Rook's Worm snippets and story previews

[Rook's Stories]

Everything here is potentially the first or second chapter of a full-length story. The Snippets that get the most interest will likely get their stories written first. Just to let people know what to expect from my snippets, I'll mention a few points they will all have in common unless stated otherwise. All my stories will be AU, if you see something that's diffident from cannon, don't complain, Cannon facts aren't necessarily cannon for my stories, any more than WOGs are. Taylor will be gay unless stated differently, as I said, AU. Everything from event dates to personalities, to whether scion is even still alive may be altered in the interest of a good story.

 

[Rook's Stories]

As they walked through the dark alleyway, Taylor listened to the sounds of the city at night. She knew it was probably pointless, Emma had better hearing than she did and would almost certainly hear anything first, but a second pair of ears might come in useful, and she wasn't going to mess up on their first night out on patrol. Well ok, it was technically their second night out, but the first one hadn't been a real patrol, they'd simply wandered around in Merchant territory until they'd found a drug den where they could liberate some money and weapons. With those, they'd been able to prepare for this, their first real night out.

They'd used the cash to get her a pair of gray jeans and a gray hoody, and they'd gotten a beautiful red and white striped dress for Emma. They'd both gotten masks as well of course, solid white and featureless, covering the whole face. While she'd simply painted hers gray, she'd spent more time on Emma's, painting a red lily on it, blood dripping from its petals and around the eye slits.

As they walked, she couldn't help nervously checking her weapons one more time. Pepper spray in jeans pocket, check. Liberated switch blade in left hoody pocket, check. Liberated hand gun in the right pocket, check. Honestly, she wasn't sure she could hit anything with the gun. Maybe once they'd made a few arrests they could get enough ammo for her to practice some, but for now she'd just have to hope that the site of it could serve as a deterrent and buy time if anything went wrong. As if knowing what she'd just done, Emma looked over her shoulder at her. Even though she couldn't see under the mask, she knew there was a reassuring smile on Emma's beautiful face.

That knowledge alone was enough to let her relax a bit. For the last couple of months, she'd seen that smile on a daily basis, and it always meant that everything was going to be ok. Maybe not everything in her life had improved, but at least she had her Emma back, and that made everything bearable. Being able to tell her about every nasty comment and new bruise, or just lie down, with her head in Emma's lap, and listen to her read from the books that Annette had used to read to both of them. Her pleasant memories were interrupted as she heard a voice, growing louder as it approached.

"…the children, just shoot. Doesn't matter your aim, just shoot. You see one lying on the ground?

Shoot the little bitch twice more to be sure. We give them no chances to be clever or lucky,

understand?"

They'd both stopped moving the moment they'd heard the voice, watching as the unmistakable figure of Lung moved past the alley mouth, along with at least a dozen ABB thugs. She felt a knot of dread form in her stomach, this was Lung, the Dragon of Kyushu, the man who's stood up to an Endbringer. Still.

"We have to save them."

It was barely a whisper as she slipped up beside Emma, and a part of her, a small traitorous part, hoped that the other girl would disagree, tell her it was too dangerous and that they should go home. Instead, Emma simply nodded. Pausing a moment longer, Emma pushed her mask to one side with one hand, while dislodging Taylors with the other, then pulled the taller girl against her for a quick kiss before drawing back, a ferocious grin forming on her face as she recentered her mask and strode towards the alley mouth.

Taylor felt the knot in her stomach grow. She'd just gotten her Emma back, after over a year and a half of hell, she finally had her back, and now this. With a quick shake of her head, she focused on the children lung had mentioned, how scared and helpless they must feel if they had any idea who was coming after them. She remembered feeling the same way inside the locker, scared, helpless, and desperately wishing somebody, anybody would help. Then Emma had ripped the locker door off and carried her away. Emma had looked exactly how she had that summer before she went away to camp. Well, not exactly the same, her once solidly red hair was shot through with streaks of white and she had rings of red looping around her arms, legs, and torso. And she'd obviously stopped cutting her fingernails at some point, but those slight differences didn't matter, her Emma was back and nothing the imposter or her friends had done hurt nearly as much anymore.

Refocusing, she leaned against the wall of the alley as she let a part of her mind slip behind Emma's eye's, seeing what she saw and feeling what she felt. She always felt slightly awkward doing this, worrying that Emma might think she didn't trust her, and that the suggestions she sent her might be taken as her being pushy. But Emma had always reassured her that she didn't mind, and she certainly wasn't going to leave her to face Lung alone.

As soon as they exited the Alley, they turned and leapt, sailing over Lung's head to come down a dozen yards in front of him, turning to face him almost before they were on the ground.

"Now, I simply can not allow that. Lung, you and your men will surrender and-"

"Shoot her."

They stood, raising one hand to examine the rings of red that wrapped around each finger, one between the first and second knuckle and one between the second and third, and waited for the gunfire to cease.

"Why do they seem to think shooting more bullets at us will do anything, when those first ones didn't?"

"I don't know Tay, maybe they hope the bullets kinetic energy is weakening some from some forcefield. Or more likely their just not all that smart."

When the shooting finally ended, they let out an audible sigh.

"As I was saying, you will surrender and wait for the PRT to show up, otherwise, you truly will not like what comes next."

"Is it just me, or has he already started growing? I thought that didn't happen until he started to fight."

"I'd guess that the failure of the bullets signaled the start of the fight for him. And here he comes."

Lung roared as he charged, gaining at least a couple of inches, before his charge came to an abrupt halt as they stepped forward one pace, set their feet and grabbed his face with their left hand. They could hear the sound of breaking bone as Lung's nose and cheeks took the full force of his charge. Not wasting a moment, their right-hand rose, claws tearing through one arm, then the other as it descended in a slash. As he continued to grew, they couldn't help sharing a slight feeling of smug satisfaction. His head, still held firmly in their grasp, stayed perfectly still as his feet and legs sunk farther and farther into the ground, even as flames crackled uselessly around them. Pulling his head forward, two more quick claw slashes delt with his newly sprouted wings.

"Can you think of any way to actually subdue him without killing him Tay? With how quickly his arms are growing back, I don't think simple dismemberment is going to work for long enough for us to turn him over to the PRT."

Taylor thought for a moment, hand pressing against the alley wall, then smiled.

"We stab our fingers into his throat, into his trachea. When he loses consciousness, we pull them out and let him regenerate."

Moments later they could feel his body trying to expel her intruding fingers, see his flames trying to burn them away. It didn't take long for his body to slump, and even as she removed her fingers, she turned to look at the other ABB members.

"Now, will the rest of you be surrendering peacefully?"

They had never seen anyone as eager to obey either of them before.

They had just finished getting them seated in a circle around Lung, and had taken a phone from the nearest when the roar of a motorcycle drew their attention, and Armsmaster pulled up. They watched as he looked from her, to Lung, to the surrendered ABB thugs, to Lungs scattered limbs, then finally back to them and the blood dripping from their hands and dress. In the alley, Taylor felt her face pull up into a smile, one of the cities greatest heroes, one of her all-time favorites, was here to witness their success.

