Just a Phase [Worm]

[Anti-No]

They can dig up minor crimes to send her to Juvie, but unless the law is really weird in this fic, then insubordination isn't a crime outside the military, and even if the Protectorate is set up like the military, and so it's a crime for a Protectorate hero, Wards are minors, it would take a lot of law changes to make insubordination a crime for them, and doing it would exponentially increase how much the Wards could easily be painted as child soldiers.

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It would wrap around to "it would be hard to argue that the wards are NOT child soldiers".

 

[KingCrimson1081]

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

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

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

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PRT Background Check:

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

Weld: "What did she do this time?"

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

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

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

Weld: "What?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

[riaantheunissen]

It's not unreasoable that the Wards would get medical checkups when they need them. So Vista stayed quiet and slipped by.

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Well...

Spoiler: From Sentinel 9.5

There were older injuries too. Small scars on her hands, tiny cuts on her legs, the bump of a dime-sized keloid scar on the top of one foot. The one that caught her eye was on the right side of her chest, an inch and a half down from her collarbone. An inch wide, the scar puckered inward a bit. It had been the result of an altercation with Hookwolf as the villain escaped the scene of a grisly attack on a grocer, a year ago. A blade on the villain's arm had punctured her armor as he'd knocked her aside. She'd felt the pain of her skin being penetrated and she'd kept quiet about it out of a desperate need to shake the label of being the team baby. She didn't want to be seen as the one always in need of help and protection. It would have been embarrassing to ask for medical attention, only for it to be a scratch.

It had only been later that she'd seen how serious it was, how much it had been bleeding into the fabric of her costume, underneath her breastplate. She'd stitched it up herself, here, in the showers. She'd done as best as she was able, worked with a kind of grim determination. Not the most competent job, in the end.

Vista kept quiet about one of them at least. The problems are that too much exercise for kids are a thing, kids are stupid, Wards get into combat and sometimes when somebody hurts themselves they don't realize how bad things are. So there not being mandatory regular medical checkups? That feels off. Isn't there a yearly one for police officers? If so, how much more often would one be recommended for a PR conscious organization like the Wards. Now, whether Piggot feels it's needed? That's something else, given what was shown in Interlude 3.

In fact, that might be one thing where a good Youth Guard representative and the PRT join forces, trying to ensuring Taylor goes for checkups whether it is strictly required or not.

Plus even if they did see that. It would probably been a too late to do anything so lets keep quiet about it and Vista would play along.

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Not too late for training, talks and mentoring, but Piggot might not care.

It could be that their medical information is private and privileged data that the YG can't access, with very narrow exceptions that don't apply here.

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Yes, it could be. Now mind you, I believe that they would want free access to medical files, given what problems such files can reveal, but they just might not have managed to get that kind of authority.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Not too late for training, talks and mentoring, but Piggot might not care.

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They probably realized it was wrong but they didn't think that they would be caught so they just kept going, unfortunately for them the investigators eventually did come knocking and they realized just how deep the hole they dug themselves is and have to scramble to cover everything up before it is found.

 

[Dur'id the Druid]

Random thought, how long before the Chinese 'recruiters' try to kidnap Taylor? Or the Teeth as they are local? Or heck, or some PRT bureaucrat 'lets' that happen to 'scare her straight', or just to remove the problems she causes?

I forgot what the Chinese parahuman organization is called.

Yeah, Worm is a very from grim world.

 

[Santo]

In a world where she is forced into taking the plea deal, they quickly run into the issue of "discipline is meaningless."

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Not to mention that they would almost certainly end up burning the very last tenth of a fuck Taylor has to give.

Then their main problem is not only discipline being meaningless, but a kid running around they cannot touch, cannot hold, cannot stop from standing up and leaving at any time. And may not be able to anesthetize. Who is now actively hostile rather than angrily apathetic.

What most of everyone other than Armstrong and Gauss don't seem to understand, is that if they push Taylor into a runner, they don't have any way of getting her back bar maybe calling in Eidolon, and that's a question mark.

It really is a complete fuster cluck and I like it a lot.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

to 'scare her straight'

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The problem with trying to scare Taylor straight is that if she ever finds out about it then it would justify every complaint she has about the organizations and will just make the situation worse with Taylor most likely fucking off in response.

