Готовый перевод Тейлор Поттер и философский виал / Taylor Potter and the Philosophical Vial: Тейлор Поттер и узник Клетки Глава 1. Маркиз преступного мира

Taylor Potter and the Prisoner of the Cage

Chapter 1. Marquis of the Underworld
* * *

31 July 2023, Little Bay

Taylor Potter, the Girl Who Lived, lay on her back, arms folded across her chest, staring at the ceiling, as if rehearsing a coma or a coffin. If asked, Taylor would have rather slipped into a coma for the entire summer than spend it with unloved relatives. But alas, circumstances, laws, and age were all against her, and Taylor lay in the darkness, contemplating the unfairness of life.

Aunt Emma (Taylor's mother's sister) and her wife, Sophia Dursley, were currently in their bedroom, but instead of sleeping, they were rubbing and smashing against each other, moaning, kissing, and moaning again. Taylor had sensed their "activities" before with her insect-controlling superpower, but this time she was in no hurry to stop watching. Instead of disgust, the moans and hugs now evoked a strange, vague feeling that Taylor couldn't name.

She couldn't name it yet, but I guessed that it was somehow connected with growing up and puberty.

Taylor not only spied on her relatives, though she would have gladly done without them in her life, but also worked in the dark. Squads of nimble cockroaches inspected and covered the safe where her aunt and uncle had hidden Taylor's school supplies. It was a tablet from the Wormwarts School of Capeing and Parahumanism, where Taylor had already studied for two years. The tablet contained emails with assignments, textbook files, everything, including contacts with friends and news from the world of capes, people with superpowers.

"Ah-ah-ah," moaned Aunt Emma.

"Hr-hr-hr," Emma and Sophia's daughter and Taylor's cousin, Madison, sang in her sleep.

"Boom-boom-boom," the wall clock quietly struck, announcing that midnight had arrived.

"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me," Taylor sang softly, without changing her position.

The cockroaches poked at the buttons, but the electronic lock mechanism refused to budge. The fireflies above Taylor's head swirled in victory, forming the number "13," which immediately exploded like fireworks and reassembled into "13," along with a picture of a cake, seemingly decorated with candles. Just like last year, only thirteen instead of twelve. Taylor blew out all the "candles," wishing to meet her friends soon and return to Wormwarts.

It was deadly dangerous there, in the world of superpowers, where Dark Cape and other maniacs were hunting her, but it was there that Taylor felt alive, needed, and useful. Her friends were there, she was a celebrity and one of everyone (not an unloved niece), she was the Tactician of the Herofindor team! The light infantry scout ants found their way into the crack of the mechanical lock, climbing inside one by one. They formed a crowd and managed to activate the tablet by applying just enough force to the power button.

Taylor felt the screen flash dimly, but that was all.

No matter how much she trained her insect-sightedness, only vague images emerged. She could poke around blindly, switch to "voiceover" mode, but Taylor sighed and abandoned that idea. They'd hear her, break her, or hide her even better. No, she needed to find a way to open the safe, retrieve the tablet, and replace it every morning so no one would notice it was missing. The mighty cockroaches might bring her the tablet, but opening the electronic lock? No. Oh, if she could see through the insects' eyes, she could peek at the code, but if she could see through the insects' eyes, she could use the tablet right inside the safe! Although no, it still wouldn't work out.

"Sacrifices will have to be made," Taylor whispered.

Was it for nothing that she was a Tactician? The plan had formed itself—if she couldn't see which buttons were pressed, then the enemy would have to show them to her! A small alarm would be triggered, preferably during one of these nightly "activities" (though Aunt Sophia regularly did this during the day as well), so that the relatives wouldn't have the time, energy, and, most importantly, the desire to think. Aunt Sophia would rush downstairs, hastily open the safe, and, having confirmed that the tablet and the rest of the Wormwarts stuff were in place, would immediately rush to yell at Taylor. Cover the buttons in advance with something non-sticky but distinct... no, that was dangerous. Put ants under the buttons, feel the presses in the general pattern.

Things had calmed down upstairs, so Taylor didn't do anything for now. She'd get ready and receive a farewell gift for her birthday that evening.

With these thoughts, Taylor closed her eyes in peace and fell asleep.
*

31 July 2013, Little Bay

"Bad New England blood," Uncle (Sophia's brother) Terry muttered.

He towered over Taylor like a tower, dropping words from above, his pipe still in his mouth. He arrived during the day on business of his own and immediately began to ruin Taylor's life, disliking her even more than his sister.