"Hero or villain?"

"Why, I'm a hero of course silly. I heard him talking about shooting children, and I just wasn't going to let that happen."

"thanks."

Taylor took a deep breath as she pushed the thought to Emma. Yes, Armsmaster, one of her childhood heroes was right in front of them, but she still needed to focus. Even if Emma continued to take the lead in talking to the hero, something that was probably for the best as she'd always been the better one at dealing with people, she should still be focused and ready to help if an opportunity arose.

"And do you have a Tattoo anywhere on your body?"

Taylor felt her smile widen. Yes, just like that one.

"He thinks you might be a case 53."

"No, and I also have all my memories, if you were about to ask."

They watched as he moved forward and jabbed Lung with something, then walked back until he was standing in front of them.

"How did you subdue him? The loss of limbs alone shouldn't have been enough."

They raised one hand, showing off their long nails.

"No, he still refused to surrender at that point. I ended up sticking my fingers into his windpipe and waiting for him to lose consciousness before removing them. I figured either the lack of oxygen would knock him out, or if his regeneration was too strong for that, then having something stuck in his neck wouldn't actually hurt him, and I could try something else."

"I see. And which of us should take credit for Lung's capture."

"What?"

This time Taylor had no more idea than Emma what the hero could be talking about.

"The rest of the ABB are still out there, including Oni Lee, and they'll want revenge on the person who took down their boss. Even if you think you're in no danger, the same likely can't be said for the people around you, the people you care about."

Taylor Felt Emma's face contort into a sudden mask of murderess rage.

"If anyone so much as lays a finger on her, I'll rip out their heart and eat it in front of them as the life fades from their eyes. And I think letting it be known I took down Lung without taking so much as a scratch would be a good way to show people, I'm quite capable of doing just that"

Taylor nearly missed Armsmaster flinching back as she felt a sudden swelling of happiness. She probably shouldn't like hearing Emma threatening to gruesomely murder anyone who hurt her, but after so long alone, it was nice to know there was someone who cared that much about keeping her safe.

"Was there anything else, or can I leave these men with you."

Armsmaster paused before shaking his head. "No, the only other thing I need is your name, then you can go"

Taylor could feel Emma barely hold back a giggle and she couldn't help chuckling slightly. God, Emma had demanded that he give them credit, then they'd almost walked away without even giving him a name to credit. They'd considered several names, including one that she'd liked, but had seemed too risky at the time. Looking down at Lung's unconscious body, the risk didn't seem so great and she didn't seem so scary. She sent the thought to Emma, who, based on her next words, agreed.

"Sidhe. I am Sidhe."

Turning, they walked into the night, away from the Alley where Taylor still stood. They continued for a few blocks before looping back around to the Alley. The moment she saw them arrive, Taylor pulled her thoughts back, leaving her as just her, and Emma as just Emma. Moments later, a pair of strong arms picked her up and cradled her as a quick jump brought them to a rooftop.

"Well, I'd call our first night out a success."

Taylor simply nodded her head as she watched the rooftops pass underneath them, as Emma jumped from one roof to another, sailing over a dozen intervening ones each time.

"You know, I'm still not sure I like some of the implications of my new name. It seems to suggest that the Bitch was the real biological Emma, while I was a fairy imposter who just went home for a couple of years."

Taylor just shook her head then pressed it back against the other girl as they made their way home. Getting back inside and upstairs was easy, cradled in Emma's arms. The creaky steps and floorboards becoming absolutely immovable the moment Emma put her feet on them. Slipping out of her costume and into her pajamas, Taylor took a moment to look at Emma. She couldn't help thinking about earlier in the night, about standing in the alley and watching her walk away to face Lung all on her own. Shivering, she looked away, at the bed, and the spot on it that Emma usually took. On the edge, facing in so she could wrap a protective arm around her as they snuggled in close. Reaching a snap decision, she shook her head, not tonight. She might not be strong enough to protect the other girl, but tonight at least she wanted the feeling of holding Emma in her arms, head tucked safely beneath her chin.

She saw Emma smile as she stole her side of the bed. Moments later, she watched her flop onto the bed, and immediately reached out and wrapped an arm around the smaller girl, pulling her in close.

"Good night Emma. I Love you."

Emma squirmed around for a moment, before bringing her lips up to meet Taylor's in a quick kiss, then shifting back to her previous position.

"Love you too. Good night."

With Emma pressed securely up against her, and with the ghostly feeling of the other girl's lips on hers, she let her eyes close, knowing that, for the moment at least, everything was right with the world.


AN

This snippet wasn't actually meant to be my first, I have three others that I'm working on and hoped to have done before I made this thread, then yesterday, a few things from one story made me wonder what a Taylor with the Siberian story would be like. I figured it would take the form of her mother, because what other form could it take, then I actually started thinking about that question. When the idea of a younger Emma occurred to me, and I realized how much that could mess with Taylor's head, the Idea just wouldn't leave me alone, so now we have this. I hope to be adding more snippets soon, and I'm interested to hear what everyone thinks of this one. Oh, and if you're wondering about the lack of Undersiders or Ward requirement pitches, the reasons are that Tattletale got freaked out when she couldn't really read the person tearing Lung apart, and Armsmaster intended to make the pitch after giving the warning about the rest of the ABB, but the fact that Emma's threat didn't ping as a lie made him decide to wait on that until he'd talked to Piggot about what had just happened.

 

[Rook's Stories]

Emily Piggot groaned as the ringing of her phone pulled her from a fitful sleep. She let it ring another three times before picking up, If the damn thing was ringing at all at this time of night, then it wasn't going to stop just because she gave herself a few seconds to wake up.

"Yes?"

"We have a situation."

She took a breath and told herself firmly that she wasn't going to start shouting at Armsmaster. Yes, she had assumed there was a problem if she was being woken up in the middle of the night and the hero should have just gotten to the point. But, when it came down to it, she knew it was the way he sounded as awake and alert as he always did, that was really getting on her nerves.

"What sort of situation?"

"Lung is in custody, and we have a new Parahuman to deal with. One who was able to take him on in a one-on-one fight and win without suffering any apparent injury, and made some rather disturbing threats."

She felt her stomach knot even as she hauled herself from her bed and started pulling clothes out of her dresser with her free hand.

"My office, thirty minutes."

Five minutes to get dressed, grab her keys and get out to her car. Twelve to make it to the Protectorate HQ with a quick stop to buy the coffee she desperately needed. Three to make it from the car to her office. Seven to drink the coffee, she was damn well going to take the time to drink the thing slowly and wake up before she had to deal with this new disaster. And a final three minutes to toss the cup in the trash and get herself ready for the coming meeting. Looking at the clock as she listened to the loud steps of Armsmaster's power armor, she smiled slightly. Thirty minutes exactly. Her body might have betrayed her since Ellisburg, but at least her mind was as sharp as it had ever been.

