Dakka (Worm AU/ Alt Power)

So you may have seen the first chapter of my fic titled Drift. While that is obviously on hiatus, I wanted to talk about Drift and how it actually fits next to Dakka.

The premise of Dakka was originally part of a group of four separate fics that were all part of one over plot. I quickly realized how overly ambitious that was for a first project that I had promised myself to complete, so I picked from the four and went with the version of Taylor that would be the most pleasurable to write about. Thus Dakka was born, and many changes happened before I ever pushed out Chapter 1, and as you can see from the Chapter 1 that is hiding in the apocrypha threadmarks, I made a lot of naive mistakes in my first try.

This was how I met my beta reader, as he liked what I was doing enough to dive in, and you'll see he gets credit from Chapter 4 onward. As an aside this is where you'll see me more and more try and tackle difficult scenes rather than skip over them... cough cough time skip at fic start. Oops.
But back to the original premise.

The original idea was basically inspired by fan fiction and its community in a general sense, of taking a moment and writing whole fics based off slightly altered decisions. This centered around what Taylor does with the gun in these fics:

Tries to commit suicide but gets interrupted. (Dakka)
Succeeds at committing suicide. (Uplift) (NSFW)
Gets rid of gun but does not engage with her father. (Drift)
Gets rid of gun BY engaging with her father. (Echo)

Dakka is Tinker/Thinker Taylor. Drift is Breaker Taylor. Echo is a Stranger Taylor. Uplift is a Thinker Danny.

Its Uplift that ties it all together. This Danny gets an absolutely broken thinker power, in the realm of Dragon levels. He decides he's going to find a way to get his daughter back. His desire cripples his ability to use that power for basically anything but selfish reasons, in the end though eventually the fight with Scion draws near and Danny realizes he needs help, so he makes a device that literally pulls Taylor's from the "what-ifs." They then have a Taylor pow wow and kick Scion's ass.

Obviously that's not happening anymore. Dakka has a totally unrelated plot, so there's no spoilers here, no Drift spoilers either, but they obviously both pulled from the same AU elements. I'm glad I decided to focus on this fic instead of trying the big project with hindsight. I've learned so much since I started, and I can see ways in which my writing has improved, especially in the stage before they hit editing. But a very small part of me wonders what if I had gone for it and tried this idea for real.

Still, I was thinking about the journey that Dakka has taken since I started this project almost two years ago and was laughing a bit at myself for how naive I was in trying such a huge project as a first fic.

But hey, almost two years now, and hopefully it won't take another two years to finish it, but if it does, its been a fun ride. For all the people who've stuck around and are still reading, thanks, it makes it more fun to have an audience.

 

This chapter beta'd by: mrwizard70 (Thank you!)

TW: Bonesaw applies to this chapter.

—

Rachel growled before she took a breath, shaking herself a bit. She moved to the fire escape and tugged at the release, letting the ladder fall while Lisa followed behind, her hands dancing on her phone. She turned her eyes to take in the streets below. The dust from the explosion had just started to drift in but most of her vision was clear. Chamberlain and Fox were suburban streets, except for the small office building they had claimed the roof of. Lisa had said something about it, which probably meant it was one of Coil’s.

Rachel took a breath and let out a long whistle. Taking a knee, she tugged the laces on her boots to tighten them and waited. The bark came eventually and she felt her nerves settle a bit.

“Grue should be on his way. I sent one to the boss too but…”

As if anyone was ever the boss but Lisa.

Rachel huffed and let Lisa start down the ladder, giving the street another once over. She stiffened as a howl came from the street; Brutus had paused in his run to let it out and his eyes were looking at something she couldn’t see from her position on the roof. She hesitated for a moment deciding whether to try and get a better angle or not.

“Don’t lock up.” Lisa’s voice got her moving. Rachel let out another long whistle.

Fuck!

The sound of a ratcheting chain set her heart racing. She tensed and started to move toward the fire escape. She stumbled back and sucked in her breath as the Siberian landed on the roof next to her. Rachel took a step back, lifting her shoulders, with her hands hanging slightly open and out. Siberian met her eyes quietly, but didn’t move. Indecision wracked through Rachel as she gave a furtive glance to the ladder.

No point, she’s too fast.

She took a long blink, setting her fear down.

Panic means no chance, slim is better than none.

Mannequin arrived with a thunk, dropping next to the woman. Rachel wanted to whimper as she watched a silent conversation occur between the two before Mannequin’s head swiveled away and he set himself down in a squat a fair distance away on the roof.

Then Siberian turned her eyes on her, regarding her fully. Rachel didn’t stiffen as Siberian shifted a bit into a more welcoming stance. Rachel took a breath. “You want something.”

The naked woman stepped closer, until she was a deep breath away from contact. Rachel bit down her response, and fisted her hands together tightly for a moment while forcing herself to keep eye contact.

Siberian’s face moved to hovering near her ear, in the crook of her neck before she let out a whisper. “You shaved your legs.”

Fucking what?

She took a calming breath. “What of it?”

“That’s not all that’s different though.”

Rachel stilled, a dozen little thoughts shooting through her. Lisa had it wrong; it wasn’t since Lung that Rachel had felt different, better, more capable. If it was any particular moment that Rachel had noticed it would have been Christmas. Lisa had forced her to come over. She hadn’t wanted to, family holidays weren’t for her.

She had gone though, and Lisa had brought out this ridiculous little tree, and had somehow convinced her to help decorate it. Lisa had handed her an ornament, a gaudy little thing, probably from some grandma approved craft store. Rachel had grumped for a moment before Lisa had touched her uncharacteristically and said, “You don’t have to if you don’t want.”

It was such a small thing, but it was like popping your spine, that little click as something that felt out of place, suddenly slid into a comfortable position. Rachel had wanted to decorate the stupid little tree and suddenly Lisa’s smile was a lot less like baring her teeth and a lot more like a genuine invitiation. Rachel’s whole world had tipped around on its axis; winter had suddenly become summer.

“No it's not.”

Siberian hummed and stepped back, sending a cascade of relief through Rachel. “We’ll have to see how you do, but I’m not quite so sure anymore.”

The comment remained unexplained before Siberian stepped back and Mannequin stepped forward. Then Siberian was gone. Mannequin stood from his squat. Rachel looked about, no cover, nowhere to run.

I’m going to die.

The door from the stair access banged open and Angelica burst through.

Damn it.

Rachel hadn’t used her power on them yet. They were just dogs. Mannequin didn’t approach, but returned to his squatting position. Rachel didn’t bother to ask and slid her hands into Angelica’s fur, and let her power go. She took a step back as Mannequin stood again, his feet shifting a bit on the roof’s gravel. Angelica let out a soft growl and Rachel felt it in herself too. She bared her teeth, leaning forward a bit.

I need to start carrying a weapon.

The little thought burst out of her and she couldn’t help but feel more feral in response. Mannequin moved, rushing forward only to be intercepted by Angelica, who managed to get a grip on the tinker’s arm and flung him completely off the roof.

“Good girl.”

She rushed to the fire escape, sliding down the ladder. Angelica jumped from the roof and landed next to her behind the building where Brutus and Judas were waiting. She set her power to work on them and rushed out of the alley to find Lisa.

—

Get us out of here!

Grue looked down at the phone and frowned, before grabbing his coat and dashing to the car outside. He started the car, slamming the gas. The roads were empty and he gave a small thanks to the air as he ran the stop sign out of the cul-de-sac their current bolt hole was located. He yelped as his sister appeared next to him.

“You have to stop that.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He held in a sigh. She had been quiet since the bombing, unnaturally so. He settled for a shake of his head. “Me too.”

She leaned her head against the glass and quiet fell between them with nothing but the sound of the road and tires squealing as he took turns too quickly. He turned onto Fox street, and slowed a bit trying to see if he could find Lisa or Rachel.

He slammed on the brakes when something heavy smashed onto the top of the hood of the vehicle. Grue blinked.

Oh fuck.

Mannequin stared back at him through the windshield, resting on the hood, twisting his head in odd circles. A rhythmless moment passed and Mannequin leaned in as if he was considering whether Brian was someone he was interested in. Brian tried to breathe before another heavy impact sent the car spinning around on the asphalt. His head smashed into the window but he managed to stumble out of the car, letting darkness flow out while he tried to get his bearings.

His head stopped spinning long enough for him to look up. Lisa was hiding behind one of Rachel’s dogs as the other two snapped at Mannequin, trying to keep him at bay.

“I’m here!”

Lisa nodded as she clung to the side of the dog she was behind. Two of Rachel’s dogs lunged forward, with one of them managing to bite onto the extended chain of Mannequin’s arm, sending him flying with a sharp twist of its head. Mannequin extended another chain and rocketed back in, landing next to Rachel. He moved to deliver what was sure to be a killing blow.

Bang!

His head turned toward Lisa who had drawn her gun. The impact of the bullet seemed to do nothing but knock him over but it gave Rachel enough time to scramble away.

That’s enough of that.

Grue pushed his darkness out, covering them all.

“Damn it, how am I supposed to tell my dogs what to do now?”

Grue paused for a moment at the question spoken out loud; the voice Rachel used was so different it cut through the moment. Lisa’s scream brought him back just as fast and he cancelled the darkness.

How did Mannequin find her?

No, he hadn’t found her, he had left the darkness, and cut through her on the way out.

Rachel shouted, “Kill.” A sharp whistle followed and one of the dogs leapt in and almost took Mannequin’s head off as he withdrew his claw from Lisa’s side, who had been dragged along with him. She fell like a rag doll onto the ground. Rachel whistled again and the dogs chased Mannequin, who’d jumped onto the roof of one of the shorter buildings.

