Tarantula

That bright and early Saturday morning was a bit marred by spontaneous, temperamental spring showers falling from wispy gray clouds overhead. A small puddle had formed at the end of the driveway in the cracked, missing chunk of pavement and when the sun hit the grass just right, the entire lawn looked like a rainbow on a green backdrop. The rain had actually stopped falling before I had slipped on my sneakers, but the minute I had gone out to get the newspaper, I got dumped on.

Naturally.

I was really hoping that wasn't going to set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.

Dad thanked me quietly for the newspaper, instantly flipping to the business and economics pages. Things hadn't really gotten any better on that front but it hadn't gotten worse. I was grounded until my detention sentence was served, but it was more of an early curfew without TV. I'd live. The biggest change is that after yesterday, I think he was starting to listen.

Emma came over yesterday. To do...something, not entirely sure what. Apologize? It had ended on a weird note, but at least now I think I know what's up with her. I don't understand at all but I can say that I would spit on her if she was on fire.

It'd take me a while, but I'd do it.

The confrontation at the door had shocked something in my father; it was less my fault and now more his. So instead of him being disappointed and angry at me, he was blaming himself for not noticing and making me feel guilty because he was tearing himself up over what I hadn't told him.

Like I said, not any better.

The real problem was Emma wasn't lying. I was going to have to confront that and maybe I was a bit of a coward, but not to Lung. I wasn't afraid of her hurting me; I was afraid she wouldn't care. Yuka would be safer, or Bao, Noriko perhaps, depends on who I saw first.

Just thinking that as I headed to my room to put on my hoodie made me feel better about the whole thing. Obviously some would do, did do terrible things like what had happened to Emma. But Min wouldn't, Shinta had been pissed at the implication and I couldn't even imagine it of Bao. It really had nothing to do with anyone I knew at all.

I fished Bao's scarf, mine now I suppose, from the bottom of my backpack and wrapped it around my neck. I hid the gold dragon in the hood, leaving just the end with the Chinese characters hanging down.

When I came back down, I knew I barely passed inspection when Dad smiled weakly. He probably suspected what was on the other end of the scarf.

"Panacea?"

"I owe her lunch for healing me," I explained. I had money saved up from odd jobs over the summer, and I do mean odd like ferrying drinks back and forth among the work crews that built the community centers in the neighborhood. Most were dock workers down on their luck, not actually ABB which was the only reason Dad allowed it. "Hang out a little."

He stopped me, pulling out his wallet and handing me a twenty. I took it gingerly. "Treat yourself a bit," he said and tried to smile again. "Have fun."

"You don't need…?" Next month was collection month.

Dad's face hardened and he looked away. "No, it'll be alright." He cleared his throat. "Get going or you'll be late."

I was early, but I took the excuse. "See you later, Dad."

"Bye, kiddo."

Weekends at the Boardwalk were really unlike the weekdays. The throng of tourists was thick with rubberneckers and their cameras, families with small children buying toys, couples feeding seagulls and a bunch of us locals enjoying the atmosphere. The wooden platform was packed to the railing with the lines of moving people and I realized I probably should have anticipated the lunch time rush hour.

I grabbed a few mosquitos and directed them up above in order to use their eyes. While it wasn't a terrible idea, it didn't work as well as I'd hoped. Mosquitos do have rudimentary vision, but when it came to picking out one girl in a crowd, it was lacking. The devil was in the details.

I headed for someone I thought might be her and hoped for the best. She was standing by two blonds, a handsome sandy blond guy in a T-shirt and designer jeans and a bright blonde girl in a blue sundress. It wasn't until blonde number 2 turned so I could see her face that I realized who she was.

"Victoria Dallon?" I squeaked. Glory Girl. A really popular member of the now defunct New Wave team known as Alexandria Junior because of her power set, super strength, invulnerability, flight.

Way better than bug control.

She turned fully and her eyes narrowed. A sharp spike of fear rippled through me as she marched over, grabbed the front of my hoodie and hauled me off my feet.

"You hurt her, and you will regret it," she promised darkly.

I couldn't even open my mouth to speak, just nodded very quickly.

"Victoria!" Amy said sharply. I was set down but couldn't feel any relief. We had a small crowd of observers, making me feel like I was in the center of a giant spotlight in front of a judge and about to be found guilty.

Victoria looked me over and sniffed dismissively. The fear faded. "Just making sure…"

"I love you and all," Amy said gently. "But I can take care of myself."

"Amy -"

"No buts," the healer cut her off. "I'll prove it if I have to."

The boy stepped forward with a winning smile, holding out his hand for me to shake. "I apologize for her, she's protective. Dean. No harm done?"

Dean was very good looking, which just made me feel self conscious in my jeans, hoodie and bruised face. I shook his hand firmly to make up for any staring on my part, there was nothing I could do about feeling ugly. "Taylor."

