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Rating:

Not Rated

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:

F/F

Fandoms:

Parahumans Series - WildbowX-Men - All Media Types

Relationship:

Victoria Dallon | Glory Girl | Antares & Taylor Hebert | Skitter | Weaver

Characters:

Additional Tags:

Alt-Power Taylor HebertWhat Was I Thinking?Phoenix Force (X-Men)

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English

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Published:2025-08-09Updated:2025-11-02Words:248,706Chapters:39/?Comments:242Kudos:457Bookmarks:258Hits:29,966

Firebird

chibipoe

Chapter 12: Dreaming 2.2

Chapter Text

2:53 pm, February 26th, 2011

Chronicles was an immense bookstore that had taken over most of what used to be a warehouse in the older part of downtown. It had multiple floors and sections for various genres that were large enough to be bookstores in their own right. It had endured the countless chains try and run it out of business only to stay standing when they failed, remaining strong when they went bankrupt. It was almost as much a landmark as the fried chicken restaurant with it's enormous chicken with an animatronic beak that sat along one of the main roads into or out of Brockton.

People gave directions by both. Two miles past the Big Chicken, or two blocks from Chronicles. They had both been in Brockton Bay for as long as I could remember. Still, I hadn't been to the store in several years and I stared up the steps leading to its corner entrance for a moment before looking around for Catherine and Minako.

I spotted them both inside and entered, navigating through the throng of people that were here for the signing, closing my eyes for a moment while I focused to block out the enthusiasm and excitement that permeated the area.

"Hi," I said when I reached them, feeling awkward as the walk around town before coming here hadn't helped the mood I had left the hospital in.

"Something wrong?" Catherine asked.

I shrugged. "Just a bad morning that I'm not sure how to deal with it."

"Well," Minako said. "Permit me to get this signed and if you wish, we can discuss it over ice cream. If you do not wish, we can still have ice cream."

I half-smiled for a moment before it faded. "That might be nice."

"Go get your book signed," Catherine told Minako, slinging an arm around my shoulders and waving Minako off with her other hand. "I'll keep Taylor company while you do."

Minako nodded and moved away toward where I could see a tall brunette talking animatedly to a group of people. Catherine released my shoulders and gave me a serious look.

"Truthfully, are you okay?" she asked. "You look pretty down."

I shook my head, looking anywhere but at her as I considered the question. "I don't honestly know. Today… Emma…"

"You had more trouble with her?" Catherine asked.

"Not exactly," I said, taking a deep breath and shook my head. "Just something very unexpected and I don't know how to feel about it. Nothing that I need to bring you two down with." Cheers went up behind me and I turned to see the brunette stepping into a platform and beginning to address the crowd.

"Thanks for coming, everyone, and just… wow, so many people," she said. "I'm, as you might guess, Christa Poe, the author of Acceleration and its sequels. Things got a little jumbled since my flight was delayed because of recent events, so I'm going to start with getting to everyone who has books for me to sign first and then we'll get to the questions. There's a line forming here, I think… right here, yes?"

I watched as she pulled the microphone away from her mouth to talk to one of the bookstore staff, arranging people in a line before sitting down. The signing moved quickly after that and Minako returned, face flushed with excitement and holding her signed copies.

"We can skip on ice cream if you want to stick around for her talking," I said, not wanting to keep her from something she clearly enjoyed.

Minako shook her head. "I have her latest book. She is planning to talk about the one after this and likely to read from it. I do not wish to be spoiled, so we can go. Also…" Minako tucked one of the books into her satchel carefully and extended the others out to Catherine and I.

"Ah, geez, Mina," Catherine said, but accepted the book. "Why'd you go and do this?"

"You are my friends," she said simply.

I stared at the book she had placed in my hands and opened the cover, curious to see what I would find.

Taylor, never give up chasing your dreams. Enjoy the story! ~Christa Poe. Beside her name was a tiny hand-drawn raven.

"Thank you," I said simply with a small, thankful smile before closing the book. Minako ducked her head shyly in acknowledgement.

"Okay, ice cream, then?" Catherine asked, putting her own book away. "Is Frozen Stone still open?"

"That's over near Fugly Bob's, right?" I asked. "I think so. It'll take a bit to get over there, though."

"We have time," Minako interjected. "Shall we go, then?"

I nodded and tucked the book into my messenger bag. "Ice cream sounds good, yeah. Let's go."

* * *

The boardwalk was bustling when we arrived and I smiled a bit at the way the sun shone off the water. It was actually very pretty and even the eyesore of the Boat Graveyard in the distance didn't detract too much from it. I turned away from the view and looked in the direction of the ice cream shop that Catherine had mentioned.

There were an awful lot of people between us and there, I noticed again and frowned. The Enforcers were around but there were still plenty of instances of pickpockets and the like. Remembering the night before and what had nearly happened because I wasn't using my powers to keep an eye out, I nudged my foresight into the on setting. Just a few minutes between where we were and the shop wouldn't hurt, and it was good practice.

"You are impossibly good at moving in a crowd," Catherine said in my ear as I led the way toward the shop, guiding us through the crowd without becoming bogged down by people randomly stopping to stare at something or take pictures.

"Just lucky," I said, glancing back toward her. As I did so, I saw a man moving with the flow of people, how his course would line up with mine and he would go for Catherine's purse before taking advantage of an opening to vanish into the crowd.

"So, I was thinking," I said, turning to face her while walking backwards for a moment. "You guys want to come over for dinner sometime? It's been awhile since I've had anyone over…"

"I would not object," Minako said.

"I'm game," Catherine murmured, then gave me an odd look. "Are you sure you should walk like that? You could trip…"

"You're probably right," I said, shrugging and turning back around. Three more steps… now. I spun back around, throwing my arm wide as I did so. "So, what kind of food do you guys like so I can plan what to get my dad to fix? Oh, sorry!" The side of my hand near my pinkie smacked against his wrist, deflecting the grab. My eyes met his and he muttered a profanity before shoving someone to his left and taking off.

"Did he just…" Catherine began, scowling. "He tried to grab my purse!"

"Huh," I shrugged. "Guess that was lucky on my pa-"

* * *

I paused with my spoon in my mouth, frowning as the scene flooded into my head abruptly. What the hell was that? Nothing like that happened on the way to the shop. Did I have some sort of retrocognition that showed what could have been as well as precognition?

"Earth to Taylor," I heard fingers snapping and blinked, focusing on Catherine. "You alright? You just spaced out on us."

"Oh, sorry," I said, putting the spoon down in the mostly empty plastic bowl. "Sorry, still trying to figure out this thing from this morning."

"Are you sure you do not wish to talk about it?" Minako asked gently. "We can tell it has upset you, after all."

I took hold of the spoon again, scraping away at the last bits of ice cream, mulling the question over. The two of them had been straight with me so far and they had helped a lot with the Sophia thing. I hadn't told them much about the root of the problems with Emma and Sophia, but they had still helped without having any obligation to do so.