The sight of Miss Militia following Armsmaster into the office was almost a relief. The woman was undoubtedly her favorite hero in the city. She understood orders, and while she might argue when they were given, she carried them out without fail, even when she didn't like them.

"So, what exactly happened tonight?"


"And my suits lie detector didn't detect any falsehood when Sidhe made her threat."

Emily clenched her fists below the desk. Having Lung arrested when they weren't ready to deal with the aftermath was bad enough, but this girl who was apparently ready to embrace murder and cannibalism. Her mind flashed back to the streets of Ellisburg, the sight of the charging monsters sinking their teeth into the soldiers under her command. She shook her head quickly, banishing the memory.

"Ok, here's what we're going to do. Let everyone know to be friendly to her. And while I understand why you didn't make the wards pitch; I want the offer to be made the next time someone meets her. If she turns it down, keep your eyes and ears open for any hints that could lead us to her family, we'd probably have more luck convincing them we can help their daughter. And before you say anything, I remember the rules. We'll try and keep this quiet, and if it gets out, we can insist that this was a special case because of the girls age and the level of danger the gangs of this city represent. Once we've gotten her signed up, I want her shipped off to a city with a Triumvirate member. They at least might be able to handle her when she goes crazy, or throws a temper tantrum because she doesn't get somethings she wants.

Armsmaster nodded his head slowly. "New York would be best, I think. I'd normally suggest we send her to Hero, but I've heard he has his hands full at the moment. He may have talked the Cornell bomber down, but rehabilitating her is apparently taking up a lot of his time. Eidolon could undoubtedly stop her if he needed to, but, well"

Armsmaster paused for a few moments, as if looking for the right words. "While Eidolon is undeniably powerful, he just isn't a people person."

Emily barely suppressed a snort. For Armsmaster of all people to accuse the man of not being a people person, Eidolon had to be even harder to deal with than she'd heard.

"Legend would probably be better at calming her down before a problem gets out of hand. I'll call him later and let him know he may be getting a new ward and the near future. Now, what about Lung and the ABB. I'd suggest we send everyone we can into their part of the city and track down Oni Lee. If we arrest him too, the ABB will be finished."

She stayed quiet for a moment, thinking, before she slowly shook her head.

"No, we focus on the Empire. Without lung as a counterbalance, they're the largest threat to the city." And, she very carefully didn't say out loud, if they have to fight that psychopath while lungs away and can't hold his leash, he may kill a couple of them before he goes down. Dead nazis can't be broken out of jail after all.

The real problem now was the power vacuum this would cause. With Lung and the Empire holding most of the power in the city, there'd been a semi-peaceful balance for the last couple years. Oh, there'd been violence and some gang members and independent heroes had died, but there hadn't been the level of violence that the all-out gang war that was about to start would surely bring. The chaos and death would be a sign of weakness other villains would exploit. Her mind immediately jumped to the most likely candidate. The Teeth had always made noises about returning to the bay, and now would be the perfect time. Yet another reason to get the crazy girl out of her city before the consequences of her actions came home to roost. The last thing anyone needed was a butcher fifteen with that level of power.

"We're going to hit the Empire as hard and as quickly as we can. I'll talk to some of the other directors and see if we can get a few extra heroes sent here for a couple of weeks. If we can shatter them here and now, with lung behind bars, we may be able to finally bring some peace and safety back to this city.

Even as she said it, she knew it would never work. The other directors would never give her enough powerful heroes to make it work, and the empire was too damn clever to make things easy. Still, it was what she had to try for. And even if it was impossible, tracking down a girl who probably didn't even know the meaning of the word subtlety, and convincing her parents to get her out of a city that was about to turn into a war zone was something she probably could do.




Welcome to the Parahumans Online message boards.
You are currently logged in, Arachne
You are viewing:
• Threads you have replied to
• AND Threads that have new replies
• OR private message conversations with new replies
• Thread OP is displayed.
• Ten posts per page
• Last ten messages in private message history.
• Threads and private messages are ordered chronologically.
■
♦ Topic: A New Hero? (Please)
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay
Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Posted On Apr 1st 2011:
So everybody, here's what we know. Earlier tonight there was a disturbance down by the docks. The end result was that Armsmaster returned to the PRT HQ with an unconscious Lung. Now, I'd love to just write this up as a big win for the hero's but as I'm sure you can guess, there's more to the story. I've gotten word that Armsmaster didn't arrive until after the fight was over, and that it was a new cape who took down Lung. Not only that, despite the fact Lung ramped up enough to grow wings, this new cape apparently didn't even have a scratch after the fight.
As far as I can find out, The PRT only know three things about them for certain, so far. They're a young girl, they wear a red and white striped dress and a full-face mask with a Red Lily on it, and they call themselves Sidhe.
So, there we have it. There's a new cape in the Bay who's apparently strong enough to take down Lung effortlessly. As if that wasn't enough, they picked a name that risks drawing the attention of one of the strongest Parahumans in the world. All I can say is, Please Sidhe, Please be a hero.

Edit. Just remembered the date. As much as this may look like a joke post, I promise you, it's not.
(Showing page 1 of 2)
►AverageAlexandros
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
Well I for one am happy to welcome our new. Oh, good one Bagrat, you almost had me going there.

