Chương 2747: 3.x
Shadow Stalker Interlude.
We got word that there was to be a new Ward soon. That we had to get to the Rig as soon as school finished, that there would be a secure pickup, drop off and pick up again. While I understood the need for paranoia it was still annoying to go through.
Though I would never admit it, I looked forwards to seeing the new kid. The last Ward that joined us was a huge disappointment. Browbeat had decent enough powers but was so passive you could've put him next to a giant pillow and never tell the difference. Seriously, he could buff his muscles to cartoonish levels! FUCKING PUNCH SOMEONE! When I heard about the reports of him being a vigilante kicking ass and taking names I was hyped! But he had all the personality of a wet paper towel.
If I had that power I'd be able to beat the shit out of anyone I wanted!
But that wouldn't suit me. Stealth was much more satisfying. Watching criminals become complacent, thinking that they're safe when suddenly out of nowhere their faces turn to fear and dismay! Fucking losers.
So point was, there was going to be a new Ward. You'd think that with Browbeat's less than impressive attitude that I'd be jaded by new arrivals. Well, normally you'd be right but this one was different.
For one, Armsmaster had recruited her. While the older hero had a huge stick up his arse, he at least knew how to beat people up with it. Anyone he personally vouched and even risked the ire of Piggot for was probably a badass.
That alone placed the new girl above Browbeat. Which wasn't hard to be honest. From the reports I had read she had already gone out and hunted down some gang members. Nothing as impressive as me but at least it meant that she had initiative. That's not what made Armsmaster or Piggot focus on her though. Their interest was piqued by the 'potions' she could make.
Powers in a bottle.
Things that healed you, made you tougher, stronger and overall better. I could see the appeal behind that sure and I understood why those less badass than me might want a piece of that. My thoughts were interrupted as we arrived at the Rig, I had almost dozed off. Frustrating, I should've been more alert. Panacea wasn't kidding when she said I might have less energy, that I should get lots of food and rest. I realised that I had been massaging my knee for some time now and reminded myself of the Undersider's bank heist. Something came from behind knocking me down and broke my legs.
It was a fucking joke.
Fighting Grue was annoying enough in that stupid darkness of his but getting attacked from behind just as I get in? Fucking bullshit. Felt like I got run over by a steamroller. Once I found out who or what hit me, I'd pay them back tenfold.
Anyways this new kid was a big deal, didn't take a genius to figure that one out. If there was any other doubt then it would be dispelled just as soon as I entered the Rig. Everyone was here, every Hero and every Ward. Seemed like I was the last one to arrive.
"Nice of you to join us Shadow Stalker." Armsmaster told me flatly as I walked into the meeting room. I would've showed him my strongest finger or at least swore at him but I had more self control then that. Seriously, what did he expect? I went to school at Winslow, it was a miracle that I made it as soon as I did! Besides, it was the drivers that got me here so why not blame them?
Then everyone went over a bunch more stuff. While I didn't really pay attention I still got a few details. Vim was a grab bag that had the ability to warp space that manifested as a sort of localised pocket dimension and allow her to eat through her mask. She could make armor, manipulate fire and of course the big one was that she could make potions. Armsmaster was really focused on the potion thing.
They spoke about her new appearance, that she no longer wore black which was fine with me. Instead it was leather. There was some questioning on if she could make anything more high tech but that wasn't that important.
The last thing that was mentioned was her temperament. I groaned at the last one. Badass or not I didn't want to deal with someone like her. The optimist. Apparently she had a bad case of Hero worship. Gallant was enough of a goody two shoes, we didn't need more.
Crap.
Maybe getting another Ward wouldn't be so great afterall. More backup was always nice but not if they kept holding me back. Still I had to play nice, after all being on probation sucked but being in juvie was way fucking worse. Didn't mean I had to get along with her though. Just had to be professional, I could do that. I was always professional.
"Are we clear Shadow Stalker?" Piggot asked. I tried not to act surprised by her questioning. Shit, what were they talking about? Oh right, be nice to her.
"Yeah, yeah I got it." I told her waving it off. She scowled but said nothing. That's right bitch.
"I expect nothing but perfection. Aegis, take the Wards and head up to the common area, the rest of us will finish up here." As we left the meeting room the inane chatter began.
"So, what do you think the adults are all talking about in there?" Asked Clockblocker. As soon as he mentioned it I wanted to know as well. Though I'd never admit it out loud.
"Most likely the legal parts, maybe things to do with her real identity." Answered Aegis, he shrugged. "Not for us to know unless they want to share it, come on we can do our homework and play videogames while we wait."
I wanted to be outside, hunting down scum. Not be locked up with kiddy gloves.
"I'll man the console." I told them. Better than hanging around them, at least this way I'd be able to hear about the action as separated as I would be from it. Maybe I'd pick up an emergency about a gang war and be let out to handle it?