 

[Nikas_Zekeval]

Being a Hero? Ship's sailed fam, she's VERY soured on being a Hero with the PRT,

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I'd say it's more, Taylor doesn't consider the Protectorate and Wards to be heroes. Or at least doesn't automatically consider them to be heroes like they do themselves.

Which also denies them a lever you missed, Friend/Peer pressure. If at best you don't consider the Wards to be heroes until proven otherwise, and at worst consider the 'heroics' to be a mask that you've already seen under and it's Emma and Sophia? Then their approval runs from "I don't give a shit" to "what am I doing wrong if they approve of me?"

They're entirely stuck, and I love it. They burned their bridges and now realise that they *really* needed to cross that river. If they push too hard, they literally can't stop her from leaving. If they push anything less than too hard, she'll just ignore them.

I absolutely love the quagmire they find themselves in. They just... can't do anything. And just cannot grok that fact.

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Like I said above, the Boston Department seem incapable of asking themselves "Are we the baddies here?" Well Gauss and Flechette did a bit. Which is part of a problem with the idea Taylor will turn to them if she wants a team. That requires trust that they'll have your back. Taylor thinks the Protectorate and Wards are measuring her back for where to stick the knives.

Everyone in the know, save Lisa (Thank you, the smartest person in Boston over here, with the awesome power of common sense!), think this is an unreasoning teenage rebellion. And not a rational set of decisions using the facts as Taylor knows them. Which starts with the biggest one the PRT, Protectorate, and Wards here are making different. That Boston is to be trusted unconditionally.

Assuming of course they aren't as stupid as Missy's internal dialogue was this chapter. Some of those lines were like they came from a polite Sophia.

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To quote an author over on Spacebattles? "The problem with teens is they never think about Plan B." Basically they go in assuming their initial idea will work out fine, and get caught flat footed when it often doesn't.

Vista kept quiet about one of them at least. The problems are that too much exercise for kids are a thing, kids are stupid, Wards get into combat and sometimes when somebody hurts themselves they don't realize how bad things are. So there not being mandatory regular medical checkups? That feels off. Isn't there a yearly one for police officers? If so, how much more often would one be recommended for a PR conscious organization like the Wards. Now, whether Piggot feels it's needed? That's something else, given what was shown in Interlude 3.

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Which might be where Missy plan gets tripped up. If the Youth Guard can't get a detailed medical record, but can pull an audit to make sure the routine stuff is up to date. Things like inoculations and regular medical checkups were at least done. "No Director, having their injuries treated by your staff or Panacea does not count as a regular medical exam. And we'll get back to you on how far above average your Wards are in injuries taken annually in a minute. But until they are up to date on their medical checkups and shots, you can't deploy them to the field."

At which point Missy is found to have scars, serious ones, that aren't documented. And worse stand out because she self-treated and did a sloppy job because of her inexperience.

 

[Breadnaught]

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

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When you go out of your way to force someone into a situation, you lose credibility complaining about needing to deal with said person and situation.

You pressed her into the Wards over her very clear objections. So long as she doesn't cross a line in her vigilante work, suck it up.

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

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.. you're you're just ignoring the part earlier in the conversation where this exact thing was shot down.

Yes, snag her on something minor when she breaks a rule, give her the option of juvie or accepting a plea deal. So she goes to juvie, gets out in weeks/months for whatever petty bullshit you convicted her for, then goes her merry way, while the PRT can go fuck itself.

 

[michaelb958]

So she goes to juvie, gets out in weeks/months for whatever petty bullshit you convicted her for, then goes her merry way, while the PRT can go fuck itself.

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She'd probably find the prison gangs refreshing in their upfrontness - "finally, someone who's honest and transparent about wanting to make my life hell!" ("???") - and is functionally immune to stabbing besides. As you say, plea deals are for folks who want to avoid prison.

 

[The Unicorn]

I mean, Lung and/or Hookwolf killing them is the best case scenario for the Brockton Wards going 'gray vigilante'.

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No. While there are certainly fates worse than death I strongly disagree with the argument that having their parents find out what they were doing and punish them appropriately is such a fate.

The one possible exception would be Vista (given her parents caused her Trigger Event) but given she'd get lots of hours of punishment duty she wouldn't be locked with them so I still doubt it would be worse than death for her.

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

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Yes, and no. The way contempt works is the judge sends you to jail to think things through for a few days, then you go back before the same judge and he asks what you have to say for yourself. If you refuse to apologize you go back to jail. Repeat until you give up or the judge retires.
So while you can be kept in jail for contempt for years, on paper each time you see the judge it's a new offense and a new charge.

