against the sea. I blinked. I hadn't expected my thoughts to go in those directions, but all had stories of adversity and support. Stories of how one standing against… anything, prevailed only with support. That fighting individually was ineffective.
Aegis walked to the centre of the room. We waited near the door.
Fighting my friends was not a fight. But learning to fight together would help my organisation. My team. I didn't want to fight them. But it was still fun. Useful, purposeful. A step towards –
Miss Militia fired a power-generated cap gun in the air.
We fought.
[>[>/^\<]<]
Aegis needed a team to take him down. Miss Militia had given him six hits till 'defeated', to reflect his nature as a brute.
Kid Win kept up his role of airborne covering fire. Forcing Aegis to dodge instead of charge, to let one of us attackers escape instead of pursuing.
Vista did much the same, except by making it harder to dodge, easier for us to duck away. Really, her power almost felt mean. Aegis needed to be in close quarters and Vista could just say 'no'.
Gallant landed a few hits when Vista built a box (out of the floor) around Aegis. And landed the finishing hit.
But Clockblocker was the one who won us that fight. Aegis' brute power let him keep going no matter what state his body was in. Clockblocker stopped him from going anywhere, doing anything, from even being part of the fight. Vista set up the ambush, let Clock reach across the entire room, and Aegis was frozen. Surrounding him while he wasn't aware of us made the fight end quickly.
I'd almost expected the Wards leader to be able to handle the Wards. Carlos hadn't been unhappy though. Just [satisfied] at the team's synergy. Which was probably why he was leader.
[>[>/^\<]<]
Clockblocker was second. He surprised us, really. He'd been grabbing paper towels at the end of every round – even though he didn't usually get 'hit'. This fight, he pulled them out of the hidden pockets we all had and built himself a patchwork barricade of time-locked paper.
I know he'd used that trick when showing off for PR things. Applying it to combat was… clever.
He hadn't survived more than two minutes though. Even if, after getting hit twice, he froze his costume – the rest of the paint frictionlessly sliding off. Miss Militia still called that a win for the attackers.
The others had done similar things again. Aegis charging forwards, Gallant sending blasts ahead. Kid Win had flown behind Clock to fire at a different angle – forcing holes in his paper defence (the absorbent sheets were only so big and Clock didn't have time to un-scrunch them fully from his pockets.) Vista got everyone into position.
Dennis' [glee] had sunk after his new tactic didn't last long. But Dean cheered him up by getting Chris to come up with ideas for a shield that could expand into different shapes while normally looking like a watch. Which would work much better than paper, I thought.
[>[>/^\<]<]
Gallant went out the quickest. He did pull the beam-on-every-finger trick again, which hit most of us with an emotion changing effect – calm, because he is apparently forever [well-intentioned].
But he wasn't manoeuvrable, and we had ranged options too.
His emotions felt like he expected that outcome. But I was coming to realise Dean was focused more on people than any purpose. He complimented the team on their actions. And tried not to feed Missy's crush. (I nudged her when she got a little [infatuated].)
[>[>/^\<]<]
Kid Win meant I got more involved. Aegis was the only attacker with flight, but I could warp into mid-air. Which Kid Win had experienced in our last round. He spent four minutes zipping back and forth at angles that Aegis' flight couldn't match.
Gallant had essentially been a ground-to-air emotion-blast barrage. I was surprised he hadn't hit Aegis with any.
Vista created ramps to soften my falls. And lowered the ceiling so flying was… difficult. She helped Clockblocker win it for us by letting him tag Kid Win's hoverboard.
Still, Chris had hit us attackers the most out of any defender. And after some chatter he started making notes on some sort of upgrade idea.
[>[>/^\<]<]
Vista.
I was… proud of her.
Missy had lasted the five minutes. And made it absolute hell for us. Every minute, she pulled out a different tactic. Partly since Miss Militia kept telling her to. But mostly, she was finally getting to show off things she'd probably been sitting on for weeks. She'd certainly felt [vindicated] and [triumphant] enough.
Firstly, she made a maze. Not some small collection of hedges at right angles, but with pillars that stretched up to and down from the ceiling (in lines that were not straight up or down). Walls that spiralled in on themselves. Bridges that led up to catwalks on the roof. Even tunnels that led below the floor. A truly incredible cross between children's play equipment at fast food franchises and some Lovecraftian labyrinth. I could tell her relative direction and understood (somehow) the shape of what we were forced to enter. So, I led the team in.
Soon after wandering through turning corridor that I'm pretty sure pushed the boundaries of three-dimensional objects, Vista got [mischievous]. Which meant everything had started moving around us. Clockblocker had cursed. Kid Win had groaned in [nausea]. And Aegis told me to talk to Miss Militia for the first time.