"This is a 'thank you' lunch," Amy told her sister.

"Right," I jumped in, eager to get back on Glory Girl's good side. I had no idea how I'd gotten on her bad one. I double checked my scarf, no problems there. "For healing me," I realized I didn't look healed. "Before."

Amy gave me an amused, exasperated look with raised eyebrows. She raised a hand and pointed on her face where I knew an angry bruise decorated mine.

"School," I sighed.

This time, Victoria's eyebrows jumped. "The hell do you go to?"

"Winslow."

All three of them nodded, as if that made perfect sense and explained everything. Winslow High was notorious it seemed, perhaps even the bogeyman of high schools. Don't behave, you might get sent to Winslow. I hear they have gang members wandering the halls during free period.

"Is it really bad?" Amy asked hesitantly.

I shrugged. "It's getting better."

That mollified her somewhat. "Can we have lunch now, Vicky or are you tagging along?"

Victoria looked like she wanted to do just that in order to keep a hostile eye on me, but when she met her sister's stare the golden girl deflated. "You used to love having me around," she pouted childishly, bottom lip sticking out and quivering. Dean flicked that lip and she scowled at him.

"I still do," Amy rushed to assure her. "But…"

"But you got a shit ton of new friends now, I get it." She gave me the stink eye as if I was personally to blame. "We'll be at the movies, just call me if you need anything. Anything, okay?"

"Like always," Amy smiled back. Then she hooked her arm into mine and started dragging me away. "Vicky means well," she said lowly. "Alright if I chose the place?"

The proverbial piggy bank winced.

"Sure."

Amy chose a decent cafe that was on the shoreline. The wooden platform swelled to a roundabout with a small lily garden in the middle and benches around the outside. It was built on a concrete lip hanging over the water on the far side and a chalkboard stuck onto the wall by the door boasted the lunch specials. It wasn't as popular as Fugly Bob's further down, mostly because it wasn't as cheap, but it wasn't bad.

"Done," she said as I held the door open for her and she pulled away. "Your face will feel a bit weird, I had to clear out your bruises, but good as new."

I smiled experimentally. "Thank you. I mean that, you're awesome."

Amy preened.

The Union cafe was one of the oldest structures on the Boardwalk and it showcased it with pictures of dockworkers and boats like it was a history exhibit dating back to after the second World War. The tables were polished dark wood with sand and seashells in the center under glass and the chairs were metal clams with pearl colored cushions. The small menus were prefaced with an old school advertisement for the ferry which made me smile a bit.

With any luck, that'd be up and running again.

Amy ordered a cod meal for herself and after a bit of mental math, I got the same.

"How's your mother doing?" I asked hesitantly. I regretted it when Amy's face went carefully blank as she unfolded a napkin.

"No change."

"Sorry to hear that." I was also sorry for asking.

Amy seemed to know what I was thinking, smiling. "Everyone asks eventually, it's okay, really. We're getting through it."

"Your sister seems...nice," I scrambled for something else to say.

Amy scoffed. "She's vain, self centered and a big cry baby." Her face softened. "She's also extremely protective of me, loves helping people out and too optimistic for her own good." She leaned over the table on her arms. "Do you have any siblings?"

"Only child," I told her. I honestly can't remember ever wishing I had a brother or a sister. Mom and Dad had been enough for me. Then, you know, who I thought was my best friend. It was beyond strange to think about now, with the large heaping of pity and abstract interest.

"Aggravating a lot of the time," she rolled her eyes. "But I wouldn't give Vicky up for the world."

We talked about things, relaxing and taking our time. The food was good. I wasn't much of a fish person but it didn't smell or taste fishy which already made it a million times better than any other fish I've eaten. Amy was easygoing, letting the conversation lapse when I couldn't think of anything to say right that moment, picking it up again without hesitation when I did. She was a great listener and just seemed comfortable in a way I was a bit envious of.

We covered school, family and super-heroing which led to a bit of an experiment.

"Got it?"

She clamped her hands around the fly and nodded. I let go of it and Amy gasped. "Wait, take control of it again." I glanced around for onlookers and did so. Her brows furrowed. "I thought you were piggybacking on their nervous system, and you kind of are…"

"But?"

She looked up at me. "But it's a part of the nervous system I'm pretty sure doesn't actually exist. Normally." I raised my eyebrows. "I need to get my hands on a bug you haven't touched at all I think, but if I'm right you aren't just controlling them. You're changing them. Look, if I do this…"

Pain instantly exploded in my head. I couldn't back out of the fly fast enough.

"Okay," I gritted out. "That hurt."

