Just a Phase [Worm]

[BF110C4]

That's not how the PRT is generally portrayed though, Emmas crimes are a good deal below the limit for what mean they wont offer probation, so they want her, they might not judgeshop multiple times for her, but they're probably going to make sure the first judge she comes before, is someone that are open for going along with Emma getting put on probation.

Click to shrink...

But the one clear example we got of a Probation Ward was Sophia, whose crimes were excesive force while doing vigilantism, a crime that can be rationalized as trying to do something good but getting too much into it in the heat of the moment, an ideal scenario where the Wards can make a real difference, and even then the testimony of Alan as a character witness was pivotal to get her the probation, and in canon when the police got evidence of breaking her parole she was send to juvie without even a token effort to keep her in the Wards even in a situation where sincerely every cape was painfully needed to hold the line in the post-SH9 BB.

Now Emma on the other hand, was gleefuly torturing a civilian for two years before and after entering the Wards, showing true malice in the relish in which she relentlessly persecuted her victim and the crime which finally got her caught was both premeditated and particularly sadistic.At the same time she was aware that a Probatory Ward was covering serious misbehavior before her plea deal, that she continued that same misbehavior afterwards and in fact Emma encouraged further violations of the plea agreement which clearly shows a lack of respect for her own status as a Law Enforcement officer going beyond simple teenage disrespect of authorities.

Since her actions were done as part of the Wards character testimony from the PRT/Protectorate employees is inherently untrustworthy even if the judge feels unlikely that they will lie under oath, her own family is unelegible both because they're partial and because Alan is going to be busy enough defending that his testimony was not a deliberate act of perjury and her actions during school were so reprobate that any friend or faculty from school would be even more unreliable as a character witness there would be virtually no one capable of speaking in her favor in the courtroom. In fact the only person who would be able to give an alternative theory about Emma not being a sadistic monster would be Emma's psychologist, but his own expert testimony woulf have at least a 25% of having her commited to the same asylum as Labyrinth.

And then there is the victim, who is quite willing to have her day in court, and even if the PRT manage to keep her out of the courtroom the pile of evidence of abuse and a deposition would be enough for any judge to understand that Emma's crime was not victimless and in fact that the victim is waiting until she is 18 to sue both Emma and the PRT for every cent they got. And in fact she is already working hard on that front by piling as many complains of breach of regulations that the entire ENE Wards are being grounded and fined to a halt.

And to make it worse her own abilities are nothing to brag about, she is not nor she'll ever be a heavyweight with her powers, and after the disaster she made during the introduction of Phase into the Wards and the following attempt to continue the harrassment, teamwork with the Wards of either BB or Boston is all but a pipe dream as far as she is concerned.

By this point a judge sympathetic to the Protectorate would kick her out of the Wards in order to protect the program, regardless of all the other factors it is obvious that Emma Barnes lacks the moral qualities to be a LEO and in fact she would be a liability on every way that counts.

 

[tarrangar]

But the one clear example we got of a Probation Ward was Sophia, whose crimes were excesive force while doing vigilantism, a crime that can be rationalized as trying to do something good but getting too much into it in the heat of the moment, an ideal scenario where the Wards can make a real difference, and even then the testimony of Alan as a character witness was pivotal to get her the probation, and in canon when the police got evidence of breaking her parole she was send to juvie without even a token effort to keep her in the Wards even in a situation where sincerely every cape was painfully needed to hold the line in the post-SH9 BB.

Click to shrink...

And the example we got for a probationary Protectorate member is Madcap, a guy who multiple times broke people out of Birdcage transport, considering it's almost universal that children get away with more than adults, the severity of Madcaps crimes, should clearly be taken into account, when deciding whether a cape is eligible for probation.

Well that and Taylor got probation in canon, and her crimes while for the most part done for good reasons were extremely serious.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

about, she is not nor she'll ever be a heavyweight with her powers, and after the disaster she made during the introduction of Phase into the Wards and the following attempt to continue the harrassment, teamwork with the Wards of either BB or Boston is all but a pipe dream as far as she is concerned.

By this point a judge sympathetic to the Protectorate would kick her out of the Wards in order to protect the program, regardless of all the other factors it is obvious that Emma Barnes lacks the moral qualities to be a LEO and in fact she would be a liability on every way that counts.

Click to shrink...

Personally I believe that worst case scenario for Emma is that she serves out her sentence at a non-Ziz containment zone since she has proven she can't be trusted on a normal Wards team, but most likely isn't considered unsalvagable by the wider organization as a whole. As for when her theoretical probabtion ends depending on whether or not she wants to go full Protectorate I don't imagine her being promoted past whatever the grunt rank is in the Protectorate heroes since if she does get charged for what she did that would be on her permanent record so she will never be trusted with a position of authority within a military organization like the Protectorate.

 

[BF110C4]

Personally I believe that worst case scenario for Emma is that she serves out her sentence at a non-Ziz containment zone since she has proven she can't be trusted on a normal Wards team, but most likely isn't considered unsalvagable by the wider organization as a whole. As for when her theoretical probabtion ends depending on whether or not she wants to go full Protectorate I don't imagine her being promoted past whatever the grunt rank is in the Protectorate heroes since if she does get charged for what she did that would be on her permanent record so she will never be trusted with a position of authority within a military organization like the Protectorate.

