The next thing I could feel was a soft cushion beneath me. It was a good feeling to offset the pain that wracked my body, it hurt to even breathe, much less move. It took a modicum of effort to open my eyes. I was met with the sight of Amara standing over me. She held an emptied iv bag with a worried expression on her face.

That changed when our eyes met.

"Good morning", she said with a relieved look, "just relax okay, you're in a safe place now." she said. I tried to heed her advice, if someone like Amara was with me then it was unlikely I'd be in any danger.

Then I heard the explosion. It had originated from a video game, but for the moment it took for me to recognize that id nearly had a heart attack.

"Regent would you please lower the volume?" Amara must've read my face.

"Ugh sure thing nurse not only did I die but now I get to lose my bet. Thanks red!"

'Red' was probably referring to me but what really caught my attention was his name.

'Regent' was a cape name if id ever heard one and it definitely wasn't one I could picture a hero using. The thought of heroes had triggered a recollection the previous details of my night, the fight with the ABB, Sophia's betrayal, all leading up to Armsmaster shooting me with his halberd. Those were the last thoughts I could immediately recall but they only left me wondering why I wasn't with the heroes. Based off my prior interaction with Armsmaster, if I were with them then I would be in a jail cell. Yet I had awoken on a stranger's couch.

It was difficult to move my head, but I could still make out my general surroundings. I was on a couch, one of two, near a coffee table. Wherever I was I doubted it was any type of home, the best comparison I could make would have to be a loft of some kind. Even with only a partial view of the place, I could get a sense of its size. It was easily bigger than my living room, not really having walls so much as borders for between 'rooms.' Nothing reached the ceiling which was little more than the roof and the remains of what looked to be the remains of metal girders. That feature combined with the space of the place gave me the sense that I was still in the Docks. If that were the case then at best the cape, or more probable capes, were at rogues or at worst straight up villains. Working through the pain, I tried to move, but the most I was able to do was shake my a bit head before the pain became too much.

"Hey you shouldn't try to move around just yet you're pretty hurt." Amara had said her voice doing little to put me at ease. It was difficult to move my head, but I could still make out my general surroundings.

She brushed her hand across my face moving away the strands of hair that were obscuring my vision. My hair was blonde instead of black I was Taylor again. I was regular Taylor Hebert a scrawny girl immobilized in a villain's lair in the one part of the city known for kidnappings.

Fuck.

Amara had gone back to managing my iv drip it was the first time I had taken notice the contents of the bag. I could almost sense the blood enter my body, but when I tried to connect with it I found I couldn't. I had begun to review my admittedly limited options for escape. I hadn't made much progress when something had jumped over the couch and into my chest. It was a large grey dog, I wasn't able to look at it for long before it began hungrily licking my face.

"Grue!" Amara shouted.

"Yeah I got it. Adlet, please call off Angelica."

I could hear a sharp whistle but its only affect was for the dog to stop licking me and look up.

"Adlet." Amara had said with an irate tone.

It wasn't until a pair of relatively small arms pulled at the large dogs neck, did it finally budge.

"You tasted good," was all the girl said as she passed me. Regent had given her a few bills before she reached her dog.

She was flanked by two other smaller dogs that simply watched as she wrestled with the larger one. I had used the word Dog where 'wolf' would've fit better. It was nearly taller than the girl who looked to be a bit on the short side. If I had to guess she was around twelve or thirteen years old. Her clothes must've hidden some muscle, as she was for the most part able to hold down her wolf until it settled down.

She was dressed in an over-sized white t-shirt that was stained with dirt and fur. Her pants weren't much better being made of thick denim but still having slight tears across her legs. Rounding out her costume was a pair of rugged combat boots and a cheap dog mask. She had managed to calm the wolf down after baking out several commands. In spite of her mask I could tell she was glowering at me.

"We waited and now she's awake, it's time for her to go." Spoke a tall man dressed in biking leathers as he walked around the couch.