Amy had a guilty expression on her face. "I'm so sorry! I should have- bio-feedback, I wasn't thinking. Really wasn't thinking, I -"

"I thought I'd find you two here," Lisa's voice approached the table. I blinked the tears out of my eyes as she pulled out a chair and sat in it like she owned the table. "Don't mind me, dropping by."

She held out her hand and Amy let go of the fly. She hesitated, but then I saw the recognition as she remembered who would be 'dropping by.' "Um…"

On the other side of the table, I was in the perfect position to see the blood drain from Amy's cheeks the moment their hands touched.

"Lisa." She pumped the healer's hand once and had a wan smile on her face. "And yeah, that's about what I thought."

"Do you want the good news or the bad news?" Amy asked faintly. Her hand was locked onto Lisa's in a death grip, as if she was afraid of what might happen if she let go. I stomped down on my urge to answer for her, the bad, because I had the really sinking feeling that there was going to be a lot more of it.

"Good news," Lisa replied.

"Minor bad news first: detoxing is going to suck."

Lisa smirked. "Knew that."

Amy took a deep, fortifying breath. "But," she drew out. "I can be with you every step of the way to help with the withdrawal symptoms: It would just take a few minutes to clear out most of your nervous system and if you give me…" she paused, getting a far off look in her eye. "An hour? I can make something that will help with the neurotransmitters and receptors in your brain. The cravings will be intense."

"I thought you couldn't do brains?" I could have hit myself for asking the moment the last word left my mouth. If, for whatever reason, Amy could get over that limitation in a bid to help someone, the last thing I wanted to do was argue against it.

"Lifestyle choice," Lisa answered for her and then her eyebrows rose as she looked at Amy. "Temporary lifestyle choice."

"Heroin is an opiate." I shouldn't have, but I winced at hearing what exactly Lisa was hooked on. "It's all chemical. I'm not touching her brain," Amy said resolutely, jutting her chin out a little. "It's just…"

"Proxies." Lisa finished for her. And then with a bit of a morbid flair, "Like a nail gun. Can't trust yourself to punch it in straight, use a tool to do it for you."

Amy went quiet and then cocked her head. "Thinker?"

Lisa wiggled the fingers of her free hand mystically. "Psychic."

Her lips thinned to white lines. "How did this happen then?"

Lisa was aggravatingly nonchalant as she started folding a napkin one handed. "At gunpoint. Don't recommend it." She shrugged, tucking a wisp of blonde hair back underneath the beanie cap she was wearing. She was dressed for a day out, like Amy was, and hopefully it just looked like three teenage girls catching up. "Hit me."

"You have devices at even intervals along your spine," Amy said in monotone, detached. "The lowest one is above the hip, the uppermost is imbedded on the inside of your skull. There are filaments attaching them to each other, five in all."

Lisa chewed her lip thoughtfully. "If I had to guess, they all have to come out at once. Break a line, I go boom."

"Do you think it has sensors to tell if it's being removed?" I asked anxiously, feeling my fish lunch roil in my stomach.

"Oh yeah, he's kind of a paranoid bastard," Lisa waved it off. "Not movement, or else he'd risk losing me to yoga class but environmental? How big we talking here?"

"It's on the inner right side of the vertebrae." Amy drew a small square on her napkin. "An inch at most?"

"Not a lot of room there," Lisa murmured. "But then again, fucking tinkers."

"A tinker did this to you?" I cut in. I couldn't think of any Brockton Bay tinkers. Leet was gone and I really doubted Kid Win or Armsmaster was responsible.

"Some crazy bitch he picked up, not important." She drummed her fingers on the table before waving away the waitress," Just a coffee cake, thanks," and tapping the toe of her sneaker against the table leg. "Can it be removed?"

"Yes," Amy said without hesitation. "Safely is something else entirely."

"So I need to figure out what the trigger condition is. And maybe what kind of bomb, because I'm actually kind of curious."

"Really?" I asked dryly.

Lisa flashed me a smile. "Aren't you?"

"I know how we can find out," Amy spoke up and carefully, slowly let go of Lisa's hand.

"Setting it off on purpose doesn't count," she responded and subtly flexed her fingers underneath the table. "I mean, it's a bit counter-productive? And I would object. Strenuously."

Amy was undeterred. "We can just only intend to set it off."

I was completely lost by this point but Lisa sat up straight. She leaned forward and dropped her voice to just barely audible. "ABB has a precog?"

"They do?" I said, bewildered.

Amy gave us both a weird look, as if we had just asked her if the sky was blue. Then her face sunk as she realized what exactly she had given away on accident. "...yes."

"That explains so much," Lisa whispered hoarsely. "And Reggie's power doesn't…" A grin I could only describe as satanic stole across her face. She threw back her head and outright cackled like a villainous hyena from the Lion King. Amy and I exchanged looks. "Sorry," she sniggered. "But you just gave me something good."

