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But if Phase is a willing Ward then you can use more specific tactics such as an outright denial from her mouth
I mean it would be far more likely that some higher up finds a loophole that makes Phase a full Ward, overriding Armstrong and Gauss saying that's a bad idea, long before she becomes one willingly.
appearances by a body double with similar but slightly different bodies that can be used to offer some evidence that they are different people.
Still a body double would be tricky especially if Taylor isn't willing, and taking steps to obscure the truth does add more points of failure.
 
Frankly is less risky for the Wards to imply that Phase's powers are Thinker abilities to prevent the relationship between both her aliases from being made. They don't even need to use official channels for that, some rumors from totally not PRT troopers private accounts, maybe one of the Ward's thinkers complaining about interference when he thought a tourist couldn't hear him and a slide comment that Phase is moon related and Ghost becomes a far less obvious alter identity.

Best part? It would be in Taylor's interests not to expose the lie in order to both protect her secondary identity and to obscure her own powers just in case…
and to enjoy the fact that the lie pill up on the prt make it impossible for them to send her in the field as anything but poor thinker support, unless they make a show of catching and hiring ghost, then paying two ward salary for a single parahuman worth .
 
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and to enjoy the fact that the lie pill up on the prt make it impossible for them to send her in the field as anything but poor thinker support, unless they make a show of catching and hiring ghost, then paying two ward salary for a single parahuman worth .
Or they use her for covert ops, her power is frankly wasted as a visible caped hero acting on the defensive and under restricting Rules of Engagement when her own Stranger/Thinker abilities are a hard counter against most Thinkers and Masters acting from the shadows.

Hell, considering her dislike of the Wards/Protectorate, getting The Guild and Dragon to use her against S-Class opponents is going to be the smarter career choice for her once she is of age.
 
Or they use her for covert ops, her power is frankly wasted as a visible caped hero acting on the defensive and under restricting Rules of Engagement when her own Stranger/Thinker abilities are a hard counter against most Thinkers and Masters acting from the shadows.

Hell, considering her dislike of the Wards/Protectorate, getting The Guild and Dragon to use her against S-Class opponents is going to be the smarter career choice for her once she is of age.
I mean I'm pretty sure the PRT/Protectorate run their own strike teams for similar threats so they would still want her for that, and you know organizational greed not wanting to trade a useful asset even if they will be better off somewhere else. Plus they can't really use her for those kinds of actions until she turns 18 so the best they can use her for is a public PR hero which most Wards supposedly are. But still Taylor would be useful handling police raids with her phasing and Thinker ability allowing her to know where the criminals are, how many, and get in without them noticing by avoiding visible entrances. It isn't a wonder why Weld mentioned she would be a big help against some of the threats moving to Boston if that is what they will be up against.

Edit: Additionally it is as you said she would be an amazing counter to Thinkers and Masters so a lot of departments probably wont want to give that up even if she would be more useful elsewhere.

As for the Guild well that would be an issue since the Guild and the Protectorate have a lot of ties to each other, with their leader Narwhal also being a Protectorate leader, so Taylor might just consider them the same organization for all intents and purposes. And that isn't even mentioning that the process of transferring from one department to another would require looking over her records which the PRT can screw her with by stating she was uncooperative and difficult among other things.
 
That's why I mentioned her being of age. Once Taylor's 18, as a citizen with a clean legal record she will be capable of electing against joining the Protectorate after 'graduation' from the Wards and the usual threat of owning her cape name rights or blocking her from entering the private market are going to be useless.

Under those circumstances joining a team in a different country with a team operating under different rules of engagement but still an indirect part of the Protectorate might be as close as the PRT/Protectorate will have of having some measure of control of Phase without her becoming villain or emigrating to Europe or beyond.
 
That's why I mentioned her being of age. Once Taylor's 18, as a citizen with a clean legal record she will be capable of electing against joining the Protectorate after 'graduation' from the Wards and the usual threat of owning her cape name rights or blocking her from entering the private market are going to be useless.

Under those circumstances joining a team in a different country with a team operating under different rules of engagement but still an indirect part of the Protectorate might be as close as the PRT/Protectorate will have of having some measure of control of Phase without her becoming villain or emigrating to Europe or beyond.
She could also go with a left field option...the burn it all to the ground publicly.

Sure, full on unmasking means less able to be a hero, but not directly giving names and going full on public while directly blaming the PRT and Protectorate for things, pointing towards forced conscription and more. They try to retaliate and it essentially shows her as perfectly correct.