Pfft. Even I didn't believe it.
"Wow, someone volunteering for Console duty." Vista of all people commented. "And it's you of all people."
I ignored her and we all went our separate ways. Cracking my knuckles I sat back and began my shift.
I was bored out of my mind ten minutes in. Fuck! I forgot how boring this got! Not even a burglary in progress! This was supposed to be Brockton Bay! Where were all the epic car chases? The big bad villain show downs? I already knew the answer of course, they simply weren't being reported. Too many scared folks unwilling to even make the call. What a bunch of wimps.
Hours pass and Vim had yet to show up. I was beginning to hate her, she was late. I grumbled and angrily bit into the sandwich that I was given earlier. I was pissed off and wanted nothing more than to pummel some criminal's face in.
Give them an upper cut, kick their knees out from under them. Maybe go for a stylish flip near the end, break a few teeth and-
Suddenly klaxons brought me out of my day dream.
I don't know if I was blinded by rage or if I was bored out of my mind or if I was too tired but for a moment I thought I saw Hebert of all people getting taken down by the containment foam sprayers on screen. I practically leapt forwards to get a closer look and checked it's location, matching everything on it to what I remembered seeing from personally being there.
Yup. That was the reception of the Rig alright.
Hebert just teleported onto the Rig? Since when did she have powers? Suddenly things began to click into place. Her disappearing acts at school, the fact that it was impossible to find her half the time. She must've triggered as a teleporter after we pushed her into the locker! For a moment I panicked, would she tell the Protectorate about my bullying?
I knew I was on thin ice, but it would be my word against hers. I was a hero! That would count for something right? She already tried taking things to the police once and that failed, I had nothing to worry about. Trust a wimp like Hebert to get powers that let her run away even better. I calmed myself down. She was being taken away now to be questioned. The fact that she teleported into the middle of the base boded well for me, it meant that she was too stupid to know any better.
I sighed in relief.
"Shadow Stalker!" A voice behind me yelled. It was Clockblocker. "Is it Vim? I bet it's Vim! Ten bucks say it's Vim!"
"That's not cool dude." Gallant was right behind him. "Someone could be hurt."
"No one's hurt you pansies." I told them both. "Just some random girl teleported into the base, she got foamed pretty much instantly, it's not Vim." Fuck they were annoying. "I'm gonna see if I can't get a recording of her expression…" Fucking priceless. Okay, maybe this night wasn't a total waste.
"Think that was Vim?" Asked Clockblocker again. "They did say she was a grab bag."
I rolled my eyes at him. Gallant piped up. "I doubt it, grab bags get a bunch of weak powers and maybe one big thing, like the potions." It was common knowledge after all. "Teleportation is definitely a big one."
"Yeah but what if it comes with a big downside? Like you leave your bones behind?"
"I guess but the Manton limit protects us from that kind of stuff, it's why you don't freeze yourself all the time."
I decided to ignore them both, bring up the recording of Hebert again and put it on loop. Damn, if only I could send this to Emma, she'd love this. Even as a Cape Hebert was useless. I kicked back and continued to enjoy my sandwich.
Eventually we were all called back into the Ward's common area. It was Miss Militia which wasn't surprising. Despite being the local leader of the Protectorate, Armsmaster preferred to keep a light touch in terms of leadership. Too busy poking away at his gear.
"Alright, I'm sure you may have already heard rumours about the intruder." A few mumbles agreed. "Well I'll be putting those rumours to rest, the teleportation was an accident and she'll be joining the Wards."
Fuck. Hebert in the Wards? This was going to be annoying. I'd have to hide my identity around her but since I already told every other Ward that I was Sophia Hess I couldn't really do that without arousing suspicion. It's not like I wanted to be friends with anyone but being in a mask all the time was annoying.
"So we're going to have two new girls? That's awesome!" Announced Clockblocker.
Hmm, maybe I could use the fact that she teleported out of nowhere as an excuse not to trust her. Don't unmask because I think she's up to something. Everyone would probably call me paranoid but I could deal with that.
"Actually no, we're only getting one person joining the Wards today." She corrected him.
"So Vim chickened out or something?" I asked.
"Not quite." Miss Militia looked uneasy. "The intruder IS Vim." I froze right there. "I know what you're all thinking, that I've just unmasked her. But I want to lay your concerns to rest, she actually wanted us to tell you all this and apologise for setting off the alarms." This was going poorly. "If she wants to tell you all her name and show her face then that's up to her, we've agreed to encrypt and safeguard the security footage already."
I turned back to the console and noted that the video was no longer on loop.
This was fucked up. Hebert... Vim was Armsmaster's pet project! If anyone would believe her about the bullying it would be him and he'd actually investigate!
Okay Sophia, calm down. You're a fighter, you don't go down without swinging. Okay, calm down Sophia, think for a second, just fucking THINK!
