Just a Phase [Worm]

[KingCrimson1081]

Omake: Seeing Red

*Warning mentions of suicide*


Emma slumped as she walked through the halls of Winslow ready for another day wallowing in her own misery and mistakes. Glancing back and forth Emma saw the same hallways she always saw for the past year and a half since coming here, old rotted with numerous gang signs marking the walls the only thing different was the fact that Taylor wasn't here anymore. Not that it mattered to anyone other than Emma most people hadn't cared about Taylor when she was here and actively being tormented in front of them, so asking them to care about her being gone just wasn't happening. Emma actually recalled some of her old hanger ons starting some rumors that Taylor had finally killed herself, it almost made Emma want to laugh the thought that someone like Taylor would actually take her own life, no Taylor was stronger than that stronger than all of them, if she was going to commit suicide she would have done it already Emma knows how many dares she and Sophia had given her.

She sighed thinking back to it all before continuing on, it was lunch, and her mom 'forgot' to pack her something again. No that was a lie her mom didn't forget they were just avoiding each other since everything was revealed, unable to even look each other in the eye after her mom found out what she did to Taylor the girl who was like the niece she never had. It was amazing really how quickly she could go back to lying to herself even after everything, at least she could catch herself now and that was progress according to her new therapist.

Walking into the cafeteria she saw the mass of humanity crowded together, the various social circle ranging from gang kids to other less memoriable groups, and her old group her former hanger ons claiming a full table for themselves. As she was looking she saw the newest addition to Winslow, a security guard not one hired by the school but brought on by the insistence of the Youth Guard, since relying on the school to report on the actions of its two Wards clearly wasn't reliable.

Emma almost laughed again at the sight of them, of all the changes that could have been made that was it. No punishments for the people involved no criminal investigation into the school, and certainly no justice for Taylor. Hell from what she heard even Sophia's parole officer got off with a slap on the wrist for clearly not doing her job, she even kept her position of checking in with Sophia from what she heard, of course the woman no longer went to Emma for reports on Sophia's behavior now knowing just how much Emma had been lying to her about those.

Moving through the lunch line Emma grab whatever looked most edible, not caring which, the old Emma would have made a big deal about watching her figure or proper diet but she was well past caring about that at this point. Finding the closest empty seat away from most of the people Emma sat down, and tried to tune everything out.

Was this how Taylor felt, she thought all alone no one to talk to. No it isn't because I would have attacked her for daring to think she was allowed to eat in here with everyone else.

She briefly wondered if Gallant had heard anything back from Boston today, it had been almost two months since their conversation and still nothing from the other Wards about Taylor. She thought about contacting them herself but figured her actions wouldn't be appreciated over there, it wouldn't surprise her they probably heard about everything by now. It sickened her that she ever thought that Taylor would just accept her as a friend again after everything, she knew how bad trigger events where even now she still had nightmares about hers. Only now the roles were swapped she was no longer the victim but the one holding the knife against Taylor, only Taylor never screamed or cried like she did, she just stood silently as she carved away at her best friend with no one coming to help her until nothing was left, she usually woke up after that not even her mind giving her the mercy to stop before the dream was done.

The sound of another lunch tray hitting the spit next to her broke her out of her thoughts. Emma lifted her gaze from her food not having touched it yet and looked at the only person in the school who still associated with her, due to a lack of better options more than an actual sense of friendship. Madison for when Emma got booted out of her old group they kicked Madison out with her, and with Sophia now longer talking to her she ended up stuck with her.

"Jesus Emma what's gotten into you lately, you and Sophia still fighting?" Madison asked.

"No, we are not fighting just not talking to each other anymore," she said. She never really told Madison what happened but there were rumors, not that she paid attention to those things anymore.

"Well it's bumming me out so stop," the other girl said rudely.

God Madison disgusted her Emma thought to herself. She had no idea why Sophia even let her into the group in the first place without proving herself like Emma had and Taylor still needed to. At the time Emma had justified it as just keeping a placeholder for Taylor for when she finally showed some spine and fought back, they would kick Madison out and Taylor would have taken her place in their group. Of course that never happened, Taylor simply had to much integrity to ever stoop to their level she knew that now, but Madison was just a fucking parasite not a survivor like Taylor and certainly not a predator like Sophia. It made her sick thinking more on it, this bitch simply inserted herself in a place ment for Taylor and acted like she belonged there and they just fucking let her with her bullshit cutesy attitude to hide how much of a bitch she really is.

"Hey Emma guess what? I found out what happened to Hebert, apparently she is in some school up in Boston, from what I heard her dad fucking ditched her. Go riddance too if I was her parent I wouldn't want that freak around either," Madison said with a sneer.

In that moment everything stopped, Emma turned her head to look at Madison not noticing her power activate and showing her where to punch to break the other girl's nose.

"First her mom left her, and now her dad ditches her, I wonder if she will finally take the hint that no one wants her and finally do the world a favor and just kill herself to put us out of her misery you know."

Emma felt something break in her mind at Madison's words. How dare she, how fucking dare she say that about Taylor about Annette. She felt her breathing pick up as Madison's nervous system lit up like a Christmas tree in her vision empathizing weak points and old injuries. It was enough as Emma saw red and attacked.

The rest was a blur, at some point the security guard dragged her off Madison and called someone to come pick her up. She came to sitting in the back of one of the PRT's inconspicuous vechicles being driven to the main building to discuss her actions. She wasn't afraid, if Piggot wasn't willing to punish anyone for attempting to kill Taylor she certainly wouldn't lift a finger to do anything about her breaking some bitch's nose, hell she will probably be back in Winslow tomorrow like nothing happened, just like with Taylor.

---

A.N: Hey FirstSelector got a new one for you.

Anyways I decided to do an Emma omake this time, so let me know what you all think.

 

[Ashley9469]

Got an Omake here for you First. I was thinking what if Taylor said fuck it and left before vanishing into the wind and this was the result.

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■

♦Topic: Resignation
In: Boards ► Boston ► New Ward Announcement.

Phase (Original Poster)
Posted on January 6, 2011:

AN: Cross posted to Brockton Bay thread.

This will be my first and only post on this username for reasons that will become obvious.

While under normal circumstances I would be happy to announce my new position at a Ward of the PRT, It is with a heavy heart, but grim acceptance that I announce that due to the direct wilful actions of Director Kamil Armstrong (Protectorate Boston) and Director Emily Piggot (Protectorate Brockton Bay ENE) in the coverup of events of January 3rd 2011 at Winslow High School (Brockton Bay) and previous events, I hereby tender my direct resignation effective immediately from the PRT Wards program with cause.

On January 3, 2011 at approximately 7:45AM, upon arriving at Winslow High School, the Wards Emma Barnes(Amperage, Wards ENE) and Sophia Hess(Shadow Stalker, Probationary Wards ENE) in conjunction with Madison Clements (unpowered minion) shoved me in a locker filled with biohazardous waste before locking it closed behind me in the culmination of almost 2 years of sustained torment both in and out of school resulting in my Trigger Event.

All attempts to report my situation to the authorities were met with outright dismissal and threats in the case of Winslow High, and outright ignorance in the case of police.

Upon awakening in the hospital, and agreeing to join the Wards, it quickly came to my attention that the Wards Emma Barnes and Sophia Hess were using their position as wards to strong-arm the staff to sacrifice a single unpowered girl to keep them happy.

Attempting to bring the situation to the attention of the Director Piggot was met with outright dismissals, and a transfer to Boston in an attempt to remove the victim from the jurisdiction of the crime so that she would not have to remove two of her Wards from active duty.

It is due to these actions by the PRT, and the repeated wilful actions of corruption and malfeasance in all parties involved, that I remove myself from participation in an organization of such criminal actions, that constitute direct violations of their founding charter, and operational mandate, as to render them little more than a domestic terrorist organization.

With regards, Taylor Hebert, (Independent Hero)

The basic premise is that Taylor grabs her stuff, throws the wards crap in a trashcan, and just walks right out through a wall into the night and posts the notice that morning once they start looking for her with thinker powers.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Omake: Anti-Bullying


Taylor grumbled to herself as she took her seat in the auditorium with the rest of the students for some kind of mandatory presentation the school was doing today. She would have tried to skip by hiding the bathrooms until it was over, but unfortunately it seemed that Lily was under orders to make sure she showed up to whatever this was. So this was probably another scheme to get her to agree to join the team or something like that, however she had to hand it to whoever came up with this idea they really up their game with this by dragging the whole school into the PRT's needy bullshit.

As she thought this the lights in the auditorium dimmed and Taylor was sorely tempted to just take out her phone and finish a few more chapters of her latest book instead of listening to whatever this is. Unfortunately for her before she could a young woman walked onto the stage and the ear piercing feedback from the microphone broke her train of thought.

Deciding to actually pay attention to what was going on down there, mostly to glare at whoever interrupted her reading, Taylor saw the unpleasantly familiar face of the woman who ran the Ward's PR events for Boston. Taylor didn't remember the woman's name off the top of her head mostly because the only times she met the woman was when she came to Boston, and the other was when she showed up to talk (berate) to her after what she did during the tour.

'So that's what they're doing,' Taylor thought to herself while shaking her head. It was honest in hindsight with most of the 'team' being absent today with only Lily, Reynold, and herself being at school today.

Thinking this Taylor shot a glance to where Lily was seating nearly right behind her, 'Probably to make sure I don't try and ditch this trainwreck halfway through.' Taylor thought with a grimace.

"And now may I introduce the Boston Wards," the PR woman shouted into the mic with false cheer as the familiar forms of Taylor's 'teammates' came onstage with much fanfare from the rest of the student body.

Taylor watched as the team took their positions in various poses for what looked like a rendition of their lunchbox cover. However a closer inspection showed that there were three very obvious gaps in their lineup, which was one more than the absentee Wards.

'Oh god they already worked me into their god damn PR routine didn't they,' Taylor thought while resisting the urge to facepalm.

Luckily or rather unluckily Taylor was broken out of this train of thoughts by Weld's voice coming over the speaker system.

"Hello Saint George High school, today me and my fellow Wards would like to talk to all of you about a very important topic, bullying." Weld said in an even tone as a slideshow started up behind him, and while Taylor couldn't exactly make out his facial features from.where she was sitting she would put money down on him looking directly at her.

'So an anti-bullying seminar they are really doing it,' Taylor thought, 'yeah I mean go ahead blast my experiences to the whole world why don't you.'

It wasn't like Taylor had never heard of anti-bullying seminars or even the Wards doing then from time to time, but it was always something she put down as something that happened at other schools that weren't named Winslow. Apparently Arcadia had one at least once a year if she remembered correctly, of course thinking this made Taylor realize that Emma and Sophia would have been apart of such events and to say the irony left a bitter taste in her mouth would be an understatement.

Deciding not to participate in this farce any longer Taylor pulled out her phone and started scrolling through PHO. All the while Weld and the other Wards went over what Taylor assumed were the standard talking points, see something say something, tell an adult or teacher, and of course don't react, to them as if any of those things actually worked becaused news flash she tried and look where she is now.

Before Taylor knew it Weld got through the last of the slideshow to the obligatory applause of the rest of the school, but instead of walking off stage so Taylor could get on with the rest of her day he did something that Taylor really should have expected by this point.

"Any questions?" He asked as countless hands shot up, mostly to get a chance to talk to an actual hero rather then out of any care bullying or its victims. Because for as much Taylor hated to admit it the Principle was being honest when he said he had a zero tolerance policy on bullying, hell the kids at this school had probably never seen someone being intentionally shoved around in the hall much less what an actual bullying campaign loomed like.

Weld made a an act of looking across the auditorium before his metal eyes settled in Taylor's direction and a pit of dread opened up in her stomach.

'Oh he wouldn't dare,' she thought. But it made sense get her here talk about a topic close to home, and have Lily in the back to let them know exactly where she was sitting so they can go through with their fucked up public therapy bullshit or whatever the hell the plan was here.

"Ah yes you in the back with the curly black hair and glasses," Weld called out giving way to many descriptions about her as all the eyes turned in her direction.

'Welp no use pretending he was talking about someone else now is there,' Taylor thought as she stood up and a mic was handed to her by some rude supervisor.

Sighing to herself Taylor took the mic with a grunt, well if she is doing this might as well make them pay for it she thought before speaking. "Okay fine my question is do any of you up there actually believe the bullshit you're saying or did whoever write your scripts just tell you to say it and you didn't ask any questions?"

The entire room went quiet at her question and Taylor was able to make out a faint grimace on Weld's features from her position.

"Well you see bullying is a complicated topic and..." Weld tried to get something out, and Taylor was almost disappointed she had thought by now they would have expected this from her.

