Working title: The Dizzy Worm

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Taylor had gotten a job.

A small one, just babysitting for one lady uptown when her daughter's half brother wasn't available. She had just fallen into it during a shopping trip, helping a rather frazzled woman pack her car while her daughter made a bit of a scene.

Apparently the woman was so grateful, and impressed how she distracted the little girl when she had to run back in the store for her purse, she decided to get Taylor's contact information for when she needed a babysitter. Which was a lot.

The cost of being a single mother she guessed.

And it was a nice distraction from her usual life, play with the baby girl and get paid. It was a good thing both in her eyes and her dad's.

"Hey Ms. Anders." Taylor greeted from the kitchen table with her homework spread in front of her, "How was work?"

Ms. Anders put her purse down on the foyer table and let out a sigh, "Exhausting." She didn't offer anything more as she reached the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water for herself. She didn't like alcohol in the house, what with her daughter Aster finding new and interesting way to get into anything and everything. She had to keep most of her medicine cabinet in her glove compartment now.

After taking a quick sip and placing the cool plastic against her forehead she asked, "So how was Aster?"

"Pretty good, only tried to eat the remote today. I put her to bed maybe ten minutes ago."

Ms. Anders let out another sigh, she liked being home in time to put Aster to bed. To feel like she was actually involved in her daughter's life instead of just a fringe presence. Taylor knew as much, but between Ms. Anders's two jobs and the on and off court battle with her ex over custody she didn't have the time.

Taylor was happy she could take some of the pressure off the poor woman.

"Thanks for that." She said honestly and tiredly, "So what are you working on today?"

"Just some math problems, got some current events after that and I'm done with the last of my winter homework."

"Well, feel free to stay until its done. I'll leave your pay for the night on the counter, okay?" She said as she stood to head for her purse, "Do you need a ride home today?"

"You don't have to."

"Taylor, I've said this before, I don't mind. Besides, I can't have a pretty girl like you walking home alone in a city like this." She sent a half glare towards the window and may have muttered something, but Taylor couldn't make it out.

And she didn't bother denying the 'pretty girl' comment. Ms. Anders already made it perfectly clear that she stood by what she said and wouldn't hear of Taylor thinking herself in any other way.

"Thanks Ms. Anders."

"No, Taylor, Thank you." She said, giving Taylor's left shoulder a firm squeeze as she passed by.

Taylor really liked her job.
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The day back from winter break was nice. Not great, she was going back to school after all, but not bad. She came back from a nice winter break where she spent most of her time playing with an adorable baby girl and celebrating Christmas with her father, over all very relaxing and enough for her to forget how horrible high school could be.

Except for Lauren.

Lauren was nice enough.

Maybe they couldn't really be called friends, as much as Taylor wished they could, they were certainly friendly acquaintances. Something that helped her get through the last stretch of days till winter break, well her and the Anders. Something she fully planned on thanking the girl for, again, when she saw her and asked about her vacation.

That is, if she could find her.

She could have sworn she saw Lauren earlier but she had turned too quickly away for her to be sure. Which was weird and it didn't mean anything at all.

Or so she thought and hoped as she turned down the hallway towards her locker, only to pause as a repugnant scent that she had been smelling since she stepped through the school doors increased at the turn.

Something must have died in the heaters. She hoped to all that the janitors manage to clear out the smell by the end of the day. The smell was already making her gag.

But it wasn't a dead animal, or even in the heaters. It was the used tampons and pads, bloodied and fermenting, crawling with bugs, that were shoved to the brim in her locker. A few of them tumbled out as she had opened the door, landing on her shoes and putting her on the verge of puking right there.

The only thing stopping her from doing just that the hand she used to cover her nose blocking her mouth.

She had thought the bullying had ended, that life was going to get better, but apparently she was wrong.

They were just waiting to make things worse.

Swallowing her rising bile, she looked up and into the crowd of milling students, some plugging their nose in disgust while some sneered at the trash or at her. Some stopped and stared, as if waiting for something or maybe just to see what was going on.

She didn't know, all she knew is that she saw one familiar face in the crowd.

"Lauren?"

She wouldn't meet Taylor's eyes.

And then Taylor felt someone grab her by her right shoulder and shove her forward, into the locker. She slammed into the tiny metal space hard, she was almost thankful for the padding the disgusting content provided.

Not so much when the locker door slammed shut and the sound of laughter leaked through the grates. The laughing voices may have said something but she couldn't hear them over her own retching and interrupted pleas to be let out.

Her hand started to slam into the locker, her body shifting uncomfortably through the filth. Her voice ragged from retching, bile coming out even as she began to call out for help. Begging Lauren and Emma to let her out, trying to reach out to any bits of friendship that she had left in either girl.

It appeared to be none.

All she received was laughter and mummers.

She called out again and again, trying to call for help from anyone. For anyone to do something, anything, to help her.

No one answered.

Her voice became nothing more than a whimper as the bell rang and people started to leave for class, with none of them even bothering to give her locker a second glance. They left her there, alone.

Tears started to fall from her eyes as the crowd dispersed. As they did again and again with three more bells, ignoring her pleas for help.

None of them were going to help her.

She was left there all by herself.

"No" A voice boomed to her right, deep and masculine, stirring in the air like an echo. "Never alone."

"Because we are here." Another voice said to her left, soft and feminine, ringing through the locker like a bell. "Open the door."

"Don't tell me what to do." The voice of the man said, though she felt something extend… from her back, and through the door. She heard a few clicks and then the door opened, allowing her and a number of the lockers filth to come out with her.

She gasped for air as she crawled away, trying to get as far away from the locker as she could.

"Are you alright?" The feminine voice asked, seeming to come over her left shoulder.

Taylor spun around, searching for voice but she saw no one.

"Behind you." The male voice said jeeringly, causing her to spin around again. "Over here." She spun again.

"Stop that." The woman admonished, and Taylor felt something reached out from her shoulder blade and slid out from her neck line. And a hand of pure white tapped her face, "We are here. But I don't think here is a good place to have this conversation." The hand reached down and tugged on her elbow, "Let's go."

The touch, even as warm and as gentle as it was, caused her to panic, even more than she already was. So, she ran.

From the locker, from the school, and hopefully the voices.

She could only escape the first two.

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She could fly!

Not like other capes, who could do it through sheer force of will, but she could. With wings, one so dark it almost couldn't be seen in the night and the other so bright she stuck out like the moon. The let her race and glide through the sky as if she were a bird of prey, faster.

Faster than even some cars on the highway below her.

"Beautiful isn't it." Her left wing said as a head started to shift from its bright mass, it was beautiful and feminine as the voice itself. Almost Angelic in appearance.

"Yeah." Taylor answered, looking down upon her city, her home. The one she wanted to protect, how she was going to protect. With all the power the three of them could do together.

"Yes, yes, very pretty. Now can we bash some heads in?" Her right wing said, twisting into a horrifying skull like face as he did so.

Taylor just rolled her eyes at her right wing's attitude, already used to the wing's impatience and violent tendencies. At least she could put them to good use while being a hero.

So, listening to her wing, she angled herself downward towards the street below. Ready to do some justice for her city.

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So the idea is that instead of administering bugs Taylor's shard administered the partial shards she got from Purity and Shadow Stalker. The right shadow wing being a Stranger/Breaker mix like it's 'mother' and similarly the left light wing being a Blaster like its own with both of them have Changer powers. Not sure if Taylor has Changer powers of her own, apparently its cannon for the character who's powers I'm basing this on. Again never played the game.

Based on Dizzy from Guilty Gear.