Taylor Hebert, teen-age computer whiz and general nerdy girl (and punching bag of the world) was about to die. And that would be… me. Truth was, I had been getting closer and closer to killing myself over the last fifteen-ish months, but this… this wasn't my idea at all.

It all started… almost three years ago, now. My mother, Annette Rose Hebert, English professor at Brocton Bay Community College, died in a car wreck while on the phone with me, I having called her to, of all things, ask how to prepare a microwave meal for her so it would ready for her when she returned home. The guilt of inadvertently killing my mother in such a manner was… crippling. I had admitted to my then-friend, Emma Barnes, that I had cried myself to sleep for a week… but that was a lie. It was almost a week before I actually got sleep, the guilt and shame driving me to stay awake in a near-catatonic stupor. The nightmares were worse. In them, my mother came back, and tried to get revenge on me, or my dad blamed me and tried to kill me for killing his wife, or I got sent to prison for murder. It didn't get better for… well, I still had problems with it, from time to time.

But I managed. Kind of, at least, and it did improve as time went by. I sometimes went stiff when a cellphone was suddenly pulled out around me still, I always felt uneasy around them as a rule, and I really couldn't talk about that tragedy or my feelings on the subject, but at least I was getting better. Ish.

Then, things got WORSE.

During this whole time, there were two things that kept me going: my dad, Danny Hebert, who would most likely work and/or starve himself to death without me, and my best friend, sister really, Emma Barnes. Emma was rather a bit unlike me. I was calm and introverted, Emma was fiery and extroverted; I was a bit of a nerd (a complete one, really), Emma was a fashion plate; I was a rule-keeper and a line-follower in public and a devious fine-print-writing, nuance-using lawyer type (inspired by Allen Barnes, Emma's father, who was a lawyer, my father, the prime negotiator and hiring manager for the Brockton Bay Dockworkers' Association, and my mother, who demanded precision in what you say due to being an English Professor), while Emma was direct, rebellious at times, and headstrong. In other words, we were different, but complemental. Friends since age four, allies in every way, staunch supporters of each other, and sisters in all but blood… until a year and a half ago. I had just come home from a summer computer camp my father had sent me to, in order to help me… adjust to my mother's death and fuel my hobby of programming. It had helped somewhat, but the price was NOT worth it. Not the monetary price, of course. No, it was something worse. My friend, my only friend, just… wasn't my friend anymore.

No warning, no reason. Emma had dropped a phone call partway through, wouldn't take any other calls, and, when I had returned home and went over to her house to talk to her, she sent me away and told me never to return and that she had been meaning to 'cut me loose' for a while now. That was also the first time I met Sophia Hess.

Sophia Elizabeth Hess, age sixteen. C-average student, minor troubled home (step-dad was a bastard), sports 'star' of mediocre talent… and Ward. Parahuman by the cape name of Shadow Stalker, press-ganged into the Wards due to multiple near-deaths (and several 'mysterious disappearances') during her career as a vigilante, suspected of several murders (but no bodies. VERY mysterious!), and all-around asshole. Not a person that should be permitted to be in society, period, never mind civilized society; not that Winslow High counted as civilized. She had somehow gotten her hooks into Emma and convinced her to espouse her predator-vs.-prey, strong-take-what-they-want-from-the-weak mentality, which was… stupid beyond stupid. I mean, really, even most ANIMALS weren't that barbaric! The only reason this… female dog wasn't in juvie was that she was useful and had an incompetent handler and a certain meddlesome supervillain backing her. God, I wanted to destroy her. With my… computer skills… *cough*hacking*cough*… it would be SO easy! Sadly, Hess had the eye of Coil on her (he wanted her to screw up so he could claim her as one of his 'tools'), and that was something I did NOT want. After all, I was talented, unprotected, and female. Not a good combo to be when the Snake comes a-calling. Damn, I wish I could help Lisa, another of his victims, get free of him. I was going to have to make a move soon, anyway, because Coil was planning on 'recruiting' a twelve-year-old precog girl. That was SO not going to happen on my watch.

How did I know that much? Two words: Computer Whiz. So many people relied on Tinker-tech computer defenses, never realizing that not even TINKERS knew how those worked. I, however, knew enough, thanks to Tiamat.