The Protectorate heroine congratulated Vista on her creative tactics but decided we should play out the full five minutes anyway.
So, Vista pinched the room in half to create a dividing wall and simply trapped us in a big box. She'd been a shaker 9 before I boosted her powers. Vista had told me these things were something she could always do. But using her power "used to take time." Used to.
The third time we'd 'started' attacking her, the forcefield floor had turned into a pit. Aegis and Kid Win managed to escape. I warped to the little ledge where Miss Militia was left alone. We both watched Aegis and Kid Win fly forwards – with increasing caution – as every time they got within a certain distance of Vista, their 'straight' suddenly became 'down'. There hadn't been space for me to warp onto the cylinder Missy was standing on (in the middle of the pit), so I'd looked sideways at Miss Militia. She laughed again, checked the stopwatch, then called a restart.
What Vista did next made Kid Win throw up. Even I, with my mental map giving me a sense of what was going on, just stared at the ground to avoid the affront to my eyes. The entire 'attacking' team felt [despair]. For Vista had expanded and shrunk the room like a rapid bungee cord. Stretched out then contracting back – every expansion from a different point. All happening a few times a second.
Vista only got five seconds worth from that tactic. She was utterly [overjoyed] with its apparent effectiveness.
Finally, she resorted to simply making the room bigger than an aircraft hangar. We could see her now, but every step she took sent her to a different part of the space. Any stray shots or blasts from Kid Win and Gallant twisted away from her. Aegis stopped trying to fly towards her because she would just get further away from where he started. Clockblocker had sat down. I chuckled at what had long bypassed the definition of showboating. Then tried to figure out if I even had a viable attack.
When Miss Militia finally called the time (with a megaphone) at the end of that… M. C. Escher nightmare… I discovered that Missy, for a thirteen year old, could manage a remarkably authentic cackle.
[>[>/^\<]<]
When it was my turn – I'd waited till last (because they let me, because I wanted to see other people's tricks, because I still wasn't as confident as I wanted to be) – I ran over the plans I'd been formulating this entire time.
Against Aegis, I hadn't been that effective – others could counter him, I could only harass. And he had six 'hits'. I needed to avoid him. Initially.
Against Gallant, I needed to distract.
Against Clockblocker, I needed to prevent.
Against Kid Win, I needed to confuse.
Against Vista, I needed to… deal with the others.
My plan for this fight – training – was inspired by three things. Clockblocker's advice to flicker. How my teammates never defended when attacking. And a news video of Oni Lee overwhelming a fight.
When Miss Militia called the start, I warped to the back of the room. Which shortened and compressed until Kid Win and Gallant could both easily aim at me.
So, I kept warping, sticking to the edges of the room.
Until Vista compressed everything and Clockblocker was reaching out to lock me in place and effectively end the fight. This would make or break my whole plan. I leant away, but not as quickly as I could have.
I felt the static around his arm creep closer. Closer. Two fingers away. One finger away.
I froze. Myself. And Clockblocker let out an elated whoop.
Vista shifted distances until they all stepped around me. Aegis pulled them back to avoid friendly fire if I managed to warp away. They got themselves all ready, then Aegis counted down till "Go!"
Hard electricity, emotion-altering bolts, and paint all failed to effect me.
"Uh guys?" Kid Win.
"Wait wait… no, what if her boost doesn't work when I freeze her? Shit!" Clockblocker.
"We'll just wait then, but are you sure?" Aegis.
Their [confusion] grew and spread. As did the lightheaded feeling of being paused too long. But I needed the right moment.
"No. Her boost is still working." Gallant. "Clock… are you sure you touched her?"
They all turned to look at Clockblocker. I unpaused, straightened –
"Yeah definitely, she was effected by my power when I touched her. Wait."
– warped behind Vista and pulled the trigger of my paint gun.
Warped behind Gallant and pulled the trigger of my paint gun.
[Surprise] spiked across the team.
Warped behind Clockblocker and pulled the trigger of my paint gun.
[Realisation] followed.
Warped behind Aegis and pulled the trigger of my paint gun.
My plan, after baiting them, was simple. Warp and pull the trigger of my paint gun.
In my second power testing, they'd seen how fast I could warp. The answer was: as fast as I could decide where to go. I'd already decided where I wanted to go. Behind the backs of my teammates.
I spent the rest of the fight staying in one spot only long enough to shoot paint.
When Aegis described this training, he designated one team 'attackers'. Everyone, even him, unconsciously thought of the solo person as 'defender'. But my only goal was to last five minutes. And 'attackers' had 'hits' just like I did.
Hence my plan: flicker, attack, and overwhelm.
My teammates started gathering themselves, so I stuck to the most [disoriented] of them. As soon as someone started [anticipating] I changed my pattern or just avoided them for the next few warps.