"Then why are you doing this here? And not say a school that actually has a bullying problem, is it because you know they won't care about what you have to say, or doign this at a lower income school just doesn't give the same PR boost as it does here?" Taylor drove in harder she wanted to make whoever came up with this regret it, be it Gauss, Weld, or fucking Armstrong himself.

"Well the Wards and Protectorate have a limited amount of time to do these events and..." Weld once again tried to get out.

"So people in these schools who are probably being bullied just don't matter then? Because let me tell you this what you said up there about dealing with bullies talking to a teacher or getting help doesn't work, and I know because I tried it and it was always my word against theirs and there was more of them then me so guess who got punished for attention seeking behavior." Taylor asked mockingly, she was furious how dare they think she wanted this to put under the spotlight like this.

"Most people like that just want a reaction out of you so ignoring them should make them lose interest." Roulette spoke up for Weld who looked like he was about to melt.

"Nope that doesn't work either, ignoring them just makes them escalate to worse things." Taylor bit back.

"If that is the case I am sure a teacher will step in and do something," Weld said trying desperately to regain control of the situation.

"Wrong, because by that point you already asked them and they put you down as a liar or they aren't paid enough to actually do anything about it. So you go on ignoring them and they keep escalating: fighting back just gets you punished so why bother? Until eventually they escalate so far and you end up in the god damn hospital after what they did. I know most people would think that by that point surely something will be done, and I will admit I hoped that too, for a moment that is. So you know what did happen?" Taylor heard silence which she took as her cue to go on, "Absolutely nothing happened. The ones who put you in the hospital get off without even a slap on the wrist and you get shipped off to a different school district to avoid having to punish anyone or deal with the lawsuit. That is what happens. Be inconvenient enough and you get swept under the rug for your troubles."

Taylor was nearly panting now it hurt to let everything out like that and she knew she would regret it once she calmed down but they fucking deserved it. She took one more look at Weld before handing her mic back to the silent supervisor and sat back down.

Before Weld or any of the other Wards could dig themselves any deeper the same woman from the beginning stepped onto the stage, probably to end this tragedy of a Q and A session.

"Unfortunately that is all the time we have today thank you Saint George Highschool for having us with you today," she said with a level of cheer that sat at odds with the mood in the auditorium.

As the Wards were ushered off the stage the rest of the students made way to leave. Luckily for Taylor due to her position near the back she was one of the first groups to leave which save her from most of the stares that followed her out after her outburst. Deciding she might as well not bother with the rest of her classes today she made her way to her locker to gather up her supplies and make for the exit.

As she made her way out of the building she spotted Lily approaching from the side making a directly beeline towards her.

"Taylor we need to talk," she shouted towards her but Taylor just ignored her a kept walking towards the doors.

"Taylor please," Lily begged, but Taylor wasn't listening she had enough emotions for one day and was done.

Brushing past Lily Taylor walked down the steps at the front of the school and made her way to one of the bus stops. She had new stash for her vigilante supplies a few stops down and she wasn't doing anything else today so might as well start her patrol early.

Sitting down on the bus she open her phone to see numerous messages from the rest of the Wards, the PR manager, and Armstrong himself requesting a meeting at the earliest convience.

'Yeah no,' Taylor thought, 'they put her on the spot like that now they have to deal with the consequences.'

Upon thinking this Taylor had another idea and seeing she had some time before her stop she requested the forms from Jim about a risk to her secret identity. In the mean time she opened one of the PHO threads dealing with the local news only to see some new ones already blowing up about the Ward's latest PR failure.

Smiling to herself Taylor accessed one of the threads, 'might as well fan the flames while she has some time on her hands,' she thought as the bus drove off.

---

A.N: Hey FirstSelector have a new omake for your and let me know what you all think.

 

[RogueInquisitor]

Backstage:

"Well, that was a disaster," groaned Weld.

"And whose fault is that, oh fearless leader?" Snapped Connie, her frustration evident.

"Hey, don't look at me," said Weld defensively, "it wasn't my idea. I was told to call on Taylor, and I assumed she had been briefed with a softball question or two, maybe about experiences with bullying as a Case 53."

All eyes turned to the PR coordinator, who wilted under the intense glares of the assembled Wards. "Taylor wasn't briefed. We expected she'd be uncooperative, and didn't want to give her hours to come up with the most damaging question she could think of. Given the damage she did off the cuff, I stand by that decision."

Weld sighed. "So you dropped the ball, cornered her, and got outplayed by a teenager making it up on the spot. Wonderful."

"In the interest of learning from todays disaster," interjected Roulette, "why don't we go do these events at schools that actually have bullying problems?"

The coordinator snorted dismissively. "To avoid outbursts like that. I'm with PR, not Health and Social Services. The logistics are also easier to arrange for the school you actually attend, but that's minor in comparisson."

Stunned silence greeted this cynical admission, only to be interrupted by Lily bursting in. "Taylor just took off, and I don't think she's going home."

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

"In the interest of learning from todays disaster," interjected Roulette

Click to shrink...

Debrief:

Armstrong knew he would never trigger. Because Kamil hadn't spontaneously gained the ability to choke the PR Coordinator from across the briefing room table.

"So, as an opener, did you or did you not read Phase's file? Specifically the parts related to how severely she was bullied in her prior school? A bullying campaign so severe she Triggered?" Armstrong was surprised. By rights he should be thundering to shake the room and have Gauss physically restrain him from leaping over the table to manually strangle the woman in front of him. Instead his words were measured and his tone level. Later he would reflect the outward calm probably emboldened her to say something so stupid.

"Of course I did. That was the point, to get a real response out of her for both the event and to help her connect with her fellow Wards!" Karen actually looked affronted, and left Armstrong momentarily speechless.

Gauss was quick to pick up the slack, "So, your brilliant idea was to ambush a girl that has been socially and physically bullied by putting her, her pain, and her FUCKING TRIGGER on the spot, in public, using our Wards to do it?!"

Karen nodded, "Of course, now that she's opened up to her fellow Wards, I'm sure she'll get over her hangups and get with the program."

Armstrong had to quickly grab Gauss from launching over the table, "YOU FUCKING IDIOT! YOU COULDN'T HAVE DRIVEN HER FURTHER FROM OUR WARDS IF ACCORD HANDED YOU A PLAN TO DO IT!"

Karen backed up, looking around and the lack of support drove home just how little support her brainwave had.

After making sure Gauss wasn't going to beat this woman to death, however satisfying, Armstrong took control of the meeting. "Your words show you have no business being near a Ward. Don't worry about clearing out your desk. As of right now you are to be checked for Master Influence. Should it turn out this level of stupidity is all you? Then we'll consider charges for endangering a Ward's civilian identity."

Karen looked confused as two PRT troopers grabbed her arms, "Risking her identity? I just had Weld pick her out of a question!"

Gauss glared at the woman, "You had Weld pick out Phase straight away, one of the few people not trying to get his attention. That has already been noted and commented on. Your former colleagues are doing overtime to spin this. We are probably going to have to have Weld go out and look like an ass. Apologize and say given the subject matter he picked a shy looking student and didn't mean for things to get this emotionally raw. Which the Youth Guard is going to love, with them already incensed over your PR stunt targeting Phase."

After the former PR Coordinator was escorted out, O'Hannon turned to Armstrong. "We are going to have to send the Wards out on more of these anti-bullying campaigns, to schools where they are lower income and have significant problems. Because Phase just publicly called us out, and not doing it will tell everyone she was right."

Armstrong rubbed his face with a hand, "and it isn't going to have as much impact, because everyone will know we are doing it because we were called out. And that not doing it is worse. SHIT."

Gauss sighed, "And the Wards aren't going to like or trust your people for a good while O'Hannon. That woman just showed them they can't trust PR to have their backs. That is going to be a long time to rebuild for the entire team, not just Phase."

O'Hannon nodded, "I know, I got an all hands meeting after this to drive that point home. Fuck a duck, this probably damaged PR the least with Phase, only because she doesn't trust any of us at all."

Yeah I know I was just pointing out that Lily considers the Protectorate 'home' while Taylor clearly considers it anything but 'home'.

Click to shrink...

"Keep your shirt on Warden, I mean Weld. I made it back in time for the nightly bed check."

 

[The Dude]

We are probably going to have to have Weld go out and look like an ass. Apologize and say given the subject matter he picked a shy looking student and didn't mean for things to get this emotionally raw.

Click to shrink...

"Extra! Extra! Wards leader admits to profiling at local highschool."

Yeah Weld isn't gonna have a good time due to this, especially since he already has to deal with the whole negative impact of being a case 53.

Click to shrink...

Weld: "No."

PR Team: "What do you mean no?"

Weld: "No. En-oh. An adverb used to express refusal, denial, disbelief, emphasis, or disagreement. In my case, all of the above."

PR Team: "Don't be obtuse, that wasn't what I meant and you know it."

Weld: "After the stunt you just had me pull, which I am very much not happy about if that wasn't already clear, I didn't feel it was safe to assume. Especially given that you're now asking me to fall on my sword to cover up a mess you made."

 

[RogueInquisitor]

Well that runs into the same problem Armstrong and Guass have when trying to get her to do anything Wards related. That being Taylor can't participate in most things until after power testing which is still completely voluntary. I can't imagine that a Wards camp even one for unruly Wards would be allowed to operate outside of the program's own safety requirements. And another reason being that Taylor would just straight up refuse to participate in Wards summer camp because of her current predisposition to any Wards activities to begin with.

Click to shrink...

Taylor: "So, you want to ship me to a remote, isolated area with a bunch of would-be murderers, plus their cleaners, fixers, and enablers. How stupid and/or suicidal do you think I am?"

PRT Agent: "This is a PRT-run camp for Wards-"

Taylor: "Exactly what I just said. I already survived one murder attempt by Wards, I'm not going to hand you another shot on a silver platter."

Jim: "I believe my client has made her position quite explicit, and this camp isn't compulsory under her contract or any applicable regulations. If that is all, we will be leaving."

 

[iamnuff]

I don't normally read Omakes (they tend to vary in quality and tone wildly compared to the original story) but the idea of some idiot trying to get Taylor to sit in on a school bullying seminar has dug into my brain.

Anybody remember Taylor's 'Drugs are great' speech from the wards days?

"Don't bother telling the teachers, or your parents, or the police. Nobody gives enough of a shit to stop it unless you trigger, in which case people will be tripping over themselves to pretend that they cared all along, because now that you have superhuman powers, you're useful, and they can try to turn you into a child-soldier."

"Uh, Phase, is there something you want to tell us?"

"No comment."

Although Skitter's take might well be "Not everybody gets parahuman powers from a traumatic event, so you might need to bring a gun to school. Sure, you'll get arrested but you're all minors so as long as you don't kill indiscriminately, probably just get juvie. Juvie probably won't be so bad. Especially if everybody knows what happened to the last person who fucked with you."

a bit more 'rule through intimidation and violence' than Phase would probably be comfortable with. Unlike her canon incarnation, she was never that person.

 

[libertinlary]

If this were a darker story, I'd be curious just how grim shit gets, given there is definitely a possibility there for if someone wanted to write an Omake using that idea.

Click to shrink...

I'll try my hand

PRT psych department special case 3191 records
date (redacted)
Time 2 pm
Subject: Taylor, Hubert being informed about the passing of her father

taylor was brought into a meeting with director Armstrong
Armstrong : have a seat Ph.. taylor
Taylor Sits down at a side table Armstrong proceeds to walk away from a small cabinet located in the corner of the room after closing the door ( records show this was a cabinet containing numerous alcoholic beverages in the trashcan under the desk, set an empty bottle of Tennessee whiskey)
Armstrong seems to struggle to speak for a while ( not due to intoxication but trying to find the correct word to say) " Taylor I'm so sorry, however, is my duty to inform you that your father has passed we shall with your help begin planning a funeral and arraignments for travel "
Taylor proceeds to sit there for several seconds "is that it?"
Armstrong seems slightly confused for a few moments
Taylor proceeds to say the following " I do not see how this has anything to do with me"
Armstrong seems to be slightly struck, and says " Taylor…"
He's got interrupted by Taylor " can you stop being my father when he sold me off to you unless you plan to drag me down there I am not going"
Armstrong looks stunned and simply stares at Taylor who walked out of the room"

Several attempts were made by numerous members of protectorate staff, the wards, and even Jim to convince Taylor to go to the funeral eventually the funeral occurred without Taylor.

Psychological Analysis
Taylor seems to have completely dissociated from human contact entirely the amount of trauma that this represents has only been seen in the most severe cases of abuse however, since we do not have any records of Taylor, being abused by Danny Hubert we believe that Taylor has internalize deep-seated distrust of humanity itself, it is unknown if there's any possible way to restore any semblance of trust in someone who has been so utterly betrayed by the world.
Final note
is my personal opinion as head of the psychological department the damage done to phase is likely irreversible. It should be noted that previous cases like this usually end in mass slaughter of those who have caused damage up to and including the creation of ash beast - dr bright

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Omake: Please Explain 2 Electric Boogaloo


Emma felt like vomiting as she listened to Armsmaster's report her breathing slowly becoming ragged as she processed what he said. It had come in yesterday from Boston, a false Master/Stranger warning had been called on Taylor and one of the Protectorate members attacked her causing her to flee and no one has seen her since. Boston sent out an alert to nearby departments after they couldn't find her after a few days of searching the city.

