章 2746: 3.5
Klaxons blared overhead covering everything in red light. PRT troopers surrounded me and Miss Militia held a shotgun that was pointed directly at my face. All this while I was neck deep in containment foam. I moaned pitifully noting that I wasn't wearing my costume, that they had for all intents and purposes caught Taylor Hebert. With great difficulty I tried to turn my head to regain my bearings and it was at this stage I realised where I was.
I had only been here once before, it was the Rig. I looked around hoping to find Armsmaster, explain to him that this was some sort of mistake. How did this all happen?
"Whyyyy?" I continued to moan. This was not the first impression that I wanted to make.
-------Earlier that day-------
Waking up I stretched my arms and legs feeling pleasantly refreshed. I had managed to get exactly nine hours of sleep last night, hopefully this would mean that I would be less likely to blackout on public transport like last time or even worse during battle. While I never really felt tired I had to admit that I did feel noticeably better after a good night's rest.
Heading to the kitchen I found that Dad was already up which was a bit odd but even more weird was the fact that Breakfast was already served.
"Morning Taylor!" He called out noticing my presence. My surprise must've been rather obvious because he replied to my unanswered question instantly. "Figured that since this was your big day I'd make you food for once."
I looked down to the plates. Eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, pancakes, tomatoes, toast… it was too much. I hesitated but sat down regardless, I didn't want to ignore his hard work.
"Uhh thanks dad." I grabbed a piece of toast and nibbled on it.
"Surprised the entire plate isn't gone yet." He told me. "Aren't you going to use your power to speed things up?"
Right, I could do that couldn't I? At his prompting the entire plate was clean in less than a minute. After which I felt amazing! A good night's sleep was great and all but nothing seemed to beat a homecooked meal! I burped and he laughed, only halfway through his first piece of bacon.
"I'll pick you up after school so we can head to the Rig straight after." He told me. I put the plate in the sink, kissed him on the head and headed off. "Have fun at school Taylor!" He shouted after me.
Getting onto the bus I was met with a few quiet insults here and there. I managed to find a seat, hold my legs against my chest and shuffled myself in such a way so that my boots would take the brunt of any flying bag attack again. As the bus trip continued my Veil seemed to improve enough that I felt compulsion to look to the stars once more.
First I decided to increase my stamina which hopefully would ensure that I wouldn't fall asleep in the middle of the bus again. As for picking out a shard? I already had one of those ready to go in reserve.
I had to come up with a better word than the phrase 'compulsion to look to the stars'.
I began to think about my naming convention again.
I called my fragments of powers 'Shards' since they didn't feel like full powers.
I called the feeling of improvement 'Elation' since it felt good whenever it happened.
This compulsion to look to the stars also felt like 'Elation' but magnitudes better. I recalled that I wanted to call it Triumph once but didn't want to get that confused with the hero.
"Hey have you seen the latest Uber and Leet video?" Someone asked loudly behind me. Uber and Leet were two video game based villians. Small time jerks that themed their crimes around whatever game they liked at the time.
"No, did they do some sort of RPG?"
RPG huh? While I enjoyed playing video games from time to time I never really got into it wholesale. That said I knew what they were, you couldn't browse the internet without cultural osmosis happening. Kind of the same way someone who had never seen Star Wars would still recognize the "I am your father." quote.
In regards to RPGs a common theme across the genre was the fact that you gained experience points after beating a monster which then leveled you up. The higher your level the stronger you were. How appropriate.
I nodded. I levelled up twice now with points to spare! Yes, that sounded much better.
Satisfied in naming the different aspects of my power I wondered what today would bring. It was at this stage my Veil began to fade. It didn't mean someone had seen me yet but it did mean that someone was searching for me. I looked around for the perpetrator, if it was someone with a water balloon I had to be ready. Just because I was a minor brute didn't mean I liked to get wet.
It was then I saw Greg Vader standing around looking for a seat and presumably me. I guess he learnt his lesson and didn't want to hit anyone with his bag again. Moments later he locked eyes with me and my Veil fell apart.
He then proceeded to sit next to me ensuring that I couldn't spend the rest of the trip enhancing my powers.