"She needs to be spanked more often so that the blood drains from her head and doesn't stagnate there, causing bad thoughts," Terry continued to mutter. "Do you spank her often?"

Taylor scowled, thinking it was impossible to ruin her birthday further. Terry rarely came, but each time he unleashed tons of anger, as if he'd been hoarding it day and night. Sophia and Emma grumbled at Taylor, of course, but somehow everything remained within bounds.

And no, they didn't spank Taylor. They spanked each other, yes, ​​especially when Sophia and Emma were playing cowboy and the brat mare, but Taylor didn't.

"Yeah, that's the whole problem," Terry muttered through his teeth. "And you don't give her enough work. She has time to think all sorts of nasty things, do all sorts of nasty things, and do all sorts of nasty things with those very hands!"

He turned to Sophia:

"Half an hour ago, the news was talking about the escape of a maniac, some marquis of the criminal underworld, so mark my words, sister. If you don't discipline this bad blood, she'll stab you in your sleep one day! And then they'll talk about her on the news as a criminal, a maniac! Just like her parents!"

"Don't you dare say anything nasty about my parents!" Taylor shouted.

Before this, she had somehow restrained herself, pushing her emotions into the insects, but then she broke through.

"Flog!" Terry waved his cane, trying to hit Taylor's leg.

But was it for nothing that she'd taken self-defense lessons with Jack Quirrell and Niceguy Lockhart at Wormwarts? True, both turned out to be jerks, but those lessons were real! Taylor stepped sideways, kicked her cane, and slammed her hand into her wrist. Terry yelped and dropped his cane, and his beloved dog barked and bit Taylor's leg!

This had happened once before, during one of Terry's visits, but Taylor was small and lacked superpowers. Now, the swarm of bats descended from all sides, swarming the mongrel, stinging, biting, and mauling her to death.

"You!" Terry yelled, losing his temper. "A rotten scum, just like your parents!"

He practically leaped forward, intending to kick Taylor. She jumped back, and an even larger swarm erupted from the trees, a ten-foot-tall, terrifying ball. Aunt Emma fainted, and Sophia dragged her into the house, screeching. Taylor, overcome with rage and pain at such words about her parents, screamed:

"I! I won't let you!"

And the swarm echoed her words. Terry instantly lost his aggression, even piss in his pants, but it was too late. The swarm descended like a hurricane on Ellie's van, grabbed her, and dragged her away. Taylor, having barely come to her senses and realizing she couldn't live here anymore and that she needed to run away before the PRT (Parahuman Responsible Team) agents arrived, waved her hand, directing part of the swarm into the house.

The door held for three seconds, the lock only for five.

A minute later, Taylor was running away, grabbing her backpack as she ran, stuffing it with her tablet and some food, which the obedient swarm had seized. The buzzing of the insects drowned out the screams of the hated family.

“It’s okay, I’m a cape, I will be ok,” Taylor muttered as she ran.

And she was ok.

"Our cards are accepted everywhere," Taylor muttered like a prayer as she inserted her Ellisburg card into the ATM.

Once, before joining Wormwarts, the same card was not accepted, but now!

The ATM beeped, grunted, printed a greeting, and asked how much money Taylor wanted to withdraw. Taylor would have preferred to know how much she could withdraw, but then decided a couple of thousand would be enough to start. The escape plan was roughly clear: get to New York, find the "Leaky Scanner," hide in Toybox Alley, and then think about it. No, really! Write to Rachel and through her, to Dumbledore, write to Amy and Lisa, especially Lisa, she's smart, she'll figure it out!

"Yeah, yeah, that's right," Taylor pulled out her tablet.

She froze. The Statute of Secrecy had been enacted for a reason. Its implementation was monitored, and violations were punished. And she was about to access the internet from somewhere other than her own home, on a student's tablet, with geo-location and all! No, no, she should have remembered Lisa's lessons, remembered the lessons of Wormwarts. Fit in, evade surveillance, and get to a place where she could demonstrate her superpowers undetected.

But how?

She's underage, and the driver might be tempted by her money, but more likely, he'll just tell her to leave or call the police. Or he might do something bad, and she'll have to unleash the swarm on him, which would mean exposing herself. Heck, she'd already used her superpower and possibly exposed herself! Putting the tablet back, Taylor concentrated, then snapped her fingers.

Exactly! To keep drivers from making a fuss, they simply shouldn't see her!

Of course, closed trucks weren't an option, nor were any passenger cars. It was impossible to climb into the trunk unnoticed, even if the driver was distracted by a cloud of flies they'd just smashed into! No, she needed a good old open-bed truck or a solid pickup, and one soon appeared on the road. Taylor quickly steered the cloud, and when the truck slowed to a stop, she slipped into the back and hid among the sacks of vegetables and other produce the farmer was transporting to New York.

