Chapter 14: Chapter 14
It had been a long while since Danny Hebert last felt truly happy. Between Annette's death, the growing divide between himself and his daughter, and the slow death of the Dockworkers Association, his days were spent morosely contemplating the general helplessness of life. He could do so very little, as he was now, to solve the myriad of problems he faced.
Danny was never an ambitious man. He was satisfied with the little slice of Heaven he and Annette had carved out for themselves, a stable job, a cozy home, a happy daughter, a few close friends. Barbecues and small parties to while away the rest of his days.
These days, it felt an awful lot like life was purposely shitting on his dreams. The Lord's Port debacle was the first sign of things going wrong, a mob act born of frustration and aimless anger that spiraled into disaster. Nobody could have foreseen the consequences of what had started as a simple protest. Regardless, the Ship Graveyard was born, a constant reminder of the economic tragedy the Bay endured during the nineties.
But that was fine. The mayor had promised to revive the docks, had been elected on that very promise, and signs had gone up proclaiming a new day for the Bay. With an infant to provide for, Danny clung to whatever hope he could find.
For a time, life was perfect. His daughter was a lively child, bearing a sort of focused cheer that few could resist. She made a friend, Emma, the sort of friend that Danny just knew was forever, and he spent his afternoons with his wife, watching their daughter grow up happy.
Good things rarely last, though. The Dock's revival project was the first domino to fall. The mayor, like most politicians, lied. Danny was more angry than surprised. At himself, at the mayor, at that slimy aide who gave him the news. He screamed himself hoarse at the man, only realizing afterwards that his daughter, his little girl, was cowering in the corner of his office.
It was not the last time that his temper betrayed him. As bills stacked higher and higher, as the stress of bargaining and cajoling and begging for every scrap of cash mounted, Danny's control waned. He argued with Annette, on the day that she died. His last words to his wife were those of anger, and he would forever regret it.
Annette's death destroyed him. It drove him into a depression so deep, he somehow managed to completely miss his daughter's abject misery. For... over a year really, he barely paid her mind, lost in his own grief, too blind to see past his own problems. It took Taylor being hospitalized for him to even realize something was wrong, and even then, he was utterly helpless to solve the problem. He didn't even have an appropriate target for his rage, as Taylor refused to speak any specifics about the bullying, and he was unwilling to push her. Danny had to watch, passively, powerlessly, as his little girl withdrew into herself.
And then, seemingly out of nowhere, she began to brighten. It was a slow process, almost imperceptible, but Danny could see it. She would exercise every day, returning from her runs exhausted and sweaty and just a little bit more confident, more self-assured, working steadily towards some unmentioned goal. Every night she would sit down for dinner with a smile, a realsmile, while telling Danny stories of her companion, her running partner, and, as of just last week, her friend.
Danny was excited to meet this girl, his daughter's best friend, who had apparently pulled steel out of his shy, fragile child.
Of course, he never expected the meeting to start like this, with his daughter in a costume flanked by a cold eyed girl and a grinning blonde.
"Dad," Taylor began, nervously twisting her discarded mask, "I've got powers. I- I'm a hero."
Danny licked his lips, desperately fighting down his instinctual response of pure anguish. He had a vague understanding of how capes got their powers, and that he was unable to protect his little girl in her time of need brought forth more shame than he thought he could bear. He kept it from showing on his face through sheer force of will, burying his shame and guilt and anger deep within himself, summoning up just enough breath to grind out, "No."
Taylor's brow furrowed in confusion, "No? I... don't-"
"No, I forbid you from going out in costume." Danny declared, his fist slamming onto the hard wood of their kitchen table, "Dammit Taylor, I watch the news. I know how bad it is out there. A Ward was just killed, like, two days ago! How can you possibly justify going out on the streets alone when-"
"Not alone Dad! If you'd just listen to me then you would know I've got a team with my friends!" Taylor shouted, gesturing to the girls behind her, "And not only that, we've already taken a villain off the streets!"
"Oh good," Danny turned a fierce glare on the two unknown girls, eager to find an acceptable target for his budding rage, "So you are the ones who've talked my daughter into gallivanting around in a city filled with murderers!?" The girls, facing the wrath of a fully grown and highly protective father, seemed utterly bored.
Well, the shorter girl, Jaya, seemed bored. The blonde... Lisa? She was giving Danny a frown so deep, he suspected she had been trained at a convent.
Taylor, for her part, was sputtering in outrage, "It wasn't their idea!" she practically snarled at him, "Ihad to convince them! I've always wanted to be a hero. Now that I've got powers, I have to! It's my responsibility to help people! To protect-" a gentle hand on her shoulder stalled her rant, and Taylor glanced towards Jaya in confusion. The shorter girl nodded towards Lisa with a reassuring smile, and Taylor slumped with relief.
