The work got derailed badly due to a few bad decisions on my part, so I decided to rework things from the ground up. Let's see if it works better this time round.

Here's a prologue, so people get a feel of the backstory I've reworked for it.

Also, if anyone can inform me if Danny's parents had their canon names, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

Dancing Dragonflies-Redux

Prologue.

/x/

Ange exchanged glares with her six year old daughter, who stared up at her with her arms folded.

"Hey Mom," Taylor said as she glanced behind her back," where's Momoka?"

Ange set down a PDA in front of her daughter, before the screen flickered and an Asian woman with bruise coloured hair, a white maid's headdress and apron appeared on the screen. Taylor's face brightened at the sight as she got closer to the screen.

"Momoka," Taylor said with a smile, before her expression darkened as she looked at her mother. "Did Mom prevent you from coming home?"

"Nothing of the sort, Lady Taylor. I'm just very sick so I cannot be too close to you."

"You've been sick for a year and a half now," Taylor grumbled before she noticed the two redheads standing at the open front door of her home.

The woman wore her hair in a pair of pigtails and was dressed in a white blouse, grey skirt over a red and white sleeveless jacket. The girl, who looked a few years older than her had her hair cut short, barely over her shoulders. The younger redhead tugged at her blue jacket which hung over a grey blouse, before she turned towards the older woman next to her.

"Mama Hilda," she said while pointing at Taylor, "is that girl Mama Ange's daughter?"

"Yes she is, Claudia," Hilda said. "Now go say hello."

Claudia nodded as she walked up to Taylor, who scowled at the news of her surprise sibling.

"Hi, I'm Claudia," she said as she assessed Taylor. "You look scrawny."

Taylor frowned, before she snap kicked Claudia's shin.

"She's got your temper, Ange," Hilda said as she rested her head on Ange's shoulder while they both watched the children descend into a mess of twisting, grappling limbs.

"You should have seen Danny when he loses his, Hilda."

"Danny?" Hilda said with a frown, as she stared into Ange's eyes. "Did you get another lover while here on this world?"

"It's Tusk. He took another name when we-"

A loud scream caused both women to turn back to their kids. Claudia stood a few feet away from Taylor, who was crumpled on the floor with boils emerging on her skin. Ange's face stiffened as she laid her daughter face up and checked her pulse as more boils started to appear.

"It's happening again,"Ange muttered as Taylor's limbs started warping."Need to sort this out quick."

"Hilda," Ange said as she carried her daughter, "screen the entrances and make sure no one enters the compound. Claudia, follow your captain's orders."

Hilda watched as Ange carried the degenerating Taylor down to the basement, before she was jolted by another order.

"Hilda, grab the beam rifle from our transport."

/x/

Ange sat at the kitchen table brooding, her plain ceramic mug filled with coffee untouched as the steam rose to her face. Hilda and Claudia sat silently next to her, both of them kept their hands close to their pistols. Hilda watched her lover stare into the yard, her blonde hair wet with sweat and her ruby eyes focused on something far away. She gently placed a hand on Ange's shoulder and smiled when their gazes met.

"Stop blaming yourself, Ange. Who'd know Embryo would fuck you over like that with his technology?"

"I'm the one who assumed we've unlocked the secrets to Embryo's quantum technology, Hilda," Ange said bitterly. "The blame's all on me."

A ringing shook all three out of their reverie, as the phone on the kitchen wall rang. Claudia dashed over before the adults could react and answered.

"Arz-Hebert Residence," Claudia said. She listened to the caller for a minute before she frowned and yelled into the phone. "Who am I? I'm Claudia!"

"Claudia," Hilda asked suspiciously as her child chatted animatedly, "who's that?"

"Of course I'm Mama Ange's daughter," Claudia said. "No, not Taylor, the other one. With Mama Hilda."

Ange wrenched the phone from her daughter's grasp, while Hilda dragged Claudia aside for a chat about speaking to strangers on the phone.

