章 2584: 9
Chapter Nine—Memories of Innocence Lost
~~~Memories of Iron~~~
Colin stepped off his high tech motorcycle and stared at the unassuming house before him. He gave a quick nod of acknowledgment to the PRT officer next to him, who'd just stepped down from a van marked with their logo. He gestured for the man to accompany him.
Walking up the steps, Colin noted the dichotomy of his surroundings versus the reason he was here. This was a normal, working class neighborhood, filled with normal, working class people. Absently, he noted that the repaired first step that led up to the front porch still had that new wood look to it, having not yet been given a coat of paint. All in all, it added up to a neighborhood where people still had hope for the future, which they showed by taking care of the present.
It certainly wasn't the sort of place he would have expected to run into a potential Parahuman, one who had recently outed a cape, one of his Wards no less. He wasn't up on all of the specifics, having been pulled off a stake out, but he would be soon. Still, he had seen the video and it had been telling.
The girl had been just too strong, too bold in her confrontation with her supposed bullies, to not have a something in reserve, possibly a Parahuman ability. If so, it did speak well of her for not using that ability on the people who'd tormented her, not that she'd needed to the way she'd casually flayed them with her tongue. If not, she was at least interesting.
Additionally, the Hebert's girl take down of Sophia Hell had been just a little too lucky, even if the Ward had been overconfident. It spoke of training, something which was at odds with someone who'd been bullied for so long. Then again, so had the girl's stance, which wasn't cowed in the least being confronted by her bullies.
Colin had a sneaking feeling that the director was planning to pressure the girl into signing a waiver, as well as joining the local Wards in the place of Sophia, who had already been taken into custody. If, that is, she turned out to be a Parahuman. Ordinarily, he would not have been in favor of either path, but having seen the decisiveness and strategic thinking she'd exhibited in the confrontation, any useful power would likely make the girl a more valuable member of the team than Hess had been.
More importantly, this was a time when they could ill afford to have the boundary between cape and human widened by a lawsuit and accusations of wrongdoing, no matter how correct those accusations might be in this case. Despite the long-time bullying campaign and threats, he hadn't seen any proof that Sophia was involved in anything all that heinous. While they would do their due diligence in searching her things, Colin seriously doubted that they'd find anything too incriminating there.
Still, after a mistake this major, she would have to finish her sentence in juvenile detention and wouldn't be out until well after her eighteenth birthday. After that, she could join the Protectorate if she wanted. Colin hoped she would, although at this point, she seemed more a rogue than a hero. At least, he doubted she'd end up a villain.
He carefully knocked on the front door, and it opened less than thirty seconds later. The skinny teenage girl with the round glasses and the long dark curls running down her back that stood in front of him did not scream Parahuman. She actually didn't scream anything except ordinary.
However, there was a spark in her eyes and a certain strength in her voice as she greeted them that made him wonder. "Hello? Can I help you?"
"Taylor Hebert?"
"That's me."
"Miss Hebert, I need you to come with us in regards to a certain situation that arose from events from earlier today. I believe you know what events I'm referring to."
Her head tilted quizzically as certain amount of trepidation entered her eyes. "Am I under arrest?"
Colin shook his head. "No. But I am afraid that the questioning is not optional. Also, is your father home?"
Her shrug was done stiffly. She muttered, "Sounds like arrest to me." Then louder, "No, he isn't. He's probably still at work. Let me leave a note for my dad so he knows where I'm going. Um... where am I going?"
"You'll be questioned at the Protectorate Headquarters out in the harbor."
"Okay. I'll be right back."
Taylor didn't shut the door behind her, almost as if she knew that they would react to that. Being able to hear her moving around inside through his armor's sensor suite, Colin relaxed as much as he could. Less than three minutes later, the girl came back out and carefully locked the door behind her.
Colin gestured for her to walk ahead of him and he followed her to the PRT van. After making sure she was buckled in, he followed her to the Protectorate. But already he was having doubts. Despite her confidence, he was starting to wonder if there was anything special about her.
