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Chapter Six—Echoes of Family

Chapter Six—Echoes of Family

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Taylor turned towards the doorway. "Hey, Dad." She cursed at how small and weak her voice sounded. Where was larger than life Tony when she needed him? Because facing her dad alone was not going to be any picnic.

Danny Hebert's face was furious. His temper, always somewhat volatile, was currently boiling over. "Don't you-"

Something to delay and defuse things. Taylor waved at the mostly asleep Trish, then pointed towards the back of the house. She took his jerky nod for assent and walked past him towards the kitchen. Entering, she took a seat at the kitchen table. It was time to face the music.

Her dad came storming in and sat down opposite her. He wasted no time before beginning the inquisition. "What the hell is going on? You're a Parahuman now? How did this happen? When were you going to tell me? I want an answer right now, young lady!"

Taylor stared at her dad's face. Remember, Taylor, she told herself, he's only upset because he loves you. It wasn't as much of a consolation as it should have been. Taylor managed to meet his eyes, but inside she was shaking. It was hard to speak, but she knew she could not keep her dad waiting. So she just said the first thing that entered her mind, "Tony never had a great relationship with his dad. They were virtual strangers. Yet when Howard Stark died, he was devastated." What the hell had she just said?

Danny's mouth opened, then closed in utter confusion. He barked, "What the hell are you saying, Taylor? What does any of that have to do with what you told Trish in the living room?"

"Everything, Dad. It's one of the things that I have to fix or I'll go the same way as him. I'll end up isolated, alone, with no one to support me. No one to love me. It terrifies me, being that alone. I-" The words came out, jumbled and disjointed. Taylor barely knew what she was saying. She hoped her dad could figure it out.

Danny took a slow, deep breath. Then another. Taylor knew a classic ten count when she saw it. In this case, two of them, back to back. Finally, after a moment, he asked in a far gentler tone, "Taylor, start at the beginning. What is going on with you?"

Taylor met her dad's eyes, then looked away from the raw emotion there. She wanted to cry so badly, but didn't know how. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words. She was floundering, feeling like a drowning victim, when her dad got up from his seat and moved around the table. Kneeling in front of her, he took her into his arms, his big hands stroking her back.

Slowly, Taylor relaxed into her father's arms, her eyes closed. "Taylor," she whispered. "I'm Taylor."

Her dad's grip tightened crushingly, then slowly eased. Breathing slowly in and out, Taylor began to explain, "The night I got suspended, I woke up screaming. Remember?" She could feel her dad nod as his chin brushed her hair. "It was because I woke up with someone else's memories. A man named Tony Stark. An inventor and a superhero. He's almost like a Tinker, except he's not. His tech is for everyone. He makes things not because of some Trigger Event, but because he's that smart. I'm that smart. I understand everything. And it's terrifying."

Danny slowly released her and moved back enough to meet her eyes. "Oh, Taylor. I'm so sorry, sweetie."

Taylor couldn't maintain the stare and looked away. A moment later she looked back at him and whispered, "Dad, I'm drowning in him. Tony's like a force of nature. He was over forty when he died and a hero for almost half of his life. His memories are inside of me and I sometimes don't know who he is and who I am. Where he starts and where I end. He was a playboy and slept with so many woman and I remember it all. It's horrible." She could feel red creeping over her features, something reflected on her dad's face.

Danny cleared his throat. "Umm... Taylor, we need to get you some help. The PRT-"

Taylor shook her head. "No, Dad. We can't trust them. They're corrupt. How can they not know about the end of the world? All of those Thinkers they have working for them. How can they not be telling people about it so that we can pull together and win? We need to either defeat the Endbringers or find a way to leave this world. The clock's ticking. I won't go anywhere near their secrets and lies."

Her dad gave her a searching look. "Taylor, how much of that was you, and how much was this Tony person? Because I don't remember you being this cynical."

Taylor's voice was weary. "Dad, you were there when I explained how thing are at school. I just see the PRT and the Protectorate as the school writ large. More importantly, they'll stop me. Try to control my technology. Keep me from putting it out there. Giving it to the people." Taylor was silent a moment. "Dad, they'll stop me from saving the world."