The rest of my ice cream was finished off and I took a deep breath. Feet first, Taylor. "Well, this morning, I got an unexpected visitor…"

~~~~~~~~

There were some days, Victoria Dallon thought, that she really disliked the fact that most people who had powers hid who they were from the general public. She understood why, but at the same time, it created situations like the one she was in now now.

"Everything alright, Vicky?" her cousin asked as they dealt with a group of vandals who had gotten their hands on tinker-produced spray painting gear and defaced several places across town. When the law firm that her mom worked at had been one of them, she had gone out with her cousins to track them down.

"Oh, everything's fine," she said airily. "You know that I'm just glorious."

Crystal snorted and gave her a disbelieving look. "That was bad and you should feel bad."

"Yeah, you do seem a bit out of it," Eric said. "You're usually the first to be punching their lights out."

"I'm fine," she insisted. "Maybe. Yes, I am fine."

"We're done here, so let's go find somewhere else to be," Crystal said. "And Vicky? Tell someone who didn't grow up with you that you're fine. They might believe it."

"You do tend to space out when you're worrying about something you can't punch," Eric interjected.

"You're both ganging up on me," she groused with a half-hearted glare. "Fine. Let's go find something to eat." She didn't wait for either to reply, taking flight and putting distance between them quickly.

Eric exchanged a look with his sister. "I'm guessing we're having hamburgers. Fugly Bob's?"

"Fugly Bob's," she said with a sigh.

Fifteen minutes later and they were in normal clothes, tucked into a booth with their cousin, who was devouring one of the larger burgers hungrily.

"Geez, Vick," Eric said. "I don't think it's going to walk away if you take your time."

She gave him an irritated look and then took a drink of her soda before reaching for some fries, only to find Crystal's hand blocking her.

"Ok, spacing out and bingeing," she said. "Something's bothering you. Is it about last night when you were out? Did you and Dean have a fight on patrol?"

"I didn't go on patrol with Dean last night," she muttered. "And we didn't fight either, before you ask."

"You didn't go on patrol with Dean," Eric pointed out. "Was there someone else? Are you patrolling with other people behind his back?"

"That isn't funny," she snapped, glaring at her cousin before sighing. "I helped out a new cape on her first night out."

The cousins shared a look. "That doesn't seem like something to be this worked up over."

"It's complicated," she said.

"What kind of complicated?" Crystal asked, taking the fries for herself. "Complicated, as you put it, could mean almost anything"

Victoria bit her lip. "The kind of complicated that isn't mine to tell, okay? Not to you guys, not to Dean…"

Crystal glanced at her brother, then looked around quickly before holding a hand over the top of her face. "This kind of complicated?"

"You look stupid like that," she replied. "And yes, exactly like that."

"Seems pretty simple," Eric said. "You know something Dean doesn't, I'm guessing. Tell him."

"Don't be silly, Eric," Crystal contradicted. "If it is what she said, she can't just tell Dean. It isn't her secret to tell!"

"If it's something that is worrying her this much, it might have to be," he said calmly.

Victoria winced. "Let's say that Dean mentioned some investigations into a person when we were… talking." She ignored Eric's snort and went on. "And that person hasn't done anything wrong, but I found out something that confirms the thing they're investigating. Sort of."

Crystal frowned. "Is this a bad thing?"

Vicky shook her head. "No! Well, I don't think so. I don't see how it could be. But telling Dean would break a rule. The whole thing is ready to turn into a mess if it goes wrong, and I don't want it to."

"I assume this isn't something you can't just put them in the same place to talk about?" Eric asked, frowning.

"No," Victoria said with a bitter laugh. "That would be breaking rules twice over. The only way to resolve this would be if everyone involved were a Ward."

"Vicky," Crystal began, looking thoughtful. "Are you sure that keeping this secret isn't dangerous?"

She shook her head emphatically. "No, it isn't."

"Then I think you should keep your friend's secret, if that is who this person is to you," she finished.

"Wait a minute," Eric interrupted. "We aren't big on keeping secrets. This does not sound cool at all."

"Our own secrets, Eric," Crystal said, her voice a touch chilly. "But being part of New Wave doesn't mean we run around giving out everyone else's secrets, if we learn them. We can't force people to take our view of things."

"I'm going to go flying," Vicky said abruptly, tossing some money on the table for her food. "To clear my head and think about this. Thanks for listening, you two." Ignoring the developing argument behind her, she made for the exist and took off as soon as she was outside.

Dean had mentioned how he hadn't been able to pick anything up from Taylor at all back during their meeting at the mall and suspected that she was a cape, but he had, with persuasion, told her that the testing they had done after the incident at her school had said she wasn't a cape.

He had reported that, she knew, but he hadn't said anything else since. Now, she knew conclusively that Taylor was a cape. Telling Dean would be breaking a confidence and the very idea made her stomach churn.

"Damnit, why can't everyone just do what New Wave does," she muttered, coming to a halt above the spot where she and Taylor had sat the night before. She dropped onto the wall, fingers digging into the stone once she was seated. She knew why, logically.

Fleur.

The movement of changing from the Brockton Bay Brigade to New Wave had barely even gotten started when that happened, effectively aborting the intent right out of the gate. Even so, their parents had passed on that legacy to her, Eric and Crystal. Mostly out of inertia, as with them revealing their own identities, it would have been pathetically easy to deduce who the three of them were if they had not followed in their parent's footsteps.

So the three of them had become celebrities and gotten targets painted on their back. No one had tried, but it was something she was afraid of, that she'd go over to Aunt Sarah's and find Crystal and Eric dead one day. Knowing that Taylor was Sirin, and that the Protectorate had been investigating Taylor being a cape and were coming up with nothing, while she now had definite knowledge. But telling Dean was breaking a confidence as well as the rules that every cape who wasn't a member of New Wave lived by.

"Punching things is easy," Vicky said, grimacing. "So, I can't tell Dean because… why?" She bit her lip, kicking the wall with her feet as she considered that question. The answer came a moment later.

"Because I like her and it's nice to have a friend who doesn't have stars in their eyes when they look at me," she said aloud. "Even so, Dean's my boyfriend and I shouldn't keep something this big from him, should I?" The sun began to set as she sat there, wrestling with the dilemma before her, oblivious to anyone or anything passing by.

~~~~~~~~

When she had agreed to fill in for Colin while he conducted his investigation at Winslow, he had neglected to tell her about just how much paperwork involved, Miss Militia thought sourly. The next time she got to spar with him, she would have to make it known how she didn't appreciate the fact quite thoroughly. Reports of every type sat before her, many of which she was convinced that other departments were handing off to get out of having to do them.

She set those to the side for looking into later. There was no reason that she could fathom that required her to sign off on routine orders of toilet paper.

Maybe one of Clockblocker's jokes? Wouldn't hurt to check at least. She considered it before looking at what was next what seemed like a never shrinking stack. She glanced at it, noting that it was a police report. Cape activity that they had been involved in, so likely one of the Independents or New Wave. Miss Militia skimmed down the page, assessing the details quickly.

Merchants, found in possession of drugs, no surprise there… Glory Girl present… new cape was primarily responsible for their apprehension? New cape? She focused on that section, grateful for once that the officers who submitted their report to the PRT had gone into some detail, though not nearly enough for her liking.

"Cape had not chosen a name yet, accepted a suggestion from Glory Girl," she read aloud. "Appeared female, dark haired, costume was black & gold with an emblem like a stylized bird of some sort on upper chest. Accepted name was Siren?"

She sat back in her chair, remembering one of the things she had spent doing in her free time. Reading was one and she considered this report against that.

"Bird-themed, so probably not referring to the Greek," she mused thoughtfully. "Russian, then." She looked back at the report, to see if there was any mention of what the new cape's powers were. Nothing beyond a comment that she apparently had some sort of flight ability. The report mentioned a dumpster out in the middle of the street, so a possible Brute rating?

