The Brockton Bay public library was an old building, large and kept mostly intact. The structure was a reminder of the city's former potential, before the villains and gangs came to ruin it. It had always seemed so big when I was just a little kid, back when my parent had made it a point to visit the building at least once a week. In the current moment, however, that same feeling likely had more to do with the lack of patrons in the old library.

It was still early enough in the day that the lunch rush of office workers trading one stuffy building for another hadn't crowded around the limited number of computers. The only other people besides myself were a few groups of college students either catching up on assignments or doing some last minute cramming. The reason they were here instead of the university probably had more to do with proximity than preference.

Whatever their reason for being there the amount of people with their noses buried in books helped me not feel so self conscious while I raided the small vending machine. I came away with an armful of two varieties of the same chips and a few bottles of water, not a whole lot in the way of a meal but enough to hold me over for the meantime.

As I walked towards one of the available computers I could feel eyes watching me, almost as if one of the college students were mocking me to their friends. I picked up the pace, and with some effort tried to convince myself that things were different outside of Winslow. I still chose the computer farthest back both out of habit and because I wanted to keep my back to the wall.

It was unlikely that someone else would discover my identity as easily as Lisa or 'Amara' had, but still, I wanted to take a few precautions just to be safe. In the near future that meant a mask for patrol, but in the present that meant using Dad's other library card to log in for the session.

I was probably being a little paranoid but I already had confirmation that at least one group was watching me. Besides that, the use of both accounts would allow me to spend several hours online until early noon. The bulk of that time would be spent learning what I could about these Undersiders and what it might mean to join them.

To that end I immediately click open a link for the Parahumans online forum or PHO. Emma had introduced me to the site years ago.

It was the best place to go for anything related to parahumans, it was the one place regular people could interact with verified capes , the large community of fact checkers used their varying levels of knowledge to create a cape wiki of most heroes and villains. Hopefully it would be my one stop shop for research on the Undersiders.

In the past I'd always had one obstacle or another that prevented me from using the website. When I was still a kid my Dad would somehow always catch me in the act. Some of that same instinct must've lingered while working with Sophia, as a blend of the fear at being caught and confidence in what we were doing.

The plan had always been to go after the underlings of any of the major gangs, instead of their capes who might've been able to take us in a fair fight. That was why we'd targeted the ABB instead of the Empire or even the Merchants. A possible fight against two capes seemed to be the better odds at the time, but they'd nearly killed us when the time arrived.

I wouldn't make that same mistake twice.

I wanted to research the Undersiders first, but some of my concern still lingered. I needed to know where I stood with the authorities, whether or not Sophia or 'Lisa' had been telling the truth. I needed an unbiased opinion.

I started my search by looking up Lung; neither I nor Sophia were well known by any means, a byproduct of only doing three hour patrols once or maybe twice a week.

The articles and links at the top of the search results painted Lung out as more of a warlord than a criminal; his rap sheet was long enough for a dozen life sentences. He had maimed, burned, and outright killed enough people that I shivered to think back to our fight at the warehouse.

The article detailing that night by The Brockton Bay Bulletin portrayed the arrest of Lung as a major victory for the Protectorate, with most of the credit going to Armsmaster of all people, with a few vague sentences implying PRT assistance with the arrest. The only mention of myself or Sophia had been the description of a skirmish between the ABB and a 'small gang of parahumans', which seemed to be the Undersiders.

I couldn't decide what upset me more; that Armsmaster had taken credit for beating Lung after swooping in at the last second, or how I was already lumped in with the Undersiders.

I took a break to eat some candy bars and process what I'd just read.

So far Sophia had been accurate when she described where I stood with the so called 'heroes'. Even while I was trying and succeeding in helping them they still branded me a villain. Worse yet was how quickly they accepted Sophia as one of their own. Did I really want to join a team like that? I didn't join the Wards for the same reasons I hated school — teenage cliques and drama were enough already without superpowers. The first-hand experience of how the heroes operated made my opinion of them reach new lows.

They'd already decided that I was one of the Undersiders — perhaps that might become the case.

I'd decided to look up the individual members first to get a better sense for the people I'd be working with. The most results I could get were a few blurry images and page stubs. The pages for Tattletale and Regent somehow had even less than that.

Grue was the first fruitful find; he didn't have a verified profile but his entry had more than a fuzzy image. A summary of powers, a record of notable events, followed with wider speculations on his character.

The only information pertaining to his powers was 'darkness manipulation', which though vague would be enough for now. Honestly his powers seemed a bit similar to Shadow Stalker's, which probably meant I could take him in a straight fight.