"Taylor, listen to yourself. I believe that you believe that you can make a difference. But some of the things you're saying are crazy. Weapons that can destroy reality. How... Why would you build such a thing?"

Taylor could feel Tony's memories pressing against her, suffocating her. Taylor! Taylor! Taylor! The mantra helped. With that, she managed a reply, "I'd do anything to protect you. To protect your friends, the people who stood by us when Mom died. I would move Heaven and Earth to save you all."

Her dad sat back on his heels, a tired sigh issuing forth. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I can get you some help. We don't have much money, but I can help you. A counselor-"

Suddenly furious, Taylor shouted, "No! Goddamn it! Listen to me! I don't need a counselor! I need you! I refuse to repeat Tony's mistakes! I won't do it! I was always going to tell you! I was! Listen to me. Please, Dad. Listen to me. Help me. Be there for me. I need you. Not a counselor. You. Dad. Daddy..."

It was like the floodgates opened, and for the first time in almost a year, Taylor cried. She felt her dad sweep her back into his arms, rubbing her back and whispering nonsense. She didn't care. The dam had given way and she had a ocean's worth of tears to cry.

Taylor held onto her father like he was a life preserver, and in many ways, he felt like one. He helped keep the memories at bay. Here, in his arms, she was more Taylor than she'd been in so long. Even before Tony, she hadn't been Taylor in so very long. Since her best friend first stabbed her in the back, then did it again over and over every single day thereafter for the next year and a half.

Sobs wracked her slender frame, but her dad was like a rock. Time passed, how much she didn't know. But finally, the stabbing pain eased and Taylor could think again. Resting her head against Danny's shoulder, she took careful note of herself. There was a tranquility to her thoughts that hadn't been present in far too long. Even the turbulence that was Tony Stark seemed calmer. Then again, he'd never cried a tear over his own father. Never truly had a chance to grieve. It had hardened something inside of him from an early age and affected his relationships with all the people in his life. With friends. With women. Maintaining a certain distance. Not allowing any of them to get too close. To breach the shell that covered him.

How fitting that Tony Stark had later become Iron Man. The suit was just another shell, this one physical, that protected him from the others around him.

Taylor had the chance for another path. One where she could live, love, and be happy. She would risk, going that route. There was no way around that. With that risk came the chance of pain. But pain just meant she was alive. Tony had taught her that. His memories. His regrets. Like ashes in her soul.

Slowly pushing away from her dad's shoulder, she looked him directly in the eye. Danny looked so worried for her. It was as reassuring as his earlier anger. He really loves me, she thought. It was a heady feeling knowing someone cared that much for her. To see it. Feel it. Be surrounded by it.

Speaking softly, Taylor slowly explained to her dad about the End of the World and how she was going to stop it.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Listening to his daughter speak that day was one of the defining moments of Danny Hebert's life. Always before, when Taylor had a problem, he'd been able to find a solution. To fix things.

Even the suspension he'd found a way to fix. Maybe he'd fallen short on the bullying, but even there, he had a idea that he'd planned to talk to Taylor about before she went back to school.

But this? He'd never felt so helpless before. Her words were like knives, cutting away the safe, relatively benign world they lived in, and exposing all of the dangers that lurked beneath the surface. Dangers that she could now see. Because she'd been given a gif-

No. Danny wouldn't call it a gift. He refused. It was more like a curse. A terrible responsibility that no one that young should have to shoulder. That Taylor had done so, mostly alone, broke his heart, even as it made him proud.

It was a terrible pride. Now Danny knew how the parents of those Parahumans who faced the Endbringers felt. Not knowing if their child would survive. Knowing only the uncertainty and terrible danger. A danger he could no more protect Taylor from than he could scoop up the ocean with a pail.

Because Danny could see her eyes as she spoke. Taylor's eyes had always been a window into her innermost being. That had faded somewhat over the last two years, the twin blows of losing her mother and her best friend clouding and occluding that window. But Danny had still been able to see Taylor in there.

Now the window was wide open and a new Taylor shone forth. Her faith in herself was as glorious as it was frightening. Taylor understood things, dark and terrible things that she should never have seen or experienced. They were there, in these new memories. From a man who had lived and died a hero.

