Orientation 2.5

Kara Zor-El

Victoria Dallon, Glory Girl.

When I had read up on New Wave, Glory Girl was one of the more often talked-about members, along with her sister Panacea. What people had to say about the former was far from flattering. The general consensus seemed to be that Glory Girl meant well and was a nice enough person, but she was reckless and hot headed, with a tendency to cause as many problems as she solved. This obviously didn't help New Wave's image, and as a whole, most of the city considered the group to be a well meaning but hopelessly idealistic.

As a whole, I felt ambivalent about them; their goal of having heroes be held accountable for their actions was noble. The idea that they should operate without secret identities was conflicting. On the one hand, I operated in an odd grey area when it came to secret identities. When I went out as Supergirl, I was also going out as myself, as Kara Zor-El; when I needed a break from the heroics, Linda Danvers was the mask I wore to do it. A secret identity was necessary if only to provide the hero with a way to cope with the stressful life of day to day heroics; that didn't mean we were immune to the consequences of the law. Like I said, I was conflicted on the subject.

Now that I had met Glory Girl in person, I could definitely see where her reputation came from. She was very nice, and full of energy on a level that actually surprised me. She also had no patience and made no effort to hide that she was annoyed that she and Dauntless had to wait for me to catch up. Sure I was probably faster than her on foot, but she could bypass any obstacle on the roofs while I had to be a little more gentle to avoid causing unnecessary damage.

"I could carry you ya know." she offered to me.

Oh Rao.

I swear I could hear Barbara laughing at me from across dimensions as my face flushed. "I'm fine, Glory Girl, but thank you."

She shrugged, "Suit yourself, don't blame me if they're gone by the time we get there."

Okay, lack of tact, add that to the list of traits. I didn't let her get under my skin; instead, I decided to jump a city block or two, leaving her in the dust. I may or may not have smiled a little at the sputter of indignation that came from her.

Thankfully, it wasn't too far a trip to the drug den she'd told us about, half a dozen blocks north from where we had been patrolling. It was an old parking lot overshadowed by yet more run down buildings. Most of them were smaller apartment complexes or hole in the wall stores that either had been or were in the process of being driven out of business. A dozen or so men and women, most of them looking very unhealthy, loitered in the lot and around their dingy cars. One of the vehicles was notably nicer and cleaner than the others, and a quick scan of my x-ray vision confirmed my suspicions. This was definitely a drug den of some kind.

Dauntless and Glory Girl landed behind me and moved up beside me. "See? Just like I said." she proclaimed proudly.

"Shh." Dauntless replied, holding a finger to his helmet. "Let's make sure we have a full stock of the situation before we jump in. These look like Merchants; they don't have too many capes, but the last thing we need is to be caught flat footed."

Glory Girl rolled her eyes, "Please, Skidmark and Squealer? I could take them both easy."

"I'm sure you could, but better safe than sorry." Dauntless snapped.

He ignored Glory Girl's grumbling and turned to me, "You've got the crazy eyes, see anything?"

I nodded, "Twelve people, none of them armed beyond pocket knives and baseball bats. Definitely a drug deal of some kind. There are squatters in the buildings surrounding them, but they're not wearing any gang colors, so they're probably not affiliated with them."

I glanced at him nervously, "Should we call this in? I don't need another office visit with the director."

Glory Girl groaned, "Come on, really? They're right there. Let's nab them, bag them, and then you guys can call it in."

Dauntless shook his head and ignored her, "I'll call it in, then we'll jump -Glory Girl, no!"

We both turned in time to see her take off from the roof and shoot high over head. The probably-not-but-maybe-so gang members paused what they were doing and looked skyward. A few pointed and muttered their confusion, the more coherent of them cursed and started running.

"God damn it!" Dauntless cursed, removing his spear from his back. "Supergirl, keep her under control, I'm calling this in."

"Right!" I said. I jumped down to the lot right as Glory Girl stuck a perfect three-point landing, sending cracks through the pavement and dragging everyone's eyes towards her.

There was a pause, a moment of silence, and then someone yelled and they scattered. "Oh no you don't!" Glory Girl shot after one of them, a tall, thin man that ran straight for the car loaded with drugs. The dealer was the obvious guess.