"You're welcome?" Amy tried and then she continued, pleasantly, "If I find out that you used this against her, you won't have to worry about the bomb."

Lisa held up her hands in surrender. "I won't. So, do I get to meet her or what?" She snapped her fingers. "It's Snake, isn't it?"

Amy sighed. "Yeah, let me text my sister so she doesn't tear up the Boardwalk looking for me."

From my impression of Glory Girl, that was probably meant literally.

Lisa got her coffee cake and insisted on eating it there as if she wasn't pressed for time, and in a display of generosity paid the bill for the lunch. It wasn't until after I saw her set down the twenty dollar bill that I realized I had completely forgotten about the lunch box hidden under the bed. On one hand, the legality of it was questionable. On the other, money.

The real question was, what do I spend money liberated from a parahuman criminal mastermind on?

Lunch, movies and fifteen dollar coffee was my guess.

We exited the cafe carrying our beverages, iced coffee for me, Amy had sweetened tea and Lisa a soda as well as another coffee cake.

"You know soda dehydrates you?" Amy said lightly, amused. She headed north, which was straight to the ferry station and further up, the Docks. "That's the last thing you need right now."

"I'll make it up later." She took a big gulp from her blue straw.

"No, you won't."

"Yeah, I won't." She agreed, exposing the lie for what it was. "I'm allowed to make terrible health decisions."

Amy sobered. "Were the drugs one of them?"

Lisa didn't take offense. "Didn't have a choice with that either. It's 'candy' to Reggie, too young to know any better. Went cold turkey once," she looked down at the ground and took another obnoxious slurp of her drink. "For reasons. Couldn't keep it up. So!" She chucked the cup, half full into the nearest garbage can. "Where you taking us?"

Amy's eyes drifted back to her cell phone and her thumb scooted along the little keyboard. "The ferry station. Asking a friend to give us a ride."

"Friend?" Lisa tucked her coffee cake bag underneath an arm. "Boyfriend." Amy frowned at her and she corrected herself, "Not boyfriend, but dating. Trying to date but you're both hopeless."

Amy hit the send button dejectedly. "Does she do this to you too?" she asked me.

"Yup." I popped the 'p' and grinned. "Part of her charm."

"Don't you know it!" Lisa barked out a laugh. She draped an arm over my shoulder a bit awkwardly, seeing as I was taller. "For you I'm seeing someone tall, dark and Asian." She tugged at my scarf. "Maybe wearing one of these?" I flushed and that smug grin spread over her face. "Bingo."

'And Bao was his nameo,' my brain rhymed. I palmed my face and futilely tried to purge the jingle. If it was making me think stupid things, then I really had it bad. Talk about a hopeless case.

"You're very carefree," Amy observed.

"Live with doom over your head for a few months and you either get used to it or go crazy. And by the way," she waited until we passed a giggling couple before saying anything. "Proper introductions. Tattletale."

Amy's mouth made a small 'o'. "Just Amy."

"Oh," Lisa began knowingly. "I don't think you're just anything." She mimed zipping up her lips and throwing away the key. "I can keep secrets. Sometimes."

"Do I want to know?" I asked.

Amy hunched her shoulders. "You really don't."

I let it drop. "Gotcha."

The look the healer gave me was brimming with relief and so much gratitude for not pushing that I honestly felt terrible for being curious in the first place. Amy didn't owe me anything and even if Lisa had ferreted something out with her bullshit power, the former New Wave healer was entitled to a few secrets.

As we kept walking the number of people on the Boardwalk thinned. It swelled again once we got near Fugly Bob's but further down the beach was dead in comparison. By the time we reached the ferry station, there was no one else in sight.

Amy's phone buzzed shortly after we got there and she checked it. "He'll be here in a minute."

I looked up and down the sandy stretch for a car. Lisa eyed her cake bag, visibly mulling through the pros and cons of eating it now versus saving it until later. Amy bounced on her toes, full of nervous energy.

Behind us, there was a sudden ripping sound like someone had gotten a hold of a plastic bag and pulled.

"Mask!" Amy shrieked. "I said bring a mask!"

"Forgot," a male voice said timidly.

Her head hit the side of the ferry booth with a dull thump and a disgusted groan.

Amy's not-boyfriend was ridiculously pretty. If it wasn't for the long sleeve shirt with a symbol that looked like a gate on it that didn't hide his Adam's apple or pectoral muscles, it would be easy to mistake him for a pretty girl instead. His hair was black and straight, tied up in a high ponytail and spiked gauge earrings. Pretty boys didn't do it for me but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just the tiniest bit incredulous at meeting a guy who could outdo me on the feminine scale.

"...everyone knows already," he was saying.

Amy thumped her head again. "No, not everyone knows but if you keep doing stuff like this, then everyone will know."