~~~Memories of Iron~~~
Bored, Taylor looked around for the umpteenth time as she sat in the plain room. The only furnishings there were two chairs each on opposite sides of a small table with a large mirror on the wall across from her. A small camera in the corner where the wall met the ceiling was aimed at her face. According to Tony's memories and from watching a hundred shows and movies, it was a stereotypical interrogation room. She'd been sitting here for nearly two hours wasting her time.
It was growing increasingly difficult not to dwell on the earlier events. In her mind, Taylor rehashed everything she'd done and said several times over. It wasn't that she wouldn't have said and done the same things, rather that she couldn't understand why she wasn't more satisfied with the results.
Taylor had achieved most of the things she'd planned for today. Emma and Madison had been negated, exposed for what they were. Sophia was in serious trouble with the PRT and the Protectorate. The teachers had had their noses rubbed in how foolish they'd been to take the trio's word over Taylor's. Taylor herself was going to be graduating early. She'd even managed to force the school to take a stand against bullying. So why did all of it feel like ashes in her mouth?
Taylor knew what Tony would say: Be careful what you wish for. Because you can never be sure that's what you really want. But she had wanted those things. Or maybe she just hadn't fully processed the fact that she'd achieved most of her aims. Still, if this was her reaction to minor goals and achievements, how would she react if she did somehow manage to save the world?
Then again, how minor something was could be completely relative. The bullying had been a part of Taylor's life for a significant percentage of it. It had forced her to change, to mature. It had made what happened with Tony occur. Of that, Taylor was convinced. So having it finally be over was almost like rebirth in that a new chapter of her life was starting.
Taylor stared at her image in the mirror. Silently, she asked, "Is this me or you, Tony, with that bit of homespun wisdom?" Sadly, no one answered. Nor were there any hints in the deeper recesses of her mind. If Tony knew, he wasn't telling her. Or rather, his memories weren't providing any answers.
Taylor silently shook her head. She wasn't going to dwell on this any longer. It was part of the past. Her stay, here and now, in this room, was part of the present and what she needed to worry about. It wouldn't be much longer before they came for her. While she had a plan, Taylor still had her doubts. Even though the first part had gone without a hitch.
Partly in amusement and partly from frustration, Taylor smiled. She had to be truly bored to rehash this stuff. Now she was sitting in her uncomfortable chair, cooling her heels, and drinking her fifth cup of some truly awful coffee. Taylor had just started daydreaming about the high quality coffee she would keep on hand once she was rich again when she realized that she was channeling Tony again. She decided he picked the oddest times to pop up.
Then again, maybe that wasn't the worst thing in the world as the door to her left finally opened and a older, heavyset woman came in. She tossed several manila folders onto the desk, all the while staring at Taylor. Taylor could feel her hackles rise as she met the woman's flat stare. Adversarial questioning, Tony seemed to whisper in her ear. The woman's tone was brisk as she sat down across from Taylor. "Miss Hebert, I am Director Emily Piggot, head of the Parahuman Response Team here in Brockton Bay. Do you know why you are here?"
Taylor had been wondering if they would wait for her dad to get here or if they would go ahead and start in, even though it wasn't strictly legal. Actually, she'd counted on it, which was why she didn't want her dad here. Shrugging, Taylor decided that they could both be adversarial as she chose a sarcastic answer. "Probably because you want to blame me for Sophia Hess going crazy and attacking me, then outing herself on video as Shadow Stalker."
Director Piggot scowled. "You are responsible, Miss Hebert. If you had not reacted so strongly and with such force, Miss Hess would have not felt like her life was in danger and reacted the way she did, thus putting herself, and her family, in danger by having her secret identity blown to this city's villains."
Taylor stared at the woman. How could the woman say that with a straight face, she wondered. Just another bully, she thought numbly. Was there any part of the PRT or Protectorate that was worth saving? Maybe, but she was beginning to have her doubts. She ignored a voice that seemed to whisper 'no' in her ear.
Tony had never believed in the goodness of people in power. That belief helped fuel her response. "That's pretty sad, you ignoring the fact that she planned to do far worse to me and only ended up where she did because she attacked me first. There's also the small matter of the death threats she made. Rather, death, torture, and dismemberment threats she made. I finally watched the video, you see. When it was all going down, I didn't hear much of what she was saying as I saw Emma as the greater danger. Boy, was I wrong."