I'd focused first on Clockblocker – to prevent him making a paper barricade.
Gallant and Kid Win could move or react fast enough.
Aegis, after that, had been difficult to handle since he'd flown high up pretty quickly. Vista had expanded the whole room into a massive aircraft hangar again, but my mental map faithfully kept expanding with her power. Maybe because there weren't any new distances to incorporate, just the existing ones changing?
Regardless, after Aegis, I'd warped back to the ground and landed hard – gravity's momentum had built up a little.
I chased after Vista until my paint pistol ran out. I didn't get more than one hit. She kept her back to a wall – or a wall to her back more accurately – and cycled through enough wild spatial contortions that I just warped back to the middle of the room and waited.
She couldn't sneak up on me, and I couldn't take her out. But that wasn't my true goal.
Miss Militia ended the round early by clapping. She walked over to me – in the suddenly normal sized room – and…
…
…gave me a pat on the shoulder that felt weirdly like a hug.
"Excellent work Seneschal." She let me go. "I hadn't expected anyone to attempt that, although Vista had the same basic principle."
I blinked and shook my head. Actually looked around at the Wards instead of using my mental map. Actually looked at their emotions rather than categorising them.
My teammates were [bewildered], though that was fading now. [Irony] and [satisfaction] and [awe] and [re-evaluation] were all circulating.
Missy punched me in the shoulder, reaching thanks to her power. "You just had to show me up, huh?"
What? No. That wasn't what I meant at all!
Oh. She felt [respect] and [kinship]. Jokes. Teasing. Breathe, Taylor.
I smiled at her and hoped the remaining [bewilderment] was enough to distract from my self-conscious blush. I had wanted to impress my team. Show them I was capable and had been learning. Training. To catch up to their experience.
While planning, I'd been focused on that drive. And the goal of lasting five minutes. I hadn't given any thought to what other people might think about my plan. It had simply been the most effective option.
Dennis walked over after getting the paint wiped off his back. "You," he pointed at me with… [respect], "are a lot scarier than I thought you were."
"What Clockblocker means to say," Gallant called out, "is that that was a very smart tactic we were not expecting."
Missy nudged me again. Miss Militia eyes were warm. The vestiges of the fight – feeling alone, ganged up on – faded and my shoulders relaxed.
I turned to look at Aegis. The Ward leader was still [re-evaluating], tilting his head to look at me. He stretched to wipe some paint away and I did my very best not to look at the muscles showing through his skin-tight costume.
Missy suddenly giggled in an [amused hunch]. I elbowed her in the shoulder. Quickly checked – she was okay with being elbowed. Okay.
Miss Militia cleared her throat. "Today seems to be rather successful. And congratulations to you all! I've only experienced Seneschal's boost for a short time, but each of you seem to be thinking more about your powers."
Everyone stepped closer to listen.
"What Seneschal and Vista – and Clockblocker – showed in this exercise is that the hardest capes to fight are the creative ones. Generally, parahumans have a singular power. The successful capes, hero or villain, are the ones that think about how to use it." She raised a hand, green-black energy buzzing between weapons. "I don't consider my power to be 'summoning weapons' but rather 'giving me the right tool for the job'. But that means I have to think what the right tool might be."
I thought about what Miss Militia was saying as she formed an almost comical military grade Swiss-army knife. My power didn't 'give me the right tool for the job', but I did have options. Teleporting and being able to take hits made me very versatile.
I might not be able to swap out powers like Eidolon, but I could adapt to different roles in a fight. I could assist with my team's plan and interfere with the villains.
Whatever the team needed, I should be able to do.
"Thank you, Miss Militia." Aegis stepped forwards and saluted her. "I think we should all go shower then brainstorm how we can work together with these new tricks."
She saluted back, infinitely crisper. Carlos felt momentarily [chagrined]. But then [cheered] as the heroine put a hand on his shoulder.
Miss Militia looked at the rest of us.
"Well? Go shower. Then think. You all stink."
It turns out Dennis could also pull off a convincing cackle.
On Thursday the 31st of March 2011, the lunch break started off normal.
Glory Girl called after her sister about going shopping after Panacea was finished at the bank. Dean was still sitting at a different table.
Chris was sitting with some nerds and two of the mathletes. Sitting with nerds, really. But only most of them played video games.
Dennis was with a similar group, cracking jokes and jostling each other. He'd felt [sadness] and [regret] when Panacea walked past his table, which was weird. She was the parahuman who'd directly saved the most lives in… America? Endbringer fights excluded. Or included, since PHO said she went to those.
Carlos was at the non-racist sports table. Which was thankfully larger than the racist sports table.
Missy was at Arcadia Middle School across the road. [Engaged] with whatever she was doing.
