Chapter Text
'Don't stare at scars' tended to be a very good tip for social interactions in general, but when it came to superhero work it was exponentially more useful. For one they were an identifiable characteristic so for most heroes, whose secret identity was something to be carefully protected, trying to commit such things to memory was a faux pas at best. For another, scars were usually the consequence of a defeat and the kind of person that goes around fighting crime in a costume also tends to be the person who'd take offense at someone poking at their supposed weakness. So all in all Blazer had grown very used to just looking people in the eye and ignoring anything that wasn't immediately relevant to the conversation.
She was, however, finding it very hard not to stare at what were clearly gunshot wounds on the forehead of the person in front of her, who was clearly no older than twenty.
"So, Miss Hebert... May I call you Taylor?" she asked, quickly getting a nod in response and continuing "OK, so Taylor, I very much appreciate the enthusiasm in how quickly you applied to the janitor position. To be quite honest we weren't expecting to do any interviews until next week at the earliest and I can't say the enthusiasm isn't a bit surprising. Would you mind telling me what drew you to the position?"
"It was nothing special. I moved here recently and needed to find a job as soon as possible" the teenager in front of her replied, face far too stoic and tone far too composed for someone supposedly looking for their first job. It felt like something she had rehearsed before coming in, which it probably was... So she had to ask:
"Most people your age wouldn't be looking for janitorial positions as their first option, even with only a very limited resume. Is there anything in particular that made you interested at a position at SDN?"
This was usually the moment most applicants cracked and let something slip, or showed an emotion that revealed their true intentions. Taylor only showed the bare minimum of what some might describe as a frown and shook her head in denial, apparently not knowing what to say in response.
Honestly, the entire situation was suspicious — if not in the way she initially expected — but she trusted the people responsible for background checks and Taylor had come up clean, so Blazer decided to take a shot in the dark.
"Taylor, I know that in my line of work honesty might not be fully appreciated, I am wearing a mask and all that, but I would like us to be frank with each other: your age, combined with your resume did raise some flags for us. Superheroes interact a lot with people, so we have seen some younger fans... Looking for excuses to work together with them, even applying for positions that wouldn't match their skills or personalities." she said, immediately getting a reaction in response. Though, again, not what she'd expected coming in: not embarrassment or shame from being caught, just plain surprise.
"You... Think I'm a fangirl trying to get close to a hero?" Taylor replied, her tone still subdued but clearly showing her apparent bafflement at the idea.
"It has happened before" Blazer replied with a smile "you matched the profile perfectly before you came in, though I will admit talking to you in person made it less likely to be the case..."
Her leading tone only caused Taylor to frown again her gaze losing focus as though she was internally debating something. Blazer let her unvoiced question hang in the air for a few seconds until Taylor finally took a breath, nodded and focused back on her.
"My social worker suggested that I apply to the position" she said "I know my resume is barren, because I wouldn't really be able to provide any evidence of past employment, but I have some experience working in a... Cape-filled environment."
Well that just raised a whole lot of questions. Starting with...
"Is there a specific reason you wouldn't have evidence of past employment? Most superhero agencies are quite forthcoming with recommendations."
Once again, the teenager frowned in silence for a few seconds before finally replying:
"I am not actually from this dimension, so none of the people I worked with actually exist here. I was told this is 'surprisingly common' by the local authorities, they had the entire procedure set up to get me new documentation and help me settle down. As I said, my social worker suggested this position, I guess they were made aware of it as soon as it was opened. Something about 'working in an environment I'd be familiar with.' I didn't... They said I wouldn't need to disclose my 'situation' so I thought I'd give it a try."
That was... Surprising for sure. Not unbelievable, of course, she had no grounds to doubt the girl considering who she was dating, but it certainly went against anything she was expecting when she walked into the room.
"Then I'm sorry about that, Taylor. They are correct in that it wouldn't usually be a problem, from what I know, and I certainly can't reject your application because of your situation..." ok, how to salvage this conversation... "Would you mind telling me about your previous experiences, even if they're out of reach? You don't have to, of course, but I will admit I'm curious."
For once, the teenager finally looked comfortable talking about a topic. Straightening her back, she cleared her throat and replied:
"We did have some private hero organizations back home, but the ones I worked with — the Protectorate and the Wards — were government-sponsored. I have done at least a bit of pretty much everything, PR, planning operations, remote management... Though most of my experience is on the field."
Oh, didn't that open a whole can of worms. Because unless Taylor wasn't 18 as her resume showed this meant the girl in front of her apparently had all of that experience while being underage.
"When you said 'on the field' do you mean assisting heroes, doing clean-up, or...?"
"I... was a hero. I'd rather not talk about it, but I'm not able to continue that line of work anymore." she replied, still as stoic as ever but a very subtle cringe made it clear to Blazer exactly how much Taylor resented not being able to continue her work anymore.
Don't stare at the scars. Don't show exactly what you think about whoever decided that sending a kid out on the field to get shot at was a good idea. Don't ask her to open up any more.
God, this was a mess she certainly wasn't expecting when she got out of bed this morning. She almost wanted to deny the girl any position immediately, find whoever her social worker was and ask some very pointed questions on who thought she needed a job instead of therapy and rest.
And yet... She knew herself and she knew the heroes she worked with. There was this draw to donning a mask and cape that some people had, to use their powers for good, and she knew that if she suddenly found herself permanently without her powers it would be a battle to just abandon the life altogether. It was the reason so many heroes kept on chugging along even when wounds piled up beyond reason.
Also she was already planning on lending a hand to another hero, wasn't she? If everything went according to plan she'd reach out to Mecha Man in the very near future. Maybe the SDN would benefit from one more wounded hero in need of healing.
"I don't think this janitor position would fit you, Taylor. But." she said, already cutting any disappointment or reply "I think you could have a place in the SDN either way. We never had an intern position, but I think you'd fit in. You'd basically be shadowing our dispatchers, seeing how we do things and doing some supervised work later on. Honestly, considering your apparent experience, you might even be able to share any ideas on how to improve our work. What do you think?"
Being a hero was hard work and, while she was lucky to be paid a fair amount for it, probably every hero had doubts on whether it was actually worth it sometimes. Blonde Blazer usually found reassurance in the happiness and gratitude of the people she helped.
Seeing Taylor's stoic mask finally crack into a small but hopeful smile reminded her of exactly why she decided to be a hero.