Edit. Oh Shit.
►Answer Key
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
Wait, so the Dragon of Kyushu just had his ass handed to him by a little girl in a dress? I wonder if Lung will stay in jail just so he doesn't have to face his gang after that.
►Lo A Quest
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
So, not only does someone have the power to casually curb stomp Lung, but that person happens to be a girl going through puberty and her teenage years? Well, all I can say is I'm glad I live on the other side of the country. You know what they say, power corrupts, and that girl has more power than anyone should.
►Rose217 (Verified Beloved)
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
@Lo A Quest
It's not the amount of power a person has that matters, It's what they do with it. My beloved could have caused so much harm with his power, but instead helps people like me, who were trapped in the darkness.
►Saint (Verified Butlerian Brotherhood member)
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
Sidhe, please if your reading this, consider doing something more with your powers than just joining the petty squabbles over a single city. We of the brotherhood are fighting against an abomination that would see our entire species wiped out. While the supplies that Dragon sends help, and we are eternally grateful to her. If we are to breach the defenses it has set up around Eagleton and destroy the monstrosity that festers at the heart of that accursed city, we need a cape or two with your level of power. Please, join us and help protect all of Humanity.
►Dawgsmiles (Veteran Member)
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
Saint
Really Saint? Really? While I have nothing but respect for the work your brotherhood does, are you seriously trying to convince a Wards age girl to join you in a war zone and spearhead an attack against an Insane AI?
►Saint (Verified Butlerian Brotherhood member)
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
@Dawgsmiles (Veteran Member)
Absolutely. Better for her to fight it here and now, while it's weak and contained, than to risk it getting free. Then she'd have to fight it when it was stronger, knowing that if she failed to stop it, it would kill all of her family and friends.
►XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
She took down Lung without suffering a single injury? I knew it. I've been telling you all along that the Triumvirate is taking steps to make sure there are powerful capes to lead a new generation of heroes. Alexandria may be gone, but it's clear that her legacy lives on. Taking down one of the strongest villains on the east coast was clearly a preplanned publicity stunt. Mark my words, she's going to join the wards in New York and work on fighting crime with her papa, Legend.
►Brocktonite03 (Veteran Member)
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
As usual Voidcowboy is completely wrong. As a Brockton native, I can tell you the real story. A number of years ago, there was a group known as the Brockton Bay Brigade. one of it's member's, Brandish, despite being married, fell in love with the dapper and dashing villain Marquise. Their affair resulted in a child, but sadly for Brandish, soon after her daughter's birth, Marquise left her for Alexandria. It was this betrayal that led to Brandish's crusade against Marquise, and it was the knowledge that Alexandria would never let her lover stay locked up that led to the Brigade fighting Marquise so many times, without ever arresting him. They knew as long as Alexandria was around, all they could do was stop whatever crimes he was committing at the time, but within weeks of her death, they swooped in and arrested him. It's clear now however, he had a second daughter before he was arrested.
I have to wonder, how will Glory Girl deal with the appearance of her half-sister? Will she resent Sidhe for her father's crimes, or will she welcome her new sister with open arms?
End of Page. 1
(Showing page 2 of 2)
►Arachne (Wards NYC) (Verified biblical plague)
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
XxVoid_CowboyxX
You may be on to something. I just asked Legend about his and Alexandria's secret daughter and while he denies it, I think he's lying. He was clearly shocked when I asked the question, obviously proving he didn't think I knew about his secret daughter. His denial was was just an attempt to throw me off the trail until the official announcement is made.
@Lo A Quest
Rose is right. I didn't get my Verified tag by having a nice or a weak power, and you won't hear anyone claiming I'm not a hero.
►Iblis
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
@Arachne (Wards NYC) (Verified biblical plague)
Well, they won't claim it more than once at least. Wait. Wait Arachne. I'm just kidding. No need to send the bees.
►Sidhe (Verified Cape)
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
@Brocktonite03
I have a sister? This is great, I've always wanted a sister!

Glory Girl
Dearest Sister, I can't wait to meet you and I hope you won't hold our father's actions against me. I'd love to patrol with you sometime and get to know you.
End of Page. 1, 2
■
♦ Topic: A New Hero? (Please)
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay

Posted On Apr 1st 2011:
(Showing page 22 of 22)
►Miraclemic
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
Ok, this is just getting ridiculous. Even if Sidhe and Glory girl do get into some sort of incestuous romance, Sidhe wouldn't be stupid enough to challenge the nine and try to redeem Bonesaw to prove her love. If they want a kid, they'll buy the necessary tinkertech from Toybox, not trust a crazy serial killer biotinker to help them conceive their child. Also, most of the suggested names for their daughter are simply stupid. With Sidhe's fairy name and Glory girl's tiara, they should obviously name her Titania.
►Tin_mother (Moderator)
Replied On Apr 1st 2011:
I spend a few minutes on the phone with a friend and all of a sudden there twenty pages of underage shipping. I'm freezing this thread for three hours. Hopefully everyone will remember how to behave during that time.
End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 20, 21, 22


Annette Barnes, or Anne as she preferred to be called, stared out the windshield of her old car at the thrift store. As busy and hectic as the last two years had been, it wasn't until these last couple days that she'd started to feel truly stressed. When she'd been excepted by Columbia, she'd known it was the school for her, and she'd convinced her father to help her pay for a tiny apartment and cover the school bills her scholarships wouldn't. She'd left in the summer, giving her time to look for a part time job and get used to it before school started.

She hadn't really known what she wanted to major in for most of that first year. Not until, on a whim, she'd decided to attend professor Manton's lecture on Parahumans and Parahuman psychology, that things clicked for her. The lecture had been one of the most fascinating things she'd ever heard, and after a week of research she was certain she wanted to be a Parahuman psychologist. She'd spoken to professor Manton several times in the months that followed, and he'd always been helpful and encouraging. Then, at the end of the school year, he'd sought her out. He'd told her about an exchange program he helped to run that let students from different countries learn first-hand how Parahumans were handled in other countries. He'd told her that while it was usually for third- and fourth-years students, one of them had suddenly dropped out and she'd impressed him, and asked if she was interested.

So, instead of going home as she'd planned, she spent the next few weeks in her little apartment desperately trying to read everything Manton had suggested she should. The following semester in England had been fascinating, as had been the one in Italy, but after everything, she had been ready to come home and rest for a little while. That, of course, was when things had started to go wrong.

Her plane ride to Boston had been uneventful, and she'd had the bus ticket for the ride back home secure in her pocket, so she'd felt pretty relaxed as she went to reclaim her bags. It had been the fedora that had drawn her attention to the suited woman, and she'd known there was something familiar about her the moment she looked at her, but she hadn't been able to place it. It wasn't until she'd stared for a good ten minutes at the luggage return belt that it had clicked, the woman had been carrying her suitcases.

She'd fumed for the entire ride to Brockton Bay, silently promising herself that someday she'd find that woman and shove her stupid hat right down her throat. Her father had been waiting at the bus stop, and they'd gotten home in time for dinner. She felt a bit guilty admitting, even to herself, how glad she'd been that she'd insisted on renting another small apartment for the couple months she was staying. She'd known that as much as she loved her family, after two years of freedom, if the four of them were stuck under a single roof for two months, at least one of them was going to end up dead before she returned to college.

She'd known that she'd been right after just a couple hours of suffocating conversations with her parents, and then Emma had come home. There was something different about her sister, something that made her skin crawl. Somehow every smile seemed ever so slightly fake, and there was always a calculating look in her eye. Emma had always been ready to turn any situation to her advantage and had always been a natural queen bee, but this was something more. It had been such a relief when she'd said her goodbyes, driven her old beater to the address her father had given her, and collapsed into bed.

Today had been just as bad. Her parents had been just as clingy, all of her sister's complements had sounded just as fake. And she'd had to suffer through the whole thing in the same clothes she'd worn the day before because that fucking woman in that Goddamn Hat had stolen the suitcase that had all her clothes in it. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and exhaled. She could do this, all she needed to do was go in the store, get some clothes, then she could go home, have a quick dinner and get some sleep. Surely after some sleep she'd be able to face the two months of dealing with a family that loved her, until she was able to go back to college. Opening the car door, she walked quickly straight for the store and its clothing section. The fact that they had clothes she could actually see herself wearing came as a relief, and she was just tossing a final pair of pants into her cart when she heard her name.

