II. Flatmates

Six Months Later

I couldn't sleep any longer. I was just too excited about the day ahead. I was finally able to go to university.

The past year had been pretty quiet for me, all things considered. The fact that my school records were locked away on Earth Bet had been a problem, especially considering that we were trying to keep it a secret that I was from there. It would be very bad if people knew the things I had done.

The only reason we had been able to live here at all was that Cauldron had provided a complete set of fake documents, as well as a large amount of money after saving my life. I couldn't understand why, but I guessed that stopping Scion, which had been their main objective, had earned me it in their eyes. Say what you want about Cauldron, they are thorough; I couldn't find a single thing missing.

The trigger events occurring here were a slight worry. The ones on Bet had been caused by Scion and his partner. Was there another pair of those things, or was this just backlash from his death? There was no way of knowing.

I really didn't want to have to go through nearly becoming an Endbringer again.

I had made sure to keep an eye on the cape scene in case someone with his levels of power appeared, but so far none had.

I was going to be studying computer science in New York. It had been my best subject when I actually went to school, due to the amount of time I spent in there to avoid Emma, Madison and Psycho Stalker, as I had taken to calling Sophia. Not that they were a big deal, given some of the other things I'd done since.

I still enjoyed my morning runs every day, despite the fact that there was no point being able to run ridiculous distances if I didn't have powers to use. Maybe I could join the track team or something.

My father and I were currently staying in a hotel, but today I was to move into the student flat I was renting for the year, along with another girl I was yet to meet.

"Taylor, time to get up," said Dad.

I practically jumped out of bed, I couldn't wait to be doing something new. I had lived independently before, as Skitter, but this time I would actually have permission to be doing it. It felt good.

I wolfed my breakfast down in record time, and effectively dragged Dad out of the door. By nine a.m. we were outside the flat.

Mrs Harrison was already there, waiting for us, so she gave us a quick tour, providing all of the important details, but I wasn't really paying attention. I had some residual effects from my days as a cape. It wasn't easy to notice if you weren't looking for it, but every time I went somewhere new, I still looked for any possible tactical advantages. It seemed silly to keep doing it, but I couldn't help myself.

It was at this point that my new flatmate arrived. That was when it really got crazy.


Jenny entered her new flat, and glimpsed a girl about her age standing in one of the rooms. Jenny had moved in the day before, and thought it was a nice place, but it was a relief that her flatmate had arrived. The previous night had been very boring with no one to talk to.

She walked into the room and said, "Hi, I'm Jenny."

The other girl spun quickly, as Jenny's power kicked in. "Administrator Shard. Allows user to control any living creature within four-hundred metres. Previously manipulated by this shard to limit control to extremely simple minded creatures. Evidence of tampering by Bio-Manipulation Shard, followed by crude surgery. Current abilities: None. Current threat level: None. Maximum threat level: Extreme."

"I'm Taylor, nice to meet you," the girl replied, before holding out a hand.

Jenny reached out and shook the hand, but instantly regretted it, as her power did something unexpected. "Contact established. Repairing Administrator Shard to specifications of last manipulation. New threat level: High." That was not what Jenny wanted to do, but it was too late. The damage was done. "Shit," she thought.


Jenny's eyes widened shortly before she shook my hand. I didn't understand why, but I was about to.

From the second she made contact, I felt a strange sensation shooting up my arm. It quickly reached my head, and I felt something I thought I could never feel again.

A spider was making a web in the next room. A dog with fleas was being walked along the street below. A wasp was caught in a web in the next building. A butterfly flew along a small alleyway a block away.

Two blocks. I knew that with a single thought, every creepy-crawly within two blocks would be at my beck and call.

My eyes widened in shock. Jenny had done this to me. My powers were back, as they had been at the beginning, but this time I had nearly three years of experience to draw on. I had made a difference last time, this time I could do more from the start. I could become a hero like I meant to last time. I could do it right. I could... ask Jenny how the hell she just did that.