Click to shrink...

That would be the most likely scenario for her keeping herself as part of the organization since she is a disaster waiting on a law enforcement role at any level considering that she happily conspired to aid Sophia break her parole for shit and giggles.

I would still put her at least two months inside a Medium Security Federal Prison under protected custody (where she wouldn't be as vulnerable to other prisoners as in an unsecured juvie) before giving her parole as part of a contaiment area in order to let it clear that this is not going to be like Shadow Stalker's pretent probation and that the real consequences are already there.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

On the topic of Emma's punishments I have to ask how Emma is punishing herself because from what I read during her interlude shows that she is not in a good place mentally and is very likely to spiral if given a nudge or two in that direction, and there is the topic of how she will attempt to apologize to Taylor if given the opportunity to do so and what potential lengths she might go to try and earn forgiveness.

 

[tarrangar]

Personally I believe that worst case scenario for Emma is that she serves out her sentence at a non-Ziz containment zone since she has proven she can't be trusted on a normal Wards team, but most likely isn't considered unsalvagable by the wider organization as a whole. As for when her theoretical probabtion ends depending on whether or not she wants to go full Protectorate I don't imagine her being promoted past whatever the grunt rank is in the Protectorate heroes since if she does get charged for what she did that would be on her permanent record so she will never be trusted with a position of authority within a military organization like the Protectorate.

Click to shrink...

The Protectorate isn't really a military organisation as such, and Emmas crimes were while she was a juvenile, they would probably delay any opportunity to rise above grunt rank hero, but if Earth Bet wasn't slated to collapse within a few decades, I don't think the black mark would still keep her from rising in the rank 20 years down the line, though it would probably be at least a decade, before she would even be considered for promotion.

 

[BF110C4]

The Protectorate isn't really a military organisation as such, and Emmas crimes were while she was a juvenile, they would probably delay any opportunity to rise above grunt rank hero, but if Earth Bet wasn't slated to collapse within a few decades, I don't think the black mark would still keep her from rising in the rank 20 years down the line, though it would probably be at least a decade, before she would even be considered for promotion.

Click to shrink...

Even then she would need to be really good at her job, because many of her current peers are going to be her superiors in the future and virtually none will ever recommend her for a promotion unless she really, really earns it, not even Gallant (even if he won't outright block it like Vista or Flechette probably will).

 

[tarrangar]

Even then she would need to be really good at her job, because many of her current peers are going to be her superiors in the future and virtually none will ever recommend her for a promotion unless she really, really earns it, not even Gallant (even if he won't outright block it like Vista or Flechette probably will).

Click to shrink...

She's not necessarily staying in Brockton Bay, nor are they necessarily staying, and capes with long experience are rare, between the fact that capes are a relatively new thing, and the high casualty rates, so if she don't get herself killed, 10-20 years down the line, she will be a very senior member of the Protectorate, and so have good chances at promotion.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Many (Failed) Attempts at Team Building


Weld was once again regretting his position as Wards team leader, truly anything could have been better than dealing with the mess he found himself in now. At least Director Armstrong was in the same position as him when it came to this so at least he could take some reassurance that he wouldn't have to do this alone.

"Are you sure this is the best idea sir, its been over a month now and Phase still hasn't opened up to any of us forcing her into these situations certainly won't help any," Weld said to the Director.

Director Armstrong sighed before answering, "It doesn't matter if I think it is a good idea or not, but both Watch Dog and the Vegas department have managed to kick up enough fuss over the Phase situation there isn't much I can do about it. Best to get it over with and hope that it doesn't damage what progress we have made to much when its over."

Nodding Weld picked up the document from the desk before making his way out of the office. All the while debating with himself over how to best tell the unwilling Ward about the new mandatory 'team building exercises' sent in from the main offices. Flipping through the list of required activities Weld could only hope the damage wouldn't be as severe as Taylor's disastrous first PR tour. Ah who is he kidding this is going to suck and there is nothing he could do about it.

---

Attempt 1 Trust Falls:

"Umm, Taylor your supposed to fall back so I can catch you," Roulette said to the girl was standing as straight as a board.

The girl in question looked at the other ward before responding, "Oh I know."

"Okay, then why haven't you?"

"Because I don't trust you," Taylor said while looking the other girl dead in the eye.

Meanwhile in the background Weld could only sigh and shake his head.

---

Attempt 2 Karaoke Night:

"Hey Taylor I was looking over the song you picked out for us and its apparently all instrumental," Lily said to her duet partner for this bout of team building.

"So it is," was the only response.

"Okay then are you going to pick another or..."

"No."

Watching the scene from the sidelines Weld once again regretted the choices that lead him here.

---

Attempt 3 Sharing Circle:

"Okay Taylor its your turn anything you want to share with the group," Weld asked the girl.

"Last person I shared secrets with spread them to the entire student body at my old school as a means to isolate me, so yeah not making that mistake again," was the girl's rather venomous reply.

"Wait was it the same girl who you know," Roulette asked somewhat hesitantly.

"Yes actually how did you know," Taylor said with false surprise.

"It was obvious in hindsight."

Weld once again determined that he hated whoever thought this was a good idea.