Going with a public anti-prt advocacy thing is one that would be the absolute wrecking ball that would come out of left field for them there
 
Under those circumstances joining a team in a different country with a team operating under different rules of engagement but still an indirect part of the Protectorate might be as close as the PRT/Protectorate will have of having some measure of control of Phase without her becoming villain or emigrating to Europe or beyond.
Still Taylor isn't gonna be inclined to listen to the PRT's suggestion on what she should do, and probably isn't keen on joining a group that is simply a spin off of them in all but name. She is far more likely to remain an independent or partner with Lisa than she is to join an organization that gives the PRT even the slightest amount of control over her.
 
Still Taylor isn't gonna be inclined to listen to the PRT's suggestion on what she should do, and probably isn't keen on joining a group that is simply a spin off of them in all but name. She is far more likely to remain an independent or partner with Lisa than she is to join an organization that gives the PRT even the slightest amount of control over her.
One thing to remember is that this Lisa can't use her powers to tailor her presentation to give Taylor the best possible impression and we don't know how mean Lisa is or isn't, while she could be a white glove villain if she is too ruthless or Taylor sees her as a bully in the same vein as Emma.
 
I am not exaggerating when I say that the best way to fix the mess that is Taylor Hebert's PR problems is to reveal enough of the truth, but doing so would worsen the situation in Brockton Bay because of Nazis.

*Because of the PRT.

Piggot and Co don't get to hide behind the Empire for their own actions, especially since this could have been handled (relatively) quietly if they didn't decide to play stupid games with someone that has nothing left to lose. (And that too was partially thanks to the PRT.)
 
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One thing to remember is that this Lisa can't use her powers to tailor her presentation to give Taylor the best possible impression and we don't know how mean Lisa is or isn't, while she could be a white glove villain if she is too ruthless or Taylor sees her as a bully in the same vein as Emma.
Well Lisa does have one clear cut advantage in swaying Taylor in that she is in no way connected to the PRT/Wards so that is a huge plus in Taylor's books. Also is Lisa even a villain in this AU from what we have seen and heard so far she seems more like an information broker type Rogue. Maybe a slightly villainous leaning one if she is open to trading info with villains as well as the heroes for a price but not necessarily a full on villain like other groups in Boston.

I mean so long as she is more morally gray than anything Taylor would be willing to work with her because it gets Taylor everything she wants/needs. She gets support in her endeavors through Lisa's info and possibly things like actual supplies the PRT can't interfere with. Plus it would be a partnership rather than Taylor submitting herself to an authority, which is what the PRT wants, so Taylor would have considerable say in what happens and can set the terms something she wouldn't have if she became a full Ward. And all Taylor would have to do in return is target a few areas run by other villains and Lisa's rivals and occassionally report back to her, and well Taylor was already intending to do that anyways.

Besides Taylor would be unlikely to see Lisa perform an action like what happened in the bank in canon since this Lisa doesn't seem to act in the field all that much and operates more behind the scenes.
 
The problem with Lisa is that she likes to push buttons on everyone who is not her friend or she specifically targets for recruitment. She won't attack Taylor directly, most likely she will smear the Wards and Protectorate in front of her, but she can't read Phase, not directly, and Taylor has been victim of the rumor mill before. If Lisa starts attacking the wrong Ward or she gets a little too hard on one of them and Taylor gets flashbacks from Winslow then she will refuse the Thinker with prejudice because schoolgirl bullying is a huge hot button for her, in particular using private information no one but the closest friends and family should have in the first place.
 
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The problem with Lisa is that she likes to push buttons on everyone who is not her friend or she specifically targets for recruitment. She won't attack Taylor directly, most likely she will smear the Wards and Protectorate in front of her, but she can't read Phase, not directly, and Taylor has been victim of the rumor mill before. If Lisa starts attacking the wrong Ward or she gets a little too hard on one of them and Taylor gets flashbacks from Winslow then she will refuse the Thinker with prejudice because schoolgirl bullying is a huge hot button for her, in particular using private information no one but the closest friends and family should have in the first place.
I mean Taylor let Lisa go off on Amy in the bank in canon, but I will admit that was different circumstances (she was trying the whole infiltration plan and had to put up with Emma and Sophia for an extra 3 months). Still Lisa going off on the Wards program and Protectorate in general probably won't get that much of a reaction out of Taylor since she probably already believes all that stuff. Plus Lisa is smart, even if she likes running her mouth, and while she can't read Taylor she wont immediately start with baseless insults and instead will say things Taylor would likely agree with based on her mental models of her. However I will admit that if Lisa starts insulting Lily or Valve, two Wards Taylor is somewhat okay with, then I can imagine her putting her foot in her mouth.