Ew, the BB Wards are the biggest brats. This is the most actually a shitty twelve year old Vista I've ever seen in a fic and it's a breath of fresh air. Hell, Vista cuts Sophia more slack in canon and Sophia's a sadistic asshole who likes to target her specifically.

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To be fair to her, from her POV it's Taylor's fault that she (Vista) is forced to spend more time with the people who caused her Trigger, and since she's forced to live with the people who caused her trigger and keep torturing her she's not at all sympathetic to Taylor's complaints about being forced to work with the people who caused her Trigger.

Any 'we're sending you to Juvie' threat is equivalent to 'you're fired, go be a vigilante on your own terms' since she can like... nigh-effortlessly escape just about anything they use to try and restrain her.

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It's worse and better than you describe. Worse because from Taylor's POV she's ALREADY in prison, and actually would do a lot better in Juvie, where she could make friends with other kids her age.
Better because Taylor does still want to be a hero and so would be reluctant to go to jail.

Basically, no one, including Taylor, knows how she'd respond to "Act as a proper Ward or go to Jail" ultimatum.

Well MIssy is a bitter 12 year old who had her toy taken away from her.

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No, she's an abused 12 y/o who is getting more abuse because of Taylor. Expecting her to be fair or open minded about that is pretty ridiculous.

 

[Rymu]

Actually throwing her into juvie could be a terrible idea even if she does decide to humor the authorities by not immediately walking out. For she might just make some friends, and we all know what happens when Taylor makes friends with a bunch of criminals...

 

[The Unicorn]

Actually throwing her into juvie could be a terrible idea even if she does decide to humor the authorities by not immediately walking out. For she might just make some friends, and we all know what happens when Taylor makes friends with a bunch of criminals...

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I think she's pretty much guaranteed to make friends, unless she made a concentrated effort to avoid doing so - in Juvie Taylor (even without powers) would be someone other girls go to for protection, and try to befriend to get her more willing to protect them.

 

[Blade4]

I want to see just how badly the wards brilliant plans bring even more shit down on them and perhaps get a few in jail or dead. The fact that Piggot got the two girls off with kp duty for what they done just really seals the deal Taylor will get no justice from them ever it seems. But the fact that Boston outright refuses to understand and try to help Taylor?

One day they may find themselves deal with Heartripper...

 

[WindCall12]

No, she's an abused 12 y/o who is getting more abuse because of Taylor. Expecting her to be fair or open minded about that is pretty ridiculous.

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Abused yes, but YG getting involved in BB is a way for Vista to get abused less. It's just Vista likes being abused by PRT.

 

[ConsiderableHat]

Any cop that IDs her will attempt to detain her on sight.

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Any cop that IDs her. The thing is, the cops that are likely to see her - the ones out patrolling beats - are, well, simple flatfoots. People of the badge. The common clay of law enforcement.

Making a positive ID from a photo you half-remember from yesterday morning's briefing is not all that easy, so you're not going to be sure that the kid you're looking at is actually the one your sergeant told you to be on the look out for. Meanwhile there are easier aspects of your job available to be done right now: traffic violations, the Known Miscreants of the locality who are almost certainly up to something, and whatever wild hair of policing policy is up the collective ass of the higher-ups this week.

Taylor's not the wrong colour, so as long as she's not visibly up to no good, she's quite safe from all but one in a thousand cops. And even the most trivial changes of appearance - tuck her hair under a hat and wear sunglasses, for example - makes her safe from looking like that photo the sergeant showed you yesterday morning.

cops trying to detain her on sight? Not like they can do anything to her.

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Also, this. She only needs to be out of sight very briefly to be able to step through a wall and decisively break contact.

As for living on the street, lots of kids do that and Taylor's ability to shoplift for supplies is way higher than anyone else's.

 

[The Unicorn]

Abused yes, but YG getting involved in BB is a way for Vista to get abused less. It's just Vista likes being abused by PRT.

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Nope, to the extent the YG exist in canon, they were the ones forcing her to live with her abusers(i.e her parents) who caused her Trigger in the first place.
She wasn't abused by the PRT, although they and the YG certainly failed to help her.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

At which point Missy is found to have scars, serious ones, that aren't documented. And worse stand out because she self-treated and did a sloppy job because of her inexperience.