From everything Taylor explained, Danny had come to the conclusion that Tony Stark was not a good man. Heroic, yes. Self-sacrificing, maybe. A man of too many excesses, definitely. He was a man who had failed his world and been given a chance, through a surrogate, to save another. But he would need to use Danny's daughter to do so.

I'm not giving you Taylor, Danny thought, anger again moving within him. He wanted to shout it to the world so that 'Tony' could hear him. Instead, Danny tamped down on that anger, not wanting Taylor to see it and think it was aimed at her. Because it wasn't. If anything, it was aimed at whatever being that had done this. If Tony Stark's memories were right, and some cosmic entity from his reality had done this, Danny cursed them to hell for their actions.

Because while Taylor burned bright at the moment, Danny had a terrible understanding of just how brief such brilliance could be. After all, Alan Gramme had been one such brilliant light. He would not allow his daughter to go that same route. He'd see her married with a loving husband and children if it killed him. This he swore upon his very soul.

Realizing his daughter was winding down, Danny asked a question, "And Trish? What part does she play in all of this?"

Taylor looked abashed. "I suppose you heard her, too, huh?"

Danny nodded. Of course he had. He'd heard almost all of the conversation between his daughter and the blonde girl. It still scared him, even after all of Taylor's explanations.

Taylor shrugged. "Then you know that Trish is a Parahuman. A Thinker. One with a unique power. And I'm going to recruit her to help me."

Danny repeated, "To help you save the world."

Taylor gave him a solemn nod. Taking a deep breath, Danny stated, "All right, then. How can I help?"

Taylor's mouth did a fair impression of a fish. "Huh?"

Danny nodded resolutely. He would do anything for his daughter. Now just to figure out what that anything was. "How I can, Daniel Hebert, help you, Taylor Hebert, save the world?"

The fierce hug Danny received as a response almost made up for the terror he felt for Taylor. Almost.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Trish woke up, feeling a lot better than she had before. Slowing getting up, she glanced around the room, realizing that she'd been lying on the couch in the den. When had she...

Memories flooded back. Memories of what Taylor had told her. Of trying to get a handle on things using her power, only to have it backfire on her. The migraine.

Tentatively, Trish moved her head around. There was no trace of the migraine now. Instead, her ability felt like it was raring to go. So much so, that instant curiosity filled her. Where was Taylor Hebert?

The computer on the desk was on and natural nosiness led Trish to investigate. Moving the mouse made the screen saver disappear. The prompt that appeared was requesting a password. Allowing her ability to come to the fore, Trish tried several without success. After a few more minutes, she gave up with a frown. Whatever password protected Taylor's secrets, it wasn't anything obvious or from her life. Certainly nothing intuitive.

Trish got up from the chair and headed into the kitchen. She whistled soundlessly as she noted the time. It was after four. She'd slept the day away. Which made sense since she hadn't really slept much the night before. She-

Trish's head abruptly turned as she heard a sound of metal on metal. It was coming from a door off to the side of the kitchen. From her tour the day before, she knew that one led to the basement. Taylor had warned her to be careful about coming down there was it was potentially dangerous with so much crap all over the place. Plus, it was full of spiders.

However, spiders didn't make clanging sounds not being much for working with tools. With care, Trish opened the door and headed down the narrow staircase. Reaching the bottom, she looked around. Then stared. "What are you doing?"

The figure in front of her whirled around, long curly hair flying. An exasperated expression crossed the other's face as she said, "You keep asking me that."

"That's because you keep doing mysterious things. Seriously, though, what are you making?" There were lots of pieces of something sitting all over the work table in front of Taylor.

Taylor shrugged. "An Arc Reactor."

Trish mouthed the words, then shook her head. "I know I'm a Thinker, but even I need a little more to go on."

Taylor looked amused. She explained, "It's a kind of cold fusion reactor that utilizes the beta decay of Palladium-107 ions as a source for the electron captureof Pd-103, thereby producing an electric circuit between two different radioactive isotopes."

Trish was trying to get her head around the science, when Taylor summed it up, "It produces three gigajoules per second or the equivalent energy of thirty barrels of oil a minute."

Trish whistled. "That's... impressive. What are you going to do with it?"