Though I do like the idea of Taylor and Lisa meeting and Lisa putting both feet in her mouth leading to Taylor arresting Lisa as Ghost. Next thing Taylor knows the Wards are being introduced to their new probationary member and they end up suffering together.
Edit to avoid a double post.
Piggot and Co don't get to hide behind the Empire for their own actions, especially since this could have been handled (relatively) quietly if they didn't decide to play stupid games with someone that has nothing left to lose. (And that too was partially thanks to the PRT.)
The arguement of Piggot needing all the boots on the ground she can get, which is probably her justification for not punishing Emma or Sophia, also falls apart when said soldiers become the reason why she can't get more cape reinforcement. Sure her plan would have certainly worked if Taylor hadn't made a fuss about it, even her dad was willing to not make a big deal about it, but they also gave her no reason not to make a fuss about it with her noncommittal we'll look into it answer. Already her choice to not punish Emma and Sophia has benched the entire team and that is just the start because I doubt any Ward will want to transfer to Brockton if word of what those two did gets out.
 
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The arguement of Piggot needing all the boots on the ground she can get, which is probably her justification for not punishing Emma or Sophia, also falls apart when said soldiers become the reason why she can't get more cape reinforcement. Sure her plan would have certainly worked if Taylor hadn't made a fuss about it, even her dad was willing to not make a big deal about it, but they also gave her no reason not to make a fuss about it with her noncommittal we'll look into it answer. Already her choice to not punish Emma and Sophia has benched the entire team and that is just the start because I doubt any Ward will want to transfer to Brockton if word of what those two did gets out.

And can end with Piggot wondering why one Ward finally snapped and painted the Ward's common room with the other two's blood and guts.

Piggot in this story apparently doesn't understand negative returns, and that engineering such a toxic situation is worse than not getting that shiny new cape. A lesson Armstrong is getting, along with keeping his damn curiosity under control. Because he asked Watchdog for some off the books power testing by having them Think at Taylor? Now he can't feed the beast without A) her cooperation, and likely B) admitting to violating the 'power testing is voluntary' rules.

Oh, and that gives me another idea for Movie Night with the Wards. Taylor's suggestions are one of the movies made about the "Reverend" Jim Jones and Jonestown. AKA why "drinking the Kool-Aid" is a meme.
 
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And can end with Piggot wondering why one Ward finally snapped and painted the Ward's common room with the other two's blood and guts.
Based on the latest interlude I feel like the Ward most likely to snap first is Vista, especially if Emma's plan ends up going sideways.
A lesson Armstrong is getting, along with keeping his damn curiosity under control. Because he asked Watchdog for some off the books power testing by having them Think at Taylor? Now he can't feed the beast without A) her cooperation, and likely B) admitting to violating the 'power testing is voluntary' rules.
Have to wonder what Armstrong's end game was there, did he think that some Watchdog report on Phase's powers would be accepted as a substitute for power testing by the Youth Guard?
 
Have to wonder what Armstrong's end game was there, did he think that some Watchdog report on Phase's powers would be accepted as a substitute for power testing by the Youth Guard?
Probably after getting informed by the Thinker in the Wards that Taylor negated his particular power Armstrong decided to contact the Think Tank in order to get a read on Taylor to evaluate if she was an immediate flight risk (still a very real probability), a potential threat to the Wards program, and maybe to see if one of the Thinkers could prepare a potential plan to get her into power testing on her own free will. A comparatively low risk plan that depended on the fact that is comparatively rare that a parahuman can deflect or negate different powers operating on different mechanics and that would have also satisfied some of his curiosity, at least before they all discovered that Taylor is a high level Stranger that no-sells all targeted thinker abilities, dramatically raising her threat level and recruitment priority, making the rest of the Think Tank nervous and curious and finally making Taylor paranoia even more justified as she felt every mental probe.
 
Taylor paranoia even more justified as she felt every mental probe.
That's gonna be one nasty kick to the nads to Armstrong and the PRT if/when that little fact gets revealed.