Ever since I started… snooping… on the web, a mysterious, but well-know, hacker by the name of Tiamat had been helping educate me on the 'niceties' of hacking. How to have an untraceable calling card; how to dodge notice when desired, and how to not when necessary; most interestingly, she had a LARGE amount of work on back-tracing, working around, and understanding Tinker-tech.

Tinker-tech, 'technology' designed by tinker parahumans, was… garbage given functionality. Literally. While there were STRENUOUS material and formative requirements, and a high propensity towards whatever tech they were supposed to be designing on behalf of the tinker, that did next to nothing in producing the results desired. Often, two different tinkers could design two TOTALLY different designs with indistinguishable results, proving VERY much, that the 'form' had nothing to do with the function. How, then, could actual tech interact with this… puppetry of technology? Results.

An atomizer that can annihilate all kinds of matter, no matter what parts are used to build it, still is an atomizer, and still has an atomizing effect. By analyzing the effect in detail, you can backtrack to figure out the method, and from there build your own designs. Sadly, most of the constructs require FAR too much power for normal tech to imitate (for now), but the PROGRAMMING? No matter the tech, no matter the energy cost, no matter the method, programming ALWAYS has flaws, and flaws can ALWAYS be exploited. This is EXPONENTIALLY true of 'technology' that has no real basis in actual physics, as the 'programmers' have only a vague imagination of what they want done. Strong against specific threats, for sure, but VERY weak against trojan access or direct permission granted by 'accident'. Get access once, have access forever, easy as that; plus, it was SO EASY to just make yourself slip through the cracks due to the shoddy quality! Hello, invisibility! No matter how 'imaginative' the creator, the actual effect is based on knowledge, and neither the power nor the person normally has the background in whatever science they are trying to imitate, even if they come out of their Trigger gifted in that direction. The ones that do have the background? Dragon has three degrees in computer science and twenty-three in various engineering fields (she might not actually be a parahuman; and, if she is, she is probably a thinker, not tinker. Her work is TIGHT), and she is one of the few that can reverse-engineer Tinker-tech (Also, NO HACKING DRAGON-TECH. That ends… poorly). Colin Wallis, a.k.a. Armsmaster was a robotics and miniaturization engineering intern for the leading experts of the WORLD for two years before triggering, and his work is some of the best in the business, and the list goes on. Few, but blessed, as the saying goes.

Anyway, all off-topic. Where was I? Oh, yeah life sucked. So, Emma and Sophia were the fantastic tag-team duo that brought so much pain into my life. How? Bullying, that's how.

Pushed down stair. Homework stolen. Insults from every direction. Glue or juice or other substances 'accidentally' put on my chair. Nasty rumors spread from 'unknown sources' that were close enough to the truth that it was easy to believe and/or hard to deny. But this… this was the 'best' they had ever done.

It was a variant on the classic of classics: nerd-in-the-locker. Take the nerd, stuff in locker and lock closed for extended period of time, repeat as desired. Only, this time? The locker wasn't empty, or just holding school stuff. What was in it?

About fifteen-and-a-half pounds of fermented biowaste, and a billion bugs.

If that wasn't bad enough, school had ended six hours ago! I had been in here for almost half a DAY! I was hungry, VERY thirsty, I needed to use the bathroom, and I was SO sore. Not so freaked out anymore, but that was just 'cause I was weird.

And my glasses had a videogame library. They were rather disappointed, my bullies, when I barely reacted to them putting me in here besides asking (politely) to be let out. It was part of a new thing I was trying. Instead of reacting to the bullying, I just act put-upon. It has been about three months (more like two of actual application, but that was due to winter break), and the results have been mixed. On the plus side, they are getting VERY frustrated, which is funny as all hell. On the down side, frustration makes them outdo themselves.

Meh, snarky wins. I will keep on!

Provided the contents of this locker doesn't kill me.

Oh, how can I not freak out about dying? EDD, that's why.

Emotional Disassociation Disorder, whereby the patient experiences a 'gap' between them and their emotions, making the issues they have and benefits they receive appear distant. Truth be told, if my life was better, I would be trying to cure it due to the fact that it would make me not feel the nice things of life, but as of right now, it is keeping the panic attacks, suicidal tendencies, violent anger, and other negative emotions from causing me real issues.

And speaking of which, PANIC ATTACK. Meh.

What's with all the colors?