"Anne? Anne is that you?"

Her first thought as she looked at the tall girl with the beautiful, long, dark hair was how good she'd look in that fedora woman's suit. Her second thought was, "Wow, Taylor really is growing into an attractive young woman", followed closely by "Shit, that's Taylor, I should not be thinking those sorts of things about her." Forcing all those thoughts to the back of her mind, she smiled at the taller girl.

"Taylor it's so good to see you. I've been wondering when I'd get to see you and Uncle Danny. I was more than half expecting to see the two of you at dinner when I got here yesterday."

She saw Taylor flinch slightly before she replied. "No. Dad's been very focused on work for a while and Emma and I, we're not as close as we used to be."

Anna paused for a moment after Taylor's words trailed off before taking the plunge. If she was going to spend the next couple months with her family, she could use any clues she could get about what happened to her sister. "Is that because of the way she's changed since I left. Mom and dad don't seem to have noticed, but there's definitely something different about her."

Nothing could have prepared her for the sudden manic light in Taylor's eyes and the feverish smile that spread across her face, or the way she darted forward and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"You can tell? I mean, of course you can. That must be why it happened after you left for college, they knew you'd be able to tell the new Emma was a fake." Taylor paused for a moment before continuing. "Would you like to come home with me? I'm sure the real Emma would love to see her big sister. We could all have dinner together again like we used to. I have the recipes mom used to make, so I could cook us all something nice." Taylor paused again, looking down as her smile faded, and when she started talking again, it was in a much softer voice. "Though if you're busy I understand. Maybe you could come another-"

"No!" the exclamation was out of her mouth before she had time to think. "No, I'd love to have dinner with you and Emma."

She had no idea what was going on, but something was clearly very wrong here, and she wasn't going to let this sweet girl who she'd known since she'd been born face it alone.

"Just let me pay for these things and I can give you a lift home."

Taylor beamed. "Thanks. I know Emma will be so happy to see you. I was just picking up a new dress for her."

She looked at the dress Taylor was holding up. It was small, too small for the sister she'd spent the day with. Taylor was quiet as they waited in the checkout line and walked to her car.

"Will Danny be having dinner with us?"

The question was as much a way to break the silence as anything, but Taylor's tone had her on edge the moment she started to reply.

"No. Dad has dinner at the DWU more often than not, and half the time he has dinner at home, he forgets to prepare food for anyone else. But, that's ok. The real Emma's back now and she's staying with me. We look after each other."

Anne shivered. How could so much wrongness fit into a few short sentences. The situation with Danny was something she'd need to look into later, but for now it was this real Emma that truly worried her. As they stopped at a light, she let her right-hand drift from the wheel and surreptitiously pat one of the large pockets of the coat she was wearing. The solid feel of the small gun was enough of a comfort that she could force a confident smile as she looked at Taylor.

She'd bought the gun in a back alley while she was still in high school. Her father wouldn't have approved at all, but he wasn't a semi openly gay girl in the nazi capital of the US. She'd left it under a loose floor board in her room when she went to college. Living in the city patrolled by Legend had been a wonderful change from the bay, and she'd felt safe there. Within minutes of getting home the day before, she'd made an excuse to spend a few minutes alone in her old room and had retrieved it. Now she was doubly glad she had. It sounded alarmingly like Taylor might have run into a master or a stranger. If that was the case, she'd have to hope she could shoot the bitch before they could use their power, and that the pain of being shot would buy her the time to club them out with the gun's handle. It was a terrible plan, but the alternative was leaving Taylor to deal with them alone, and she just wasn't going to do that.

As they pulled up in front of the house and got out of the car, she let her hands slide into her coat pockets. Taylor turned and smiled at her before entering. When she walked through the door, she couldn't say what she expected, but it certainly wasn't the young girl in a T-shirt and skirt. The girl looked like Emma had before she'd left for college, save for the streaks of white in her hair and the loops and swirls of red on her arms and legs. The happy squeal she let out when she saw Anne was even similar to the noise a younger Emma had sometimes made when she was happy. And the following hug? it was a solid thing, like the person giving it was made of solid metal. As she let her chin rest on the head of the girl that looked so much like her sister, she looked at Taylor and felt the gears in her brain come to a screeching halt, then start to realign.

"Taylor, when did you say Emma came back?"

She prayed silently she was wrong; but she was almost sure she knew the gist of what she'd hear.

"It was just after winter break. The fake Emma, she really doesn't like me. Probably because I knew Emma well enough that I might have figured out she's a fake."

Taylor paused for a moment and shook her head before continuing. "Not that I did before Emma came back. She'd been trying everything she could think of to hurt me since she was replaced, but that day was the worst. She-"

Taylor broke off and Anne placed a hand on her shoulder while the projection that had been hugging her let go, and wrapped its arms around Taylor.

"You don't have to go into detail. But I take it the other Emma did something to you, and this Emma came and helped you?"

Taylor nodded jerkily. "Yes. She pulled me out of that prison and carried me home. She washed the blood and slime and garbage off me, dried me off and just held me."

Anne felt her fists clench so tightly her knuckles went white, but she focused on forcing the rage down. There would be time to deal with the fact that her sister had made Taylor trigger later, right now she had to focus on the incredibly lonely and hurt girl who needed her help.

"You said Danny eats at work most nights, and often forgets to feed you even when he is here. Do you think he'd notice if you were gone for a few days?"

When Taylor shook her head, she felt herself torn between the urge to smile in relief that her rapidly forming plan would work, and the intense desire to storm down to the docks and punch her uncle in the nose.

"Then how would you like to stay over at my place for a few nights?"

As she watched Taylors face light up, she silently made a promise. Whatever it took, she was going to fix this, and help Taylor.

 

[Rook's Stories]

Lustrum stared out the car's window as it came to a stop, looking at the apartment building through the slowly falling rain. Three stories, each one rented by a member of her group. It should be safe, it was firmly in the territory she claimed, but still.

"All cameras on the street are being looped. I'll let them go once your inside, call when you're ready to be picked up."

Mama B's ever professional voice pulled her from her thoughts. The thoughts she'd been deliberately focusing on to distract her from what was probably going to be a very awkward conversation. As she opened the car door with her free hand, she gently cradled the bundle she held under her coat with the other, then walked quickly to the apartment door. Within moments of pressing the bell, the door was pulled open to reveal the smiling face of the tall willowy woman within.

"Lily, I didn't think you'd be able to make it tonight."

She saw the faint surprise in Annette's eye's as she left her coat on and sat in one of the dining room's chairs. "It was a last-minute decision. I've been putting this visit off for a few days now."