But yeah his low risk plan really freaking backfired on him since now it turned a local issue, well a two department issue, into something people higher up the chain are poking their noses into. Lots of people want an anti-Thinker on their side due to how nasty enemy Thinkers can be, and now they know they have one but can't use her which really must piss off a number of people.

Hopefully we get scene later on in the fic of Armstrong (and Piggot) being yelled at by the other directors for not getting Taylor onboard yet.
 
Have to wonder what Armstrong's end game was there, did he think that some Watchdog report on Phase's powers would be accepted as a substitute for power testing by the Youth Guard?
I think he mostly wanted information, ideally something he could use to persuade Taylor into power testing. After all, he probably doesn't trust anything coming out of Piggot's office, Danny is useless (as usual), and Phase isn't talking to him. He's probably also just running a check that if she runs away, (given her attitude, the possibility has to be considered) could they find her quickly with Thinker support? The fact they can't track Phase if she pulls a runner is something he can use to defend against pressure from above, because he can raise the spectre of her disappearing, the Youth Guard raise holy hell that they lost a Ward in their custody, and no amount of Thinker resources can help.
 
the Ward most likely to snap first is Vista,
Given how (un)helpful the PRT has been regarding her abusive home life in canon, that statement is true in any story where Vista's home life resembles canon...

Have to wonder what Armstrong's end game was there, did he think that some Watchdog report on Phase's powers would be accepted as a substitute for power testing by the Youth Guard?
Pretty sure he's operating on "maybe the horse will learn to sing" type of plan. i.e he knows nothing he can do will work so he's playing for time, as long as things don't get any worse there's a chance someone will come up with a solution...writing that out made me realize that's the PRT policy in general as well, not just about the Wards.
 
Pretty sure he's operating on "maybe the horse will learn to sing" type of plan. i.e he knows nothing he can do will work so he's playing for time, as long as things don't get any worse there's a chance someone will come up with a solution...writing that out made me realize that's the PRT policy in general as well, not just about the Wards.
Yeah well unlike the horse and other situations Armstrong is expect to deliver something to the higher ups now that he has got them interested in Phase. If he had sat back and didn't call Watchdog in then he could have simply left Phase in peace until she decides to join up or age out. Now he is on a timer and has to actually show that he his making attempts to get Phase to wave the flag and join up, attempts that he knows will only make Phase more of a flight risk.
 
Yeah well unlike the horse and other situations Armstrong is expect to deliver something to the higher ups now that he has got them interested in Phase.
That was true regardless, but requesting feedback/support from another department is a good way of delaying needing to do something, especially if you're actually supposed to take their recommendations seriously in general.

If he had sat back and didn't call Watchdog in then he could have simply left Phase in peace until she decides to join up or age out.
No, he couldn't. We don't know what timeline he was working on but sooner or later he'd have gotten some beurocrat talking to him about his department not being in compliance with regulation XYZ since PHase still hasn't met any of the expected milestones for a Ward and he has a week to submit all the paperwork showing she's progressing or else... (never mind how little any of that makes sense even without Taylor's specific issues involved). Now whatever that timeline is, it starts from when he receives the watchdog report and recommendations, not from when phase first became his responsibility, effectively resetting the clock.

For that matter, who said he had a choice in reporting things to Watchdog?
 
For that matter, who said he had a choice in reporting things to Watchdog?
or a hand ?
do we know for sure he was the one to demand or trigger watchdog ? it could have been a routine scan from them, at first, escalated to something more serious.

Which also mean that they dont respect their own rule about avoiding power interaction. (Taylor should have called roulette out when said ward admitted todeliberately, routinely and aggressively using her power on teammates with neither consent nor warning.)
 
I'd think that's likely given he would need to file reports so he'd either be reborting to them about Taylor, or hiding the information about her.
Which also mean that they don't respect their own rule about avoiding power interaction
Another reason I doubt they do that, although the bigger issue is that I doubt they have the resources to do routine scans for all the Wards in the nation
 
For that matter, who said he had a choice in reporting things to Watchdog?
or a hand ?
do we know for sure he was the one to demand or trigger watchdog ? it could have been a routine scan from them, at first, escalated to something more serious.
I mean it says he was the one to call them in the first interlude:
After both Hunch and Roulette confessed that their power did not work on Taylor, Kamil had sent in a priority request to Watchdog. Their response had everyone on edge: Taylor was invisible or otherwise immune to every targeted Thinker power they could test.