Grue had been a small time crook for a little over a year. At first he committed a few gas station robberies before stepping up to offering his services to other criminals and their schemes. That had only lasted a short time, during which he'd met Adlet. Apparently, it was during a job with a group called The Adepts where Adlet had gotten into some kind of altercation with the criminals. Whatever happened, it ended with Grue helping the girl escape the group. Ever since then the duo had mostly stolen from drug dealers and various smaller gangs.

Despite their attempts at keeping a low profile they eventually attracted the attention of the PRT, most likely due to Adlet's apparent age. They'd spent the previous year escaping capture, moving from place to place as the authorities seemed to grow more determined with each encounter. In the end Grue and Adlet arrived in Brockton Bay and joined the Undersiders shortly thereafter.

I tried the link to Adlet's entry, but that only brought me to the Undersiders page. Reading the main page would just be redundant so I scrolled down to the comments section for any other bits of information that might've been left out. I mostly found a few threads of wild speculation, but I did find one brief message that seemed different from the others.

'Hey, Red, lets chat if you're still interested, my treat.'

The message was from a user named 'Tt' and had been posted only an hour earlier. I knew it had to be Lisa; the coincidence was too uncanny for it to be anyone else.

Apparently I wasn't alone in my reasoning. A few other users had taken the post seriously, but were either ignored or mocked by everyone else.

Joining the Undersiders would be a major decision, and so soon after Sophia I was in no rush to be brash. Without the concern of a lurking authority waiting behind every corner, the notion of joining the Undersiders seemed like less of the obvious answer it had been.

A part of me thought that the location of the Undersiders HQ might be a reasonable means to put myself into the PRT's good graces. Even if I'd wanted to join I probably still wouldn't be invited to the Wards. But successful independent heroes weren't unheard of. I wasn't too optimistic though, I knew first hand how adept they were at evasion. Unless I wanted trouble I needed more information before I did something I'd regret.

I kept that in mind as I sent a message to Lisa with details for our rendezvous.

It was near the early afternoon when I arrived at Fugly Bob's, a mish mash of burger joint, bar and shack that I'd passed several times on my way out of the restaurant was a place that seemed to demand at least a visit for curiosity's sake. The food was to die for; though that had more to do with potential cardiac arrest than thrills. Most people knew better than to eat here often, but Bob's would be full of customers within the next half-hour. It was the best place to meet Lisa.

Our discussion would be in a public place packed with people in an area I knew like the back of my hand, just in case I wanted to escape. Admittedly the chances for anything so blatantly illegal happening here of all places were slim. I might've also been just a tad hungry.

I felt her hand on my shoulder on her way to sit down. "Good to see you again, I'm glad you've changed your mind."

"Uh, yeah me too. I just wanted to talk some more."

She wore a white blouse underneath a grey sweater, along with a black skirt and matching stockings. Her flowing dark-blonde hair was tied back in a bun, and though they were hidden by a pair of designer glasses, her emerald eyes were just as bright as the first time I saw them. I felt suddenly embarrassed.

The restaurant seemed to become a dump once she had entered. Like how an ugly stain looks even worse on a fine carpet. I tried to ignore how my appearance blended in, like mashed fruit in a trash heap.

We ordered our food before continuing, a burger platter and drinks for both of us. It came quick enough seeing as we were only some of the few customers ahead of the lunch rush.

"I guess you have more questions about the team, right? Well, I'm happy to help," she said.

I glanced around our table to make sure no one was close enough to overhear the conversation.

"Ok, what makes you think I want to be a thief?"

"Because you want the villains to hurt just as much as I do."

"Do you know that from stalking me?"

Lisa raised her hands defensively. "It wasn't so much that as it was an investigation."

"Did you give Shadow Stalker the same treatment?"

"There are some rules about important stuff like secret identities even I won't ignore. Besides, we already knew she was unstable."

"So what made me so special?"

"Honestly, it was by chance we already had an interest in your cape persona when I noticed you using your power at the Docks. It was smart of you to move within the crowd as you refueled but my power made it simple to find you."

So that was all it took to discover my secret identity? Based on what she said about it her power would probably fall into the thinker category, meaning she was a savant, though I couldn't guess how or in what areas that would've applied.

I tried to keep the renewed tension off my face as Lisa continued, "Plus you're trustworthy."

"Is that you or your power talking?" I blurted out before thinking.

Lisa didn't seem offended by the question, in fact it made her grin. "Both actually, plus it helps that no so-called 'hero' has tried to blast down our door yet."

"Yeah, I know that feeling a little too well."

