I nearly strangle myself in my sheets, falling out of bed.

Recognizing that they're my sheets, my bed, doesn't make it any easier to stop struggling. In fact, I don't stop until I've managed to free myself entirely. Then it's all I can do not to scream, because that...was it a nightmare? It can't have been. I can still feel the garbage and the...bugs.

I stumble to my feet, and barely make it into the bathroom in time; my stomach is empty, but the dry-heaves are bad enough. I'd thrown up in the locker, coughing and crying and hurting-

"Ugh..."

The sink is busted. I wipe tears from my eyes as I try to get the tap running, but all I can really do is jiggle the knob and watch it not work. Which is...it's fine. It's fine, it's not a problem. I'll just go to the kitchen. I'm not in the locker, it was a nightmare, so I can go to the kitchen and that's fine.

I open my bedroom door.

The hallway outside is ruined. Like part of the house has just been torn away. Along with...everything else beyond it. All that's left are a few floorboards hanging in the air where there's supposed to be a hallway, and...fog. And light. I close my eyes, and when I open them again, nothing's changed. No, that's not true. Now I can see one of the neighbors' houses, hanging in the emptiness outside.

"Okay."

I just...I just need to go to the kitchen. I just want some water. That's all. So I'll...go to the kitchen.

The floorboards don't move, or fall. I shuffle across them until I reach the stairs (because those are still there, that's good) then start down. The steps creak. It's too quiet.

There's a park where the rest of my house should be. I look up, but...it's still hanging there. I haven't left the stairs yet. I could just go back up and crawl into my bed and maybe, maybe, when I wake up again things will make sense.

"Taylor Hebert."

I bite down on my scream, fall back against the stairs...there's a man there. Floating.

Now I know what's happening. It doesn't help. Because if this is a Cape, if all of this is some kind of Parahuman thing, then...then what?

"What's going on?" My voice shakes more than I'd like, but what the fuck? "Who are you?" He's just staring at me, and his eyes are empty, and there's no place for me to hide-

"It's strange. I've heard those same questions a thousand times before." He gestures vaguely, but doesn't move from where he's...hovering. "They ask out of fear. Anger. Indignation. The same questions, the same feelings, again, and again, and again, but this time...it's different.This time...it's new."

I blink, and he's gone...but then there's movement in the corner of my eye and he's sitting beside me. I manage not to scream again, but it's a close thing; he watches, as I press myself into the railing, trying to keep away from him but there's only so far I can go-

"You're afraid of me, Taylor, but I'm not here to hurt you." His head tilts, as he watches me...watches. He's just watching. And talking. "You asked me who I am. I could answer that question. But I'm...curious. Who do you think I am?"

"You..." Is this a good thing? Talking...talking is a good thing, yeah. Because if he's talking, he's not...I don't know, trying to kill me? And if he gets distracted, I could run. Except where would I run? Seeing as the world fell apart at some point. So...keep the creepy Parahuman occupied. Because this kind of bullshit is my life now, isn't it? "You're a Cape?" He blinks, slowly, and I struggle for something more to add. "You're, uh...I don't recognize you from anywhere, so you're...new to Brockton Bay?"

"I am new to this place. It's new to me, as well." He stands and starts walking without a backwards glance. "Follow me."

Considering my other option is to sit here in crazy-sky-land, I pull myself together, stand up, and follow.

"These 'Capes' are of interest to me, but I'm not one of them. I don't weigh the lives or livelihoods of the men and women who live in this world, harming...or protecting...as I see fit. Neither am I one to join in others' games." He slows, just for a moment, and everything seems to shift. "Not directly, at least."

I flinch, as the park vanishes, replaced with...it looks like a street, floating bits of buildings giving the impression of skyscrapers. And there are people, none of them moving. Some are ducking for cover. Crying. Afraid. Others are looking to the sky...I look up.

"He's called 'Legend', and he's hailed as a hero." My 'guide' speaks up again. "He throws himself into his good works. Saving lives. Protecting those he cares for...but did you know he harbors doubts?" I swallow, look away from the brilliant lights frozen overhead. "He questions whether his actions are just. Whether his motives are as selfless as he claims. Whether or not his choices have been...'correct'."

"Aren't they?" Crap. I wince, but don't look away when he turns to stare at me again. "He wants to help people...isn't that a good thing?"