His voice had a distorted quality to it, like it were muffled by something. But it was still enough for me to determine that he was in his late teens. That fact alone didn't worry me until I got a glimpse of his face. A glaring skull suspended in a pitch black cloud had a way of frightening people. Grue had moved to be next to Amara, giving me a clear view at the gun holstered at his waist. Adlet stood off to his left holding Angelica still while still maintaining her glare towards me.

Regent sat above me across the couch frame, twirling his scepter without much care. His scepter fell in line with the rest of his costume; it had a renaissance theme to it. His face was concealed by a stark white Venetian mask with a crown resting on his head. The mask left his mouth exposed but from where I was, I couldn't get a good read off that alone. His shirt was fluffy enough to obscure the lines of his body. But his slim frame in addition to, his overall demeanor had given me the impression of a person closer to my age than Grue's. He had crossed his legs audibly stretching the tight black leggings he wore. From the way he sat it wouldn't surprise me if he fell over. Overall he looked more like a fair reject than a super villain.

The thought had done nothing to put me at ease. Amara was the only familiar face i could turn towards but that was the moment the terror set in. The likelihood of 'Amara' even being her real name was decreasing every moment. If she were associated with villains, there was no way that she would give information like that to a hero. The likelihood of 'Amara' even being her real name was dwindling.

The girl had pulled a needle next to my syringe pump, she wasn't able to pump much of the drug before Grue had grabbed her by the wrist. Whatever it was already had me feeling better.

"Don't." Grue said in his distorted voice.

"Grue trust me everything will be fine-"

"No you don't get to say that; she's working with Shadow stalker. If she gets free, there's no telling what she'll do!"

The dogs were somewhat irritated by his tone, only the wolf began to growl.

"I don't understand why you're overreacting I'm telling you that's not the case anymore right 'red'."

It was reassuring that 'Amara' hadn't referred to me by my real name. But a part of me still was reluctant to trust that she acted in my best interest and not her own.

She pulled her arm back signalling for Grue to let go.

"Fine then let's vote on it, all for turning her in?"

Grue raised his hand immediately, Adlet quickly joined him.

"I vote we let her go." 'Amara' had looked down towards me in what I was sure was supposed to be a reassuring gesture.

"Sorry what, I wasn't paying attention." it was Regent who had spoken while still playing with his scepter.

He had adjusted his weight to continue speaking instead managed to drop the front end of his scepter on the face.

"Ow!" my throat was still sore but at least I could speak again.

"Stalker and I had a falling out bitch." I didn't intend for my words to come out the way they had but Regent didn't seem to take offense at the insult.

"Oh is that why she was knocked out when we arrived?" Regent had asked without a hint of remorse as he pulled his scepter away from my face. I caught a glimpse of the taser built in to the staff.

"Yeah".

"Nice," Regent raised his hand to vote."I say we let her join."He had said the last part while looking at Grue and Adlet with a sly grin.

Good, wait what? "What-"

"You know what forget it," Grue said while pointing at me,''Just get her out of here."

Amara had used the distraction to insert the rest of the drug into my tube, before removing it entirely. That must've been an antidote to Armsmaster tranqs, almost immediately I could feel myself become able to move. It felt like I hadn't done so for days, as sudden clarity replaced the discomfort. I could feel the bandages around my face neck and leg. They still ached but were reduced to the edge of my focus.

What currently held my attention were the clothes I was wearing. They were a pair of denim shorts and a red blouse that were both a few sizes smaller than the bulky clothes I was used to. Outside of my transformation or my regular clothes, I felt exposed. Before I could dwell on that thought I saw 'Amara' reappear from one of the rooms. She carried a pair of flip flops for me as well as a lunchbox. She moved to help me off the couch passing me a wipe to clean the drool off my face.

"Don't worry about the clothes you can keep them if you want." 'Amara' had said as if she could hear my thoughts.

