Interlude D1

Danny felt his back crack as he shrugged out of his coat, trying to get it onto the hanger without moving too much. It was a lost cause. He was getting too old and this city was too cold this time of year. Between the general aches of growing older and his more specific brand of frustrations and annoyances - he really needed to eat better - his back was never going to feel right again.

Finally getting the coat hung, he grunted. There was a wrapped plate for him sitting next to the microwave. Taylor was too good to him. She shouldn't be taking care of him, it was a father's job to take care of his child. She hadn't used to cook this much, or make this many leftovers. Had he been spacing out more? Forgetting to eat? Forgetting to make her food? Did she feel like she needed to make something for him just so that the both of them would get something?

Maybe if he had come home earlier he could have asked her. But things had been so busy. He hadn't even been able to call that PRT man back after they'd left a message. He'd finally been able to get the guys work after that contract for clearing some of the scrap had come in. He couldn't waste it by talking to the PRT about some gang or other that was threatening the DWU. There was always a gang rattling their sabers; if something truly dangerous was going to happen then they would have sent a hero down to the docks.

He smiled as he took the plate from the microwave. The Protectorate were stretched thin, but they were doing better. Ever since Blackout had joined up, the Wards had been doing better and word on the streets was that he was going to become a full Protectorate member in under a year. That would be good; more heroes was always a good thing and he had good synergy with a lot of the current members in the Bay. They might be able to make some actual improvements soon.

Soon, soon, it was always 'soon'. It was never 'now'. He needed to talk to Taylor, he needed to make sure she was okay, find out why she had been skipping school, if the bullying was still a problem. He needed to do it now and not soon.

Maybe tomorrow when he got home. She'd just get angry if he woke her up to try to talk.

Moving the empty plate to the sink, Danny finished cleaning up and went to grab his bag to bring upstairs. He had just grabbed the strap and straightened up when he froze, all muscles locking up.

There was a cell phone on the hall end table.

There was a cell phone on the hall end table.

There was a CELL PHONE on the HALL END TABLE.

Danny's fingernails were digging into his palms and his breath was coming in short panting gasps as he stared at the box in front of him. His body shook as he forced down the urge to start shouting for his daughter and to throw the phone into the trash and take the trash to the dumpster right the fuck now.

No. He couldn't do that. He certainly hadn't bought the phone. So that meant it was Taylor's. And he couldn't destroy her property like that. Not without an explanation first. She was a teenager, she lived under his roof, she had to follow his rules, and they had agreed together that one of those rules was supreme: No cell phones.

He picked up the box, turned on his heel - a scowl still marring his features - and marched up the stairs.

He didn't knock as he pushed open Taylor's door, the phone box already held in front of him like the weapon it was, and his lungs already full of the air needed to shout and demand what she had been thinking.

He made it a single step into the room before the yell died in his throat and he froze a second time that night.

There was a second girl in his daughter's bed. Both were dead asleep, but both were clearly curled up against each other. Almost like how Taylor and Emma used to do in their old sleepovers…When had Emma stopped coming over? When had this girl started? Who was this blonde? Why hadn't Taylor said anything about…Were they…? No, they still had their clothes on, so that was something at least. But how could she keep the fact that she had a girl sleeping over in her bed from him?!

Was this why she had bought a phone? So that she could talk to this girl? But…

The blonde was wearing Taylor's shirt.

He drew in another breath to start shouting again, before his eyes widened with a further scan of the room. There were no clothes on the floor or in the hamper or on the chair that weren't his daughter's. And there was no backpack or duffel back where there could be more clothes stuffed away. Maybe the blonde had put her things in the closet? But that didn't make sense at all…

Taylor had been making more food for over two weeks now. He'd barely seen her outside of one or two meals and she had been in a rush both times to get back to her room to do 'homework'. Homework for class that she apparently barely attended.

Danny's eyes narrowed to slits as he stared at the girl sleeping in his daughter's arms. Her hair was short enough to barely be more than peach fuzz. It was a small miracle he could even tell the color.

Some of the boys had complained about being harassed by mercenaries from Coil's gang two weeks ago. Mercenaries that were looking for someone.

Danny carefully backed out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him. He made it into his own bedroom before his legs turned to jelly. He barely managed to get onto the bed before his head fell into his hands, the phone box forgotten beside him.

"Did my daughter attack Coil and steal a girl from him? She's not even a cape…is she?"

He stared into his hands, dumbfounded at the memory of the girls.

"And were they cuddling?!"