"Ange."

"Ange," a wizened male voice said excitedly, "since when did you have another kid!"

Thomas Hebert, Ange thought as she lowered her voice.

"Hi, Tom. Had Claudia for a while now," Ange said. " About a few years after you and Martha did us a solid and agreed to act as Tusk's parents."

"We've been through this a million times now, Ange," Tom sighed, "We adopted Danny, gave him a new name."

Ange smiled. It wasn't everyday people are willing to adopt a nineteen year old and pretend he's a long lost relative to the authorities.

"Don't think you've called just to chat about old times, Tom. What's the matter."

"Martha's condition is getting worse. She barely remembers what happened three hours ago," Tom said, "though she still remembers walking into you and Danny getting frisky."

Ange tried to fight the flush on her cheeks as her father-in-law continued.

"We lost our only son two years ago. We'd like to see our daughter and grandchildren while Martha still has her senses with her."

"Grandchildren?"

"Yes, including the one you've adopted with your girlfriend," Tom said," though we'd appreciate it if you told us you were attached again."

"Sure, Tom," Ange said as she looked at the stairs leading to Taylor's room. "Taylor's condition is...slightly better now. We should be able to travel upstate."

"I see,"Tom said after a pause. "Ange, look-"

"I'll fix it Tom," Ange said. "I owe it to you, Martha and Tusk to fix the problems I've created."

"Ange, look-"

"See ya Saturday afternoon then, Tom."

Ange put down the phone, stared at the backyard before she opened a kitchen cabinet and pulled out a disassembled carbine.

"Hilda," Ange said, "I'm going hunt down the remains of Marquis' crew now that he got Birdcaged for stress relief and some extra cash. Wanna come along?"

"Sure," Hilda said with a grin." Wanna have me bust out Theodora?"

Ange paused, before she shook her head.

"Nah, Jasmine and Mei will have my ass if I authorize the use of a Ragnamail just to hunt down several parahumans in an alien dimension."

Ange slung the carbine over her neck, and the two Norma walked out to the living room before Claudia stood at the doorway, her pistol in hand.

"I wanna come along too!"

"No you're not, Claudia," Ange said with a glare. "You're staying here to hold down the fort and watch over your sister."

Claudia pouted, but saluted and trudged up the stairs while the older women watched.

"C'mon Hilda, I've got some Cryo-grenades I'm itching to test out."

/x/

Taylor dreamt.

Of happier days when her family was whole and Momoka was a part of the household rather than a presence only contactable by phone and other means. Then the world started to shake, as a familiar voice called for her.

"Taylor," she felt her body shake as her eyes cracked open slowly," wake up."

Taylor reached for her eyes before she felt the clear plastic screen of her bio-hazard suit block her hands. She looked around, her eyes widened as she saw the clear blue sky that surrounded the hoverbike she was currently riding shotgun on. A flight of pink dragons, each about fifteen feet long and ten feet wide, flew next to her ride in formation. Their screeching roar echoed with the roar of the wind, before she turned back to glare at her mother.

"So, did I pass out or did you tranq me again?"

"You're awfully curious for an eleven year old, Tay," Ange yelled over the intercom, which caused her to wince from the mic's feedback. "But yeah, I tranqed you."

"I can put on a hazmat suit myself, Mom," Taylor muttered as she strengthened her grip as she felt the hoverbike descend.

"Not this one you don't," Ange said with a chuckle, "because I never taught you how."

"Nope, but Aunt Hilda did," Taylor said. "Are we gonna see Dad?"

"Patience, Tay," Ange said as the clouds gave way to show a city that's a mix of ancient Asian and modernist architecture. I'm just as eager to get your father back as you are."

"So, if Dad comes back does that mean you're gonna stop tranqing me? How about the booby traps and survival training?"

