OnAHiatus

(OPB) APPLICATION DENIED (AGAIN)

Added 2025-04-29 09:45:43 +0000 UTC

Taylor sat in the PRT lobby, legs crossed, hands in her hoodie pocket, staring at the "Heroes of Tomorrow!" poster like it personally owed her money.

Across from her, a receptionist whispered into a headset.

"Yes, she's here again. No, she hasn’t punched anything. Yet."

A few minutes later, Director Emily Piggot stormed into the lobby like a woman trying very hard not to scream. She was holding a coffee cup that absolutely did not smell like coffee.

“You want to register. Again.”

Taylor nodded. “I punch villains. That’s heroic, right?”

Piggot took a sip. The cup said ‘World's #1 Director’ but the liquid inside screamed ‘bottom-shelf whiskey.’ “You don’t arrest them. You explode them.”

“Minor distinction,” Taylor said. “Very minor. Technically, they’re subdued.”

“Technically,” Piggot snapped, “we’re still scraping up pieces of Lung from the pavement.”

Taylor blinked. “O—kay?”

“Across six city blocks!”

She shrugged. “He wanted to kill children.”

Piggot closed her eyes and took a long, weary breath. “Armsmaster resigned. His official reason was—and I quote—‘I just can’t. I just can’t, alright?’”

“Poor guy,” Taylor said, without sympathy.

Piggot downed the last of her drink. “We’re opening a new file. Special classification.”

“‘Hero’?” Taylor offered.

“No,” Piggot said. “‘Existential Threat With Good Intentions.’”

Taylor stood. “Neat.”

Piggot didn’t watch her go. She just reached under the reception desk, pulled out another mug labeled #2 Director (After Coffee), and muttered, “God help us all.”