I finished pulling on my clothes in the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror, trying to decide if my hair was good or not. Of course it wasn't good, I had just showered and I didn't really have time to do anything except blow dry it. Of course it wasn't going to be pretty. It did look…nice, though. It could be worse. It had been worse. It had been a lot worse recently. I usually liked what my hair naturally looked like, it was one of the only things I did like about my appearance.

Maybe I should cut it now? Would Nancy like that better? Or would she think that I was drawing attention to her own short hair?

"I should just ask her," I muttered. Running a brush through it to get rid of the few tangles I nodded to myself, trying to will away the blush in my cheeks. I hadn't had a problem changing in my room until she had dubbed me her Dark Rogue and claimed my lap as her personal cushion. I shouldn't have a problem with changing in front of her still. I was reading too much into things. She was hurt, she was recovering, she was just naturally clingy. That was all.

We were just friends.

Yeah, just friends.

"Tell that to yourself a few more times, maybe you'll believe it." I glared at my reflection and set the brush aside.

Walking back to my room, I found Nancy already up and tapping away at the laptop. It looked like she was pulling up PHO, or trying to at least. Maybe I should hit up Glory Girl and try to bust a few Merchant hideouts, I could use the money to get better internet so she wouldn't be bored waiting for a page to load all day.

She waved to me and I waved back, a smile on my face. I ignored the heat in my cheeks or the amused smirk on her lips.

Just 'friends'. Yeah, sure. Suurre.

God, how did I go from rescuing a girl in an alley to making her my live-in girlfriend?! I was a horrible hero! She wasn't in any fit state to make decisions like this either - not just a horrible hero, but a horrible person too…

"I have to head to school. Remember, call me if you need anything, okay? I'll come right back."

Nancy nodded.

"I might try to call Vicky later tonight." Her eyes widened and, even though she tried to hide it, she sucked in a quick breath. "I'll be careful to stay away from Coil, I promise. But I think that if I hit the Merchants with her, things should be safe enough and I should be able to make some money from it too. Maybe, um, upgrade some equipment here?"

Nancy shook her head, scowling. She got up and nearly dived under the bed, leaving only her legs and butt still sticking out in the open. I swallowed and looked resolutely at the wall. A snap drew my eyes back to Nancy, she had pulled out a binder and flipped to one of the pages near the front, pointing at it.

I frowned, bending down to read the label of the chart. "Portfolio index. This is dad's account. I don't see what the…wait…Is that an increase since…Nancy, what did you do?"

She winced. Putting down the binder she tapped her head and then gestured weakly to the computer.

"Did you help my dad make more money?"

She held up two fingers pinched together. Then she winced and looked away, seeming to fold in on herself.

Before she could even finish curling up, I had already wrapped my arms around her and laid my chin on top of her head. Rubbing circles on her back I just held her for a few moments letting her shudders subside before I started talking. "Nancy, I really, really appreciate the help. But you know that you didn't have to right? You don't have to use your power to help us. I didn't help you because you had powers, I helped you because you needed help. You don't have to be useful to stay here. You're my - um - you're my friend. I appreciate the extra money, but you didn't have to do that and you don't have to feel guilty about it."

She pushed me back. Biting her lip, as she stared at me, she slowly shook her head.

"No? You don't feel guilty? But then why were you cringing. You -" I cut off and gasped. She had been using her power to help, but she had been doing it in secret.

Coil had been using her for her power, hadn't he? She was terrified of contacting the PRT in case word got back to him - or maybe - in case they used her for her power. And now she had used her power for me and told me.

She winced, glancing down at the ground, nodding once. Huh? Oh, Thinker, right.

I squeezed one of her hands and gently lifted her chin back up with my other hand. "Nancy, I'll say it as many times as I have to. I will never use you for your power. And I will never let anyone else do that either."

She sniffled. Her mouth opened and I could see her tongue and lips starting to shape a word. My eyes widened and I just held her hand tighter.

Then she gasped, her mouth slamming shut again, her eyes screwing tight, and her fingers clamping around mine in a grip tight enough to leave me numb. Violently shaking her head, she collapsed into me, her free hand clutching at my shirt and her head resting against my shoulder as she silently sobbed.

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay. You don't have to talk. I get it, I get it."

Nancy shook her head.

"I do. You trust me, that's what you were going to say, right?"

She sniffled, her cries quieting. After what felt like an eternity, she nodded.

"See, I'm getting better at reading you. You don't have to talk if you're not ready. That's fine. And I know that you flinching before was just a knee-jerk reaction. I know that you trust me. I am your Dark Rogue after all, right?" I said, finishing with a smile.