Danny watched the scene with confusion, as the frowning blonde stepped forward. "Mr. Hebert," she said with calm confidence, "You are obviously worried, and for good reason, but you should be careful about making decisions while you are angry. The wrong words here could destroy your relationship with your daughter, and nobody in this room wants that."
Danny bit back an angry reply, and struggled to center himself. He hated his temper, his weakness, and he hated that Taylor had seen it so often. He needed her to be safe, but shouting at her was not going to work. With that in mind, he took a deep, steadying breath. "Taylor, I didn't mean to shout," he began tentatively, glancing towards his seething daughter, "But you need to understand, Brockton Bay is dangerous. I barely want you out there to jog, much less actively look for fights. We've got plenty of adult heroes in the city, there is no need for you to get involved."
"It's not that simple," Lisa pointed out, "Capes can't exactly ignore their powers. It's a real, documented thing. Any who suppress it tend to... well, to go insane."
"I'm not saying she should ignore her powers," Danny insisted, "Speaking of which... I suppose you'd better tell me about them."
Taylor glared at him. "I can control bugs," she said sullenly, "Every bug within a few blocks."
"It's a very strong power," Jaya interjected, and Taylor straightened at the praise, "The range, and more importantly number of of critters she can control is well above average. As far as I can tell, she has basically unlimited multi-tasking."
Danny blinked in surprise, "That's- well, that's very useful. I don't see any reason why she couldn't do something like... I don't know, extermination?" He reached across the table and softly grasped his daughter's hand, "Taylor, I bet you could make a killing clearing out buildings and things of that nature. There would be no danger there, and you could still use your power." The way she pulled away from him was like a knife to his heart.
"There's a problem you're overlooking." Lisa stated, "Namely, the reason why there are so few rogues in the Bay. Only Parian, really, and the Empire has been making 'polite' advances on her lately." She gave Danny a serious look, "Without protection or backing, there is literally nothing stopping the gangs from forcefully recruiting a rogue."
Danny took a shuddering breath, not quite ready to concede the point, "That- That's only... in the Bay right? If it's to keep Taylor safe... then-"
"You'll move somewhere safer?" Lisa interrupted, as Taylor made some sort of strangled yelp, "I think we both know you don't have the money for such a thing, though if Jaya thought it was the best course of action for Taylor, I'm sure she'd give you the money. That being said, no, moving away won't solve a thing. Rogues have it tough no matter where you go, and I guarantee you, Taylor will be safer with us than on any Wards team, no matter the city."
Danny grit his teeth in frustration, "How can you possibly say something like that?"
Lisa bit her lip nervously, her eyes flickering between Jaya and Taylor. The older girl gave her a small nod and a reassuring smile, and Lisa let out a shaky laugh. "Well, Mr. Hebert, I'd like to think I'm a bit of an authority on the subject, seeing as I was recruited at gunpoint into being a villain, by the supervillain Coil."
Silence.
"You... were a villain?" Taylor asked timidly.
"Not by choice, Taylor." Lisa replied, with a sad smile, "My moral code is nowhere near as, um, righteous as yours, but I'd like to think I'm a good person. Deep, deep down."
Jaya let out an amused snort, and Taylor turned towards her, in dawning comprehension. "You robbed a supervillain." she said in amazement, "You robbed Coil? And- what? Freed Lisa?"
"Ah, not quite," Jaya said sheepishly, "I capturedCoil, and dragged him to Lisa. She used her power to rob him blind and we split the difference."
"What happened to Coil?" Taylor asked, cocking her head in confusion, "There was nothing on the news about him being captured..."
Jaya shrugged blithely, "He had a heart attack after I told him we destroyed his life's work over the course of a single afternoon. I buried him in concrete beneath one of the abandoned buildings downtown."
Taylor's eyes went wide as saucers, and Lisa slapped her face into her palm. Danny simply stared at the cheerful girl who had essentially murdered a man. "That does not inspire confidence," he said carefully, praying that he wouldn't set off the psychopath in his kitchen, "I don't want my daughter running around with a murderer."
Jaya gazed at him steadily, before giving his daughter a reassuring look, "Mr. Hebert... Taylor, Coil's real identity was Thomas Calvert. He was former PRT, and had compromised their security so badly, that Lisa and I can use his back-doors to read the Director's emails. Said director, Emily Piggot, served with him in the PRT's special forces, specifically during the initial assault against Nilbog. He was dedicated enough to have an almost ironclad cover in his civilian life, and had a small army of mercenaries, armed with tinker-tech weaponry and armor serving him in his cape identity." The Asian girl drummed her fingers on the table, gathering her thoughts, before looking back to Taylor, "I'm telling you this, so that you understand: there are some villains who cannot be held accountable under the current system. You are no stranger to corruption and favoritism, I think," she said with a raised eyebrow.