"Not enough information here," she sat the report down in frustration, mulling over what to do. The police had given details, but nothing that really formed a picture of this new cape for her beyond appearance. The independent capes were one situation that she wished they didn't have to deal with. Too many who had refused membership into either the Wards or the Protectorate for whatever reasons She had even approached some of them herself and been rebuffed, often rather rudely. To add another cape to an already complex situation promised issues if she endured for any amount of time.

There were two groups among them, those who came out guns blazing and made too much of a splash, drawing the ire of one of the larger gangs and were either forcibly conscripted or never heard from again and those who kept a lower profile, sticking to small-time activities.

"Some Merchants who were coming off of an exchange," she read into it, frowning thoughtfully. Nothing that would draw immediate repercussions then, as that was likely one of many that had gone down that night. Skidmark himself was an unsavory and disgusting person, but someone in his gang was at least marginally competent and handled the details he was too wasted for.

She had wondered more than once if Skidmark wasn't simply a front for someone else, but if that was true, they were very good at covering their tracks. Miss Militia sighed and pushed worrying about that for later and returned her thoughts to the new cape. Further reading had mentioned that her and Glory Girl seemed on good terms, which was arguably a positive. The member of New Wave's second generation could be impetuous at times and another cape adopting her attitude could be problematic.

Perhaps Gallant could persuade her to arrange a meeting so that the benefits of a Wards membership could be extended. There were enough issues with how understaffed they were compared to the villains. The independents alone could outnumber them, if you considered the solo villains along with the heroes. More people could only help improve the situation, she hoped.

She typed up a quick note to Colin and sent it off about this issue with a request for his opinion on the matter, summing up all the pertinent details regarding the new cape. As much as she wished he were here in his usual position, she had to admit that the time spent posing as a teacher was doing him some good. Perhaps he would have a better perspective on the matter that helped her make a decision.

Changing screens brought up her current file on the independent parahumans within Brockton Bay where she added the new cape to the list, correcting the error in spelling that the police officer had made for her own records before adding the sparse information to the Protectorate and PRT databases. She glanced at the report once more and set it aside to be filed by her assistant, her mind turning back to the issue of how to approach this new parahuman.

A chime sounded and she saw an email response from Colin waiting to be opened. Two clicks of the mouse opened it up. Her eyebrows went up slightly at the quick response and she looked over his typically terse reply.

Hannah,

See if you can find more details on this Sirin. She had a bird-themed emblem? Perhaps our pyro is finally showing themselves? Send me whatever you can find.

Colin

"Short and to the point as always," she shook her head and made notes of his request on her list of things to do. Perhaps she could reach out to Glory Girl personally for information. The report had said they seemed to be getting along. That would sidestep the possibility of Gallant balking at a request to try and convince his girlfriend to tell him about the new cape or arrange a meeting. It was hard to predict what teenagers would do when they didn't have powers, let alone when you did add powers into the mix.

A thought occurred to her. Colin had indicated suspicion that the suspected pyrokinetic could be this new cape. She tried to think of how many brunettes she had seen at Winslow when they had dealt with the Shadow Stalker issue.

Taylor Hebert was a brunette, she recalled with a frown. But the MRI had indicated that she lacked the extra sections of the brain that indicated parahuman status, so had been sidelined as a possible candidate. Colin had his theory that she could have obscured it somehow, but Director Piggot disagreed. Shadow Stalker's interrogation had revealed the girl was convinced that the target of her ire was a cape, but no one had given her words credence due to how obviously biased she had been towards Ms. Hebert.

She winced as she thought of the girl, remembering how poorly she had handled bringing the subject up. The girl's replies rolled around in her head for a moment, noting how she had never outright denied being one. Merely referenced the tests that had been negative to lead them toward the conclusion that she wasn't. Dean's report that he had been unable to sense anything from her when he met her while with his girlfriend flashed to the forefront of her thoughts and she blinked once.

He had mentioned that Victoria Dallon had seemed to know Taylor when they met at the mall and both appeared on good terms with one another. The new cape seemed to be on good terms with Glory Girl as well.

Miss Militia shook her head. "Colin's infecting me with his paranoia. Just because Taylor Hebert is friends with one of the Dallon's doesn't mean she's also this Sirin." She made some more notes on her computer before putting the matters of Taylor Hebert and this new cape aside in her mind. She had more paperwork to get through and fixating on one issue would not help at all.