---

Attempt 4 Buddy System:

"Hey Connie weren't you partnered up with Taylor for this," Weld asked the tinker who was silently working on some gadget on her desk.

"Yep," was her only reply before getting back to her work.

"So where is she then, you two are supposed to remain together," Weld said felling is annoyance start to rise.

"She said she wanted to be alone," said the tinker as if that explained everything.

"The purpose of this activity is to build trust among teammates and you can't do that if Taylor isn't here," Weld explained to his teammate.

"And what teammate would I be if I didn't trust my partner to be left on her own," Connie shot back.

Upon hearing the girl's reply Weld could only scream internally at his situation.

---

Aftermath:

Weld sighed with relief after the end of the last 'team building exercises,' finally after two days of dealing with Taylor's noncompliance it was finally over. As soon as he began to relax he felt a vibration in his pocket. Pulling out his Wards phone he saw a new message from Director Armstrong detailing another list of mandatory activities, along with a rather short apology from the man himself.

Reading through the list Weld felt his body slump to the floor before letting loose a primal scream of frustrations towards the heavens for their latest bout of cruelty.

---

A.N.: Just something I wrote while sick hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think.

 

[BF110C4]

She's not necessarily staying in Brockton Bay, nor are they necessarily staying, and capes with long experience are rare, between the fact that capes are a relatively new thing, and the high casualty rates, so if she don't get herself killed, 10-20 years down the line, she will be a very senior member of the Protectorate, and so have good chances at promotion.

Click to shrink...

Seniority is a thing, but also experience and presentation. Emma will more likely than not waste her first five years as a Protectorate cape in a Containtment Zone before even being considered to a minor post anywhere close to civilians, so let's say three more years in the Eerie Indiana office with two other unremarkable rookie capes who are promoted first anyway since they at least don't come from a containtment zone (and sealed record or not everyone knows they sent there the screw-ups). From there if she wants to move to a bigger city where a real promotion is more than a pipe dream she either needs to get one impressive arrest record (hard to get in Eerie in the first place), or actively hunt for any opening in a larger city where there isn't a former member of the BB or Boston PRT, Protectorate or Ward (the former members of the PR and legal departments are going to be particularly vindicative) in a position to block the transfer, and since her credentials at this point are not great blocking or putting on an unofficial (but very real) probationary position is as simple as telling the boss how much of a headache she is while drinking some beers after work so let's say two more years transfering between minor posts until she gets someone to move her to Kansas City or other medium sized city (larger cities like LA or NY got a waiting list and also the means to read her sealed record so don't even consider those).

From there she finally starts to get some practical experience that her bosses will count towards promotion, however the Protectorate Rank structure is simple, you're either a hero, a team XO or the team leader so the oportunities to rise to the top are not as simple as seniority eventually gaining you a spot. The factor to be considered for a promotion are the practical such as fighting and policework abilities or administrative and leadership skills, those related to her popularity (and her lack of flashy powers, ten years of relative obscury and few if any positive political connections won't help there) and just as important the ability to coordinate and work with other regional and national departments. Is in this last category where the bad memories of her peers will also serve to block her, since by this point in time most of her peers from the Wards must be XO or leaders of their own teams and while people like Valve, Weld or Roulette will have vague negative memories of her and simply will more likely vote from someone else others like Vista who is an extremely powerful and respected heroine and most likely a senior member on one of the top teams in the country wil actively and enthusiastically go out of her way to block any promotion if she hears of it and for her word to be dismissed Ampere will need to be really, really good at her job, far above her peers.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

From there she finally starts to get some practical experience that her bosses will count towards promotion, however the Protectorate Rank structure is simple, you're either a hero, a team XO or the team leader so the oportunities to rise to the top are not as simple as seniority eventually gaining you a spot. The factor to be considered for a promotion are the practical such as fighting and policework abilities or administrative and leadership skills, those related to her popularity (and her lack of flashy powers, ten years of relative obscury and few if any positive political connections won't help there) and just as important the ability to coordinate and work with other regional and national departments. Is in this last category where the bad memories of her peers will also serve to block her, since by this point in time most of her peers from the Wards must be XO or leaders of their own teams and while people like Valve, Weld or Roulette will have vague negative memories of her and simply will more likely vote from someone else others like Vista who is an extremely powerful and respected heroine and most likely a senior member on one of the top teams in the country wil actively and enthusiastically go out of her way to block any promotion if she hears of it and for her word to be dismissed Ampere will need to be really, really good at her job, far above her peers.

Click to shrink...

Speaking of how the Protectorate ranking system works makes me wonder how far Taylor can potentially go with her power if she was willing to work with the Protectorate, because from what we have seen so far while her ability maybe versatile and powerful it isn't exactly as flashy as other powers so that kinda muddles the waters a bit, but then again it is Taylor so if she wanted the position there are few things that could convince her not to try for it.

Also on the topic of powers what would Taylor's theoretical threat rating be if the PRT ever actually got her into testing?