I didn't have a usual spot, but I was at my usual edge of the room. Trying not to make awkward accidental eye contact with the table between me and the people I was watching. It didn't help that dyed hair table was very easy to accidentally look at.
Apart from that, I was feeling good. Satisfied, from handing up my assignments early and actually getting credit for my work. Getting compliments from teachers – hell getting any attention from teachers – was starting to not feel weird. I still made sure my work was clearly in my name (on every page) though.
Anyway, today I decided to bask in my positivity and take my time with lunch.
All the other Wards were [content] or even [happy], overall. I could be happy overall too.
Arcadia's cafeteria seemed to be in a similar situation. Everyone else was chatting over their lunches. Simply. Casually. Savouring the nice things and trying to forget the underlying tension.
Yeah, tension. I said it. Other students have said it. By complaining about their weed getting pricier, by talking about things they heard their relatives in the police say, by sticking together if they weren't white or were queer or both. The PRT was saying it too – with words like 'patrol schedules', 'mugging increases', and 'probable gun shipments'.
The sun was shining outside, a nice day to end the first month of spring. I sat indoors anyway, because, for once, I wanted to see what other students were doing. Imagine myself as an ordinary high school student. A (relatively) normal teenager.
I was feeling good. I was.
I was also frustrated.
Because I wasn't a (relatively) normal teenager.
It had been 12 days since my fight with the Merchants. I'd been at the Wards base for 10 of those days. And I'd patrolled for none of them. Not even a shallow PR thing along the boardwalk.
I wasn't normal and for once it was a good thing. 1 in 8,000 was the approximate rate for parahumans. And more than that, a hero! An official, branded, publicly known Ward. Whose biggest heroic accomplishments in the past two weeks was a radio interview where I confirmed I had assisted Dauntless in the Merchants arrest and was not injured, just focusing on my training. I mean I also delivered some lines about bullying but…
A radio interview? Was supposed to be a better use of my time then actually tackling the issues facing this city?
I finished my lunch and took a deep breath. Then felt Dean's [concern/interest], met his eyes from my spot at the edge of the room, and shook my head. He'd… been understanding about my frustration. I'm pretty sure he talked to Carlos last week, after our training session on the Rig, because the Wards Leader had started 'advice sessions' before (the others went on) patrols.
Which were useful. Hearing the other Wards talk about experiences they'd had in different sections of the city was knowledge I absorbed like a sponge. Discussion about how to handle different sized groups from the Empire or ABB was fascinating. Also useful, since I now knew when I could engage without backup.
And, if someone was in danger, how to describe the situation so I could engage without backup.
I'd thought more about the Merchant fight. How I could use my powers better. How I could use my powers with my team better. How I could work with the team in real engagements.
Two of my five shared powers were only useful with teamwork. Sensing my team's emotions meant I could get them out of sticky situations or press the attack where they were winning. Understanding Kid Win's tinker tech was useful if he provided me with things – or maybe for advising Chris? He did get distracted or hyperfocused on one target. Never to the point of being a hindrance, but definitely losing some effectiveness.
Advising was something I'd already started doing a little of. Carlos had assigned me the most console duty, since I'd rather be doing something. Anyway, watching the body-cameras of my teammates when they got into fights let me see more of their tactics. And give tips of my own.
In all honesty, I'd only started a few days ago, when Aegis and Clockblocker ran into an armed ABB group. Dennis had paused the grandfather-clock shaped expanding shield he'd got from Chris to block off the alley entrance. But Aegis had kept trying to take all of the bullets instead of flying over to pincer them. Especially since Clock could flicker his power on his shield and advance to hem them in.
They'd captured every single gang member in that group once they followed my advice. But that was after Carlos got multiple bullet wounds. Sure, they didn't hinder him, but I didn't like the [necessity] he was feeling after each flash of [subdued pain].
Carlos cleared my 'tactical consulting' with the Protectorate once the other Wards made me promise to only give advice before engagements, not during. Then Missy and Dean and Carlos had individually assured me I wasn't being a backseat driver. (Only Missy had called it that though).
Regardless, any fights the (other) Wards had were all minor, with unpowered goons. But frequent enough. Especially this week.
The gangs were posturing. Flexing. Bumping each other's shoulders then glaring from across the playground. Like boys mustering the courage to actually start a fight.
Except the fight had started decades ago. And the current contestants in the ring were just waiting for the bell to ding. For the next war to start.
Which is why I was frustrated. The gangs hadn't started their war yet. They were gathering supplies. Why shouldn't the heroes strike now, capture a bunch of guns, arrest a bunch of goons, and take the wind out of the gang's scales?
But no. Containment. Avoiding escalation. Budgets not big enough to handle normal crime rates so resources had to be saved for when things got bad.