Colin is really going to regret suckering me into doing his paperwork for him.

~~~~~~~~

Dad had gone out with Kurt and Lacey for the evening, leaving a note for me. I skimmed over it, then dropped it back on the counter. I pulled my costume out of its hiding place and gave it a once over to see if I had missed any damages or spots that needed cleaning. I had a few hours before he would be back, so plenty of time to work on some gloves or finding a way to alter the jacket for when I went out. Perhaps something that I could fit over it with fasteners, like a vest?

I alternated between that and idly browsing the parahumans online wiki page, brushing up on what little information was there about the capes of Brockton Bay. The information there was inconsistent though. The larger groups, such as the Protectorate and the Wards team, or gangs like the Empire Eighty-Eight or the ABB were a great deal more detailed than most of the others. The independents were a mixed bag, filled with conflicting reports and in some cases, signs that people had gotten into arguments and changed the information on the various wiki entries as part of their feuding.

Putting down my work for a moment, I switched pages to the villains section. I wanted to avoid conflicts with any of the larger groups as they either had a lot of capes, like the Empire, or had people you simply did not want to mess with, like the ABB and Lung. The Merchants territory, though, bordered a lot of places where some of the lesser known villains were rumored to operate because the larger groups just didn't care.

The list was fairly large and I looked it over curiously, snorting when I saw the name Grue among them and wondered whether the person using that name was referring to the Old English or that old game it had been popularized in. I kept going until one caught my eye. Boneyard.

"Creates minions, likes to work in a small section of town, stealing from anyone that he comes across." I read aloud, resuming work on the overlay for my jacket. "Can generate them from solid surfaces, like concrete, asphalt or metal." I sat back, thinking about that. It didn't say how many, but that didn't sound like anything I couldn't deal with myself. Last night, I took down some drug dealers more or less by myself, tonight I would try for a supervillain.

My eyes fell on my phone and exhaled. Should I call Vicky and see if she would like to go out again? I gave it a moment's thought, considering what to do. I was leaning toward yes but… I didn't want her to think I needed my hand held, did I? Though, last night had shown having someone as backup could be useful, especially if things went bad.

I sent off a quick text message to see if she was up for it and got a response a moment later.

-Family wanting family time tonight. Boring and dull, but stuck with it. Watch your back tonight! ;) I looked at the message for a moment, equal parts relieved and frustrated. I would just have to be more careful tonight, but I was going solo.

* * *

The tips from Vicky had helped immensely. I wasn't flying the way she did yet, but I was definitely covering ground faster, and flying higher. Dad had come home and gone to bed, having apparently had quite a night out with his friends. Which had freed me to sneak out and now here I was, looking for any signs of this Boneyard character.

Maybe I should look at getting some sort of night vision goggles if I'm going to only go out at night? I made a mental note to look into what the benefits and downsides were for that before dropping to a roof nearby, checking the spots I had marked on the phone's map. This was definitely the area Boneyard liked to work in, assuming PHO could be trusted for that, but I hadn't seen a single sign of him.

"I guess I'll get a warmup in," I murmured as the sound of breaking glass on the street below showed a couple of guys keeping an eye out. A moment later, they were wrestling what looked like a TV into their truck before going back to waiting.

I thought about the night before and decided to try something different. I didn't have to get close to them after all, did I? Peering carefully over the edge and making sure that none of them were looking up, I set to work, feeling with my telekinesis to see which ones had shoes with laces. There was enough light from the streetlights for this and I tied all their laces together. They toppled with a shout when they went to take the next thing from the store. Shouts rang out and I heard glass crunch as their friends or whatever came out. They were already trying to untie the laces and I waited until the laces were undone before taking control of them again.

"My shoes are possessed!" one shouted as they found their hands caught and the laces tightening around them.

Satisfied that they were down for the moment, I looked at the other two men and yanked at their jackets, twisting the sleeves and flipping the backs of their coats over their eyes like last time. If it worked before, it was worth trying again. I smiled as it proved to be as disorienting now as it was then, though I almost fumbled zipping up one's jacket as he tried to take it off to escape.

Stealing their belts and using them to secure any hands or feet I had missed, I carefully lowered myself to the ground after confirming that there wasn't anyone lying in wait for me where I couldn't see.

"I don't think these belong to you," I said, looking at each in turn. "So that's breaking and entering, attempted theft and something else I'm sure I'm forgetting." They glared sullenly at me, but said nothing as I placed a call to the police to report this.

Thankfully, the police arrived quickly, having already been on their way thanks to a silent alarm and I got to move on after giving a brief statement. I didn't want to stay out too much later, as Dad usually got up early on Sundays and I didn't want to chance that he'd be up super early and notice I was gone.

I passed over some warehouses that had been abandoned years ago. They had sat there, unattended and left to degrade, grass growing up through the cracked pavement around them. No one had ever bought the property that I knew of and they likely were just a home for squatters now.

Only there was something else definitely going on now, as a flash of light caught my eye, followed by what sounded like a firecracker or the sound a roman candle going off. I dropped down and settled near a window for a better look and tried not to make a sound at the sight of something that looked like it came from a B-list horror movie.

There was a man balanced on a stack of broken packing crates, with four skeletons around him. Across the open space before him, there were several more skeletons, surrounding two people. I watched silently as I tried to figure out what was going on.

"Attack," the man said and skeletons surrounding the two people moved forward, raising limbs that had either clubs or blades at the ends menacingly.

"This again, Boneyard?" one of them asked, the voice identifying as female. She raised a hand and a lights flared down at her gesture, rotating through several colors like a laser light show. I got a good look at a her outfit from the illumination. The outfit looked a mix between what tv portrayed ninjas as and David Bowie in Labyrinth. It was a flamboyant, colorful outfit that almost looked like it should clash horribly, but didn't. There was a coat almost too big for her, that her hands peeked out of, revealing fingerless gloves that sparkles of light flew away from.

Dark blue, red, white and I thought some green were the most prominent colors, with a mask that covered most of her face except for her mouth and eyes. I couldn't tell what color the mask was, exactly, as it shifted colors under the light she was projecting. It was the sort of thing that would draw weird looks from in the daylight. Blonde hair in a wild style crowned the image, with a fair amount almost covering one eye and streaks of red clear under her self-created lightshow.

Almost like some of those pictures I had seen once of japanese rock group members, I thought. I hadn't cared for the music, but the effort put into some of the costumes had interested me when I first looked into designing clothes. The beams of light struck a second later and several of the skeletons shattered into pieces. What were they made of?

I found out as Boneyard raised his own hand and several new skeletons flowed up from the pavement, leaving distortions in the floor before shambling toward the duo with another command from who I could only assume was indeed Boneyard. "We can't all make pretty light shows. I'll stick with my friends since I have an unlimited supply, after all."

"Is that right?" the other one taunted and I realized they were also female. Her outfit looked more functional than her companion's showy display. Military fatigues and a reinforced jacket. The rest was probably reinforced too, if I was not mistaken. She had a pair of what looked like hi-tech earmuffs and some heavy goggles on. Like her companion, her hair was blonde, but the streaks were blue instead of red. Between her hands, something was growing, black and spherical. She flung them out without warning, and whatever it was scattered around them, falling against the skeletons.

"And what was that supposed to do?" Boneyard mocked. "Get dirt on my friends?"

"Bang," she said and I saw a spark flare from her hand. Tiny explosions erupted from all of the skeletons at their joints, the sound like a large pack of firecrackers going off in rapid succession. Nearly all of the skeletons collapsed and Boneyard swore even as more began forming from the pavement around him in response to another gesture from him. I took a moment to examine him as well, noting what looked like some black pants and a purple shirt with a black jacket. On top of that, there were… bones? He had used one of his minions as armor, I guess? A skull covered most of his face and hilariously, he had a top hat on as well.

"That was very rude, Hanabi," he yelled. "My friends don't like being treated so rough! Make 'em hurt!" The mob of skeletons all surged forward and I saw the other girl stumble and kick her leg out, trying to free it from where a skeletal hand had grabbed her ankle.

Hanabi. Which meant the other was probably Rockshow. Hadn't I seen them on the list of Independent capes? That made them heroes if I was remembering right. And this was Boneyard, so I guess they had found him first. Or he had found them? Whatever. They were outnumbered and I knew what I wanted to do.

Last night, Glory Girl helped me, I thought, and tonight, I can help someone else!

I pushed out with my telekinesis, shattering the window I had been looking through completely before propelling myself into the warehouse. I landed with the pieces of glass floating in the air around me, all eyes looking in my direction.

Letting the glass drop, I looked toward the pair of heroes, hoping that my voice kept steady as I spoke. "Mind if I tag in and help?"

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F/F

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Parahumans Series - WildbowX-Men - All Media Types

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Victoria Dallon | Glory Girl | Antares & Taylor Hebert | Skitter | Weaver

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Alt-Power Taylor HebertWhat Was I Thinking?Phoenix Force (X-Men)

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Published:2025-08-09Updated:2025-11-02Words:248,706Chapters:39/?Comments:242Kudos:457Bookmarks:258Hits:29,966

Firebird

chibipoe

Chapter 13: Dreaming 2.3

Chapter Text

The first person to react to my statement was Boneyard, screaming something incoherent that set his skeletons shambling forward toward me and the duo he had been fighting. I shoved several of them back and reached out toward the limb that had caught Rockshow's ankle, as well as several others that were trying to grab her and Hanabi.

An application of force and they crumbled, freeing the girl. The skeletons I had knocked down were getting up and I slammed a nearby packing crate into them, watching limbs break off.

"You think that will stop them? Me?" Boneyard shouted and the skeletons reached for the arms or legs that had come off and reattached them. It really was like a b-list horror movie.

"Well, that's new," Rockshow remarked. "Have you learned a new trick or have you just been holding out on us, Bonehead?"

"It's Boneyard!" he snapped furiously, then took a deep breath, his head moving in a way that told me he was eyeing all three of us in turn. "As much as I would like to continue playing with the two of you and your new friend, I think I'll be going now. Cheers!"

He palmed something and flung it at his feet. Smoke erupted in a cloud that filled the area around him quickly as his skeletons resumed their attacking. I tried to get shove Boneyard with my telekinesis before I lost sight of him, but a skeleton ended up taking the hit instead. It crumbled and I hesitated for an instant before three more of his minions came out of the smoke.

Their heads snapped off with a shove of force, but the bodies kept moving. I backed up a step and took their legs out and they started crawling toward me, using their arms to pull forward.

"Horror movie, indeed," I muttered. How the hell did I make them stop? The first few had collapsed but I wasn't sure what I had done that made those crumble. At least I had severed their heads so they couldn't try and bite my leg off, I thought with a brief grin before shoving one away and lifting into the air.

"Like this," Rockshow called out and I saw her gliding among the ones that were left, beams of light cutting the spines of each one she passed. The skeletons collapsed into piles immediately.

I slammed my power against the spines of the ones that had been crawling toward me till nothing but dust was left, and watched them stop moving as Hanabi made the last two crumble with controlled explosions. When we were finished, and I couldn't see anything left still moving, I dropped to the ground, eyeing the two capes.

"Newbie, huh?" Rockshow asked, settling her hands in front of her, one over the other.

"Yeah, second night," I said hesitantly. "Look, sorry if my jumping in was unexpected. It looked a little unfair."

Hanabi shrugged. "There's more of them than us, really. Sharing or teaming up comes as part of the routine."

I frowned a little at that, remembering what I had seen about the ratio of heroes and villains in Brockton Bay. The villains did outnumber the heroes, so it stood to reason that anyone functioning as an independent hero would have to share when encountering. I wondered if the independent villains felt the same way when coming across heroes.

"So, got a name so that we're not calling you newbie?" Rockshow asked, drawing my attention back from my moment of distraction.

"Ah, Sirin," I said. "You're Hanabi and Rockshow, right?"

"That's us," Hanabi chirped, sounding rather cheerful for having just fought off a small army of skeletons. "Good to meet you!"

I shifted my feet and nodded. "Um… well, should we go after him?"

"Boneyard is very good at getting away," Rockshow said. "By now, he is already well out of range. There would be little point."

I nodded again, unsure of how to handle meeting two new capes. I had known Vicky and blurted her name out, giving myself away, so I didn't want to do that here.. "Well, I, um… it was nice meeting the two of you, I guess. I'll see you around?" I waved and used my powers to carry myself out through the window I had left before either could say anything. I checked the time and sighed before looking around to see if there was any sign of Boneyard.

Nothing. Guess they were right about him being good at getting away. I angled toward the direction of home, taking care not to go propel myself too high up and risk losing my bearings. Well, I had stopped those robbers, so the night wasn't a total bust, even if I didn't catch the villain I had hoped to.

Boneyard. I ran the fight over in my head, thinking if there was anything that I could have done better.

"Not leading with a smartass remark when I make an entrance, for one," I muttered. "Take out villain as you make entrance, then make cool statements." I thought of something else I had noticed and my moment of bemusement was replaced with a frown.

My powers were getting stronger. A few weeks ago, I was lifting light objects or turning faucets, now I was tossing packing crates around and shoving dumpsters halfway across the street. The raw sounds of thoughts were becoming outright feelings of emotion and physical sensations. I flushed as I remembered picking up on the feelings of a couple who were being very friendly in public when I had been out at the mall earlier in the week. That had been very distracting.

Keeping my attention on classwork was becoming difficult, too. The thoughts of the other students were a lot more clear now. There were a few exceptions, people I only picked up on if I focused, but most were as easy to pick up simply by looking in their direction. There were simply things that you did not wish to know about your classmates.

Telekinesis. Foresight. Mind Reading. I had looked online to see if there was anyone with similar powers, to see if there was someone I could discreetly send a message through Parahumans Online, but the list of capes suspected to have all three of those had been depressing, frighteningly short.

The Simurgh. Or at least that was what they thought. She definitely had telekinesis, but no one was one hundred percent if she was a cape twisted by their powers, or something else. Reading about her and some of the hate posted online though had settled one thing in mind quite firmly. I couldn't tell anyone about being able to read minds. My precognition had kicked in while I was thinking of that and gave me a headache in exchange for showing me a potential reception that reveal would get.

I didn't think I had anything to do with her, though, but the way people were likely to react was enough that I needed to keep that a secret as long as I could. I made another mental tick as my thoughts zipped back to the subject of my powers. My foresight was triggering from random thoughts too instead of just turning it on and it was taking longer before a headache showed up too.

Ducking in through my window the way I had the night before and quickly stripped out of my costume, I tucked it away in its hiding spot before pulling on a large shirt. I slipped into bed and switched on a lamp with my powers, thinking of the other part of tonight; meeting two more capes.

Hanabi and Rockshow. They had seemed notice, though they likely thought I was weird for just running off without really talking much. There had been a little about them on PHO and I made a note to look and see if there was anything else I could learn from there as I made myself comfortable.

A stray thought willed the lamp off and I was out before my head finished settling on the pillow.

