There weren't nearly as many stares as there were earlier in the week. Novelty didn't last for long, apparently.
Not that Taylor was complaining.
"Your armor's pretty awesome, even though I still say it's a bit edgy," Victoria said. "What kind of changes are you thinking?"
"I'm not sure," Taylor said with a shrug. "I originally made the armor when I planned to fight alongside the swarm, but now… it doesn't feel necessary. I can reform my body at will and transform if I need more power."
"I still don't get how you do that," Amy mumbled from behind them.
"Do you want another peek at my brain?" Taylor asked.
Amy shook her head emphatically.
"I don't know what the fuck you have going on in there, but once was more than enough, thanks," Amy said quickly, although her expression was a conflicted mix of anger and longing.
"Suit yourself," Taylor said. Whatever was going on with Amy, she didn't think that the healer would appreciate her trying to pry.
"Costume design is more important than it seems," Victoria said, glossing over Amy's comment. "You need to make the right kind of impression. Public image determines what kind of battles you get to fight, even if it doesn't necessarily help in the battles themselves."
Taylor nodded as she thought through the implications of that.
"I want something that says… this isn't a game. That my actions are more than a publicity stunt, and that all pretenses end when I enter the field," Taylor said slowly.
That sounded overdramatic, even to her.
"Being a public hero is also part of that," Taylor continued. "There's a reason I haven't bothered hunting down Uber and Leet, or Circus, or the Undersiders-"
Victoria flinched slightly at that last one.
"-they just aren't the type of threats I want to focus on. I want to fight the people who are an unarguable blight upon the world," Taylor finished.
Victoria looked Taylor up and down and started to smile wickedly.
"I have an idea, but it requires something truly horrifying," Victoria said.
Taylor just raised an eyebrow.
"We have to go… to the mall," Victoria said very seriously.
"I thought you were grounded?" Taylor said sarcastically.
"Mom forgot about that after the whole Krieg debacle," Victoria waved away her protests. "Amy, you coming?"
"To the mall. With you and Taylor. To find Taylor a costume?" Amy deadpanned.
"Yep! It'll be fun!" Vicky said, looking over at her sister with a grin.
Amy's face was once again conflicted as her mouth twisted in a line.
"Fine," she bit out in frustration. "But I'm not signing any autographs."
…
And so it was that Taylor found herself walking through a shopping mall in the Towers alongside an excited Victoria and a sullen Amy.
The stores here were certainly nicer than Weymouth. Significantly less gang signs too.
Although those were already becoming less common across the city.
"Okay, so this is kind of a stupid idea, but I think you'll like it," Vicky said as she bounced along.
"I don't know if I should be insulted or not," Taylor said with an indulgent smile.
Since it was Friday afternoon, the mall was fairly busy and they were able to blend in for the most part. The occasional passerby froze when they recognized one or all of them, but it was kind of nice to feel like a normal teenager for a while.
"First, we need to find you some jeans that fit," Victoria continued as if she hadn't spoken.
"What's wrong with my jeans?" Taylor asked.
"Nothing! It's just, they don't fit," Victoria said. "Not trying to encroach on your style, but they still need to fit properly."
"I don't see what my jeans have to do with my costume," Taylor said with a frown.
"Trust the process, Queenie," Victoria chirped as she took Taylor's hand and dragged her over to a department store.
Amy just scowled and followed along behind them.
…
"Weren't you the one telling me that my costume was too edgy?" Taylor said with a skeptical look at Vicky.
Victoria glanced back at her as she swiped her card for the pair of black jeans that she insisted fit Taylor much better than her old ones.
Taylor wasn't entirely sure about that, but they looked pretty good and they were just jeans, so whatever.
"You'll see. I still think you'll like the completed image. Hang tight for a bit," Victoria said.
Taylor wore her new acquisitions back out into the mall as Victoria continued to drag her along.