For the moment I was grateful for my mask that hid my face and the cloak around my shoulders that distorted my body language. So what? Hebert was Vim, that didn't change the fact that I was a badass, it just meant I had to be careful, that I had to be subtle.
Then the alarms went off, the ones that told us that we had visitors and that we should mask up. In my mind there was no doubt who it was.
Eventually a tall lanky figure with long hair entered wearing leather armour flanked by Armsmaster himself.
"Everyone." He announced. "I'd like to introduce you all to your new team member, with her powers and her attitude, I believe that she will make an excellent addition to the team." He prodded her and Hebert… Vim awkwardly approached us. It seemed getting powers hadn't changed her one bit. That was a relief.
"Uhhh hi everyone." She began. "I'm Vim…" I snorted.
"Helloooo beaautiful." It was Clockblocker. "I'm Dennis by the way, love the outfit, you make that yourself? Is that real leather?" He knew she did. We were literally just briefed on this today.
"I uhh." She stammered. "Yes?"
"Come on Dennis, don't tease her too much." It was Gallant's turn to say hello. "It's nice to finally meet you, we've heard so much. All good things I assure you." Putting his hand out Hebert eventually shook it. "You can call me Dean."
"Uhh nice to meet you to." She replied.
"I'm Vista, aka Missy!"
"Oh I'm Kid Win, uh Chris, I hear you're a Tinker? Maybe we can compare notes?"
"Call me Carlos, I hope you recognise my costume, uh Aegis if you don't."
"I'm new, my name is James, my Cape name is Browbeat though."
"Oh wow." Hebert replied. "This is a lot to take in…" She then turned to me. "And you're Shadow Stalker!" Wait a second, what happened to timid old Hebert? She was practically in my face now! "Oh my god! I have one of your masks!" Suddenly she was wearing my face! It was a cheap plastic, stern woman's face. "I mean, I like the angry lady look, makes you all like GRRR VENGEANCE! But I kinda miss your old Hockey mask thing!"
What the hell was going on?
"Someone has a crush!" Clockblocker shouted and it took everything I had to not fall down. "Hey Vim, she was watching your face on cam before, full loop for the last ten minutes or something!" That fucker!
"We won't judge." Gallant told me. "You don't have to be afraid." I wasn't afraid at all! "I thought your emotions seemed pretty everywhere just before but that almost makes sense."
"SHUT UP! You don't know what the fuck you're all talking about!"
"Why don't you unmask then?" Oh god, even Vista was joining in now. They probably didn't even think I was gay. "Too shy?"
"I see you're all getting along, I'll leave you all to it." Armsmaster nodded and left with the rest of the adults as if this bullshit wasn't currently unfolding. Suddenly my hands were being grasped and her face… Herbert's face was without a mask.
"I uhh, I'm flattered but, but I-I don't like girls that way." What the fuck? Was she letting me down gently? "You can call me Taylor, let's start out as friends okay?"
Fuck it.
"FINE!" That came out a lot louder than I intended, so sue me, I was stressed. Fucking Hebert rejected ME of all people? Wait. FUCK! Why would I care about that? This day just kept getting weirder. I was straight as a board! "I mean, ye-ah l-let's be friends. Uh good friends." If this was the con I had to pull then so be it. Anything to stop her from realising I was Sophia.
"Holy shit this is GOLD!" Clockblocker shouted. "I'll be your good friend too!"
Hebert was smiling like an idiot at this point and thankfully had let go of my hands.
"I'm just glad, I was afraid that you wouldn't like me." Denial filled the air. Whether they actually liked her for her or the fact that she fucked with me was hard to know. "After all the bullying I've been through with…" no no no! You FUCKER! "Well, I never want to bring them up again." Oh thank god.
Clockblocker then put a hand on her shoulder.
"We have Mario Kart and junk food, wanna join us?" He pointed at the TV. "Sometimes we fight crime but that's more of a side business for us Wards." She practically bounced at that.
"I'M PLAYER ONE!" She screamed. Fuck, this was going to be a long Ward's career. Maybe juvie wasn't so bad after all.
Everyone else ran after her except me and Gallant.
"Someone owes Clockblocker ten bucks." He whispered. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here."
I growled.
"Fuck you."
=============================
So one thing I'd like to head off before it's commented. Why had Sophia not connected the dots about Taylor and Vim sooner?
Well in her head this is what she thinks.
Vim= Bad ass, optimist and annoying.
Taylor= Wimp, depressed and stupid.
In Canon she's really surprised when she realises that Skitter is Hebert so it's not that big of a leap to think that something similar would happen here, especially since they outwardly behave so differently.
I had this entire scenario planned from the beginning.
Being Shadow Stalker is suffering and no one even has to know about the bullying.
As my beta reader Taron has described it: A thin veneer of civility masking internal screaming
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