Director Piggot's eyes narrowed. "You cannot play the innocent here, Miss Hebert. Exposing the identity of a cape, especially a PRT cape is punishable by a term in prison of between ten and twenty years. Don't think your age will protect you. We have had prior experience in dealing with so-called juveniles who end up being charged as adults because of their actions."
Taylor deliberately rolled her eyes. "You really are an idiot, aren't you? Do you want me to sue you? Everything you do just makes it harder and harder not to do everything within my power to destroy you." Okay, she thought in alarm, reign it in, Tony. Taylor didn't want to spend the night here or worse.
Director Piggot's mouth thinned with contempt. "Miss Hebert, you are not a Parahuman. We've already tested you. So I don't think we have too much to fear from you. Certainly not as far as you 'destroying' us."
Taylor shook her head ruefully. She decided to stop holding back. "You know, I always thought that the PRT and the Protectorate were above things like this. That they had a noble mission, saving the world from the S class threats. Stopping the Endbringers and groups like the Slaughterhouse Nine. But you're just as bad as they are. Just another bully. You, personally, are as much of a monster as Behemoth. Maybe worse. At least he would just kill me, instead of wasting time threatening me for having the sheer temerity to be the victim of another of you assholes."
The director's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she regained control over herself. It was clear that Taylor had surprised her. Not that you could tell by her next words. "That's rather disingenuous of you, Miss Hebert. Comparing heroes to villains. I'd say you have a rather skewed view of the world. Perhaps if you had both parents around, you would have a better ability to discern reality from your owned twisted point of view."
Taylor deliberately furrowed her brow as she considered the other's words. "Wow, was that supposed to be a shot? You want to compare heroes to villains? How many villains have spent the last year and a half bullying and tormenting a fifteen year old girl? Physically attacking her? That would be none, probably nationwide. How many heroes have done the same? That would be one: your Ward. Do you see the problem here? I get that you're trying to minimize the damage she's caused, but if you hadn't let her into the Wards in the first place, you wouldn't be fixing the damage."
"It might surprise you to realize that the PRT and the Wards are people, too. They contain flawed individuals that sometimes make mistakes. But they put their lives on the line every single day against the terrible threats of our time. So I would think you could be a little more understanding of that." The director's voice was cutting as she spoke, the contempt thick in her tone.
Taylor chose to follow her through the door she had just opened. "That would be a lot more effective defense if you didn't already know there was something wrong with her. There's no way this comes across as a surprise. I would guess that she was already in trouble when she was offered a place with the Wards. It was probably that or prison. A manslaughter charge? How close am I?"
Director Piggot bluffed, "There's no way you could know that."
"I looked her up on Parahumans dot net. Shadow Stalker was a rogue and a vigilante. Then, out of the blue, she suddenly joins the Wards? A lot of people on the web thought there was something fishy about it. There was a lot of speculation on the older postings that she was using real bolts in that crossbow of hers against criminals. I bet she doesn't get along at all with the other Wards. There's probably a huge amount of friction there. That's another thing I'm probably right about. But on the prison thing, I didn't know for sure I was right until just now when your expression told me I was. Want to make a bet about whether I'm right about the friction, too?"
Taylor spoke again before the director could. "Look, if you want to charge me, go ahead. I'll take my chances with a jury trial. It's not as if I'll ever have to work another day in my life when I collect all of the money from the various lawsuits I'll have going. You, on the other hand, will look even worse than you already do, charging a bullied teen who was only trying to defend herself, using the least amount of force possible against an evil Parahuman who verbally demonstrated a complete disrespect for life. At least mine, anyway. Besides, if you wanted to question me, shouldn't you have waited until my dad was here? Isn't this illegal? Just shows how weak your hand is if you have to resort to doing this instead of talking with us both."
There was more back and forth in the same vein for the next half hour, and Taylor was starting to get bored. Or maybe Tony was. She'd started baiting the director more and more as time went by until she thought the woman was going to come over the table after her. The one thing Taylor didn't do was cave. She even tore up the waiver that Director Piggot thrust at her a few minutes later with the simple directions, "Have your father sign it." Taylor scattered the resulting confetti to the winds, allowing Tony full reign to do so.