 

[tarrangar]

Seniority is a thing, but also experience and presentation. Emma will more likely than not waste her first five years as a Protectorate cape in a Containtment Zone before even being considered to a minor post anywhere close to civilians, so let's say three more years in the Eerie Indiana office with two other unremarkable rookie capes who are promoted first anyway since they at least don't come from a containtment zone (and sealed record or not everyone knows they sent there the screw-ups). From there if she wants to move to a bigger city where a real promotion is more than a pipe dream she either needs to get one impressive arrest record (hard to get in Eerie in the first place), or actively hunt for any opening in a larger city where there isn't a former member of the BB or Boston PRT, Protectorate or Ward (the former members of the PR and legal departments are going to be particularly vindicative) in a position to block the transfer, and since her credentials at this point are not great blocking or putting on an unofficial (but very real) probationary position is as simple as telling the boss how much of a headache she is while drinking some beers after work so let's say two more years transfering between minor posts until she gets someone to move her to Kansas City or other medium sized city (larger cities like LA or NY got a waiting list and also the means to read her sealed record so don't even consider those).

From there she finally starts to get some practical experience that her bosses will count towards promotion, however the Protectorate Rank structure is simple, you're either a hero, a team XO or the team leader so the oportunities to rise to the top are not as simple as seniority eventually gaining you a spot. The factor to be considered for a promotion are the practical such as fighting and policework abilities or administrative and leadership skills, those related to her popularity (and her lack of flashy powers, ten years of relative obscury and few if any positive political connections won't help there) and just as important the ability to coordinate and work with other regional and national departments. Is in this last category where the bad memories of her peers will also serve to block her, since by this point in time most of her peers from the Wards must be XO or leaders of their own teams and while people like Valve, Weld or Roulette will have vague negative memories of her and simply will more likely vote from someone else others like Vista who is an extremely powerful and respected heroine and most likely a senior member on one of the top teams in the country wil actively and enthusiastically go out of her way to block any promotion if she hears of it and for her word to be dismissed Ampere will need to be really, really good at her job, far above her peers.

Click to shrink...

That isn't really how it work long term, the Protectorate cover all of the US and Canada, there's more states than there's Brockton Bay and Boston Wards, unless they make it high priority to keep her down, if she's looking to advance her career in Texas, while none of them are even in that state, then they aren't going to present much problems for her.

And while they will probably always dislike her, I don't think they're going to put that much effort into sabotaging her 10 years down the line, nor is their arguments going to be that good 10 years down the line, as their arguments are basically that she was a giant bitch as a teenager, which if the people who actually worked with her as an adult say she's changed, isn't going to present that much of an obstacle, as most people believe that people do in fact change from how they were as teenagers.

Her record is likely to mean it's going to take her years more to get into command, but it's not going to stick with her forever, Taylor herself is probably the only one who will still be as enthusiastic, about spiting her 10 years down the line as she is now, and the longer it's been since the other Wards even saw her, the less their negative opinion of her will be considered valid, as their information becomes more outdated with time.

When it's only a few years since Emma committed her crimes, then her team mates from when she was in the Wards saying she's a bitch, has a great deal of weight, when it's been over a decade, and they haven't even had a conversation with her for over half a decade, their words against her will have significantly less weight, while the words of those she's recently worked with will have far more weight.

It's of course possible she wont be considered for leadership track, but that's more due to her relatively weak power, and the fact that I don't think she has the mindset of a leader, but there is other forms of promotions outside of leadership, namely being transferred to a more important posting, being trusted with the more import patrols where you're posted, and otherwise just becoming an important and trusted but not in command hero.

 

[Santo]

Many (Failed) Attempts at Team Building

Click to shrink...

Just washed to say that this made me chuckle a whole bunch.

Thanks for the Omake.

 

[Blade4]

I could see the prt forcing that farce anyway. It gives some data for the thinkers to chew on to make a mental model of Taylor to extrapolate with and it gives their pr divisions ammo for court and pr that they tried but Taylor is the problem refusing to even try and better herself or move on. That she is the problem not them.

As for Emma? First she needs to still be a ward instead of in a asylum with doctors trying to put her back together or willing to sign off that she wont slip and start torturing people for the giggles and stress relieve because her psychology is such that she is a danger to those around her and her powers enable her worse impulses.

 

[tarrangar]

As for Emma? First she needs to still be a ward instead of in a asylum with doctors trying to put her back together or willing to sign off that she wont slip an start torturing people for the giggles and stress relieve because her psychology is such that she is a danger to those around her and her powers enable her worse impulses.

Click to shrink...

Emma isn't insane, she's looking at either Juvie or probation if what she did to Taylor comes to trial, she's not looking at being sent to an asylum, and if she get Juvie/prison, it's all but certain that she will get probation at some point, the judge might say that she has to serve the first year or 2 of her sentence before getting out on probation, but she's unlikely to stay locked up until she turns 18, must less after she turns 18.

 

[Blade4]

Emma isn't insane, she's looking at either Juvie or probation if what she did to Taylor comes to trial, she's not looking at being sent to an asylum, and if she get Juvie/prison, it's all but certain that she will get probation at some point, the judge might say that she has to serve the first year or 2 of her sentence before getting out on probation, but she's unlikely to stay locked up until she turns 18, must less after she turns 18.

Click to shrink...

