10

Chapter Ten—Requiem for a Friend

Chapter Ten—Requiem for a Friend

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Taylor yawned as she got out of bed. She read the alarm clock. Eight am. Wow, but she'd really slept in. When she'd gotten home last night, she'd been exhausted. After a brief visit with her dad and Trish, she'd integrated JARVIS, then headed to bed. After integrating him again again at four am, Taylor had gone back to bed rather than stay up as had been her wont the last couple of weeks.

Now Taylor was feeling pretty chipper and needed to go on what was for her a late run. She had plenty of time before JARVIS needed her again. So she got up and went in search of Trish.

Taylor found the girl in the den working on her computer. One of the first things that Taylor had done for Trish was to put together a desktop with an operating system for her to use for researching. Using the wifi network decoder that she had cobbled together from an old cell phone and a few other parts, the blonde was free to spend as much time surfing the net as she wanted, with no costs being accrued. Instead, she used parts of the networks of the neighbors within a half-mile range, the decoder combining the signals, allowing for maximum surfing speeds. Something similar was hooked up to JARVIS to allow him to realize his potential. Taylor made a mental note to fix that once they sold her first inventions. She didn't want to be someone who leeched off of other people.

"Ready for a run?"

Trish hid her wince as she turned, but it didn't fool Taylor. "Look, if you don't want to go..."

Trish jumped out of her chair. "No. Let me go get changed." She stopped as she caught Taylor's hesitant expression. "I really like running. I didn't think I would, but I do. So give me five minutes, 'kay?"

Taylor nodded and the other girl trotted upstairs to change. She idly walked around the room and stopped in front of the Trish's computer. She cocked her head at the screen full of butterflies fluttering around randomly. Then Taylor dismissed the screen saver by moving the mouse and stopped, arrested by the headline on the web page in front of her.

"Bullied Local Girl To Sue School"

Oh no. Taylor sat down and started reading. Everything there was all wrong. She was being painted as a victim, and maybe she was to some extent. But she wasn't disturbed by the bullying, as one website indicated. Nor was she borderline schizo, as yet another stated. A third proclaimed her a hero, while a fourth delusional. All in all, it was as maddening as it was inaccurate.

Taylor sat back, stunned by the sheer volume of crap about her on the web that day. No wonder Trish had reacted when she walked up. She'd known Taylor wouldn't like this one little bit.

"So you've seen it?"

Taylor turned around upon hearing Trish's voice. The other girl was giving her a cautious look. Sighing heavily, she said, "Yes. What's wrong with these people? Don't they have anything better to do than to worry about my life?"

Trish shrugged. "Doubtful. Don't worry, though, you'll be off the front page before you know it. As soon as some famous person or cape somewhere else does something, they'll forget all about you. Besides, Shadow Stalker has it so much worse than you do."

"If you say so."

"I do. So let's run."

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Running alongside Trish, Taylor was just hitting her second wind as they finished rounding the end of the Boardwalk. There was a good burn going on in her legs, and the sensation of air pumping in and out of her lungs made her feel alive. The two of them had just finished circling around to head back when Taylor saw a police officer ahead of them flagging them down.

Both of them stopped, waiting, as the uniformed officer jogged up panting, his face red as a beet. "Girls, I've been trying to get your attention for the last couple of hundred yards."

It was Trish who spoke up. "Sorry, officer... ahh?"

The police officer, likely in his mid thirties with a midsection slowly turning to fat, rested his hands on his knee as he continued to breath heavily. "Officer Simpson."

Taylor wanted to shake her head at the big smile that Trish wore. Currently, she was being all sunny and polite as she probably intuited that was what would work best with the cop. Trish really was too good at manipulating people. "Nice to meet you, Officer Simpson. Is there something you needed?"

He straightened up fully, apparently finally getting his breathing under control. "I want your names and why the two of you aren't in school."

Trish shrugged. "Trish Rogers. I've got my GED and Taylor here is going to be testing out of school on Friday. So neither of us are currently attending classes."

Simpson's eyes sharpened in recognition. "Taylor Hebert?"

Taylor nodded. "That's me. Err... did I do something wrong?"

Simpson shook his head. "No, you didn't. I remember your name from that video on Youtube. No wonder you looked familiar." At Taylor's chagrined look, he continued, "Yes, I've seen it. Pretty much the whole department has. There's a lot of speculation going on about you. Whether or not you should have pressed charges against them. At least those other two girls. And that damn school of yours. I've got friends who've got kids who go there. They weren't too happy to hear what's happening at Winslow."

Taylor felt her jaw drop. She tried her best to get herself back together after this impromptu confrontation. "Err... I'm not planning on pressing charges against anyone. Or suing anyone. And I think the PRT is going to be dealing with Shadow Stalker. At least that's the impression they gave me last night."