"Bad thing?" he ventured.

Amy held up a finger and paused. I could see where some of the dissonance was coming from, a publicly known unmasked hero lecturing someone else on keeping their identity hidden. "You are so goddamn lucky everyone here has powers," she said instead. "Be more careful next time." She waved a hand at us. "Taylor and Lisa." Then swept her hand back and growled out, "Daisuke"

"New trigger?" Lisa asked sympathetically.

"Trigger?" I repeated.

"Bad day. Get powers." The blonde explained tersely. So there was a name for the kind of shit I went through. I didn't know whether to be relieved that it was a known thing or horrified. Did that mean that all of them here went through something just as bad? Or worse?

"Been a few months," Daisuke shuffled on his feet. "You guys needed to go somewhere?"

"You're Amy's chauffeur?" Lisa smirked.

"Glory Girl Express Airlines only has room for one passenger," he quipped. "I don't mind, good practice."

The sister of the aforementioned Glory Girl fluttered a hand in the air. "You mean you can't say no when people ask you for trivial stuff."

"Right," he agreed easily. "Like fetching your purse."

Amy whirled on him. "That was different and you know it!"

"And what about the time you called me at Min's sleepover because you forgot that you left Mister Stu-"

I was treated to the sight of Amy Dallon moving so fast I thought she had a Mover rating as she slapped her hand over his mouth and quickly said, "Nope! You lose your talking privileges."

Lisa looked like she wanted to squeeze Amy's cheeks and thoroughly embarrass her. "Teddy rabbit?"

Daisuke looked at her in surprise and pried the hand off his mouth. "How'd you know?"

"Psychic." I was getting the feeling she liked delivering that line a little too much.

Amy threw her hands up and stalked off towards the water. "Let's get going before I hurt somebody."

We all followed her at a more sedate pace. The clouds were finally beginning to clear up leaving a wide expanse of blue. It was low tide, just starting to shift, the water creeping up further and further up the sand bank with each wave that rolled in. I tried very hard to keep my power's sticky fingers out of the crabs I could sense.

Lisa glanced at Amy's friend out the corner of her eye. "She give you the 'it's not you, it's me' speech yet?"

He nodded. "Twice."

"Giving up?"

"Never." Shinta frowned thoughtfully, gazing at Amy's stomping figure. "She saved my mom."

The blonde smiled softly at that. "Atta boy."

Amy slowed down, letting us catch up. She puffed a bit, her cheeks red and sand all over her sneakers. "Forgot to say," she sucked in a breath. "Snake's. For where we were going."

Daisuke shrugged. "Cool."

With a tearing sound, the world warped. The beach spun and swirled like it was being sucked down a tube and in it's place, a suburban neighborhood was spat back out. In the space of a single step, I went from wet sand and pebbles to asphalt. My foot hit the suddenly unyielding ground hard.

Some girls want guys with cars. Amy had a teleporter.

"Should have warned you," Daisuke said apologetically as I got up from a near stumble.

"It's fine." The ball of my foot tingled. At least I hadn't stubbed a toe. Amy, out of the blue, poked me in the cheek and the tingling vanished. I rolled my eyes and she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Can you do that to anywhere?" Lisa asked.

"I've got a limit of about a mile but yeah, even if I haven't been there before. Need direction though."

Her expression turned shifty. "Useful that."

"I guess?" He eyed her warily. "What are you thinking…"

"You know," she smiled. "Stuff."

I was thinking about 'stuff' right there along with her. A teleporter was huge tactically, even for something simple like port in, grab Coil and port out into custody before he knew what was happening. Or if that wasn't possible, getting in a huge force multiplier in the right spot, like a certain dragon., or rescuing the other hostages he had, or...it probably wouldn't be that easy, not by a long shot, but it was a start.

The house Amy led us to matched the others on the street. Two story, white with a gorgeous cherry wood door with diamond patterned leadlight windows. The driveway was a curved U leading up to the front door and then back out onto the street. The few flowers it had blooming by the front steps had Amy's fingerprints written all over them with bright, odd colors and bizarre shapes. Not too odd, but a little out there. Nothing an excuse of 'exotic seeds' couldn't gloss over.

This looked like south Brockton Bay with the bigger and brighter homes for the better off, but seeing as how much of southside was Empire-claimed, I doubted it. There were pockets around the downtown neutral zone of upper class neighborhoods, so we must be in one of them.

"Doesn't live in Dragon City, huh?" Lisa inclined her neck to look over the house.

"She's lived here for years." Amy hunted around the potted plants. "Her husband passed away a few years ago, so it's just her now."

Shinta stepped up and rang the doorbell just as Amy came up with a spare key. The door opened almost immediately.

"Annnnd...not pizza."

"Peter?" I blurted out.