The girl that decided to bully the crap out of her former sister in all but blood until it ended in a murder attempt because it feels good and lets herself think she is strong is not crazy? Then after her victim triggers flips to thinking they totally can be friends again? Who's powers are based around finding others weaknesses then using them to take them apart? Yeah pretty sure any psych that deals with her is going to think she needs time in a asylum as a threat to herself and those around her. She feels sorry about it now but it reads like a abusers who is totally sad about it now... until their victim is around again and they get stressed.

 

[BF110C4]

The girl that decided to bully the crap out of her former sister in all but blood until it ended in a murder attempt because it feels good and lets herself think she is strong is not crazy? Then after her victim triggers flips to thinking they totally can be friends again? Who's powers are based around finding others weaknesses then using them to take them apart? Yeah pretty sure any psych that deals with her is going to think she needs time in a asylum as a threat to herself and those around her. She feels sorry about it now but it reads like a abusers who is totally sad about it now... until their victim is around again and they get stressed.

Click to shrink...

And being a member of Law Enforcement is quite the source of stress. Not to mention that cops got their pick of potential victims for abuse that can get through the cracks, and Emma has shown quite capable of hiding her actions even when doing so alongside a person who theoretically should have been under close supervision.

Plus in canon once she discovered that Taylor had become far more badass than even her own best estimates of herself and SS together she shattered, becoming so scared to leave her own room that she didn't flee when Scion went crazy two years later. It is in Emma's best interest (and frankly everyone's else) to get serious psychological help ASAP.

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

I could see the prt forcing that farce anyway. It gives some data for the thinkers to chew on to make a mental model of Taylor to extrapolate with and it gives their pr divisions ammo for court and pr that they tried but Taylor is the problem refusing to even try and better herself or move on. That she is the problem not them.

Click to shrink...

OTOH "The reason/way to get Taylor to participate in the Wards" is a password prompt. What does any competent programmer have happen when too many incorrect passwords are entered in succession?

Yes the Thinkers can throw shit against the wall of Taylor. But they already wasted attempts trying the passwords:

• Because your father wants you to
• Because it'll be fun
• Because it's a cool club everyone wants to join
• Because we are heroes
• Because it's for your own good
• Because we say so

Too much of this and the login will be frozen out for a cool down period or even the account will be locked till an Administrator unlocks it. And the PRT doesn't have the Administrator access to request that.

And is this being rolled out Wards wide? If not, well the Youth Guard can file complaints against it as harassment. If it is, how long before Wards, and their adult leadership, start complaining about how much time they are wasting on this?

 

[KingCrimson1081]

And is this being rolled out Wards wide? If not, well the Youth Guard can file complaints against it as harassment. If it is, how long before Wards, and their adult leadership, start complaining about how much time they are wasting on this?

Click to shrink...

It isn't being rolled out across the Wards, the excuse the higher ups used to get in Boston was that they are testing a new potential programs to promote unity and trust amongst Wards teams and Boston was the place 'randomly' selected for the trial run.

 

[Ina_Meishou]

It isn't being rolled out across the Wards, the excuse the higher ups used to get in Boston was that they are testing a new potential programs to promote unity and trust amongst Wards teams and Boston was the place 'randomly' selected for the trial run.

Click to shrink...

That works...once.

Maybe twice.

After the dozenth time in a row that Boston 'randomly' gets selected to try the blatantly ineffective, nonsensical new program. And specifically the Boston Wards, rather than the entire Boston apparatus...

Then it becomes blindingly clear that it likely has something to do with the ever increasing file cabinet full of harassment complaints by one specific Boston Ward. And possibly the 'internal investigation' that's been frozen with no action for weeks/months that just happens to be related to that same Ward.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

That works...once.

Maybe twice.

After the dozenth time in a row that Boston 'randomly' gets selected to try the blatantly ineffective, nonsensical new program. And specifically the Boston Wards, rather than the entire Boston apparatus...

Then it becomes blindingly clear that it likely has something to do with the ever increasing file cabinet full of harassment complaints by one specific Boston Ward. And possibly the 'internal investigation' that's been frozen with no action for weeks/months that just happens to be related to that same Ward.

Click to shrink...

Well they wouldn't do Boston multiple times on row they will mix it up a bit, it just so happens that Boston gets selected often but not always. Plus the team obviously needs the extra team building exercises, I mean have you seen the complaints that have been coming out of there recently.

 

[tarrangar]

The girl that decided to bully the crap out of her former sister in all but blood until it ended in a murder attempt because it feels good and lets herself think she is strong is not crazy? Then after her victim triggers flips to thinking they totally can be friends again? Who's powers are based around finding others weaknesses then using them to take them apart? Yeah pretty sure any psych that deals with her is going to think she needs time in a asylum as a threat to herself and those around her. She feels sorry about it now but it reads like a abusers who is totally sad about it now... until their victim is around again and they get stressed.

Click to shrink...

She need serious psychological help for sure, but she's traumatized and somewhat irrational, not utterly insane, which mean she's at the point where she should be mandated to see a psychologist, not at the point where she should be sent to an asylum.

There's degrees of mental damage, Emma is at a level where she should be forced to get help, but not at a degree, where she should be indefinitely locked up in an asylum.

 

[Blade4]

She needs a asylum until they are sure she is not in a enabling environment and she does not have a power or stressed induced issue to start tearing people apart. Powers want to be used and hers are a bullies dream. Was Taylor lingering trauma healing wrong or did her power push her subtle to do so?