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I am honestly amazed Missy didn't end up with an infection or some other medical complication from patching herself up, considering she was around 11-12 at the time and her knowledge of medical training probably amount to a week of basic first aid.

So realistically Missy would have been taken to the hospital after her self stitching due to complications with the injury such as infection or simply by making it worse by not knowing what she was doing or being in the right state of mind due to said injury.

Plus it brings up the question on how she hid that injury considering it was bad enough that she needed stitching so she at least had to have been walking funny for a week or two after. So either way the PRT missing such a thing does not look good to anyone.

 

[Lement]

Reviewing chapter without reading comments:

Lisa's lair is ....surprisingly non-homeless. I thought she was on the streets near this point in time? This is positively extravagant.

Though, tsk tsk, impulse control problems with her power. Eh, if she wanted to be all responsible she wouldn't be a villain, right?

Though watching romcom is kind of...ow, considering it is something she can never have. Sad? Not for Lisa, I see, yet I still wince.

Anyway, that's an interesting loophole on phasing. Raises the old loophole of "just use your powers on their clothes" question.

Ultimately, since she's definitely getting involved*, and getting the two involved with Teeth and Accord and Accord's steroided up team....Well, now. Honestly, I don't know if I'd use 'powerful' for Phase at this point - the displayed capabilities are not really that different from Shadow Stalker, anti-thinker power aside, and not like lack of that matters on her patrols.

* Optimistically! hahaha @ "enough of those were heroic that Phase wouldn't complain" - but well, going with Taylor's wants is definitely good, pile of issues that girl is.



Was that Missy really interested in Dean the person? Some of the chapter even puts him down! Is he just eyecandy?

Interesting that she thinks Youth Guard actions are ordered by Phase - not surprising that she wants to go out and fight, though. Her not believing the things really happened goes a long way for keeping team cohesion, I suppose. Sophia doesn't even see it as anything as herself being punished unfairly. Can almost forget she's the only sane girl on team.

Though even then, Emma's sudden enthusiasm unnerves her, heh.

Ultimately, before the last bit, it felt like an unusual stab at setting ward Missy up in antagonist role - has that ever happened before? - before twisting into "Phase-ing is spreading!"

Not that, ah, Phase ordering Youth Guard around and getting out from under their thumb are precisely same concepts. Sure, becoming the boss of Youth Guard in the region would do that, but they don't really expect that from Taylor yet, do they?

Well, maybe they do.



And finally! Consequences of meeting Nebula! Phase continues to avoid accidentally tripping some rule she didn't know about without a lawyer to help!

Continuing optimism of Accord behaving in calm, sane and rational manner while Phase is rearranging his belongings!

Interesting that "arrest her on a technicality" is uttered in same breath as "threaten to transfer her", and avoiding the second automatically counts her as villain. Leaving Phase, personally, aside and considering it as a statement about wards in general, what would do this to Brockton Bay Wards who are going to be Phase'ing?

Well, lets consider threatening a minor with being taken away from their home city. Arrest is pretty easy for lot of them.

First of all, the home city is Brockton Bay, ordered around by Piggot. So it's more like a reward. It was a reward to Phase, really, so they should already know this.

But, ok, teenagers care about things like "friends and family", maybe it works. (Not on Phase, of course.)

Second, how, exactly, would these events transpire? Say Youth Guard does nothing and it's legal, at which point should the supposed future and present team members arrest insubordinate ward now branded villain? When they're in base for 'trespassing'? When they're not showing up in another city for the job?

It's easier when the guardian cooperates because of homelessness issues, but when they don't one is left with attacking the troublemaker with the rest of team until they obey or go to jail and give up on earned money.

Well, I didn't read the PRT Quest myself, but I don't think Nebula would have handled Flint well. Ostensibly, his motivation is about how he should be helping Phase, but his plans and anger whispers to me "future amnesia".


However, Laura continues to support Nebula in supporting that vigilantism is being consigned to a life of crime. So much for those permissive laws, Massachusetts? Well, you tried.

Anyway, both argue by anger and loud voices, here, even with opposing viewpoints. Company culture? Yikes.

Result: The importance of counterargument depends on Laura's anger. Laura isn't going to raze the city to the ground if Phase is arrested for a legitimate reason, therefore there's no problem with making Phase obey that way.
Oooops.