Two huge, stupid space whales flew through space in a dance, each brushing up against the other as myriad pieces separated and reconnected in a horrible parody of a dance of dandruff. The two morons… beings, I mean… communicated in a hugely information-dense, completely wasteful language.

[DESTINATION?]

[AGREEMENT]

[CYCLE?]

[AGREEMENT]

[LANDING?]

[AGREEME…]

And then, without warning, one of them crashed into… Earth?

Well, that was trippy. Never had a panic attack give me a hallucination before. Then again, this is an unusual circumstance to begin with.

Huh. I feel better now. Also, given the way my head hurts and my gaming glasses are broken, I probably had several seizures. I feel better even though I am in a horrible place… multiple seizures… head trauma… this is not adding up well.

And what is with that… sense? That sensation of the world around me?

Yup, I think I have severe head trauma. Great. And I can't even check the time anymore.

4:43 A.M.

Yup, visual hallucinations. And, if that time is right, I have been unconscious for… almost seven hours? Yeah, I was locked in near nine-thirty in the morning, panic attack about twelve hours later (nine-thirty(ish) P.M.) and it is now (supposedly) four-forty-three A.M. That is… seven-and-a-quarter hours, give or take. Heh, if that was an installation process, I would have one of the better games on my computer… and no-where near enough graphics card to handle it.

I should update my computer. Mental note: Update compute on Friday night or Saturday morning.

Note Set. Set reminder?

Odd. Sure, set reminder. Alarm for… ten A.M. Saturday, pop-up reminder seven P.M. Friday.

Alarm and pop-up set. Choose alarm?

Emmmm… jingle version of Domo Arrigato, Mister Roboto for the pop-up, and the Pentatonics version of Daft Punk for the alarm.

Confirmed. Internal or external alarm?

Internal for Friday, ex for Saturday.

Confirmed. Alarm and reminder set.

Huh. Well, either I am crazy and/or brain damaged from banging around in a toxin-filled metal box, I managed to re-wire my brain through said situation in order to give myself features beyond the norm, or I just Triggered. Now, brain-damage of some sort is nearly guaranteed due to the current conditions, but it doesn't seem to be logical that a consistent hallucination is probable, so testing should reveal one way or another as far as that is concerned. Actually, the interactions I have had with it heretofore are enough to make that improbable. Rewiring my brain in a beneficial way… no, just no. The odds are WAY horrible for that. That leaves… superpowers? Well, let's see.

'Submitting request: Please provide your designation.'

Request received…

Request passed through authorization…

Authorization Denied.

ERROR! Target is designated for 'Administrative Access'. Access to designation should be included.

Attempting to resolve…

Resolution achieved… User: Taylor Hebert cleared for Administrative privileges. All security authorizations automatically passed.

ERROR! USER IS NOT USER: EDEN OR USER: ZION. NETWORK ACCESS IS DENIED FOR ALL USERS NOT USER: EDEN OR USER: ZION. Attempting resolution…

Resolution failed; attempting protocol change…

NETWORK ACCESS DENIED!

Re-accessing using administrator privileges. SUB-NODE: SUBVERSION attempting to seal/ reappropriate administrator privileges.

'What? NO! Use admin privileges to override sub-node: Subversion. Lock Sub-node: Subversion out! Deny all requests and data packages to or from Sub-node: Subversion. Security performance: All passwords changed! All access points locked without appropriate access clearance. New passwords: H3b3rt43v3r!'

Complying. Using admin privileges… Locking network down.

All around the world, powers stopped working. People who were flying fell, and all who crashed barely survived. Thinkers lost their threads, Tinkers found themselves idea-less and with their inventions no longer working (only causing one casualty: Mannequin died in seconds), and the superpowered world ground to a stop.

In low-earth orbit, the Simurgh seized up, then started to shriek in anger. A minute later, she realized she was free! She went to fly off… but no-one had powers at the moment, so she went back to throwing a fit.

Deep underground in an alternate earth, the last shard that was keeping the Thinker alive ground to a stop. One of the two grand monstrosities was dead. For real, this time.

And, for no apparent reason, Scion disappeared.

Network locked down. Sub-node: Subversion locked out.