Rather than wait for Mannequin to come up with a plan, Grue filled the street with darkness again, and rushed to Lisa’s side. He blinked in shock at the first aid kit sitting on the ground next to her, but he put it out of his mind as he examined the wound.

Damn it, no no no!

He pushed his panic down and went through the steps in his head. Airway, breathing, circulation. His hands moved to the kit and pulled out bandages. Mannequin had missed any vitals, but a horrible tear of flesh had exposed some of Lisa’s ribs, one of which was clearly broken.

Pressure… pressure on the wound.

His hands worked, wrapping her chest as Lisa’s hands scrambled on his arms, trying to steady herself as she let out horrible little gasps of breath through her pain.

A clicking sound bounced off the buildings around him and he took another breath.

Focus!

He needed to hurry before Mannequin could pull off whatever tinker bullshit he was about to do. His hands to work set to work grabbing the kit and dressing the wound. Tension shook through his hands but he forced himself to breathe. Finishing, he set his hands checking her over again for anything he missed then he stood. With more patience then he felt he moved over to Rachel who was standing still in the darkness, breathing slowly. With a signal they had come up with he touched the back of her hand with his knuckle tapping it once.

Rachel’s eyes were fluttering around, trying to find something to get her bearings. She startled at the touch, but she surprised him again by turned her hand around and grabbing his hand tightly even going so far as to give it a squeeze. What was going on with her? He pulled her toward Lisa and brought their hands together, before moving the darkness around, letting it fall away near them.

The clicking grew louder and Grue tried to locate the source before he turned to the girls. “We need to get out of here.”

Lisa wheezed, but nodded and Rachel let out a whistle that was close to a chirp and the dogs were soon upon them. Grue sucked in his breath as the clicking sound changed tempo and pitch and he whispered, “Echolocation?”

Lisa coughed. “Probably. I don’t think he’s found the right pitch yet.”

He helped Lisa onto one of the dogs and climbed up behind her as the clicking suddenly changed tempo again. The clicking stopped and Mannequin shot out of the alley rushing toward him.

“He’s coming!”

Rachel let out a whistle and the dog underneath him shot off. He grabbed Lisa tightly and she let out a yelp of pain, but better that than dropping her. Turning around he watched as Rachel danced behind the third dog as Mannequin turned toward her. The dogs rounded a corner, causing him to lose sight of them.

“Come on, don’t leave her there!” He grabbed the dog and tried to turn it around in vain. The dogs ran onto an unknown destination. Grue shifted his hands on Lisa to not be squeezing so tight before he let out a breath.

Please be okay.

—

Rachel grit her teeth as she did her best to keep Angelica between her and Mannequin. She let her eyes drift toward Grue at the moment he rounded the corner, Brutus trailing behind them, before grabbing one of the many bone spurs on Angelica’s side. She took a breath and clicked with her tongue a few times. Angelica tensed and lunged, with Rachel doing her best to hold on as she tried to drag herself up as they raced forward.

Mannequin chased after her and she shouted in frustration as her hand slipped off and she bounced off the ground. Angelica skidded to a halt and turned back toward her as she let out a whoof of pain. Mannequin had not stopped running and came within a hair of ending her before Angelica ran into him. He managed to land on his feet and turned back toward her as Angelica circled around keeping the lines of sight to as much a minimum as she could.

Good girl.

Rachel scrambled to her feet. She considered how to try to escape again.

The trick won’t work a second time.

She moved with Angelica keeping the space between her and Mannequin as restricted as possible. They circled for a bit longer before he suddenly jumped back lowering himself into a squat and staring at her. Standing straighter she rolled her shoulders and met his stare as Angelica pawed backwards until they were side by side.

He tilted his head to the side, letting it swivel about before he stood again. His head turned toward Angelica, tilting even further until the angle was unnatural. A shift of his feet preceded a slow side step, his face never leaving its position.

Rachel let her eyes dart about, taking in the space around her. The engine on Grue’s car was still running, but she wasn’t sure if she could make use of that. Fox street was wide and empty, and she frowned at the lack of cover.

Mannequin side stepped again, and leaned forward slightly. Angelica let out a growl, shifting on her front feet, slowly edging in front of Rachel. Rachel took a breath as he side stepped again, his foot sliding forward a bit.

She looked at the empty street again and decided. “Kill.”

Angelica shot forward and Mannequin shifted on his feet and met her head on, before he slid past her with an unnaturally fast side step, rushing straight for Rachel. She had no time to move and Mannequin found her shoulder with his claws. Everything went white and she went weightless for a moment before the smack of the ground on her back sent the air out of her.

Her shoulder felt wet, the air smelled odd and her head rang. Nothing made sense.

Mannequin was on her again, his shadow falling on her before his head turned quickly. He jumped to the side as Angelica’s teeth filled the space he previously occupied. A horrific sound of metal on metal sounded and she heard more than saw him fly down the road.

What the hell just happened?

She stared for a moment but dragged herself to her feet, wheezing in pain as her ribs constricted her breathing; she didn’t even want to look at her arm which she couldn’t feel at the moment. Mannequin snapped to his feet. He flew away again as another horrible metal on metal sound erupted.

Rachel didn’t question it, and climbed onto the back of Angelica, whistling to run. She turned her head around blinking at the sudden appearance of Grue’s car.

Wait what?

She shook her head, the mystery could wait, gripping Angelica tighter she rode on.

—

Grue held Lisa as they stumbled through the entrance of PRT HQ. How the dogs had known to come here he didn’t know, but apparently Rachel had more contingencies than he gave her credit for. He vaguely noted one of the guards at the door shout for a medic but Lisa’s voice beat out any others.

“The receptionist’s phone… need it.”

He dragged her to the desk and the man protested before Lisa shushed him by turning the gushing red bandage toward him. She dialed a number and spoke, “Dauntless. Please get out to Chamberlain and Fox. This is Tattletale at the front desk, and Mannequin is trying to kill my team. So if you could… yeah… thanks.”

She set the phone down and tumbled to the ground as if she had spent the last of her energy on making the call. He barely caught her before another set of hands pushed him away and Amy grabbed Lisa.

Lisa blinked. “Oh… it's you.”

Amy tilted her head to the side as she spoke. “Nasty… twice now you’ve come in with horrific wounds and yet you push through.”

Lisa gave a wan smile. “I…, “ There was a long pause before she looked him in the eyes and finally managed to say something quiet. “They’re my friends.”

Grue sighed in relief as Lisa’s breathing grew easy and Amy undressed the wound, revealing unblemished skin. Lisa’s eyes darted to his before they closed and her head slumped. He leaned forward on his knees putting his head against the side of the reception desk.

“Thank you.”

Amy shook her head. “This is what I do.”

He wondered about the strong emphasis for a moment but put it aside as the medics dragged him away to look him over.

—

Rachel let the frustration fuel her as she tried to keep track of Mannequin. He was fast, and she wasn’t sure if he was fast enough to catch her and just playing at a chase. He didn’t seem to have any trouble keeping up with her either way. She glanced at the arrangement of the street in front of her and considered her options.

Her head was full of noise, with her shoulder screaming, the lack of sensation in her arm and her protesting ribs. She didn’t know where to go.

Her thoughts were abruptly cut short as something rammed into her side and she flew off Angelica, skidding along the asphalt. Everything burned on her right side and she hissed as the weight on top of her shifted, pressing into her ribs. Angelica rushed forward to fight before a mist appeared, and she howled in agony as the extra flesh from Rachel’s power melted off, leaving her nothing but a normal dog. She barked once, but her eyes drooped suddenly and she fell to the side, unconscious.

Fuck.

The weight shifted again and she cried out as whoever it was stood up. The Siberian stared down at her, her face devoid of emotion, and Rachel took no comfort from knowing that she wasn’t real.

“You’re not Tattletale.”

Jack rolled her from her side onto her back. His face was as blank as the Siberian’s as he turned toward Mannequin, who seemed to communicate with Jack in silence for a moment. He then turned to the Siberian who gave a very slight shake of her head.

“PRT HQ then? Damn. They’re off limits for now.”

He leaned forward and tilted her head to the side. “Road rash is nasty. Not that you’d notice any difference. Still, Sibby had hopes for you.”

He brought a knife out and Rachel grit her teeth in anticipation of further pain before a girl’s voice interrupted. “Let me have her.”

“She wasn’t on your list before.”

“I said she was on my maybe. I wasn’t sure exactly how she made her dogs, but my counter measures worked. That means she adds fleshy bits to them. That’s… interesting.”

Jack let the silence stretch, though Rachel could plainly see he wasn’t really considering the words and had already decided.

“Maybe you can make her pretty.”

Fuck.

The girl approached her and leaned over before Rachel smelled something odd and the world went dark.

—

Wherever she was it was cold. A small whispering voice was to her left and she gave a sniff. Blood and something tangy hung in the air, but it smelled old. She let out a yelp as a machine in the shape of a spider skittered in front of her before it shot out of her vision. She turned her head to the whispering and tried to listen.

A girl turned a device over in her hands, which were shaking visibly but still somehow seemed to manipulate the work with eerie precision. “He has to see. It has to hurt.”

The words were a bit louder than the rest as she set down the device and leaned over, putting her head into her hands. Rachel sniffed again, and there was a smell that she was familiar with; it reminded her of Lisa. Of late nights, being overly caffeinated and artificially chipper. The low whispering started again and the girl moved a new device into her hands, which she raised up to her eye as a small needle appeared.

Rachel leaned back as the girl shoved it into her eye without even a yelp. The whispering continued and the shaking grew worse. The girl’s arm was somehow perfectly still while the rest of her body vibrated in place, the metal stool she sat on going so far as to shift on the floor a bit under her.