"Jenny, what just happened?"

For her part, Jenny turned pale. She looked like she was considering running. It took her a few seconds, but she finally decided against. We were going to have to live with each other for a year after all.

"I'll tell you," she said, "but in private."

"I think my Dad needs to hear this, but I agree, no one else."

Jenny looked suspiciously at Dad for a moment. "Fine."

Mrs Harrison chose this moment to quietly leave the room.

"OK," I said. "What's going on? What you did just there is supposed to be impossible."

"Er... Taylor?" Dad asked. "What exactly did she do? It looked like you just shook hands."

In response, I simply held out my hand, and directed a nearby fly to land on it.

Dad looked gobsmacked. "So how did you reconnect me with my bugs?" I asked.

"I have powers," replied Jenny. "My power calls itself the Shard Manipulation Shard. When I see someone with powers, I know every detail of the powers they have, and if I touch someone, I can manipulate their power levels, within reason. I saw you, and it said you had something called the Administrator Shard, but it was badly damaged, and when I touched your hand it went on autopilot to repair it. I had no idea that was going to happen."

"Did it say how it got damaged?" I asked, hoping I could salvage the situation.

"It appeared to have been tampered with by a Bio-manipulation Shard, and then nearly disconnected in some form of surgery."

I groaned. While the full details weren't there, it was probably enough to make an educated guess as to what was going on. "And you want to know what happened," I guessed.

Jenny nodded firmly. I decided it would be easiest to tell the truth. I glanced at Dad, and he nodded.

"I developed bug control powers when I was fifteen. Two block range, and unlimited multitasking. I became a villain in Brockton Bay Bet. The group I joined, and eventually led, The Undersiders, took control of the entire city's underworld. Stuff happened, and I ended up having to switch to the heroes to try to save the world.

"I failed. Scion attacked, and because everyone had their own agenda, all undermining each other, he was winning. I had no choice. I went to Panacea, and had her alter my brain. The power to make everyone work together, at the cost of my own sanity. The only way to recover was to have my powers removed.

"I had many names. Skitter, as a villain, Weaver, as a hero." I paused, before adding, "And Khepri as a monster."

Jenny's mouth had dropped open halfway through my explanation. By the end she looked terrified. "Khepri," she whispered. "You killed Scion."

I nodded slowly. "It cost me almost everything I held dear."

"My power is calling you a high level threat with the possibility to become extreme," she said faintly. "You caused the death of the most powerful being known to man."

"And I lost all of my friends. I killed the most feared being in the world, only to become the most feared being in the world. I couldn't even recognise my friends. My life was ruined. I couldn't stay. I was offered the choice between death, and the loss of my powers, and I chose to die. But they saved me."

Jenny appeared to be at a loss for words, so I decided to calm her down a little. "I'll do you a deal. Nobody finds out that I was Khepri, and nobody finds out you can alter peoples' powers. We both know our lives will be ruined if our secrets get out. Yours is big. Mine is big. We help each other keep them quiet, and we both win."

"What are the chances," Jenny asked, "of me ending up in a flat with the one person with a secret as big as mine."

Now that she mentioned it, it was quite a coincidence. The odds were astronomical. It was almost as though someone had set it up to be like that. What hit me next was a sobering thought.

"The final battle..." I murmured.

"What?"

"I spent a significant period of time in the vicinity of the Simurgh. She's the only one I can think of capable of setting this up."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means," I said slowly, "that depending on whether or not she truly switched sides, either something really good, or something really bad will come of this meeting. And when I say really bad, I mean that in the past she has been responsible for nuclear meltdowns."

"Is there any way we can avoid it?"

"Knowing the Simurgh, she'll have predicted any move we might make. The best plan is to go with the flow, and hope we're in one piece on the other side." I held my hand out again. "Friends?"

Jenny took the hand, and shook it. "Friends."