Finally, Director Piggot seemed to tire of their stalemated conversation. She abruptly stood and gathered her folders. She walked out without another word. A few minutes later, Armsmaster came in and stood in front of her. Using his height to show dominance, she decided, almost hearing a whisper to that effect in the back of her mind.
Taylor craned her head back as she stared up at him. An old memory came to the fore. She sighed as she felt her face heat. Well, hopefully it would throw him off if nothing else. "You know, this would a lot less awkward if I didn't still have a couple of pairs of Armsmaster underwear at home."
Armsmaster didn't visibly react to her words and Taylor was left to examine his armor from just a few feet away. She was still feeling disappointed even as she got her second view of what was considered high tech on Earth Bet. Armsmaster's armor's miniaturization was... actually pretty damn decent, although Taylor thought she could do a lot better if given sufficient time and resources.
The biggest issue she had with Armsmaster's stuff was that the tech it was based on wasn't anything that special. He did great with what he had, but the reality was that he didn't even have independent power generation for his suit or halberd. Batteries, no matter how efficient, were just stored energy. Briefly, she flirted with the idea of what he might be able to do if given access to her tech, then dismissed the thought as nothing but a pipe dream. If she wouldn't let long time friends like Reed or Bruce access to her tech, she certainly wasn't to allow someone who might just turn out to be an enemy to do so. Taylor shrugged off the thought and listened for Armsmaster's reply.
His deep voice was surprisingly flat considering the subject she'd just raised. "We don't always get that much input in how our images are licensed. I'm not exactly comfortable with my name being on anyone's underwear, girl's or boy's."
Taylor mulled that over. He at least sounded like a hero, even if he was no Steve Rogers. "Did you come to cart me off to jail? Or tell me my dad's waiting outside?" Either would put a perfect capper for the day, she thought moodily, wondering if Trish was wrong after all.
Armsmaster shook his head. "No, Miss Hebert, I came to let you know you're free to go and that we'll be taking you home. You won't be hearing from us again unless your family contacts us through an attorney during the process of bringing a lawsuit against the Protectorate."
Taylor sat there contemplatively, feeling more than a little surprised that her plan had worked despite Trish's earlier reassurances. Especially after being such a pain in the ass during her 'interview.' "You know, I don't want to sue anyone. I just want to be left alone. I doubt I'll even sue the school as long as they let me graduate early and implement a anti-bullying plan. I guess I don't understand why everyone's acting as if what Sophia Hess did was somehow okay."
"Miss Hebert, I, at least, want to apologize to you for what has happened because of a member of the Wards behaving in a completely reprehensible manner. I know there's nothing I can say that can excuse her behavior or those who chose to ignore it. However, for our part, her presence in the Wards just made the rest of them just a little bit safer. We also genuinely didn't know what she was doing as her handler kept it from us." Armsmaster's voice oozed sincerity as he spoke, every inch a leader of the Protectorate.
Taylor slowly frowned as she wondered if they thought she was really that stupid. Dryly, she said, "You know, that's a pretty good one two act the two of you have going for you. Director Piggot makes a great bad guy. And you make a pretty good tragic hero only trying to do his best for his team."
There was a moment of silence. Armsmaster's tone was equally dry when he finally replied, "It couldn't be that effective if you saw right through it."
Taylor shrugged. "I might be a bit more sensitive to something like this than most people because of what I have gone through."
Armsmaster glanced back over his shoulder towards the mirrored wall. "They'll be relieved that you aren't planning to sue anyone. It's not exactly easy on the budget if we have to pay people off rather than use the money budgeted to us for PRT officers. Would you be willing to have your father sign a waiver to that effect?"
Taylor raised a silent eyebrow at him. He nodded back, his lips curved just slightly in amusement. "I didn't think so. Unless there's something else..."