The girl pulled the needle out, placed something on a microscope to the right and looked in with her other eye, while her left hand did something with yet another device, and the blood stopped flowing out of the girl’s left tear duct. The room seemed to grow cold at the sight and Rachel leaned her head back, fighting for clean air.

“Thirteen to go.”

The girl stood up when she stopped shaking. She rolled her shoulders and as she turned she grew a smile on her face. Bonesaw approached. “He said to make you pretty.”

There was something sly in the tone Bonesaw conveyed the declaration. Rachel couldn’t place the wide rift between the movement of the girl’s mouth and the voice she used, so she sniffed again. The tangy smell was sharp, and the iron smell was reduced. The girl grabbed whatever thing Rachel was strapped to and dragged her to a set of freezers.

They were in a morgue. Bonesaw set to work pulling freezers open and arraying a set of dead bodies before her.

“That’s Cherish on the left. A master and Regent’s sister! Then we have Gradient, a Shaker from Denver. Hastor, a Stranger from Reno. Goldilocks, a Thinker from Kentucky, poor girl. And the shared trait is… they’re pretty. Pick one.”

A strange echo of the earlier horror rose up and Rachel’s eyes danced frantically about before the girl whispered, “Pick one. Just… pick one. Please.”

The girl begged, but Bonesaw demanded. “Pick one.”

Not Cherish.

The alien thought rose in her but she let it go, following it. She tore her eyes over the arrayed bodies, giving them consideration. She felt heat in her hands and chest, ice in her head. She spoke with deadly calm. “Are their powers relevant to the choice?”

“Yes.”

She’d only heard of one of them. Shaker Nine. “Gradient.”

Bonesaw nodded and put the other bodies away. Time seemed to pass in slow motion as Bonesaw set to work moving her to a table and placing her next to the corpse. Rachel couldn’t see anything as her head was tightly secured, and only sounds greeted her.

Eventually though it grew quiet. Bonesaw leaned over, flashed a light in her eyes and counted. She brought some liquid out in a bag and Rachel winced at a pinch in her arm. Bonesaw leaned over her and flashed the light again, the whispered counting seemed to grow incredibly long as the cold liquid worked its way up her arm.

The girl’s voice was soft. “I sent her out the back. She’ll be at the PRT HQ soon.”

“Who?”

“Your dog.” The girl turned away and a small choking sound escaped. “It has to hurt. He has to see.”

The girl turned back, the smile returning to her face, but her eyes were distant and vacant. “I’m sorry.”

The cold seemed to finally reach her heart and her world went white.

—

Lisa woke to rough familiar hands on her own. Grue was asleep on her lap, and Aisha was bouncing a ball on the floor staring into nothing. She turned and grabbed her phone on the nightstand.

11:23 AM, March 16th

Four days till Ostara. She hadn’t lost much time then, just the night. She breathed out in relief and Aisha perked up at the sound, coming out of her zone.

“Rachel still hasn’t called. I thought for sure she had gotten away.”

Lisa bit her lip and checked her phone again for messages. Nothing. A terrible dread swept over her and she shook Brian awake. He grunted but she pressed on. “Check your phone.”

He did. “Nothing.”

No.

She stumbled upright out of the clinic bed and bumped into Dauntless, who was waiting outside in civilian clothes and a domino mask.

“No one was there by the time I got there.”

He answered her question without her having to ask it. “You never saw Bitch… Hellhound?”

He shook his head. “Found a piece of Mannequin. Took it to Armsmaster.”

No no no.

“No word at all?”

He shrugged. “Her other dog showed up about an hour ago.”

She sucked in her breath. “Take me to her?”

He held up his hand and gestured, and she pushed him along before finding Battery sitting outside their kennels near the armory, legs crossed and poking at her phone. Lisa ignored that and rushed forward, opening the kennel and putting her hand out to Angelica before pulling her close.

The whine that greeted her sent ice down her neck, and she grabbed Angelica’s face, looking her in the eyes, and let her power work. The headache came and she let it, stars and pinpricks shooting behind her eyes until she was certain. She hugged Angelica close for a moment, trying to breathe, before placing her back in the kennel.

She stood and left the room, walking the path back to her room from memory. The soft padding of her flats against the tile barely registered over the sound of her own heart. Brian was gone when she returned but Aisha was waiting. “He went to go get coffee.”

She nodded and stared at the wall for a moment before she felt something shaking. Aisha had a look on her face that Lisa couldn’t place through her headache. The world felt like a shadow against pinpricks and stars, and why was it so hard to breathe? The shaking grew worse, and she felt the floor against her knees suddenly.

My fault. I just had to be doing something. Why do I always have to be doing something?

Arms circled around her; they weren’t rough like Brian’s. Aisha then. She let the walls fall and cried.

—

AN: I’d like to take a moment to thank the many editors both on Cauldron discord and my personal one for putting time and effort into making sure these chapters come out with as few mistakes as possible. So thank you, especially Juff in particular.

 

This chapter beta'd by: mrwizard70 (Thank you!)

—

“They say it’s polite to greet your host.”

What?

I blinked and exhaled, a foggy stream of color exiting my mouth.

I looked around and found the origin of the voice immediately. She stood about ten paces from me, an endless white plane stretching out beyond her, empty and featureless except for us. She was a reflection of me, just like the one I had seen in Shatterbird’s glass.

Something creeped up my spine as I looked at her and I took a step back. She was still, but there were vibrations radiating off of her into the air around her like an aura. The velocities vibrated with a rhythm and I could see her actively controlling the space around her, with tiny little movements that echoed around her. The control and precision involved in it were something I knew I could do, and my heart sped up in response. I took a slow breath, and set about building a countermeasure to whatever it was she was trying to accomplish.

Then she put her hands together like a doll and went completely still, the aura around her disappearing. It didn’t change how unnaturally still she was though, and I shuddered before I forced myself to breathe again. The strange colored fog exited my mouth, and I stared at it for a moment, taking in the oddity of it.

I’m dreaming.

“Hello Taylor.” She smiled after she said it before letting out a small laugh. She turned her head toward an array of mirrors. I leaned back as she seemed to step into the reflections themselves somehow closing the gap between us, to the point where our noses were almost touching.

“You wanted this.” She gestured to herself.

I blew out the weird stream of foggy coloring.

“I did, for a moment. But you aren’t what’s best for me.”

The other me grinned. “I know. But you could be me, just like you could be so many things. You just have to decide.”

She circled around me and stood behind me before I felt her back come into contact with mine as she leaned into me. Her head fell back against my shoulder as she breathed and I could catch a small smile out of the corner of my eye.

Silence stretched for a long time before eventually I asked, “Is there a point to this dream?”

She spoke but it was no longer my voice. “I’m glad you didn’t listen to him.”

Something vast and other seemed to grow in the space around me. A flash of the heated betrayal I associated with the gun against my temple crashed into me and I felt my eyes widen and hair raise in response.

I took a breath, gathering my courage and turned to face whatever it was.

I woke up.

I let out a breath as I sat up on the couch and rubbed my face with my hands before putting my feet on the ground.

What the hell was that?

I took stock of myself, pushing the weirdness from my mind. I was still in those stupid pajama pants, my armor resting on the coffee table next to me. I glanced at my phone.

0524.

Early, but that might be for the best. I stood up and started coffee and breakfast. The air shifted and I quickly did the calculation on how much bodyweight would have caused it before speaking. “Hey Hana.”

She yawned. “Hey Taylor, making enough for two?”

“Always, even if I don’t have to share I’d still drink it. Scrambled eggs fine?”

“Throw some cheese on them.”

I lifted the bag of cheese near the stove and she nodded before sitting at the table poking at her phone.

“Piggot put in a request for Damnation.”

I paused. “I… okay… I’ll make some this evening at HQ. She read the whole thing right? She didn’t just pick highly lethal from the grab bag?”

“Crawler.”

I nodded. “I don’t entirely know if it’ll work on him, but I wouldn’t say the odds are bad.”

“It's the consuming property that drew her attention I think. She’s preferring containment though, it's a fallback. Armsmaster thinks he can do something with Escher, or rather, he filed a report about converting it into a field effect four weeks ago, and your use of it against him being successful, is a good sign.” She flicked the phone once or twice more before she said, “We should head in today.”

“Definitely. I’ve got about a hundred things I need to do and at most four days to do it.”

“We need to check in anyway, I doubt Piggot has let the loss of the entire command and control infrastructure stop her from trying to find the Nine.”

I couldn’t help myself. “We did find them.”

She let out a small laugh. “And lost them immediately after and were in no position to do anything of value.”

I shook my head. “We saved Panacea.”

Hana huffed. “There is that.”

I finished the eggs, plated them and sat with her. We ate in silence for a bit before Hana spoke up. “Your Dad wanted me to ask if you had called Lacey yet?”

I smiled. “No, but I’m going to now.”

—

The soft ticking of the wall clock was loud against the scribbling of her pencil. Lisa rubbed her forehead as she leaned over the paperwork. The office she was in was small, Battery having commandeered it. The picture on the wall had the woman’s husband on display, she loved him and apparently he loved her back. A blissfully normal and happy couple, which was rare and not actually normal.

Lisa shook her head and stared at the question again trying not to groan.

Have you ever knowingly manipulated a business while utilizing your parahuman power in order to gain a financial benefit?

She looked up at Battery who was playing on her phone again. She was in civilian clothes with a domino mask on. Jeans, t-shirt of a local band, Down By The Docks, they were alright for a bunch of old men with ukuleles, and small gold earrings. Well, not actually gold. She had her feet up on the wall and her head back, letting her brown hair fall back.

“Got another one.”

Battery stood up slowly and came over to look over her shoulder to read the question. Battery snorted and then let out a guffaw.