I hoped my face didn't get too red at the implication. If it had, she didn't acknowledge as she interlocked our arms, leading us towards a set of stairs. The rest of the group had converged around the couch with Grue talking to Regent as he ignored the conversation for his video game. The young girl had been preoccupied with her dogs.

"Bye everyone!" the girl said as we descended.

It was Adlet who had responded with a, "Fuck you Li-" It was all I could make out before Grue began scolding her.

Walking had proved to be a difficult task. My body was apparently still recovering from the tranquilizers; my legs felt sluggish to respond and didn't feel strong enough to support my full weight. I tried to walk on my own regardless, but 'Amara' would always shift her weight to support me.

The second floor looked almost nothing like the first, where as their home gave hints to what is was before, the lower floor provided the full picture. Before the capes arrived, their building was one of the closed down factories. We walked through a maze of rusted remains conveyor belts and the spaces where heavy machinery was absent. I did my best not to touch anything, with the state everything was in it seemed like one wrong move would bring everything crashing down. We eventually made it outside, hopefully far enough from the other capes to avoid any eavesdropping. It was bright enough that I had to squint to let my eyes adjust. How long was I out for?

"You've been asleep for the last two days." The girl said.

That was starting to get creepy. I could feel the questions building in my mind as well as the realization of what she had said. If I had really been gone that long then it was possible that Dad had noticed, I didn't know how to categorize a 'yes' or 'no' to that question. Both had pros and cons I wasn't too thrilled about. But traveling down that train of thought would be a disservice in my current situation.

"Who are you?" I asked the girl.

"I told you my name-" She had spoken with a wide smile that vanished when I had cut her off.

"Don't lie to me, where are we going?!"

The girl paused, taking a moment to decide what she'd say.

"I'm taking you home Taylor."

"How do you even know where I live, why were you at my house, who are you?" I had rambled off those questions before I could stop myself.

I didn't mean to show my hand, but I was worried. What if I had been tracked down by an actual super villain? If they knew my name and where I lived what else did they know? I could feel myself panic at the thought, whatever the case my life was over.

"In the spirit of being fair I'll tell the truth, my real name is Lisa Wilborn and I'm a parahuman just like you."

That could explain how she figured out my identity, I knew there were some capes who could think their way to any solution. It didn't seem inconceivable for Lisa to be one of them.

"Are you a villain like your friends back at the factory?"

"That's a bit tricky to answer, but no, were not villains in the traditional sense."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Were only villains from the perspective of the PRT. I think we're pretty similar in that regard."

"I'm not a criminal."

"You assaulted two people in front of Armsmaster in addition to an entire warehouse worth of ABB."

"But they were actual criminals!"

"Now so are you," she looked apologetic before she continued,"Taylor you should know that you nearly killed Lung."

She paused for a response, but I couldn't give her one, did I really come that close to taking a life?

Lisa took my silence as permission to continue."Why do you think we haven't seen anyone this whole time?"
I hadn't looked away from her long enough before then to notice, but empty the streets confirmed her statement. The regular drunks, crack whores, and gang-bangers that populated this part of the docks were few and far in between.

The buildings in the neighborhood were like an empty husk compared to what they once were. visible cracks were etched into every building, all the graffiti did little to hide the decay of the crumbling structures. Even in broad daylight they managed to cast enough shadows to conceal large swaths of the street. Within that darkness I could make out the occasional person skittering between buildings with darting eyes.

"When you took out Lung, you created a power vacuum. Now everyone is waiting to see what happens, even the protectorate has taken notice. It most likely going to be the Empire who sets it all off but really it's anyone's guess."

Even though my body was mostly back to normal, I felt numb. For every forward bit of progress I had made to be revealed as yet another step back was a frustrating process. First with Sophia and now Lung. The difference with Lung was that the consequences weren't just limited to me, but branched outwards to everyone else. It was like I couldn't do anything without their being some kind of fallout. My only hope was to uncover some answers that could maybe address some problems. I'd start with the one walking beside me.