 

[BF110C4]

She need serious psychological help for sure, but she's traumatized and somewhat irrational, not utterly insane, which mean she's at the point where she should be mandated to see a psychologist, not at the point where she should be sent to an asylum.

There's degrees of mental damage, Emma is at a level where she should be forced to get help, but not at a degree, where she should be indefinitely locked up in an asylum.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, but there comes the part about public safety. With her power she can't be disarmed, she was compelled to go after her best friend with manic intensity for two whole years, culminating in a premeditated life-threatening attack. She was aware and capable of hiding her both her trauma and her activities from both Law Enforcement, which she is part of, and of her family which didn't realize that she was different after the attack that gave her a Trigger Event so she has proven willing and capable of being discrete while abusing someone else.

Now, intense monitoring might prevent an incident from going too far during school and Ward time, but intense monitoring of someone is stressful, and at least at the Wards the attitude is as bleak and hostile as the rest of the kids can get away with without outright bullying. But at home she can be monitored at best by an older sister and two parents of which one at least has a full-time job. For a normal teen that would be enough,even if she gets violent with her caretakers but caring and disciplining an electrokinetic Blaster with a Thinker power capable of showing the weak points in enemies (and remember we still don't know for sure if those weak points include psychological ones) is like leaving her with a tazer with infinite charges that cannot be taken away and it means that if she goes bananas she can take all three members of the household at the same time long before help can come if they manage to hit a panic button. And she has shown herself to be manipulative enough to realize the power inbalance and ruthlessly use it, so why not keep her sister or her mother under a reign of terror, or better yet why not Alan, who is probably feeling guilty enough of the Alley incident to hide being abused himself.

On the other hand removing her from the sources of stress, giving her access to a psychiatrist 24/7 in case she needs it instead of the so far non-existent psychologist that visits the ENE Wards once upon a blue moon and having personnel trained and equipped to non-lethally subdue her in case of a panic attack or a breakdown or just a tantrum is only to her benefit. Also to the benefit of the Protectorate/Wards since once she comes out after a few weeks of monitoring she is going to be a more solid and adjusted coworker that won't let the rest of the Wards wondering if she is going to start torturing Vista if she is feeling bored.

 

[Blade4]

One thing I would like to see is either the think tank or a psychologist after studying everything they can about Taylor and her situation to bitch slap some people yelling at them for their stupidity.

You fucking dumb fucks you are recreating her trigger! She has in fact never left her trigger in her mind and all you have done is change cast and stage and made it a very slow burn. She will never integrate because its burned into her wards are potential threats playing long games and you are just the latest round of asshole authorities trying to use her.

 

[Brian1973]

Nice chapter. It will be interesting whether Taylor's escalation in her vigilantism or PRT Anti Thinker power needs to be explored pressure from above will trigger the start of true conflict. So far both sides are still more or less annoying each other with the PRT assumeing Taylor will eventually come around given time.

On this Topic

Either the PRT is being deliberately malicious, or they're being utterly idiotic. Neither is a good look as an excuse for their current behavior, which is actively criminal.

And it is criminal. Nondisclosure contracts are not legally able to silence reporting of criminal offenses. Them trying to convince a minor that they are in an effort to hide their own culpability is...criminal.

Contracts signed under false pretenses are not legally valid, them trying to convince Danny and Taylor that the custody swap, which was explicitly signed under false pretenses, is incontestable, is...criminal.

Legal Guardians are, as you might imagine, under a legal responsibility to see to the care of their wards. The PRT agent who is Taylor's new guardian is thus legally obligated to look her bosses in the eye and tell them to fuck the hell off the second their orders stop being in Taylor's best interest. Which she hasn't, which is...criminal.

While guardians can indeed sign legal documents in their ward's name, even minors cannot be compelled into employment against their consent. Doing that is called Slavery, and the law codes have some very clear language on that topic. So even leaving everything else aside, even if we were to assume that Taylor's place as a ward of the state is legal, their consistent efforts to force her into being a Ward of the state are...criminal.

For that matter, employers are not legally permitted to abuse their position of power over their employees when the employee is on personal time. Which means that the consistent attempts by the PRT to exploit their contractual authority as her employers to force her into non work related socialization is...you guessed it, criminal.

The list of laws the PRT and Protectorate are breaking in this story is massive, and it seems to get longer every chapter. People can claim they're being 'reasonable' all they want, but they're flatly wrong. The PRT has effectively kidnapped a minor victim of a crime committed by one of their own, and are actively violating the law to silence said victim. That is Not Reasonable behavior.

It's not necessarily unrealistic behavior, it's not out of character behavior, but it is not 'reasonable'.

Click to shrink...

Even without factoreing in the answer by the author (see spoiler below) about AU elemnts of the law in regards to parahumans.

You are pushing so many asumptions into your conclusions that are not stated as established facts in this story I don't even really know where to begin! Let's start with you basically assumeing that the regular fanon of the NDA and argument with the PRT offical basically happened (the one where they more or less admit that they know what Emma and Sophia did but also say warm parahuman bodies on the force are more important than enforceing the law). Please show me where the story tells us that is what happened?

