Premise: In one world Taylor believed she had a weak power, yet she struck out on her own anyway, deciding to make it work. In another, Taylor was convinced she had a weak power, and instead she sought to surround herself with a team for protection. She became a Ward, certain that her ability was useful only to reinforce and buff up others and that she could only ever be a second-rate hero at best.

Blatantly ignoring the niggling at the back of her mind that she is not using her powers in the way she's supposed to is her first mistake. Not asking loudly enough for help when she had a problem is her second.

And from there…Things got worse.

"She wouldn't stop, why wouldn't she stop? I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

The End of the Rope

Aftermath 01

"I don't care what you have to do, Piggot. Fix. This. NOW!"

"Ma'am Director -"

Director Costa-Brown slammed her hands onto the table, leaning forward until her face was just inches away from the camera. "Stop. Talking. I'm going to say this in small words so you can understand. Braid is capable of resurrecting people. I don't care that Braid is unstable. I don't care that the girl she brought back is a Villain. She could have brought back fucking Allfather for all the shits I give. She resurrects capes. You fucked this up, Piggot, now unfuck it before I serve her your head on a silver platter."

The video feed cut out and Emily fell against the backing of her chair with a scowl etched across her face. "I hate capes," she spat.

How had this even happened?

Armsmaster pointed at the screen, fighting down the urge to rush through this so he could just…get out there. They needed to find Braid. They needed to find her and convince her to come back. They needed to…fix this.

This was his fault. He didn't know what exactly he had done wrong, but he knew he had said something wrong somewhere in the past few weeks and it had been part of the problem. Just the proverbial straw on the back of the camel. Just one more straw. Had it been the final one? The final piece of solder that had caused the short circuit?

"We've begun coordinating with Grue and Hellhound. Both have agreed to search this section of the city. Regent is theoretically patrolling this portion."

Dauntless leaned forward. "How helpful is Regent going to be? I thought that his power was just minor nerve control."

"If we're correct with his previous identity being Hijack, then there is a distinct possibility that he was around Braid long enough for him to have acclimated to her. He'll know if she's in his range. He will certainly be able to find Tattletale should she fall within his purview," Armsmaster sighed, already knowing the next question and seeing no way to prevent it.

"How are we remotely okay with letting someone we think is Hijack come close enough to Braid to Master her?" Dauntless asked. His spine straightened and his hands closed tighter around the coffee mug in his hands, small cracks spider-webbing out from under his fingers.

"If you had read my briefing you would realize that the boy seems to actually like her. Dragon doesn't believe he is as sociopathic as the initial reports indicated. All indications are that he will actually assist in locating them and helping us to recover them before anything…else occurs."

Battery wrung her hands, not looking up as she asked, "Do we know why she ran? I mean really know? Not the PR bullshit that Glenn had us put out?"

"What, bringing her girlfriend back from the dead isn't enough for you? She needs more reason to freak out and run for the hills?" Assault muttered.

Aegis grimaced. "Vista wouldn't really talk about it, but I think it probably has something to do with what happened to the mercenaries in the base."

Armsmaster swallowed hard, his throat suddenly very dry. This was his fault. He had helped to drive her away. He hadn't had time for her when she had asked for his help and he hadn't taken her concerns seriously when she said that she needed assistance with a problem with a fellow Ward.

It hadn't been his problem. It hadn't been his concern.

This was his fault.

"Colin, sit down, I'll handle this," Miss Militia said. He hadn't even realized when she had stood. Blinking, he turned his head to stare at her. She guided him to the nearby seat, and he leaned forward, his helmet resting on the table. He didn't need to see the video again.

"This is Vista's bodycam footage. Carlos, we're nearly certain that she was unconscious for almost all of this, but, we need you to keep a watch on her anyway…just in case." Miss Militia paused long enough that he was sure she was making eye contact with everyone in the room. "None of this ever makes its way to the media. Ever."

One Day Prior

"Congrats, Coil, you've managed to kidnap not just an ex-Ward now, but a current Ward. This is a new level of stupid, even for you, Boss." Tattletale said, chuckling as she leaned back in the chair. Braid was in the seat behind her, head down, hands in her lap, the old Ward costume torn and wrinkled. The way Tattletale angled her chair it was clear that she was keeping herself between Coil and Braid and that while her eyes were locked on the man in the black bodysuit behind the desk, her attention was focused nearly entirely on the unconscious girl in the third seat next to her.

"Come now, Sarah, we both know that I always win in my endeavors. Taking Vista was simply a useful cog in the wheel." His voice was soft, his smile was wide, his hands never left their clasped position in front of his chest. And yet, Tattletale froze solid, barely even seeming to breathe as her eyes widened.

"…So that's how it's going to be, Coil?"

"Surely you always knew it would come to this one day?"

"I'm still useful to you."