The officer shook his head in disgust. "Yeah, considering they took over the investigation, they can do whatever they want. Likely, you won't hear anything else about it again. They don't want the bad publicity."

Taylor didn't know what to say. She settled on a simple, "Okay."

Simpson's voice was surprisingly tentative as he said, "A lot of folks think what you did, taking her and her cronies on that like, was pretty damn heroic." Despite his tone, he met her gaze firmly as he spoke.

Taylor's own eyes widened and she quickly shook her head in denial. "I'm not a hero. I was just tired of dealing with them. I had a month to figure out a plan to take care of them, so I did. I just wasn't expecting the locker... That was pretty disgusting."

Simpson smiled back at her in reassurance. "That was smart using the zip tie. You were able to secure Shadow Stalker and no one could accuse you of undue force. You know, you could do well as a member of the police force."

Taylor met Officer Simpson's eyes and saw present an unusual emotion from an adult. Respect. Tentatively, she smiled back. "Thank you very much, Officer Simpson. I appreciate that."

He waved her off. "Go finish your run. Don't forget you can apply to the Academy as soon as you turn eighteen. And they accept high school equivalency degrees."

Taylor nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

She then took off, aware of Trish moving at her side. She glanced over at the other girl and saw the smirk on her face.

Trish mouthed, "Cop."

Taylor shrugged in return. She hadn't minded the police officer's recognition, coupled as it was with a rare feeling of admiration. Then she had a thought. Puffing a little as she had started to push the pace, Taylor asked, "Did you see him running after us earlier?"

Trish's fox-like grin was all the answer she needed. For a moment, it was all Taylor could do to run, she was laughing so hard.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Taylor stared at the data. She'd been doing a partial work up on Earth Bet using Societal Dynamics, an invention of Reed's. It had been just to reassure herself that there weren't any other bombshells waiting on the horizon here to trip her up. The problem was, things just weren't adding up. According to her initial calculations, there wasn't even the slightest hint of another danger on the horizon that could end the human race. Nothing other than the Endbringers seemingly threatened humanity's future and she believed that once she got production up, she could deal with them.

So why was there a tiny voice inside of her screaming that it was past time to run?

The answers were in the math. They had to be. Unless they weren't. Tony had run into too many psychics and precogs during his time as a hero to dismiss a hunch or even a dream as a possible source for a solution. Even beings that were as gods compared to humans sometimes gave out a freebie, the merest nudge in the right direction.

Is that what this is, Taylor wondered? Or have Tony's memories finally driven her over the border from quirky and eccentric into crazy and psychotic? Because the question that was niggling at her brain wouldn't seem to go away.

All right, fine. Time to approach the problem from a different direction. Taylor would ask for help. As busy as Trish was, she'd have time for this. Taylor might even tell her what it was for. Eventually.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Missy slowly walked into the ready room, the most depressed feeling of her relatively short life weighing her down. Certainly more so than even when she'd realized that not only did Gallant know how she felt about him as a result of his power, but that he had no intention of ever dating someone three years his junior. As humiliating as that had been, this was worse. At least that one had only affected her personally, while this affected both herself and all of the people around her.

In the corner she saw Chris working on something on a PAD, his head down. It was probably something Tinker-tech for his alter ego, Kid Win. Unfortunately, the others present weren't her first choice of people to hang out with.

Like the one who started speaking, "What's happening, short stuff?"

Missy rolled her eyes at the sound of her most irreverent teammate's voice. "I asked you not to call me that, Dennis."

Dennis merely grinned at her, not even remotely fazed by her bad mood. Then again, he needed that kind of chutzpah to call himself Clockblocker. "Sorry about that. I'll try to remember in the future." His expression made it clear he really wouldn't. "By the way, why the long face? Didn't you hear? We're celebrating No-More-Sophia Day. They're talking about making it a city-wide holiday. Hey, I know what'll make you feel you feel better! You can help me make a banner for the parade the city's having tomorrow."

"Dennis! That's completely out of line."

Both teens turned to see their team leader, Carlos, standing behind them, a foreboding look on his face. Missy wondered if Ward leaders like Aegis practiced that look in the mirror to make it more intense. Carlos' gaze traveled from Missy's mournful expression to the smirk that Dennis currently wore. "This isn't the time for that kind of comedy. What's going on with Sophia is serious." His voice dropped to just above a whisper, "I heard they found lethal ammunition in her personal belongings."

Dennis shrugged. "I know, that's why I'm glad. It means she's going down. If you only knew how many times I wished that I didn't have her backing me up. Guess what? My wish came true. Maybe I should clap for the fairies."

"At the cost of Sophia's freedom and a young girl's peace of mind plus who knows how much more damage." Carlos' sharp rejoinder hit hard. Even Dennis looked momentarily taken aback before a familiar mulish look settled upon his features.