"I and my team can help with that."

"No offense but how? You guys don't seem all that different from a small time gang, even with powers."

"None taken, and to be frank, you shouldn't assume anything about us. The PRT is more corrupt than it seems; if they were going to make a move against us we'd see it coming. They're afraid of us just like they are of you and they should be, because we're going to be the heroes they should've been all along."

It seemed like she had been telling the truth so far. Why would she lie? She had alluded to the details without providing any concrete information. She had even risked letting me recover in the Undersider base, whereas Sophia betrayed and blackmailed me at the first sign of trouble. I couldn't go back to being just Taylor, doing so after a taste of freedom would feel even worse than when I started.

"I want in, but are you sure the rest of your team would let me join." The image of Grue holding a gun to my face was still fresh in my memory.

"Again, I'm sorry for how they behaved earlier. Grue and Adlet are a bit over-protective of one another and Regent can be a bit trying, but they're not that bad once you get to know them."

"Then is it true that Grue was a criminal before he met Adlet?"

"I won't spill his secrets but trust me, it's more complicated than that."

"So how can I work with them?"

"Simple really, just be upfront with them. Adlet can take some getting used to but overall she's a nice kid. Grue has some rough edges but don't let that intimidate you."

"And what about Regent?"

"Oh right, just don't take him too seriously. I'm pretty sure he's doing this just for the fun of it."

We spent the next hour and a half finishing our meal while discussing details like salary. The money for handling Lung was to be considered a bonus separate from my monthly payment of a few thousand dollars. Lisa had apparently worked out a means of payroll for the team that ran through some offshore accounts. It was a relief to move that cash out of the house; Dad probably wouldn't be so indifferent about that much money.

The last topic covered was my costume. Joining the Undersiders was a huge step up from being a weekly vigilante. Thermal spandex and a raincoat weren't going to cut it anymore.

My experience with Lung had made it clear that I needed something with more protection in both forms. The theme of my costume had occupied weeks of daydreams. It had to be something threatening without too much menace, all the while representing the message I wanted to spread.

Lisa had brought a notepad that we shared as we collaborated ideas. Evidently the technology for changer costumes hadn't stopped at skintight spandex. Thus the end product had more of a modern inclination over the classic cape and cowl look.

We were getting up to leave when Lisa said, "Hey I almost forgot to give you this." She reached into her purse to remove a plain looking phone. "Everyone gets a burner phone pre-loaded with the team's contact info. If you ever need help just call us any time."

"Thanks," I said.

"Welcome to the Undersiders," Lisa said before she drew in close for a hug.

It was a friendly gesture and for now that was all it had to be, but it was nice to have someone again.

Lisa offered to drive me home, saying that she had some errands to run in that direction anyway. I opted to stay a bit longer and with that we went our separate ways.

After lunch with Lisa I'd made my way into the market to browse the stalls set up during the beginning of the week. In many ways the market was just a discounted version of the boardwalk with rented out stalls in the place of expensive store fronts,and most of the stalls remaining locked up until the weekend. I wasn't there to shop. I just wanted to enjoy what happiness I could before I had to go home.

I had spotted something familiar at an opened stall, a duplicate of the Assault T-shirt Emma had gifted me a few years ago. It had been something I'd wanted for the longest time, only now that notion felt suddenly ridiculous, for the fact that I had just signed up to potentially fight some of the heroes I had looked up to. I didn't think I could hurt them the same way I had done so many criminals.

Lisa had mentioned that our group's M.O was theft and the occasional use of guerrilla tactics when it came to fighting gangs. More would have to be done if we were to somehow manage to replace the heroes; conflict was sure to arise. When that time came I hoped to fight the people like Sophia and those like her who didn't live up to that title.

In any case the PRT would be ready for me. Sophia knew enough about my powers to warn them. Admittedly the idea of fighting multiple heroes left me a little nervous, even with the Undersiders backing me up.

Not helping matters, my powers still hadn't recovered. I'd assumed that my headache was the result of over exerting myself. Now that it was gone the hope was that I'd at least be able to absorb blood through skin, unfortunately several interactions with market vendors had proved me wrong. Maybe Lisa could help me, but the idea of my first call being about something weird like blood sacs made me hesitant to ask. I didn't want a repeat of what happened with Emma.

Nightfall was approaching by the time I made my way out of the market and into the Boardwalk. Joining Lisa's cause still felt good and I'd wanted to enjoy it, to avoid what I knew was coming.

The only thing left to do now was to go home and face the music. Winslow had probably called my house for skipping class, and if my dad managed to pick up the phone another argument would be waiting for me. If not that then he was probably hung-over again. Either way I'd be coming home to nothing good.