Which really rubbed me the wrong way. Heroes should never wait till it got bad.
But.
But currently I was a normal high school student. Pretending to be one anyway.
Pretending that my complicated relationship with authority had been repaired. That Piggot's honesty and action about Sophia meant she was okay and not like Principal Blackwell at Winslow. Despite refusing to shorten my patrol ban or even listen to my ideas.
Finally, just when I was really starting to regret trying to be content with my day, my phone buzzed three times.
And when all the other Wards got a spike of [interest/anticipation], I actually smiled.
[>[>/^\<]<]
After running along the corridor wall that was a blindspot for the cameras, I ducked into the teacher's bathroom that the teachers didn't use and used my student ID to unlock the second door that teachers couldn't unlock. I was the first Ward here, so I walked to my locker (ignored the memories) and grabbed my costume.
Then I actually checked my phone. Ward phone. Not that I had a non-Ward phone.
Two alerts:
Full Protectorate mobilisation against the Empire Eighty-Eight.Full Wards mobilisation against the Undersiders.
Shit.
Balls.
Fuck.
Full Protectorate mobilisation meant the gang war had started. I guess the first move was made by the nazis. Opening the alert didn't give me many more details, just that the war had started with the Empire pushing deep into the western Docks from downtown. Crap. Not near my house, fortunately, but there were businesses there. This would be even worse for the Bay's already struggling economy.
And the people. Jeez, Taylor, what does the economy matter when people are going to die? Focus, be a hero, prevent casualties. Then worry about the economy.
It was only when I looked at the second alert that I realised the first one had been silent. And come in an hour ago. The war was already being waged. And I hadn't even known.
I couldn't decide whether I hated the isolation of Arcadia or not. Why weren't the students freaking out at lunch? Surely people would tell them? It wasn't like they didn't care, right?
More than one gang war had happened in my lifetime – I remembered the news showing the burnt-out buildings Lung left behind him as he consolidated the ABB. So, I wasn't surprised that a gang war was happening. Hadn't been surprised when Piggot said one was going to happen (the city was filled with bullies it wasn't my fault).
People were probably just trying to pretend everything was normal. That was it. Probably. Unless the news hadn't reported it yet. Before lunchtime was a weird time to start any war, much less one over the city's underworld.
The door beeped and Carlos walked inside. "Briefing in transit." His voice carried his [determination] as he flew to his locker and then a changing room.
The second alert!
The Undersiders were… ATTACKING A BANK?
I repeat: 'fuck'. That really wouldn't be good for our economy. And this alert had just come in.
Just as I wondered where the hell everyone else was, the other boys filtered through the door. Chris jumped when I snapped at them to get moving, but the Undersiders were robbing a damn bank!!! We could stroll leisurely later.
Checking the alert details, a caller had reported the windows of Brockton Central Bank going dark – pitch black. The leader of the Undersiders, Grue, could produce darkness like smoke. It stopped all sight, including Gallant's emotion sense, and had messed with Shadow Stalker's breaker form.
I'd come across Grue in my research before joining the Wards. He had gone from hired merc to criminal bodyguard to gang leader. And now he was showing even more ambition – robbing a bank.
An update popped up. There would be a PRT van outside Arcadia in 5 mins to pick us up.
I warped across the room, then started pacing because simply teleporting didn't let the energy out.
[>[>/^\<]<]
Missy was already in the van, so I followed Carlos inside and sat next to her. Dennis and Chris sat next to me, while Dean's empty power armour took up most of Carlos' bench.
Chris helped Dean climb inside and set things up as we pulled away from the curb.
Carlos – Aegis, damn, I had to get into the proper mindset – pulled out his phone and started the debrief.
"We got a call from someone outside Brockton Central Bank 12 minutes ago. Grue is obscuring the windows from the inside; we act like the rest of the Undersiders are with him. Vista, give us the Undersiders' names and powers." Aegis spoke quickly, but evenly. I felt myself straighten and review what I knew.
"Grue: creates darkness that blocks sight and sound and can powers lose senses – also slows movement a little. He's the leader. Regent: causes muscle spasms or links our motions with his – he can make us miss attacks. Has a taser. Hellhound: dog master, makes dogs grow into bone-spiked monsters. Tattletale: thinker… probably social thinker, something about secrets?" Vista was trying not to tap her feet, [excited determination] blending with a feeling of [usefulness].
Aegis nodded at her. "Good summary. Now, we have to assume they have hostages. Even if the Undersiders haven't been violent before, Hellhound has murdered at least one person. So keeping people safe is more important than risky captures."
A chill went down my back. Murder. That was… real. The PRT had the Undersiders down as a minor gang, smash and grab, only in it for money.
