The Protagonist System

231 Weekends Are The Best

Having a normal day at school was kind of weird. I know, I know, I shouldn't be asking for trouble, especially after my offer to buy everyone's lunches again. I just couldn't help wonder why I wasn't being messed with while I was at school.

I mean, I had pretty much pissed off one of the strongest capes in the world and nothing came of it. Yes, Costa-Brown was in her civilian identity as the Chief Director; but, she easily could pretend to contact her cape identity and have her pay me a visit. I was both glad and disappointed that she hadn't.

Maybe the school was neutral ground or something? I asked myself as I sat with Jensen at the popular table and everyone chatted about school and fashion.

Lunch passed by quickly and I collected my credit card from the clerk, whom hadn't been disappointed that I hadn't called her. Apparently, she knew I had been busy because of all the posts of PHO and Bad Canary keeping everyone updated on my status and location. The pictures she chose to share were funny, too.

Jensen and I went to our lockers to grab our things for afternoon classes and carried on only a little. With that other girl keeping an eye on us, she couldn't give me another handjob without being obvious about it, so she would have to wait until the next study hall to take advantage of the opportunity.

*

Friday was another half-day at school and it passed by so fast that I barely remembered what was being taught. Paige had also been heavy handed with the promotion of my debut album and the derth of songs we had chosen to include. It crossed several genres and ensured that the album as a whole would have the widest range of fans and the largest customer base possible.

There were pop songs, rock songs, a borderline country song, several ballads, and a rap song. Yes, really. I wanted to prove I could sing any song and Paige loved that I could. I hadn't tried singing any of her songs, though. She was a bit sad about that, mostly because we really were going to adhere to the injunction and I wasn't allowed to sing anything else.

I stayed at school for lunch, making everyone comment how I was the only one of the work placement students that bothered to stay for the extra time to hang out with my friends that weren't also in the program. They seemed to like that I did, especially Jensen and the popular girls that were part of Vicky's entourage. Jessica, Clarice, Chelsea, and Brittany definitely enjoyed the extra attention they received while I sat with them.

I was sure it was because I was a rising star and my own popularity rubbed off on them. They were also really excited to listen to my new album being released on the weekend. Surprisingly, they didn't try to coerce me into getting them a copy before the release and neither did Jensen. I didn't ask them why they didn't, because I suspected that they didn't want to look desperate, even if they were.

Paige promised to put aside a handful of copies of both the LP and CD for me to give out to my friends and family when they were ready. We also had the first hundred of each production set aside for me to personally autograph as collector's items, numbered and certified of course, and would either send them out as prizes for the radio stations or would raffle them off as another promotion.

Lunch ended and I bid everyone goodbye and left the cafeteria, switched my clothes for my business suit when I was out of sight, then stepped forward into Carol Dallon's office. She looked delighted to see me before she could force her face into showing a calm expression. She had been looking forward to another weekend away with me and I had to smile at that.

Sarah had been right and Carol had thrown a small fit over not being told about the album being ready, mostly because she hadn't had any time to meet with Sarah to capitalize on it to keep New Wave's name out there. On the other hand, Carol had been fully behind Paige and I using the injunction to promote the album and she hadn't started any motions in the courts to counter it, since it wasn't really necessary.

The public's reaction alone should handle the fight on our behalf and the courts should rescind it on their own. I wasn't as trusting as that; but, she was my legal council and I wasn't going to ask her to do any unnecessary work if she didn't have to do it. Plus, she could use the public's reaction as another motion for filing the paperwork if she did have to start legally fighting against the injunction.

I glanced down at the packed suitcase and made it disappear as Carol stood up. She closed the briefcase on her desk and I made my own appear in my hand. She walked around her desk and gave me a quick peck on the lips and turned to stand beside me. I placed a hand on her back, almost hugging her, then took a step and we appeared on the helipad of the New York Protectorate.

Only the on-duty capes were there to greet us this time, including Flechette, and we shook everyone's hands before going inside. We had the same itinerary as last weekend, only the extra hospitals we were going to visit had changed slightly. Legend said something about not wanting my appearances to become too predictable and both Carol and I agreed with his reasoning.

Flechette came along and she had a much easier time with Carol there to talk to when she still couldn't force herself to go into the children's ward. It was just something neither she nor Carol wanted to witness and I didn't hold it against them. Some people just couldn't handle seeing a child suffering, probably because they couldn't really do anything to help them. I could, so I did a round of telling dad jokes to make the kids laugh as I healed them.