"Look," Victoria said as they walked. "You want your costume to be authentic. You like the idea of breaking the rules, and your power doesn't just break the rules but grinds the rules into itty bitty pieces and then sets them on fire. Plus, you're a public hero who's pretty much indestructible, so you're the only one who could get away with this."
Taylor just raised her eyebrows.
"Wait here. It'll be worth it, I promise," Vicky said before she marched off into a store that advertised tons of branded cape merchandise.
Taylor still wasn't sure where this was going, and now she was stuck alone with Amy.
The silence was definitely awkward. Taylor fed her apprehension to Khepri.
She had no idea how to address whatever Amy's problem was. Taylor didn't even know if it was with her, or if Amy was like this with everyone. She knew that just asking about it wasn't going to be a good start, but fake small talk didn't seem to be a good place to begin either.
So she just stood beside the shorter brunette in silence while she squirmed internally.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Amy was going to volunteer to break the ice anytime this century.
Taylor had a sudden thought that could be potentially manageable. Amy didn't seem to like Error Boy much either.
"This is a bit of a weird question, but do you know what's up with Gallant's power?" Taylor asked.
Amy glared at her out of the corner of her eye.
"What do you mean?" She demanded.
"So, my power lets me identify and get a basic reading on other parahumans, but Gallant just throws back a weird error, data corrupted thing," Taylor said.
Amy's expression relaxed slightly, although she remained her generally prickly self.
"No. He looks normal to me, unlike some people," she said.
"Hmmm…" Taylor hummed with a frown. "I call him Error Boy, in my head. Victoria would probably be annoyed with me for that, but I can't help it."
Amy coughed out a surprised and grudging laugh.
"Error Boy," Amy repeated with a dark chuckle. "Sure, that's… Whatever. Fuck him."
Silence fell between them once again, and Taylor counted that as a win. She didn't want to push her luck.
Thankfully, Vicky reappeared a moment later holding a shopping bag full of black fabric.
"Okay, so, I saw something online about this yesterday and I'm happy they had it already. The merch people move quickly if they think they can get away with it, and since you aren't licensed or anything…"
"What are you talking about?" Taylor asked.
"This!" Victoria said, holding up her purchase.
It was a black hoodie that looked pretty similar to Taylor's usual daily wear, but obviously new. The main difference was the silver graphic on the front: a single, stylized chess piece.
The queen, specifically.
"No…" Taylor said slowly.
"Yes," Victoria said with a smug smile. "You have merch!"
This is hell.
"And you think… I should wear my own merch… as a costume?" Taylor said incredulously.
"Okay, think about it!" Victoria said excitedly. "You're all about breaking the rules, and substance over style, and being genuine. What is more genuine than just… your normal style? Everyone else shows up in fancy costumes and power armor and over-the-top showboating bullshit and you just walk up in street clothes and overpower them all, with just enough of a signature touch that it's iconic!"
Taylor's smile started to widen the longer that Vicky talked.
"You wouldn't be able to get away with it if you were anyone else, or if you were any less powerful, but your powers are bullshit. You aren't like anyone else. You're going to save the world whether the world likes it or not, and I think you should do it as yourself," Victoria finished.
"What's this about saving the world?" Amy asked from the bench next to them.
"Victoria and I are going to save the world," Taylor said absently as she switched out her old hoodie for the new one with her supposed logo on it. "And I'm apparently going to do it in jeans."
"It looks good, I promise!" Victoria said as she took a step back and looked Taylor up and down.
Taylor felt blood rushing to her cheeks and was about to feed the automatic embarrassment to Khepri, but…
This feeling wasn't too terrible. And this was Victoria. Maybe she could keep it, this time.
Taylor blushed and smiled at her friend.
"Just imagine," Victoria said with a matching grin. "Showing up to Ellisburg, everyone else is all tense and official, and you just show up as you are. Then kick everyone's asses, obviously."
