The sense of jubilation Taylor was feeling after signing the papers that marked the beginning of her tenure as a member of the Brockton Bay Wards faded to confusion as someone knocked on the door and Miss Militia came in with a grim and yet contrite look (for someone whose face only exposed the upper face and eyes, she was remarkably expressive.).
"Hello." Miss Militia greeted, before turning to the confused Battery, who had turned around in her chair. "Battery, you may want to not file those papers yet." Miss Militia sighed wearily. "Taylor here may end up changing her mind."
Taylor blinked. Change her mind? Why?
Miss Militia pulled up a spare chair and sat down on the table. She stared at Taylor for awhile, before she took a deep breath. "Taylor, what I'm about to tell you will be very upsetting to you. Maybe enough to quit the Wards. I implore to you that you hear me out first, that you let me finish before making other decisions."
A trepidation filled Taylor glanced at her father first, who was similarly confused before she nodded. "Um...Okay."
"First" Miss Militia started. "What do you know about Shadow Stalker?"
Taylor blinked at the odd opening. "Um... She was a vigilante who was heard to be active for a while, before she was.... caught? Recruited? She was introduced as a Probationary Ward sometime last year. I think she got into trouble, and the Probationary status got cancelled, and she's being shipped out to... somewhere MidWest?" Taylor ventured. Battery looked as perplexed as Taylor felt.
Miss Militia nodded. "Mostly correct. To clarify a few things. Shadow Stalker was caught by the PRT for illegal vigilante activities and unscrupulous conduct, particularly excessive violence which is frowned upon. There was a juvenile court trial which eventually ruled that Shadow Stalker was to be inducted into the Wards as a Probationary member" She paused. "the Director of the local PRT, Director Piggot protested the ruling but was forced to accept the court injunction."
She tiredly sighed. "The PRT has no formal system in place for a 'Probationary Ward', so there was a lot of improvising of the rules and measures. The basic idea was that Shadow Stalker would receive emotional and financial support and training from the PRT to improve herself and become a better hero. If she had improved, Shadow Stalker would have became a proper Ward in time." Miss Militia took a breath. "As you know, it didn't turn out that way."
"After the first few months, the PRT thought the rehabilitation was working and so we relaxed the observations on Shadow Stalker. It turns out instead, she was playing possum, basically laid low for those few months. When the PRT had eased up on their monitoring, she apparently went back to her old habits and hid her more... illicit activities from us. When we realized something was off, the PRT investigated her for two months. Two months, it turns out, was plenty of time to gather sufficient evidence of her felonies. Everything from other Wards testimonies to increased undercover observations of her behavior in her civilian life, Shadow Stalker had proved that she was untrustworthy. Thus, the PRT revoked her status and sent her to a correctional PRT branch for an indeterminate period." Miss Militia finished.
Taylor was a little... disturbed to learn the details about the former Ward, but she still couldn't quite see why. "So... She's gone? You figured out she's a bad apple and shipped her out? Why tell us all this?"
Miss Militia took a steadying breath, as if to better strengthen and brace herself before answering. "Because we only realize something was wrong when BBPD shared with us a bullying report filed earlier this year. A report naming you as the victim." Miss Militia looked at Taylor, her face apologetic and contrite, full of regret. "Shadow Stalker was Sophia Hess."
Taylor.... just sat there,staring at Miss Militia, stunned. She dimly heard a gasp of horrified realization from Battery. 'Sophia Hess, her bully, was Shadow Stalker? Was that why she kept getting away with the bullying?! Was the PRT covering for her?!' Taylor's mind raged, a steaming pressure of anger building up inside her. 'Were they keeping the info from her?! Did she suffer because Sophia was a Ward?! Did the staff at Winslow know?!' Taylor's anger continued to build, dimly aware of her Dad shouting loudly at the stoic Miss Militia, the lawyer saying something about 'entrapment', Battery trying to calm down the room. Taylor's mind continued in circles, a faint whistling sound was heard in her head. 'Why?! Why?! I have half the mind to storm out right now! Damn the Wards! Damn the contracts! I want to lea-'
Now calm down there, Sugarcube. And hear them out like she've promised to do.