We went to the next hospital on the list and I cleared out their ICU and emergency rooms, as well as the cancer ward. I didn't do the regeneration trick with them, since they wouldn't believe it and might make me do it for everyone. Having the little girl last week be healed like that was a one-off that I had successfully gotten away with.

We went back to the PRT HQ when that volunteer shift was over and there was a small gathering to discuss the events of the week. I was told off by a few capes, even Legend, for defacing the memorial of those lost during the destruction Leviathan had left the last time he had been there. In the next breath, they thanked me for restoring it and giving New Yorkers another source of hope.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

I took both in the spirit they were offered, namely for me to be careful of what I did in the future. I thanked them for both the admonishment and the praise, and stated I would be more aware of the impact my actions were going to have. Only Legend seemed to realize I meant the next Endbringer fight and he gave me several searching looks without commenting on it.

Carol and I left the building to go to the hotel and the same suite had been available when she booked the room a few days ago. We relaxed into an evening of comfort and naked bodies and it was a great time for the both of us. As I said before, she was a highly expressive individual when you finally managed to get through her very prickly exterior, and she loved the fact I was all hers while we were on our mini-vacations away from home.

The next day was another full one, with a morning patrol for the both of us, then I cleaned out two more hospitals, which used up a good portion of the day. Carol and I went back to the hotel afterwards and enjoyed another evening being each other's significant other without restrictions. I did have to be a little gentler because of her pregnancy, so we only had sex on the ceiling, the floor, and in the bed.

It made her blush that I was so caring and understanding, and she thanked me for taking care of her in so many ways. I thanked her as well and hoped she enjoyed the residuals she would be receiving for being my lawyer after the album released today.

Carol gasped and I watched as her sexy naked ass went over to her suitcase to retrieve her cell phone from the inside pocket of her suit coat. She gasped again when she started going over all of the notifications she had and then she gave me a very pointed look.

I took my phone out and checked, shrugged at all of the crap that clogged up my phone, and put it away again.

“Atlas.” Carol said with a stern voice.

“I don't wanna.” I pouted and crossed my arms. It looked ridiculous, because I was still laying down.

Carol walked over to me and set her phone down, then she climbed onto the bed and knelt between my legs. “Let's make a deal.”

Needless to say, I checked each and every message, even the spam and illegal contract offers, as Carol continued to suck on me while I did so. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to want to stop, either. I eventually finished checking them and she finished enjoying herself, then we snuggled up under the blanket and watched how PHO blew up.

The people who bought it first had loved the album and word spread fast about how versatile it was. It had something for everyone, no matter what style of music you liked, and that made its popularity soar. It wasn't close to being sold out, not after how much stock Paige had built up for it. Shipping them out to stores took more time than it did to produce them, and some stores in other cities didn't order any.

New York was one of the first cities to stock up for the debut and still had thousands available, so no one was left without it if they went looking for it. One of the notifications I had was Paige making a new master for both the LP and CD, framing the first ones, and putting them into her safe for when the sales reached the first milestone, which we knew it was going to reach fairly quickly.

Paige also set up another production run for the residual sales as people played the album and realized the rumors were true. It really did have songs on it for anyone to enjoy. We were both sure that it wouldn't take long for the stores that had passed on stocking it, would try to order it, because any customers going into their stores would be left disappointed when they didn't have it. That could only a happen a few times before they fixed the situation, since losing customers was bad for business.

We went to sleep with our phones softly beeping with new notifications and we had smiles on our faces. We still had a whole day left of our mini-vacation and we only had a morning patrol for an hour in the morning and could do whatever we wanted.

*

Taylor Hebert sat in her room on Sunday morning and frowned at the finalized transfer papers in her hand. She hadn't thought through what being a Ward had meant, which was her going to Arcadia High School with the other Wards. That wasn't the problem she was having, though. It was that Greg Veder was also going to Arcadia and she might see his disgustingly handsome face every day.

She felt her anger boiling up and dropped the papers to grab her med-pack and popped it open, took out a large joint, and lit it. She sucked on it hard, making the thing flare up on the end, and she sighed as the calming properties of the enhanced marijuana flowed into her lungs and went right into her bloodstream.

It was one of the benefits of her enhanced metabolism and she silently thanked it as she calmed down and walked over to her bed. She laid down, took another long hit, and stared up at the ceiling of her room. Her mind started to wander and she locked onto a memory she didn't really want to see.

Taylor remembered one of the last times Greg had approached her and tried to talk to her before the Christmas break and the locker incident. His bowl cut hair had hid a lot more of his face than she realized, since that was all she could remember seeing whenever she had looked at the geek.