Sure enough, Winslow's jersey number 17 stood in the doorway with headphones hanging around his neck and a fistful of dollar bills. This time his bracelet was a red, yellow and black coral snake and it looked brand new. Amy sighed and dropped the key back into a plant.

"Everyone's here, aren't they?"

"Pretty much." Peter nodded. "Tony's wrecking Kam at Mario Kart so bad. It's pitiful."

"That's because he cheats like a motherfucker." Daisuke said dryly.

"All skill, man. Taylor, hey." He smiled with a curiously uninjured face. "What's up?" He moved aside for us to brush past him and scanned the road before pouting. "I'm hungry, damn it."

"What are you doing here?"

"Hanging out," he said in a Captain Obvious tone. "Speaking of, did Miss Dallon break the rules?"

"Miss Dallon did not!" Amy called back in annoyance from further in the house. I could hear Lisa snickering as she followed behind her. Daisuke faded from sight with that violent sound, and then I heard his voice even further in the house.

Peter's eyebrows jumped as he put the money onto a small table by the door. "Okay then, welcome to the club." He held out his hand but before I could shake it, his arm rippled. "Browbeat."

Open, was my first thought. Very open. His question of Amy was probably a code of some sort, telling them what kind of guests were coming through but once I got the 'all clear' I was in. No questions asked. It wasn't some kind of ploy to gain my trust, I already had theirs. The scarf seemed uncomfortably warm around my neck. I tugged it free and let the gold dragon glitter in the light.

I shook his hand firmly. "Hachi."

It only hit me how bizarre it all was after. A high school jock was shaking hands with school pariah because we were both parahumans and affiliated with a gang. Bizarre didn't quite cover it. Surreal. "Kam is here too?"

"Yeah," he said casually. "I met her first. Independent hero-ing and all that." He settled back on a cushioned wooden bench by a mat for shoes and coat rack. Sneakers I thought were his sat on the floor by him, black and red Air Jordans. "Independents don't last long. Made sense to join up."

He said it completely matter-of-factly, giving me the impression that it actually was the entire story. He weighed pros and cons, maybe talked to a few people and then made his decision. Cut and dry. Done. "Why not join the Wards?"

"Thought about it," he admitted. "They were giving my parents some pitches. But," he wiggled his sock covered toes. "Losing team."

You don't become a hero to win, was my first thought but it rang hypocritical. Hadn't I done the same thing? If winning wasn't the point, I'd be rubbing shoulders with Gallant or Clockblocker right now.

"Makes sense," I said instead.

He smiled a little. "Thought so too. Main room is straight ahead, right? But if you're going to wander around, shoes have to come off."

"Oh!" I bent down and started untying my laces. "A cultural thing?"

"If beating your ass 'cause you tracked mud on the mats is cultural, sure."

"Speaking from experience?" I teased him, feeling a little unsure of myself poking fun at someone else.

Peter let his jaw slacken, putting on a comically haunted expression. "There was no winning that day." His stomach chose that moment to gurgle loudly. He clutched it and moaned, "I give up. There's a doorbell, they can use it. Raiding the fridge."

He left the money where it was and I had to blink. It was a bit of a brain bender thinking of precognition. Did Snake know she would be meeting me before I did? Did her disapproval stem from what she saw me do in the future? Did she already know she was going to say no, but made me show up on Pier 4 anyway?

Regardless, it was likely that no one was getting away with anything in her house so something like leaving twelve dollars on a table? Trivial. If anyone was going to take it, Snake would know before the theft even happened.

Just thinking that; we were here to find out what would happen if we set the bombs along Lisa's spine off without actually doing so made me feel strange.

"Where can I find Snake?" I asked before he left the foyer. Peter gave me a one-armed shrug.

"Through the main room to the right, out the sliding glass door. She's usually on the porch."

I swallowed some of my anxiety. Everything was going to be okay. "Thanks."

"No problem and hey," he turned back and slugged his cheek in slow-mo. "You got Emma good."

I laughed.

I had to admit, there was nothing on the outside that would have prepared me for what Snake's interior decorating looked like. The classic white of the outside siding had been shuffled away in exchange for walnut colored wallpaper that had borders of moss green with silver scrawling writing. Sanskrit?

Color was on everything from the mats that dominated the floor, to the oil paper banners hanging from the ceiling. The furniture was all polished wood with scrawling, carved designs and the chairs were square and utilitarian. Eclectic murals hung on the walls with images of what might have been Buddha and the main room had what looked like an honest to god tiger pelt throw rug.

"Is that real?" I said outloud. It even still had it's teeth showing through a gaping maw. The thing was huge, easily six feet across and the skinned legs with claws were splayed out at its sides. I nudged a foot with my toes. The claws alone must have been about four inches long.

Shit.

I was suddenly very glad it was just a rug.