~~~~~~~~

The warehouse was silent as the clearly skittish cape flew through the opening that she had made of the windows. Hanabi stood there for a moment as the girl vanished into the night sky before walking over and nudging a piece of the glass that had decorated the floor from her entry with one foot.

"We alone?" she asked.

Rockshow tilted her head. "No one making noise but us."

"Okay then," Hanabi took a deep breath. "That was Taylor, right?"

"That's right," her partner answered. "The costume isn't bad if you don't know her, but… if you do…"

"Right," she sighed. "So, what do we do?"

"Right now?" Rockshow murmured. "We go home. Your dad is probably going to read us the riot act for going off course to chase Boneyard."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Hanabi muttered. "And mom will just stand there behind him, looking disapproving, which is worse. If we had caught Bonehead, he might have cut us some slack."

"We didn't even recover the money he stole," Rockshow murmured as she picked up one of the shards of shattered glass and examined it before looking up toward the frame it had come from. "She did not punch through, at least. Almost all of it is on the ground."

"It was moving around her when she landed. Some kind of control over glass?" Hanabi asked.

Rockshow shook her head. "I don't think so. Telekinetic, I bet."

"Telekinetic and can fly?" Hanabi asked.

"Or only telekinesis," Rockshow mused. "That she uses to fly, perhaps. I think telekinesis for sure. The crates and just slamming the spines of his friends into dust with no visible source are more evidence."

Hanabi walked over to one of the crates that Sirin had used as a weapon and tried to lift it, but it refused to even budge. "Huh. Wonder what her limit is?"

"We should go before we get even more of a lecture," Rockshow said. "We can make guesses later."

"And Taylor?" Hanabi asked.

"Talk about it after we get chewed out," Rockshow shrugged.

"You know, bringing it up so much isn't going to make it any easier to deal with," she retorted. "I think you're looking forward to getting yelled at."

"Who was it that I had to follow when she went off our route to chase Boneyard again?" was the reply. "I am simply reminding you of what we have to look forward to because of your efforts to blow him up."

"Oh, come on!" Hanabi protested as they made their way out of the warehouse. "It wouldn't have hurt him. Much." Her friend did not respond and they crossed the empty lot quickly, slipping through a gap in the fence and out onto the road.

"You already texted them, right?" Hanabi asked.

"Our ride will meet us over on Bleecker Street, near that old Doctor's office." Rockshow replied.

"Is he even practicing still?" she questioned. "He was kind of strange."

"It is abandoned," her friend shrugged. "I do not know what happened." The walk the rest of the way to Bleecker passed in silence. A van sat by their destination and they hopped in when a door slid open for them. A moment later, the door shut and the van smoothly rolled away from the curb.

"Masks off, girls," a stern voice told them and they peeled them off as instructed. Hanabi's mask and wig settled onto a seat next to Rockshow's. "Now, explain why you went off route."