Meanwhile, I rushed around the lot, grabbing each potential druggie, and dropping them in the center of the lot, hands and legs bound. A few of them tried cursing at me, but the rest stared at me with wide eyes, thoroughly cowed. Apparently my reputation was already starting to spread; one look at my chest and they were speechless.

I had just dropped the last one in a circle when Dauntless flew overhead past me toward the car. One look and I saw why he was heading there; Glory Girl had pinned the dealer to the wall, and the guy was yelling in obvious pain.

Oh no.

"Glory Girl, what did you do?" Dauntless demanded.

She immediately released the man with her hands raised in a gesture of surrender, letting him fall to the ground in a crumpled heap. He slumped against the wall, cradling his left arm and breathing hard through his teeth.

"He was getting away, I had to stop him before he did." She said simply.

I quickly scanned the man and frowned, "Broken collarbone, cracked ribs. If you'd hit him any harder you might've broken his back."

Dauntless crouched next to the man and started applying some basic first aid. While he did, the dealer looked up at Glory Girl and hissed through his teeth, "You stupid bitch... you ruined everything."

"Yeah yeah, save the monologue for the cops." she said flippantly. I was about to call her out for acting that way towards someone she hurt, when the dealer interrupted me.

"I am a cop!" the man shrieked.

Glory Girl and I froze. A sinking feeling formed in my stomach and I looked at Dauntless. He nodded, "I confirmed it with Central. This was an undercover op. The contraband is lined with trackers. Sell it to the buyers, let them take it back to their hideouts and lead us straight to them."

He didn't glare at Glory Girl when he explained this, but I think that was only because no one could make out his face behind his helmet. Glory Girl had suddenly become very interested in the ground, while the buyers I rounded up started yelling at each other.

"Damn it Kevin, you dumbass! You said this guy was clean!"

"He is clean! Look at how clean he is!"

"God dammit Kevin!"

Glory Girl looked from them, to the injured cop and then to me. The expression on her face was very familiar; the look of a kid in way over their head and realizing just how badly they managed to mess up in such a short period of time. I felt an eerie sense of deja vu and shook it off.

Dauntless had returned to dressing the cop's wounds when I crouched next to him, "Anything I can do to help?"

He shrugged, "Call Central, and keep Glory Girl from leaving. We'll need cops for the buyers, an ambulance for Officer Dan here, and PRT Troopers for Glory Girl."

"Wait, what?" the girl yelped. All the color had drained from her face now, and her eyes were the size of dinner plates.

I looked at her, then back to Dauntless and nodded, "I'll handle it. Come on Glory Girl, come with me."

"Look, it was just an accident, I didn't mean to hurt him!" she started, while I gently but firmly grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her aside to sit on the roof of one of the parked cars. She tried to resist at first, probably out of instinct, but after I literally drug her several feet through the asphalt, she realized it was pointless, and let me guide her.

Once she was seated, I said, "Sit here for now, we'll figure out what to do with you once everything else is handled, understood?"

She nodded mutely and made no move to. I activated my communicator and phoned back to HQ, "Central, this is Supergirl. We have twelve arrests, and an injured undercover officer. We're going to need BPD and an ambulance. Oh, and a PRT detachment."

"Roger that Supergirl, was there an engagement with a cape?" Central asked.

I glanced at Glory Girl, who didn't meet my eyes. I sighed, this wasn't going to be a fun day. "Yes. Glory Girl injured an undercover cop, name of Officer Daniel."

Cursing came from the other end, then, "Thank you Supergirl. Please make sure Glory Girl doesn't leave, we'll have your backup there in five."

Backup showed up in three minutes, pulling into and surrounding the lot. While the BPD started dragging the buyers into the transport truck, I offered my hand to Glory Girl and gestured towards the PRT van. She stood up and walked past me, eyes downcast.

A PRT Officer was standing at the back of the van with a pair of very large steel cuffs held open. Glory Girl stopped, and glared at them, "Are you serious right now?"

"Standard operating procedure ma'am. I don't make the rules, I just follow them." the officer replied.

I interrupted before Glory Girl could retort. "Those won't be necessary Officer."

The officer's face was hidden by the shiny riot helmet he wore, but I could feel the unamused expression on his face. "Ma'am, I know you're new here, so with all due respect, protocol is protocol."