A very small part of me considered making a new home with the Undersiders. It was cleaner than my house on most days and maybe it would help me grow closer to the team. But how could I just abandon my dad — without me he would forget to even eat half the time. I didn't know what it would take to fix him but I couldn't leave, not like mom.

Home was just a half-hour's walk away if I took my occasional jogging route. I'd have more time to think up an answer for where I was for the last couple of hours. The route would take me through the Docks, where it was still too early for it to be dangerous.

The shift between the Boardwalk and the Docks had taken a single block; more of the sidewalk was cracked than was whole. Under the occasional working light stood crack whores or drug dealers. I kept to myself and walked faster when any of them spoke at me.

The one detail I found reassuring was a red and green ABB gang tag; it had been vandalized by several streaks of white spray paint. Despite the deception and betrayal that played a role in my partnership with Sophia, I still managed to do something right in weakening the ABB.

That satisfaction lasted only a few minutes when I heard the first scream echo through the neighborhood. The sound had come from behind me,sending a stiff shiver up my spine yanking.

Someone shouted, "The fucking bitch bit me!"

It had come from an alley across the street between two squat apartment complexes. At first I just stood there — without my powers I was just a scrawny teenager — but I couldn't just leave someone who needed help.

I pulled out my phone to dial the police when I heard another voice shout, "Let go,Bastard!"

Even from where I stood the voice was familiar to me as one of the Undersiders — it was Adlet.

I fumbled the phone in my fingers for a moment, not even slowing down to see who I texted for help. The message included my location and the text 'Help Adlet' in all caps. With that done I made my way towards the dark alley.

Getting closer I could see that the short alley was wide enough for a small car to drive through. Towards the middle of the alley was heaps of trash along the wall next to an overflowing aluminum trash can. Adlet and her dog were backed up against a tall chain-link fence, surrounded by four or five mostly shirtless men wearing Empire eighty-eight colors and tattoos.

I brushed past the group's lookout, a guy who looked eerily similar to Greg save for his shoulder length black hair.

"Andy!? Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you? Mom's worried sick."

That bit of improv was all it took to bring all eyes on me. I was pinning everything on my momentum to get Adlet out.

Even with the younger lookout pacing behind me some of the gangsters still moved out the way, though they did so with amused smiles. Adlet sat with her arms around a large black dog that I didn't recognize. The dog itself stood only on its front legs, with its back against the girl to shield her. The dog had been snarling when I'd entered the alley but when I tried to step closer to Adlet a deep, low growl resonated from its throat.

"Please leave me alone, I don't want to hurt you,"Adlet said in a muffled voice.

That statement had caused several of the men to chuckle.

"That kid's like a broken record."

It had been one of the older men who had spoken. He was somewhere in his late thirties, with tattoos on his forehead that marked where his hairline once was, complementary markings over his shoulders and barreled chest. He carried some muscle and just as much fat.

"Listen miss." He stepped close enough that I could smell his breath. "We don't want to scare any little girls, but I just want my dog back."

Behind me 'his' dog had intensified its growl enough that I worried it might pounce at any moment.

Apparently I didn't do enough to hide the fear off my face. The gangleader reached for his wallet, which was in the pocket next to the firearm holstered in his waistband, and rifling through the wallet he pulled out a few wrinkled bills.

"Think of this as your, uh, sister's reward for returning my dog, no harm no foul," he said while wagging the money in my face. Some of the E88 members were egging me on to just take the money.

I turned back to Adlet to see that she had managed to calm down her dog by bringing it closer to her. There was no way I could take just her. I had to stall until help arrived.

"We don't need your money, its her-"

A sudden blow to the mouth knocked me off my feet.

My vision swam as a stabbing pain blossomed at one corner of my mouth, shortly followed by spurts of warm blood.

The leader turned back to his gang with a grimace as he shook the hand that he had cut on my teeth.

"Rat faced bitch should've taken the money," he said.

From where I lay I could make out the gangsters surrounding Adlet and her dog.

"Bastard, protect," Adlet said as she pulled out a small pocket knife.

At the command Bastard leapt away from his master to stand at his full height, snarling with barks that sounded like gunshots.

"Jesus!" said one of the criminals as he raised his gun.

"Easy now," the gang leader said as he lowered the man's gun, "we don't want to hit the dog, it's gonna be a champ." He turned towards my direction.

"Hey newbie, do us all a favor and take out the trash."