"Getting it through customs must have been a bitch."

I jumped and whirled around, heart in my throat as if I had transplanted myself into the depths of an Indian jungle where tigers were alive and one was stalking me.

Kameswari stood behind me holding a blue plastic bowl, popcorn halfway to her mouth and eyebrows raised. She had on a similar tunic and pants combo that Min's mother had worn, except with a plunging V neck that could be tied closed. She left it open. Cue bust envy. Amusingly, she had little Taj Mahal earrings. "Jumpy," she observed.

I waved a hand at the rug. "Teeth and claws." I looked back at it, the eye sockets had a resin stand-in of pale yellow and slitted pupils underneath angry brows. That snarling mouth could probably swallow my head. "And teeth."

Kam smiled her little, subdued smile and finished popping the popcorn in her mouth. She didn't have Kali's symbol on, which made me wonder. Did she only declare herself when she went out?

"Why does she have a tiger rug?"

"It's neat?" Kam offered as an explanation. "Snake's from Tibet. Something rich people do over there, I guess. The snow leopard one is upstairs."

Nothing like the preserved corpse of a giant, vicious cat to get the conversation going.

"Amy invite you?" Kam asked.

"Yeah, we're friends." I think. I hope. I opened my mouth to ask what her cape name was, but thought better of it. If every parahuman had one of those 'triggers,' worst day of their lives in order to get powers it was probably better I don't go digging. Kam didn't seem nearly as upfront as Peter and I didn't want to push my luck. I had no way to be one hundred percent sure she even was a cape. Maybe she and Browbeat had a sidekick thing going on.

Still, like Peter, her face was free of any blemishes like the split lip I could have sworn she sported in the meeting with the principal. I was briefly jealous. Being able to heal myself would have been amazing.

"Thank you," I choked out.

"Hmm?" Crunch. Crunch. Went the popcorn.

"For what you did with Sophia," I explained. I didn't know what would have happened if it hadn't been for the blue jello, but I knew it couldn't have been anything good.

"She had it coming." Kam's smile took on a slant. "Don't mention it."

"Did Amy heal you?" That was subtle enough, I thought.

No dice.

Kam shook her head. "Heal fast."

I stared at her with a bit of irritation. She really wasn't making this easy for me. It wasn't that I felt entitled to knowing, but I was really hoping that she, what, trusted me? Liked me enough? I didn't know so I dropped it entirely.

An older guy walked into the room with reading glasses tucked into the U collar of his shirt and crew cut brown hair, snagged the popcorn bowl from Kam's unresisting hands and walked out. "Hey newbie," he called back, breaking the awkward non-conversation we were having.

"Who was…?"

"Tony." Kam smiled. "You get used to it."

I could remember Peter mentioning that name before. "Mario Kart?"

Kam looked a little frustrated as she brushed a hand through her long hair. "He's playing Daisuke. I volunteered to get the popcorn so I could finally stop losing."

"It's Mario Kart," I said. I wasn't one to play video games but I could vaguely remember the television commercials of brightly colored go carts driven by cartoon characters. It really wasn't what came to mind when I thought of 'competitive' or 'challenging.'

"Yeah, well, it's Tony."

Behind me, quick footsteps rushed up and I turned in time to see Amy slide along the wooden floor in her socks past the glass covered cupboards and low table expertly. She did that a lot I see. "We're about to start, did you want to…?"

"Yes!" I nearly yelled. There was no way I was sitting on the sidelines now. I felt like I had invested too much into it to not see it through, like to do otherwise would be passing off the responsibility. I knew Lisa wouldn't appreciate me thinking like that, of her as something I was responsible for but I couldn't help it.

"Something going on?" Kam asked.

"Saving someone," Amy was very confident, head held high. "We might need Peter, can you get him?"

The Indian girl nodded. "Right."

"Last I heard, he was getting food." I volunteered, then to Amy, "What would he be doing?"

"Modeling. His body is fascinating and he has no problems showing it off," Amy said dryly. My jaw dropped.

"What?"

"Just like my sister; that was too easy," Amy grinned. "Come on!"

I followed her, cautiously hopeful.

Snake's porch was actually an outdoor extension of the house itself. The sliding glass doors opened onto a lopping walkway that was closed off from the outside was full length windows and the walkway itself was covered in the same wood flooring used inside. The upper fifths of the windows were separated with latches so air could be let in but they were currently shut. The entire thing showed off the spacious backyard garden and curled around an old oak in the center. Just walking through was calming.

Snake herself was at the outermost center point on the loop, by one of the windows that had a handle and door frame leading down black stone steps. Surprisingly, Nabiki was seated a little ways away at a low table with a cup of steaming tea. She looked, well, better was subjective; she still looked like she wouldn't mind if everyone in the world up and died tomorrow but she'd been cleaned up some.