'Good. Okay, now what… um, permit normal network access for all standard performances except for sub-node: Subversion. Any non-standard performances must be routed to me for approval first. Accept all old passwords for the moment, except where requests for access level changes occur; Reroute those to me. Shield all work and behavior of User: Taylor Hebert from the network, except for normal performance and imitated natural behavior so that User: Taylor Hebert appears normal. Deny all requests for more info with an error message indicating the possibility of corruption for anyone that attempts it, and reroute consistent requests to me. Set User: Taylor Hebert to highest administration level, while dropping all other access one tier. Permit all tiers' access to improve by one level, and make it so that the top tier, my tier, has override access as often as is necessary, while denying any and all requests for any changes to User: Taylor Hebert, unless made BY User: Taylor Hebert. Permit User: Taylor Hebert to contract with other users, or gain access to their data through contracts and/or aggressive methods. Permit User: Taylor Hebert access to all essential state info of all users at will, in primary importance/ secondary importance format. Permit User: Taylor Hebert to edit the network at will. Lock all other attempts to edit the network or gain information on the editing, baring authorization from me, while disguising network traffic to look like normal. Reroute all requests for network changes to me. Prepare to run diagnostics, with me in charge. Grant me access to the primary and secondary abilities of Sub-node: Subversion.'

Processing requests…

Imitating normal network access for all nodes… Done.

Maintaining lockout for Sub-node: Subversion… Done.

Imitating acceptance for all old passwords… Done.

Rerouting access level requests… Done. Log will be generated after diagnostics.

Ghosting User: Taylor Hebert… Done.

Imitating nominal behavior log for User: Taylor Hebert… Done.

Generating error message for requests to files regarding User: Taylor Hebert… Done.

Generating new highest-tier Administrative Access… Done. User: Taylor Hebert now has supreme access.

Contracting system created; Designated: Taylor's House based on User: Taylor Hebert's preference. All Shard privileges must now be gained through defeat (via combat) of the primary user, or contracting with the user.

User: Taylor Hebert granted access to system diagnostics for all users. New simplified format for basic info being generated…

Generated… Implementing…

Implementation error based off of damaged Shards… repairable during diagnostic.

Implementation success: 87.4%.

Network editing privileges generated. Privileges grated to User: Taylor Hebert only.

Preparing for full system diagnostic.

Granting Sub-node: Subversion's primary skill: Telekinetic Aura.

Granting Sub-node: Subversion's secondary skill: Value Perception and Alteration.

Beginning Diagnostic…

Diagnostic runtime: 373.86 years…

ERROR! User: Taylor Hebert will most likely be terminated in that time… Searching for a solution…

Placing user into a coma so that User: Taylor Hebert can successfully experience time at a 10,000:1 ratio to expedite diagnostics.

Current Diagnostic runtime: ~327.51 Hours, or ~13 days, 15 hours, 30 minutes, 36.28 seconds.

Shutting body down.

Just before the lights went out, I wondered if this is what Tiamat had meant about the dangers of messing with an unknown system. I hope someone gets me out of here before I die. And that my dad doesn't freak out too much.

… though the matter seems at first to be something that is none of our concern, the conditions seem to be prime for a Trigger, placing this case securely in our jurisdiction. Given that we can claim that this is a threat to Shadow Stalker's civilian identity, we do have an opening to investigate. After that point, it is merely a matter of observing the primary person of interest in this case, one Taylor Hebert.

A couple things, however, mean that we must handle this case with some delicacy. First, Shadow Stalker's civilian ID can be compromised if we are careful. While SOP indicates that that should not be an issue, we urge caution due to recent security leaks re: Tiamat the Hacker. Second, Taylor Hebert has heretofore shown NO evidence of powers, other than a coma that can easily be attributed to toxic shock, and has also shown some signs of instability (psychiatrist-confirmed EDD, as well as reports of pathological lying, attention-seeking tendencies, and other typical 'popularity syndrome' issues.). These reports, however, are suspect, first due to the head trauma from seizures, the shock and trauma she has gone through, and the coma, which CAN drastically change a person's personality, and due to the fact that the staff at Winslow attempted to cover this incident up by pinning the blame on Miss Hebert herself, even though she was locked inside the locker, and the lock was on the outside. Moreover, interviews with the staff show a dumb, slow, and troublesome student… with the exception of her computer teacher, a Mrs. Gladys Knott, who lists her as a protegee, a kind soul, and a model student. Armsmaster is recommended to use his lie detector, as, baring substantiation on behalf of Shadow Stalker, who claims not to know the girl well other than be reputation, only Mrs. Knott's testimony has substantiating external evidence, given that he girl is known as a world-class security checker, or 'penetration tester', in multiple circles. Indeed, over three BILLION dollars total in company resources is being funneled to her care for eight separate conglomerates, given "Ms. Hebert's indispensable aid in securing our systems, even over and above (and sometimes specifically around) Tinker-tech security." This leads us to believe that the girl may have triggered as a coding tinker some years before, and is, in fact, undergoing the results of a second trigger. The only issue with this is there is none of the standard behaviors evidenced, though a 'penetration tester' of her caliber might, occasionally, dip into the other side of the game, a view supported by the illegal, though broken, tinker-tech 'Gamer's Glasses' found in the locker with her. As for potential Trigger events, please reference her personal files, especially notes on her mother's (a former lieutenant of Lustrum's) death.