But… murder. Murder changed things. I couldn't charge in like I had with the Merchants. But I had to use the same level of seriousness. Even if most of the Undersiders were in it for the money, they still stole. If they didn't care about taking people's money, how far away were they from crossing the line to taking blood?
This wasn't some cartoon on TV. Even if the bank was stereotypical, the light-hearted cops and robbers chase-them-off approach wouldn't be enough.
"And your patrol restriction is lifted Seneschal!" Aegis grinned at me. "We'll be able to actually figure out what's going on inside thanks to you."
The part of my attention not considering the Undersiders' threat level reviewed the conversation.
I hadn't even thought about not being allowed to engage. If they'd got me costumed up and outside the bank only to say stay back, then Piggot probably would've extended my punishment. Because I would not have stayed back.
The readiness buzzing in my bones was joined by a thrill of relief. After two weeks, I'd finally be able to actually be a hero again.
Clockblocker made a joke about Undersiders only looting now the gang war was on, which… again, maybe coincidence, maybe Grue's ambition revealing something darker.
The others had made a rough plan of waiting at the front to corner the Undersiders as they escape. Except Gallant, who was on the phone. To… Glory Girl? That felt impulsive, she was independent, not one of us. But Glory Girl felt impulsive in general. Whatever, she was strong and fast. That would help.
"2 minutes out!" The driver called back.
Aegis shifted conversational gears. "Alright team, we have new tricks, how are we going to capture them this time?"
"Grue is the problem," said Vista, "we can't hit them if we can't see them."
She was right, but we had to have ways around that. "Aegis, if Grue can still see, would your flashbangs work on him?"
The grin and [anticipation] I received made my cheeks go a little warm.
"We'll have to see," he replied.
"My new armour is approved, so I might be able to take Hellhound's monster dogs down." Kid Win was fiddling with a panel on his forearm, new armour currently looking like his previous costume but covered in open connection ports.
"I'll see what I can do about Grue's power. And I'll make sure they only have one way out." Vista probably shouldn't be that [vindictive] or [gleeful], but I wasn't going to stop her.
Gallant piped up. "Vicky will probably stay up high somewhere." Glory Girl – Vicky – then said something over the phone and Gallant was [distracted] again.
That gave me an idea. "Could Vista join her while I scout? Have a blockade out front then others up above? Maybe trick them into thinking not all of us could make it?" I looked around the van.
"Good idea, but remember that Tattletale is a thinker – assume she knows our plans. Or our secret plans." Despite the reminder, Aegis' [satisfaction] in our team glowed. That was the best way to describe it anyway.
"Uh, so Vicky says that Amy went to the bank at the start of lunch. And she might be a hostage, which – yes Vicky I'm telling them. We're nearly there. Meet us out the front." Gallant's [fond exasperation] felt a little out of place to me. We were stopping a bank robbery, not –
Amy was Panacea. The best healer in North America.
And the Undersiders had a murderer.
I felt the [realisation] sweep through the van.
"New priority, keeping Panacea safe." Aegis had lost his smile. "Even if she's a hostage, the Undersiders won't hurt her – everyone knows she's a non-combatant. But we should still keep an eye out. Gallant, what was she wearing today?"
The power armour shifted. "Dark hoodie. Jeans. Hoodie probably had a punk band logo on it." Dean felt [guilty]. Quite a lot actually. Fair, I guess. Glory Girl was his girlfriend, and she often grabbed my attention from across the room.
Aegis opened his mouth again, but the driver talked over him. "We're close – small crowd out front and traffic so you'd be better off walking. Or flying."
We'd already started scrambling out the back.
Brockton Central Bank's six stories loomed over Lord St. Other buildings towered, or even merely stood. But the Bank – with its crenelated roof, hanging gargoyles, and old stone – loomed.
The crowd out the front buzzed with muttered questions and a kind of morbid fascination. The clump of static on my mental map even grew by a few people as we crossed the road. Traffic was slowed enough by people leaning out of their windows to see what was going on that we didn't bother with the lights.
Aegis flew and Gallant jogged ahead of us to break up the crowd. Or at least get them out of harm's way.
I looked at the Bank lobby's windows and saw the faces of the crowd. As they dispersed, heeding our team leader or being spoken to in appropriate tones by Gallant, our reflections came into view. Faint, but perfect reflections. The official Image department headshots weren't this clear.
The only reason I could convince myself the bank lobby walls weren't made of mirrors was how the automatic doors kept closing for half a second before hissing back open. In the regularly shuddering entranceway, darkness was made physical. As much as a gas could be physical. In between the automatic doors was a pitch-black nothingness. The… mass looked solid, unmoving. Except wisps of smoke drifted (and almost dripped) at the edges of the doorway.
Grue's power wasn't still. It was constantly, slowly, roiling. I just couldn't see it move because I couldn't see it. Only… darkness.