"You're right," Taylor said as she put her hands in her hoodie pocket automatically. "I do like this idea. Everyone else can play their games, but when I show up… game over."
Victoria gave her a one armed squeeze as they started walking again.
"You're the Queen!" Vicky said and bumped her with her shoulder. "No one gets to tell you that you're underdressed. You'll make everyone else overdressed just by existing."
"I like it a lot," Taylor admitted as they walked in silence for a moment. "Food court before we head to the Rig?"
"Finally," Amy muttered.
…
Taylor was content with the outcome of their trip and enjoying her Chinese food when of course, something had to go wrong and ruin her perfectly normal Friday afternoon at the mall with friends.
"[THREAT DETECTED] Host: Prototype.]
"[THREAT DETECTED] Host: Recall.]
Taylor could guess who it was, but she very much hoped she was wrong.
Maybe they're just doing some shopping out of costume…
Then the skylight over the food court shattered and the crowd began screaming as a tinkertech device dropped from the sky.
A weird looking arcade machine labeled 'PACK-A-PUNCH' embedded itself in the tile.
Several other strange devices dropped, including multiple stylized vending machines. Taylor saw a dull red one close to her labeled 'Juggernog'.
A metallic voice with a German accent played over hidden speakers as Taylor sighed and stood up alongside Victoria.
"Entry 741021! Perhaps the station will hold the key to the real goals of group 935. I still do not trust my unconventional allies, but they are of great use to me..."
Taylor resisted the urge to facepalm.
Honestly.
The two villains who she just said earlier were below her attention dropped down through the hole in the ceiling and landed on the railing of the second floor of the mall.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to our newest spectacle, the THEATER OF THE DA-"
Uber cut off sharply as Taylor waved at him.
"Ah… your majesty. We… uh… didn't see you there," Uber said, although he kept up the stadium announcer voice.
He looked over at Leet and they seemed to come to a very quick consensus.
"Never mind, everyone. Enjoy your shopping!" Uber said as Leet hit a button on his tinkertech gauntlet.
The two villains, the vending machines, and the PACK-A-PUNCH disappeared in a flicker of static, leaving behind a surprised murmuring and a mess of cracked tile.
There was an awkward pause as everyone turned to Taylor, Victoria, and Amy.
"I guess there are some benefits to being a public hero?" Taylor said helplessly as she grabbed Victoria's hand and dragged her through the crowd before things could get any worse.
…
Victoria dropped Amy off at home while Taylor called the local Protectorate public number to let them know she was coming.
The call center agent who answered the phone seemed a bit unsure about the correct procedure, but Taylor figured that wasn't exactly her problem.
The multitude of high tech equipment lining the spires of the PHQ was more intimidating up close. Victoria circled over the forcefield for a moment before descending to deposit Taylor on the bridge in front of the entrance.
"[THREAT DETECTED] Host: Palladium."
"[THREAT DETECTED] Host: Compression Engine."
"[THREAT DETECTED] Host: Transmutation."
"[THREAT DETECTED] Host: Infusion."
"[THREAT DETECTED] Error: Data Corrupted."
Another error? Or was Dean here?
She briefly reached out through her connection to Khepri, sifting through the endless spiraling sparks of the swarm and locating the parahuman with the unconventional power.
It was a woman who Taylor didn't recognize. She quickly thought through the local roster.
Battery, then?
Taylor didn't know what to make of that.
She fed her apprehension to Khepri and walked forward in her new 'costume'. Victoria had changed into her classic gold and white Glory Girl dress and tiara and floated along beside her in all her resplendent glory.
The large automatic doors swished open and they entered the entrance foyer.
The high-tech theme continued, stainless steel lining the open space and highlighted the security desk and entrance to the gift shop.
Taylor took another breath and approached the security counter.
"Queen, Glory Gal! Fancy seeing you here."
A tall man in bright red body armor waved at them from across the lobby as he strode over. He wore a visor that covered the top half of his face but left the bottom exposed.