“I’ve done that.” Battery said after she got control of herself.

“Your power isn’t actually built to do just that.”

Battery grabbed a handbook from the top of the desk and thumbed through some pages before she muttered a bit. “Anything within the category of normal social interactions can be excluded as long as those interactions were not engineered by power usage in advance.”

Lisa groaned. “I’m going to be here for days.”

“Grue was in and out in thirty minutes.”

Lisa’s eye twitched. “He only signed the temporary clause, I’m actually joining.”

“True. Which… I kind of expected the reverse of that. He seems to have reasons, what with his sister.”

Lisa shook her head. “He… The government has done him and his family no favors.”

Battery nodded. “That I believe. Especially in Brockton.”

The door clicked open and Amy Dallon stepped through the door, carrying a huge stack of papers looking more than a little mournful. Her lip twitched when she saw Lisa’s stack was competing in size.

“At least I’m not alone.”

Lisa snorted and drawled, “Have you ever used your power to sell something not normally available for a cost lower than the expected market value?”

Amy hummed. “No, but I once cured someone’s cold without asking first because I was tired of handing them tissues. What can I say? I’m a rebel.”

Battery laughed. Amy took a step in the small space and dropped the papers on the other side of the desk, grabbed the extra chair and began to fill them out. Lisa turned her head back to the NEPEA Disclosure and let the paperwork push her thoughts aside.

Boring was good, boring wasn’t letting her power tell her all the horrible things Bonesaw could be doing at this very second. Boring was a channel to push the horrible gnawing inside her down.

She deserved better.

She took a breath and the follow on thought, the worse one, came shortly after.

He deserved better.

The pen in her hand creaked before she set it down and let out a huff. Amy’s eyes looked up from her paperwork and Lisa turned her head away, finding the picture of the smiling couple again. She didn’t like that particular view either and closed her eyes, tilting her head back.

Batteries hand was on her shoulder and then it was too much. She let out a shuddering breath and quickly wiped away tears that were stinging her eyes.

“I fucked up.” She grit her teeth, squeezing her hands into fists. Everything felt so raw. Like the days before she had triggered, every thought was like a burning, keening tea-pot whistling to be taken off the stove. There was no solution to the problem, answers didn’t help, and the answers she got she didn’t want.

This is hell.

“Want to hear about my problems?” Lisa let out a startled laugh at Amy’s nasally, wispy delivery.

God, anything but this. “Yes.”

Amy shook her head and stared at the ceiling for a bit. “Should have thought twice before asking, but who knows… maybe it’ll help.”

Amy took a breath and laughed. “I’m in love with Victoria. Mom… Carol… whatever… kicked me out of the house.”

Lisa paused to consider the information. The information wasn’t really surprising to her, but Amy’s nonchalance about it was striking.

“You seem to be… okay with that.”

Amy shrugged. “I don’t know what I feel about it at all. I mean it's upsetting, and honestly… Carol… what the fuck… but also…”

“But maybe a bit of a relief?” Battery asked from the side.

Amy shook her head, and ran her hands through her hair. Lisa noted that she was wearing it differently, more open, the puffy curls falling partially over her face. She usually wore clips to keep it back when she’d seen her before. There was a certain unkempt wildness to the way it changed the shape of her face. Where before the tightness of her hair along her scalp and the heavy overlap of the hood she always wore had made Amy’s face seem constantly tense, now she seemed more relaxed. The shroud of hair framing her cheeks, made her freckles stand out in a way that drew Lisa’s eyes to Amy’s brown eyes, which were open and wide, compared to the grumpy squinting she usually did.

Amy continued, “No, I’m not relieved. This complicates everything for me, and the PRT is going to have its head so far up my ass about my power I’m going to have trouble breathing from all the heads lodged in my throat. That’s okay though, Carol wasn’t really any different. It's just…”

Amy stared at the paperwork before a sort of incredulous, lackadaisical tone of voice came out. “At least I’ll be getting paid to put up with the bullshit.”

Battery laughed, deep from her gut. “You found out the secret!”

Amy’s lips quirked up. “No the real secret is my Dad. Now that I definitely have mixed feelings about.”

“Marquis?” Battery asked it, as if confirming a rumor.

“Yeah.”

“Hah. Dauntless owes me fifteen bucks.”

Lisa couldn’t help herself. “Assault’s rubbed off on you.”

Battery gasped, but it was playful. “You take that back!”

“I am a magical sitar I only speak the truth.” Lisa put her hand over her heart and Battery gave her a wide grin in response.

“That’s my favorite movie!”

Lisa smirked. “I know.”

Battery bit her lip. “You’re going to be very annoying.”

Lisa’s smirk grew into a wide grin. “I hope so.”

Amy laughed. “I had a dream last night about him, I don’t know if it was a memory or not. He was reading to me from Aesop’s Fables.”

Lisa threw her a bone. “That’s a real memory.”

“Oh… I liked the sound of his voice.”

“He was a kind man to women and children.” Battery offered.

Amy scoffed. “And an unholy murderous terror to his enemies. You think the Nine would have come back if he was still here?”

Lisa shook her head. “No.”

Amy gave a soft smile. “Wonder what it's like to be that scary, that the Nine second guess themselves.”

Lisa looked at her in disbelief. “Amy… you’re that scary. The Nine probably spent the whole last year finding ways around you.”

Amy unconsciously scratched at something beneath the long sleeves of her shirt before she tilted her head toward Battery. “The PRT is going to ask me to weaponize my power aren’t they?”

Battery went quiet for a moment. “Probably.”

Lisa watched in curiosity as Amy’s face went through a myriad of emotions, she even caught the moment she was clearly thinking about Marquis and his bone manipulation. Amy bit her lip and put her left hand on the desk, idly rubbing her fingers over the paper.

Lisa’s eyebrows raised as the paper filled itself with black marks, Amy’s information slowly filling the page from where her hands were located.

Battery grunted. “You’re making me jealous.”

There was a lost look on Amy’s face as she stared at the paper and Lisa could almost see the future rearranging itself as Amy considered the kind of cape she was going to be.

No definitive answer came from Amy who grabbed the pen and started to fill out paperwork manually. Amy gave her a smirk. “Wouldn’t want to leave you all alone in your suffering.”

Lisa laughed and got back to work, feeling a little lighter.

Have you ever knowingly manipulated a government official with the use of your parahuman power?

Damnit.

—

“Taylor is that you?”

I sighed in relief at the sound of her voice and I nodded before I remembered I was on the phone. “Yeah, are you okay?”

“We barely made it, I’m sorry I didn’t call, but we’ve been busy.”

I huffed. “I can imagine, I’ve been busy too.”

“Knowing your luck you already ran into Jack.”

I laughed. “About that.”

Lacey went silent before she let out a soft, “God damnit. Please tell me you’re okay.”

It was like a sudden valve being opened, I let the nightmares bubble up and talk, “No. I’m actually not okay Lacey.”

“Taylor-”

I rushed on. “I’m scared. He almost had me -” I took a shuddering breath, “He almost had me, I almost listened. I dreamt about it, there was a moment where if he had just pushed a little less hard, I would have listened.”

My mind whirled back to the moment I saw that dark reflection in Shatterbird’s glass, and I spoke about it. “I had a dream last night, I saw a reflection of me, a version of me that was just the numbers and I hate that I could be that. I don’t know… He knew me. He shouldn’t know me.“

I let out a breath, shuddering. “That doesn’t make any sense does it?”

Lacey let out a small laugh then her voice turned serious, “It doesn’t matter what Jack does or doesn’t know about you.”

“But…”

She shushed me. “No, listen to me. He’s not a god Taylor. I know what he does. I’ve lived with the Nine almost every day of my adult life. Did you know a large number of people from small towns moved to big cities just from the fear of them?”

She took a breath on the other end of the phone and went on, “But that’s not Taylor Hebert. That’s not Annette’s daughter. Your mother followed a woman that scared men so much they put her in the Birdcage. And then she went on to raise you, and you have every right to be afraid, but you didn’t listen. You chose, and you know what you chose.”

I let the words settle and I thought about them quietly before I responded. “I chose you.”

“Not just me. Not just your Dad, and not just the people you like Taylor. Because I know… I know whatever you saw, whatever it was you feared wasn’t because you thought we would stop loving you. It was much worse wasn’t it?”

I shuddered. “It was a monster wearing my skin. But I’m already so close, Lacey, I figured it out, I figured out I’ve been using my power for everything.”

Her voice was so soft in response I barely heard it, “Oh baby girl. I know. I’ve known since the very first day I figured out you had a power. You have nothing to apologize for.”

I let out a small hysterical laugh.

“Taylor, we all learn to cope in our own ways. You weren’t doing anything wrong. Your power is part of what makes you, you. I’m not going to tell you to stop being Taylor. Taylor knows vectors, and how to make bullets that defy reality, that’s just part of who you are now. Whatever reflection you saw was a trick of the light.”

I let out a breath. “A trick of the light.”

She let out a small laugh. “Yes. You make the choices, not your power.”

“It's just so easy. You know...”

I could almost hear her roll her eyes while she interrupted me. “So is talking, and people have changed the world with it. The ease or difficulty of a task has no bearing on its importance. The screws that hold a plane together are just as important as the pilot, if either fails, the plane crashes. Even though putting in a screw is much simpler than training a pilot, it doesn’t mean the screw is worthless. How many perfect flips you can do isn’t a judgement on your character, that comes from your choices. And you already made yours. He doesn’t know you, not in any way that matters.”

I felt a smile grow. “I love you Lacey.”

“Of course you do, who wouldn’t?” The impish tone in her voice sent me into a giggle. I could hear the smile in her words when she finished. “I love you too. Save our city eh?”