"Power the house. Get things set up for building a few items that I can use to leverage funds. That's actually one of the things I wanted to ask you to help me with. If you planned to join up with me that is."

Power the house? Then Trish understood as she made the connections to how Tinkers could be located by the PRT and the Protectorate. "Smart. Don't forget to still use a little power, though. It'll be even better than using no power for keeping you off their radar. And yes, I plan to join up with you. After all, who could say no to helping to save the world? What do you need me to do?"

Taylor gave the metal ring a critical stare, then turned towards her. "Welcome aboard. That's a really good idea by the way. I'll make sure to do it. Two things. First, I need you to help me figure out what items might be most helpful to build in terms of impressing someone based upon marketability and sheer usefulness. I have my own ideas, but I want to hear yours. The items don't have to be helpful to people, but I would prefer it if they were. Second, I need you to research attorneys. I'm going to need representation. One of the first someones we'll need to impress will be the attorney. Because I can't afford to pay him right away, he'll need to understand the potential of what we're doing. That he will get paid threefold somewhere down the road."

Trish nodded. "Easy enough. I'll need access to a computer, though."

"You can use the one upstairs. The password today is Z!394a0Ob23%9^ !N?yiwQ. Need me to write it down?"

Trish shook her head. "I've got it." Was that why she didn't intuit a password? That was about as random as it came, but still... "Ahh... anything I should stay away from as far as items to sell?"

Taylor shrugged. "Nothing too big. Nothing too lethal. Try to think of at least one big ticket item that a government or the government might be interested in."

"The PRT?"

"No. Let's stick with the actual elected representatives. Like Congress." Taylor had a strange look on her face as she spoke.

Trish simply nodded, having no desire to risk a migraine by trying to parse Taylor's deeper meaning. "Okay. I'll be back in an hour."

Actually, she doubted it would take that long. She'd already done initial research into trustworthy attorneys who could also be useful to a Parahuman. She should be able to easily pick out someone from her short list just by cross referencing it with someone who also had contacts in government and industry.

Just like that, one name came up. Quinn Calle. Specialist in Parahuman cases. Had contacts in the PRT, the Protectorate, and the US government, as well as several foreign allied governments. He also had contacts in business as he had brokered several deals with very simple forms of Tinker-tech that had proven to be reproducible. Rumored to have an in with Toybox, the home of a group of independent Tinkers. Smart. Amoral. Absolutely dedicated to his clients.

Trish didn't know how Taylor would feel about him having represented so many villains, but hopefully she would be open to the idea of him representing them.

That done, Trish turned to the next task. Now just what should she ask Taylor to make that could sell for big money and also impress a man like Quinn Calle? The more she typed, the more intense the grin on her face grew.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

"What is that operating system you have on your computer?"

Taylor turned around upon hearing the question. She saw Trish, who looked excited. She explained, "It's based upon an open-source OS from overseas. I made some pretty extensive modifications, though."

Trish smiled. "It's amazing. Very intuitive. I especially like how fast it was able to go from program to program."

Taylor shrugged. "I based it upon Starktech's OS that was used in all of the computers they sold. Once I get JARVIS up and running, I'll have him write out a version that we can eventually sell. It beats the hell out of Windows or even Linux. Or that other one you use here. I think it's called Mac?"

Trish nodded. "Yes, it is. Exactly what is JARVIS? An AI?"

"Yes. Very smart. Very helpful. He's one of the prerequisites I need to build an armored suit. At least beyond the most basic one."

Trish frowned. "What are you going to run him on? I don't imagine that you have access to a supercomputer or Tinker-tech."

"I'm building my own." Taylor enjoyed how Trish's eyes bulged slightly at the news. She held up a hand. "It's just a basic one, made from a couple of hundred old computer processors, but it'll do the job until I can build a better one. I'll probably use it, or a version like it, until I can build one using carbon-based chips instead of silicon." At Trish's odd look, Taylor explained, "Too many Parahumans have an affinity with silica. One of the worst villains, someone named Shatterbird, apparently can destroy all forms of electronics in a city she visits, causing huge problems. Carbon will be way better. Faster than hell, too. Now, what do you have for me?"