'It's all my fault, I did this, I ruined everything,' Emma thought to herself on repeat as Armsmaster continued to talk treating Taylor like she was some criminal to be caught.

"While not confirmed it is assumed Phase would return to Brockton if she isn't still hiding in Boston. Phase is to be considered potentially hostile to members of the Wards and Protectorate, if you do spot her call it in and wait for back up to arrive so she can be subdued," Armsmaster stated like he was going over what to do if they spotted Hookwolf on patrol.

It made her sick how Piggot and Armsmaster used the emergency to put the Wards back on patrol, calling all hands on deck as if they actually cared about what happens to Taylor. No it was just an excuse to get more boots on the ground, and the Youth Guard investigation put on hold. Apparently there was a clause that allowed Wards to be returned to duty in the case of an emergency and a runaway Ward certainly counted as one.

'If you hadn't pushed her down so much this wouldn't have happened you worthless monster. You hurt her so much that they thought her smiling was because of a Master, truly one for the record books you must be so proud just imagine what Auntie Annette would think,' Emma's thoughts relentlessly taunted her.

"... The exact nature of Phase's powers are unknown as are their limitations. Currently their is no known limit to her phasing, and it is assumed she possess an extra sensory element to her powers but no further reports have been made as well as a total lack of testing. But due to their potentially lethal applications it is advised that confrontation be avoided by any member of the Wards at all costs, if confrontation is inevitable maintain your distance and only engage at range. At this time no guaranteed counter measures exist so be advised," Armsmaster said like he already assumed things would turn violent if Taylor was ever found.

He was probably still sore about the sensitivity training and wanted to get back at Taylor for it. A feeling that was apparently shared by the rest of the Wards team by the way she saw them twitching with barely concealed excitement. They had been benched for a month now and finally they were gonna be let out again, and against the one who got them benched in the first place undoubtedly they wanted some payback as well.

It was Aegis who interrupted Armsmaster from continuing his slander against Taylor.

"Do we know if she has any goals in mind, or anywhere she will go in particular?"

"At the moment no, but she is on record for numerous complaints about certain members of this department," He looked directly at Emma as he said this he would have looked at Sophia too if she was here, but apparently an emrgency wasn't enough to end the investigation into her. "Other than that her father's house is under surveillance so we will know if she shows up there."

'They are wasting their time spying on Danny,' Emma thought but didn't voice. 'Taylor is certainly smart enough to know going there would be a bad idea, and isn't dumb enough to believe her worthless sack of shit father would help her. He never noticed what she and Sophia did to his own daughter for nearly two years, and his first action upon finding out was to get rid of Taylor.' It just made her blood boil thinking of that man to the point that the only person she hated more than Daniel Hebert was herself.

She was so lost in her thoughts of hatred and self-loathing she almost missed Armsmaster's next announcement.

"Additionally we are going to receive support from the Boston Department in tracking Phase. While their local search is still on going hey managed to spare two of their own Wards to aid in the search. The Wards who volunteered for the search are Flechette and Valve, they are on record as having the most positive relation with Phase and are here to aid us in potentially convincing her to come without issue. Their ETA is approximately twelve hours to finalize the temporary transfer. If there are any further questions speak now," Armsmaster finished flatly.

Now this caught Emma's attention, 'Best relationship with Taylor? Did this mean they were her friendship in Boston?'

A brief spark of happiness lit in Emma as she thought of what to ask them talk to them about Taylor, 'And ruin her friendship with them like you did before to keep her alone forever because you are too weak to stand seeing her happy?' The taunting voice in her mind returned reminding her of what she did.

'Shut up!' She thought back in anger, 'I am not like that anymore I won't hurt Taylor again.'

'Oh yes just like how letting Sophia have her fun was just toughening Taylor up so she can be your friend, and the locker was just a fun prank no harm done. You didn't realize you were hurting her then so how will you realize it now.'

Deciding not to have an argument with herself Emma did the only thing she could and went up to Armsmaster.

Armsmaster looked up from his tablet at her and asked in annoyance, "Ampere do you have any questions about the announcement?"

Emma steeled herself for what she was about to ask, "Yes, I would like to volunteer the search. I want to make things right with Phase so please just let me help."

Armsmaster looked back down towards his tablet before answering, "Your determination is admirable but unfortunately due to your past history with Phase it is believed that your presence during the search will only increase the risk of a violent altercation so it is best that you sit this out until the matter is resolved. If that is all I need to be going have a nice day."

And with that he left leaving Emma alone with her thoughts as her last hope of making this right slipped through her grasp and the voice in her mind laughed at her failure.

---

A.N: Well I finally got the inspiration to write a sequel to one of my older omakes. Not sure if I will follow it up again but if I do it will probably be a Danny or Flechette PoV omake cus I don't think it really works if I write it from Taylor's PoV but who knows I might. Anyways let me know what you think, and FirstSelector here is a new one for you.

 

[apeljohn]

Real Steel

"You know, Director, when Phase first showed up, I was worried she'd be a bad influence. She'd make the environment toxic, sow discord and doubt, turn our young heroes away from heroism...

"You'll be pleased to know I don't worry about that any more."

"That's good to hear, Weld. Does that mean that -"

"It means that I now think she's right, sir. Every ridiculous accusation that she spouted to justify her bad attitude? As far as I can tell, they were all true! Her loathing of the PRT and Protectorate? Justified. Her refusal to risk her life improving our image, when some of us used that image to get away with trying to murder her? Principled. More principled than either of us, when we were 'just obeying orders' to pressure her into shutting up and playing along."

"What are you saying, Weld?"

"I'm saying that either the Wards is a hero training programme or it's a weapons development programme with aggressive PR. It can't be both, because no true hero-in-training would stand for seeing their peers treated like things. I won't stand for it.

"By next Friday I want to see a written agreement that you'll leave Phase in peace and stop trying to shove her into costume. And I want to see measurable progress made in prosecuting Shadow Stalker and Ampere for their actions. Or I'll be resigning from the Wards programme as loudly as I can manage."

"What?! Weld, I can't promise those things! Even if I want to let Phase slope shoulders for the rest of her tenure, there's nothing to stop the Chief Director overruling me."

"You certainly can promise that you'll lay off Phase. You just have to be willing to resign in protest too. I respect you a lot, sir, but it's time to decide: are you a leader of heroes or a servant of bureaucrats?"

"...Anyway, crimes in Brockton Bay are well out of my jurisdiction. I don't have the leverage to interfere in Emily's investigation."

"Even though that investigation has a massive conflict of interest at the heart of it? Seems like the kind of thing Internal Affairs would be interested in. Or the District Attorney. Or, hell, even Congress. Have you actually tried to kick up a fuss? Taken any steps to stop the inevitable slow-walking? Or weren't you willing to burn that much political capital on one ornery Ward?"

"Weld!"

"You may be willing to wash your hands of what goes on in other branches, sir. I'm not. But maybe my resignation will give you a bit more of that leverage you needed?"

"Ah... I'm afraid you actually can't resign, Weld."

"...I beg your pardon, sir?"

"As a Case 53 deemed under-age, you're under PRT guardianship until you reach your majority. Just like... like..."

"Just like Phase. I see. Well, I guess she'll have some company the next time she refuses to participate. And I'm sure our other Case 53s will be fascinated to learn that they're viewed as conscript labour."

"Weld..."

"Although I've got to warn you, sir: if you think Phase has hard skin? She's got nothing on me."

---

Director Armstrong in this fic reminds me unfavourably of what Gilbert & Sullivan memorably called "apologetic statesman of a compromising kind". I've seen the archetype enough times in real-life management: they're your best friend until it would actually cost them income or influence, at which point they go selectively spineless.

He's very happy to tell Phase how he's absolutely on her side, and talks a good fight about all the pressure he's dealing with. But given that he's already passed on several very badly-thought-out orders - because heaven forfend he have to justify his lack of action to others! - it's kinda hard to see this as anything but window-dressing.

 

[FirstSelector]

(Wednesday, February 9 2011)

Had one of her clients found their way into Verthandi's self-styled 'Thinker workshop,' they would probably stop and gape long enough for Lisa herself to taser them. Or maybe she could deploy some of her shiny new containment foam grenades that a shipping company had inexplicably misplaced.

Lack of expertise would likely result in you being trapped as well.

Lisa shook her head, forcing the useless thought out of her brain. Her glorified office-slash-library took up what would have been the master bedroom in her relatively nice downtown Boston apartment, occupying the largest contiguous space that she could separate via a closed door.

The most noticeable attraction was the wall-to-wall corkboard covering the outside windows, holding up numerous photos, newspaper clippings, and printouts all connected by various colored strings. Cliché, perhaps, but in Lisa's experience there were often connections between her investigations and knowing those connections had kept her ahead of the game in Boston for the better part of two years.

A two-by-four bank of monitors perched like some eldritch monster on her expansive desk, as though it was ready to devour Lisa if she leaned forwards too far from her ergonomic chair. Her flailing in such a situation would disturb the several piles of books, newspapers, photos, and other miscellany that covered the desk unclaimed by the computer. Much of that could be returned to its proper places on the bookshelves standing along the remaining free wall space, but not today.

In fact, Lisa was avoiding her office in its entirety today, choosing to relax by eating ice cream and half-watching some Aleph import romcom while lounging on her couch. She had a moderate headache, which was not unusual except that she had gotten very little of her contracted work done last night. Instead, she had been completely focused on her new personal pet project, and boy was it a doozy.

Attempted murder, negligent school officials, failures of parenting… and an extremely dangerous Trump.

Oh, it was certainly true that Phase's power was worrisome, and Lisa was quite sure that WEDGDG and the other Protectorate Thinkers had lost their minds when their power didn't work on their Ward-in-name-only. Lisa had even half-expected them to hire her to surreptitiously observe Phase to see if her own power worked, but they hadn't and that was their loss.

Lisa had still become involved, of course. She was not one to leave a mystery unresolved, and seeing a girl out clothes shopping who provoked only blanks from Lisa's power was far too curious to pass up. Obviously the girl had been a parahuman; with her age and general location, the best bet had been an unannounced Ward.

When said Ward remained unannounced, Lisa had started digging. Phase's power was actually quite limited in its scope, as Lisa was perfectly able to search through the girl's past via mundane means and put together a reasonably complete picture about the situation. Taylor Hebert had been dealt a pretty terrible hand, and now she was refusing to play at all.

Going on a tour of the Wards area had been rather illuminating. While Lisa's power just drew a blank when she used it directly on Phase, it had been more than happy to reveal all sorts of details based on the way her nominal teammates interacted with her. They were not pleased with her refusal to play the game, generally, but they were not really angry at Phase personally. They knew something was up, but few details; it was immediately clear that Phase had told the other Wards practically nothing, and that she was distancing herself as much as possible from the program.

All of this was music to Lisa's ears, because the girl sure as hell wasn't fooling anyone with her little 'Ghost' routine. And Lisa hardly needed her power to notice that Phase had been lonely and depressed, nevermind her best attempts to fade into the couch she had been sitting on.

Model of Phase suggests that —

Lisa clamped back down on her power and stuck a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. Phase, in true independent fashion, was bumbling around with no real plan or scheme. Ordinarily Lisa would just wait for such a cape to either get recruited or dealt with, but even had she wanted to get rid of Phase, the girl's power would make it difficult. Even Accord might struggle to concoct such a plan, which made Lisa feel all tingly inside.

Instead, Lisa was going to do what evidence suggested relatively few people did for Phase — ask the girl what she wanted. Since the answer was, apparently, 'be a hero,' Lisa was more than capable of making the girl's dreams come true. Phase had power in spades but had no backup; Lisa knew everything but often found herself limited in action. Together they could actually make substantial changes in Boston, and enough of those were 'heroic' enough that Phase wouldn't complain.

There were undoubtedly plenty of changes that needed to be made.

First and foremost was the mess of the Teeth's relatively recent return to South Boston. People often fixated on the Butcher as the primary threat, but the other capes and unpowered members created enough problems without their insane leader's help. Prior to the return of the Teeth, that area had been a patchwork of small-time villain teams, none of which had warranted the effort by the PRT to remove them. The Teeth, on the other hand, regularly raided, pillaged, and burned the neighborhood, and Lisa was not alone in searching for ways to curtail their violence.