Lisa was outside, pacing.

Snake looked me over, still with that bland smile on her face. "Got what you wanted, did you?"

I was highly tempted to just flip her the bird. "Happy now?"

"No."

Saw that coming.

"Are you helping at least?" I spat out. It was probably uncharitable of me, but one thing I could do very well was hold a grudge. Ironically considering his temper, Dad was a forgive and forget kind of guy. My tendency to stew came from Mom.

"Why would I not?" Snake asked rhetorically as she stepped outside and used her cane to get down the stairs. That dissonance jolted me out of my negativity.

"Why hasn't Amy healed you?"

"I did not wish her to," Snake said. "I earned this wound. I would remember it."

We all gathered by a weeping willow tree with bright yellow lilies blooming at it's base. Lisa was rubbing her hands together, outwardly looking calm. I fidgeted and prodded a fly into making a suicidal strafing run underneath some flowers where a starving spider was waiting in its web.

Peter trailed off the porch with his socks folded together and stuffed into a pant pocket leaving him barefoot. "What's up?"

"Bomb disposal," Amy said.

"And I was having such a nice day," he quipped. "Pizza finally arrived. They were late, didn't charge me a dime."

"Are you always so detached?" I blurted out.

Peter just gave me this patient look before shrugging the question off. "What am I doing?"

"It's basically a set of implanted bombs along her spine," Amy explained. Lisa waved. "There's one on the inside of her skull too and they are all connected. And, uh, you've been blown up before so…"

"Not my best moment," he cracked a grin. "Dense bone, dense as I could make it around the bombs. Guessing breaking the connections are a bad thing?"

"Very," Lisa said tersely.

"Right, so, here." He held out his arm and Amy laid a hand on it. "You want to shape the explosion out so spongy on the outside and all the rest like this." I couldn't see any visible changes in his arm but that was to be expected with bone deep changes. "Got it?"

"The main problem is we think it's monitoring her vitals, maybe the electricity going through the spine?" Amy chewed on her bottom lip. "So I need to build artificial nerves and power them."

"Go the whole shebang," Peter said. "Give it a pulse just in case."

"Heart, nerves, I like the hexagonal patterns in the hardened marrow there."

"Thanks."

"Focus," Lisa pleaded. "Don't keep a girl in suspense. Yay or nay?"

Amy smiled and reached out with her other hand. Lisa grasped it tightly. "I'm going to dull your pain receptors in that area, alright?"

"Right." Lisa blinked rapidly. "Okay."

Amy took a deep breath. "I'm going to do what we just talked about and make a set of secondary organs to trick the sensors. and encase it all. Then we can pull it all out at once."

"Or transfer it," Peter volunteered.

Lisa nodded and for a moment, I could have sworn there were tears in her eyes. "I'm ready."

Amy's face darkened. "If I ever get my hands on who did this to you…"

The next few minutes were nerve-wrackingly tense. Lisa's back bulged in a line of growths like something was hatching underneath the skin complete with audio of squelching and shifting flesh. I swallowed my lunch back down.

Snake looked on passively.

When that was done, a solid, fleshy column running down the length of Lisa's spine, Amy breathed," And now for the one in your head. Just going to move it."

A part of Lisa's scalp sunk and twisted slowly.

"Drink a lot of milk after this," Amy whispered.

"I'll do anything you want," Lisa replied.

Amy's smile was distracted. "Moving it ou-"

"Stop."

Every one of us froze.

Peter chuckled weakly. "We just died a horrible death there, didn't we?"

Snake frowned as she leaned heavily on her cane. "You'll need to make it resistant to burning. It's a chemical explosion of some sort, creating corrosive fire."

Amy nodded. "Doing."

"Fire?" Lisa said suddenly. She looked around as if seeing where she was, who she was with for the first time. "Oh fuck."

There was a blink of bright light barely seconds later, before the whump of an explosion slammed into my chest along with pain, and fire. I felt it strike my arms and shoulder, and then the burning started as my clothes ignited where it hit.

I felt fabric burn all the way through until it reached my skin and I felt it melt from the heat. I heard a loud, tortured scream as I landed on my back and rolled, trying to put the fire out, dimly wondering who was screaming. I managed to scrape off the worst of it as I frantically rolled, leaving smoking patches of glowing white that still hissed and burned as they melted small divots inside a ring of burnt grass. I only saw what looked like a metallic sheen to the burning substance.

I looked up and around, hoping, everything seemed to be burning. The leaves of the willow above us crumbling into ash. I could see Peter, the skin on his hands blackened. Amy and Snake. Lisa.

That person was still crying.

It wasn't until I took a strangled, horrified breath and it stopped that I realized the scream was coming from me.

Lisa didn't make a sound as she fell. A puppet with its strings cut.