Nancy pulled back again, her tongue caught between her teeth as she weakly chuckled.

"You gave me a sword and everything. I have to protect you now, I don't have a choice anymore." Not that I ever really had a choice. Not since I saw her stumbling in that alley. Not since I took off my mask to try and calm her down.

Shit. I had never had a chance.

Nancy laughed this time. Not the watery chuckle from before, but an actual laugh that had her whole body shaking. As her laugh petered off, she nodded to me, flashing a thumbs up. Then she pointed to the binder, pointed to herself and gave two thumbs up.

"You protect me too?"

She smiled, her head bobbing enthusiastically.

"Well it is greatly appreciated. But again, you don't have to if you don't want to."

Nancy just gave me an 'okay' sign. Then she pulled me to my feet and pushed me towards the door.

"Call me if you need me!"

She mimed a phone at her ear, blew me a kiss, and closed the door in my face.

I groaned, leaning my head against the door. "You know exactly what you just did to me, you are a fucking evil woman," I muttered with a half smile. I heard muffled chuckling on the other side of the door.

Smiling and shaking my head at her, I turned and walked down the stairs. I didn't have time for breakfast anymore, but that was fine. I could just grab a pop-tart or something and eat on the…bus…

"Dad…"

"Sit down, Taylor."

"…I have to get to school."

He shook his head and pushed the kitchen chair across from him out with his foot. "I already called the school to tell them you would be out today. I said it was a family emergency, which it is. Please sit down."

I licked my suddenly very dry lips as I slid into the seat. What had he…Oh no. He had his hand on a cell phone box. I had…I had left that on the table…Oh fuck.

Maybe this wasn't as bad as it could be?

"We have a few things to talk about, Taylor. One of which is this," he rattled the phone box, "and another is the refugee you're keeping hidden in your room."

I could actually feel the blood drain from my face. I didn't know that was something a person could feel happen. I placed both hands flat on the table and tried to ignore how all of the bugs within my range were running in circles and flying zig-zags. I had to manually push them to quiet down and go back to normal even as I let the ones that were hidden away continue their erratic movements.

"Is the phone so you can keep in contact with her, Taylor?" Dad asked, his voice low, controlled, and as far as anyone else would be able to tell, completely calm. I knew him better. He was not calm. He was holding himself back, but he was not calm. His jaw was too tight, the knuckles on his hands were white and his back was too straight. He was not calm.

"Yes."

"I'm not comfortable with this. I'm not comfortable with this at all, Taylor."

"It's not safe for her to be without a means of contacting someone in an emergency. It's not safe for us to not have phones. Mom died years ago, Dad."

"Your mother -"

"And it was her fault," I hissed. Dad scowled, but I didn't let up. Instead I leaned over the table, my own scowl matching his. "Mom was the one texting while driving. Mom. Not the phone. You don't blame a gun for killing someone, you blame the person firing it. Why are phones different for you, Dad?"

"This is not about -"

"I'm keeping the phone and so is she. If she needs to call me, then she can call me. You should get one too. What if I was grabbed by a gang member, Dad? What if I needed to call for help and I couldn't reach 911 or the police? What if they gave me a chance to call you one last time, except you never answered because I had to call a house phone while you weren't here, because you're never here! You need a phone!"

"This is not about the phone, Taylor!" Dad roared. He clenched his hand, crumpling the box, before he continued, softer, "This is about the girl, and about you."

"She's my friend." When in doubt, lie your ass off. Emma had taught me that at least.

"No, she's not." I glared at my father. How dare he. I didn't even have a chance to rebut him before he continued to talk. "Several of my coworkers told me about how they were roughed up by gang members the other week. Gang members searching for a teenage girl with very short, blonde hair."

It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. All of the air wheezed out of me. Coil was still looking for Nancy. Of course he was. She had been worried, and I had believed her, but…I had thought he might have given up…I was going to have to break my promise to her. I was going to have to find him so that I could stop him. He would never be able to get to her again, I would not allow it.

"Taylor, I know that you took that girl from the gang. I completely understand the instinct, your mother would have done the same, and I'd like to think that I would have as well."

"But?" I was able to whisper.

"But, I need to know…Did you do it with…powers? Are you a cape, Taylor? Normal people, people like me and Kurt, we can't just save someone who's being held by a gang like that. We can call the police or the PRT, but we don't…we don't take them home with us. Heroes don't hide things like that either. Please tell me the truth, Taylor, are you a villain too?"