On the other side of the river, Cambridge had recently gone from being the Travelers' stomping ground to otherwise neutral. In reality, the mercenary team had been dancing to Accord's tune, giving the OCD maniac a buffer between himself and Blasto (a discovery that Lisa credited to her conspiracy corkboard). The nomadic group had recently moved north to Brockton Bay, possibly hired by that friend of Accord's, and the power vacuum was a prime opportunity for the villains displaced by the Teeth — those that had survived, that is.

Lisa was sure that she would get a strongly worded letter from Accord about his plans soon enough, but even the small-time independents were already getting involved in the power grab. Case in point, Phase herself seemed to at least be doing her research, given her involvement several nights ago. The 'Ward' would almost certainly not object to being fed information about locations and habits of the local villains.

And if it meant that Accord's plans encountered some difficulties, then all the better.

Lisa's mind flicked back to the Escher-like mess Phase had made of the Wards regulation and she couldn't help but smile. She had high hopes for this partnership.

---

"This is so fucking stupid," Missy swore as the Wards filed out of the conference room.

It was a sign of the increasingly tense times that Dean wasn't flexing his newly minted leadership role and chastising Missy for her language. The Youth Guard had gone completely off the deep end, sticking their annoying soccer mom faces into every corner and crevice of the Brockton Bay Protectorate looking for 'concerns,' and being benched was starting to drive the Wards a little bit insane.

Or, as Missy considered the other two girls on the team, more insane.

"We wouldn't be out there fighting, anyways," Carlos said, as though by rote, and Sophia snorted in derision.

"Right, because we need the professionals to go after the fucking Undersiders," she spat.

"And you're going to stop them from teleporting away… how?" Emma retorted.

"I have an idea for an EMP gun," Chris said. "Could try to knock out their Tinkertech."

"If you can finish building it," Sophia said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Besides, Emma can just zap Chariot's shit."

Emma shook her head. "Not through Grue's darkness." The reminder of the power interaction made Sophia practically snarl, to which Emma responded with an exaggerated roll of her eyes.

Missy cut off the brewing argument. "It's not like it matters. They're not worth the trouble of tracking them down before they vanish back into thin air. And they've mostly been hitting the Empire, anyway."

"That's precisely the problem," Emma pointed out. And it was — the Undersiders were a case study in how a Tinker could be a force multiplier, making them the most effective hit-and-run group in the city. Their precision strikes in Empire and ABB territory were sometimes not discovered until far later, and usually not by the PRT. And now, emboldened by their successes, they were turning into a real problem for the Empire.

Kaiser couldn't let that stand, of course, but sending his capes to chase ghosts left his borders relatively unprotected. And Lung was never one to let opportunity escape his grasp, meaning that the places where Empire and ABB territory abutted had become just short of war zones.

"Well, Piggot and Miss Militia aren't any happier with our situation than us, but they think that we might be allowed back on patrol soon," Dean said diplomatically. It amused Missy that Dean tried so hard to maintain his 'leader' image even when talking about the rules preventing him from being a leader in the first place.

Missy tuned out the other Wards' annoyed grousing (or in Sophia's case, bitchy sniping) while they took the elevator back towards the common room. The Youth Guard was here, they were sticking their noses into everything, and as far as Missy could see, the only way out was to simply give them what they wanted and wait.

Well, mostly. There was no way in hell she was telling them about her scars.

The only one who shared in Missy's silence, of course, was Emma. Missy had never been truly friendly with the redhead — she saw how Dean's eyes followed the older Ward — but it was hard to imagine her doing all of the things she had admitted to doing while tormenting Phase. Sophia doing those things was more believable, given her violent history as a vigilante and general attitude, but even there Missy couldn't really understand.

Admittedly, she hadn't tried very hard. No sooner had the truth come out about Phase than the Youth Guard kicked down the doors and demanded answers, so it wasn't difficult to connect the Wards' sudden bureaucratic shitstorm with the girl who had run away when she recognized Emma. Their list of complaints was too perfect, their questions too by-the-book to be anything other than the retribution of someone with an axe to grind.

Missy thought Phase's overreaction was a load of shit, and as much as the others tried to hide it behind sympathetic words, they agreed. With the Undersiders stepping up their game and the deteriorating situation in the city, it burned to be stuck on base and telling some stupid glorified babysitter about 'scheduling irregularities' or 'lack of positive role models.' Brockton Bay simply didn't have time for Assault and Battery to be doing PR patrols or for Armsmaster to ride his bike slowly through mostly safe areas.

Sophia started swearing loudly when they got back to the common room, cutting off whatever Chris was complaining about and making Emma fidget. The investigation into their harrasment campaign had wrapped up, and to nobody's surprise, not all that much had happened. Piggot had, apparently, done some creative reading of the rules and assigned both troublemakers to a long list of so-called 'kitchen patrols,' which didn't violate the temporary Youth Guard restrictions.

It amused Missy to no end to watch Sophia and Emma cleaning kitchens and bathrooms, guarding supply closets, gophering for PRT staff, or doing other pointless activities that Piggot could technically assign, but had never used up until this point. Sophia hated those activities with the force of a thousand suns, while Emma just accepted the punishment with a far away look on her face.

'Kitchen patrol' had also started giving Missy other ideas. She had shared some of them with Dean, and he agreed that the Wards could not, in good conscience, sit around while the Bay went to hell outside headquarters.

As usual, the first thing Chris and Dennis did upon returning was fire up the game consoles while Emma flopped down onto the couch and brooded on her smartphone. Missy was about to head into her own room when Emma let out a surprised squawk. "Hey, um, guys," she said, waving her phone in the air.

It was… a PHO thread? And a video (magnified by Missy's power) of an obviously newbie hero duking it out with two villains. The video ended with a sizable explosion and the arrival of the PRT, prompting some confusion from the assembled teenagers.

"I don't get it," Dennis said. "So there's a new independent hero in Boston?"

A worrying smile rolled onto Emma's face. "That's Phase."

Dennis gave her a flat look. "I still don't get it."

Missy, however, had fewer cobwebs in her brain. "Wait, she's technically a Ward, right?" Emma nodded vigorously. "I'm pretty sure we're not allowed to do solo stuff like that. In fact, I'm completely sure. She's going to get in so much trouble."

"I don't think so," Emma said, oddly confident. "Her dad came over to talk to my parents last week, and I heard him discussing how Phase won't go in for power testing. Well, after they were done shouting at each other, that is. The Boston director asked her dad to go down to help, only for Phase to call the guards on him."

Missy was equal parts horrified and interested, because while she couldn't imagine why Phase's dad would do such a thing, she was also very curious about whatever Phase had done to scare away her parents.

"Anywho, I did some digging and found out, yeah, unless you go in for power testing, you're basically useless as a Ward," Emma continued. "But look here." Emma took the phone back and flicked through a few threads, eventually settling on one for the Boston Wards. Missy barely had time to read 'New Unannounced Ward?' before Emma pulled up a wall of text. "According to this post, tour groups met the newest Boston Ward, Phase, as recently as yesterday."

"This is very, ah, enlightening," Dean said diplomatically. "But why do we care?"

"Because, if Phase found a loophole that lets her get out from under the Youth Guard's thumb, we can too!"

Emma suddenly had the other Wards' complete attention. Even the sounds of scrubbing from the kitchen stopped, which served as a reminder that even Piggot was looking for ways around the Youth Guard. The Wards traded disbelieving glances before Dennis leaned in and said, "Go on."

---

Derek Atkinson, better known to the world as Nebula, was not a man who cursed in costume. It had been a habit he formed during his two years as a Ward, and he certainly wasn't going to change now that he was a full member of the Protectorate. That way lay sloppy mistakes and bad PR, two things Department 24 could ill-afford right now.

Thus, he pulled off his domino mask and dropped it on the desk in front of him before hissing, "Fuck."

Across the desk sat the office's owner in her bizarre ergonomic chair. Laura Smith — Gauss — was tall enough that she had needed to special order the thing to avoid back trouble. Her own visor sat on the far end of the table, and she rubbed her face in response. "Look, Derek, I know it seems strange, but Kamil is right. The hobby time rules were never meant to be used like this, but between that, the fact that the 'no unauthorized patrols' is apparently enforced through Image rules, and Massachusetts' own lax vigilante laws, Phase is in the clear."

"We have a Ward going out at night and getting electronic stores blown up!" Derek curled a hand into a fist but resisted the urge to pound on Laura's desk. "It's our job to help her grow into a proud heroine that people can look up to, and I don't see how we're doing that by letting her run around with no supervision! Can't we do something to convince her?"

Derek didn't even want to mention the absolute mockery of the Wards tour that Phase had ruined yesterday. The PR department had been scrambling like a kicked anthill to clean up that mess, and Derek found it ridiculous that neither Laura nor Kamil felt punishment was 'necessary yet.' Just because the girl had stuck to factual statements should not mean that it was acceptable for her to reveal them to the public!

Laura leaned forwards, resting her elbows on the desk, and to Derek she suddenly seemed to age a decade. All of the enthusiasm, drive, and infectious cheer drained out of her face, leaving behind a bone-deep weary exhaustion. "Kamil and I see two options. In the first, we find some way to twist her arm — arrest her on a technicality, threaten to transfer her, whatever. She runs away and becomes a villain."

"Fine, then we can get her back under a probationary membership and —"

"Don't be ridiculous," Laura snapped, the uncharacteristic vitriol shutting Derek up immediately. "At that point she loses nothing by going to juvie and then just escaping with her power. And I will raze this city to the ground before I let someone send an innocent fifteen year old girl to High Sec or worse over something as inconsequential as insubordination."

Derek sat back and crossed his arms. "What's your second option, then?"

"We do nothing. If she's going to be a vigilante, then it's better to have her living here where we can keep our eyes on her instead of consigning her to a life of crime. Phase is, by necessity, playing by the vigilante rules. Boston isn't particularly dangerous to small-timers and Accord isn't stupid enough to kill someone who is obviously a Ward." Laura sighed, reclining in her chair while it twisted 'comfortably' beneath her. "I believe that asking for tips from the other Wards will bring her closer to actually joining up. Who else is she going to talk to about cape business?"

"This makes us look like idiots," he hissed, ignoring that she made a good point.

"No shit," Laura said darkly. "And after doing a bit of digging on Phase's history, I'm not inclined to disagree with the label."

"That's Brockton, not us," Derek tried.

"Irrelevant, at least to Phase."

A fist slammed onto Laura's desk, and Derek was surprised to see that it was his. "This is insane! The Protectorate should not bend over backwards for a disrespectful, insubordinate teenager! We —"

Laura fixed him with a glare that cut off his tirade instantly. "We caused her trigger event, Derek! It's a miracle that she still wants to be a hero! Kamil and I are doing our best to find ways to ensure that Phase eventually joins the Wards properly, and we're under enough pressure from the PRT and New York that I don't need your complaints, too!"

The two heroes stared at each other for a long moment after Laura's forceful rebuke, only for Derek to break his gaze away and focus his attention back onto his hands. The silence persisted for another minute before Laura spoke. "Look, we're going to let Phase have her fun. She can only cause so much damage as an independent vigilante while following the laws, and Kamil believes that Phase will eventually want a team of her own. When she does, we'll be waiting."

Derek scowled, forcing himself to unclench his hands. "And we can arrest her if she does something actually illegal. It's not like Phase can claim not to have known the rules ahead of time. Then we can force her onto the correct path with a plea deal and put this whole mess behind us."

Laura scowled right back at him, but didn't contradict his statement.

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

From Lisa's internal monologue it sounded like she intends for a more under the table kind of deal where they don't officially work together but Lisa still feeds Taylor information in exchange for Taylor going after some of her villainous enemies, that way Taylor can still be a hero while Lisa also benefits.

Click to shrink...

The thing is? I can see Lisa taking the Protectorate wanting to exploit Taylor's powers for their benefit, personally. Since that is what her parents did after her own trigger. Enough that if Taylor pulled a runner, Lisa would offer her a place to crash.



Another Boston Tea Party

Taylor was actually on a run, having left her Ghost costume stashed. Not just for cover, but she'd read the PHO boards for Brockton. The damn Wards were sneaking out of lockdown! Just like before the adults allegedly "were doing all they could" and denying their Wards were actually doing it. And they had to be helping them or at least turning a blind eye, again.

So Taylor grabbed her running sweats and pounded pavement to burn out the rage and resentment in the ache of muscles. Hell it was good prep for her hobby. Like the PHO post parodying an Aleph Zombie movie said, "Vigilanteland Rule #1: Cardio".

The familiar girl waiting on the bench pulled Taylor up short however. She tried to remember strange capes that used Thinker powers on her.

The girl on the bench put away her phone. "Right, I'm guessing two things. One, you want things straight up. And two, based on how you came up the hill you figured out the shit happening in Brockton."

Taylor folded her arms, "Verthdani."