I gestured at Glory Girl, "She's a kid officer. She made a mistake, and she's going to pay for it. But she's not a violent monster that needs to be locked up either. If it makes you feel better, I can ride along and keep an eye on her."

He sighed, threw a hand into the air and marched back to the front of the van, "Sure fine, whatever. Not like protocol exists for a reason or anything. Fucking capes, I swear to god…"

Ignoring him, I looked at the inside of the van and turned back to Glory Girl, gesturing for her to get in. "Come on. Sooner you're in, the sooner this is over."

After a moment's hesitation, she sighed and pulled herself in and sat down. Then she covered her face with her hands and let out a long suffering moan. I sympathized with her as I got in after her and pulled the door shut. Regardless of the outcome, today was not going to be pleasant. For her, for me, or for anyone else.

The PRT Headquarters were a riot when we returned with Glory Girl in tow. All those in charge of its bureaucracy were well aware that this was the start of a political hurricane that anyone with a sane mind would want to stay well clear of. I didn't even need my super hearing to hear Piggot get into a yelling match over the phone with what had to be Glory Girl's parents. They would be understandably upset over their daughter being arrested.

Where was I during this debacle? Well, I went to the cafeteria and returned to the PRT holding cells with food for the unfortunate guest. The cells were tinkertech, not made by Armsmaster if I understood correctly, and were far stronger than what was used for normal criminals. While I could probably bust my way out, someone like Glory Girl would have a harder time.

It took a little convincing and guilt tripping to get the assigned guards to let me in, but they did eventually step aside and open the forcefield door. Glory Girl was pacing back and forth, her expression twisted between anger, worry, and anxiety.

I cleared my throat, and she finally seemed to notice me. I smiled and lifted the tray of food. "Hungry?"

Some of the worry and anger left her face and she sighed, "Always."

A sub sandwich and salad wasn't what I would call the most appetizing meals, but Glory Girl clearly had an appetite on her, and happily started devouring it when I handed the tray off to her. I folded my arms and leaned against the wall, letting her eat in relative peace. It was only when she had finished the sandwich and was moving on to her salad, that she remembered I was there, and paused.

She swallowed the last of her food and looked at me nervously, "How bad is it?"

I shrugged, "The director is on the edge of a heart attack at this point. Last I heard, she was calling your family. They'll probably be here within the hour, if I had to guess. I'd recommend getting your story straight before they do."

She covered her face with her hands and groaned as she slumped against the wall. "Damn it! How was I supposed to know he was a cop!?"

I raised a brow. "Can I ask you a question, Glory Girl?"

Her hands parted and she peaked at me with one eye, "Just call me Vicky, we're not in public. And sure, go for it I guess."

"Are you upset that you hurt that man, or are you only upset that the man you hurt wasn't a criminal?"

A heavy silence fell over her. She wisely didn't respond immediately, instead sitting back up and setting her tray aside with a gentle clack of metal on metal. She leaned forward, arms on her knees, and looked up at me with a blank expression.

Finally when she spoke, her tone was much more controlled, almost convincing even; if I wasn't able to hear the rapid panicked beating of her heart, I would've bought it. "I would never knowingly hurt an innocent. I'm not a villain."

I stared at her hard and narrowed my eyes, "Vicky, you realize that even if the man had turned out not to be an undercover police officer, you still would've been arrested, right? You broke a man's arm, a man who was at your mercy and literally could have done nothing to fight back."

Her face was pale but her expression hardened, "It. Was. An accident. If I had known he was a cop, I would have been more careful."

"But if he was a criminal, that would've made it okay?"

Silence was her answer, her eyes as big as dinner plates. I shook my head. "Try to think about what happened here, please. I'm going to talk with the director and see if you're going to get a lenient sentence for this."

That shook her from her stupor. "Wait, what? Why would you… why?"

I shrugged and moved to leave, "Everyone makes mistakes, Vicky, and I believe that everyone deserves a shot at making up for them. Yeah, you messed up, and you might've messed up for the wrong reasons. But, if you're willing to learn from your mistakes so you don't repeat them, I don't see a reason why you shouldn't be given a chance to try."

I paused as the cell was opened and added, "Of course, whether the others will see it that way, is another matter entirely."

And with that, I left, leaving her sitting in her cell with a puzzled expression. I meant what I said of course. Vicky seemed like a kid with a good heart, and some funny ideas about how to use it. Though, I did have to wonder if today's incident was a one time thing, or if there had been others. The pragmatist in me suggested the latter while the idealist hoped for the former.