Hence, there was a renewed push from the other directors to get the girl into power testing. A very vigorous push.
It doesn't mention that Armstrong was following any specific regualtion or rule when he called Watchdog on Taylor just that he was checking after getting a report back from his Wards. As a result of that the other directors read the report and started breathing down his neck in order to get him to produce results.

If it wasn't for that report most other directors would have larger more important issues to deal with then one disobedient Ward. But now everyone knows that she has a specific ability that make her very useful in a number of operations.
Which also mean that they dont respect their own rule about avoiding power interaction
I mean yeah they don't respect their own rules considering that two Wards attempting manslaughter wasn't a bigger issue.
 
So here is a thought, Weld mentioned during the second interlude that he already has an idea of where to assign Taylor once she joins the team.
"Worse, I can't help but think about how great it would be to have her in the squad. She could be a huge help against the minor threats moving into Cambridge."
So how long until he or the other Wards get the bright idea to start mentioning villainous activity within earshot of Taylor as a means of controling her actions, and if the other Wards just so happen to be in the same area around that time all the better right. Or are they more likely to leave those locations alone until Taylor actually joins the Wards so they can give the new member a popularity boost once she joins. Either way I do full expect the other Wards to start interfering with Taylor's new hobby with or without orders from their higher ups. Maybe as a means of trying to get her to socialize in a more comfortable environment since the Wards base clearly isn't that for he, or as a means to catch her in the act and slap a probationary contract on her.

Still I am interested in other thoughts anyone might have on this.
 
How much knowledge does Taylor have of the Ward patrol routes and schedules? I mean, I'm pretty sure the Console is in the Wards common area, and I doubt the PRT bothers to individually inform each Ward of their patrol assignments. Plus, I doubt Ghost wants to encounter a Ward patrol while she's out being a vigilante.
 
How much knowledge does Taylor have of the Ward patrol routes and schedules? I mean, I'm pretty sure the Console is in the Wards common area, and I doubt the PRT bothers to individually inform each Ward of their patrol assignments. Plus, I doubt Ghost wants to encounter a Ward patrol while she's out being a vigilante.
The console is fanon, and bad fanon at that.
In BB, after Leviathan's attack the Wards had access to listen to the dispatcher in their common room, presumably because they were on call. This is
1)Very much not the standard situation for Wards.
2)Not Wards acting as dispatcher/controller, a job they are not qualified for, and would be a waste for them to perform if they had powers that made it possible for them to pull it off despite the lack of normal qualifications.
 
How much knowledge does Taylor have of the Ward patrol routes and schedules? I mean, I'm pretty sure the Console is in the Wards common area, and I doubt the PRT bothers to individually inform each Ward of their patrol assignments. Plus, I doubt Ghost wants to encounter a Ward patrol while she's out being a vigilante.
I mean patrol schedules are probably determined during team meetings that probably happy in a meeting room and not in the common area to avoid anyone learning about their non-PR routes and ambushing them. So Taylor is unlikely to know the other Wards' exact routes unless they happen to tell her or invite her to those meetings, but considering how many things are blocked behind power testing it is unlikely she is allowed to sit in on those meetings.

As for running into Wards during her patrol well she might not have a say in it if the Wards are actively trying to run into her.
The console is fanon, and bad fanon at that.
I mean it was mentioned that their was a console in the Wards room in this fic.
There were two other Wards attending our little PR stunt. Sitting at the dreaded console — Jim had explained what sorts of punishments Emma or Sophia might suffer if anyone cared to do anything — was Hunch. The young Case 53 was wearing his Sherlock Holmes-esque costume, and he gave me only a searching gaze before eventually refocusing on the monitors in front of him.
So Wards maning the console is canon for this fic and it is reasonable to assume that console training is standard for Wards. Though I do have to question why the console is out in the open during tours where anyone can look at it and report on the info on it.
 
As for running into Wards during her patrol well she might not have a say in it if the Wards are actively trying to run into her.
That was why I was asking about her knowledge of their patrol routes and schedules. While some deviation may be permitted, the Wards aren't going to be able to engineer an intercept if she is able to stay far enough away.
Though I do have to question why the console is out in the open during tours where anyone can look at it and report on the info on it.
I would bet that tour groups aren't allowed very far into the Wards common room, and the Console is very deliberately placed to face away from the area tour groups are allowed.
 

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