Or not a farmer, it doesn’t matter; the main thing is that he was going to New York.

"Thank you, kind man," Taylor muttered, sliding out of the back of the truck and leaving some money there for the fare.

It was suspicious, of course, but since the driver hadn't seen her, everything was fine. It was already dawn, but the morning gloom hadn't yet dissipated, and Taylor slipped away easily unnoticed. The metropolis was waking up, rushing to work, and no one cared about Taylor, who had set out in search of the "Leaky Scanner."

Wormwarts' lessons and the desire to escape from the Dursleys helped - an hour later, Taylor stood at the entrance.

“Messire LeBron,” she nodded to the same muscular afroamerican man in the cap.

Memories of her first visit here, with Rachel Hagrid, came flooding back, but Taylor pushed them aside. She wasn't safe yet! And as if she'd jinxed it, a charming older man emerged from a side door.

"Miss Potter," he said, "we need to talk."

Before Taylor could become wary, the man introduced himself.

"Glenn Fudge, Master 5, like you, Miss Potter, and also Minister of the North American Ministry of Capes." Another charming smile and then an order. "Open the entrance to Toybox Alley, don't add Miss Potter to the database."
T.N. There's a little joke here that can't be translated. An old Jewish tailor once said: If I were a king, I would be richer than a king. Because in my free time, I would still be a tailor.

The lad at the computer started typing, and LeBron lifted his cap.

"Let's go this way, Miss Potter," Glenn pointed out, "nobody goes to the robocafé anyway, so no one will bother us there."

In the empty cafe, he wiped his forehead and said:

"I hope that one day, Miss Potter, you, like me, will become Minister and lead all the capes of the United States and Canada."

"Me?" Taylor asked, amazed.

A position like that would be more suited to Liza, she thought. She was the one who loved to organize, command, and show off!

"Of course, you're the Girl Who Lived!" Glenn exclaimed enthusiastically. "Order some ice cream. I don't know why, but they make amazing ice cream at the robocafé, only no one knows it because they don't go there."

"Excuse me, but what's all this about?" Taylor asked, not even thinking about ordering. "Older men, with the power of a Master, offering to buy an underage girl ice cream?"

"Hm, yes, I somehow didn't think of that," Glenn feigned embarrassment. "I'm used to everyone knowing me, everyone loving me. Okay, Miss Potter, let's get down to business. Another time, you would have faced punishment; you seriously violated the Statute. But in the current situation, no charges will be brought against you. In fact, I'll tell you what. Next time, in such a case, call the Night Knight."

"What?"

"Cape Express Delivery Service – "Night Knight." They used to have a different name, but after the success of the Batman comics, they switched to the Batmobile. They do, of course, open portals, but for bystanders, you know. The police and newspapers would also just laugh at the Batmobile claim."

"It's clever," Taylor agreed, "I'll do that next time."

"I'm afraid, Miss Potter, that won't be anytime soon. For your own safety, I ask that you remain in Toybox Alley until the end of the summer and then proceed directly to Wormwarts. You heard me, I ordered you not to be entered into the database, so you won't leave any electronic traces. Give me your card—it will be returned to you on the train to Wormwarts. Here, take this. I also ask that you leave no electronic traces of your presence anywhere, do not register on the Paranet, do not subscribe to the PHO, and so on."

"I'm sorry, Minister, but I don't understand."

"Yesterday, a mass escape occurred from the Cage, a top-secret and ultra-secure prison for capes. As far as we know, this cape, which you probably recognize, is behind the escape."

He snapped his fingers, and the screen on the wall lit up.

"Jack Quirrell," Taylor whispered. "But didn't Dark Cape kill him?"

Taylor almost bit her tongue. She saw Jack fall into the abyss... but did not see him die. Moreover, last year he'd sent Niceguy, who, in the name of Jack, had tried to defeat Dark Cape! But fortunately, the minister ignored her hesitation, only heard the question, and answered it:

No. He managed to hack the Cage's electronic defenses, the most secure in the Cape world. Now he has a whole gang. Also, among others, another cape has escaped, a close associate of the Dark One you killed as a baby, and... a close friend of your parents, Miss Potter.

Another click and another face appeared on the screen, that of a middle-aged man. He looked absolutely insane.

"Marcus Black, also known as Marquis. He was the one who betrayed your parents, betrayed their hideout to the Dark One, and we have reason to suspect that he's searching for you to finish the job."

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