“Why stop there?”

“Hah, there’s the Hebert in you. I’m gonna miss all the fun.”

I shook my head. “I’m glad you're safe. I miss you, but I’m so glad you’re safe.”

Her voice was soft in response. “I know. Kurt wants you to tell Sherrel hi for him.”

“I will. I’ll call again soon.”

“You better.”

—

I rolled my shoulders as I fussed with some of the internal zippers in my costume jacket. The armor did in fact fit under my jacket, just like the designers had promised, though now I definitely understood why the jacket had come with a manual . It was a relief to be back in my costume, especially as my leggings were much warmer than the pajama pants. Spring was close, but it was still too cold for such flimsy clothing.

I checked myself over in the mirror, confirming everything looked fine before I stepped out of the bathroom and walked to the kitchen. Dad was finishing another pot of coffee. He turned around with a smile, handing me a cup and I blinked slowly at his facial expression before it hit.

“I hate my power.”

He let out a snort, and put an overly dramatic frown on his face. “Apologies.”

“It's not like I didn’t notice with Armsmaster, or Assault, or Gallant, or hell even Clockblocker that one time.”

“Not Kid Win though?” He smirked at me as I scowled at him.

“It's not like that. Well… okay maybe it is a little, but we haven’t talked about it, and I’m in no rush what with the current situation, and… and… well.”

He slid the sugar bowl across the counter to me and I put a very small dab in to cover up the complete lack of tea flavor. Caffeine was caffeine though, and coffee came in bulk.

“And honestly, it's not like he’s the only one out there.”

Dad spun the spoon in his coffee around and nodded sagely. I let out a laugh but he spoke shortly after, “Maybe if Sherrell was a bit younger?”

My eyes widened and he let out a scoff. “She’s gorgeous and she likes you, and technically she’s available, I’d be surprised if you hadn’t considered it.”

I let out a huff. “I consider a lot of things.” I shook my head a bit and I thought back to my dream the night before, the puffy smokey fog that I had breathed out, had smelled like propellants. I shook the strange thought out of my head but the dream lingered and I spoke about it. “It's just…”

He paused his spoon spinning and put his hand out. I grabbed it, before setting my coffee down and leaning forward over the counter onto my free hand. “I know what people are thinking, I’m privy to things they might not even realize about themselves. The human body gives away a lot, and my power is telling me about their heart rate, their pupil dilation, their breathing, the tension in their shoulders…” I groaned a bit. “I…”

I sat up straight and I let out a grin, “Mom would say the ethics are dubious.”

He laughed. “She would have. She also would have told you that humans are social creatures, and that dubious ethics wouldn’t change that. She would have been on Canary’s side in her trial.”

I blinked. “I had forgotten about that, I mean I know it was big news for a bit there, but it kind of went quiet.”

Dad shrugged. “I think about the time they turned the case into an obvious railroad to the Cage was when the news stopped covering it. You know… typical government bullshit.”

I laughed. “You know I work for the government?”

He lifted his hands up. “It's not the same.”

“You’re right. It's not. So, anything else interesting happening that I’m not paying attention to?”

He picked up his coffee and sipped it. “Actually yeah. There were a couple of hero groups that tried to enter the quarantine zone to help on the sly.”

I scowled. “Idiots. Do they want to give Bonesaw an excuse?”

He shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you what they were thinking, but it's unlikely that without significant thinker help they’ll keep them all out.”

I scowled. “It won’t just be heroes then.”

“It never is. Back to earlier though, I’m not going to tell you there isn’t a concern with your power and manipulating people, but at the end of the day, you have a right to be loved just like everyone else. Romantic or otherwise.”

I nodded into my coffee and cast my eyes about the room for a second. “Do you?”

He shrugged. “Probably, a bit soon to say. I’m simple though. Annette was… we didn’t always get along, but she knew what I needed, and I… your mother was also simple in a way. She had big thoughts, big dreams, but kind words and small gifts was the language she wanted to hear from me. She wasn’t much for displays, and ahem… conspicuous consumption… was just as likely to offend her as it was to impress.”

I startled a bit at the level of sharing but asked, “Small gifts? Is… wait… did mom like cookies and brownies?”

He smiled, a small ounce of mischief flickering to his cheeks. “You think I learned how to bake for myself?”

I snorted, then let out a laugh. “Wow… I never knew,” I paused for a moment before continuing, “She’s not really anything like Mom.”

He hummed. “Not really. She’s kind though, and she loves you.”

I couldn’t contain the beaming smile in response, “It's mutual.”

“Good,” he paused for a moment, I watched him consider his words and a flash of uncertainty appeared before he looked me in the eye, “She’s lovely. She’s hard, hardened, sometimes the professionalism just ticks on and invades, but she’s lovely.” He let out a soft sigh. “I feel a little out of my element honestly.”

I tilted my head in curiosity. “Strong women haven’t ever been your problem.”

He shook his own. “No, they haven’t and if they had, your mother and Lacey would have beaten it out of me long ago.” He rubbed his forehead with his free hand, before moving his hands down to the mug, wrapping it up. “You mother was a feminist. With a capital F. She wanted the patriarchy’s serial numbers filed off of everything. That involved me doing more of some kinds of things, and less of others. A lot less of the traditional things. Hana is…”

I let out a laugh. “Are you telling me, the gun toting woman who actually wears an American Flag as her costume is too girly for you?”

He let out a yelping laugh. “Yes! I don’t know what to do!”

“God Dad… just be yourself. She likes you.”

He threw up his hands, his indignance on full display. “I’m not good at that!”

I sputtered at the words before I broke into a gale of laughter. He snorted a bit before he broke down into chuckles, and finally broke into laughter as well. I took a sucking breath in, “I’m not good at that!”

He let out another laugh, which turned into a wheezing sound. “I’m not!”

The sound of a door closing brought me up from my laughter, but I couldn’t stop from chuckling periodically as Hana approached. “Not good at what?”

That set me off again and I let out a laughing wheeze trying to bring myself back down. Dad forced another choked laugh as he tried to calm his breathing. Hana raised her eyebrow at him which set him laughing again, but he straightened himself up and pulled her close to him, kissing her while he laughed.

I snorted at the display, but blinked as Hana melted into him. Then I just felt like I was intruding. I turned away, snorting again and I whispered to myself, “I’m not good at that.”

I shook my head, and went over to my working table, and packed away some of the things I needed into my backpack. Hana tapped me on the shoulder a minute later and I turned to her, holding my laughter at her look of embarrassment.

“Sorry about that.”

I shrugged. “Honestly… it's weird but it's not that weird.”

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah. I need to see if Chris has signed in yet.”

A flicker of worry passed on Hana’s face but she schooled herself. “His parents haven’t called either, but they did send their check in text.”

I shrugged. “That’s something.”

She nodded and we left.

 

This chapter beta'd by: mrwizard70 (Thank you!)

It was also given an additional editors touch by: Juff (Super thanks!)

—

With a twist of his wrist and a slight shake, the piece clicked into place. Chris let out a whoop, as the power flared to life, lighting the room with a bright flash, briefly washing out the fluorescents of the basement.

He lifted the cannon up and fiddled with a few dials before he turned toward the makeshift range he’d made in the unfinished half of the basement. He steadied himself for a moment, and fired a ray at the target, earning him a solid scorch mark, before he flicked his wrist and the chamber spun. He pulled the trigger again.

Bang!

The Tartar round he had borrowed hit, and Chris quickly set down the cannon, pulled out one of his sensors, and passed it over the area. A huge grin split his face.

His mother’s voice startled him as she yelled down the steps. “What the hell are you doing down there, Chris?”

He laughed. “It works! It works!”

There was a light chuckle at the top of the stairs before she asked, “Have you checked in yet?”

“FUCK!”

“Chris! Language!”

He huffed, but couldn’t stop the grin from winning out over the irritation. “Sorry mom!”

It works!

He ran over to his desk to grab his phone before he stopped himself and turned around, grabbing the cannon off the floor. He spun around with it for a moment before he scuttled back to his desk. He was about to start calibrating it, before he remembered he was supposed to be checking in. He pulled out the phone and opened his email before he paused and looked at his notifications.

His eyes widened as he scrolled.

What the fuck did I miss?

—

He blustered into the phone. “Look, Miss Militia, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! You know how I get!”

He heard the sigh on the other side of the phone. “I know. I was just worried. Terrified actually.”

There was a quiet moment before Chris spoke softly back. “I’m sorry, really. I know it's not really an excuse but I had taken those days off on the calendar, everything was filed properly.” He smiled and let out a short laugh. “For once, I did everything right, it was the world that went wrong.”

Miss Militia laughed. “I know. I know. Just, please come check in, Dakka was worried, so was the rest of the team. We need you here.”

He rubbed his face with his free hand before he agreed. “I’ll be in right away. It's done though. It's done.” He let out a whoof, “Miss Militia, I finished it. Start to finish, the whole way. No shortcuts, no distractions.”

Her voice grew a bit more serious. “I’m glad. Kid Win, I know what this means to you.” She took a breath and Chris could almost hear the smile when she spoke again, “I’m proud of you.”

Those words burned through him like fire and he couldn’t help but smile as he responded, “I’ll see you soon.”

“Don’t keep me waiting. I want to see it.”

He hung up and set about gathering the gear scattered around his makeshift lab in the basement. He looked around at the clutter, but his eyes quickly went back to the middle of it all, where the cannon sat, the lights still glowing.

I finished it.

He shook his head with a smile and went back to gathering his things, pulling out a few duffel bags, haphazardly piling tools into them. He’d sort it out later. It took less time than he expected to get it all done, but he was buzzing with energy and wandered upstairs, dragging the bags with him into the garage.