Taylor fidgeted nervously, before giving a reluctant nod. Danny made a mental note to ask what the hell that was about.
"Coil was absolutely sadistic," Jaya continued, "He was planning on kidnapping the Mayor's niece, Dinah Alcott, who is an insanely powerful precognitive. He wanted to drug her up to her eyeballs and keep her in an underground base, while he exploited her powers." Taylor's eyes narrowed in fury, and Danny felt slightly ill at the thought. Jaya nodded in approval of their reactions, "Yeah, I don't know what he was planning next, but suffice to say, he was a bad, bad man. I feel no guilt over Coil's death, honestly I sleep better because of it. That being said," she turned towards Danny, "Taylor has already expressed an issue with my... enthusiastic method of fighting. I'll be practicing some less, uh, destructive crime-fighting techniques."
The room was silent for a moment, as the father and daughter processed these new revelations. Danny, if he was truly honest with himself, found that he couldnt condemn the young woman for her actions. Assuming everything she said was true, obviously. Not an assumption he wanted to make lightly.
"I... I think I understand." Taylor said quietly, looking at some point around Jaya's feet, "I- I don't agree with what you did, I think, but-" she took a deep breath, and nodded to herself, before meeting Jaya's eyes, "I don't judge you for it. We'll do better, together. I know it." Jaya beamed at the girl, and tackled her into a hug.
"That's all well and good, but really everything you've said is completely unverifiable." Danny pointed out, deliberately ignoring his daughter's flailing escape attempts.
"I'm not sure how we can prove anything, though if Jaya was going to lie, I don't know why she'd admit to letting the bastard die," Lisa interrupted with a sly grin, "Buuuut Coil was loaded. Would throwing a cool mil at you prove that, at the very least, we robbed someone who did not report the theft to the authorities, and therefore were probably on the wrong side of the law?"
Danny gaped alongside Taylor, and Lisa's smile grew wider.
"That- no, that won't be necessary," Danny stuttered out. It physically hurt to say no to that kind of money, but he wasn't about to accept what might be shady hush money, and he certainly was not a goddamn charity case. "Look, okay, I get it. You two like my daughter, and want to help her. You get points for that. But. How do I know you can protect her like you've promised? What even are your powers?" Danny readied himself to dissect every possible weakness. These girls claimed they could protect Taylor from the insanity that was Brockton Bay. Well, he wasn't about to let youthful arrogance get his daughter killed.
"Super intuition." Lisa answered, "Anything Sherlock Holmes could do, I can do ten times better. Cold reading, guessing passwords and bank account information, figuring out what part of the city somebody last slept in, that sort of thing." she shrugged carelessly, "It's not particularly useful in combat, which is why I function as over-watch. Basically, I observe with tinker-tech cameras and earpieces, and advise as needed."
"Uh." Danny was momentarily baffled, as the girl had all but admitted she could not protect Taylor if things went bad. Was he missing something? "So... Lisa? I'm not really seeing how you can keep, oh, let's just say Kaiser, from eviscerating my daughter when you're across the city." he couldn't quite keep the heat out of his voice when faced with the blonde's cheeky smile.
"Oh, I won't be able to do anything like that. My job is all about information. I leave the heavy lifting to Jaya and Taylor." the girl was practically radiating smugness at this point.
Danny could smell the trap, he was no fool, but as she tilted her head towards Jaya, he couldn't help but dive into it headfirst with a snarl. "And what do you do, then?" he demanded, looking towards the shortest member of this strange trio.
"Whatever I want." Jaya replied, idly tugging at her ponytail.
"Not- No I meant, what do your powers do?"
Jaya's head cocked in confusion, "So did I."
"Jaya." Taylor's firm voice halted Danny's explosion, "I'd really like dad to be with me on this. I know he's been acting like an ass," Danny restrained a flinch, "But he just wants what's best for me... so, please."
Jaya sighed indulgently, and turned towards Danny. He silently prepared a speech about overconfidence and- "I can sense, manipulate, and create all forms of energy and matter within a several block radius." Jaya stated calmly, "If it's alive, I have to touch it directly, everything else can be done anywhere within my range." The girl smiled arrogantly, her bearing suddenly emitting the kind of primal danger that screamed monster, "I am the most powerful cape in the Bay. Within the next month, I'll be as strong as the Triumvirate. Within a year, you could throw the combined might of every cape on the planet at me, and they won't even dirty my shoes."
Um.
Well then.
How the fuck is he supposed to respond to that!?
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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