xhh

For this young woman was no ordinary young woman, but a parahuman. She knew of the treatment parahumans like her would be subjected to, for she once shared the sentiment that led to it. She had managed to hide her status as one through sheer luck, though she knew she couldn't do it forever. She feels the call of her powers, the demand that they be used. It gnawed at her, eating away at her will. The only thing holding her back was fear. Fear of what would happen to her if she did and was caught. Fear of what her family would think. Fear of becoming a stranger and wretch in her own hometown. Despite this, she was relieved to be home from college. At college, there was no hope of comfort. At least at home there's a chance that blood will run thicker than water. That her family would still accept her should the truth come out. She hated this feeling, this fear that eternally gripped her. She longed to change this, to rise up and strike out. However, she felt powerless to do anything about it, even with her parahuman powers.

Suddenly, she stopped and looked to the sky. She was not sure why she did this, she just got a vague feeling. Those around her glanced at her and gave her strange looks as they moved around her. The young woman paid no mind to this, for her attention was drawn towards the heavens. A deep sense of foreboding filled her being. Then, a bright light filled her eyes. This was the last thing the young woman saw before something filled her…

And then everything faded…

Chapter 1: Fifth to Impact

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

Within the crime ridden city of Brockton Bay, away from the dangers of the city, a young girl by the name of Taylor Hebert laid comfortably asleep on a soft bed. Light from the morning sun gently shone on her. The hustle and bustle of the city could be heard faintly from where she slept. The sounds of two men arguing filled the room she was in. All of this did nothing to stir her awake. Instead, it was upon hearing a different voice that she began to stir.

'Wake uuuup…' A voice whispered.

"Mmmm…" Taylor mumbled.

'Wake UUUUUuuuuuuuuup…' The voice whispered again, a bit more demanding.

"MmmmmmmmmMmmmmmmmmmm…" Taylor mumbled.

'Oh for the love of, WAKE UP ALREADY UNLESS YOU WANT THOSE THREE BITCHES TO WIN!!!' The voice shouted.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Taylor screamed as she sprung up.

Two sets of eyes fell on her. One was her father, Danny, who's look of anger faded into relief upon seeing her. The other was some guy in a suit scowling at her. It was then she noticed she was not in her room at home but rather one in a hospital.

"Ahhh…. Good morning?" She spoke.

Her father turned back to the scowling man with a smirk on his face.

"I believe I have nothing left to discuss with you. You can expect to hear from us in the coming days." He stated.

"Now hang on we can…" The man began.

"Expect to hear from us in the coming days. Now leave." Her father ordered firmly.

The man looked like he wanted to say more, but huffed and left without a word. With him gone, her father turned back to her. Before she could even say anything he rushed to her and brought her into a tight hug.

"Oh thank god you're awake." He spoke with a shaky voice. "I thought I was going to lose you too."

"Dad… what's going on? Why am I in the hospital?" Taylor asked in shock, surprised to hear the emotion in her father's voice.

"You don't remember what happened yesterday?" He asked with a hint of worry.

"I don't…" She began.

Then it all came back to her. Coming to school after the break. Her bullies were waiting for her. A locker filled up with used tampons and other garbage left to fester. Them shoving her into it and leaving her to rot. The laughter and jeering as she cried and begged them to let her out… out… out… out… out… OUT…

She wasn't sure when, but she had grabbed on to her father in a death grip as tears poured forth.

"T-t-t-t-t-they left me in there. T-they… they…" She spoke as she began to hyperventilate.

"Shshshshsh… It's okay little owl, you're safe now. You're not in that horrible locker, anyone." Her father spoke in a soothing tone as he gently rubbed circles around her back.

"I don't wanna go back Dad. It's horrible there. I don't wanna go back." She cried.

"And you won't if I have any say in it." Danny declared as he pulled away slightly. "There's no way this was an isolated incident. I had inklings that something was going on at school but had hoped you'd come to me if it was the case."