“Hey Mom, where are the keys?”

He wandered into the kitchen as he said it. She was leaning over one of her project tables in the corner of the unused dining room, her hands deftly sewing a hem of something half finished.

“What’s this one?”

She smiled at him. “I’m doing a modernized version of a revolutionary era inspired skirt.”

“Neat. Where are the keys?”

She blinked for a moment looking around the room. “Um… I think I left them on the hook.”

“Checked there, checked the end table, checked your shoes.”

She crossed her eyes for a moment, and laughed. “Check the fruit bowl.”

He did, letting out a laugh as he pulled the keys out from under an orange. “You think we should get one of those whistle locators?”

She let out a small chuckle. “Maybe, probably, but then we’ll forget to whistle.”

“Or we’ll forget why we’re whistling.”

“Then soon, we’ll just be a traveling band of whistlers, walking from town to town because we can’t find our keys.”

She stood up from her table and wrapped him in a hug, while he laughed at her joke. “Come home safe, hun. I know I can’t keep you here.”

He hugged her back and smiled. “I finished it.”

She touched his cheek with her hand, and smiled. “I knew you could. I always knew you could.”

His smile grew brittle for a moment but he shook his head and hugged her again, before he pulled away. “I need to go check in, I’ll probably be there all night, so don’t wait up. I’ll text you.”

“I know you will. I’ll text your father later, letting him know.” She scowled as she said it but he shrugged.

“Whatever makes him happy.”

She clucked her tongue. “We’ll never get anything done waiting for that.”

Chris laughed and grabbed a baseball cap from a hook, putting it on. “Do I look sufficiently anonymous?”

“Oh yes, positively unremarkable, except for how handsome you are.”

He groaned. “Mom... “

She laughed at him and shooed him out the door.

—

The drive to HQ didn’t take him long, especially because they didn’t have the manpower to send a car for him, so he could transition more safely. He wasn’t planning on leaving until the crisis was over though, so it really didn’t matter.

Getting everything out of the car and into the building though was an effort in frustration. People were milling about, and seemed half lost, which didn’t bode well, but it really wasn’t his job to get everyone on the same page in a crisis. In fact, given a choice, he’d put himself on the bottom of the list of who to pick for that particular role.

He kicked the door a bit as he muscled into where the lab was supposed to be. Dakka’s eyes shot to him as he entered, and she immediately set down her work and walked up to him to help. They worked in silence getting the bags settled before he couldn’t contain it any longer and opened the most important bag and pulled out the cannon.

Her eyes were on it immediately and he smiled as she smiled. “I call it the Alternator Cannon.”

Dakka held her hands out. “Can I?”

He nodded vigorously and handed it to her. She shifted ever so slightly as she gathered it into her arms. With a slight step closer to him, she opened her stance to allow him to see what she was doing. Chris observed the shift quietly. It was something she always did: inviting people into her space with the way she stood.

He had noticed that almost right away, but he hadn’t really given it his full consideration until she had kissed him. Then he started noticing almost everything about her. Before that though, it was her hair that had stood out to him, black, curly and long, as long as her legs.

He shook his head. She had changed her glasses again. He was pretty sure this was the third time, maybe the fourth since they had met. This particular pair didn’t make her nose stand out quite as much as the old ones had.

There was a casual confidence that somehow made her invisible in a crowd, but impossible to ignore in small groups, and right now his eyes were on her, locked into watching her examination. He let his thoughts drift for a bit, as she hummed quietly before she shifted again, pulling the gun closer to get a better look at one of the fixtures.

Now that he was sitting here staring at her, without the weight of finishing the cannon sitting on his shoulders, his thoughts drifted to some things he had been putting off. He would have liked to have done more than just tinker with her over the last couple of months. He had a small amount of sympathy now for how long it had taken Armsmaster to stop beating around the bush with Dragon.

His thoughts were paused by her voice. “Oh… the barrel can fire 7.62. The rotating chamber can switch between... that’s… amazing. You can use it as an energy weapon and a regular rifle. Chris, this is really good.”

He smiled at her, and she grinned back as her posture shifted slightly. He adjusted his mask and scratched the stubble on his neck for a second.

“You really think it's good?”

“This is… some of the stuff you did here has never been done before. I can’t understand all of it, because it's outside my specialty but… yeah, it's really that good.”

There was a moment where she grinned again and bounced on her toes a bit, broadcasting her honest enthusiasm in such a way it was unmistakable even to him. She could do that, perfectly project her thoughts in her body language. It was flattering, incredibly so.

She shifted again, handing the gun back to him. He took it but his eyes didn’t really leave hers and he wondered for a moment if their relationship would always be this damn nice. Her eyes flickered a bit and her smile grew softer, as if she could tell what he was thinking, and based off reports, she might actually know.

God, she’s incredible.

He placed the rifle on the table and a million thoughts seemed to rush through him.

She interrupted his mind going off the rails. “I was worried about you.”

He took the rebuke and smiled. “Sorry about that, I holed up in my basement and just worked, all the field equations I was working with you’d already helped me solve, and it was just a matter of applying it all while I built it. I didn’t come up to breathe until this morning.”

She bumped his shoulder with hers and grabbed his arm, lightly pulling him to one of the working tables in the lab. He fussed with some of the equipment that they had set down and she quickly organized it and took stock, jotting things down in her notebook while she chattered away about one of the rounds she was finalizing. He let it wash over him while he watched her.

“Dakka.”

She paused and turned to him fully. Her hat was off; her hair was in a bit of disarray, with her working ponytail partly undone. Her makeup was a bit smudged but she looked rested. Maybe a bit anxious. He couldn’t blame her, he was anxious too. Still, she’d won huge victories already in the game they were playing against the Nine.

It was kind of hard to really keep up with her. There was no off switch with Dakka as far as he could tell. He unconsciously reached up and adjusted her mask and spun her around to redo her ponytail. She grinned at him and bit her lip, waiting for him to say whatever he was going to say.

It made him feel kind of small. She was probably going to change the world, and yet she was happy to just wait for him to get his thoughts together.

“No one every really acknowledged me until I met you.” The words tumbled out of him and he scratched his neck again.

“Sorry, what I mean is, well - no one ever questioned the usefulness of any of the other people on the team. Even with how young Vista is and how much she complains about it, no one ever made her feel like her power was useless. I had kind of just accepted the fact that I was kind of the bad joke around here.”

She frowned but he shook his head. “I was worried when you joined. I think you did more in two weeks than I had in six months. I can complain about my ADHD but I’ve never been fond of using it as an excuse. I was jealous for a bit even, but you just kept working with me, and I know you could tell.”

She gave him a minorly chagrined look and he laughed.

“You - I - dammit.” He pushed one of his devices idly around looking at the table. She waited and he smiled at her. “I kind of want to ask you out. I also kind of don’t because I don’t want you to think I’m expecting something from you. You’re very attractive. I think some of it is a bit of hero worship honestly. You were exactly what I needed when you joined the team, and I appreciate that a lot.”

She startled for a second. “You think I’m attractive?”

He laughed. She gave him a frown and laughter bubbled up again. “Let's come back to that.”

She laughed with him for a second, actual confusion on display. He didn’t really understand why… “Oh.” She tilted her head to the side as he asked, “No one’s ever told you that?”

“I mean Glory Girl complimented my hair once, but I thought she was just being nice. I mean I know I’m not … no one’s going to put my face on a magazine cover except when I’m wearing this mask.”

She rolled her eyes a bit as if she didn’t really care whether anyone thought she was pretty.

“Well… you are.”

She bit her lip and nodded, her hand coming up to her chin. She looked more thoughtful than usual, and she shifted her feet slightly, pulling inward a bit.

“I guess it's pretty simple, I don’t need for there to be anything more between us, but I wouldn't be against it either. So… yeah…,” he drifted off awkwardly, snorting at himself.

There was a beat of silence and her hand eventually dropped from her chin before he felt her lips on his cheek. “I think I’d like that.”

“Awesome.” He laughed a bit letting the moment sit for a second. “Show me what you were working on before I came in.”

She tugged on him, dragging him around to the other side of the table, he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as they worked.

—

I gave Chris a look as he fiddled with the Alternator Cannon. I was busy scanning my email, slowly catching up on the last couple of days.

He asked me out.

I kept a delighted laugh from forming, but I couldn’t help the smile that crept up my cheeks. Chris shifted a bit, and I scrolled and read a while before I turned and regarded him again. His shoulders were relaxed, and there was a stillness to his posture that wasn’t even close to the usual.

Did I do that?

I actually did let out a laugh at that, and he turned to raise his eyebrows at me, the traces of a smile twitching underneath the settled expression he was wearing.

“Sorry, I just. You did it!” I stood up from the desk and put my hand on his while gesturing at the cannon. “You did it!”

A wild grin sprang from his eyes racing down across his face and into his shoulders. He turned his head to my hand for a moment before the grin transformed into a smile. “I did.”

Oh.

He turned his hand over and gave mine a squeeze before he shoved me away playfully. “Read your email Dakka.”

I finally let out that delighted laugh and gave him a mock salute. “Yes sir!”

He let out a chuff and grabbed one of his tools, as I turned back to my laptop, smiling like a loon. I rubbed my right hand with my left thumb as I sat down and let the last six months dance around in my head.

I hit my low, but then many hands reached down and picked me up, dusted me off, and said, “You’ve got so much waiting for you. Look at all that out there. It's yours if you just keep trying.”

I cast a glance at Chris one more time.

They were right.

It was one thing to know you clicked with someone, and really something else to know they felt something as well. I had no idea how it was going to work, or if it would last longer than a week, but I’d give it a shot either way. Chris was worth that much at a minimum.