The windows were mirroring the dispersing crowd the same way my bedroom window reflected light at night. They were so clear because there was no light behind them. The automatic door shuddered because its sensor was always obscured.
A primal part of me saw the darkness inside the doorway and scrabbled backwards. I focused on the [determination] of the rest of the Wards and stared into the black.
Despite my city having one of the highest per capita rates of parahumans, I'd never seen a cape before joining the Wards. And I'd never seen powers used in such a blatant manner (PR stunts on my two shallow PR patrols didn't count).
Aegis flew back as the PRT agent on console let us know that all available PRT squads were dealing with the gang war in the docks. We wouldn't have any backup for this fight until it was over.
"Gallant's dealing with the last of the crowd. Kid Win, can you fly up and circle the bank? It looks like Grue's in the lobby but we should make sure." Kid Win nodded at Aegis and pulled his hoverboard off his back.
The Ward Leader turned to Vista. "Have you got enough space to give us some… space?" Clockblocker laughed and Aegis rolled his eyes, not really [regretting] his choice of words.
"Yup!" Vista raised her hands then pushed forwards. The now empty area between us and the bank stretched until we were standing a hundred feet away from the dark entrance instead of ten. It looked a little weird honestly – pavers as long as two cars, the cracks between them big enough to fit your foot in sideways. All the details on the sidewalk looked like a Photoshop accident – but the road and surrounding buildings were normal. I stopped thinking about how our battlefield was geometrically impossible when Vista said, "huh. Grue's power messes with mine too."
I focused on my mental map, which was growing properly now the crowd was not around me. Sure enough, while I could sense some things inside the bank lobby, most of the area was just… missing. Absent. A hole in space that I couldn't know.
A few people walked around the area I could sense, before one of them turned and walked to the edge and – disappeared. Whole swaths of the floor and one entire side of the room was simply unavailable to me.
"So there's no hope of you making Grue's darkness smaller?" Aegis asked in [frustration].
"I mean… I could try? But the darkness isn't a space, it just occupies space and is… weird." A spike of [annoyance] cut through Vista's [concentration].
"No," Aegis looked over the bank, "focus on the terrain out here. Close the other exits and funnel them through here. You getting anything Seneschal?"
"People are definitely inside, but I can't warp into Grue's darkness. I can still make sure no one's in the upper floors though." I motioned towards the higher windows that weren't acting like mirrors.
"Excellent, but wait until Glory Girl gets here – she doesn't know the plan." Aegis turned to Clockblocker. "Do you have enough string and paper?"
I couldn't see Clockblocker's expression behind the featureless white mask, but his [amused anticipation] was evident in his voice. "Yeah, I reckon we can put a line at knee height for the monster dogs. And, Vista, maybe –"
"Panacea! Please! He broke his ankle and it won't heal in time for him to get a scholarship for college!" A shrill voice. "Please! Why won't you help my son?" All the Wards spun around.
A woman best described as rich and suburban was crying out and hurrying after a teenage girl with brown hair. Much more frizzy than my curls. Hands shoved into a Joan Jett & the Blackhearts sweater, which I only recognised because of one of Mom's old records. Her freckled face was grimacing, staring straight at us and ignoring the woman behind her.
I recognised the girl from school. Amy Dallon, Panacea.
And some random person was harassing her. When villains were robbing a bank. When the city was just plunged into a gang war!
Before I succumbed to the urge to yell at that self-entitled bully of a woman, Gallant flashed with [worry/empathy/guilt/pity] and jogged over to pull the woman aside and, yup, try to defuse the situation. I hoped he had better luck today than with that mugger from last week.
Panacea's shoulders were still hunched when she reached us. "So, this part of the gang war that apparently started this morning?"
Clockblocker, who had felt a growing [restlessness] and [despair] since the yelling woman caught our attention, laughed stiltedly and waved a hand at the bank. "Nope! Undersiders decided bank robbery and looting was an unmissable 2-for-1 deal!"
Panacea gave a grunt – of laughter? – then looked over at the bank and let out a long sigh. "I'll wait near the PRT van. Let them know if any of you need healing or –" she looked at Aegis "– hostages?" He nodded. "If anyone involved in the fight needs healing. I'm heading to the hospital after this." She glared up at the sky, then down at the ground. "Fucking gangs." She said it like the second word was the swear.
Gallant felt [satisfaction], so I looked sideways to see him walk back towards us. "Vicky was worried you were in the bank," he told Panacea.
She turned her glare from the floor to him. "Well, Vicky could have rung me. Instead of you."
I tuned out of whatever that was. I had no clue how to talk to popular (nationally famous) girls even when they weren't angry. Not that I wanted to talk to them. I was here to be a hero.