"You still haven't answered my question," I said while looking her straight in the eye.

"You're right, sorry about that. My team and I aren't per the norm; we aren't vigilantes like you were, nor do we commit crimes to turn a profit like the rest of the villains. Were thieves who steal from the real criminals."

The 'were' hadn't gone unnoticed. I already had to face the consequences of trusting one outwardly helpful cape. It didn't feel right to blindly believe everything I was being told. The girl was pretty, but by no fault of her own, that trait has reminded me of Emma or one of the other girls that followed her. Contextualized through that lens rendered Lisa as a person who l left me feeling uneasy. It was the second time Lisa had made a comparison between myself and her group.

"Aren't you just stealing their blood money, how does that make you different from any of the other gangs stealing from each other?"

"What we do hurts them more than a couple of mooks taken off the street. Without a means to purchase weapons or drugs, even with parahumans, most groups would still be crippled. That's what we do."

"So let's say that I believe you, what's the deal with the rest of your team? Why were they so aggressive back there if you're just thieves?"

"Oh, you mean Grue and Adlet right?"

"Sure."I nodded.

"I can't really say to what extent but they've known each other since before we became a team. I can assure you that ive known them long enough to tell their decent people. Apparently Grue and Shadow stalker have a bit of a history, anytime they've met one of them ends up bloodied."

"So because I was her partner that resentment gets passed down to me."

It was Lisa's turn to nod."Exactly, they were just being a bit defensive back there, they're actually kind of mellow once you get to know them."

That could have explained why Sophia had been so insistent about avoiding other parahumans but it felt like a weak assumption. The Sophia I had encountered at Winslow wasn't the type to avoid conflict, she'd actively provoke it for the chance to re-establish her dominance. I wanted to confront her, to figure out the what, and the why of her betrayal. I needed to know how to react but without information I was stuck when it came to what I should do.

I had been lost in thought when we had arrived at the bus stop. I walked a few steps ahead of Lisa after she had stopped, when she spoke again she stood in one of the few rays of sunlight that peaked in between the buildings. I stood away from her in the shade.

"Taylor, I think you should have this," she said while holding the lunch box.

It was plastered with pictures of Eidolon, one of the first super-heroes. It depicted him floating mid-air while an aura of light emanated under his hooded cloak. At his feet was the epitaph 'never forget'.

"You want to give me a collectible?"

"Consider this a thank you for handling Lung for us."

"So you guys were who all those guns were for."

"Yeah we stole from the ABB not too long ago, but weren't expecting there to be such a negative reaction." She motioned the box towards me again."Taylor, you went through a lot when you fought Lung for now this is just a thanks. But if you like this could become a regular thing."

"What does that mean, a 'regular thing'?"

"What would you say to joining the Undersiders?" So that's what they called themselves, the close up view of Regent's weapon came to mind,."We could really use your muscle and with us you can really start to make a difference."

A smile was on her face for the last sentence. It had seemed hopeful, enough so that it almost made me wish I could believe her, but doing so soon after Sophia felt impossible. I was already in a hole. The docks was a powder keg because of me, my identity had been uncovered by multiple people, and I was now a criminal in the eyes of the law. Joining a team of villains only seemed to make the hole deeper. But I could use a bit of help to watch my back. If I wanted to keep being a hero I'd probably need it soon, things were looking dark. I could hear the bus home as it approached us, a means of escape if I wanted too.

"You don't have to decide right now but please consider it." she stepped closer to meet me under the shade."You still have my number right?"
I nodded.

"Great, then please take the money as well as some time to think about it," she said as she pushed the Eidolon lunchbox into my arms.
It was heavier than I thought it would've been.

"If you do decide to join us what's in their is only the bare minimum of what you'd make with us."

"I'll think about." were the last words between us before I boarded the bus home.