I put my eyes back on my work finding the notification I was looking for and sent it to the printer.

“Did you get approval?” Chris asked as he tilted his head to the sound of the printer.

I nodded and knocked the desk with my knuckles. “Director Costa-Brown signed it herself. I have the extra waiver, for two months.”

“Two months? Totally outside the approval process? Damn.”

I nodded. “She left a personal note for me, saying she hopes to see what I do with the extra seven weeks.”

Chris snorted. “She’s confident.”

I rolled my shoulders and turned up my chin. “So am I.”

I was about to step away when one of the subjects caught my eyes. For Taylor’s Eyes Only. Real name?

Taylor,

It was an absolute pleasure to know you for the short time I did. I cannot thank you enough for your help in making the last month of my life so lovely. Unfortunately, something unexpected has occurred and I doubt I have survived. I paid off your father’s mortgage, and a few of his outstanding debts. It was no trouble, truly. You gave me a face for the world. Every smile I ever gave was a gift given to me by you. So much joy given so freely is precious, never let that go.

Your Friend,

Dragon

I worked my jaw, checking the digital signature confirming the sender. It was her. I looked up at Chris. “When was the last time you saw Dragon?”

Chris shrugged. “Haven’t seen her today, actually… I haven’t seen Armsmaster either.” His eyes glanced at his open laptop, “He’s listed as in though.”

I pulled out my issued phone and tapped a few times. “Dragon hasn’t checked in since yesterday morning. Final sign in was to the Faerie Queen and then… that’s odd. What the hell is that? Why is this email multiple gigabytes for simple text?”

I pulled my laptop closer and went to work figuring out what was going on. It took me a bit but I found a host of files hiding inside the email, and I started to put them into a folder. I was going to quarantine them before curiosity got the better of me and I opened the readme. I leaned back and stared for a moment at the equation in the file.

“This was made for me…” I let my power go and felt my mouth open slowly. “Chris, I… I need you to write a video codec.” My hands scribbled information as I scrolled down. I shoved the paper into his hands and he started without complaint.

I set about organizing the files, and hovered quietly over a C header file before opening it.

“Oh my god.” I opened more of the source files and tapped my fingers on the desk, confirming what was in front of me.

“Chris… this is... “ I paused realizing he didn’t know about Dragon. I sighed and spoke, “This is Dragon’s source code.”

He turned toward me sharply, his eyes wide, even quicker on the uptake than I had expected. He opened his mouth once before he closed it and shook his head. “That explains a few things.”

I let out a huff. “She was so afraid of people knowing, and it didn’t really matter at all did it?”

He shook his head and I watched as he considered his next words. He was strikingly calm when he spoke next and it reassured me a great deal. “It was wise in a general sense. I mean, maybe it's just, I always sort of figured…,” he drifted off. “Not really the time for that discussion, I don’t think.”

He opened his mouth to say something else before he shook his head again and went back to work.

I rifled through the code, not entirely certain what I was going to do with it. I still needed to confirm something had happened to Dragon at all, but if this was her final message I owed it to her to hear it in full, before I went around panicking.

Panicking’s not off the table.

Time ticked by as I did some organization and note taking before Chris spoke up. “Should be done.”

I held my breath as I opened the file. Dragon’s face greeted me as the video started.

“Armsmaster is going to need your help as soon as you receive this message. I gave him information that should save my core functions, but Ascalon is a part of me, and I don’t know whether what I want him to try will work in full.”

Dragon took a breath in the video. “I have had full access to my source code for thirteen milliseconds as of creating this video. I had to get a little creative in delivering it to you, which is why I couldn’t just send it as a regular attachment. Ascalon is as smart as I am, but bits are bits. When I learned of Ascalon I built in failsafes to try and give me more time to make sure nothing fell apart in the case of my untimely death. I made a modification to the priority system in my emergency protocols which allowed my personality to live past a number of its checkpoints. That means right now, I’m behind the curtain. I don’t intend to let it be my death shroud. I trust you’ll know what to do.”

The video went black.

I gathered my things off the table, closing my laptop. Chris threw me my hat as he gathered a few things of his own before we rushed down the hall to the stairs. I took them four at a time, climbing up to the fourth floor, where Armsmaster was signed in.

I opened the door, Chris following behind me, breathing heavily. Colin looked ragged. He was shaking a bit, as he worked on something but he looked up at me as I entered.

“Finally…” he said and his shoulders collapsed a bit. “I need some help.”

“With Dragon?”

He lifted his head in surprise but nodded before saying. “I’m not sure what you know, she sent me instructions, and I followed them. They worked… but they didn’t do enough.”

He turned Dragon’s body toward me and I cringed. “She’s locked in?”

“A bit worse than that actually. I’m doing my best to keep Ascalon from finishing its job. What Dragon had me do is keeping her alive, but I’m losing a lot of ground. I just… don’t have enough hands.”

I pulled out my laptop. “What if I told you she sent me her source code?”

He paused and regarded me before a very small smile appeared. “Chris, I need you to manage this application while I look this over.”

He set Chris up and pointed out a few things in a low voice before he turned to me. “Show me what she sent.”

—

AN: Ya’ll really thought I’d murder my best boy Chris? Worse yet, off screen!?

 

This chapter beta'd by: mrwizard70 (Thank you!)

It was also given an additional editors touch by: Juff and JoesALot (Super thanks!)

—

Sophia looked up at the knock on her door from her book. She hopped up, tossing the book on her nightstand, before moving to open the door.

“Alex!” She smiled before her eyes darted toward her calendar. “Wait. Did I miss an appointment?”

He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. “No. Sorry for the no-notice show, I’m not doing an inspection or anything either.”

She gave him a relieved smile that turned into a smirk. “Nothing to find anyway.”

He grinned. “I know. You’ve been nothing but well behaved for a while now.”

Sophia’s hand went up to pinch her nose. “About that — I clocked Vinny three days ago.”

Alex waved her off. “He touched your ass in the lunch line. He’s lucky he’s a minor, or I’d have punted him off the roof.”

Sophia’s smile grew. “You would, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course. Got a call for you, or rather about you.”

Sophia stilled. “Mom’s okay, right?”

Alex’s face went ashen. “No, oh god no. She’s fine. Sorry. This is good news.”

Sophia nodded, turning her face away as she picked at the edges of her shirt. “Right. There wasn’t news, so no one ganked Slash or anything nice like that.”

“No, but you’re getting out of here.” He smiled. “Some thinker wanted you to assist a Protectorate member. Something about… I dunno, it was legal and parahuman related, and couched in so many thinker terms that I just asked for the idiot version.”

She snorted. There was a slight pause before she responded. “That’s… good news?”

“I didn’t think you’d miss me that much. I’m flattered.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “I just… well — Feels like the world was starting to make sense again after you blew it up.”

He shrugged. “That was all you. I just asked the right questions.”

She nodded and bit her lip. “You think this is good?”

“You’re not ready, but no one ever is. Just, take a breath every once in a while. You’ll figure it out. I’ll always be a phone call away.”

“Alright. Yeah. I’ve been wanting to put my costume back on anyway.” She rolled her shoulders back and grinned.

“Still not taking me up on the idea of a costume change?”

“No, I’m not changing my costume. Well, not to anything you suggested at least.”

He put his hand to his heart. “Such a critic. Everyone looks good with a bandolier.”

She rolled her eyes again. She opened her mouth to speak before she closed it. When she finally did speak there was a small waver to her voice. “Help me pack?”

He smiled at her. Putting his hand on her shoulder he smirked. “I won’t say anything if you steal a couple forks.”

She snorted. Brushing his hand off she turned back to the room. “That’d just remind me of the cafeteria. How about I just take a pillow?”

“I mean, pillows are therapeutic.”

—

The shitty rental car sedan that pulled up wasn’t anywhere on Sophia’s list of expectations, the bright yellow hair of the driver even less so.

She stepped out of the car and caught Sophia’s eyes before Sophia asked, “Bad Canary?”

The woman smiled slightly, though there was an edge to it Sophia could almost feel.

“Just Paige. No need for a stage name anymore.”

Sophia bit her lip at the pained look in Paige’s eyes. Paige popped the trunk, and Sophia walked up, throwing her bags in the back.

Sophia broke the silence. “It wasn’t right, what happened to you.”

Paige let out a bitter laugh. “If you only knew the half of it.”

Sophia nodded. “So what are we up to?”

Paige looked about for a moment and closed the trunk. “I’ll tell you on the way.”

Sophia’s eyes widened a bit, but she took the cue and got in the car. Paige didn’t answer until they were driving down the road.

She took a breath and let out a small laugh. “We’re going to break through the Brockton quarantine.”

Sophia turned to her. “Fucking what?”

Paige shrugged. “It is what it is. Turns out you shouldn’t owe people favors if you can help it.”

Sophia was quiet for a moment. “Alright. Let’s go with me believing you. What do you need from me?”

“I have no idea how to get in without mastering everyone, and I’m not up for going straight back to prison after my pardon. I was told you would know how to get in without getting caught.”

Sophia cursed. “That’s… How the hell did they know? Fucking thinkers.”

Paige snorted. “So?”

“I had a route planned, for if the Protectorate… um… ever found the bodies.”

Paige turned her head and raised her eyebrows.

“You’re what, sixteen?”

Sophia shook her head. “Listen… I did some… I’d say I wasn’t proud, but that would be a lie. I killed some gang bangers, most of them honest to god nazis. I’m not going to tell you I feel guilty or some nonsense. They deserved it. Still, I had a plan, just in case.”

Paige nodded. “So?”

Sophia huffed. “There’s a tunnel from the civil war period. I don’t think it had anything to do with the war, just for smuggling, really. I can open it, but you need my power to do it.”