Listening to the two of them verbally slug it out, Missy felt her heart almost break. "Stop it! This isn't helping! Why can't you both just get along?"

Carlos was the first to respond, "I'm sorry, Missy. I know this is a difficult time for all of us. Sophia-"

"I'm glad she's gone." Missy's outburst momentarily startled the two boys. She gave them both a hard look, her earlier melancholy retreating. "Sophia was nothing but mean to me. She made fun of me and mocked the things I liked as if they had no value." Her voice lowered in volume as she murmured, "I don't like feeling ashamed of who I am. Of being Vista. But she made me feel that way. As if I had no business being a Ward because I didn't want to hurt people."

Dennis stepped up to her, putting a comforting arm around her. "Missy, feeling angry at Sophia is natural. Hell, I hated the bi... err... girl. She was pretty much as you described her. Plus she didn't make me feel like she'd back me up if I really needed her."

Missy turned her eyes towards the door as another voice sounded off, "You can say that again."

It was Dean, the aforementioned object her of her younger self's crush. Missy tried to ignore the fact that her heart still beat just a little faster at the sight of him. Dean continued, "You all know me. I try not to say anything bad about anyone. And I get along with almost everybody. Except her. I'm glad she's gone as well. Hell, I'd rather have one of those crazy Texas Wards, like that girl with the raccoons, than Sophia helping me out. At least that girl looked dependable." It was almost shocking to hear Dean's words, as he usually behaved just as his namesake, Gallant. It said a lot that he'd been pushed to this point.

Missy could hear the censure in Carlos' tone as he said, "Dean, this isn't the time or the place for this discussion. We-"

"Carlos, what would the be time and place for this discussion? We're all here. I say we talk about it." Chris, who had kept his head down until now, finally weighed in. His gaze was sharp enough that it seemed to spear each of them. "I hated Sophia. She called me a dummy because of my dyscalculia. I am in all ways smarter than her, but she called me stupid. I. Am. Not. Stupid. Screw the bitch. I'm glad she's gone."

Missy noted the helpless look on Carlos' face as he stood there. It was usually Gallant who kept arguments from getting this heated. Who used his ability to intervene and calm things down. Now his was one of the voices that was pushing those selfsame arguments. Carlos didn't seem to know how to handle the turn of events.

Shrugging off Dennis' arm, Missy walked over and took Carlos' hand, holding it between both of hers. The tall youth gave her an uncertain look as she squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. "It's going to be okay. I think... I think we all needed to get this off our chests. Admit that the guys upstairs made a mistake putting Sophia in the Wards. She was never a good fit. It finally feels like I can breathe again."

Carlos gave a thoughtful look, his gaze touching each of his teammates. Finally, he nodded in acknowledgment. His voice initially tentative, he said, "I didn't like Sophia. She broke the rules, not to try to help people, but because she was selfish. I'm glad she's gone. I think we'll be stronger without her." The last sentence was said with a firmness that showed why Carlos should have been team leader even if he hadn't been the oldest.

Missy's relieved smile got lost in all of the rest of the team's. She let go of Carlos' hand as the other boys crowded around him, slapping him on the back and doing typical boy things, from whistles to whoops. Wistfully, she wished there was another girl who wasn't Sophia in the group to talk to sometimes. Looking over the smiling faces around her, Missy decided she could live without that other girl so long as everyone could always be this happy.

Missy stepped forward to get her own back slaps and whoops in.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Taylor heard the knocking all the way from the basement. She wondered who that could be. Walking upstairs to the ground floor only took a moment, then she heading towards the front door. She was only a few feet away when she was intercepted by Trish, who put a finger to her lips as she steered Taylor back toward the den.

Once there, Trish spoke before Taylor could even ask, "It's the press. Whatever you do, don't answer the door for the next couple of days."

Taylor stared at the other girl, her eyes huge. "What's going on? I thought you said it would be over in a few days."

Trish chewed her lip a moment before answering. "Apparently, your principal let slip to a reporter that you aren't going to sue the school but that they are going to have to put in place an anti-bullying policy as part of an agreement with you not to. Anyway, a local ABC affiliate picked up the story, then the rest of the local stations ran it. Finally, it kinda went national when CNN ran the story. Congratulation, Taylor, you're a national hero. Kidding. Well, mostly."

Taylor sat down as suddenly shaky legs could not support her weight. She silently glared at Trish as the other couldn't seem to stop smiling. What the hell was she going to do about this now?

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Taylor smiled in satisfaction as she finished up the last of the circuits for the Plastics Converter. Now she just needed to button everything up and she would be done. That took only a moment, and now it was ready to go. Not bad, considering the distractions of the last few days.