With that chiding...'urge' from a part of her, what felt like a metaphorical bucket of cold water poured onto Taylor, damping down the anger. Taylor gave herself a quick vigorous shake of her head and took several deep, shuddering, calming breaths to steady herself. That's right. She had promised to hear them out. As Taylor calmed down a bit, her anger more smouldering than raging, she became aware that the room was quiet now. Taylor fixed her eyes at the hero seated across the table, ignored the small wisp of smoke (smoke?) and asked, "Why did you hide this from me before I signed?"
Miss Militia stared at Taylor for a moment, surprised by something before she shook it off and started. "The only people in this building who knew the connection between you and Sophia Hess is Armsmaster, who had discovered the initial BBPD report and started the investigation; Me, who is Armsmaster second in command and nominal contact with the Wards; and Director Piggot, who has legal and organizational responsibility of the Wards. None of us knew beforehand that you and your father are here, in this building right now. I didn't know until a minute ago. When your father arranged the meeting, the details including your father's name and yours were not recorded anywhere anyhow and your father was given a secret pass phrase to ensure the identity of potential Wards doesn't leak. All anyone else in the building knew was that if someone comes in with that particular pass phrase, they are to ask them to wait here in a non-descript meeting room. Battery here doesn't know anything, only that she was randomly assigned to vet a potential Ward. " The said hero simply sat to one side, thoughtful.
Miss Militia paused for a breath, and continued. "As for Sophia, we kept her identity a secret to protect her own family from retribution by criminal, or even blackmail attempts from opportunistic villains."
"As for the situation at Winslow," Miss Militia went on. "Principal Blackwell was initially trusted by the PRT to help keep tabs on Sophia's behavior. When the investigation found that she falsified the reports and suppressed negative reports, the PRT revoked her report credentials and now are looking to charge her with professional negligence in the future."
Miss Militia placed her hands together on the table. "Taylor. We are sorry about what you have suffered to the point you got powers. We are sorry that due to us dropping the ball on the case of Sophia Hess, that you have suffered while she was officially our subordinate. We did not intentionally intend to entrap you by keeping this information from you before you signed the contracts. On the behalf of Armsmaster and I, I promised that we and the PRT will do our best to help you."
Miss Militia leaned back and sighed sadly. "After all that, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to tear up the contracts and leave." She took the papers from a solemn Battery and slid them over the table to Taylor. "But I ask you, no, beg you to at least give us a chance to at least make up for our mistakes. Please." Battery looked at Taylor, holding her breath. No, Battery wasn't the only one. Her Dad, the lawyer, everyone is... anticipating what Taylor will decide.
Taylor looked at the papers, biting her lip in thought. It was... tempting. Very tempting to just... leave. To just forget the Wards and the PRT. But another part of her urged to give them a second chance and not burn her bridges with them. More than one part of her.
They've made a mistake. But they figured it out and are taking steps to fix it. Everyone makes mistakes. Not many get a chance to fix them.
They are sorry, they are fixing things and they admitted it. How much more does she want?
Sophia Hess was the one who had betrayed their given trust. Give them a chance to prove that they are trustworthy.
Give them a chance. Sometimes, generosity is its own reward.
They are very sad about their mistakes. Don't let both her and them stew in misery over mistakes.
Would turning her back on them over this make her smile more?
Taylor took several more calming breaths, then looked at Miss Militia. "I'm... not happy about Sophia." She started. "But I choose to believe you, that you didn't intend to trick me into signing without knowing about her first. I choose to believe you that you're sincere and working to fix your mistakes. I choose to believe in you. You, the PRT and the Protectorate." She slowly slid the papers back to Miss Militia, still signed and intact. "I'll stay with you all as a Ward. For the time being, I trust you."
As Danny placed a comforting hand on Taylor's shoulder, Miss Militia let a grateful smile bloom on her face behind her mask, while Battery sighed in relief. "Thank you, Taylor. For giving us a chance."