"Hey Taylor!" He called out making room for himself and his bag. I nodded in acknowledgement hoping that he wouldn't take it as a sign to keep talking. Maybe leveling up my stamina was a bad idea afterall, being asleep until school started suddenly seemed much more appealing.
"Sorry about hurting you awhile back." He told me. "I just didn't see you, I guess I didn't have a big enough breakfast…. What's your favorite breakfast?" I shrugged. "That's cool, I like frosty bites, they're-" It was at this stage that my mind decided to shut down. Couldn't he tell that I didn't want to talk with him? While harmless, Greg was still annoying. I tried to be polite but I just couldn't do it!
Eventually we arrived at school, with a few hasty words I managed to escape Greg.
The rest of the school day passed as expected. Emma flung a few more insults my way and Sophia to my hidden glee was much more proactive in the violence department. Not frequent or hard enough to level me up but enough that I appreciated the effort, maybe she lost a race on the track? It occurred to me that I could ask the Wards to start punching my legs?
Wait a second. After I joined the Wards I'd be wearing my costume which was ALL armor! I could ask them to punch me all over! That would be great!
Everything went as expected. Disappointing but expected. The teachers continued to ignore any possibility of wrong doing, I was bullied and eventually I could go to the Rig.
School ended and I waited by the gates as Dad pulled up. I dashed inside, expertly weaving my ways through the crowds and avoiding any of the more physically abusive students. It seemed I was in luck, Sophia was too distracted to do anything to me and looked like she wanted to leave as quickly as I did if her break neck speeds were anything to go by.
Driving off I could hardly contain myself and neither could Dad.
"So Vim, ready to make your super hero Debut?" He whispered back to me.
"Dad, you can't just call me that when I'm out of costume." I scolded him lightly. With how loud the traffic was I doubted anyone could overhear our conversation in the car.
"Sorry Taylor, I'm just… I'm a bit worried." He began. Was he going to take back what he said about me joining the Wards? "I'm really proud of you, I just want you to be careful okay?"
"I will be." I tried to assure him. "I'll have the best armor, the best potions and the best backup available to any badass Hero out there!"
"I'm sure you'll be fine but I still worry." It was heartening that he cared. "So, you mentioned before that you were going to share some sweet rolls with the other Wards to make a better first impression huh?" I saw where this was going. "How about you spare one or two for your old man? I am driving you to the Rig after all."
He wasn't serious of course but I played along. "I don't know, I mean, how will you eat while driving?"
"Oh, come on, none of your powers let you feed me?" We laughed at that.
=============================
The rest of the trip continued with small talk. Something that we hadn't really done in a long time. Eventually we came to a stop, traffic had slowed to a crawl. At first I took it in stride, these things happened. However as the time to the meeting with Armsmaster began to come closer I began to get worried.
Maybe I should call ahead? Tell them I'd be late? No, making them wait on a single new Ward would be rude, I had to find a way to get there on time. I wasn't a mover though and even if I was I'd have to start swimming and I didn't know if my armor was buoyant enough to help carry me across or if it would make me sink.
"Crap." I muttered. "Uhh Dad? Do you know if Leather floats?"
He shrugged, slightly confused by my sudden questioning. "Not sure, it's never really come up." He began. "Well, leather is made from cowhide and I don't think cows swim that well? But if it's like skin then I think it floats?"
That was no help. More time passed and while we made progress it was beginning to seem clear that we wouldn't get there on time.
"Oh god, I'm going to be late!" I began to panic. "I'm going to call Armsmaster!" Pulling out the business card it was snatched from my hands before I could take a better look at it.
"Hey calm down Taylor, it'll be fine, I'm sure they won't mind." He told me putting the card into his pocket.
"Ohhhh, I wish I had some sort of mover power now, super speed or teleportation!" I began to fidget in my seat. I looked over all my potions again, none of them would help. I needed to get to the Rig as soon as possible. I needed to…
I fell down with no chair or seat belt to support me.
Disorientated I was completely unprepared for what came next.
"Intruder Alert, sudden unauthorized presence detected!" As artificial voice announced. Before I could gain my bearings I was covered in containment foam.
"Whyyyy?" I continued to moan. This was not the first impression that I wanted to make.