The device sat there, a simple metal cube thirty inches on a side. There was a large hopper attached to one end, that allowed the depositing of vegetable matter. On the side opposite from it, there was a smaller opening, only one inch high by fourteen inches wide, from which plastic sheets of varying thickness would extrude. On the side perpendicular to them was a small chute extending away from the unit for waste to exit from. Waste that was mostly cellulose and still edible for animals, containing most of the plant's nutrients. A very simple keypad control system with a small LCD screen sat on top, close to the side opposite the waste chute.

The metal casings for the various devices she was building had all been put together over at the Dockworkers Union's machine shop out of salvaged metal from the Ship Graveyard. They had done a surprisingly good job and it hadn't cost much of anything as the guy who did it was apparently bored and just happy for something to do. Her dad had salvaged the stainless steel sheets that had been used to fabricate the various outer panels and interior compartments. Taylor needed to remember to give him another hug for all of his help.

Deciding to run a quick test, Taylor plugged the device into the house's power supply. The test unit before her was small enough to be able to use ordinary one hundred and ten volt AC power. She then hit the button on top marked 'Receive.' Taylor grabbed a dozen ears of corn and several dozen handfuls of saw grass, dropping all of it into the hopper, almost filling it to the top. She listened as they were mulched, then processed by the equipment inside. Two minutes later, a green light began to glow on the control panel and she hit a button marked 'Extrusion.'

Almost immediately a hum began and from the fourteen inch wide opening on the left, a piece of semi-transparent plastic sheeting began to extrude. When finished, it was fourteen inches wide by a quarter inch thick and six inches long. Taylor carefully bent it and smiled at the characteristic flexibility and transparency of high quality plastic.

Taylor set it down next to the machine. She would test it later to see if there was any problems or deviations from the desired results. Not that she expected any. This wasn't the first such device she... Tony had built, after all. It wasn't that complicated a piece of equipment, depending more on an understanding of how chemicals acted under the effects of certain catalysts, than anything else.

She moved over to the next item on her agenda, the Solar-Powered Water Purifier. It was a plain stainless steel box only a foot square by six inches high. It was featureless except for simple input and output hoses, a switch with three settings, and a power input receptacle.

Oddly, this had turned out to be a far more complicated item than the plastics converter, not because of the water purification aspect, but rather because Taylor had designed and built her own solar cell to power things. In front of her lay a mostly completed unit, needing only the soft, flexible solar panel which lay to one side to be complete.

Taylor had had a few issues with designing the solar cell, not because of its complexity, but rather the lack of resources she had at her disposal. Tony's memories did not have a blueprint for building a solar panel that could be completed without a full lab at his disposal, but she had figured out a solution on her own. It had turned out to be much simpler than she'd ever imagined. And something that he had never built during his lifetime.

Not that Taylor didn't think that Tony Stark couldn't have done the same thing if he had wanted, or needed, to. After all, he had built an incredible set of armor in a cave out of what was basically junk. He'd just never had the desire to redesign a solar cell to use less expensive and complex components before.

The solar panel that Taylor had designed would definitely add to the ease of using the water purifier. On its own, it could act as a fourth item to sell. The new solar panel could be built for less than ten percent of the cost of the ones currently being manufactured, while producing three times the energy output and having five times the life expectancy. In a sunny climate, cover a quarter of the roof of any home with them and you wouldn't need a Catalytic Water Converter. They would provide all of the energy you'd need.

Her own research had given tantalizing glimpses into a couple of other solar panels being built by Tinkers for their own use that were even more power efficient, but the details were sketchy on them. Certainly they weren't being manufactured for public use, likely because of the complexity and maintenance issues so much of Tinker-tech ran into. Taylor wished she could get her hands on the specs, because she was fairly certain she could either reproduce them, or worst case scenario, redesign them.

Taylor would finish testing the Water Purifier tomorrow as it was almost time for dinner. She moved over to the final item on her list for a quick check. The Catalytic Water Converter was less than half complete. It was likely Taylor wouldn't have it done until the middle of next week, but that would still be plenty of time for their meeting on the following Monday with their prospective attorney.

Taylor smiled as she thought about that meeting. Thankfully, Trish would be coming with her to carry on the bulk of the conversation. Her shyness still cropped up at the most awkward times and the last thing Taylor wanted was to freeze up in the middle of a question. Trish would be able to deal with the business aspects of the meeting, leaving the technical explanations to Taylor. It seemed like a perfect partnership to Taylor, even as she ignored Tony's voice which seemed to cry Blasphemy. But then again, he'd always been a bit of a showboat.

All Taylor had to do was finish up the items to be presented as well as JARVIS. Oh and pass her tests tomorrow. And somehow avoid the press. What did it say about her that of the three things, avoiding the press was the one she was most worried about.