Though, I imagine laws will change once Boston games...explode. Thanks Lisa. You're going to provide the best team! And with her powers, Phase is never going to kill the Butcher! Who is going to be madder between her and Accord?



PS: I got to say, I had been finding it rather amusing by this point how most of the fic discussion had been during over a year+ since last chapter. "There's still more to discuss!" I smirked, finding the situation ridiculous absurdist humor. But fear not. We'll be here, we'll be waiting....One day you'll tire, one day you'll fade, even stars go away...And when that happens, we'll still be talking of your works when you're six feet under!

 

[The Unicorn]

I am honestly amazed Missy didn't end up with an infection or some other medical complication from patching herself up, considering she was around 11-12 at the time and her knowledge of medical training probably amount to a week of basic first aid.

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Most wounds, even deep wounds with lots of junk forced into them don't get infected or have other complications. It certainly can happen, but even without Missy washing the wounds or putting antiseptic on it the chances are there'd be no complication.

Basically while there are issues with the scenario, Vista recovering just fine with no complications is not one of them.

Plus it brings up the question on how she hid that injury considering it was bad enough that she needed stitching so she at peast had to have been walking funny for a week or twp after. So either way the PRT missing such a thing does not look good to anyone.

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Yup. Granted we don't know if the wound needed stitches, just that Vista thought it id, but either way the PRT and her so called teammates not noticing anything is really bizarre, and doesn't reflect well on them.

Reviewing chapter without reading comments:

Lisa's lair is ....surprisingly non-homeless. I thought she was on the streets near this point in time? This is positively extravagant.

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Lisa being Homeless never made sense in canon, and in this story she isn't Homeless - She has a fairly nice home with a large home office, and presumably plenty of clients willing to pay her for her Thinker services.

 

[Evilreadermaximum]

Glad to see Lisa getting involved in this mess. I wonder if she'll see the Rex parallels this time around. Vista is being unsurprisingly unsympathetic, She's drunk too much of the Kool-aid. The BB wards are thinking of following Taylor's example, which I'm sure couldn't possibly have any consequences.

And then there's Nebula/Derek. Who's being an absolute moron who doesn't appear to be able to connect the dots between "Attempt to force Taylor into line" and "Apparently uncontainable, nigh impossible to track superpowered teenager with a chip on her shoulder" to get "Not a scenario that leads to an active ward."

Idiot.

Anywho, Very glad to see this back and looking forward to where you take it from here!

 

[SlickRCBD]

Taylor's not the wrong colour, so as long as she's not visibly up to no good, she's quite safe from all but one in a thousand cops. And even the most trivial changes of appearance - tuck her hair under a hat and wear sunglasses, for example - makes her safe from looking like that photo the sergeant showed you yesterday morning

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The thing is, that during the school year the cops tend to hassle anyone that looks like a teenager during school hours except at lunch time.
It's a common complaint of recent graduates who don't look 18.
Heck I knew plenty of people when going to Harper College that got hassled by the cops because they had Fridays free or only had one class on Tuesday and Thursday to the point where the school actually started issuing ID cards (and also because Metra gave discounts to college students if they showed a school ID but Harper did not have IDs in 1997 so we didn't get that discount, They did issue the ID cards the next year for both reasons due to pressure).
I was lucky not to be hassled for some reason, but it was a common complaint by my classmates of the cops asking why they aren't in school.
There aren't any truancy officers in the NW suburbs of Chicago, but instead every cop is a truancy officer.

If this is outdated, I apologize. I haven't been a teenager in over a quarter century.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Basically while there are issues with the scenario, Vista recovering just fine with no complications is not one of them.

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Still I imagine that Vista probably did some shoddy work with her stitching consider that she was probably in pain at the time and untrained for that kind of medical aid especially on herself.

 

[orig67199]

Actually throwing her into juvie could be a terrible idea even if she does decide to humor the authorities by not immediately walking out. For she might just make some friends, and we all know what happens when Taylor makes friends with a bunch of criminals...

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She saves the world ?

 

[Lement]

I have to wonder what dear old Costa-Brown and Legend are saying about this situation for Taylor's noncompliance to be such a big deal that both departments are pressuring Boston.

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I thought NY was Youth Guard, but it being pressure from Legend is actually pretty good insight.

Of course, given he was too good for Cauldron, pressure might be something like "help her" rather than "solve her being a problem", even if some may hear the latter through the telephone here.

