More able to take it in stride than the leader of the Protectorate, Miss Militia asked, “What happened?”

“Escaped her cautionary restraints, caught her peeping on one of the blue tags.”

Hm. If not heroes and villains (which this seems to support, as Army would’ve said “heroes” if that was what he meant), I suppose the tags might be indicators as to whether the person’s identity is safe for someone to come in. Taylor’s injuries didn’t require her mask to be taken off, so she got a red tag, and the nurse-in-training was asked specifically to check on those with red tags – in other words, those she could check on without learning the identity of.

“Damn it,” Legend muttered.

“Who?” Miss Militia asked, “And how bad?”

“Shadow Stalker.  Saw her unmasked.”

“I see,” Miss Militia spoke,

Yeah, that’s fairly unfortunate.

“Nurse?  Would you see that everyone without clearance is put to work elsewhere, while we resolve this?”

Sounds like they’re going to discuss the matter of Shadow Stalker’s identity, see how much Taylor admits to knowing. That, or she’s changing the topic to what they originally wanted to discuss. Either way, they don’t want anyone else in the room.

I apparently didn’t move fast enough for him, because he swung his arm forward, forcing me to stumble forward to keep my feet under me.

It’s been a bad day. Much like Panacea, Armmaster has every right to be in a bad mood right now, and Taylor’s escapades (or escape-ades, in this case) are not helping.

It was looking increasingly likely that I would get arrested, but my thoughts turned to the trio, and their crime and punishment.  Had Sophia, Emma and Madison had gotten off easy because Sophia was a superhero?

Hm. The Wards at Arcadia High have an agreement with the school, if I remember correctly. It’s entirely possible Sophia does too.

I had my suspicions that the schools worked alongside the Wards, things wouldn’t work if they didn’t, and the schools were a government institution just like the Wards were.  Did Sophia get easier treatment?  Two weeks suspension when she deserved expulsion?

I mean, on the other hand, Sophia was already essentially on probation as a Ward. If anything, she should get in more trouble, not all of which the school was at liberty to share information on with the rest of the people in the room. That’s what I was referring to when I said that the running team might not be the only thing she got Sophia in trouble with.

This would also explain the sheer magnitude of how pissed Sophia was when she attacked Taylor at the mall.

I was probably wrong on some level, but it gave answer to questions I’d assumed I’d never get an answer to.

It’s the best answer available so far, at least.

A  hand seized me by the back of the neck, hauled me to my feet.

Ah yes, there they are.

Numb, I wobbled, relying heavily on the painfully hard grip to stay balanced.  He turned me around, and I saw Armsmaster, his lips curled in a silent snarl of anger.

Hello. Yeah, I may be optimistic about what Legend and his pals wanted to talk to her about, but I never said Armmaster would be happy about it. Especially after what Taylor just pulled.

A glance at his shoulder showed no sign of the ragged mess from when I’d last seen him, but there was no arm either.  I thought I saw a glimpse of a flat expanse of skin.  Panacea’s work?

Yeah, makes sense. Panacea may be a good healer, but straight up regrowing limbs is probably a bit much for her. Or at least, it would take a lot more time than she has.

“What are you doing here?!” he roared the words to my face.

When I couldn’t formulate an answer for him, he marched me out of the curtained enclosure, kicking the curtain so it slid shut, moved me towards the nurse’s station where Miss Militia and Legend were talking.

Oh yeah, Armmaster is pissed right now.

And Taylor is worse off because he found her in a room where there’s no doubt that she found out a hero’s real face (though he doesn’t know that she knows who that face belongs to).