It was because she had to return to Winslow High and she had no idea how she was going to stay away from them when out in public. So far she hadn't encountered them on her six am runs, but it was only a matter of time. They were still intermittently staking out her house, if only for a few hours at a time. But the school was different, being a public building. Taylor was pretty sure they couldn't come onto the grounds to harass her, but they could wait outside and ambush her coming or going. So she would need to be extra careful there.

Taylor had spoken to Principal Blackwell once since Monday, and that had been mostly to confirm the time and date. She had asked about the anti-bullying policy and had been assured that Arcadia had already been contacted and that they were well on the way to having it all planned out. Principal Blackwell had been evasive about the whole press incident, but Taylor hadn't needed Trish to figure out her angle. The principal was covering her own ass. She obviously thought that if it was already out in the public domain that Taylor was acting the self-sacrificing hero, it would be that much harder for her to renege on her verbal promise not to sue.

Not that Taylor had intended to anyway, but she didn't like the implied pressure. Plus, she had no idea how people were going to react to what had happened. She didn't know what, if anything, had happened to her bullies, other than Sophia, who, according to an official Protectorate press release, had been sent to serve the remainder of her sentence at a undisclosed juvenile facility. As it was, the press release had been buried so deeply in amongst of other news items that it had taken one of the dedicated (read crazy) posters from Parahumans Online to ferret it out. Other than that, they were being remarkably closemouthed about the entire thing. Even more so than usual.

Taylor didn't think that Emma would go after her again, but the uncertainty gnawed at her. The only saving grace was that it would be the last time she set foot in that place, as she could likely review the bullying policy that her former principal came up with through emails. Principal Blackwell had told her during their call that so long as she performed even close to as well as she had done on her midterms, she would easily pass her early exit exams. She had even assured Taylor that she would be receiving her diploma immediately after finishing the tests as a courtesy, instead of having it mailed to her after it was proved that she'd passed.

Taylor could smell a bribe when one was being offered, but decided to take it anyway since she wasn't planning to sue them. She could have made a fuss, but the reality was, she would easily cruise through the tests tomorrow. The only things she would miss would be things she did not want to get right.

Taylor actually did plan to miss approximately ten percent of the questions on each test. The last thing she wanted was to provide a easy pathway for someone to find out about her heightened intellect. So rather than ace the tests like a genius, Taylor would merely do as well as someone extremely bright would.

It had been Trish's suggestion and a good one at that. Not that Taylor thought she would be in any danger, but just as they had done with the household power, it was better to take simple precautions than to have later regrets.

Thinking about Trish made Taylor remember a certain idea that had occurred to her a week ago, seeing the other girl fighting one of her migraines, brought on by overuse of her power. QT seemed like the perfect solution. It wouldn't even be that hard to synthesize, easily producible even in the primitive chem lab she'd whipped up in her basement.

Taylor sighed as another problem was solved. Now if she could just solve tomorrow.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Greg waited, his armpits damp with nervous perspiration as he thought about the person he hoped would soon be coming by.

Taylor had surprised everyone when she had returned on Monday and had taken down the three bullies who had been making her life hell. And at times, his as well, Greg had to admit. But the thing was, Taylor had totally kicked their asses, something which he'd never expected to see happen in a million years.

Now he was waiting for her to talk about that, and the video, and how he felt about her. Just as he had been every day since the revelations from Monday.

Greg had never been good with girls, acting pretty much like a spaz anytime he was around one that attracted him. He was probably more relaxed around Taylor than anyone else. Likely it was because he hadn't really considered her pretty.

Taylor was smart, and had a certain air of self-sufficiency that Greg had always liked. What he hadn't cared for were her physical looks. Not that he thought she was ugly, more that she was just kind of plain. Then he had seen her that morning, walking up in skintight jeans and a stomach baring top. Greg had re-evaluated everything he had ever felt about one Taylor Hebert.

She had been... Greg wasn't sure that pretty was the word, but attractive could be it. Plus, the way she had taken down Sophia on the video... It made him shiver, just thinking about how she'd moved. Plus, her ass had looked hot in those tight jeans.

Taylor had then stood up to Emma and Madison, her wit as evident as her biting tone. That had been incredibly arousing, and he'd spent a lot of time watching the video of the confrontation over and over late at night as he lay in bed taking the edge off. Lying there and breathing heavily afterward, he'd practiced what he was going to say to Taylor when next he saw her.

Greg wasn't sure why Taylor hadn't been to school in the intervening time since Monday, but he was sure she had her reasons. However, he had it on good authority that she would be in today. Mrs Knott had dropped that revelation yesterday when he had asked her again if she'd heard anything from Taylor.

Greg wasn't sure why the teacher had had such a tight smile on her face, but he figured it must have something to do with the rumors he heard that Taylor was planning to sue the school. Everybody was saying that she was going to end up rich and would never have to work another day for the rest of her life if she didn't want to. There were so many possible defendants to be named in the lawsuit that Taylor would definitely end up banking. Pretty much everyone was convinced of this despite the bomb the school had dropped at a press conference saying that they had convinced Taylor not to sue.