She could easily see the worry that crossed Annette's face at her words, and when the younger woman sat down beside her, she gently grasped her hand. "Things are getting worse. It's no surprise that a male dominated system is full of corruption, and those who profit from the status quo will fight the changes we're trying to bring about. I've had Mama B investigating, and she says the leaders of the cells who've been responsible for the most violence in the last few weeks have all been meeting with people from outside the group. Specifically, they've all met with a woman who dresses like a fed agent, though she tries to hide the fact by wearing a hat. Outside forces are trying to provoke our most volatile members, and with what All Father's and the Butcher's lot have been doing, I'm having trouble controlling even our more moderate members."

"Things are probably going to get ugly soon, and I have no doubt the Protectorate will use it as an excuse to round us up and toss us into the most secure prisons they have. Even if we haven't caused a tenth of the damage the real gangs of this city have, our push for reforms and highlighting of corruption threatens them more directly. I'm not giving up, you understand. If we're going to make the world a better place for women everywhere, this is a fight that needs to be fought, even if it doesn't have a happy ending. I've seen this coming for a while now, and it's why I did something selfish and reprehensible."

Taking a deep breath, she slowly let it out before continuing. "You, me, Willow, charlotte, Chloe and Alice. My-"

She paused for a moment.

"Harem's the word you're looking for, I think." Annette prompted playfully, even as the worry remained in her voice.

"My inner circle. We've talked about what we'd like to do after we've won, after things are better. We've all talked about the idea of raising children together. At this point, I'm almost certain that's not going to happen. I've had a very bad feeling about how things are going to go for the last year, and I'm almost certain I'll be shipped off to the birdcage the moment I'm brought in. All I'm really hoping for now, is that the remnants of our group can work to make the world a better place in their own ways, and that we can be a symbol for the future. That's why I had a conversation with Splice a few months ago."

She watched as Annette's eye's widened, understanding dawning, even before she unzipped her jacket with her free hand and produced the bundled up baby she'd kept concealed under it.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask your permission."

"Why?"

The question was asked calmly, and she recognized the way Annette would often hold herself back from judgement until she had all the facts. She also couldn't help smiling as Annette reached out and caressed their baby's head.

"Mostly, because I didn't want to see you hurt. Splice warned me that the first time she tried this, there'd be a high failure rate. There were five artificially created fetuses, one for each of you. Ours was the only one that survived the full nine months. Splice has promised me that now that she's out of the tank, she's out of danger of anything going wrong."

"That's why you've been so unhappy recently." Annette's voice was soft as she spoke. "It hasn't just been everything that's been going wrong, it's that you've had to watch four miscarriages in a row, while fearing a fifth."

She squeezed her eyes shut and wiped away the tears that had started to form, then nodded. "The others will never know. They didn't ask for this and it's not their pain to bare."

There was silence for several long moments, Annette continuing to stroke their child's head but saying nothing. Then, when she finally did speak, it was in a soft voice."

"I'm not happy that you didn't ask me before you did this, even if you did know the answer I would have given. I'm not happy you had to go through all of this on your own. And I'm certainly not happy about what I'm fairly sure you're going to ask me to do next. But I am happy that we have a child, and that our little girl is here with us."

Lustrum let one of her arms wrap around Annette, as her head came to rest against the younger woman's shoulder. Neither one of them said anything for a few minutes, just enjoying the feeling of closeness.

"You're right about what has to happen next. If our child's going to be safe, you need to leave the group before things get too bad."

She could see the tears in the other woman's eyes as she nodded. "I know a man. I'm certain he'd let me stay with him for a while."

She must not have hidden her sudden surge of jealousy, as Annette giggled. "Danny is as asexual as they come, you have nothing to worry about there. And while I know how you feel about men in general, he is a good man."

Lustrum nodded her head slowly. "You leave our group and go straight to living with a man and have a newborn child. Anyone looking into you will assume he got you pregnant, and you were either thrown out or left to be with him."

Annette nodded again, then looked at their child. "What did you name her?"

She shook her head. "I didn't. With how much of this I kept to myself, I thought it would only be right to let you name her."

"Taylor." Annette's response came a lot more quickly than she'd expected. "Taylor's a good name."

After a pause Annette continued. "Now, let's make little Taylor a nice nest out of the spare blankets, then we're spending one last night together."

Lustrum nodded as she watched mischief war with grief on the face of the woman she loved so much.

---

The Locker stank. It was things like this that could make Emma's obsession with the Hebert girl annoying. Oh, the girl was prey, no doubt about it, but so were most of the students in this worthless hellhole. The girl was as good a target as any to work out her frustration from a failed hunt, or the latest piece of Ward's stupidity on, but she certainly wasn't worth the effort Emma put into constantly putting her in her place. And she sure as hell wasn't worth standing beside something that stank as much as the locker did. Still, it kept Emma happy, and when Emma was happy, school life was easy.

Finally she heard what she'd been waiting for, a trudging set of footsteps with an ever so slight drag of the left foot. Hebert didn't deserve the effort she'd put in to memorizing the way she walked, but she was one of the best predators in the city. If she was going to spend years hunting someone, she'd put in the effort to do it right. Hebert stopped, looking from her to Emma as her nose scrunched up in disgust, then turned and started to hurry away.

A few quick steps and her hands closed over Hebert's shoulders, and suddenly the morning started to become enjoyable. The girl struggled desperately as Sophia began to drag her back. The girl might have been taller than her, but there didn't seem to be an ounce of muscle there. Still, even if she didn't know how to put up a real fight, there were few things more enjoyable than dominating in a physical struggle, and overwhelming a larger opponent. Yanking her arm to the side to avoid a desperate bite, she twisted, and shoved the girl just as Emma opened the locker door. Emma was saying something as she slammed the door shut, but she didn't really listen, the fun part was already over.

As she made her way to the stairs and started up them, she wondered. Had Emma noticed that Hebert had fought just as desperately as Emma had in the Alley? Probably not. Looking back, she could admit she'd misjudged Emma. She'd thought the girl might be another predator, with the way she fought the ABB thugs, but now she could see the truth. The girl was vermin, a rat that would lash out when cornered, but live off the leavings of those more powerful, and would avoid an actual fight whenever she could. Still, even though her initial judgement had been wrong, and the girl had proved useless in the real world, she had turned out to be something almost as useful, a queen bee who could make school life easy.

Honestly, that had been the whole reason she'd bothered to have Emma chase away the Hebert girl, even though she'd already started to get an idea of the sort of person Emma truly was. If she'd done nothing, given time, Emma likely would have come to see her as a reminder of that night in the alley and crawled back to the friend who reminded her of safer times. With Emma making herself queen of the school, and as a star of the track and field team, she'd been able to sleep through most of the classes. One of Emma's hangers on would hand her the completed homework at the start of class and notes at the end. The system had just become more important after the damn protectorate had forced a collar on her. She needed to go out at night, on her own, if she was actually to do any good, and she needed to be rested when she went to the wards if she didn't want them to start asking questions. So long as she kept Emma happy, all she usually had to do was-

The cold floor pressed against her forehead and her nose hurt. What the hell just happened? She'd been walking down the hallway, and now she was on the floor. True, with how things had gone the night before, she'd barely had time to stash her costume at home before coming to school, not even getting the hour or two of sleep she was used to. But still, she shouldn't be this out of it yet.