"You were yes. But you see, I've gotten rather exhausted dealing with your little rebellions and sabotages. You are annoying, child. Torturing you only works for so long before it gets boring, and I have more important things to do."

She leaned forward, scowling. "Fine then," she spat. "Let's make a fucking deal. You keep me - as your pet," her whole body shuddered as she hissed the word, "but you let these two go. You can drug me, keep me chained up, whatever the fuck you want. But let them out."

"Now why would I do that?" He smiled as he leaned over the desk. "Braid is wrapped up so nice and pretty for me, like a present. You did such a good job bringing her in."

Tattletale actually growled at that, her knuckles white on the chair's armrests. "Because you manipulated the feeds you sent me, you bastard. Did she even kill that girl? Did she ever even have to run?"

"Oh Shadow Stalker is quite dead, yes. Why do you think I'm so willing to trade up? Your power is useful; but hers is better. Coupled with Vista?" He chuckled. "Once the two are broken in, they will be an unstoppable team. I will be able to take complete control. Subtly has its uses, but I cannot be expected to simply walk away from a perfect opportunity for force when it is presented in front of me. Surely you of all people understand, Sarah."

"Tats?" Braid whispered, her head lifting and her hand reaching out to grab at the back of Tattletale's costume. "I thought he was going to help? I thought we were…I thought we were…leaving…" her voice cracked on the last word and tears could be seen falling down the side of her mask.

"You'll never break her," Tattletale hissed.

Coil smirked, shaking his head. "Oh my dear, dear, Sarah. I already have. Five times in fact. Six if you want to count the one I just finished with a few minutes earlier. She's so…simple to deal with at the moment, truly. I imagine Vista will be harder, but I'm willing to put in the effort."

Tattletale's eyes narrowed. "So this is just a throwaway then…"

"Oh no, not at all. You see, Braid is quite devoted to you since you took her in after Shadow Stalker's demise. Keeping you around as a leash was useful, but she has been very distracted lately and I don't want you influencing her. So we're going to go about this a different way. I'm going to try out the methods the Gesellschaft use for their programming. I imagine that I'll get much better results this way!"

Tattletale leaned back, a vulpine snarl crossing her face. "You poor, pathetic, little man. You have no idea of the shit show that is about to rain down on you. Fine. Do whatever you want to me." She turned away, looking at Braid. "Tay? I need you to listen to me, okay?"

"Tats?" Braid's voice was even quieter than before.

"The PRT never blamed you, they never held you responsible, and they were never hunting you. I'm sorry I gave you bad information, I had wrong data and I messed up, I messed up bad. In a few seconds you're going to freak out. That's okay, but I need you to focus when you do. I need you to focus on him. Hurt him. Like you did with Sophia. Invert your power. Invert it, flip it, like we talked out, use your full power. Hurt him. Drain him."

Braid's forehead dropped to the small of Tattletale's back. "I-I don't - I don't know how…Tats I don't…I'm scared…Lisa I can't…"

"Oh my poor, Sarah, my poor pet. Do you think I would have let you talk if she was able to do that on command yet?" Coil laughed. He pulled a gun from the desk drawer and laid it on the tabletop. "I was able to get her to drain lifeforce at a touch in one timeline, but I never retrieved Vista in that version and it took nearly three days of effort. I decided it wasn't worth the downsides. Never let it be said I'm not generous though: any last words, pet?"

"Taylor, when it's over, turn on Vista's beacon, turn it on and wait here. The PRT will come and they'll help you. I swear, they will help you. You never had to run and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I -"

The noise of the gun's report was impossibly loud in the small room. Coil laid the smoking weapon back down on the table as Tattletale's still body slumped in her chair. Braid's normally green and brown costume was covered in red along the shoulders as was her mask, hair, and most of her head. Tattletale's costume slipped through her fingers as the blond girl fell forward with nary a sound.

Braid's only reaction was an open mouth and wide eyes. An onlooker could have been forgiven for thinking that she had stopped breathing herself.

The door to the room slid open and three mercenaries trotted inside. The leader looked to Coil who just waved them forward. "Get Vista into her new cell. Do not forget to ensure the animals are in there as well. The last thing we need is for the child to bend the gap in the vault door because some idiot forgot to limit her power. And get Tattletale's body over to Site D. Pitter's team should have everything arranged by now to make it look like she was the culprit of the kidnapping. All we need is the body to complete the illusion."

"What about the team, Boss?"

"I'll handle the Undersiders. You just worry about moving the body. And someone get Braid into her room. Oh, I have so many things to do with you, my pet!"

The first mercenary had reached down to touch Tattletale's body, before every head in the room - except presumably Vista's - snapped to Braid as a keening wail broke from her. She had wrapped her arms around her head and squeezed her eyes shut, screaming her pain such that the world was forced to take notice.

And notice it did.