He looked away in shame.

"Clearly that was a mistake." He muttered. "But one I'll correct."

He looked back at his daughter.

"I won't ask for details, not yet. You just got up after being out for nearly a day and the doctors are going to want to check on you so I'll let you off the hook for now. But I do expect them. Got it." He stated.

She merely nodded, still in a state of somewhat shock.

"Good, now let's call the nurse. Something tells me that the asshole didn't have the decency to do it himself." He stated before pressing the call button.

There was silence as the two waited. Taylor was unable to come up with anything to say, still in shock over everything that occurred. Sitting there, she saw her glasses lying on a table nearby and grabbed them. As she put them on, she thought back to just before she woke up. Did I hear a voice?

'Yepper!' The voice replied cheerfully.

"Ahhh!!" Taylor exclaimed as she looked around for the voice's source.

"Taylor? What's wrong?" Her father asked in a panic.

"Did you hear that?" She asked.

"Hear what?" He questioned.

"A-a-a-a voice I thought I heard…" She began but stopped when she saw her father's perplexed look.

She looked around to see no one else was in the room.

"I could've sworn I…" She began but shook her head. "Maybe I'm just hearing things."

"Probably, you have been out for a while and you went through something traumatic." Her father noted. "Probably a strong memory resurfacing or something."

"Yeah… probably…" She muttered as saw the nurse enter the room.

"What can I do for you Mr… oh… Ms. Hebert, you're awake." The woman exclaimed.

"Ahh… yeah…" Taylor replied.

"Earlier than we were expecting too, this is wonderful." The woman cheered. "With any luck this is a sign of you having a clean health bill. Though we'll have to do some tests to make sure."

Danny moved out of the way to let the nurse do a basic health check. She let a silent cheer loose when she saw no noticeable problems.

"Everything checks out so far. I'll go grab the doctor." She stated before walking out of the room.

Taylor's stomach took this time to let everyone know it's hunger as it rumbled, causing her to blush. Her father chuckled.

"Once the doctor's done with ya we'll have to get you some food." He noted.

She weakly glared up at him. There was a brief awkward moment of silence.

"So uhmm… who was that guy from earlier?" Taylor asked.

"Tch… some jackass from Winslow looking to use your hospital stay to strong-arm us into silence." Danny explained.

"WHAT?! I nearly fucking die and they still try and pull this shit?!" She exclaimed.

"What do you mean…" Danny began but shook his head. "I'll ask later. But yes, they tried."

He then adopted a predatory smirk.

"But with you up so soon, you should be out much sooner than expected. Which means we can absorb the costs of your hospital stay without too much trouble. That sad sorry excuse of a school isn't going to be able to sweep this away so easily. I'll make sure of it." Danny declared.

"Not to be a downer dad, but is there anything we can actually do to the school? I've already tried going to the staff lord knows how many times and was ignored or out right called a liar." Taylor spoke up.

Danny stiffened and curled his fists in anger. He took a few deep breaths to calm down.

"I know I haven't been the best father since Annette died, but you really shouldn't underestimate your old man." He stated.

"But Emma's dad's a lawyer. If he files a lawsuit there's no way…" Taylor began.

"Wait Emma?! Your best friend Emma?!" Danny exclaimed.

Taylor flinched.

"Y-y-yeah… weee… kind of had a falling out." Taylor explained.

Danny sighed.

"Now I definitely want to know more, this goes beyond most falling outs. But like I said, don't underestimate your old man. I've got connections. Even if we only have what happened to you yesterday to go off of, it's still more than enough to get things moving. Any more we can find will only help our case. Alan may be a tough hurdle if he throws his hat into this, but not an insurmountable one." He declared. "Just leave it to me."

Taylor looked at him with cautious hope. Hope that finally she'd get justice for all that she went through, yet fearing that it'll be denied like so many times before. Before anything else could be said, the doctor walked in with the nurse from earlier.