=============================
Eventually I found myself in a cell, I think I overheard someone call it confinement, thankfully free of the containment foam. As bad as it was I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit happy that I had a mover ability. Teleportation! Not that it let me teleport out of the containment foam. Probably had another condition I had to fulfill to use it. I'd test it out now but it would probably make me look like a Villain if I suddenly disappeared.
"Hey? Anyone out there?" I asked again. The PRT troopers positioned outside were stoically ignoring me, it was intimidating. I had to give them props though, if it wasn't for the fact that I saw them lock my cell I would've thought they were statues. This sucked, not even a Ward yet and already I unmasked myself to a bunch of people. Still, I didn't put on my costume, I didn't want them to freak out and foam me again.
Eventually two recognizable figures entered the hallway.
"Let her out now!" It was Dad! He ran up to the two troopers and jabbed a finger into one of their chests. They both raised their weapons.
"Dad, it's okay!" I told him hoping that they wouldn't pull their triggers.
"Stand down." The second figure commanded. It was Armsmaster. "Mr Hebert, can you confirm that this is your daughter?"
"Yes! No doubt! Now let her out!"
"Keep in mind that this might not be your daughter, it might be a shapeshifter pretending to be your daughter, we can't be too careful." He explained. "Now, you there." He called out to me. "What's your name?"
"Uhh it's Taylor Hebert, I'm also Vim the hero." He nodded and turned to Dad.
"Can you please ask her a question only she would know the answer to?"
"Damnit! FINE!" He growled. "Hey Taylor I uhh… what's the nickname that your…. your mother used to always called you?"
"Little Owl." I replied automatically.
"Now can you let her out?" Dad questioned.
"Not yet." Armsmaster apologized. "Ms Hebert, can you use your powers?" I nodded and suddenly I was Vim again. "Hmm, alright, one last thing just to be sure. Can you tell me what this does?" He revealed one of my potions.
"I uh… can't." I told him, he then tensed up. "WAIT! I need it to be closer to me! That's all!"
He frowned but did as I asked.
"It's a potion of fortify light armor." He nodded at that calming down.
"Last question." Armsmaster told me, Dad looked like he was about to explode but held himself in check. "How did you end up here?"
"A new power, some sort of teleportation, I couldn't use it while I was in the containment foam." I told him truthfully. For a moment he continued to appraise me and finally made a motion with his hand.
"Let her out." He told the troopers. I let out a sigh of relief as the doors were unlocked.
"On behalf of the Protectorate and the PRT I formally apologize for the wrongful arrest of the hero known as Vim along with any inconvenience and stress that was incurred as a result." It was almost like he was reading that off a script.
Before dad could get another word in I cut in. "It's okay!" I told Armsmaster trying to calm everyone down. "It's not anyone's fault, I just teleported in out of nowhere, I could've been a bad guy for all they knew." I stared at Dad hoping that he would understand.
Now that I had a closer look at Dad he seemed visibly more stressed, his face was pretty red. He took a deep breath. "Alright, Taylor, this is your show."
"We are willing to compensate you for this… mistake." Armsmaster mentioned. "Do you still want to join the Wards?"
"You got some nerve to utter th-"
"DAD!" I shouted. "Dad, it's okay, really."
He took another breath and I hope this outburst would be the last.
"And yes Armsmaster, I still want to join the Wards." He paused for a moment looking from me back to Dad. "I just have to be more careful with teleporting."
"Taylor." My dad began, ignoring the fact that I was now in costume as Vim. "You were gone for two hours." What? "When you disappeared I used the business card I took from you, the Heroes sent everyone out to look for you and I was so worried!" Oh… "Then the next thing I know I get a call back at home telling me that they THINK they have someone impersonating you! It was crazy!" He clenched his fists. "Then these bastards LOCKED YOU UP!"
"Mr Hebert, please calm down, I understand your anger, as such I'm going to do something very personal to regain your trust." He stared at the other two PRT troopers. They seemed to get the message and left. Closing the doors behind them Armsmaster nodded before pressing a finger against the side of his helmet to reveal his face.
"I once again apologize and hope that this helps make up for it, my name is Colin Wallis." Holy shit he unmasked!
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