My powers didn't react with my actual blood. The only fuel I could sense wasn't even a drop. I stayed down for the moment, concentrating to stop my power from healing me automatically. It would be enough to boost me for maybe one second. If I used it right I could save Adlet before things escalated further. It was my only choice as help had yet to arrive.

It took a few moments for the lookout to reach me, at which point he reached for my ankles to presumably drag me like a sack of rotten food. I waited until he'd grabbed a single foot to simultaneously bring that foot towards me, while lashing out my other foot into his waist.

The combination of shock and pain were enough to rob him of his balance and caused him to stumble a few steps back, giving me enough time to get to my feet and follow after him. I just had to bite him once to gather enough blood. The lookout recovered in time, taking up a fighting stance once he saw me approaching, but I rocketed towards him using speed and momentum to try and force him to the ground. He remained steadfast, sinking a blow to my stomach that halted me mid-stride. With a choking gasp I collapsed to the ground near the garbage.

"You should've kept walking," he said before stomping on me.

I turtled up the best I could until I could catch my breath.

As the Windigo I could take entire mobs of non-capes alone, and I'd let that become a weakness. I wasn't her at the moment, I had to think smarter.

Several more kicks and stomps smashed into my back and ribs before my chance came. The lookout thought he saw an opening near my head, and reared back for a loaded kick.

I waited until the kick was nearly mid-arc before I activated my power. In a few fluid motions I pushed myself back up to my feet, narrowly avoiding his attack while hooking his foot with my arm.

I'd run out of fuel by the time I was back on my feet but it didn't matter by then. I managed to trip him on my way up, an inversion of the previous situation.

"H-how did-"

I didn't give him time to process his surprise. In a single step I stomped directly on his ankle and was rewarded with the pencil-like snap of bone.

The lookout screamed but managed to work through the pain to reach for his gun. Before he could even aim he fired the gun three times. None of the bullets had hit me but I did hear a scream followed almost immediately by a roar.

I moved without thinking, as the gunman continued to fire off shots, I reached the garbage can and yanked off its lid. Wielding it by its sides I fell over the gunman and smashed the blunt edge of the lid into his nose until he stopped moving.

Rivulets of blood poured down his mangled face, and fortunately I was able to absorb the blood through my hand this time. The power craved more but it was enough to create a small wraith.

At first I thought one of the other gangsters had seen me use my powers as he'd screamed,

"What the hell is that!"

I turned around preparing myself to fight the rest of the gang.

For a moment I saw the outline of a black beast several times the size of any of the gang members. The only other visible detail were its gleaming fangs and the absolute hatred in its eyes.

Before it could devour anyone a familiar voice rang through the alley along with a wave of darkness.

"Adlet, stay calm."

The darkness wasn't like fog or smoke, not for long anyway. Once it swept out the darkness grew in heat, clinging to its victims.

The gang members writhed in agony as if they were actually on fire. Despite the heat, the darkness produced no smoke nor the smell of burning flesh. Even their screams sounded strange as if muffled it left me untouched.

Where the darkness didn't cling to it seemed to dissipate enough to allow some visibility.

Through it I could make out Grue holding Bastard's hunched over-head, and could only just hear him say, "It's okay, Rachel, I'm here. You can go back now."

Grue then dismissed his darkness once the gangsters had all passed out from the pain. By then Bastard had reverted to his normal size and Grue held an injured but conscious Rachel in his arms.

Grue was wearing the same outfit of a T-shirt and shorts from earlier in the day. His shirt now had a bit of blood from Rachel's shoulder wound.

"Your present came in handy today," Rachel said weakly.

"That's nice to hear, you did good here, ok, but we have to go to Doctor Q, alright?"

Rachel nodded in the affirmative before falling unconscious.

Grue had spoken with a level of warmth similar to a parent or an older sibling. It was a bit strange coming from him.

"Are you alright?" he asked with that same voice.

"Oh me? I'm, uh, fine, yeah." My wraith was still hovering where I had left only minutes prior. "Just give me a sec."

I sent the wraith out to feed on a gang member, but upon skin contact the wraith tried to suck the gangster completely dry. It took more effort than it should've for me to wrestle control back from it, and by the time I brought it back to my body I felt weakened. As if I were the one who'd nearly died.

Grue didn't say a word as he quickly moved himself under my arm as if to support me.

"What are you doing?"

"You need to get in the car, you've been shot twice." Despite his words more or less being a command he maintained the gentle tone he kept with Adlet.

As the four of us made our way out the alley and towards a black muscle car I padded my abdomen for any wounds. As sure as Grue had said I could feel two distinct points of pain as my hand came away wet with blood.

"Oh."