Verthdani leaned back, "Guess that answers if you notice when someone Thinks to hard in your direction. So do you prefer Ghost or Phase?"

The taller girl flopped onto the bench, "Taylor will do."

Lisa raised an eyebrow, "really?"

Talyor waved to the slush filled parking lot across from them. "Behold the field upon which I grow my fucks." Taylor took a swing from her water bottle, "Don't really have anyone in my life to protect with a stage name."

Verthdani held out her hand, "I used to be Sarah, but go by Lisa these days. And likewise."

Taylor shook it, "So, what brings you out here?"

Lisa sighed, "Can we move this indoors? There are a few coffee and tea shops nearby. You pick. I'd have been waiting with something warm, but trust only goes so far."

Taylor considered how much this conversation would upset Armstrong, Gauss, and Weld. And decided that it was worth it. She picked a spot at random and collected their drinks that Lisa paid for. "So to repeat, what brings you out here?"

Lisa looked over her shoulder. "The way your 'host family' fucked things up probably caused you to miss some things. Like how we get powers is not something to pry into." Lisa took a sip, "There was once a family, mother, father, older son, younger daughter. Picture perfect, the talk and envy of the neighborhood. Of course it was a fucking lie. The parents were sperm and egg donors more than anything. Their offspring more props for an image than children to be loved. But you don't realize it if you grow up like that, becoming selfish and shallow like your progenitors. Then one day the girl came home, and found her brother hung himself. And she couldn't figure out why. It ate at her until one day it became too much, and she became the girl who could figure out anything. But since she wasn't lucky like Alexandria and got a flying brick's powers to go with her Thinker power, her parents decided to strong arm their surviving offspring into exploiting the stock market with said power."

Lisa sipped her coffee, "That lasted till I said fuck it, siphoned most of their accounts and left them set up to take the fall with the SEC. Drifted a while till I reached Boston and set up shop to use my powers for my own benefit. So I get adults demanding loyalty after treating you like shit."

Taylor eyed her, "And you want to offer me information to go after villains, and remove rivals for you?"

Lisa waggled a hand, "Plenty of people worse than me in this town. And the Protectorate figures you might use enough info you can only get from them to strong arm you into a plea deal. I figure you'll do more good with the info than them, and feel free to hit anything else you notice. Just... I wish I had someone give me a hand when I first started out, and figured you could too."

Taylor sipped her tea carefully, "If I let you hand me info, it will help you. I want some favors in return."

Lisa nodded, not the best result , but not too bad so far. "What do you have in mind?"

Taylor ran a hand through her hair, "The PRT is better at covering shit up than I am at telling it. I want your help to get some big dirt on them, stuff that can be released and not covered up or slander me as 'hysterical' and 'in need of guidance'."

Lisa held out a hand, "Screwing over the PRT? I can get behind that enough to offer a highly discounted rate."

Taylor took the hand to shake, then held up her cup in a toast, "Confusion to our enemies."

Lisa seconded the toast, pretty sure even without her powers that it wasn't just the local villains Taylor was including in that.

Taylor smiled, "About how you are going to pass me info..."

The smile slid off Lisa's face, "Shit, you are going to make me go running with you."

Taylor shrugged, "It's good exercise, and even my Youth Guard rep is worried about my lack of friends. So now I have my new running buddy, Lisa."

Lisa sighed, "And when they ask my last name for a background check?"

Taylor shrugged, her voice going as dry as the Sahara. "Given my last friend had a PRT background check and the shit she pulled that they missed? I don't really trust them to find threats to my person."


Edit: To avoid double posting:

There is nothing in canon to support this one way or another, but logically...
I can easily imagine that the PRT can persuade a judge to order her to submit to power testing under the grounds of needing the information in order to properly contain her should she choose jail.
This would be a proper court order, which if disobeyed carries a contempt of court charge and can let the judge throw her in jail for up to 5 years or until she complies.

Click to shrink...

Can a Juvie contempt charge keep her in jail past 18?

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Taylor shrugged, "It's good exercise, and even my Youth Guard rep is worried about my lack of friends. So now I have my new running buddy, Lisa."

Lisa sighed, "And when they ask my last name for a background check?"

Taylor shrugged, her voice going as dry as the Sahara. "Given my last friend had a PRT background check and the shit she pulled that they missed? I don't really trust them to find threats to my person."

Click to shrink...

PRT Background Check:

Lily: "Guys we have a big problem with Phase."

Weld: "What did she do this time?"

Lily: "Well I was concerned about all her 'late night runs' so I followed her out yesterday, and what I saw might disturb you."

Weld: "Saw what is she in danger? Is she doing something illegal?"

Lily: "Worse, I saw her with a friend that isn't one of the Wards."

Weld: "What?"

Lily: "I know I was just as confused as you are they had a whole meet cute and everything!"

Weld: "Lily I don't think this is as bad as you are making it out to be."

Lily: "Don't you get it Weld! I have been trying to get Taylor to open up to me for over a month with no success then some blond bimbo comes along and steals her from me in less than a day, unacceptable!"

Weld: "I feel like there is more to this than Taylor just having a friend, but against my better judgement I am going to stay."

Lily: "It was supposed to be sweet you know first I would start as her only friend in the Wards slowly cracking the baby lesbian out of her shell, and then we would become more than that once she realized her feelings. I had a flow chart and everything!"

Lily pulls out an exceedingly long and detailed flow chart titled 'Seducing Befriending Phase.'

Weld: "My instincts were right this was a mistake and I am leaving now."

Lily: "Weld! Weld! Come back here this is serious!"

 

[FirstSelector]

Omake: A Fate Unlearned

In retrospect, I should have known it was a trap.

I had to give some credit to the PRT — I did actually have a second cousin named Katharine who lived in the area, and I had considered going to see her and her family more than once in my loneliness. However, I had not wanted to try to describe the sequence of events that had landed me in Boston (or why we hadn't called in so long) for fear of making even more problems for myself.

The last time I had seen Katharine had been Mom's funeral, of course, but she was only a year older than me and it had been nice to have another shoulder to cry on. There hadn't been much time to bond further than that, though she had stuck with me during the whirlwind of other family members coming to give their condolences.

I heaved a breath — now was really not the time to be worrying about Katharine. I sincerely doubted she had anything to do with my current predicament.

At the front of the streetcar-subway-thing, the obvious PRT plant glanced back at the sound. He had seemed apologetic, for what little that was worth, but I was still stuck here on the MTA until I could suddenly magic a nickel out of thin air.

A nickel. That was all that stood between me and freedom.

If I was being honest with myself, I had let my guard down. Discovering that my cousin lived in Roxbury — just a short ride away — had seemed innocent enough, especially how much I used the public in Boston transportation to escape the PRT's clutches during the weekends. Hop on the Green Line, hop off a few stops later… it had seemed simple at the time.

I still might have avoided the trap if I had realized that the driver of this particular train was much bigger than the typical MTA operators. Even sitting down, PRT troopers had an air of alertness that was probably necessary to survive in their jobs. I remember thinking that the driver seemed strange, but I had put it out of my mind in lieu of thinking about what I would say to Katharine.

What had really given it away was his voice. When I had gone to leave, he had informed me in no uncertain terms that due to unusually large passenger traffic, the MTA was instituting an exit fee of a nickel. It had not been the 'follow this rule but I won't stop you if you are threatening me' that was necessary to not get shanked for normal drivers, but the cold, clipped tones of someone who expected their order to be obeyed.

As it turned out, that was actually a rule on the books. The price obviously hadn't been updated from the seventies when the law was initially implemented (it had been unpopular at the time, too), but nonetheless I was barred from exiting the subway for lack of a nickel.

The most galling part was that I was sure I could leave whenever I wanted. The PRT was obviously hoping I would crack under the pressure and the absurdity of five measly cents, after which I was sure they could cook up some even more absurd reason why they should take what few rights I had left. Becoming a probationary Ward over something so stupid would be just my luck, and I refused to give them the satisfaction.

So here I was, riding the MTA around in circles instead of seeing my family.

My phone buzzing was actually a welcome distraction from watching the same buildings and stations come and go again. Lily had been uncharacteristically angry when I had texted her about my predicament, specifically the fact that I hadn't eaten since breakfast due to being stuck on this damn train. She promised to handle everything for me, and while I was usually loathe to trust the PRT or its minions, the hunger really was starting to get to me.

Thus, as we pulled into the Government Center station, I followed her instructions and discreetly rolled down the window. Escaping myself was out of the question, but Lily was going to bring me something and this was the easiest way for her to help without getting involved.

"Taylor!" she called from the edge of the station as we rolled in. "Here, take this!" She brandished a bag at me, and I was barely able to hook it out of her hand as we rumbled through.

Inside the bag was a sandwich.

The PRT agent driving the train didn't offer any complaint as I unpacked the food and ate it with as much grace as I could manage. It was a good sandwich, and while part of me wanted to find Lily and ask her for the recipe for the sauce, the rest of my mind was consumed by a different question:

Why hadn't she brought me a nickel?

 

[Mr.unlucky]

(this was rush feel free to used it for a one-shot)

Omake: Sacrifice

'why did it come to this' Lily thought looking through a one-way window. Taylor sitting in the interrogation room across the table she is sitting in Armstrong pleading with her to cooperate.


about two months ago Rebecca Costa-Brown herself send an agent of hers to force Taylor to get with the ward program it started with a disciplined exercise, then she was forced to see some videos of victims of Slaughterhouse 9. they hope it would promote empathy but it seems to do the opposite.

Armstrong was against all this saying this will push Taylor to be a villain but had no choice but to let the agent do what he want's. the Youth Gard was blackmailed and bribe to not get involved with Taylor. after a month of this, seeing no sign of changing her mind the agent decides the best way to force cooperation is to put her in isolation.

trap in her room with nothing but a bed and toilet. giving a tray of food three times a day. everyone in the base fully expects her to use her power and leave some wouldn't blame her but the strange thing is she didn't. she was told "When you are ready to be a real hero just knock on the door" Days go by everyone on edge not knowing what when she will run. after a week with no response, the agent opens her door with a smirk believing she would comply after being isolated for so long. he was shocked when Taylor told him to "Fuck off" and went to bed completely ignoring the agent.

every week he would come, and Taylor would say the same thing every time after a month of this the agent decide it would be best to send her to a special camp for troublesome kid cape's Armstrong asks to give him a chance to change Taylor's mind before they send her away. which wasn't working as Taylor is not responding to Armstrong pleading or what will happen to her once she is send to the camp.

"Taylor it's a Bootcamp You won't have any privacy or any sort of freedom. I can't stop them, not unless you at the very least do the Power Testing" Taylor stared at him with a blank face before responding "I want to talk to Lily" Confused by her statement Armstrong agreed hoping Lily will convince her.

entering the room, Lily worried for Taylor and wondered why she was asked to come hare. "tell me Lily do you know how I trigger?" shocked by her question she shake her head no. smiling back Taylor replay " i was shoved in my locker that was full of biowaste from the girl's bathroom. I was stuck there for hours." Lily was horrified by this before she could say anything taylor continue.
"as you can guess i wanted out. i would hit my locker door over and over again begging to be let out. i was getting desperate, i scream 'i'll do anything please let me out'." Taylor's face was full of despair A tear fell from her eye "I never before regret more than uttering those words." both Armstrong and Lily were confused by that statement before she continues.

"my power is not intangible. it's sacrifice. i was unable to control it at the time and my memories of my Mother were gone. I don't remember her face. her name, her personality, her entire exiting was gone. the only thing i remember of her is that ward of yours taught me how she's dead."

shock and horrified by this revolution Lilly didn't know what to do. "with that sacrifice not only i can't be touched, im a blindspot for all thinkers. I wonder what sort of power would i get when i sacrifice everything you hero's done to me for the past two months?"
Taylor's eyes started to glow blue "Let's find out shall we?"

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

Random idea, how to get through the PRT's self image about how much Taylor distrusts and despises them.


Are We the Baddies?

Kamil held out a cup of coffee for Gauss. Endbringer fights were always bad, even if you were lucky and didn't lose people like this time. Still something got the head of his Protectorate team to immediately meet him after getting back, rather than waiting and resting.

Gauss took a long pull from her coffee before launching into the problem. "As we were mustering to leave, I caught Nebula and Roulette trying to talk Phase into joining. Saying independents showed up and they weren't power tested either."

Kamil closed his eyes and cursed, "Right, I'll get Weld in on how to discipline Roulette..."

Gauss kept going, "That is the least of our problems, Kamil." The use of his first name and not Director got Armstrong worried. "It was Hebert's reaction." That worried Armstrong even more. Besides OpSpec, everyone tried to use Phase's cape name, like repeating it would actually make her a willing part of the Boston department.

Gauss closed her eyes, "She laughed at them. And said "so you want an Endbringer to do your dirty work for you?""