One thing was certain though, it was going to be a long day.

I hate it when I'm right.

Only Vicky's mother Carol Dallon (AKA Brandish) and her sister Sarah Pelham (AKA Lady Photon) had come to the PRT; apparently her father wasn't feeling well and Panacea was still busy at the hospital. I wasn't sure if that would've made a difference though, as once the two sisters had arrived, it had been a battle of wills between Carol and Director Piggot in her office. Dauntless and I had also been summoned, of course, but had mostly been relegated to the sidelines while the two had yelled at each other, with Sarah being the only voice of reason.

At the very least, it was easy to see where Vicky had gotten her stubborn impulsiveness from. Dauntless sat beside me while they talked, arms folded and back straight. I had to give the man credit, he was very good at hiding his emotions. I had given up trying to appear professional half an hour into the two women throwing faux threat's at one another, and was slumped forward, arms on my knees and growing more annoyed by the minute.

So far all that had been accomplished was that both women were able to establish their verbal fencing skills. Passive aggressive insults, threats against one another's organizations in the form of withdrawing support, etc. It was obvious that neither woman cared for each other, and the arrest of Carol's daughter had done nothing to help her mood.

My face scrunched with annoyance as another round started up. "Mrs. Dallon, if you're going to insist that your daughter struggles to keep her powers under control, then why on God's Green Earth would you ever let her go out on patrol, let alone use them against unpowered criminals?" I had never heard such venom from Piggot before, though admittedly I hadn't been at the PRT for long; I shuddered at the thought of being subjected to a verbal lashing from the woman.

Carol sneered, "Slight power problems aren't unheard of, even for veterans, Director. The fact of the matter is, we at New Wave were completely unaware of any undercover operations in that section of the city. My daughter may have acted impulsively, but she was well within her rights to act on potential criminal activity."

"Like hell. According to our reports, the only 'probable cause', if you want to call it that, that your daughter had, was loitering. Regardless of the criminal activity, your daughter's use of force was excessive."

Before Carol could respond, Dauntless, of all people interrupted them. "That is enough! From both of you!"

Both women froze and looked at the armored hero, Carol in surprise as if she'd forgotten we were here, and Piggot with outrage at being yelled at by a 'subordinate'. Dauntless let out a sigh. "We're arguing in circles here. Let's take a step back and lay out the facts, shall we?"

They had the decency to at least look sheepish, and Carol eased back into her seat. Dauntless's shoulders sagged with relief. "Thank you. Now, Carol; I have an audio recording of the event as it went down. Armsmaster suggested to me a while back I should keep a mic on me when I go out just in case something like this happened. I can give you a copy if you want so you can know exactly how it went down, but to summarize it: Glory Girl approached Supergirl and I with a potential lead. The loiterers were wearing Merchant gang colors, and the BBPD is processing their records even as we speak. When we arrived, Supergirl and I both advised Glory Girl to wait while we contacted Central and formulated a plan. The simple fact is, your daughter did charge in and did in fact hurt a police officer in the process. Arguing won't change what happened."

He looked from Piggot to Carol, his voice hard, "So, what we should be focused on, is what to do now, and how we can work together to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Sarah let out a relieved sigh, "Well said, Dauntless. I agree with him. What's done is done, Carol. Arguing won't change that. We founded New Wave on the principle of accountability for heroes. If one of us makes a mistake, then we have to own up to it, not try to brush it away."

I decided I liked Sarah.

Carol's expression softened, and she smiled faintly at her sister, "Of course, of course. Thank you Sarah, Dauntless. I apologize, Director Piggot. I thought I'd be ready to let my daughter go out and start handling things on her own, but… it's hard to do that as a parent."

Piggot sighed and rubbed her temples. "Yes, well. If we're ready to move on to the actual reason I called you here, we can put this all behind us."

"Of course," Carol nodded. "To start with, do we know if officer…?"

"Officer Daniel Clements." I informed her.

"Thank you. Do we know if Officer Clements has decided to press charges?"

Piggot shook her head, "While his response was… colorful, he won't press charges. The BPD on the other hand, is hungry for blood. They'll be willing to compromise and avoid charges, but only on a few conditions."

