I speak up before Miss Militia knocks on the door. "Come in."

If she's surprised, she doesn't let it show but for a second's hesitation. She opens the door and closes it behind her. I give her a once over with my actual eyes. She looks just like the pictures. There's not much else to say. The knife that had previously been a pistol and a riffle has settled down in a holster on her tight.

"Hello." She starts.

"Hi." I answer, and continue on. "You've just come from the Protectorate Headquarters after the mister from before went back there. And you've spoken to my dad outside too. You've come to see me because I have powers now. You want me to join the Wards, right?"

"Well," Miss Militia smiles. "That's just an option. You don't have to join the Wards. But I've been part of the Wards myself, one of the very first actually, and I can tell you that the program would help you with your powers and that you would make friends that understand you. Your father thinks it would be best, but the choice is yours Taylor."

I shake my head. "You can't help me." Miss Militia tilts her head, puzzled, so I elaborate. "I'm not saying you wouldn't try, but you can't. I already know what my power does. And that's the problem. Do you want to know my power?" I ask her.

She nods. "Please. It's a thinker power, isn't it?"

"I see everything. Well, seeing isn't the best way to put it. I know things. It's like having a third eye that can see the entire city."

Even through her scarf, I can tell her eyebrows rise in surprise. "You can see the entire city?"

I swallow, feeling my throat dry, and start reciting. "There's a man beating a girl, I think she's his daughter. There's another one who's dragged a boy off to a hidden place before and now he's, he's raping him. There's a girl with powers killing a man. There's twenty-four people taking drugs right now. There were more during the night. A man with with family, wife, son, daughter, he tortured somebody yesterday. And there's fights and robberies and so many other things." I've seen it all.

I close my eyes, but I still know it all. Miss Militia is worried. "Taylor…"

"It's bad. There's so many ugly things. So much evil… Always, somewhere. And I can only see one city. One city out of thousands of cities in the world. If I concentrate, my range can decrease, but then I know more. And the hospital… It's not a good place." I try not to remember when I had tried it before. "I can't stop it. They had to put me asleep because I couldn't stop seeing things."

The heroine closes the distance to my bed and puts a comforting hand on my arm. Her thumb makes tiny circles on my skin. She kind of feels like Dad, in presence. Like Mom. My eyes water without permission. "What about the good things, Taylor? Can't you see them? There's so much good out there."

"I tried." I had. So much. "But how can I focus on the good things when there are horrible things happening just next door? How can anybody not see it? And I shouldn't be seeing them anyway. They're private and I just can't stop watching everybody!" I sniff and try to hold back the tears, but it's too late. I'm crying. I hunch over and the superhero next to me puts her arm over my back. I grab onto her. It's stupid and embarrassing but she's here. I'm crying on a superhero's shoulder. She doesn't say anything about it, just makes soothing sounds. "Do powers always suck this much?" I ask.

Miss Militia sighs. "Some do, others don't. Some powers drive people insane. There are even powers that change people until they don't look human anymore. A trigger event, the moment when you receive powers, that always sucks."

Her voice is quiet and I wonder what hers was, but I don't ask. "My best friend, she died." I confess against the military fatigues. "And I don't even know who did it. It's not fair. At least that… At least that I should be able to see, but it's too late."

"No, it isn't." Miss Militia gently breaks off the hug. She helps me clean my face. "What you should think about Taylor, is what you want to do right now. Not decide, but think."

I sniff. "My power would be really useful for catching bad guys, that's what you're thinking right? I thought about that too."

"A little bit." She admits.

I shake my head. "It wouldn't matter. There's too much." Too much information. I can't do this, not when I can see that even villains have families. I know too much about them, just by knowing who they are with and what they do. If I told the heroes about them, I would have to see their families cry too. Everybody's human and it's tearing me apart because humans can be horrible. I can't make these kind of choices. I'm just thirteen. "I just… I just want to be far away from all of this. Alone. I don't want to see."

Miss Militia brushes my hair behind my ear. "I'm sure we can make arrangements. You'll be fine Taylor. Okay?"

"Kay."