"Am I what?" I shrieked. "Am I a villain? Am I a fucking villain?! That's what you think?! You, you, you!" The hidden bugs were swirling around and around each other now and the webs they were weaving were intricate, beautiful mosaics of chaos. "I'm a fucking hero, Dad! I saved her! I stopped -"

A hand fell onto my shoulder and I cut myself off, breathing in short pants. Behind me, Nancy squeezed; not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to remind me she was there.

"Hello. I'm Danny Hebert. It's nice to meet you. What's your name?" his voice was softer than I had heard it in…years. He hadn't been that gentle since Mom died.

That hurt.

"Her name is Nancy," I whispered.

"She can talk for herself, Taylor."

I didn't have to use my bugsense to see Nancy shaking her head with a sad not-smile on her face. Dad frowned as I lifted my hand to clutch hers. "No, actually, she can't. Whatever Coil did to her, she can't bring herself to talk or write. We're getting there, slowly. She's getting better. She was able to draw a picture yesterday without freaking out. She's getting better."

"Taylor, that's…extremely serious. She needs professional help."

"Coil would find out if she went to a real doctor. I had Panacea come and look her over. She was…really bad. Getting off of his drugs was killing her. Panacea helped; now we're just working to get her confidence back up."

"Panacea…" Dad shook her head, glancing between the two of us. "Taylor, Nancy, I understand that the two of you think you're doing the right thing, but this isn't healthy. You need actual assistance. My daughter is a wonderful person and I love her, but you need to see a real doctor, a psychiatrist at least. And if it was Coil who had captured you - and with Panacea involved - we need to call the PRT."

Nancy's hand tightened on my shoulder and I snapped my head over to meet my father's gaze. "Dad, we can't talk to the PRT."

"What do you mean we can't talk to the PRT? Of course we can! They're the heroes, they'll be able to help."

"No, you don't understand," I said. "Coil has people working for him in the PRT, moles in the entire organization. If we go to the PRT, then he'll know where she is and he'll kidnap her again! She'll go right back into her own personal hell! And that's not even getting into the problems with the Wards!"

"Honey," Dad said, wiping a hand down his face. "Everyone has contacts in the PRT. The Empire, the ABB, Coil, hell, the DWU has contacts in the PRT. That doesn't mean that those people are high enough up to get anything useful. The PRT isn't stupid, Taylor. They know that some people will be willing to talk for the right price so they give them unimportant jobs and they only have access to trivial information that wouldn't hurt anyone. Whoever this man has inside the system will never have the clearance to know that your friend is being taken to somewhere that she can recover."

Nancy's grip on my shoulder was a vice and she shook her head hard enough I briefly worried about whiplash. I squeezed her hand back to reassure her and said, "Dad, you can't know that for sure. You're not even a cape, you don't have powers, you don't know how this works. You have to trust us on this. If Nancy goes to the PRT, Coil will find out."

"Taylor, please, listen to me, the girl can't communicate because of her trauma. This is not something you deal with hiding out in a teenager's bedroom!"

"I understand her just fine! She trusts me. Which is more than I can say for you right now!"

"I am just trying to -"

"Completely ignore everything we are saying!"

"She's not saying anything!" Dad shouted. Nancy cringing, her head dropping and she moved behind me instead of standing off to the side. My lips curled into a snarl as I glared at my father. "Your friend can't talk, you admitted that she was hooked on drugs, she has no clothes of her own, you're buying her things with your own money, you're skipping school - Taylor this cannot continue. You are shouldering responsibilities that you are not prepared for and are not capable of following through on. I'm sorry, but I can't let this go on."

Every muscle in my body froze. "Just what is that supposed to mean, Dad?"

"I'm going to contact the PRT. I'm…I'll drive there. That should make it so that there is even less chance that Coil can overhear anything. Also…it'll give you two time to say your goodbyes. This won't be forever, Taylor. I'm sure you'll be able to see her again - after she's healthier."

"So. That's how it's going to be, Dad?" Ice would be jealous of the temperature of my voice.

"I'm trying to help, Taylor. I'm trying to help you both. Someday you'll understand, and you'll thank me. Being a parent doesn't mean being a friend for your children, it means doing the best thing for them."

"Do what you feel you have to do then, Dad."

I stood, Nancy following behind me as we walked back upstairs. Once the door to my room was closed behind me, she tried to get my attention, but I just shook my head, and leaned against the door. After three minutes, Dad had finally gotten his keys, his wallet, his car, and had driven out of my range.

I pulled away from the door and fixed my gaze onto Nancy as she wrung her hands together.

"Get a suitcase. We're leaving."