"Armsmaster, there's just one thing I would like to say." At his silent nod, Taylor continued, trying to put her chaotic thoughts into words, "While I'm not going to sue you, if you keep this up, someone will. Just as importantly, they'll be right to do so. I don't think most of us begrudge someone deserving a second chance. As long as they're sincere and try. Sophia Hess was anything but that. I know her well enough to know that about her. I don't for one moment believe that any of her teammates liked or respected her. That should have been your first clue. And I'd bet you that if you dig deep enough, you're going to find something that will make you wish you caught this sooner. Just do the right thing. Anyway, that's all I had to say. Sorry if I sound pedantic." Crap! Maybe she should have used a word that didn't make her sound a hundred years old. Not that Armsmaster appeared to notice anything, she thought with relief.
Taylor got up and followed the PRT officer that had brought her in back out the door. Well, she was free every bit as fast as Trish had suggested she would be. Now Taylor just wished she had gotten Trish to give her a suggestion on how to deal with her dad.
~~~Memories of Iron~~~
Miss Militia gave him one of 'those' looks as he walked into the conference room. She looked pained as she asked, "Did the director really need to act so hard core with a fifteen year old girl? Especially one who has had to deal with one of our own gone rogue? And without her father there! She had her in there for an hour and only stopped once you indicated over her ear-bud that Taylor Hebert wasn't going to change her stance."
Colin grimaced. It had been a clusterfuck right from the get go. He hadn't detected a single lie that the teenage girl had told, even when she was basically telling Director Piggot off. She believed all of her arguments, although there had been some uncertainty involved when she'd said she would sue them, likely having previously decided not to. The entire time the director had been interrogating her, he'd wondered if they should have just waited to talk to her until her father was present. Certainly he couldn't have been any harder to deal with.
Regardless, it appeared to have worked out. After having spoken to Taylor Hebert as well as listening in on Director's Piggot's interview, Colin was fairly confident that she hadn't deliberately outed a member of the Wards. Nor that she would sue them. Not unless she was convinced by an outside party to do so. He truly believed she just wanted to get on with her life. "She was just playing her part. She moved early because our case was so weak. Anyway, I think the director actually liked that Hebert stood up to her. Did you get anything worrying from observing her?"
Miss Militia shook her head. "Nothing really new. We already knew she was tough. She's smart, but that much was obvious by her reference to testing out of school."
Colin's head came around at that. He'd finally had some time to read the girl's file and that bit didn't really compute. "Her grades seem less than stellar from her records."
Miss Militia's tone was gentle as she pointed out something. "Taylor Hebert's been bullied since starting high school. Part of that campaign of bullying seemed to be aimed at making her fail out. Plus, I suspect that the stress of dealing with bullying that bad, even without the aim of making her fail, would take a toll on her grades."
Colin nodded. It made sense. Certainly a lot more than that the girl was some kind of unknown Thinker. "No Corona Pollentia, right?"
"Still no. They tested her downstairs. You can review the MRI images yourself if you want. But you won't find anything because she isn't a Parahuman." Miss Militia's voice grew contemplative. "I wonder if Miss Hebert will ever trigger."
Colin was puzzled. "Why is that?"
Shrugging, Miss Militia said, "She's handled all of the things that have happened to her, from her mother's death, to a group of bullies led by her former best friend with a certain amount of aplomb. To what I said earlier about being tough, add brave and smart. She managed to organize someone to tape and upload a video of her getting attacked as soon as she returned from a suspension. While she clearly didn't expect that a Ward would be outed, she even handled that well, where most teens would be shaking in their shoes. She even managed to push for an anti-bullying policy change with a combative adult figure, which shows a strong adherence to a set of ethics. When we picked her up, again she was calm, and she dealt with both you and the director very well, even spotting your game. I can't imagine circumstances that would put enough stress on someone like that to give them a trigger event."
Colin mulled over everything that Miss Militia had just said, a lot of which gelled with what he'd already observed. He mused, "You make it sound like she's been thinking a step ahead of us right from the start. Almost like a seasoned agent."
Miss Militia shook her head. "Not really. Rather, it more that she thinks well on her feet. And the suspension thing must have been a bit of a wake up call, because she didn't just fall back into old patterns of passivity when she returned. But no, I don't think she's some kind of secret agent. Or spy."