"Nope," Ange said flatly as the hoverbike landed on a courtyard surrounded by women in colourful Asian robes and red, bat-like wings. In the distance, larger draconic shapes loomed, their multicoloured scales, rows of teeth and eyes and wingspan the size of an aircraft hangar formed an imposing figure.

"You want to avoid getting either," Ange said, "you learn to spot the traps and see me coming with a tranq gun."

A redhead with a mole on her chin approached, dressed in a white doctor's coat. A blonde girl about six years old accompanied her, also dressed in a white coat. Ange helped Taylor off the bike before one of the winged women approached the hoverbike and disrobed.

"Wha-Hey, keep your clothes on-"

Taylor's words ended abruptly as the naked women crouched on the floor, before her wings expanded and pink scales covered her. Her body expanded and twisted, the sound of torn flesh and cracked bones caused Taylor's face to turn green. The pink dragon screeched, before it flapped its wings and grabbed the hoverbike by the talon as it took off.

"I'm gonna be sick,"Taylor said. "That's probably the most disturbing thing I've seen, and Mom made me watch army first aid videos where they showed you blast victims."

The blonde girls face brightened at Taylors words, as she approached with a bottle of pills in her hand.

"Really? I've got something for everything! Nausea, morning sickness, flu..."

"Riley,stop," the older woman in the coat said while resting a hand on her shoulder. Riley blinked at the instruction, before she took a deep breath and slipped the bottle into her coat.

"Sorry, bad habit," Riley said. She approached Taylor again and held out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Riley and this," she pointed to the redhead, "is Dr Maggie. We're the ones who will be handling your condition today."

"Condition?"

"Yes. You've had blackouts where you don't remember anything for close to five years, correct?"

"Yeah," Taylor said as she looked at her mother," I did."

"Great," Riley said with a bright smile. "Commander Ange brought us a lot of invaluable data in the course of finding a cure for your condition. Along with Lady Aura's own research, we can finally cure you."

"That's...wonderful news. Thanks!" Taylor hugged Riley before she spun around to face her mother.

"So Commander, this is your homeworld?"

"Earth Aura's my adopted homeworld. My birthplace is...a mess right now."

Taylor's eyes narrowed.

"You caused it, didn't you?"

Ange pushed her daughter towards the waiting doctors, as she made shooing motions.

"After this, you're going home to Bet until your radiation resistance has matured," Ange said. "On the bright side, Momoka will be able to join you again."

Ange turned to leave, before Taylor's shout halted her.

"How long are you gonna be gone this time round?"

Ange hesitated, before she answered haltingly.

"Not for very long, this time round. Momoka will debrief you on the details."

"Debrief? Mom just listen to yourself!"

A helicopter descended from the clouds and landed on the courtyard, as two women wearing olive green armoured vests and matching fatigues came out of the copter bearing rifles.

"I know what I'm doing, Taylor," Ange snapped before she bit her lip. "Listen to Maggie and Riley's instructions. Rest well."

Ange ignored the rest of her daughter's angry shouting as she boarded the helicopter.

/x/

Claudia stared at her sister's puffy eyes when she opened the door, while her two girlfriends Trish and Millia looked at each other awkwardly.

"Hi Claudia," Taylor sniffed, "here to spent the fall again?"

"Yeah," Claudia said as she studied her sister's face, "what the fuck happened?"

"Mom didn't tell you? I just got bailed out of jail after I caved Emma's nose in."

"You what?" Claudia sputtered, "but you and her are thick as thieves. I honestly thought you and Emma were going to hook up one day."

"Even if we were, that's not happening now," Taylor said bitterly. "Not after what she said about Mom."

"Oh,really," Claudia said with murder in her eyes, "what'd she say?"

"Nothing I'm telling you, Claudia. Not letting you turn this assault into murder."

"Nobody will ever find the body,Sis. Let me at her."

"For the last time, no! Look," Taylor said with a sigh, "let's drop this and blow of some steam."

Claudia arched an eyebrow.

"What're you suggesting?"

"I've got some rubber bullets, body armour and some carbines."