"Alright sorry to interrupt ya conversation, but I need to run ya daughter here through a few tests to make sure everythings alright. Taylor it's good to see you finally up girl. I'm ya doctor, Dr. Rodger D. Dangerfield, call me Doctor or Dr. Dangerfield. Any questions before we begin?" The doctor rolled off.

"Uhmm… how long do you think I'm gonna be in here?" Taylor asked.

"That'll depend on the results of today's test. If all goes smoothly, you should be out by tomorrow at the latest." He answered.

This caused Taylor to blink in surprise.

"Really?" She questioned.

"Yep, luckily for you, you got no real infections from all the crap you were shoved in. But there are other things we need to look out for. Now if you don't mind, let's get started." He stated.

The doctor went to work doing various tests to make sure Taylor was healthy, mentally and physically, with the nurse assisting him when needed. Once they were finished they said Taylor would have to stay an extra night to make sure everything was fine but should be ready to go home tomorrow, if all goes well. After they had finished up, Danny left to get Taylor some much needed breakfast. Thus, Taylor was left alone without much of anything to do. She sat there in the hospital bed looking out the window, wondering what the future holds.

'So with them finally gone we can…' The voice in her head spoke again.

"Ahhh!" Taylor exclaimed.

She looked around the room and saw no one.

"Why do I keep hearing a voice?" She muttered.

'Because I'm talking to you in your head. Duhhhh…' The voice spoke.

"In my head?" Taylor questioned in a slight panic.

'Well there's no one else around who would be talking to you right now.'

"Oohhhhh…" She groaned as flopped down onto her bed. "I've gone crazy. I'm hearing voices in my head. They're gonna throw me in the whacky shack."

'I think you mean psych ward. And I'm not just any old random voice. I'm your incredible guide into the wonderful world of heroics, Kiana Kaslana.'

Taylor gave a deadpan look to the ceiling as she had no way of directing it to the voice in her head.

'Don't give me that look! I'm serious here!'

"I'm sorry, but you're a voice in my head who's telling me they're like my spiritual guide to being a hero, what do you expect?" Taylor retorted.

'Ahhh… a little faith. Of all the superpowers in the world, is one giving you your own personal self-help guide really so out there?'

"Wait, are you telling me you're my power?" Taylor questioned.

'Nope, I'm saying I'm the part of your powers that helps you learn how to use them my adorable new kouhai. Oh and before we continue you can just talk in your head. Can't have people thinking you're actually crazy talking to a disembodied voice.'

Taylor gave a deadpan look up to the ceiling.

'Alright, that one's fair. But my point still stands. Just try it out.'

Taylor looked up at the ceiling for a little while longer before sighing. Like this.

'Yep, just like that Taylor-chan.'

Taylor-chan?

'It's a term of endearment. I knew a lot of Japanese people before this so I adopted some of their mannerisms.'

I see… uhmm… so… your… ah… claiming to be part of my powers?

'Hmph… if you doubt me, try focusing inwardly, you'll find an energy residing in you now.'

Taylor was tempted to ignore the voice in her head, but something told her to give it a try. An old dream of heroism that yearned to be true. A hope that after all she's gone through, she'd have received something good for it. Thus, she closed her eyes and focused inward. At first she felt nothing, then she found it. Energy, power, she felt it deep within her. It was not gentle but raw, chaotic, and powerful. Still, she grasped hold of it. Slowly she opened her eyes to see a brief crackle of orange energy on her hand before it faded. She stared at her hand, her eyes shining with amazement. She even ignored the mental smug look Kiana was sending her.

'Believe me now?'

Taylor merely nodded.

'Glad to hear it. Nice job on calling out that energy without my help by the way. Nice to see my kouhai is already a natural at this.'

Thanks. Taylor relied as she lowered her arm down. I can't believe it. I have powers. I'm actually a cape.