She was probably right, Colin decided. He even admired the girl for pushing for something to help protect others, even if he thought it would be rather futile in the end. Still, there was something just the slightest bit off about Taylor Hebert. He wasn't suspicious enough to waste time on surveillance of the girl, but he would drop back by at some point in the future to take another look at her. Colin made a note in his electronic journal to that effect, then made his excuses to head back to his lab. After all, if you want to be the best, you need to work at it. He needed to do a little more work on his staff, knowing he could miniaturize the grappling hook's launch mechanism at least another seven percent, maybe eight if he pushed it.
~~~Memories of Iron~~~
Emily Piggot slowly sat down at her desk, her knees creaking before she took the weight off of them. She sighed in relief at the cessation of the dull, gnawing pain. She pulled her keyboard towards her, and once again viewed what was rapidly becoming the most notorious video in America.
Wincing more than once as she watched, Emily reviewed the notes she'd already taken. She would be passing them off to the spin doctors after this to see if they could make anything positive out of a public relations disaster this bad. Emily didn't think it was exaggerating that the online video had set back the image of the PRT and Protectorate by at least ten years.
It couldn't have come at a worse time. With the Endbringer attacks costing them so many heroes each time, the Protectorate could not afford anything that reduced its recruitment objectives. They needed every single hero they could get to keep humanity safe.
Now, instead of positive images that would aid recruitment, they had to overcome an image so negative that it could cause long term damage to that same recruitment. Not to mention the blow that had been struck against Human-Parahuman relations.
Certainly, it had confirmed all of Emily's own negative feelings towards capes, feelings that she had held since Ellisburg. That place had cost Emily her health and any peace of mind she would ever hope to possess when it came to Parahumans. Now she had to somehow repress those same feelings and work towards some solution that benefited the same people she feared and hated.
Sadly, it wasn't something she wanted to do. If Emily was given her druthers, she would have shaken Taylor Hebert's hand publicly and proclaimed her a hero. The girl's quick thinking and smart planning had garnered her admiration. Instead, Emily had been forced to attack her during her interview, trying to force her to absolve them of any wrongdoing in her case. She was actually relieved that she'd failed. Still, Emily had few doubts there would be a slow, protracted campaign in the media by the PRT to emphasize the young girl's immaturity and instability. Anything to give them even an ounce more of credibility while reducing hers. All in the name of protecting humanity.
Sometimes, Emily wondered if this was all worth it. If humanity was worth saving. Then she reread the report of the incident again, absently noting the small change that someone had highlighted on one page of the file where Hebert was pushing for an anti-bullying policy in her school. Emily sat up a little straighter after reading that.
There were people worth saving, Emily decided. People like Taylor Hebert. Even if they were few and far between, they helped redeem the rest. She would continue working on a solution for the rest of today and tomorrow. Maybe she'd even get an epiphany and figure out a way for the PRT to win that didn't leave a bitter taste in her mouth. Maybe.
~~~Memories of Iron~~~
Danny Hebert sat in an uncomfortable chair in the living room, positioned so that he could see the front door for when Taylor got home. It had been a long, tiring day, which was why he'd chosen to sit on something that wouldn't allow him to fall asleep in it.
Not that the worry he was feeling would probably allow it regardless. Danny was almost as concerned at the moment as he'd been when Taylor first revealed that she was some kind of Parahuman. Some kind because she apparently was not a normal one. Her abilities came from her memories and did not seem linked to having some weird extra lobe in her brain.
Although, technically, it was more than just memories that was fueling Taylor's inventiveness. Along with the memories, she'd had a leap in intellect that was nothing short of astounding. Her IQ could not be measured by any standard type of testing as he'd learned to his chagrin when he'd tried to test Taylor early on after learning about what had happened to her. But even the hardest online tests he'd downloaded had been met with amusement by his now terrifyingly brilliant daughter.
Taylor's ability to solve problems was off the charts and she was already coming up with different solutions to problems than the man whose memories she shared. At least according to her she was. It was all part and parcel of the person his daughter was becoming. Therein lay the problem.
Danny trusted his daughter, but all of this was a lot to take in. He'd even worked on plans with her to help her build the company that she imagined would be necessary to save the world. Then something like this happened and he was hit anew with how dangerous this all was. How numerous the risks. As well as how much his daughter had changed. Now Danny felt rudderless and adrift on dark and dangerous seas.