"For fucks sake kid, it's just a dead body." The mercenary reached out for Braid. He didn't make it. Her eyes snapped open and her hand darted forward. She latched onto his armor-clad wrist, ignoring his shout. The man had a single instant to shake his hand before he dropped to the floor, like a marionette with its strings cut.

The second and third mercenaries shouted. One tried to raise his rifle, even as Coil's eyes widened under his mask and he reached for his gun.

Neither moved fast enough. Braid's eyes blazed with golden light and when she leapt from the chair she was moving almost faster than the camera could capture. The distance was short enough that it was nearly like she had teleported and reappeared standing between the two mercenaries. Both died in under a second beneath her touch.

Coil had managed to raise the gun, but he couldn't squeeze a shot off before she had vanished again and reappeared right behind him, her hand latched on him and slamming him into the desk, screaming all the while. By the time she let him go, Coil's face mask was covered in red and he could only limply claw away from her as she stalked over to him, her eyes glowing bright enough to appear like small stars. He whimpered, holding out his hand, but she just stepped on it, drawing a strangled scream from him. Reaching down, she clenched her hand on his throat. As soon as her hand touched him, he went nearly white with horror.

"Why?!" Coil gasped. Braid's hand squeezed. "Why won't the right one -" His pleas abruptly cut off as the remaining color in his visible skin drained away, his scrabbling arms dropping limp to the floor, just like the mercenaries before him.

Braid stood, twisted, and took a halting step towards Vista's unconscious body. She touched the younger girl, the golden light in her eyes dimming slightly as Vista sat up with a gasp.

"Wha-What the- Braid! Braid we need to -" Vista cut off, the camera feed's jittering freezing as the girl stopped all movement. "Taylor…what's going on?"

"…I killed them. They killed her and I killed them…I just wanted to leave…" Braid whispered. She turned away, stumbled and collapsed next to Tattletale's body. Sobbing, she pulled Tattletale's head into her lap, stroking the sides of the girl's face. "We were going to leave…"

"Taylor…" Vista's voice cracked. She took a deep breath and murmured, "I'm going to call for backup. Just…just don't move, okay? Oh my god, is that Coil? Is that who tranq'd me? I don't - no, no I need to call for backup. Look, Braid, um, no one blames you for Stalker okay? We saw the video footage. We know that she attacked you - we don't know why but - please don't go anywhere okay? I just - I'm going to…call for…help."

As Vista's beacon started to flash in the corner of the camera feed, the glow in Braid's eyes began to dim again, this time at an alarming pace. She kept stroking Tattletale's hair, crying, and murmuring something too soft to hear. And the light that had left her eyes flooded into Tattletale. It followed a similar trend to every other time that Braid had bestowed an empowerment, a dull glow through most of the body, centered primarily on the chest; except this version also had a significant amount of light diffused around Tattletale's head - right on her wound.

Braid's eyes were still glowing to a small degree when Tattletale rocketed upright, coughing and spluttering. Vista cursed, nearly falling backward as she stepped all of the way back to the wall. Braid just stared, her tears not slowing.

"Lisa? Are you…Did I…Are you real?"

"Holy shit…Tay." She paused as more coughs wracked her frame. "Did...did you just Night of the Living Dead me?"

"I…I gave you…essence…I didn't think it would…Are you real?"

"Yeah, I'm real." Tattletale looked around them, running her hand through her hair. Her eyes widened as her hand caught on the gore present there and she swallowed hard. "Vista? Are you alright?"

"You were dead." Vista's voice was trembling.

"Believe me, I…I am well aware of that," Tattletale's voice didn't sound much more stable. She turned back to Braid. "Tay, can you sit back down? We should sit and wait for the PRT."

Braid started to move towards her before shouting sounded outside the door accompanied by banging. Vista's finger was just barely visible as she pointed towards it. "Who's outside?"

"We're in Coil's base. He's got a lot of mercs here," Tattletale said, breathing deep. "I can try to tell them that their boss is dead. A lot of them might just leave."

Braid turned to the door, her fists clenched. "No."

"What?" Vista asked.

Tattletale tried to push herself to her feet, but had to catch herself on the desk as she almost fell back down. "Tay, whatever you're thinking, stop. Just, just stop. You don't have to run. I promise, everything is going to be okay. Just please, sit down. Please."

"I just wanted to leave…Why won't they let me leave?" Braid whispered.

"Taylor please sit down."

"Taylor, you should listen to her," Vista whispered.

"Lisa, I'm going to stop them. And then we're going to leave." Braid's voice broke. And then she vanished, once again moving too fast for the camera to see.

AN: I'm almost definitely going to be coming back to this for at least one more installment in the future. This fic was inspired by an urge to write a Resurrecting!Taylor after reading 'The Shadow Over Brockton Bay' by Temeritous on Ao3. It's very good and I highly recommend it.