Catherine Greene began working her hair free of the net it had been pinned under, looking at her dad as she did so. "That was my decision. I decided catching him was worth the risk."

Major Ryan Greene stared at his daughter. "Following him into a location that you were unfamiliar with, enclosed, which would allow your target to use his numbers to best advantage, was worth it? What is the rule on enclosed spaces?"

"Never follow someone in without knowing what's inside," she said, her dad nodding briskly in response.

"What happened then?"

"Boneyard set his minions to surround us and we were dealing with them when someone intruded," Minako answered. "A new cape. Sirin."

"Hostile or ally?" he asked immediately.

"Tentative ally," his daughter said. "She offered aid and engaged Boneyard, who retreated as normal. Provided her name and left."

Her father was silent for a moment. "We'll go over this in depth later. You're both off patrol tomorrow night though. There are reasons we decide a route in advance and you can't just charge off like that! I won't have you getting hurt. Either of you."

"Yes, sir," Minako murmured.

His expression softened and he crouched in front of them, looking at his daughter, concern clear. "You're both alright? No injuries?"

"We're fine, old man," Catherine groaned, giving his shoulder a light punch. "Though Minako squealed like a little girl when that skeleton hand grabbed her ankle."

"I did no such thing," she protested immediately, glaring at her friend. "You were-"

"Girls," Catherine's father said, his tone arresting the bickering. "Despite going off course, you both did the most important thing, you know. You both came back. So, I'm going to sit up front and pull the screen down. You two get changed. We'll be home soon." He rose from his crouch and headed toward the front of the van. A moment later, a screen lowered, giving them privacy.

Catherine glanced at her mask, poking the goggles for a moment, then at Minako. "Ok, you weren't really squealing like a little girl."

"I should think not," Minako said, bending forward to pull the gym bag that contained a change clothes from beneath the seat. "Regarding that other matter, perhaps we can approach her on Monday?"

Catherine blinked. "Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

"Perhaps," Minako smiled slightly as she began changing out of her costume. "It would be an equivalence, I think. It is one possibility. We have time to discuss it."

"Definitely that," Catherine said, grabbing her own bag to change as well. "That isn't something we should just do. Fuck, it-"

"Language!" her mother called from the driver's seat.

"Sorry, mom!" she shouted, then lowered her voice. "We don't even know for sure that was her."

"You are not that unobservant, Catherine," Minako replied, her voice muffled for a moment as she pulled a shirt on.

Sighing, the brunette nodded, undoing her gloves and stripping them off one after the other. "No, I'm not. I almost gave her away when she landed and I got a good look at her."

"It was a surprise," Minako admitted. "We can decide on a definite action tomorrow." She stretched, then released a yawn as the van made a turn and came to a stop.

"Ah, jeez, now you've got me yawning too," Catherine said, punctuating the statement with a large yawn as she tucked the rest of her costume into the gym bag. The door slid open and her dad looked at them.

"Shower, then get to bed," he said.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Catherine replied before yawning again and climbing out of the van, Minako following behind her as they made their way to the house.

~~~~~~~~

The basement of his house was a poor substitute for his lab on the Rig. Or, rather, it had been a poor substitute. Now, it was merely a subpar substitute. A lot of effort had refitted it with at least the basic equipment in order to work. He had neglected it for a few weeks, but he needed improvements to the gear he was carrying while attending to his responsibilities as a teacher.

However, the upgrades to the basement workspace had afforded him the ability to work on things again. He eyed the finished product sitting before him, appearing to be nothing more than a sturdily built sports watch. It looked a bit larger than the average watch, which was something he would have to improve, but it contained a scaled down and simplified version of the lie-detecting equipment in his armor.

He turned his attention to the glasses that he wore as part of his cover. Some additional work and he had managed to implement a system into the frames that would circulate a current through the lenses that granted him a limited x-ray vision. It was, thankfully, only useful in detecting if someone was carrying weapons.

Colin eyed the other things on his table. A collapsible stun rod that masqueraded as his briefcase's handle, a sample of fabric that he hoped to use in all his clothing soon. The material was stab resistant and could withstand small arms fire, as well as excelling at permitting air flow and keeping cool.

Pushing thought of them aside, he tapped a console, bringing up records from his observation units as well as the recent reports from Miss Militia that he had asked for, about the new cape called Sirin. Then he brought up his journals on Winslow High School.

The situation there remained as it had been. He had nothing conclusive, whoever the cape responsible for the pyrokinetic display as well as the precog and thinker blackout might be, whether Taylor Hebert or another, they had gone to ground and there had not been another instance, of either the pyrokinesis nor had any of the Thinkers employed by the PRT or Protectorate reported any issues.

In light of the Simurgh's recent attack, there was still a lull in villain activity, but that would not last. A glance toward the screen devoted to his email showed several politely-worded requests to know when he was returning to official duty. The message in between the lines was clear. Piggot wanted him back on active duty and she was prepared to go above him to enforce that given his lack of results on this investigation.

Colin turned his attention back toward the mystery cape as well as this new cape. Miss Militia had identified the name as being sourced in Russian mythology, something to do with a bird, of which the girl had a stylized emblem of an avian of some sort. No word on powers as she had not volunteered any information. Reports from the police had a dumpster displaced into the street as well as damage to the exterior of one of the shops suggested a brute power.

Glory Girl, however, had been there and those could be attributed to her just as easily. Exhaling, he scrolled through the information before him. his thoughts racing. Despite the fact that his theory was not as widely accepted, he was certain that at least Taylor Hebert was a parahuman. The way she had responded to their questions after the Hess incident, the almost casual response to her life being in danger when Shadow Stalker had launched a crossbow bolt at her. Too many things that didn't fit. A puzzle without a border. He had pieces, but nothing that gave him a framework to make sense of them.

She had seemed opposed to the notion of becoming a Ward when Miss Militia had brought the subject up. Perhaps a different approach was in order. Sending one of the Wards as an envoy? He mulled that over for a moment and dismissed it. The issue was that Hebert didn't trust authority or anyone acting under it. It was a contempt he had inherited when he started as a replacement teacher. Given how the administration at Winslow was run, he was honestly not surprised, but it left him with a dilemma.

A distrust of authority… He rolled the idea round in his mind for a moment. Perhaps having his second approach her during the aftermath of the Hess matter was the wrong move. She didn't trust easily and a Wards member was likely to be regarded with scorn or at least distaste. Someone from outside of Brockton Bay, then? Dragon was unlikely to appreciate a request to show up just to talk to a potentially hostile teenage girl and it wasn't as if he could just bring one of the Triumvirate here.

He shook his head. "Overthinking this, Colin. Professor Singer isn't regarded well, nor is Miss Militia. The highest authority in Brockton Bay for the Protectorate is Armsmaster. He should talk to her."

Which was, he realized, easier said than done, since it would certainly draw attention that he didn't want to her to just have Armsmaster show up at her front door. He ran through several options, considering and dismissing them each in turn as his eyes skimmed over the reports from Miss Militia again.

Female, dark hair. A costume with a bird emblem. It was tenuous, but it was something. He quickly packed away his things, decisions made. A quick application of the beard in a can, a shower and he could head into the Rig to pick up his latest suit. The fabrication systems should be complete by now.

Armsmaster had a few calls to make, and one especially important one, in preparation for a surprise Ward visit to Winslow.