Taylor listened as Trish explained her choice of attorneys. She kept a frown off her face, even though she didn't like the idea of using someone who represented supervillains. How much of that was Tony, she didn't know. But otherwise, he sounded perfect.

Then it was time to hear the ideas about inventions.

Trish began, "First, we need to think in terms of threes. Three items for this go around. One should be a big ticket item that interests governments, especially our own. If it also interests industry that would be a bonus. The second should be an item aimed at people living in industrialized nations. Something that most people could use and can't be too expensive. The last one should be an item that can be used and sold world-wide. Hundreds of millions of people should be able to afford to buy and use it."

Trish continued, "It's important, I think, to first ask, what do people need? With the advent of the Endbringers and the inability to safely ship oil, an efficient way to make plastics would be huge. And by that, I mean government subsidies huge. Everyone would pay for it. Industries. The US government. Foreign governments. Everyone. Big profits that will come very soon."

Taylor nodded. That made sense. And she'd already considered it. "Okay, so one big ticket item. Any others?"

Trish nodded. "Fusion reactors. No one has been able to come up with a safe commercial fusion reactor versus the fission reactors that we currently use. Those are a constant danger from Endbringers, as well as producing enormous amounts of radioactive waste. A solution there would be very impressive. And net you billions."

Taylor critiqued the idea. "Billions, maybe. But it would be years coming. Any others?"

"A few more. Antigravity. For travel and for military applications. A ranged energy weapon. One that has multiple settings from stun on up. That can be sold in rifle form to the US military. It would allow them a much greater chance to defeat certain Parahumans. The flip side would be an energy shield. To protect troops from Parahumans and Endbringers alike. Hugely profitable. And very quick to market if you have a design."

Taylor frowned. She didn't want to get into weapons manufacturing so soon. Maybe the shield, then again, maybe not. After a few moments of consideration, she said, "I can build a plastic's synthesizer that can use a variety of plant matter to make high quality plastics. As long as there is some form of oil in the plants, such as corn, any number of beans, or even sawgrass. And it wouldn't need that much energy to do so, mostly using a series of chemical processes. I think that's the way to go."

Trish gave her an enthusiastic nod. "The next item is the one for industrial nations. I made a short list. A Holographic Projector/Recorder. An OS like the one you are already planning. A digital personal assistant, like a dumbed down AI. High capacity batteries or capacitors, useful in industry. Powered prosthetics and powered exoskeletons for the handicapped and industry respectively. A useful voice to text converter. Materials that are stronger or have unique properties. Specialized net search engine. Anti-viral software."

Taylor nodded. "That's a pretty good list. I think I can go one better. How about a Catalytic Water Converter that turns water into it's constituent elements H2 and O2 and burns them for energy? I can build one that would power the average household with a little left over. That way, if there's an attack and the electric grid goes down, they will still have power. Even better, it produces part of the water back again as a waste product."

Trish eyed her speculatively. "You can do that? Seriously?"

"Yeah. I can build almost anything, really, although some things need a lot more tooling and other technologies. Stark Enterprises had so many things in the works back in the day. That was just one of them. Think it would sell?"

Trish spoke in a cautious tone. "How much would it cost to build? The per unit cost, I mean."

Taylor considered. With the rare earth metals it would require, it wouldn't be dirt cheap. Ballparking it, she said, "About a thousand dollars to build, so we could sell it for three to four times that."

Trish spoke in a rush, "Yes, at that price, it would sell. Governments would buy it. For troops in the field. Better than generators by far. People would buy it to power their houses. You could have power even living out in the most remote locations. What would the life expectancy be?"

"Probably at least twenty years. Based upon continuous use. Longer if it were intermittent."

"Taylor, that could sell better than the plastics synthesizer. Cheap energy like that has been the dream of everyone since the beginning of civilization."

Taylor hadn't considered how important it would be to a society that not only didn't have fusion reactors, but that also didn't have a source of cheap fossil fuels anymore. Her thoughts were interrupted by a squeal from Trish. "Taylor! We can use a smaller version in cars! We can license it for everything. Even propeller driven aircraft. There might even already be electric engines that could use the energy. I'll need to look into that."

"Smaller version? Just how big do you think the thing is?" Taylor was almost offended at the idea that something she was building would be oversize. Then she realized who was behind it. Go away, Tony, she thought.