Apart from Gallant's [guilt] and Clockblocker pushing down his [hopelessness], the Wards felt [ready].
Vista started talking to Clockblocker about their idea of her expanding sheets of paper to the size of barricades and then him freezing them.
They reminded me of the brainstorming sessions since the training day on the Rig. The first talk we had on the Rig itself had taken up the rest of the day. It also involved me discovering that our Wards phones had notes apps (and reminders and way more stuff than the nokia dad had thrown away after Mom died).
But we'd had many ideas for synergy in the past two weeks. Kid Win designing grenades for Aegis (not yet approved). Gallant describing enemy emotions so we could prioritise weak or strong links. Vista and I coming up with names for strategies for our powers (she had a lot of fun with 'bridge of doom' and 'mount olympus' while I had to be practical with things like 'flicker' and 'harass').
It was really Clockblocker who had gotten the most out of the brainstorming. There were lots of ways to make 'freeze what you're touching' a ranged attack if you were creative. And he got quite creative after finding a second-hand practical jokes book.
My musing was interrupted by a whistle of wind and crack of concrete.
Glory Girl was standing on a spiderweb of broken paver. Having dropped from the sky to… hug her sister. Who stiffened and relaxed as we all took in the sudden entrance.
Knee-high heeled white boots floated an inch above the cracked paver. A white dress with golden stripes fell to skirt that ended at mid-thigh, but also went down her arms. Her platinum blonde hair, crowned with a spiked golden tiara, still swayed slightly from the landing – as did an over-the-shoulder cape, also white, that hung to mid-back.
Glory Girl was as tall as me, though I thought the floating was cheating. And she was gorgeous. Unfairly blessed by good genes in the same way Emma was. Except where Emma had hips and back-problems-in-waiting, Glory Girl had muscles. I grit my teeth when I realised I was glaring at her legs.
"Ames! I'm so glad you're okay. I was worried you were inside the bank and there's a gang war!" Glory Girl's words were muffled in her sister's hair until she pulled back and held Panacea by the shoulders. "Ames promise me you'll take the bus until this is over!"
Panacea just nodded, blinking. Then her eyes focused. "I'm waiting at the van in case anyone needs healing after this. The Wards seem to have a strategy already." She didn't start walking though.
Glory Girl gave her another hug before turning to us. "What's the plan?"
Aegis nodded. "Kid Win will be in the air with Gallant, Clockblocker, and me guarding this exit. Seneschal will scout the building and try to give us info and make sure the upper floors are clear. Vista is making sure that there is only one exit to the building, but we want her on a roof so she can see the whole field. We imagined you being with Vista and being a surprise backup to take one of the Undersiders out."
"Tattletale is some kind of thinker, she might be able to hear this from inside the bank." Glory Girl's face (also unfairly beautiful) had gone serious.
"Grue's power blocks sound and light. And even if they're expecting you to be here, you can still be a surprise." Aegis finally had some [excitement] building beside his [determination]. I felt it too. The team felt capable and ready in a way they hadn't since I'd joined. (Since Sophia had been jailed.) The Undersiders were going down today.
"Awesome, looks like I'm with you little V!" Glory Girl flew over to Vista. They high fived.
I felt the power I got from Aegis relax my jaw and realised I'd nearly bitten my tongue. Missy had a nickname. I felt my jaw relax again. I knew it was irrational, but I had to check.
The [friendship] between Missy and I hadn't changed. Okay. That made sense. Missy had been a hero for a while. So had Glory Girl. It made sense that they'd know each other. Missy would have other friends. I was still her friend. I boosted her power too. She wouldn't betray me for Glory Girl like Emma had with –
And I didn't think Glory Girl would do that. She was attractive and popular. But I'd been going to Arcadia for nearly a month and if there was bullying, Glory Girl wasn't part of it.
Gallant's [resolve/longing/sadness/determination] was suddenly replaced by [confused curiosity]. I looked up and stared at his visor until he [guiltily] remembered I didn't like him invading my personal business.
Personal business. That wasn't important right now. Missy was my friend, but we were both heroes.
And the Undersiders had been in the bank for a while now. We should act. The team needed me to get information.
"I'm going to start on the top floors and work my way down. I'll let you know if I find anyone before getting them to safety." My words got a nod of [approval] from Aegis, a smile from Missy, and Glory Girl saying "Oh hey, we haven't met yet. I'm –"
I warped onto a nearby balcony, then atop an office building that let me see into the bank's top floor windows.
I took a deep breath in, then let it out. This was my second real chance to be a hero. I'd been successful last time, but I'd made mistakes. This time, I'd learnt more and practiced with my team. The only ones making a mistake today would be the Undersiders.
I pressed a button to toggle the now standard comm set built into my visor.
"This is Seneschal, starting on the top floor."