~~~~~~~~

I wonder if I can test out of school… The thought drifted across my mind as I sat in Mrs. Knott's class, paying only enough attention that I didn't miss anything that she might say that was important. I gave the thought a bit of my attention, pulling up a list of requirements for that. I wasn't sure I was anywhere near ready for that, but it was interesting to know, at least. I enjoyed Mrs Knott's class as it had been a safe haven for a while and it was a subject I liked, but doing effectively nothing for ninety percent of the class was getting old. Just as soon as I started the assignment, I finished and was left with nothing more.

I half-heartedly scratched down a few additions in my notebook before going back to studying the screen. The requirements for testing out were pretty stringent and I could tell from a glance that I wasn't going to be up for them any time soon. Perhaps if I spent the summer preparing, though. Something to keep in mind, at least.

"Taylor, can you help me with this part?" Catherine asked and I glanced over at her screen to see what she was struggling with. There was only a simple text window with a note asking if I wanted to hang out at her place after school.

I made a show of looking at her screen while I thought about it and then nodded. "Looks good, actually, but sure."

One of the secretaries from the principal's office came in, handing a paper to Mrs. Knott. She looked it over and frowned, then spoke in quiet tones to the woman, looking increasingly irritated at the interruption to her class before nodding in resignation.

"Everyone," she finally said. "Please save your work and put your things away. We're having a bit of a surprise assembly, so we need everyone to go to the audience hall. Taylor, if you could accompany Ms. Grant to the office?"

"Um, sure," I said, blinking as I gathered my things. What was this about? I shoved my things into my bag and stood, heading after the secretary as she left the classroom. We were halfway to the office when the tone that signaled an intercom announcement rang out and I heard the Assistant Principal's voice drone in electronically transferred disinterest.

"Please proceed to the audience hall. The Protectorate has sent Brockton Bay's own Wards team for a presentation." I frowned as I heard that, tuning out the rest of it. A surprise visit from the Wards? The weekend after I went out for the first time? The chances of this being a coincidence felt astronomically low.

"What's this about?" I asked Ms. Grant.

"No idea, sorry," she said. "I was merely told to fetch you." I frowned and almost triggered my precognition to see what I was walking into before deciding against it. I didn't get a sense that she knew anything and was simply holding it back to spare me, so likely not involving my dad. I started running the last few days of school through my mind, trying to see if there was anything I might have done that could have made someone mad.

Nothing came to mind and I sighed quietly, hoping that this wasn't some sort of nonsense from the Principal. My attempts in the past to bring up the now ended bullying had met with dismissal and after the things I had been involved in that had brought attention down on the school, I kept expecting Blackwell to do something in retaliation.

We turned a corner and I saw the sign for the office ahead and almost reached for precognition again before stopping the attempt when Ms. Grant kept walking past the office door.

"I thought we were going to the office?" I asked, confused.

"Actually, one of the meeting rooms that are set aside for parent conferences usually," she said. "That's where I was told to bring you." She indicated a door marked as private and opened it, leading into what was clearly a small waiting area.

"Room four is where you are to go, Ms. Hebert," she told me and I nodded, the door closing behind her as she left me alone. I spied the numbers as I moved down the row of doors from the waiting room, counting off until my eyes settling on the door marked with a tarnished metal 4.

I took a deep breath and laid a hand on the door knob, feeling at least two people on the other side. One was familiar, recognizable yet new. The comparison of something solid and steely was the best description, But I couldn't say why or where I knew it from. The other was a roiling and uncertain mass of confusion and worry that I definitely knew. Why the hell was my dad here?

I shoved the door open with more force than was needed, stepping into the room to see my dad looking up with the usual worried expression that I was accustomed to on his face. The other person in the room drew my attention though, the blue and silver armor a well known fixture in Brockton Bay. Who didn't know it? I had seen him on television more than once, speaking about Protectorate issues. The helmet covered most of his face except for his mouth and chin, where a well-trimmed beard was visible.

Armsmaster in the same room with my dad, who had released a burst of relief at the sight of me, but there was still a lot of uncertainty. I pushed carefully, building a wall as best I could to block out what I was picking up from him.

"You know, dad, there are better ways to tell me you're joining the Protectorate than calling me out of class during school hours to a private meeting with Armsmaster," I said, trying to refrain from shouting. There was only one reason I could think of that he was here with my dad and it didn't have anything to do with what I had just said.

He shook his head. "That isn't… Taylor, he says…"

"He thinks I'm a parahuman," I interrupted. I loved my dad, I really did, but he had no idea how to handle this. Not that I was any more certain, but I at least could pretend. I held my onto as much resolve as I could when I focused back on Armsmaster. "I thought I was clear when I talked to Miss Militia. I don't want or need your help."

"You don't want," he said quietly. "Need is another matter entirely, one we're here to discuss."

"No isn't clear enough?" I asked, noting the way my dad's eyes widened at the exchange.

"Taylor, are you… are you saying that what he told me is true?" he asked.

"I can only guess, but I'm assuming it's what I already said," I didn't look away from Armsmaster. "Didn't your tests already decide I wasn't?"

"The MRI came back negative, true, but it isn't a perfected method," he said. "It doesn't always show in the same place and sometimes has been missed entirely."

"Convenient that you remember that now," I snorted. "So, you went to my dad and talked him around to being here for this, I take it?"

"I judged it as the most likely method by which you would listen," he admitted and I couldn't detect anything but absolute honesty from him.

"Well, it's a pretty stupid method," I snapped, barely keeping from raising my voice.. "Using my dad against me? Beyond low."

"Taylor," my dad interjected, clearly uncertain about what to do but looking to me for confirmation. "Is what he's told me true? Are you a parahuman?"

"Does it matter?" I asked bitterly. "You're sitting here with him so you clearly believe whatever he's told you. Yes. No. Who fucking cares?" He shifted back as if struck and I turned my attention back to Armsmaster.

"Well, congratulations. You have my attention with this asshole stunt. What do you want?" I demanded.

"Ms. Hebert," he began. "I understand you're upse-"

"Really?" I interrupted. "You do? I can't imagine why. It isn't like I'm not standing in a room where a member of the Protectorate has ambushed me with my Dad, telling him that I'm a parahuman, in an effort to get me to agree to something that I already refused!"

"If you'll permit me," he tried again.

"No," I said. "You had no right-"

"So, I don't deserve to know what my daughter might be out doing?" my dad interrupted, drawing my attention. His voice was firm now, lacking any of the uncertainty from before. "Almost two months, Taylor. Were you ever planning on telling me?"

I stared at him. "And what would be the point? Over a year of dealing with Emma and you never noticed anything was wrong until I was stuffed into a locker full of bloody waste! I could become an entirely different person and I don't know that you would notice, sometimes!"

"You never talk about things," he returned and I felt my weight shift a little, but I stood firm. "How am I supposed to know what's wrong if you won't talk about it?"

"I tried!" I yelled. "When they first started. I tried to bring it up to you then, but you were too caught up in feeling sorry for yourself because mom was dead to even notice that I needed you too!"

His face went white and the silence that followed my last word was almost deafening. Armsmaster cleared his throat and I could tell he was highly uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken. Served him right for pulling a stunt like this. I wasn't going to apologize though.

"I understand this is a bit tense, but perhaps we can step back a bit and cool down," he began as my dad stood.

"I'll see you at home, Taylor," he said, his voice tightly controlled. "I don't think I'm… I don't think I should stay here."