If a story doesn't give us direct facts, it is better to gravitate to the easiest soloution possible. And the easiest soloution is that after Taylor's meltdown during the unmasking they did take Taylor's statement and did a preminilary investigatein (Emma's and Sophia's statement, other people, where it is possible other evidence) and just couldn't find enough to justify start a full one on what are essentially federal agents with protected identities. Don't forget the characters in the story don't have the positive knowledge of us readers. They need to be actually convinced by more than just Taylor said so.

Once you accept that for the PRT / Protectorate (and other offical agencies in the story) the question of whether Emma and Sophia commited a crime is not one they can proof (heck maybe not even one they are convinced about which is sometimes the lower bar), your whole argument about the PRT abducting a minor victim of a crime can be thrown out. And the cardhouse of all that follows from it as well. Without useing that as established basis convincing Danny to transfer Taylor is has to be seen under different motives and given that we know little to nothing about how it was done it might just as well above board.

Because be realistic without actual evidence that would stand up in court (because both accused Wards would fight it out there) what can they do? They could try to convince both Emma and Sophia's parents to agree to a transfer. But that is harder than getting one person to agree and has the added risk that Taylor would resent the Wards that worked with the two girls by assositation and the Wards not being happy about the two longer standing members being shafted on the word of a newcomer.

Your argument about the PRT as employer not being allowed to demand certain things can easily be countered by the other hat they have and that is the one of legal gurdian. The participation in group events can easily be framed as attempting her to integrate into the social group she will lodge with for the forseeable future. Also you again assume readers knowledge be applied on the question what is in Taylor's best interest. Form an in story perspective I think the PRT could convince most judges that they act in Taylor's best interest. I think whenever the best interest argument is used we should keep some points in mind:

1. Best interest does not (nessarily) mean what they youth themself wants to do. So as long as they can make a case that Taylor's wishes are not in her best interest they are in the clear. And it is hard to argue that a goverment covered position with added college fund is a bad option compared to vigilantism (not safe neither form a backup or legal standpoint) or outright going villian ... For similar reasons I think they could argue that forceing Taylor to join the rest of the Wards in social events is in her best interest.
2. Knowledge level of the actors and of any instance that might check on them. This is one where one must reign in the impulse to apply all knowledge we as readers have that actors in the story don't have (or where they suspect but have no proof and all the varriations of it). A Guardian can only act in the best interest of their charge to the best of their knowledge. All of this goes doubly for facts we just assume to be true because so many other fanfics used certain plotlines.
3. This argument can and should also apply against Taylor's wishes. As example the whole vigilante gig very much something ANY responsible Gurdian should shut down. Instantly, with vigor with approiate measures to make sure it does not get repated / continued. Even if a world where vigilantism isn't just outright against the law the fact of how unsafe it is alone points at what any responsible gurdian should do.

To be frank in my opinion a story where it is not black (PRT & Co) and white (Taylor and all woobie friends she makes) but more nuanced would be refreshing. Just because Taylor was a victim of a crime does not give everyone magic knowledge and proof of this fact. And given Taylor's reluctance to actually communicate I find it easier to assume she actually unintantionally sabotaged the investigation rather than every person being unfair to her out of malice. If we stick to what the story showed us we are seeing what can happen when people with genuine intentions interact with her. Taylor instantly jumps to the worst conclusion (i.e. The Wards were orders to be my friends in school. Lily must have betrayed me. And so forth.). When I take such a paranoid mindset as basis for how she would have reacted to any investigator probeing her claims (which will always come over as if they do not believe you) I would say chances are she either lashed out or shut down (both not helpfull for her case).

So after all that I'm not saying my theory is nessarily how it happened in this story. But it is a possible explenation that you ignore for just assumeing the PRT must have done something illegal and are now stuck in doing more illegal stuff to cover their first illegal act. In my opinion in absense of the story telling us that is what happened it is more resonable to assume that there is no great conspiracy here. Just a sittuation that is not lined up in Taylor's favour and a system that will naturally gravitate to assume she is better of remaining a member of the goverment hero organisation.

Spoiler

The important thing to note is that the number of laws you are breaking is irrelevant if the DA doesn't decide to prosecute.

However, even if the DA in Boston were willing to take the PRT to task, they're not breaking nearly as many laws as you think. Basically everything that you bring up -- legal responsibility for care, contract law, compelled service, etc -- have been gutted when it comes to parahumans in this AU. The general populace is scared of capes and the damage they can cause (aided in part by the media), and politicians have been able to score easy points by passing laws rapidly that ensure normal people have authority over the freaks. This has led to the unintelligible tangle that Taylor is using to her advantage, but don't think for a moment that the PRT will get in trouble for any of this.

At least, they won't get in legal trouble.

Click to shrink...

 

[KingCrimson1081]

If a story doesn't give us direct facts, it is better to gravitate to the easiest soloution possible. And the easiest soloution is that after Taylor's meltdown during the unmasking they did take Taylor's statement and did a preminilary investigatein (Emma's and Sophia's statement, other people, where it is possible other evidence) and just couldn't find enough to justify start a full one on what are essentially federal agents with protected identities. Don't forget the characters in the story don't have the positive knowledge of us readers. They need to be actually convinced by more than just Taylor said so.