Kamil sat up straight in shock, "Phase seriously thinks we'd shove her in front of an Endbringer to get her killed?!" He knew the situation with his reluctant Ward was bad, but not to this extent.

Gauss looked, broken, in a way Kamil had never seen her before. "She described it as a Uriah Gambit. Basically that when she'd need help or support on S&R we'd hang her out to dry and say none was available." Gauss looked at her cup, as if wishing it was something more alcoholic. "In Taylor's words? She thinks we'd find her a more useful and cooperative Ward as a dead martyr than a living conscript. And she isn't ever going to paint that kind of target on her back."

Kamil rubbed his face, "I knew things weren't going well, but I never thought Phase's view of us was this toxic."

Gauss took a sip, "Where did we fail, Kamil? When did we become the bad guys in this?"

Armstrong couldn't give her an answer.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Omake: A Lack of Introductions


For the Protectorate hero Nebula or rather Derek as he is out of costume grumbled to himself as he had to once again jog to catch up with the most difficult Ward in Boston's history.

It seemed like a fine idea in his head, just follow Phase around and catch her in the act of playing vigilante, send those pictures to her Youth Guard friend and Armstrong, and then they can finally do something about her insubordination.

Unfortunately thirty minutes after leaving base Phase had yet to do anything other than jog around Boston. At first Derek thought that she might have noticed him with what the rest of the department assumed was a sensory power so he pulled back out of what the theorized range of that power would be, not that it changed anything.

At this point he was just about to call it quits to try again another time when he turned another corner and spotted Phase hurriedly talking with a police officer. She was macking gestures with her hands when she turned her head and spotted him.

"That's him officer, that's the man who has been following me," she said while pointing directly at Derek.

Derek only had a moment to turn on his heel and start jogging the other way not wanting to deal with this when he felt something strike his back and the tell tale feeling of electricity course through him as he crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

His last thoughts before losing consciousness was wondering how he was going to explain this mess to Armstrong and Gauss.

***

"... And completely unacceptable behavior of a Ward," Nebula finished yelling out in the conference room.

He sat at one end of the table alongside Armstrong while Phase and the local Youth Guard rep sat at the other end.

"Phase why exactly did you think it was appropriate to call the police on Nebula," Armstrong asked while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I didn't know it was Nebula," she said simply. "He was out of costume and I thought someone was chasing me, and not wanting to possibly reveal my abilities to someone with potentially criminal intentions I followed the instructions laid out in the Wards handbook and sought a law enforcement officer for aid."

"But before I did that I attempted to lose him or to see if he was actually following me, however he continued to follow me for over thirty minutes of my pre-scheduled run. At which point I thought it prudent to seek aid from the local police department upon which Nebula attempted to flee and was detained," Phase continued as Nebula felt a cold sweat build.

"I see, Nebula your response," Armstrong asked.

"She is lying sir," was all he could say. "She knew it was me and deliberately acted in such a way as to harm the reputation of the PRT and Protectorate."

"That is a serious accusation Nebula what your justifications for accusing Phase on such a manner," the Youth Guard rep asked from across the table a slight smile forming on his lips.

"I have interacted with Phase before out of costume along with Gauss and Bastion not long after her arrival in Boston," he said while feeling a bit of reassurance settle over him, oh Phase has stepped in it this time no way will Armstrong let this slide.

"I do not recall such an event, and even if I did at no point was I briefed on the identities of the aforementioned Protectorate members. If I had been I would have been required to fill out the necessary NDA forms as stated in both Wards and Protectorate handbooks. Which I have done regarding the identities of the other Wards after having such files reviewed by the local Youth Guard as such records of which identities I know and don't know within the organization should be within my file, but don't worry I can wait while you retrieve it."

And with that said Derek felt what hope had returned to him shrivel up and die once more.

"While you do that I find that it would be prudent to ask Nebula as to why he had been following an underage girl through Boston at night," Jim said with a look in his eye like he was a hungry wolf who had just spotted a wounded deer.

Derek gulped as he once more broke into a cold sweat, "Well, you see, ummm..."

---

A.N: Just a short little omake about the Protectorate once again fucking up.

Also FirstSelector so it gets thread marked.

 

[Ashley9469]

Looking out over the Boston Harbor as the black sky gave way to the pinks and reds of morning, Taylor Hebert cradled her cup of hot tea in hand as she watched the great mass of metal serenely float on the water as if it didn't have a care in the world.

Taking a slow sip to distract herself from the emptiness in her heart as memories of the bay made their unwelcome presence known, Taylor focused on the gritty bland taste of cheap peppermint tea instead of old feelings as she tried to figure out where to go from here.

Having walked away from the Boston PRT, and with it her last home, Taylor had walked for hours after she had gotten up around 4 in the morning from her nightmare about the BB Wards and made the decision to leave.

Armed with a backpack of her stuff, and what she pulled off the PRT credit card they gave her, Taylor's meandering path led her to the Harbor until an absolutely MASSIVE amount of pings had descended on her forcing her to either stop to phase through them, or give herself up.

Phasing through a wall into an old building was the better of the two.

Still, while watching Gauss run around the docks looking for her was funny, it didn't exactly help her desire to leave Boston.

FirstSelector

 

[libertinlary]

Snip
FirstSelector

Click to shrink...

Prt report

the ghost of the Appalachian Trail

A few weeks After disappearance of codename phase, it was reported by local authorities, the tale of a ghost by singer description who's seen wandering the trail numerous attempts have been made to capture phase all have been unsuccessful.

( folk song )

Hair of Brown And will of iron,
the ghost does walk the trail
into nights so long and days so bright
she tells the whole of her her tale
from the bay she comes
her home she does regale
of mothers death and fathers wails
the ghost does tell of witches three
there torture she reveals

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Omake: A Confession Too Late


Emma realized that there was something wrong with her as she walked down the sidewalk after getting off the bus. Well that was a bit of a lie, she had realized that there was something deeply wrong with herself after she shoved Taylor into a locker of rotting garbage and thought that was a good time to restart their friendship. But what she was doing now certainly measured up to that, or at least had similar chances of getting her arrested. Especially since she was planning to break into Taylor's house and root around her things while no one was home.

But in her defense she was desperate, Taylor had been gone for nearly two months now and there was no sign of her coming back anytime soon with even the Boston Wards being silent on the matter when asked. So Emma in all her wisdom decided it would be a good idea to commit a bit of breaking and entering to try and find something that would at least give her a starting point to try and mend things with Taylor. After all if the PRT were willing to let her get away with attempted murder then a bit of home invasion wouldn't be noticed, or at least that is how Emma justified it to herself.

Besides it wasn't as if Emma wasn't taking any precautions to keep from getting caught she wasn't stupid despite what she had thought privately to herself for the past few weeks following Taylor's meeting with the Wards. She was wearing one of her sister's old hoodies that she left when she want to college, it was a bit big on her but good enough to obscure her form and any other defining features. To anyone watching she would appear as just some teen skipping school, which she was, not worth a second glance or that was what Emma hoped.

Coming down the painfully familiar street that she had walked down countless times in the past when going to visit Taylor she spotted the old house. It looked almost exactly like she remembered it from when she had last visited over two years ago, sure the paint was noticably more faded and the yard a bit more overgrown but the details were more or less the same. But more importantly there wasn't a car in the driveway it had seemed that she was right about Danny still pulling double shifts at the docks. Her plan would have fallen apart it he had been home but now it seems she has a few hours to complete her objective.

Stepping up the porch steps and nearly face planting on the broken step which had also remained the same since the last time Emma visited.

Picking herself up and making sure that no one had noticed her stumble Emma quickly and quietly searched around until she found the hidden key the Heberts always kept. The key of all things brought up more painful memories for Emma of better times when she was trusted to know where it was for emergencies by Auntie Annette who was no doubt looking down at her with scorn for what she did.

Brushing aside these thoughts Emma unlocked the door and stepped inside relocking the door behind her. What she saw inside was almost exactly the same as what she had seen outside. Everything was exactly the same as it was two years ago just more worm down like the depressive fog that had surrounded Taylor and Danny following Auntie's death had spread to the house itself. In the fact the only thing that had changed was the accumulation of garbage all over the living room and kitchen. There were empty beer bottles and food wrappers on nearly every surface and both the sink and garbage were filled to the point of overflowing, clearly Taylor was the only one in the house that made an effort to keep things clean.

The state of the house wasn't Emma's concern but she couldn't help but blame Danny for if he had been stronger and had actually cared about Taylor this would have never happened and Emma would still have a chance at fixing things.

No that was wrong she was just mad at herself and assigning blame to Danny because she couldn't come to terms with her own actions. Repressing her thoughts further Emma made to Taylor's room something she could do with her eyes closed despite the distance that had formed between them.

Opening the door despite the growing voice of 'this is wrong' playing on repeat in her mind Emma stepped in.

The room was unchanged, but not in the same way as the rest of the house. There were differences less pictures for one particularly any that had her in them and a new bed for another. Instead it had been left in the same condition probably since Taylor left, her bed was unmade and a thin layer of dust was forming on everything.

Emma felt dirty like she was stepping into a place she was not welcome, it was almost enough to make her turn back but she had come too far and to turn back now was to make this all for nothing. So with that Emma got to work searching going through the drawers and looking around what Taylor had left behind when she went to Boston.

It was when she was rooting through Taylor's closet she found it. Burried all the way in the corner was a box, Emma took it out and looked at it. There wasn't anything special about it but it was the only thing in Taylor's room that she had put any effort into hiding so it was her best hope.

It wasn't locked so all Emma had to do was open the latch and look inside. Within the box there were several items a notebook that had been completely filled, two matching handmade bracelets that made Emma sad to look at, pictures that had been deliberately turned upside down which after a quick inspection revealed they all had her in them, and at the very bottom was a piece of paper that had been folded until it was just a little square.

Looking at the contents of the box Emma realized that thisbwas ironically what she had been hoping for. Everything that Taylor thought of her was in this box, if any place had the clues to fixing things with Taylor it was here.

Taking the journal out first Emma flipped through it before putting it back down unable to read anymore. It was a diary containing everything she had ever done to Taylor described in agonizing detail. Emma took some shaky breaths to calm herself down this whole endeavor was looking more and more like a mistake, but it was too late to back out.

Next was the pictures each one had her and Taylor in them, or occasionally their parents or Anne. Emma knew them well she had the copies back in her room tucked away after Sophia had commented on them, a decision like most other choices regarding Taylor she had come to regret. Finding nothing that could help her in the pictures she put them back in the box this time face up.

The bracelets came out and quickly put back in Emma already knew what they were, at camp Taylor had made them friendship bracelets which had been the first thing she had mocked about her for being childish and stupid. If Emma could she would have gone back to that moment to throttle her younger self for being so stupid but it was too late to go back now despite how much she wanted to.

Finally, there was the paper it was old partially torn, written on a sheet of notebook paper, and folded repeatedly that Emma was afraid it would fall apart if she tried to unfold it. Taking it out gingerly she slowly unfolded it until it was back to full size and what she saw made her heart skip a beat...

Dear Emma Hey Emma Emma, I wanted to say this to you personally when I saw you once I got back, but well I but you weren't in the mood I guess and that's fine. I have been thinking about you us a lot recently and at camp I think I finally realized why. I don't know what you have been going through recently and I don't care I will be there for you, after all you were there for me when I needed you. I know you made it very clear that you don't want to see me anymore, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't tell you. It doesn't matter if you hate me or don't want to see me again after this but I owe it to you, you were there for me when I needed you most and it wouldn't be right for me not to do the same. Emma Emma Emma Emma I love you, not as friends or as sisters but I love you, I everything about you and I think I always have. I know you probably don't feel the same but that is okay I can live with that just so long as I know you are happy that would be enough for me, even if that happiness means I won't be there for it.​

Love, Taylor.​

Emma blinked tears from her eyes as she choked back a sob once she finished reading Taylor confession. It hurt, it hurt more than seeing the look on Taylor's face when she walked into the Wards room and saw, it hurt more than all the times she looked back at what she did to Taylor and hated herself for it. Taylor loved her, and she had taken that love and used it to hurt Taylor in everyway imaginable until Taylor couldn't stand the sight of her. She had come here thinking there was a way to fix what she had broke but now she knew, in her stupidity and bullheadedness she had destroyed the last shreads of hope that she had there was no fixing this nothing she could do that could make this right.

So there she sat sobbing holding the letter because she didn't know what else to do.​

---

A.N: This was actually inspired by the recent chapter of the completely unrelated fic Sisterly "Love" where Taylor admits that she was in love with Emma at one point. So I thought that sounds like a great idea to hurt Just a Phase Emma so this was born. It is mostly just build up to the end there, and I don't think I did the love letter quite enough justice but it still works.

Anyways let me know what you think.