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

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And benefits how! : By living in Boston in general! Her business isn't exactly competing with any of the other villains in city.

Im losing sympathy for Taylor at this point its just bashing different groups and when that happens I start rooting for the bad guys


So going forward are you going to make Taylor gay in this fic, becoues when a writer makes a point to have a mc sufer this much its almost always to have the mc gay, and frankly Im getting bored with every female mc becoming a lesbian or growing a dick so I would like to know a head of time

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A fair point, on the first. The nature of this fic's concept requires some idiot balls. Usually interludes are used to help audience sympathize more with the antagonists (e.g. Bonesaw), but here it goes for something more popcorn-worthy instead.

To be fair, it's hard to get both "opposed to Taylor" and "sympathetic with legitimate grievance". Missy was downright ideal candidate for that if one were to try, and well, you read the chapter.

One ponders, what scenario could be posited for that to happen?
Hm.... Maybe an unexpected power use results in Phase causing a disaster. Knowing about it, she figures she can avoid doing it again, and still refuses testing. But finding one bad result doesn't mean one has found other bad results testable, so her refusing is putting others into danger. However, Phase still cannot reasonably trust the authorities, leading to an impasse...Eh, still feels like Taylor is handed bit of an idiot ball. Perhaps the villains (or "villains") she beats up for TT will have better opposed motive check.

As for your question, more tags eventually are nice point, but tbh I don't usually expect much romance in fanfics outside of NSFW section/tagged otherwise. Though, heh, if this obliquely asking for straight worm fics good luck with that. The shelf of "interesting & developed male figures" is kind of shallow, but you might have more luck over on Archive of Our Own, because you can search stories by tagged characters over there.

She can also do a ton of damage to the PRT if she goes villain. Aside from outing people in Boston and Brockton Bay, she is also entirely capable of sneaking into any secured location and causing all kinds of havoc. Every time she did something it would be a reminder that the PRT are idiots and bungled what should have been an easy recruitment.

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It's a powerset more suited to Aishananigans, but I'm sure she can rearrange Accord's cereals until he calls for Citrine, at least.

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

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Wow, excellent move. The usual risks are both neatly pinned by "Phase ignores your thinker shit" and "Taylor ignores your non-Thinker questions".

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

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

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

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I don't know if she would be this trusting or say it like that at this point in time, but the sentiment is fun!

Piggot: Wimp.

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Piggot to Derek: "What do you mean, you need to know how to convince a teenager? Do you not know how to talk? I talk with my wards all the time, and it's nearly always all the motivation and punishment they need!"

Ew, the BB Wards are the biggest brats. This is the most actually a shitty twelve year old Vista I've ever seen in a fic and it's a breath of fresh air. Hell, Vista cuts Sophia more slack in canon and Sophia's a sadistic asshole who likes to target her specifically.

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To be fair, if you disbelieve what both Taylor and Emma are saying happened alongside ignoring the background implications, and do believe Phase is taking things out on her when they've never talked she may have something of a point in that it's punishing her, and even big-name heroes like Armsmaster for something she didn't do that didn't even happen.

Of course, it did happen, and that it could happen means people overlooked things, and investigators i.e. adult superiors don't have perfect information without looking, which they're now doing. And it's heavily slanted by how she's using heroineism to escape from / cope with her own trigger situation being her home, which means she cannot be rational about avoiding it.

Do X or Juvenile Detention? Her power both revolves entirely around escaping things, *and* has no known weaknesses. Good luck transporting/capturing/etc. her. Also, she would 100% choose juvie over working with them, that's the degree to which they fucked up.

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One can surmise that since it forced her into wards instead of streets in the first place juvenlie detention is probably not completely empty threat.

danny was pathetic.

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Bunch of screaming at other parent isn't exactly great deal or great temper indeed. In this situation, what's the best move for Danny?
A) Try to get lawyers to break PRT contract, when his home doesn't have money for step repairs?
B) Sue the school/PRT/Protectorate in lieu of Taylor for inj...Oh wait, can't do A.
C) Actually use this temper for something?
D) Go to the media? ...Wait, the story is already being hushed up.

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

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Lily in canon: "Skitter is so damn seductive I'll stab her!" *joins Skitter's team for girlfriend anyway*

Thrist is somewhat justified in her position and how statistically unlikely it makes for her to find a partner, but it's nonetheless a fun characteristic to give her.