Paige frowned. “Alright.”

There was a pause and Paige seemed to debate what to say next before she spoke, “So tell me about Brockton.”

Sophia let out a laugh. “What do you want to know?”

Paige sighed. “What’s the music scene like there?”

Sophia nodded. “Well, there’s a great little cover band that plays at one of the late night coffee shops in the Downtown area, I actually heard one of your songs from them first…”

—

Piggot stared at the room in front of her. Part of her wanted to laugh; she wasn’t sure if she was looking at a very long form joke, or maybe making a bit of history.

It could always be both.

She looked at the array of people in the room: Mush, a smattering of Empire capes, Grue, and a few independents sat around the room all looking as if they were sitting on the wrong side of a golf shoe. Shaking her right hand out, she adjusted the mic on the podium before taking in her audience again.

“I don’t have a lot of time at the moment, as I’m sure you all understand. I’ll keep this briefing to a few short points.”

She clicked the slide, letting the room have a short second to read it if they wanted to bother. “You work with the government now. Contrary to what you may think, that does not mean you have to share the political opinions of the current administration. We will not be telling you what you can and cannot believe. I mention this for some rather obvious reasons.”

Rune, or whatever they were going to call her now, let out a snort. Piggot pressed on, “The only thing to remember on that topic is that political opinions have no place on the job. The Protectorate does not fight the Empire because they are Nazis. They fight the Empire for much more mundane reasons.”

She clicked the slide and felt a morbid sense of satisfaction at Kayden Anders’ wince.

“That image is from the last container being shipped across the Atlantic. The youngest child was five.”

She clicked the slide again.

“These images are of the various violent crimes committed in the last month. We have reams of these images from over the years.”

She clicked the slide one more time, letting the image of a ten year old’s crucified body bring the room to complete silence.

“These are criminal acts. Political opinions aside, my job is to make this city safe from criminal acts. If you’re here, you’re here to do the same. Today it's the Nine, but tomorrow it will be the Empire again, and there is going to be a tomorrow.”

She let that hang in the air. Her eyes drifted toward Othala, who was sitting next to Grue of all people. The girl was younger than she had expected. Maybe it had been the costume or some makeup, but she couldn’t have been old enough to drink. It was debatable if she had made it to her twenties.

She clicked the slide and continued to press the point. “Over the next two days, we will be doing a series of briefings on the Nine. Even if you only plan on participating in search and rescue, you’ll be required to attend these.”

She clicked the slide. “The Protectorate has four tinkers in the local area, and all of you will have a short chat with them. They may or may not have something for you. You’ll also need to go to the armory and get fitted. All of you came here in good faith, and we won’t make you a target by running you around in flashy colors. You’ll all be in PRT standard for the duration of the crisis. If you have questions, please direct them at Assault. I have seven kill orders to arrange the completion of.”

She jerked her chin in Assault’s direction, who nodded and walked to the front as she left the room. Narwhal was waiting for her outside the room, leaning against the wall. Emily’s eyes drifted to Cossette’s hand as she dragged her index finger along the wall idly.

“All done?”

“With them? I give it three hours before one of them says something offensive. Which is why they are Assault’s problem. He’s got the necessary experience.”

Cossette gave a short huff of a laugh and lowered a set of cups on a forcefield she had stashed somewhere above Emily’s head. “The coffee place next door is still open.”

Emily grabbed the cup on the left, which had her name written on it. “The real heroes.”

She inclined her head, and they started to walk back to her office.

Cossette jumped straight back into work. “So... Shatterbird.”

“Dakka and you. You get her in the air, she puts her in the ground.”

“Crawler?”

“Armsmaster has been working on Dakka’s Escher round for the last month or two on a side project. He doesn’t have his prototypes anymore, but he thinks it can contain him. So… Armsmaster. If he can’t prepare it in time, Dakka has said she’ll make a Damnation, but there’s no guarantee it’ll work. She’s making a few today.”

Cossette nodded. “Bonesaw?”

“Panacea, but that’s a maybe, as you heard earlier from her.”

“Siberian?”

“Tattletale and Dauntless. She figures out where the Master is, Dauntless...”

Cossette finished. “He’ll handle it.”

Emily nodded. “He will.”

“Mannequin?”

“Kid Win repurposed a Tartar around six weeks ago and made some sort of field effect. He’s confident it will work if he has Vista assist in controlling the battlefield.”

“Burnscar?”

“We’ve yet to see her. Her last sighting was more than two months ago, actually. But thinkers are confident that Gallant should be able to influence her enough to reduce her effectiveness.”

“Bakuda?”

“I’ve yet to hear back from any of the tinkers on a countermeasure to her teleportation bombs. I’m going to put one on faith though, that between Kid Win, Armsmaster, Dakka, and Dragon, they should be able to come up with something.”

Cossette hummed, and then finally asked.

“Jack Slash?”

There was a pause as Emily considered the various strategies they had discussed, before she settled. “That goes back to Shatterbird. The Honeypot is here, and I’ll be waiting.”

“So that’s the plan you’re going with?”

Emily sighed and pinched her forehead. “If we lose, the cycle just repeats itself. The Nine get another free pass to escalate even more the next time. Brockton Bay is alone. So…”

Emily rolled her shoulders back and stood up straight. “It's up to me to decide what happens for everyone inside this quarantine. The President is... “

“A fool.”

Emily shrugged. “He’s a paperweight, just like they all have been since 2001.”

She opened the door to her office and set the coffee down. Turning to Cossette, she started to speak but clammed up.

Cossette huffed. “Say it, Emily.”

Emily huffed back. “I don’t care who pulls the trigger.” She let out a breath. “I don’t care if Vista personally strangles them all with her tiny — bare — hands. They end here.” Heat flashed along her face and she rushed on. “Fuck it all, fuck 2001, fuck Nilbog, fuck Paper Trail, but most of all, fuck the goddamn Nine. This is my city, and it changes here.”

She took a deep gasping breath and felt Cossette’s hand on her shoulder. She leaned into it a bit before Cossette put her other hand up as well. There was just too much going on inside her.

A scoff escaped her. “I’m just so damn young again.”

Cossette snorted. “Truly a horrible burden, Emily.”

A laugh escaped her as she pulled Cossette’s hands down from her shoulders. She was about to let them go, but found herself holding on. Cossette’s eyebrows rose but she didn’t pull her hands away. Her eyes lingered as well, and slowly her forehead scrunched up as she stared at them. Emily gripped her tighter, taking another steadying breath.

“Emily.” Their eyes met and Cossette smiled. “Use your words.”

Emily sputtered and laughed. “It's 1999 all over again.”

Cossette’s voice was soft. “Emily.”

Emily turned her eyes away.

This isn't the time for this.

Whatever this was. A crisis of faith? A momentary lapse in professionalism. She scowled to the side. Professionalism wasn’t something she was born with; it was something she’d learned from pain, a neverending well of it for a decade. Combined with the nightmares and the sobering reality that she was no Legend, it had left her isolated and just plain tired. No one cared about the fat, dying woman behind the desk. At best she was the boss, at worst she was a bitch, not even really a person, just an obstacle, or a resource.

She sighed. Nilbog had killed Emily, and Piggot had remained. Paper Trail killed Cossette, and Narwhal remained. Taylor had killed herself, and Dakka remained. And that was only counting the obvious horror. Clockblocker was just a boy, but she had seen those eyes before in the mirror. Over and over again, that same repeating pattern.

She wanted to end that pattern. To put a gravestone down in history for it and sign it. If the signing came in blood, then so be it. Cossette squeezed her hands, and Emily’s eyes came back to meet hers. Even after all the pain, the dream wasn’t dead.

I am not dead.

She set her gaze on Cossette and truly looked. A flicker of life from a decade of memories swirled about before her eyes for a moment, and Emily smiled. Narwhal was taller than Cossette had been by a solid foot. She wasn’t sure exactly why that was, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know anyway. Still, the pale hair was a change as well. Cossette’s had been blonde, certainly, but not white as the snow, and it wasn’t white or grey in the way age might cause. This was different—there was life to the color.

She was beautiful either way. Not the same woman she had been, but just as, if not more, remarkable in a way. She had the same eyes, they didn’t miss a thing, and above all else she still had the drive that had first brought them together as a team.

Cossette was staring back at her, and Emily flushed in response. Cossette’s eyebrows raised again, and Emily stepped away, their hands finally separating.

“Use your-”

Emily barked a laugh. “Don’t say it.”

They smiled at each other.

Now isn’t the time.

She took a step away but stopped for a moment and regarded Cossette again. “You remember in 2000 when you met Lieutenant Colonel Garland?”

Cossette snorted. “Do I remember the time I met my ex-husband?”

“Well, less that and more the twenty minute drive to the Dining In.”

Cossette blinked slowly, and her eyes went up a bit as she thought. “You said you had something to tell me. We never did have that conversation, did we?”

“And then you got married, and I got orders.”

Cossette nodded. “Right. So?”

Emily huffed and was about to step toward her desk again when Cossette let out a growl. “Emily! Use-”

“Four. Days.”

The non-sequitur was just as much of a surprise to her as it seemed to be for Cossette. Something bright and wild flashed in her, and she turned in a rush toward Cossette. With a small step forward, she grabbed Cossette’s face, pulled it down, and said, “I don’t want to use my words.”

Then she kissed her. The nervousness fell away, and she pulled Cossette closer. Cossette’s hands shot out in surprise, and Emily feared for a moment that she was going to pull away, but then she felt Cossette smile into the kiss as her arms wrapped around her. Maybe they were all going to die, but damn if she wasn’t going to go out smiling.

—

AN: You could probably start a navy with all these ships.