Trish shrugged. "I don't know. Refrigerator sized? Bigger?"

Taylor shook her head. "Two foot by three foot by three foot cube. Plus the water source, whether constant or a tank. I think that would fit in a car."

Trish nodded rapidly, almost manic in her excitement. "Yes, it would. Great idea. Now for the last set. Worldwide distribution. Any kind of healing device. A device for producing fresh water. Low moisture form of farming. Effective medicines such as new antibiotics. High yield crops."

The only form of healing device that Taylor knew of was a Portable Doc. But that was one and a half times the size of a refrigerator and would likely cost over twenty thousand dollar to build even scavenging some parts. Plus she'd need JARVIS or something like him to help run it. Not a bad item to have, especially for troops who didn't have immediate access to doctors, but not for an undeveloped nation as it would be far too expensive and impractical. Plus, she couldn't afford to build one right now. Taylor did know of a couple of forms of medication, one a highly effective antibiotic, the other a form of quick heal. Both might work. However, of all the things that Trish had listed, the one that seemed the most useful was the fresh water supplier.

Taylor explained her idea. "How about a solar powered water filtration unit that can produce enough fresh water for a family of five? It can even process liquids like urine, turning them into one hundred percent pure H2O. Depending on the location, it can even pull moisture out of the air, probably enough to live on in a humid climate. Even in a dry desert climate, it would be enough to keep one person from dying from thirst. Err... probably."

"That would be fine. Taylor, how long would it take for you to make these items?" There was an undertone of wonderment in Trish's voice. Surprising, considering she lived in a world where stuff far more exotic was commonplace. Then again, almost none of that stuff had trickled down to ordinary people, whereas Taylor's items would be for everyone.

Back to Trish's question. Taylor allowed Tony's memories to the fore. She carefully considered everything, including her budget and how primitive her resources were. There would be a lot of grunt work in recovering the more rare metals from junked components as she couldn't afford to buy them. Plus she still had to finish JARVIS and the arc reactor. All told, at least a month of eight to ten hour days. That's what she told Trish.

Trish asked, "You think your dad will go for that? What about school?"

Taylor explained what she and her dad had come up with the day before, "Dad promised that if I make perfect scores on the make up tests, that he'll push for me to test out of high school. I'll get my diploma as soon as I pass them. They're like harder SAT's. There's precedent as a girl in the grade ahead of me did that last year. So there shouldn't be anymore high school drama to worry about." She tried not to let that same relief show in her voice or on her face. Considering Trish's next words, she'd clearly failed.

In a careful tone, Trish said, "That's good. I don't know how bad it was there for you-"

Frowning, Taylor interrupted her, "Leave it alone, Trish. I haven't asked about your home life. Give me the same respect and don't ask about my school. Okay?" Wow, that almost had to be Tony, she thought. Trying to soften her initial words, Taylor said, "Look, it's a sensitive subject. I just don't want to talk about it right now."

Trish held up her hands. "No problem. I understand." She sat there looking contemplative. After a moment, she said, "You know, when you told me to come up with a list of things to sell, I wrote up the most pie in the sky list imaginable. Stuff that no one's figure out how to make, or if they have, it's advanced Tinkertech one off's that have to be maintained by the inventor at a prohibitive cost to their schedule. You didn't even blink at it. Is there anything you can't build?"

Giving the other girl's questions serious consideration, Taylor finally shook her head. "No. Maybe. I don't know. If I can visualize it, I can build it. And Trish?"

"Yeah?"

"I can visualize almost anything."

After that, neither girl spoke for a while. Finally Trish said, "I have been meaning to ask you something. I am getting paid for doing this, aren't I?"

Taylor laughed out loud. That was definitely Tony who found Trish's question amusing. He was Captain Irreverence. Forcing herself to stop, Taylor said, "Yes, you're getting paid. Like the attorney, though."

Trish sighed. "Yeah. Yeah. I get it. When you get paid, I get paid."

"Exactly."

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

AN: Okay, I wanted to thank everyone again for their great suggestions for inventions to sell in reviews and PM's. I finally narrowed it down to just a few and hope you enjoy the ones I ultimately decided upon. Others will come up eventually.