'Yeah well don't get too ahead of yourself. Your powers are weak right now and need time to grow and you need time to be trained to use them.'

Taylor closed her eyes and had a resigned smile. Guess I've got a long road ahead of me then.

'Yep, but we can worry about that later. You can't do much here. Once you're in the privacy of your home we can start planning on how we're gonna do this.'

Sounds good to me. Taylor mentally replied as her father returned.

"I'm back." He declared.

Taylor smiled as her father brought her breakfast. He placed it down on a table and swiveled it in front of her. She began to dig in as he sat to the side of her. As she ate she couldn't help but feel hopeful for what the future would bring.

The next day…

After making sure she had a clean health build, Taylor was let out of the hospital late in the morning. With her father taking another day off, he was free to be there with her and eventually drive her home. They sat in the car in silence as he drove down the road. Danny wanted to wait till they were home to have any serious conversation and Taylor didn't know what else to say. Thus, they sat in silence all the way home.

They pulled up to their house and Danny was the first to exit the truck, followed closely by Taylor. Avoiding the broken board on the step, the two made their way inside. Taylor made her way upstairs.

"Taylor." Her father called out before she got on the steps.

She stopped and looked at him slightly pleadingly.

"I'm not letting you put this off, I need to know what's been going on. If for no other reason than to help our case against the school." He stated.

Like we'll get anywhere… She thought bitterly. However, after what was discussed yesterday, she knew she wouldn't get out of this. She also hoped deep down her father was right and there was something they could do. There was also the fact that Kiana kept pestering her about it.

'I only pester because I want to help you, and since I haven't figured out a physical way to smack you, I need to do so verbally.'

I don't think you can physically do anything to me, you're in my head. Taylor replied as she made her way over to the sofa.

'Don't doubt a Kaslana.'

Taylor decided to not respond to Kiana and instead focus her attention on her father who had sat next to her on the sofa.

"So…" Her father prompted.

She took a deep breath.

"So it all began when I came home from camp that one summer…" She began.

She went into detail about Emma's sudden betrayal in favor of her new 'best friend' Sophia. How the two that eventually became three conspired to make her highschool life a living hell from the start to now, a whole year and a half of near constant bullying. The triumvirate of bullies that was Emma Barnes, Sophia Hess, and Madison Clement did nearly everything one could imagine. They spilled drinks, stole homework, destroyed property, and more. Danny grew especially angry at the mention of the destruction of his late wife's flute. Taylor continued. She talked of the names, the physical assault, and the secrets her former best friend would reveal. Secrets revealed in private brought forth to cause harm in a horrid break of trust. All this, while the teachers and staff sat by and did nothing, or worse, called Taylor a liar. When it was all said and done, it took everything in Danny's will to not march down to the sorry excuse of a school that is Winslow High and burn it down. The only thing stopping was the need to comfort his daughter who was shaking as she told the long hidden truth.

"…And when they had let up I thought that maybe I'd finally weathered the storm but… well… the locker happened and… you kind of know the rest." She finished.

He nodded as she took several deep breaths. If anyone told her that a voice in her head providing emotional support would be what she needed to get through all of this, she'd probably call them crazy.

'It's what I'm here for. Partially.'

"Alright, now, I believe you. But we'll need more than just your testimony to really stick it to them." Danny brought up.

"I kept a diary and detailed virtually everything The Trio did to me. I also still got all the malicious emails sent to me. What about those?" Taylor asked.

"Hmmm… They'll help. With the diary, if we can match it up with any records the school happens to have we've got an in. The emails might be harder since, unless they were stupid, they probably used anonymous email addresses. Still if it happened during school hours then that might help." He noted. "We'll have to work fast though, the school isn't going to just sit by and let us win. If you're alright being on your own after all of this, I can get started today."

"I think I'll be fine… actually… yeah I will be fine. If I want to have a shot at getting out of the school I'll have to be fine." Taylor declared.