Carol forced a smile, "And those are?"

Piggot counted from her fingers. "First, they want priority access to Panacea for their officers. Second, they want Glory Girl to undergo procedural training. Third, they want her under Protectorate Probation for at least the next month. Considering the months of resources and work they put into this operation, it's about as fair a bargain as you could hope for."

Sarah and Carol exchanged a look. Carol was hard to read, but Sarah seemed noticeably concerned. When they turned back to the director, Carol said, "I'll talk with my daughter, but she'll likely be more than happy to help. We'll need to work out a schedule for the training. Is it not possible to keep Victoria under New Wave's watch during the probation?"

Piggot's shook her head. "No. New Wave is an affiliate of the Protectorate, but the police don't trust you to remain unbiased in this matter. You're all family after all, as far as they're concerned, you'd be more lenient about violations your daughter might commit."

I heard Dauntless snort under his breath, "Oh yeah, and the cops are paragons of virtue when it comes to bias."

I nudged him, and tried not to smile. Then I finally spoke up. "Director, if I may?"

All eyes turned to me. Piggot raised a brow and steepled her fingers; I swear a smile formed on her face, though I couldn't tell if it was amused or devious. "Yes, Supergirl. You have something to add?"

I nodded, "I've talked with Glory Girl, and I think I have a decent understanding of her approach to crime fighting. I know I'm still new, but I'd be more than willing to offer to act as her probation officer. And if possible, I could offer her courses on power management, because if I'm completely honest, it's clear that her training isn't… the most extensive."

Sarah winced, and Carol was glaring daggers at me when I said that. "We've made a very concentrated effort to train Victoria the best we can, Supergirl. Is there something wrong with our methods?"

I folded my hands in my lap and met her glare head on. Dauntless chuckled, and I ignored him. "Frankly, yes. I'm not sure how or why, but it's clear to me that Glory Girl assigns less value to the welfare of criminals than she does to those she deems 'innocent'. Combine that with her powerset and it's a surprise that what happened today hasn't happened sooner."

At that, Carol frowned, "Victoria has had trouble in the past with her powers, but she would've come to us if she'd hurt anyone in the process. Even a criminal."

Well, that answered that question.

I shrugged though, and said, "It's just an observation. At her heart, I think Glory Girl is a good person. She wants to help others however she can, which is absolutely the most important part of being a superhero. But what she did today was also inexcusable; the power we are burdened with is a tool, and just like any tool, it has to be wielded responsibly. Brockton Bay already has plenty of metahumans that don't. You might get angry at me for saying that about your daughter, but would you honestly be able to look her in the eye if she'd crippled or killed that man? Justice might be blind ma'am, but common sense isn't."

Oh yeah, Carol and I weren't going to be friends. She hid it well, but I could see a few flickers of fire burning in her eyes. Ultimately though, I meant what I said. Whether she approved or not, I wanted to help Victoria become the hero she could be.

Piggot clapped her hands together, interrupting our thoughts, "Well said Supergirl. Thank you for volunteering. I think it's a wonderful idea."

"Agreed." Sarah said, gently touching her sister's arm. Carol shook her head and glanced at her. Some unspoken words passed between them, and the woman sank into her chair.

Sarah continued, "Letting Vicky work with other heroes outside of New Wave could be very good for her. Experience is the best teacher after all."

I slumped into my chair as she turned back to the director and all three women started to discuss schedules, court dates, and so on. My mind was on the challenge I had set up for myself. Not for the first time, I wondered if I was capable of handling it. Kal and I had helped new heroes before, but normally he was the one that took the leadership role while I was the 'punching bag' as they came into their own. Now I was taking on both roles at once.

Something nudged me and I looked up at Dauntless. He was still wearing his helmet, but I could hear the smile in his voice, "Nice of you to step up for the kid. Are you up for it?"

I smiled in what was hopefully a confident grin, "Yeah, of course, I've got this."

He nodded, "Well if you need help, lemme know. I could use a change of pace."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

Well at the very least, I wasn't alone in my endeavor. Two heads had to be better than one, right?

A/N: Hiatus is over! I needed a little break from Echoes, so I took October off. This chapter was a pain, but I'm ultimately happy with how it came out. Hope y'all enjoyed it, feel free to leave a review with your thoughts, and I'll see y'all Friday!