Also FirstSelector

 

[Ashley9469]

I've got another one here for you FirstSelector

Rubbing the bridge of her nose as the poisonous words flew around her, Taylor Hebert let out a sigh as she waited for Director Piggot to finish her pitch to her Father Daniel.

"The Boston Wards program would love to have her, and its only an hour away. Even with the distence, you will retain full guardianship over Phase." The Director finished as she pushed a pile of papers towards Daniel.

"What do you think Little Owl?" He asked looking at her.

Looking back, Taylor saw only defeat in his eyes. As if all the fight was gone leaving a robot behind.

"I think... that I...." She slowly said trying to gather the words.

Biting her lip, Taylor took a moment to clear her head and think.

"I think, that I have been listening to a lot of talking that has refrained from touching on the core subject of this meeting." She finished after a moment.

Looking Director Piggot in the eyes as she sat back shoulder squared and spine stright, Taylor asked the question that she knew would determine everything.

"Director Emily Piggot, Deputy Director Rennick, Armsaster and Miss Militia." She began enunciation clearly.

"You have been supplied with information supporting my accusations towards Sophia Hess/Shadow Stalker, Emma Barnes/Ampere and their minion Madison Clements of a sustained bullying campaign assisted by members of the PRT, Police, and Brockton Bay Public School District"

"Having been supplied with firm evidence of said actions, do you have any intention of arresting Shadow Stalker, Ampere, and their minion for their crimes against me, and charging them for said crimes without any form of suspension or plea deal?"

Closing her mouth, Taylor waited patiently for the words that would decide the next chapter of her life.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Omake: Failed to Send


Ampere: Taylor did you get my message the other day? I know what I did was wrong and I can't express how sorry I am. Please call me back.

Your message could not be delivered due to access control restrictions.

Ampere: Hey Taylor I know you don't want to hear from me and I get that but your dad has been worried about you came to my house about it too. I know I fucked up but please don't let that ruin things with your dad.

Your message could not be delivered due to access control restrictions.

Ampere: What's up Tay! Saw you on PHO and I wanted to congratulate you on your first cape fight. I remember my first I almost pissed myself but don't tell anyone that . Anyways how are things in Boston I noticed they haven't said anything about new Ward over there I hope everything is okay, please call me.

Your message could not be delivered due to access control restrictions.

Ampere: Taylor my girl how are things? Me I've been better the other Wards are still upset cus of the Youth Guard . Maybe you can lay off a bit? I know it sucks that Piggot won't do anything about what me and Sophia did but please don't take it out on the rest of the Wards. I have been doing what I can but the others aren't really happy with what you have been doing in Boston.

Your message could not be delivered due to access control restrictions.

Ampere: So things have been busy in Brockton recently if you haven't heard. We got a new gang the Undersiders or something they have been going around hitting the other gangs and running away and they are pretty good at it. Sophia doesn't like them cus their leader Grue's power messes with hers and they keep escaping due to their Tinker. But don't worry there is a plan to deal with the Undersiders we just need to work out a few more details with the rest of the Wards. I'll keep you updated on how that goes .

Your message could not be delivered due to access control restrictions.

Ampere: I messed up but what else is new. We were so close but then everything went wrong so fast and it is all my fault. I talked them into it it was my idea from the start now Chris and Dean are. Sorry I shouldn't be bothering you with this.

Your message could not be delivered due to access control restrictions.

Ampere: Taylor.

Your message could not be delivered due to access control restrictions.

Ampere: Please.

Your message could not be delivered due to access control restrictions.

Ampere: Please pick up.

Your message could not be delivered due to access control restrictions.

UNKNOWN NUMBER: Hey Taylor! Know you haven't heard from me in a while but things got very busy in Brockton for awhile there. But things are good now better than good great even. Got a new phone in case you were wondering though this one isn't have the Wards apps but my new friend Riley was able to get me access she is so smart just like you and she is excited to meet you. Ditched the Wards it was painful letting go but the Protectorate was just holding me back you know, keeping me from you and all that. They ment well but they just didn't get us we are sisters and it was a mistake to ever stay apart from each other. Anyways me and my new friends are coming to visit you in Boston isn't that exciting! We are an hour or so out and I know that is short notice but everyone wants it to be surprise you know and who doesn't like surprises. Can't wait for you to meet everyone I am sure you will get along much better with them than the Wards I promise you that, and guess what Riley even promised that she will make sure we will never be apart ever again isn't that exciting!

---

A.N: Whelp it's almost Halloween so I thought that this was appropriate. Tried to use regular texting format and swapped to an unhinged rant for the last message there hopefully it came out alright. Anyways let me know what you all think and happy Halloween.

Also FirstSelector got a new omake.

 

[WindCall12]

Well that escalated from sad to terrifying rather quickly.

Click to shrink...

Tay: Wait so I get paid loads of money if I kill you?

Emma: Yup

Tay: Sweet! Business AND pleasure.

Later

Tay drops the severed heads of Jack, Bonesaw and Emma on Armstrongs table.

Tay: SO when do I get my money?

Armstrong: They go into your trust and you will get it when you turn 18

Tay: FUCK!

Armstrong: Language.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Spoiler

[/]

Click to shrink...

*With the guards outside Armstrong's office*

Guard 1: Aren't we supposed to stop this.

Guard 2: The man attempted to deny payment to the girl who killed three members of the Slaughter House 9, two of which were Jack Slash AND Bonesaw, so I say let him have it.

Taylor *Inside the office*: Where's my money man!

*Things breaking*

Guard 1: Are you sure? Things are sounding rather nasty in there.

Guard 2: Give it another two maybe three minutes if it hasn't stopped then we'll help him.

 

[Ack]

Frankly I'm surprised he didn't say that as a member of the Wards, they are not entitled to collect bounties because apprehending criminals is part of their duties as Wards.
https://www.aele.org/law/2011-04MLJ201.html

Click to shrink...

Taylor: "So ... let me get this straight. I can't claim this money as a member of the Wards, but I can if I'm not? Is that really the position you want to take?"

Armstrong: (starting to get the idea that maybe he shouldn't have said that) "That's, uh ... a fairly biased view of the matter."

Taylor: "Well, do I get my money?"

Armstrong: "... trust fund."

Taylor: "Fine. I quit."

Armstrong: "You are aware of the penalties--"

Taylor: "I just quit the damn Wards. Give me my money."

Armstrong: "You will get your money, but--"

Taylor: "As I understand things, Jack Slash and Bonesaw alone add up to about thirty million dollars. That's quite a legal defense fund. So, how attached are you to being a Director here? Because with the thirty million that villains can claim without a hitch, but which you just forced me to break the law to legally claim, I can truly fuck up your career until the end of time."

(Door opens and a reporter enters, with a camera crew) "Is that true? Did you just force a Ward to break the law?"

Armstrong: Well, fuck.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Omake: Twelve Days of Malicious Compliance


On the first day of joining
My department did receive
A very angry teen

On the second day of joining
My department did receive
Two cover ups
And a very angry teen

On the third day of joining
My department did receive
Three blocked numbers
Two cover ups
And a very angry teen

On the fourth day of joining
My department did receive
Four loopholes
Three blocked numbers
Two cover ups
And a very angry teen

On the fifth day of joining
My department did receive
Five written warnings
Four loopholes
Three blocked numbers
Two cover ups
And a very angry teen

On the sixth day of joining
My department did receive
Six fucking audits
Five written warnings
Four loopholes
Three blocked numbers
Two cover ups
And a very angry teen

On the seventh day of joining
My department did receive
Seven Wards a-whining
Six fucking audits
Five written warnings
Four loopholes
Three blocked numbers
Two cover ups
And a very angry teen

On the eighth day of joining
My department did receive
Eight Youth Guard a-braying
Seven Wards a-whining
Six fucking auidts
Five written warnings
Four loopholes
Three blocked numbers
Two cover ups
And a very angry teen

On the ninth day of joining
My department did receive
Nine Thinkers screaming
Eight Youth Guard a-braying
Seven Wards a-whining
Six fucking audits
Five written warnings
Four loopholes
Three blocked numbers
Two cover ups
And a very angry teen

On the tenth day of joining
My department did receive
Ten secret outings
Nine Thinkers screaming
Eight Youth Guard a-braying
Seven Wards a-whining
Six fucking audits
Five written warnings
Four loopholes
Three blocked numbers
Two cover ups
And a very angry teen

On the eleventh day of joining
My department did receive
Eleven PR failures
Ten secret outings
Nine Thinkers screaming
Eight Youth Guard a-braying
Seven Wards a-whining
Six fucking audits
Five written warnings
Four loopholes
Three blocked numbers
Two cover ups
And a very angry teen

On the twelfth day of joining
My department did receive
Twelve vulpine grins
Eleven PR failures
Ten secret outings
Nine Thinkers screaming
Eight Youth Guard a-braying
Seven Wards a-whining
Six fucking audits
Five written warnings
Four loopholes
Three blocked numbers
Two cover ups
And a very angry teen

---

A.N: I did a thing and merry early Christmas to you all.

Also FirstSelector

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Omake: A Roundabout Way


Taylor was spending time participating in her newest hobby since being drafted into the Wards. No not running around being vigilante out of spite, but instead the far more dangerous one in the PRT's opinion deciphering the byzantine ordinance of the Wards charter. And tonight well tonight Taylor may have just found the answer to all her troubles as she reread the passage she had just stumbled across.

Taking out her pen Taylor circled the brief paragraph and took a picture on her phone which she then promptly sent to Jim along with a request for a meeting tomorrow. Hopefully if she was right then Jim would help her with the next step of what to do.

Bookmarking the page and closing the book Taylor smiled as she went to sleep feeling hopeful for the first time since getting out of the hospital.

***Two Days Later***

Kamil Armstrong walked into the PRT office steaming cup off coffee in hand feeling relatively good about his week so far. Reports of incidents have been down, Accord was still quiet, Blasto still recovering from his latest endeavor, and the Butcher was still out of town. Overall barring the continued pressure from above about Phase he was looking forward to closing out his week on a high note.

Speaking of Phase there she was waiting outside his office next to the local Youth Guard representative. If the smile on Jim's face was anything to go by Armstrong certainly wasn't going to enjoy whatever legalese the two of them have dug up this time. He is still getting complaints from Piggot about their last report about her department.

Sighing to himself Kamil decided to get whatever this latest issue was done with. If he was lucky then whatever it was they wanted to discuss wouldn't turn what was a good week into a bad one.

"Ah Phase and Jim what do I owe the pleasure today. But before that please come in." Armstrong said ushering the two of them into his office where the three of them took a seat.

"Thank you Director but as for why we are here well we would like to discuss the department's failure to fulfill their full duties as Phase's legal guardians." Jim said a smug smile spreading across his face.

"Failing to fulfill our duties in what way?" Armstrong asked. "As you can clearly see she has both been cared and provided for to the best of our abilities."

"Yes but we are not arguing about your department's ability to feed or house Ms. Phase but rather the complete and utter neglect of your duties to represent her legally. As per article 15-C in the full and unabridged Ward's rules and regulations all Wards are entitled to full legal support and counsel, and according to amendment 3-B that includes the filing of civil suits against those considered responsible for the Ward's trigger event."

Kamil winced, he was vaguely familiar with the rule but in all his experience it was only ever used when some gang member attempted to sue a Ward for being too rough in their arrest. Never before had he heard of it being used regarding the events of a Ward's trigger event. But it was understandable that most triggers were probably resolved through criminal charges when they could rather than civil suits.

Armstrong wracked his brain for answers about what to do in this situation. Saying no clearly wasn't an option, not only would the Youth Guard jump down his throat for denying a Ward one of their privileges but it would also be the final nail in the coffin for any hope of Phase actually becoming a full Ward. Unfortunately he also couldn't say yes no matter how much Kamil wanted to do so to just be done with the issue.

Fuck it when in doubt talk like a politician.

"There is an issue with what you are suggesting." Armstrong said doing his best to come off as helpful and supportive.

"And what is that?" Jim asked still smiling his smug smile.

"There would be a considerable conflict of interest for the PRT or the Youth Guard to take up this case against another department. And considering the issue with the identities of several Wards being involved transferring it to a third party law firm would also be impossible according to the Youth Guard's own charter. As unfortunate as it may be it seems that my hands are tied here."

"Oh but whoever said anything about suing the ENE? No these charges are against Winslow Highschool who facilitated the environment that caused Phase's trigger event. We have written records of Ms. Phase's complaints, documentation of the school's inaction from their own records regarding the bullying, as well as hospital records from the incident. Therefore my colleagues and I as well as Phase herself consider the school itself to be partially responsible. The fact that they haven't been charged until now is rather baffling in my opinion." Jim finished with a grin.