How could he keep his daughter safe when the greatest safeguards of their world for people like her couldn't be trusted? When the Protectorate was filled with psychos like the girl who had made Taylor's life a living hell for a year and a half? How could any parent trust such a group to keep their child safe? Danny knew he couldn't. He could only trust the memories of an over forty playboy, who was, in every way that counted, exactly the opposite of what every parent wanted their child to become.
His depressing thoughts were interrupted by a quiet voice. "Mr Hebert?"
Danny's reply was automatic, "Call me Danny, Trish. Unless you've done something that needs a 'Mr Hebert.'" He slowly turned to look at the girl.
Trish stood there, clearly nervous, something that looked unnatural on the girl as she was usually so self-possessed. Then she explained, "It's my fault that Taylor went the route that she did. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."
Danny wearily shook his head. "It's not your fault. I assume she asked for your help?" At the other's nod, he sighed. "Then you did exactly what I wanted you to do. Please continue helping my daughter, Trish. Because I already know that she's going to do whatever she wants regardless. At least if you help with her plans, there's a better chance she'll come out fine afterward."
Trish's nod was tentative. "She's going to be okay, you know. I promise. I actually expect her to be home within the hour."
Danny shook his head. The girl was uncanny. "How do you know that? I thought your ability doesn't really work on her?"
Trish shrugged. "It doesn't, but I can intuit certain things by building theoretical models. If I try to insert Taylor into them, it's instant migraine. But so long as I keep it theoretical, I'm okay."
Danny sagged, wanting to believe her, but unable to with so little to go on. "So you can predict how things would turn out for the average person, but not for someone like Taylor?" Danny tried not to let his bitterness show at what was only a small disappointment. Trish didn't deserve that after all her help.
Trish seemed to read his mind and her smile was reassuring. "It'd be more accurate to say that I can predict how things would turn out for someone with an uncanny resemblance to Taylor, just not Taylor herself. So they can be pretty accurate because of how well I know her. You can trust them."
Danny felt a sense of relief at Trish's words as they melted some of the ice squeezing his heart. He continued to chat with her, as he finally coaxed into taking a seat, learning a bit more here and there about her ability as he allowed her to distract him from his worry over Taylor.
Then he heard the sound of a key in the front door's lock. Taylor had started using it more after he'd fixed the front step, which he viewed as a reward of sorts for the time he'd spent doing so. Danny slowly stood as his daughter came through the door, looking her over carefully.
More than anything, Danny decided Taylor looked tired. It had been a long and busy day on what was probably very little sleep, full of a great many ups and downs. After all, he had seen the video of her confrontation with the trio as well. He could only imagine how difficult that had been for her, especially the cracks about her mother.
In a lot of ways, the person in that video didn't resemble the Taylor he'd known all of these years. But Danny had experienced the person his daughter was becoming enough recently to see how she could be the person in that video. The worst thing she'd exhibited there had been a kind of hardness, a coldness that his Taylor didn't really have. Danny had winced at some of the things Taylor had said to Madison about her mother, memories of the accident still present in his mind even after all this time.
Now staring at the girl who looked afraid to meet his eyes, her shoulders hunched as if trying to make herself smaller, Danny didn't see any of that. All he saw was his little girl, the one who had so recently begged for his help. That was the Taylor to which he opened his arms wide. That was the Taylor he hugged so desperately, drawing as much comfort from the embrace as he gave in return.
Danny sent a look over his shoulder towards the other girl who had kept him company for the past hour. Who cared enough to try to distract him from his worries. He spread an arm out from around Taylor to make room for her. Then he waited as the girl in question chewed her lip in indecision. Finally, she seemed to almost leap forward and he closed his arm around both his girls, as they hugged him and one another as well.
Danny closed his eyes and said a silent prayer of thankfulness to God for the safe return of his daughter.
~~~Memories of Iron~~~
AN: I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, especially some of the reactions of the members of the PRT and Protectorate. In the next chapter, you'll hear from the Wards and of course more Taylor.
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チケット