Click to shrink...

It is stated in the first interlude that Emma fessed up to what she did so they do have a confession from one of the people Taylor accused. So even with a confession from the guilty party the PRT (Piggot) still refuses to act on it so in my opinion Taylor is justified in her distrust of the organization since from her perspective they have gone from faking ignorance of what happened to willfully trying to cover it up.

As for the scene where Emma says she confessed:

Emma flinched at Dean's admonishment, partially because he rarely made such pointed commentary and partially because it was a huge understatement. Emma didn't regret coming clean to the other Wards, even if they all hated her now; Sophia was pissed, but she didn't care what they thought anyways.

Click to shrink...

 

[Brian1973]

You know what hearsay is? A group of teenagers telling the authoreties that another teenager confessed a crime to them is pretty much the definition. If (and that is a big if) you want to make a claim that Wards count as officers of the law and thus confessing in front of them has legal weight that comes with several big problems. As in was she informed of her rights, was a legal gurdian present (for her Alan or Zoe since I don't see Alan singning a contract that gives that role anyone else), legal representation? To get a confession from a minor that has more legal binding power than the coeing sounds of a baby you need to jump to some hoops.

Additionally that snippet does not inform us whether she came clean before or after Taylor was send to Boston. Which has a lot of influence on how you see the PRT talking Danny into that action. Not to mention that one would have to assume that the whole line of command was informed of this confession which is certainly not how information is handles in law enforcement agencies. So even in the worst case it is still likley that whoever was send to talk with Danny about the move was genuine about it (personal cupability versus organisational).

 

[KingCrimson1081]

You know what hearsay is? A group of teenagers telling the authoreties that another teenager confessed a crime to them is pretty much the definition. If (and that is a big if) you want to make a claim that Wards count as officers of the law and thus confessing in front of them has legal weight that comes with several big problems. As in was she informed of her rights, was a legal gurdian present (for her Alan or Zoe since I don't see Alan singning a contract that gives that role anyone else), legal representation? To get a confession from a minor that has more legal binding power than the coeing sounds of a baby you need to jump to some hoops.

Additionally that snippet does not inform us whether she came clean before or after Taylor was send to Boston. Which has a lot of influence on how you see the PRT talking Danny into that action. Not to mention that one would have to assume that the whole line of command was informed of this confession which is certainly not how information is handles in law enforcement agencies. So even in the worst case it is still likley that whoever was send to talk with Danny about the move was genuine about it (personal cupability versus organisational).

Click to shrink...

Considering that Emma was one if the people accused I am gonna assume that her confessing to the crime counts, and the fact that the Wards are allowed to make arrests means they are officers of the law so Emma confessing to them should count as her giving a confession to a police officer. It is also mentioned in that chapter that her parents are aware of what happened and look at her with disappointment so there was probably enough evidence to convince the two people most likely to take Emma's side in the situation that she is guilty, so the fact that there wasn't anything done to punish her for what she did speaks more on the incompetence and corruption from the ENE department than anything else.

 

[Brian1973]

Considering that Emma was one if the people accused I am gonna assume that her confessing to the crime counts, and the fact that the Wards are allowed to make arrests means they are officers of the law so Emma confessing to them should count as her giving a confession to a police officer. It is also mentioned in that chapter that her parents are aware of what happened and look at her with disappointment so there was probably enough evidence to convince the two people most likely to take Emma's side in the situation that she is guilty, so the fact that there wasn't anything done to punish her for what she did speaks more on the incompetence and corruption from the ENE department than anything else.

Click to shrink...

There are still conditions that need to be met for a confession in front of a officer of the law. In particular for a minor. But ok lets assume those are met the Wards take her in and now she has to confess again with her parents present. Do we seriously think that a lawyer will agree to his daughter confesseing to any crime without a deal being part of that? Don't forget her parents knowing about a confession that is not admissable in court (and being disapointed) is not the same as her parents agreeing on her being questioned officially (with all the boxes checked) and thus confessing on the record (and binding in court) .Also the timeing question is not truly clear either. But ok I concede that the PRT BB knows what happened that does not mean they can actually proof it. Emma's confession can easily be blocked from going on the record by her parents and Sophia will not confess.

Now let's play devils advicate and assume worst case. PRT BB did know about what Emma and Sophia did completly (so not just from Taylor and they could make resonablya case out of it. So either a confession that checked all boxes or additional evidence was found) before Danny "talked" into the move. Would the whole PRT (as in national PRT + each Branch) commit kidnapeing of a minor victim to hide a crime? If we assume the maximum level of criminal energy on the part of PRT BB we must assume they also put nothing of it on the records and thus PRT Boston knows exactly nothing of these circumstances. As such the actions by PRT Boston can't be seen as a continuation of this policy but we have to assume they actually take their role seriously and work under false information.

As said before you can't assume that every member down to the officer drones and troopers of a law enforcement agency gets the full information packet on everything (updated in real time) ... Even in organisations you have to identify the persons who actually commited the cirmes.

And yes there are ways to get people on the hook on an organisational level but that needs you to basically proof that the organisation itself is a criminal enterprise. And good luck proveing that for the offical goverment heores. You know the guys who bleed and die every three month for the rest of us.