Greg figured it could go either way. He thought she would be a fool not to sue, but Taylor was great that way. That's exactly what he had told the news reporter who had briefly interviewed him after school on Wednesday. He'd also said that Taylor was definitely going places. They'd even played Greg's bit over the local station, which he hoped Taylor had seen.

Greg also hoped that she would understand how he felt and not forget about him now that she was hitting it big. After all, he had helped her a few times during her social isolation by talking to her. And now that he had feelings for her, he wanted some of her good fortune to spill over onto him.

His thoughts ground to a halt as Greg spotted the person he had been waiting for striding up the walk towards the school.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Taylor could barely keep herself from pulling on the hem of the skirt she was wearing, absurdly conscious of how short it was, even on her mid five foot frame. That, coupled with the amount of her stomach that was showing, made her want to do an about face and head home to change. Furtively, she glanced around, wary of reporters after the past few days.

It was Trish who had talked her into one more showing of the 'new' Taylor. She had said that Taylor owed it to herself to leave on a high note, showing her classmates the person that they would not be seeing again. Taylor wasn't so sure about that, but she'd allowed herself to be persuaded and now here she was, again wearing clothes that she'd sworn she would not.

Oh well, Taylor thought, it'll be over in a few hours. Then she could go home and never come back here again. Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice calling her name.

"Taylor! Taylor! Over here!"

Taylor glanced over her shoulder to see one of her classmates, Greg, approaching. He was okay, she supposed. Greg was smarter than most of their fellow students, but so scattered in his focus that you would never know it. He also had a habit of saying whatever was on his mind, as if there was no filter between his brain and mouth. It was almost like a stream of consciousness thing.

Greg's only other saving grace was that he'd never participated in bullying her, or even laughed about it. Still, Taylor wasn't exactly overjoyed to see him. "Hey, Greg."

His eyes seemed to be roaming everywhere, lingering on the bare skin of her stomach before flicking to her breasts and back, making Taylor more and more self-conscious. In defense, she clutched her backpack to her chest. "It's good to see you back in school. I wanted to talk to you. Do you think you'll have time in computer class to chat with me? I've already got the project done. I can let you use mine as a basis for your own. That way you'll have time to talk. What do you think?"

Taylor could barely make heads or tails of Greg's train of thought, but finally answered, "Actually, Greg, I'm not here to go to class. I'm taking the exit tests to get my diploma early. If everything works out, this will be my last day."

His face crumpled. "What? You're leaving? But you can't. I need to talk to you. How about we meet up after school? I know this great burger place. I'll buy you lunch. Err... dinner. I'll-"

Taylor held up a hand. "I don't think I'll be here then." As Greg opened his mouth to talk to her yet again, Taylor decided to head him off. "How about we talk at lunch? I'll probably be done by then and heading home after. Sound good?"

Greg nodded vigorously. Taylor walked off before he could say anything else to her. Or look at her anymore. The last thing she needed was to have to deal with his particular form of madness at the moment. She was far too busy watching out for reporters and Emma, not sure at the moment which was worse.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Taylor heaved a sigh of relief. She was done. No more school. She'd scored pretty much exactly what she'd wanted, an average ninety-one percent across the board. All she had to do now was pick up her diploma and have a quick meeting with Greg.

Fortunately, Taylor had seen neither hide nor hair of either Emma or Madison. She hadn't asked the unfamiliar teacher proctoring her exams about them, nor had he volunteered. He clearly had heard about her or seen the video as he'd spent an inordinate amount of time staring at her during the exams. It had been about a six on the creepy scale, outperforming Greg's earlier five. Taylor definitely wasn't sorry to leave him and the windowless room behind her.

Getting her diploma was as simple as picking it up from the school secretary. Taylor never even saw Principal Blackwell, although there was a manila folder for her with an outline of a plan to be implemented within the next sixty days once it passed the school district's legal department. A quick glance showed that it had been taken pretty much verbatim from the one at Arcadia, which was fine as that school had one of the best policies in the country regarding bullying.

Taylor was walking to meet up with Greg when an unexpected snag presented itself to her in the form of Mrs Reese, who waylaid her as she headed down the hallway towards the cafeteria. The teacher was standing there nervously wringing her hands together as she approached. She almost didn't stop, but the woman so clearly wanted to talk to her that she couldn't bring herself to completely ignore her.

"Taylor?"

"Mrs Reese." Taylor couldn't help the slight frostiness that colored her voice. She wondered if it would be any consolation to the other woman to know that she was just as nervous about this impromptu meeting.