"Dad," I began, staring at him as he made a point to look anywhere but at me.

"Don't," he said. "I'll see you at home. We can talk then, maybe." He didn't wait for me or Armsmaster to say anything, simply closing the door emphatically as he left the room.

"Well, just great," I muttered, dropping into one of the chairs and burying my face in my arms in frustration.

The clearing of a throat prompted me to tilt my head so one eye could see across the table. "Oh. You're still here."

"I am sorry. That was not my intention," he apologized.

"And that makes it better?" I snorted, but the anger was gone for the most part, replaced by unhappiness over what I had said to my dad. "Whatever. I'm here like you wanted, so talk."

"Let me finish," he said firmly. "I truly am sorry. I had hoped that having your father here would make you more amenable to talking about this. My misstep was in not researching as thoroughly as I should have. There are clearly issues I was unaware of at play here."

I pushed myself upright with my forearms. "I don't want to talk about that. You've obviously gone to a lot of trouble for this. So talk, or I'm leaving."

"This situation is, at best, atypical," he opened evenly. "Normally, we approach a parahuman when they go out and work from the other end of things. Circumstances related to an event in January, circumstances I believe you are already familiar with, have prompted me to go about this rather differently."

"This isn't about Hess, is it?" I asked, frowning. "Well, not really I guess. It's about the bird, isn't it?."

"For ten minutes on January 5th, around two in the afternoon, every thinker and precognitive in our employ, as well as everyone we could consult with, experienced a complete disruption to their abilities." he explained. "This coincided with and ended when the pyrokinetic display expired. It was, as best we can determine, a worldwide phenomenon."

I sat back, absorbing that. Worldwide? What had that bird been? I wasn't awake for it, but I had seen pictures taken at a distance. It seemed pretty and I had tried to draw it a few times from memory, but my pictures always seemed different from the images I had seen. What he was telling was impressive and clearly a big deal, but I didn't know what this had to do with me.

"And?" I asked finally. "I don't see what this has to do with me. I don't have the ability to do anything like that. I think I would have noticed."

"It might surprise you," Armsmaster replied, "but I actually agree with you. I've had the opportunity to observe you discreetly and a pyrokinetic power of the magnitude displayed would not be easily concealed. The complexity of the image suggests a degree of control far exceeding what a newly triggered parahuman would possess."

"Then why are you bothering me with this?" I asked. "I told Miss Militia I wasn't interested."

"Independent capes do not last long on their own," he said. "For a time, given your behavior and situation, we were honestly worried about you."

I blinked. "Why?"

"You were facing hostility from the administration at the school, oppression from a good portion of your peers," he elaborated. "Add that to a growing intolerance for the behavior both around and directed at you. It's a situation, if you'll forgive me, tailor-made for recruitment into one of the gangs."

I sat back with a denial ready to go, but paused to consider his words. Recruitment into one of the gangs? Like the Empire or the ABB? Well, probably not the latter. I wouldn't… I didn't finish the thought. Could I say that for sure? If they had approached right, when I just wanted a solution for the things with Emma to end, what would I have done?

Uncertain, I looked at Armsmaster, trying to get a grip on what he was thinking or feeling. I suppose I could see what he was saying, but I disagreed on the timing. The moments he was thinking were as far from that possibility as a thing could be. Before the locker, maybe. After, not a chance.

My power stretched out, feeling along the strand that was his mind. The nagging sense of familiarity was there again but I pushed it aside. Just a little bit further-

Stars exploded in my head and I squeezed my eyes shut as I felt the same discordant sensations as the last time I had tried this and pale familiarity became full-fledged recognition. My hands caught the edge of the table and gripped it as I tried to push the stabbing pain away.

"Taylor?" I heard his voice, each syllable like shards of glass stabbing at my ears. "Are you alright?"

The pain receded slowly and I forced myself to open my eyes, staring at the blue and silver clad figure that had moved to stand near me, concern clear in his posture. I've had the opportunity to observe you discreetly…" the words he had uttered earlier shot to the forefront of my mind, understanding damping the pain somewhat.

"S-S-Singer….!" I hissed through clenched teeth, seeing him freeze for the briefest of moments before wariness replaced the concern.

"Thinker headache," he said, not even bothering to deny my statement. "I'd ask that you refrain from trying to gather information about me."

"I-It's ok if you do, though, right?" I snorted at his words. "Hypocritical, given that you've been spying on me for almost two months. Discreet observation my ass."

"The point we've drifted from," he said, stressing the words, "is that independent capes with no support do not last long. They are either conscripted into one of the Gangs, or become enough of a nuisance that they end up in a morgue. Membership in the Wards can help prevent that, give you support, resources. Do you want your father to have to identify your body one day? If he even can, given some of the things that could happen to you."

"Don't bring my dad back into this," I said, glaring at him balefully. "I already have a mess to deal with because of this stunt you pulled. I don't want to join the Wards, I already told you."

"Will you at least accept working with us?" he asked. "It would give you backup if you get in over your head, help keep you safe."

"Funny," I said, impressed that he was still trying to push the Wards and he was being genuinely honest in his intentions. It didn't diminish my anger though. "I'm supposed to be safe at school too. I thought I was past that, but it turns out I've been spied on. I'll think about it, but I'm done for now."

"Would you tell me about your powers?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

"Figure it out yourself," I retorted, grabbing my bag and starting toward the door. It wrenched open before I reached it, providing me a clear exit as I left him standing in the conference room.

* * *

The meeting with the Wards was wrapping up when I arrived and I merely settled into a spot against the back wall, mostly tuning them out as I considered what I was going to do for the rest of the day. The last period had been overtaken by this and a quick search ahead showed that they were going to let us out early for the day. The students began dispersing after a round of applause for the Wards. The costumed teenagers waved as they moved off the stage and I turned my attention to spotting Catherine and Minako.

"Taylor!" Catherine said when I found them a few minutes later. "Are you alright? It wasn't bad news, was it?"

"Not the best news, but not the sort of bad news you're thinking," I shrugged. "Your place, right?"

"If you're still up for it, sure," she made a face. "I warn you, though. My dad's home, took some leave time and he can be kind of overbearing, so don't worry too much if he gets really pushy. He gives all my friends the third degree."

"If it's a bad time, I can come over another time," I offered though the idea of going home didn't appeal to me right this moment. Home meant having to talk to my dad after what I had said in the conference room.

"No, today's good," she said quickly. "We, ah, actually had something to talk to you about."

"Oh?" I asked, distracted from my thoughts. "What's up?"

"It is important, but not something to be discussed here," Minako said. "When we are at Catherine's house, then we can talk freely."

"Okay…" I trailed off, wondering what this was about. They weren't going to reveal that they were spying on me too, were they? Or something worse?

"My mom's usually waiting for us, if you want to go ahead and bounce out of here," Catherine said. "We brought our stuff with us."

"That sounds good, actually," I said, shouldering my pack and following them outside. A green sports car with gold highlights was the car that they stopped at.

"Mom, this is Taylor," Catherine was saying as I settled into the backseat. "Taylor, this is mom."

"Leanna, please," her mom said, an attractive woman who didn't appear nearly old enough to be Catherine's mother. "It's nice to meet you, Taylor. Catherine's spoken well of you."

"Thank you, ma'am," I said politely.

She smiled. "Seatbelts, everyone." The next instant she pulled away from the curbside and into traffic.

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Chapter 798 - 12-13