"Perhaps." The street disappears, and I feel myself fall...I don't even have a chance to be afraid until after I hit something solid. My legs go out from under me, and I just sit there for almost a minute. Try to stop freaking out-

"She calls herself 'Shadow Stalker'." I flinch, try to stand and turn at the same time, nearly tripping over my own feet in the process. The Cape...no, he said he's not a Cape...he is still there, along with a cloaked...woman? Girl? I can't tell, but the costume and name are enough to tell me she's a Parahuman too. "They call her a hero, as well." He looks at me, from his spot beside her, then turns his attention down to the alley below. "She saves those that she considers...worthy."

When he doesn't say anything more, doesn't move...I shuffle closer, step by step, until I can peer down over the edge of the roof.

My stomach flips. "Is that...?" No. This is...what? "What is this?" He doesn't say anything, watching me...and he doesn't stop me, when I move to the fire-escape. It rattles, as I climb down, floor by floor, and by the time I reach the ladder at the bottom I'm past hesitating at something like a ten foot drop.

I edge closer to the familiar figure. Around the looming thugs, until I can see her face. Until I confirm what I'd thought I'd seen before.

She's terrified, looking up at her attackers. The tip of the knife is pressed just beneath her eye. I can see it, depressing the skin there...

"And this...is Emma. You know her. But you didn't know this, did you?"

I don't look at him, stepping closer...something cracks, and I wince as it cuts into my foot. It's a phone...Emma's phone. I pick it up. The screen is shattered, the words on the screen almost illegible.

I see my name.

"You didn't know that they threatened to take from her. To hurt her. That they made her feel trapped, and fearful, and weak. That she wanted nothing more than to disappear." I see him moving around me, his attention never wavering. I can feel it, like a prickling...something. "There was no one to help her."

"But what about-" I look up, and...that hero is still up there. "If this...this is something that's already happened? Because I don't remember Emma being..." Hurt. Damaged.

"There was no one to help her...until she fought back." I turn to meet his eyes. That blank look is starting to...grate. "And then she was saved, and told she was strong. Isn't that interesting? This narrow definition of 'strength'. I've seen empires rise and fall for it. This flawed idea that can be so perfectly embodied...in single child."

The alley disappears, replaced by a hallway.

And a locker.

I look at myself. At Sophia Hess, pushing me forward as I gag.

At Emma, smiling as she watches.

"But isn't it a good thing to want to help others?" He's talking again...still talking. Still calm and even. How is he so calm? I can hardly breathe. "To help them find their own strength?"

She's smiling.

"Even when strength is born from suffering?"

It clicks.

Suddenly, the world makes sense again.

And I hate it.

"That wasn't a dream." He doesn't respond. "I was really there. They locked me into that...Emma put me in that locker. Because she...what, because she thought it would make me stronger?" Still nothing. I whirl on him, and I'mangry, now. Angry enough that I don't care what he's doing, what his powers might be, why he's still staring. "The past year and a half they've done everything they could to make my life hell, and it was supposed to be for my benefit!?"

"In her mind."

"Well then she's crazy!"

Silence. And it's really difficult to hold onto that anger, with the silence. It's just too much effort. So...I don't bother. What's the point?

"...why are you showing me this stuff?"

"Because you were curious." He turns, and our surroundings shift again. Leaving us standing on a rooftop. I think it's downtown; I recognize a couple of these buildings. Or, at least, the parts that are actually here. "Because I wanted to know how you would react."

I can't find it in me to be upset. "Oh."

He looks at me, over his shoulder. "I am the Outsider. I've come here because you interest me, Taylor Hebert." I don't have a chance to respond, my breath going out of me as my hand starts to burn. I hiss, and clutch it close...catch sight of the glow just before it vanishes, leaving a jagged design etched into my skin. "This is my Mark."

"What the hell...?"

"You want explanations." He faces me again, lifting into the air. "Come find me."

And then he's gone, leaving me alone in the emptiness. I swallow down my fear, my confusion, my anger...look at the mark. The mark. I can feel it, and it feels like the sudden, thrumming pressure in my bones.

I know that if I wanted, I could be on that rooftop instead of this one.

'Come find me'.

Alright then.

I close my eyes-

And all I leave behind is ash.