"Taylor, I just wanted to say how sorry I am about accusing you of cheating. I should never have believed those girls. I-"

Taylor interrupted her. "You don't have to apologize. Maybe you shouldn't have believed them. But they were really good at manipulating people. I guess Sophia must have gotten the test they planted on me as Shadow Stalker. Just reached in and took it."

Mrs Reese's eyes were shiny with unshed tears. "I do have to apologize. I've never done anything like that in my fourteen years of teaching. Never made a mistake like that. I knew you had problems with them, too. They didn't act up much in my class, but I heard things in the teachers' lounge. I just..."

Taylor was torn between wanting to flee and a desire to comfort the teacher. In the end, she did neither. Instead, Taylor just said, "I accept your apology, Mrs Reese. Thanks."

"You're welcome, Taylor. Are you going to be returning to school? You did wonderfully on your midterm." Mrs Reese's smile was guileless as she spoke.

Taylor hid a glare at that statement. Had Mrs Reese forgotten just how difficult she'd made the test, as had all of her other teachers? Then again, maybe she should just accept the olive branch at its face value and not look for any deeper meaning. Finally, Taylor got out, "No. I just took the tests for early graduation. I've got my diploma. So I guess this is goodbye."

Mrs Reese looked almost as if she was about to hug Taylor, which was not something she was okay with. Taylor was getting ready to dodge backward when the teacher backed off with just a "Goodbye, Taylor."

Taylor hurried away from the scene. She needed to get home to integrate JARVIS. He was due in just over an hour. The one good thing that had occurred recently was that Taylor was getting more sleep now as JARVIS had settled into three integration cycles per day rather than the initial four. That gave Taylor more sleep, as well as more uninterrupted time for her other inventions.

Arriving at the cafeteria, Taylor swiftly scanned for Greg. She spotted him madly waving from a table near the back, attracting a lot of stares. It was a very Greg move.

"Hey, Taylor!"

Walking over, Taylor realized that she, too, was getting a lot of looks. Of course that hadn't been helped by Greg's yell. Determinedly keeping her head down, Taylor finally arrived at her destination.

Taylor took a seat opposite of him. "Greg. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Greg's smile, which had been incandescent, dimmed. He suddenly looked uncertain. "I-I wanted to talk to you about us."

Taylor's mind went blank. Finally, she processed his words enough to answer, "Greg, what us? We're not friends. I barely know you."

"We've been going to school together since we were kids. I've known you forever."

"Yeah, but it's not like we've ever hung out." Taylor was trying to let him down easy. Thanks to Tony, she could now see why Greg was behaving the way he was. He was clearly crushing on her, most likely because she was the only girl who would talk to him. Having his personality traits, Taylor could understand why. But she didn't have time for any kind of personal relationship right now. Even if she did, it wasn't going to be with someone who had passively condoned the things that had happened to her.

"But we could. Taylor, I really like you. Like a girl." Greg's gaze was as awkward as his words, making Taylor look away from the emotion there.

Okay, she was going to have to be firm. "Greg, I don't feel the same way. And I wouldn't date you regardless. Yes, we have gone to school together since we were kids. How many times did you help me out when I was getting bullied over the last year and a half?"

Greg looked taken aback. "I would have helped you, but it would have made them come after me."

Taylor knew her eyes were growing cold. And it wasn't just Tony driving that look. "Yes and being a coward is such an attractive quality. We're done."

Greg appeared absolutely crushed as she turned to walk away. Taylor felt all her anger and coldness fade away until only guilt remained. Stopping, she asked herself a simple question. When had she become the bully? Even if he hadn't helped her, Greg had never so much as laughed at her either. He's somehow walked that fine line between being a victim and being part of the problem. It didn't mean she should beat him up over it. Clearly she was still holding onto things that she needed to let go of. Starting right now.

Taylor turned around, and walked back. She held up a warning finger to a hopeful Greg, who quailed back from her. "I do not want to go out with you. I don't consider us friends. But I shouldn't have called you a coward. I do understand that you did what you had to do. I'm sorry for making you feel bad about yourself. I'm still so angry about the whole thing. I keep looking over my shoulder expecting Emma to swoop down upon me and start the thing all over again."

Greg's face ran through a gamut of emotions before settling upon relief. He tentatively nodded. "It's okay. I won't bother you again. You're right. I should have done something. But I was afraid. I still am." He paused for a moment before he continued, "But you don't have to be. Emma and Madison are on suspension. They won't be back until at least Monday. And Sophia's gone. I think they revoked her probation or something."

Taylor nodded at that. The information about Sophia had not come as a surprise. But she hadn't known what happened to Emma and Madison. Taylor couldn't help the sensation of relief she felt at knowing that both of them were gone and she wouldn't be running into them again.

Taylor gave Greg a final nod, saying, "Thanks, Greg. Have a great life."

