Chapter Text
Taylor looked at the half-dozen video-screens in front of her, each of them in turn looking at a different part of the city. The Bean was half-covered in snow, the water of the marine park half-frozen. In the docks, great cargo ships were decorated in flashing lights, and carolers were walking through the shopping streets. She, however, was illuminated only by the blue-white shine of computers, the only music she heard was the humming of bees and computers. A strange duet she was quickly getting used to over the months.
The PRT building was nearly empty, all but a few troopers having gone home through the thick snowfall. Revel and her Protectorate were away at city hall, being entertained by (and being the entertainment for) the upper crust of the city. Her fellow Wards were gone for the night as well, eating their fill with their families, or putting a final hand on their Christmas shopping. Even Golem and Romp had foster families to go to. What few people were on duty had taken their cars to the city center, protecting the revellers from superpowered pickpockets.
It’s not like she was bitter about it. She was the one that scared people off, the one that had taken over a city. She couldn’t ask them to spend the holidays away from home just so her misery had company. But.. why’d they all have to spend most of the last week doing Christmas shopping on their own, without her? She missed Lisa, and Rachel, and Brian. She even missed Alec, sort of. At least he’d have some sort of horrid joke to bring down the dreary mood even further.
Would it have been too much to ask to at least put up an office tree or something?
“How are you holding up Skits?” a chipper voice called out from behind her, Taylor turned, surprised to see that someone was there. It was one of the few remaining troopers. Charlie Dee was one of the new PRT recruits. Ex-military, fresh out of further training and education for cape-combat. The type that insisted to all the Wards that they could just call her Charlie. Her red hair, normally stuck in a tight bun hidden behind a helmet with a faceplate, was hanging down to frame her face, and she was wearing the clear white pajamas of Troopers trying to sleep through a back-up nightshift. More importantly, she had two mugs of something warm with her, and the woman placed one of them on Taylor’s desk as she sat down.
“No-one’s going to be doing any crime in this weather,” Taylor said, eyes flicking through the screens. She didn’t need to be watching them, but she didn’t have anything else to do either, and bug eyes weren’t great with screens.
Sweet goodness wafted out of the earthenware mug, and Taylor spotted tiny marshmallows drifting around. She decided that she liked Charlie Dee then and there.
“Well, at least the people of Chicago can let down their guard a bit, knowing that we’ll be there if something happens,” Charlie said with a smile. It didn’t feel fake, though Taylor knew it had to be. Some sort of course on how to deal with sulky superhuman teenagers.
“Family dump you too?” Taylor asked. “That why you got the shit shift?”
“Not really,” Charlie said. “I usually volunteer for Christmas shifts. I don’t really mind celebrating it on my own, and that way I can spread the Christmas cheer!”
“And how many times did you need to tell yourself before you started believing that?”
“Only a couple dozen,” Charlie smirked, then gave Taylor a quick Noogie before darting out of hand’s reach. “Aren’t you a bit too young to be such a cynic on Christmas Eve?”
“It’s not like Christmas is going to stop the end of the world,” Taylor replied.
“It managed to pause it at least once so far,” Charlie replied. “So who knows what’s going to happen?”
A phone rang in the distance, up in the empty director’s office, the sound only picked up by a nearby fruit fly exploring Hearthrow’s healthy eating habits. A few seconds later, the automatic system kicked in and shifted the call to one of the only people on duty that night.
“‘Ello ‘Ello?” Charlie said, grabbing the line before Taylor could even move, answering whoever was on the other side.
A panicky voice, followed by a few pointed questions from Charlie, then silence, then a few more words. It didn’t touch her phone voice, but Taylor could see the worry appear in Charlie’s body, and quickly went through the system, tracing the call.
Youngson, Johnson and Tomphson international was a company that provided… something with accountants and lawyers, she couldn’t immediately see. Located downtown, in a large skyscraper all their own. And they had some sort of emergency. Taylor went through the viewscreens, going through cameras near the site, and saw people moving away from the area. Something was wrong. A villain attack? On Christmas Eve, when anyone could track anyone with supreme ease? Unlikely. Which, in turn, made it more likely.
Charlie put the headset down, then swore under her breath a few times.
“Sorry Tay, keep forgetting I shouldn’t do that around the kids. Either way, we’ve got a problem. A villain, likely solo, is attacking a firm specializing in finance law, and the girl on the phone sounded rather panicked about it.”
“Do we have anyone around?” Taylor asked.
“Not much, there’s a few squads, but they’re busy corralling the people in the area. We don’t really have a lot of people able to actually go in there and take a look at what’s happening, deal with the possible threat.”
“I could go,” Taylor replied. Dealing with one villain wasn’t a great way to append your Christmas, but it was better than staring at a screen, even if you did have hot choco to go with it.
“You’re not allowed to go out on your own, remember?” Charlie replied.
“I’ll take a headset, constant communication, you can run ops for me,” Taylor said. “As long as you prepare more scalding coco for when I return.”
Charlie pondered it for a while, checking her regulation booklet, then nodding. “Fine, but constant communication, and put on some Thermal Underwear beneath your costume! The weather outside is frightful!”