"Hey, Assault," Victoria said. Taylor noticed that she relaxed slightly at the sight of the boisterous hero.
"Armsmaster is in his lab finishing up on whatever his current obsession is, so they sent me to take you on the scenic route to the meeting room to give him time to beat us there," Assault said with an easygoing grin.
"The scenic route?" Taylor said with a raised eyebrow.
"Everyone deserves a tour on their first visit!" Assault said as he gestured for them to follow him through a side door. "Besides, Armsy is more personable when he isn't feeling rushed."
Taylor glanced at Victoria and got a reassuring smile in return before they set off after the armored cape.
…
"And here," Assault said with a grand gesture, "are the conference rooms that are definitely, 100%, not interrogation rooms. Don't let the one way glass fool you, that was only installed after we failed the Fire Marshal's inspection for the third time."
Taylor refused to give him the satisfaction of asking why the Fire Marshal would care about one-way glass.
At least he seemed legitimately nice. If he had been there after the fight with Hookwolf, she might not have been as on guard.
Although Sophia had still been sitting around and watching, so… it probably wouldn't have mattered.
Taylor realized that she never bothered to ask what happened to Shadow Stalker. Part of her still wanted revenge, or justice, or whatever, but… it just didn't seem all that important, anymore.
Part of her wondered if anything happened to Emma.
She fed that part to Khepri.
Assault opened one of the doors and they filed into the room.
He was right. At least it didn't look like an interrogation room.
The high tech theme continued, but the table was wooden and the chairs were padded. Armsmaster sat on one side at the far end, typing on a laptop.
He was wearing a jumpsuit that had a similar look to his signature power armor, but wasn't nearly as bulky. He still wore a visor that covered half his face and had the same shape as his normal helmet.
"Queen Administrator. Glory Girl," he said with a nod as they entered.
"Armsmaster," Taylor said. She needed to focus, but she didn't want to sound overly confrontational. She took a moment to balance the emotions she was funneling to Khepri.
The room was quiet as they sat down across from him. The door clicked behind them as Assault left them alone.
Victoria was right; it was more comfortable to be here dressed like herself, rather than trying to pretend.
Armsmaster typed a few more commands as they got settled.
"Thank you for agreeing to this discussion," Armsmaster began. "Due to the sensitive nature of the topics we will be discussing, I have sealed the room and disabled the PRT recording systems. In lieu of the standard surveillance, Dragon will be recording and monitoring the meeting from a secure server."
"Good morning, everyone," a warm female voice spoke from the speakers on the laptop.
Holy shit, Dragon's here.
Armsmaster may be the ENE Protectorate leader, but Dragon was Dragon.
There was another pause before Armsmaster sighed and leaned back slightly.
"I was originally prepared to impress upon you the importance of cooperation. If you had shared the location of Coil's base with us, we may have been able to field a joint operation that prevented the destruction and loss of life last night," Armsmaster said.
He held up a hand as Taylor prepared to cut him off in protest.
"However, the information I am about to share makes that approach negligible. It is also the reason I have blocked the standard PRT surveillance," he said.
Armsmaster turned the computer around and Dragon's avatar took over the explanation.
"Armsmaster and I spent the morning locating and tracking the signal utilized to detonate the explosives within Coil's compound. We agreed with your assessment that Coil isn't one to 'go down with the ship'," Dragon said.
"The detonation command was well hidden and difficult to pin down, but it was easier to locate once we realized that it originated within the PRT Headquarters," Armsmaster said, his lips pressed into a thin line.
That made entirely too much sense. Lisa said that Coil seemed to have the PRT infiltrated at a surprisingly high level.
What better way to do that than join them in his alter-ego?
"There's a reason I prefer to act independently," Taylor said neutrally.
"Despite the challenges, I hope that we can work together to combat the threat that Coil poses to our security. We were unable to determine where in the headquarters the signal originated. Are you willing to share the extent of your parahuman sensory abilities with Armsmaster and myself?" Dragon asked carefully.