Taking Emma's hand as she got up, she glanced around. A couple of skinheads and a boy in ABB colors were looking at her. Well, there went the rest of the day. She'd need to show the local junior gang members that she wasn't going soft or getting weak. She really would have liked to just be able to rest today, before having to face the protectorate. Still, at least some of the people she'd have to beat up might actually know how to fight, and punching Nazis was always fun, so the rest of the day would be enjoyable at least. As she walked towards her first class, she didn't even consider the fact that the place she'd fallen, had been exactly one floor above the locker she'd just shoved Taylor into.

---

There was no light in the world, but somehow Taylor had no trouble seeing. Everything seemed to be a reflection of the world she was used to, the schools walls and doors being somehow even more intense areas of darkness. When she'd entered this odd realm, she'd almost fallen flat on her face, as she'd effortlessly pushed straight through the darkness that defined the locker. As she walked down the hall and headed for the school's main doors, she felt numb. Walking towards her locker. The stench. Sophia grabbing her and forcing her in when she'd tried to run. Screaming herself hoarse as she desperately tried to break free. Feeling her arms and legs getting scratched up as her body was coated in filth. And now this, this strange new world. It was just too much, all she wanted was to get home, wash the filth off and go back to bed.

As she walked through the dark reflection of the streets, she came to realize a few things about her new power. She could peak back into the normal world anywhere there were shadows or darkness, and she knew that she could transition between worlds in those places. She also quickly discovered that gravity was somewhat optional, as with a bit of focus, she could walk at an angle until she was walking through the air, above the roofs of the city.

When she finally made it home, she walked down through the roof, found a nice shadow in the bathroom and transitioned. As the shower's water washed the filth from her, she absently played with her power. She could apparently draw the darkness of that other plane from shadows and control it. The darker the shadow, the faster the darkness flowed. Once she'd drawn the darkness out, she could apparently do two distinctly different things with it. Either she could form it into shapes, and send them flying around, or draw it to herself and create a second body around her. She somehow knew that this second body could either be an incredibly dense, paper-thin layer just over her skin, or a far more fragile giant thing with her at its core. She quickly discovered that the more darkness she used, the stronger her creations became. Turning off the shower, she spent a few moments drying off before going to her room and collapsing into bed. A few hours later she woke up enough to call out that she'd already eaten, before falling back to sleep.

The next day the feeling of overwhelmed numbness was gone, replaced by the hollow emptiness she knew so well. She had powers, but what did that change? Her mother was still dead. Danny couldn't bare to look at her on those few occasions he even remembered she existed. Emma wasn't going to magically stop hating her, and the rest of the school wasn't going to stop making her days as unpleasant as possible. All that had changed was that she'd now have to fight the urge to go Carrie every time Emma and her hangers on came up with a new way to hurt her, and hope none of the gangs found out and tried to force her to join them.

As she got out of bed, she shook her head. It would probably encourage the trio, prove to them they were getting to her, but she just didn't feel up to facing them today. As she took a shower, she listened for the front door. The fact that she heard it open and close without Danny saying a word of goodbye wasn't surprising. There'd been a void between them since her mother had died. She'd tried to talk with him in those first few weeks after it happened, to take care of him. She'd cleared away the empty beer bottles and helped him up the stairs when he was too drunk to manage on his own. Then had come the night she went to help him and he pushed her away, slurring out how she wasn't even really his daughter. After that, they'd both settled into their own nests of grief and mostly ignored the other.

After a quick breakfast, she returned to her room and booted up her computer. Danny had gotten it for her a bit over a year and a half ago, and she was privately certain he'd done it so she'd spend more time in her room where he didn't have to see her. It was an older used thing, but it was more than enough to surf the web. That's how her little hobby had started. After a late night of skimming through the latest news on PHO, she'd been struck by inspiration. A way to thumb her nose at the horrors of the world while remembering her mother. Before she'd gone to bed, her new Winged_One account had been created. It was fun pretending to be a monster pretending not to be a monster, writing posts in the archaic style of the books her mother had used to read her. Or, as she liked to imagine, like an eldritch horror who'd learned English from old books. It was this hobby that had led to meeting the closest thing to a friend she'd had for the last few years. As if summoned by her thoughts, the ping of a new message sounded.

♦ Private message from CE_0320

CE_0320:

You ok? I don't think I've ever seen you on this early on a weekday.


CE had started messaging her a couple of weeks after she'd created her account. And, while she didn't think they were exactly friends, they did get along, and were ready to offer a sympathetic ear whenever the other wanted to vent about their life. The other girl apparently had to put up with a father who spent most of his time being as neglectful as her own, but sometimes insisted they go out and do things together. Things CE didn't have any real interest in, but her father never bothered to ask her opinion. She apparently also had to put up with a pair of idiotic older brothers who couldn't understand her. So really, it was hardly surprising she enjoyed getting a way for a bit and helping Taylor come up with messages and predictions to post.


Winged_One:

The Trio were just especially unpleasant yesterday. Don't want to talk about it, but I didn't feel up to facing them today.

CE_0320:

I'm sorry to hear that. Just tough things out a little longer, I'm sure you'll find something that will make you happy soon.

Winged_One:

Thanks, I wish I had your confidence. How are things going with you?

CE_0320:

Dad seems to be getting restless. I suspect he's going to want me to go out and do something with him sometime in the next few weeks.

Winged_One:

Oh, sorry to hear that.



She spent the rest of the day chatting with CE and posting odd predictions in between reading about the latest cape news. It wasn't until she heard the door open that she realized how much time she'd spent online. Unusually, at dinner that night Danny actually asked her how her day at school had gone. She'd reassured him it was fine, while mostly thinking about the annoying way her arms had started to itch.

The next morning when she woke up, she could tell Danny had already left for work. She felt dizzy and sick, and her legs had started to itch as well. A part of her knew that she should get up, call Danny and get him to set up a doctor's appointment for her, but she just couldn't bring herself to make the call. What was the point? She'd either get better or she wouldn't. And if she didn't, well at least she wouldn't have to put up with the school, Emma or the horrible feeling of constant loneliness anymore.

She slept fitfully throughout the day. While she heard Danny get home that night, it was late enough that he just grabbed something and went straight to bed. That night, along with the constant itching and dizziness, she started to feel hot, and ended up kicking her blankets off the side of the bed. In the morning she was barely aware enough to recognize the noise of Danny knocking on her door. Moments later she watched as the door opened. Watched as his eyes widened at the sight of her, and he said something she couldn't quite make sense of. Watched as he moved across the room and picked her up, her red lined arms and legs flopping limply. When he started to carry her down the stairs, she passed out.