She also remembered how annoyed she had been over him trying to get her to talk about something stupid and she couldn't even remember what it was he was saying. She had barely avoided being assaulted on the stairs by Sophia Hess just before that and was in no mood to put up with Greg's pathetic attempts to get into her pants.

At least, Taylor had assumed that was what he was doing. Why else would he talk to a social pariah like her? To be friends? Why hadn't he tried to do that before?

She took another hit and closed her eyes as she let the calming effect go through her and her thoughts drifted again. Her mind then started to replay the times Greg had approached her to say something stupid and... and the times he said hello... and the many times he tried to talk to her over the years at school... and they started adding up.

In the mornings, during class, during lunch, at the lockers, after school, that one time at the grocery store, twice at the Boardwalk, once when he was riding by her on a bicycle, and the last memory she saw was him pushing her out of the way and saving her from Sophia's murder attempt.

“I am such an ignorant bitch.” Taylor said out loud and took another hit, because the anger she was starting to feel was for herself at being so stupid.

She had been so wrapped up in her own little world after Emma betrayed her, that she had completely ignored that Greg had been trying for years to reach out to her and she had completely missed it. She rolled over on her bed and picked up her work cell phone from the nightstand, then dialed the number at the top of the programmed list, her psychotherapist.

“Hello, Doctor Yamada. I'm an ignorant bitch.” Taylor said without preamble.

“Are you partaking to remain calm?” Jessica Yamada asked.

“Yes, doctor. Only as prescribed.” Taylor answered.

“Good. That's good, Taylor. Now, tell me about your revelation and how it came to be.” Jessica ordered.

Taylor did. She went through it all, even how she resented that Greg had saved her, because he had gained the powers she should have had, and how she had completely missed that he had been trying to be her friend the entire time she had been ostracized by The Bitches Three.

“You've finally admitted what's been bothering you and I am very proud of you, Taylor.” Jessica said and Taylor couldn't help but blush at the praise. “Now that you've had such a significant breakthrough, I can tell you everything that Greg Veder tried to do to help you.”

“What... what do you mean?” Taylor asked and had to take another hit to remain calm.

“He filed many complaints and reports with the school administration over how you were being treated. He also spent a considerable amount of time being treated by the school's nurse after being assaulted many times by the football players, on orders from Miss Hess and Miss Barnes, for trying to help you.”

Taylor burst out crying after hearing that and realized her joint was gone and grabbed another one, desperately lit it, and took several long hits to try and calm down.

Jessica waited until Taylor's breathing evened out once more before she spoke. “Perhaps we should wait to speak in person for this part of the conversation.”

“N-n-no... no, I... I'm okay.” Taylor said and took another long drag. “I... I need to hear this.”

“If you're sure?” Jessica asked.

“Yes, I need to know.” Taylor said.

“Very well. The first incident was...” Jessica Yamada spent the next half an hour laying it all out for Taylor and it wasn't a pretty picture.

It seemed the entire school was against Greg helping her and he hadn't stopped trying. It gave his attempts to talk to her a lot more weight and Taylor felt really embarrassed that she had thought he was only trying to have sex with her, when he was actually trying to warn her and tell her he was trying to help her.

“Taylor? Are you okay?” Jessica asked when Taylor fell silent.

“I'm fine.” Taylor said and finished off the joint. “Thank you for telling me all of that, Doctor Yamada. It's made things a lot more clear to me.”

Jessica took a moment to think before speaking. “I hope you aren't contemplating hurting yourself after hearing all of that.”

“No, I... no. I would have done that months ago if I was going to.” Taylor admitted. “I'm just... I think I'm finally seeing things how they really were and not how my mind thought they were.”

“I'm glad I could help.” Jessica said in a happy tone. “If you have any other concerns, don't hesitate to call me again to help you work through them.”

“Thank you, Doctor Yamada. I'll do that.” Taylor said. “I'm sorry for bothering you on a Sunday.”

Jessica softly chuckled. “It's not a problem, Taylor. I'm your emergency contact for a reason.”

Taylor nodded, even though Jessica couldn't see it. “Thanks again, doctor. Have a good day.”

“You too, Taylor. Goodbye.” Jessica said.

“Goodbye.” Taylor said and hung up.

She laid in bed for quite some time as she let what she heard and what she thought filter through her calm mind. It let her come to a resolution and she felt resolve fill her as her skin turned slightly green briefly and then faded away. She knew exactly what she had to do the very next time she saw Greg.