It didn't feel fair to have Dragon ask. How could she really say no?
"I receive feedback on every parahuman within roughly a half mile radius. This feedback gives me a very vague description of their power set and allows me to recognize capes that I have previously interacted with," Taylor said.
She decided not to share the part about the strange errors. Yet.
"We are uncertain of Coil's parahuman status, but it could be a good place to start," Armsmaster said. "Would you be willing to assess the PRT Headquarters and locate any undocumented parahumans within the facility so that Dragon can independently review their status?"
That sounded… smart, but against the rules. Although blowing up your own people to cover your tracks was also against the rules.
"If Coil has access to PRT information, he may have already left," Taylor said. "It would be foolish to stick around when he knows we're hunting him."
"I agree," Armsmaster nodded. "But we don't have many other leads to chase. We were unable to recover any information from the wreckage of the facility."
That was because Lisa had it. Taylor really needed to check in with her.
In hindsight, she probably should have called Lisa before coming to the PHQ. Whoops.
"We can do a fly-by of the PRT on our way home and let you know the results. Did you have any other questions for us?" Taylor asked.
"Only if there is anything you want to share with us while we are speaking privately," Dragon said.
Taylor considered her options carefully.
"I have no desire to become a tool of the Protectorate, but I find myself… uncertain, of the best path forward now that the major local gangs are contained," Taylor said. "Until an Endbringer or a new villain rears their head, the only obvious projects for me are Class S threats and Exclusion Zones."
There was a pause as Armsmaster regarded her through his helmet.
"I'll admit that I am… conflicted about utilizing a minor against those types of threats," Armsmaster said.
"I was thinking about going after Nilbog as a test run," Taylor said with a shrug.
Armsmaster exhaled involuntarily.
"That is…" Armsmaster cut off and started again. "Dragon and I will consider the best ways to utilize your skill set in an unofficial capacity. Both the Guild and the Protectorate are adult organizations for a reason, and it is not because you lack the combat power to assist us. Parahumans in general have a tendency to be… unpredictable, and teenagers even more so."
He sighed.
"That being said, I also cannot abide by the idea of doing nothing in the face of atrocities. And I have no doubt that you will continue to act as you see fit regardless of our advice," Armsmaster said.
"Is there a secure method we can use to contact you to talk later?" Dragon asked.
Taylor pulled her flip phone out of her pocket.
Dragon and Armsmaster both just stared at it for a moment.
"I don't like smartphones," Taylor said in her defense.
"I suppose that there is something to be said for security through minimization," Dragon said with a smile.
…
Unfortunately, Taylor and Victoria's flyover of the PRT was not illuminating. Several of the Wards were present, including Shadow Stalker, but no unknown Parahumans or Errors.
A quick call to update Dragon later, and they stood atop one of the higher rooftops in downtown.
"You better keep me in the loop," Victoria said. "I don't want to hear about you taking down Nilbog from the evening news or something."
"I wouldn't dare," Taylor said with a smile. "Besides, I'll always need my air support."
"Until Khepri figures out how to fly," Vicky said with a grin.
"I'll still let you chauffeur me around if you want," Taylor said.
Victoria laughed.
"I don't know about that, but it would be cool to fly together sometime," she said.
"It would," Taylor agreed as she looked out over the city.
The sunset was pretty from this high up.
"Do you want to do another public Boardwalk patrol tomorrow? If I'm not fighting Nilbog, I mean," Taylor said.
"Only if we can spar again afterwards," Victoria said.
"You're on," Taylor laughed.
Victoria gave her hand a squeeze. Taylor hadn't even noticed she was still holding it.
"In that case, I'll see you tomorrow, Queenie," she said.
"Later, Glory Girl," Taylor said with a fond smile as Victoria released her hand and flew away in a blur of gold and white