Greg sadly waved as she walked off. His words trailed behind her. "Bye, Taylor."

Taylor refused to dwell on Greg as she headed off. She had much important things to think about. Like JARVIS. And a news crew that was apparently camped out at one of the exits.

Taylor had stopped short of leaving in order to check the school's exterior, not wanting to have to deal with anything else today. That was the only reason she'd spotted the small group of people lurking outside, just off campus. She could feel Tony urging her to go out and make a spectacle of herself. Memories of old habits. However, that wasn't something she would ever feel comfortable doing.

No, Taylor was going to follow the old saying of discretion being the better part of valor. She slipped out a side door and jogged home, never running into a single person. It was time to get a head start on her new life. It was a bonus that she made it home just in time to integrate JARVIS.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~

Taylor grinned. It was Saturday afternoon, and JARVIS was finally talking, albeit with a certain stiffness. She was surprised at how much she was enjoying listening to him.

"Miss, I am entirely at your disposal."

The accent was right, but of course this JARVIS still lacked those overtones of emotion of which irony that had been so prevalent that peppered Taylor's memories of him. "JARVIS, provide time until full efficiency is reached."

"Miss, I will be fully operational in four days, fifteen hours, thirty-five minutes, and forty-one seconds. Additional time for integration of my code will be added onto this timeline."

Taylor exchanged a look with her dad and Trish, before turning back. "Integrate. Execute."

"Immediately, Miss." The sounds from the server bank intensified as every CPU kicked on along with their assorted fans, RAM, and hard drives. These days, they were all being pushed to the limit. Taylor did another check of the hardware, not wanting a delay because one of the components burned out.

"Taylor, that's amazing." Her dad looked almost stunned at the display she'd just put on.

"Just you wait, Dad. You haven't seen nothing yet. JARVIS is still pretty stilted. He's only just over thirty-five percent complete. He's finally gotten fast enough that he'll be writing the majority of his code in the short time that remains. The last day and a half alone he'll probably write over a third of his code. He's also started pushing the hardware to its limits for the first time as well. So if anyone smells any burning odors, let me know immediately. I'm still worried about the durability of those older components."

"You've got it, sweetheart." Danny gave Taylor a quick hug, then headed upstairs.

Trish, who had been silent up to this point, finally spoke. "That's pretty damn impressive, Taylor."

"Thanks. But I know you too well to think you don't have a question."

Trish grinned in a familiar and endearing way. "Touche. I am pretty much at a standstill with my investigation. I am running out of pieces to feed my ability. I was hoping that JARVIS, once he's fully operational, could help."

Taylor nodded. "He definitely can. Do you have a full list of the parameters of searches and information that I can scan into him when he's ready?"

Trish handed Taylor a USB drive with the information. Taylor weighed it in her hand. Then she asked, "Have you had any luck with the thing that I asked you to do?"

Trish grinned again. She nodded. "It's on the drive as well. Basic information on the one thousand most powerful and dangerous Parahumans on the planet, along with any other S class threats from potentially nonhuman sources."

"Excellent."

Trish stood there until Taylor glanced back at her. Then she finally asked, "Did you need the information in order to refine your plan on how to save the planet from the Endbringers? I haven't been asking because I've been so busy, but I am curious."

Taylor nodded. "Partly. And partly because there's something I'm missing."

Trish gave her in inquiring look. "Missing, huh? Is it something to do with the Endbringers? Do you suspect changes in their behavior or habits? Because I didn't see anything like that when I reviewed the information on them."

Taylor felt frustrated. "I don't know. I don't think so. No, what I'm missing is something very much not obvious. Another threat. Possibly worse than the Endbringers. Or maybe just different. Damn, but I wish Reed was here. Societal Dynamics were always more his thing than mine. He created an entire branch of mathematics for figuring them out. I know some of those equations, but I'm not getting the results that I expected. So I'm missing some kind of important basic parameter."

She shrugged uncomfortably. "The Endbringer threat was obvious. Simple math gave me the answer there. More research just solidified a time frame. But it also revealed another problem. One that isn't obvious. The math doesn't want to come out. But I know I'm right. Call it a hunch."

Trish nodded. "I'm the last person who would dismiss hunches. I get them all the time. But I thought you were all about the facts."

"I usually am," Taylor said, thinking that facts were not as much help in this situation as she would have hoped for. No, she was sailing an endless sea with only a map marked with terms like 'the end of the world' and 'here be monsters' upon it. It was up to her to flesh out that map to turn it into something useful.

Cynically, she wondered how many people were going to die before she figured out the information she needed. Taylor firmly pushed Tony's negativity into the background of her brain and focused instead on JARVIS. She needed him more than ever to make sense of this mess. Absently, she wondered if she could finish him a half day early if she went to four hour integrations. Maybe, just maybe.

~~~Memories of Iron~~~