Random thought, how long before the Chinese 'recruiters' try to kidnap Taylor? Or the Teeth as they are local? Or heck, or some PRT bureaucrat 'lets' that happen to 'scare her straight', or just to remove the problems she causes?

I forgot what the Chinese parahuman organization is called.

Yeah, Worm is a very from grim world.

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Yangban, and while they're not strictly present Accord does ship people to them. Well, at least Cody, if he qualifies. So theoretically he could get Citrine to capture her, knock her out with Blasto's drugs, and sell her to China. Succeeding in this will surely backfire in no way whatsoever

*looks at how Lung managed to avoid becoming Generic Yangban member*

Pretty sure the Teeth would just kill/maim her, though.

I think she's pretty much guaranteed to make friends, unless she made a concentrated effort to avoid doing so - in Juvie Taylor (even without powers) would be someone other girls go to for protection, and try to befriend to get her more willing to protect them.

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Powerless Taylor wasn't someone people went to protection before, why would that change now? She hasn't undergone the whole "learning to be authority from Bakuda and Brian" at this point. I think she'd just avoid other teenagers the best she could, even if her loneliness makes her liable to latch onto friendly faces.

Lisa being Homeless never made sense in canon, and in this story she isn't Homeless - She has a fairly nice home with a large home office, and presumably plenty of clients willing to pay her for her Thinker services.

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Consider: ⌜Follow these directions on a map to pressgang new Thinker 7⌟ . Tinkers get kidnapped, why not Thinkers? And she's has nicely a stable street address too!

Vista is being unsurprisingly unsympathetic, She's drunk too much of the Kool-aid.

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It was surprising to me, I don't think I've ever read personally antagonistic ward Vista before!

Still I imagine that Vista probably did some shoddy work with her stitching consider that she was probably in pain at the time and untrained for that kind of medical aid especially on herself.

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Hence the ugly scar, I suppose. Plus, usually one would need tools to keep the stiching area clean enough to not slip, while all she had was a shower. What worm characters do to avoid trigger event conditions u.u

 

[Dakkah]

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

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Can't tell whether or not Emma is being surprisingly clever. (Could just be an 'Entrapment' attempt, to force shenanigans the ENE can't cover up, since her dad and Piggot blocked her confession.)

Gauss is slowly breaking the conditioning, but damn is Derek Dumb.

 

[Evilreadermaximum]

It was surprising to me, I don't think I've ever read personally antagonistic ward Vista before!

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Being a ward, and being a Hero is her escape from her Gene donors. With the youth guard raising hell she'd almost certainly have to spend waaaaay more time with them, or risk giving them even more ammuntion. Combine that with being twelve and you get a very angry little girl.

If she was older she'd probably be more sympathetic, but she's a kid.

 

[Dakkah]

Being a ward, and being a Hero is her escape from her Gene donors. With the youth guard raising hell she'd almost certainly have to spend waaaaay more time with them, or risk giving them even more ammuntion. Combine that with being twelve and you get a very angry little girl.

If she was older she'd probably be more sympathetic, but she's a kid.

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Yep, considering that she's still living with her Trigger event, ofcourse she would be less than sympathetic that Tay couldn't even work with hers.

 

[Evilreadermaximum]

Yep, considering that she's still living with her Trigger event, ofcourse she would be less than sympathetic that Tay couldn't even work with hers.

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Yep, combine that with the fact that Vista seems to be in denial, at least when it comes to Emma, about how bad things were for Taylor. And with the fact that Vista seems to be missing the fact that unlike her, Taylor doesn't have an escape like she does. At least not one that lasts more than a few hours. And, well, you get her current attitude.

 

[Lement]

Being a ward, and being a Hero is her escape from her Gene donors. With the youth guard raising hell she'd almost certainly have to spend waaaaay more time with them, or risk giving them even more ammuntion. Combine that with being twelve and you get a very angry little girl.

If she was older she'd probably be more sympathetic, but she's a kid.

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I suppose there is overlap with the number of fictions that try to make Vista stop caping I've read: Precisely zero. Or, well, one now.

I wouldn't characterize even her last chapter portrayal as very angry, though. Yeah, she's grumbling, but she's not doing anything about it beyond complaining, is she?

Until she listened to Emma, that is.

(Poor fool. You should never listen to Emma.)

Edit: Don't really see her as being more sympathetic if older. Circumstances don't really change, but her disbelieving Emma makes less sense with age.