Forget smug this man is downright gleeful like a dog given a turkey leg all to themself. To make matters worse Armstrong couldn't even fault the man on his logic after having gone over Phase's file himself. The only reason why Winslow hadn't been taken to task on what happened already was most likely due to whatever stooge in Brockton's legal department wanted to keep the whole thing as quiet as possible. But unfortunately it seems them distancing themselves from Winslow has left a vulnerability a vulnerability that Phase and the Youth Guard are now exploiting. They couldn't even block the attempt because if they did then they would have to inform the Youth Guard and the judge as to why they are blocking the lawsuit which will bring the whole house of cards Brockton has built crashing down.

Armstrong grimaced. "I understand I will let legal know and I trust you to transfer over any relevant evidence you may have. Now will that be all?"

"Only that none of what is going to happen would have if you had just done your job from the start." Phase said speaking up for the first time in the meeting before getting up and leaving.

"Well she said it better than I could and yes that would be all, and don't worry we will be sending over copies of the evidence very shortly." Jim said before getting up to follow Phase. "Oh and one more thing Director make sure you stress to the legal the department the importance of this case. The Youth Guard has already taken a great interest in it and will be watching it very closely. Now then have a good day."

With that Armstrong was left alone in his office with a lukewarm cup of coffee.

He sighed to himself he better call up Piggot and let her know the shit storm that was about to hit her.

Or he could not do that he thought. After all the lawsuit wasn't against the ENE and technically didn't involve any of its members so their wasn't a reason to inform her of it. Besides she started this mess by tossing the frag grenade that was Phase into his department before slaming the door behind her. Call it vengeance or karma Kamil honestly didn't care at this point. Either way he just hoped that this would finally put an end to the mess with Phase that should not have happened to begin with.

Reaching under his desk Kamil pulled out the bottle he had been saving for whenever the Butcher came back to Boston and poured a healthy amount into his coffee mug before taking swig.

Yep definitly a bad week.

---

A.N: Anyways another omake that is slightly based on the discussion from a few weeks ago about whether or not the PRT is required to represent Taylor legally. Also please note that I have zero knowledge on lawsuits or anything law related so please attribute any inconsistencies to timeline divergences between Earth and Bet. Also don't forget to let me know what you think about the omake in general.

FirstSelector got another omake.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Omake: Hype Trainwreck


The ins and out of the PR department wasn't something Director Armstrong usually concerned himself with on a day to day basis. Sure he had to give frequent public speeches whenever something happened in Boston and the occassional interview with the press, but those events could be planned for and handled in advance. Besides maintaining good public relations more often than not fell under the perview of the Protectorate and Wards, and both Weld and Bastion tended to keep a good handle on things baring a few minor slip ups now and then.

Which is why it was a surprise for Armstrong to see O'Hannon the resident head of PR in Boston looking ragged and waiting for him when he came into the office.

"O'Hannon what do I owe the pleasure." Armstrong said while taking a seat at his desk.

"No pleasure I'm afraid just one giant fucking messes is about to explod in our fucking laps if we don't do anything about it." O'Hannon said skipping all formalities if he was swearing like a sailor already.

Armstrong sighed, "What is it this time Bastion say something he shouldn't near a mic or one of the Wards posted something confidential."

"The latter is close but not quite and I am sure you know what I mean by that."

"Let me guess Phase." Armstrong asked already knowing the answer, "What could she have done this time? We already banned video during the tours and the other Wards are running damage control if people start asking questions."

"It's more like what she has already done and continues to do, and I hate to admit it but part of it is because we fucked up in handling it." The PR chief said, "You remember her first tour right and the mess it caused my office."

"How could I forgot we got calls all night asking us if we were really drafting children against their will into the Wards. But I thought your department already handled it so why is it an issue now?" Armstrong asked.

"Because we only thought we handled it instead all we did was turn one problem into a different one. All we did was calm down the reporters but we forgot about the viewers those who saw the video and got interested. I hate to say it but that girl somehow got people hyped to learn more about her." O'Hannon explained.

"Hype? What is that." Armstrong asked confused.

"Anticipation, interest, followers, a catch all term for people eagerly awaiting something new and interesting, and Phase has it and its growing." The head of PR detailed looking increasingly frazzled obviously having had one to many coffees.

"And this is a bad thing because?" Armstrong asked not quite getting what the issue was.

"Well normally it isn't a bad thing, in fact most of the time in my profession it is a good thing. People get interested in the new hero we release a pieces of concept art for their costume, and when they debut they get a nice boost to their popularity to start with. But the issue is with Phase she unknowingly turned this against us, now instead of being interest in a new Ward joining the team they are interested in her situation and why she hates the program." O'Hannon said.

"Well I don't know what you expect me to do about it, I don't control the internet after all much less what people discuss on the forums. And besides we already banned recordings during the tour so there isn't much more we can do besides removing Phase from them entirely."

"Unfortunately banning videos seems to have only made the problem worse in the long run from what my department has seen so far. People caught on to the video of Phase telling the organization off and the ban immediately after and now seem to think we attempted to keep Phase from telling the public things we don't want them to know about the Wards. Which isn't necessarily wrong but sounds far worse when filtered through conspiracy theorists and forums on the internet. As for taking her off tours entirely forget it if we do that now it will only add gas to the fire. We may have stopped them recording but people still talk about what they see during the tours and they haven't missed how everyone walks on eggshells around Phase or that the tour guides keep giving her the evil eye. Removing her now will only convince them that they were right and something is going on, in fact the issue has gotten so bad that my department thinks that the recent increase in ticket sales are due to people wanting to see Phase go off on the other Wards or looking for evidence to report back to the forums. It has gotten so bad we can't even release the regular Wards status updates without the topic inevitably turning back to Phase." O'Hannon finished with a grimace.

"Again I fail to see why this is a major issue the internet will be the internet and we can't change that. Besides the PRT and Protectorate have survived worse hits to our reputation give it a another month and people will simply move to the next topic." Armstrong explained to O'Hannon.

"Normally yes that would be the standard way of doing things, we take the hit and move on and the hype dues down when nothing happens. That is if it wasn't for this." He said taking out his phone and showing Armstrong a video he had seen before while going over after action reports. It was of Taylor's fight in the electronics store, someone had apparently found the video from the security cameras and posted it in a thread about new capes in Boston.

"I'll get over the fact that you didn't let my department know about our most disobedient Ward's new past time leaving us scrambling to make plans incase the worst happens on our own. But this is a major problem if it gets out." O'Hannon continued.

"There is nothing tying Phase to the vigilante Ghost as far as anyone else knows they are separate people." Armstrong said attempting to placate O'Hannon.

"Are you fucking serious?!" He asked, "The 'new vigilante's' power is phasing and our new Ward's current name is Phase. You don't need to be a Thinker to put those pieces together let alone notice that they have the same hair and body type. Once people notice that if they haven't already then they will start questions on why a Ward is acting as a lone vigilante. At which point online conspiracies start getting actual attention and we have to answer some very uncomfortable questions. Or worse they start trying to ask Phase directly and we both know whatever she will say will in no ways make us look good."

"Fine I see what you mean and why it's a problem, unfortunately I have already checked our own rule book and there isn't anything official I can do about her hobby." Armstrong admitted.

"What do you mean there isn't anything you can fucking do? You're the god damn director!" O'Hannon exclaimed.

"Yes and as such there are rules even I have to follow. If I could I would stop Phase from going out there but she has us stuck in a technicality so my hands are tied. We can't do anything about her secondary identity until she gets a permanent one with us, which we can't give her until after she goes through power testing something she has been rather firm on not doing." Armstrong said back almost yelling at the PR chief.

"Fine." O'Hannon said taking a deep breath to calm down, "Then our options become to get her onboard as soon as possible and hope we can turn the hype she gathered in our favor if they see her willingly join, or transfer her to another department and pass the buck like Brockton did."

"Well we still haven't made any progress getting her to join the normal way but we are still working on it. As for transferring her not a chance, and before you say anything it isn't my choice. While we do have custody of her we still have to pass certain things through to her father and he has refused any transfers further out. Besides I don't want to mimic Piggot's brilliant strategy by dragging a third department into this mess." Armstrong explained.

"Jesus fuck this is a shit show isn't it." O'Hannon asked rubbing his eyes.

"Welcome to my world, it's like a trainwreck that you can see coming in real time but are helpless to stop and all you can do is sit back and watch your imminent demise." Armstrong said while pulling out a bottle he kept for whenever shit hit the fan and poring himself and O'Hannon a drink.

O'Hannon accepted the glass that was offered, "The only other idea I can think of is getting Phase herself to defuse the situation."

Both men shared a look at each other before bursting out laughing.

"God no, just look at what she has done with the Youth Guard imagine if she found out she had a group of people willing to hang from her every word. It would be a disaster for both us and the ENE, well more of a disaster then it already is." Armstrong said.

"It is a shame though." O'Hannon admitted, "If this is what that girl could do unknowingly imagine what she could have done if we got her to play ball. It would have been great I bet."

"Well to lost opportunities then." Armstrong proposed.

"If that's what we are drinking to you are gonna need another bottle." O'Hannon replied.

With that the two men tool a swig of their drinks before having to go back to their other duties, and trying to think of new ways to disarm the increasingly destructive bomb Boston's most frustrating Ward was becoming.

---

A.N: Well here is a new omake just something I wrote to get back into the swing of writing omakes now that my semester is ending and it kinda spiraled from there. So anyways here is an omake about the internet hivemind taking an interest in Taylor, and I might have messed up on Armstrong's characterization at the end there. Anyways as always let me know what you all think.

Also FirstSelector

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

So here is a thought, Weld mentioned during the second interlude that he already has an idea of where to assign Taylor once she joins the team.

So how long until he or the other Wards get the bright idea to start mentioning villainous activity within earshot of Taylor as a means of controling her actions, and if the other Wards just so happen to be in the same area around that time all the better right. Or are they more likely to leave those locations alone until Taylor actually joins the Wards so they can give the new member a popularity boost once she joins. Either way I do full expect the other Wards to start interfering with Taylor's new hobby with or without orders from their higher ups. Maybe as a means of trying to get her to socialize in a more comfortable environment since the Wards base clearly isn't that for he, or as a means to catch her in the act and slap a probationary contract on her.

Still I am interested in other thoughts anyone might have on this.

Click to shrink...

If the Boston Wards 'just happen' to talk about patrols and threats around her? That is where Taylor won't be.

"It's like she takes every hint as a place NOT to be."

Lily looked at Weld, "And why should she neatly walk into our amateur sting?"

Weld's head snapped around, "That isn't what I'm trying. I just want her to have some backup when this tantrum goes wrong and maybe get her to relate to us as fellow heroes!"

Lily leaned back, "You just don't see it, do you Weld?"

Weld glared at her, "See what, spill Flechette."

Lily sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "You believe in the Protectorate and Wards in a way Taylor doesn't and frankly can't right now. For God's sake, you don't even have your own name outside of the hero one PR gave you." She held up a hand to forestall Weld's outburst. "Let me lay it out for you as best I understand it. Let's start at the end, "fellow heroes", to Taylor the Ward's aren't automatically heroes at best, can't be heroes at worst. Really her home town team being so toxic she got transferred into another state should have been a clue something was wrong. That is what she thinks of when we say "We are the Wards and we want to help you." That it is all a lie, a trick. To either to get her to give in, or catch her in something Armstrong can get a judge to charge her for, and slap Taylor with a plea deal to force her to be a Ward or go to Juvie."

Weld looked at his teammate with dawning horror. It's like one of those optical illusion pictures that twist into a new shape when you look at it in the right mindset. And he didn't like what it was showing him now. And then Lily dropped the other bomb, "Not that it would work."

Weld shook his head, "If Phase did accidentally break the law or get someone hurt she'd have to be a Ward or..." He didn't have a stomach in truth, but it dropped none the less at Lily's nod.

"Taylor would find going to jail safer and more preferable than being here? I'm pretty certain. That or running, and have you figured out a way to stop her if she doesn't choose to stay?" At Weld silence Lily nodded, "Didn't think so. To Taylor this isn't a tantrum, it's not going into the field with people she expects to stab a knife into her back." Personally Weld felt like Lily was stabbing a knife into his.

Weld rubbed his face with his hands, "How the hell do I fix Taylor's mistaken impression of us?"

Lily casually tossed her soda can into the garbage, "I don't think you can. We got so smeared by the team in Brockton. Maybe if Piggot gives up her Wards that are to Taylor what March is to me we might be able to start turning things around, but at this point even that's a long short." Lily stood and patted Weld on the shoulder, "If I had a clue how to fix this, they'd probably give me Armstrong's office."

Lily left the room, leaving Weld to his uncomfortable thoughts.

As for running into Wards during her patrol well she might not have a say in it if the Wards are actively trying to run into her.

Click to shrink...

Given Taylor's Thinker and Breaker Powers? I'm sure she can make it damn hard for a Ward to meet her, just Ghosting out before they get in view.