The next thing she was aware of was a cool hand on her forehead. A hand that seemed to become the center of her world as the pain and dizziness faded.

"She be ok?"

"Yes. Just give me a minute, there are a lot of infections to take care of."

As tired as it sounded, the voice was beautiful. Moments later, when she was finally able to open her eyes, she saw the face of her savior possessed a matching beauty, with curly brown hair, soft green eyes and freckles perfectly placed to accentuate her face. She looked at her perfect angel as she took away the pain, leaving her feeling better than she could remember ever feeling. And, even though the flawless face stayed impassive, she could tell this wonderful person cared more about her than anyone else in her life had in along time.

"She'll be fine now."

She smiled as she focused on the voice, but the smile quickly became a frown as the hand was removed from her face. She knew Panacea would have other people to heal, but she wished she could've stayed a bit longer.

"Thank you." She barely managed to get the words out before Panacea made it out the door, but the faint nod she received in return at least showed the other girl had heard her.

The next few hours were tedious. Danny tried to insist she tell him what happened, even though she kept telling him it didn't matter. And it really didn't, the part of her life where Emma, the Trio or the school mattered was over, all that mattered now was the memory of that beautiful face. Once Danny finally let her go to her room for the night, she quickly logged onto her computer. New Wave's identities were public knowledge, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find out where they live. Once she'd gotten an address and cleared her search history, she sat on her bed and planned, as she waited for Danny to fall asleep. She had and address, but while she knew with an absolute certainty that she and Amy were meant to be together; she couldn't just walk into the Dallon house and introduce herself. No, she'd take her time and watch from the shadows to find out what her beloved liked. Only then, when she could make their first meeting outside the hospital special, would she introduce herself.

Once she heard Danny's soft snores, she slipped downstairs and grabbed a couple shopping bags. Returning to her room, she looked around. She'd need a few changes of clothes, and she'd take the small box with the broken pieces of her mother's flute, but other than that, there really wasn't anything that she wanted to take with her. After she'd packed her bags, she slipped into her shadow world, then paused, realizing there was one more thing she wanted. When she'd talked to Danny about the fact he wasn't her father, he'd shown her a safe. Apparently her mother had made Danny promise that if anything happened to her, he'd give it to her when she turned eighteen or left for college, whichever happened first. She didn't know what was in the safe, but she'd take it as a memento, just like the flute. Walking through the wall of Danny's room, she looked around, finally finding her target in the back of the closet. Slipping back into the physical world for just a moment, she took ahold of the safe, then transitioned back into shadow and left the house.

She found the next couple weeks to be, informative. That first night had been wonderful, as she'd spent it watching over Amy as she slept. She'd quickly found that any touch that involved skin to skin contact risked disturbing her beloved's sleep, but if she coated her fingers with darkness, she could safely run them through Amy's hair. She also discovered that the same variable gravity of the shadow plane that allowed her to walk in midair, also allowed her to effectively anchor herself to an object, so she'd drift after it when it moved. Once she'd found that out, she'd spent all of her sleeping hours, and most of her waking ones anchored to Amy's shadow.

Other discoveries were less pleasant, and she quickly realized that she'd have a lot of work to do before her beloved finally had the safe, happy life she deserved. She ended up creating a list of things she'd need to do. First, Carol Dallon needed to die, painfully. The bitch was deliberately making Amy miserable, and she'd pay dearly for that. Unfortunately, Carol was an experienced cape, and if she didn't kill her the first time they fought, things could get messy. She could always kill the woman in her sleep, but if she was found murdered in her bed, instead of simply vanishing some night during a patrol, people might start asking questions she didn't want asked. Fortunately, the other items on her list would give her the practice she'd need to win the fight against Brandish.

Second was the item she planned to start with. The cities gangs needed to be dealt with, permanently. The constant inter-gang fights left Amy overworked, and that alone would have been reason enough to deal with them, but they posed a greater threat. It was all too likely one of them would either decide to kidnap the local healer for themselves, or kill her so rival gang members couldn't be healed.

Third, the protectorate needed to be cowed or driven out of the bay. At first, she'd been on the fence about needing to deal with the protectorate. On one hand, they provided some security to the city, and might drive off anyone who could be a threat to Amy before she needed to get involved. That would leave her with more time she could actually spend with Amy. On the other hand, they summoned her to heal their injured capes, no matter the time. And worse than that, they might actually try to convince Amy to do something stupid, like go to an Endbringer fight, despite the obvious danger. The thing that had pushed her into deciding she needed to take action against them was what she'd discovered the second time the protectorate called for Amy's services. She'd drifted along in Amy's shadow as her beloved went to the rig, and she'd seen shadow stalkers unmasked face when Amy placed a hand on her cheek and healed her. Any organization that let Sophia join simply could not be trusted.

She'd briefly added a fourth item to her list, kill Victoria Dallon. One evening, about a week After she'd started watching over Amy, she'd had the joy of watching her beloved do some truly interesting things to herself. She'd almost left when she'd realized what was starting to happen, but in the end, she decided that once they were happily together, she could talk Amy into giving her retroactive permission. Then she'd caught a few of the muffled words, "Vicky" "Sister" and "wrong". Barely an hour later, she'd been standing over Victoria's bed as the heroine slept, deciding if she could risk waiting to make her disappear until she was on a patrol, or if she should kill her now. Then, thankfully, the actual meaning of Amy's words clicked. Glory girl wasn't a rival, Amy just had a sibling fetish. As her beloved had made clear through her mumbled words, she already knew Vicky was wrong for her. Taylor knew she could work with this, so she removed "kill Victoria Dallon" from her list and replaced it with "Find a city clerk who can be bribed or threatened.". It should be possible to get one to alter or create a marriage certificate, so one of her parents was married to one of Amy's. If sisters were what her beloved liked, then she'd make herself Amy's sister.


Looking at the list, she sighed. There might only be four items on it, but she had a lot of work to do. And in addition to her to do list, she had to figure out how to properly court Amy. Oh, she was certain they'd end up together, they were perfect for each other after all, but she wanted to make things special for Amy. The problem was, she had no experience dating anyone, and she didn't know anyone she could ask for advice. After a moment, a smile spread across her face. Actually, she did know someone. She hadn't spoken to CE in a couple weeks, and she didn't know if her sort of friend knew much more about dating than she did, but it was worth asking. Resting her head on one of Amy's shirts that she'd borrowed, her smile broadened. Tomorrow night, once Amy was safely asleep, she'd start working on dealing with the gang problem and send CE a message. Even if her friend didn't actually have any advice to give her, she was sure she could find a book with some suggestions. Everything, she was certain, would turn out just fine.


AN. Well, that was that's the second idea. I always thought the idea of Yandere Taylor would be fun to play with sometime. I hope to hear you're thoughts. Comments both motivate me to write more, and hearing what people enjoyed gives me an idea what I should focus on. Also I'd be happy to answer any questions about this or any other Snippet in this thread.