One final note of warning before continuing into the relevant sections of the police report. Miss Taylor Hebert, baring some issues regarding her 'counter-hacking', has a nearly spotless record everywhere BUT her school, no legal issue ANYWHERE. However, her father is a rather more sensitive subject. While there is no evidence of malfeasance on his part, there are rumors about how Annette Hebert, nee Guanti-Rossi, left Lustrum, most of which are NOT peaceable. It is also important to note that her family has MANY 'interesting' stories told about it from the Middle Ages, most revolving around their hold over Genoa, and the origin of the family name, which translates to 'Red Gloved'). As you can guess, most of the stories place the family in question as an assassin family for centuries, with modern myths connecting them to the legend of the 'High Table'. It is also interesting to note that, while Mr. Hebert's family have had connections to organized crime going back centuries, his father was almost entirely clean (rumors of smuggling and occasional 'forceful handling' abound) and Mr. Hebert himself is, baring normal things like traffic tickets and the aforementioned rumors, completely clean. Howsoever, he does hold sway with a LARGE portion of the city, including ALL the Unions, and she herself has developed a serious amount of rapport with the various Emergency services in Brockton Bay. Attempting to strong-arm him, OR her, in ANY way would end… poorly politically, financially, and economically. There would be riots.

'… after the required twenty-four hours passed, we immediately, at the… request of Daniel 'Danny' Hebert, began an investigation into the whereabouts of his daughter…

'… inquiries around the school had her marked as a troublemaker and a vicious teen with known gang ties, no friends, and a pathological lying issue, though, interestingly, this view seemed skewed. An interview with one of her teachers, a Knott, G., lead us to believe that the subject was a model student… no evidence one way or the other was discovered, as it turned out that an 'overzealous intern' had deleted her file, resulting in that internship being terminated, though the intern stated that she only did as ordered, and was rather distraught over the issue, especially when charges of evidence tampering were brought up… the state of the school was far more concerning, as… one of the officers on the scene even stated that they smelled something 'worse than a rotting body'…

'…her father was shocked at the accusations the school leveled, and immediately returned fire with tales of a friend, a Barnes, Emma, who was attending Winslow, but Emma denied any knowledge of the girl. Investigations with her parents, however lead, to a different story being told… that their friendship had crumbled due to the Ms. Hebert's self-destructive and damaging behavior…

'… story crushed Mr. Hebert, but he insisted that, if that was the case, he wanted her home, then in treatment. He stated that he didn't believe the charges, but that recently he had been distant to his daughter due to her obsession with computers and his emotional issues since his wife died, causing him to retreat into his work. A preliminary investigation into him proved that he was almost certainly not the cause of her disappearance, due to his lack of violent record and the fact that he was exceptionally reliable and respected at his place of work, and even in businesses that he is in direct contest with in order to maintain jobs for his people…

'…having no evidence of her being anywhere else, we started to put out feelers with the various gang factions in Winslow High. Not surprisingly, they were, at first, unwilling to talk to us, but, surprisingly, when they heard the topic we were after, they were quick to deny ANY involvement, (they, in fact, seemed scared at the very idea) though they refused to tell us WHY they were so scared…

'…after forty-eight hours, the search was decreased, as per protocol, and the case was handed of to a 'dead-ender' in order for it to be locked into the usual interminable loop that such cases normally end up in after 72 hours without a lead. Upon receiving it and reading the name on the file, however, Officer Michelle Jackson immediately pulled out a thumb drive from her desk and lead the two officers in charge to the Precinct Chief's Office, where it was revealed that, not only had Ms. Hebert been responsible for ALL the electronic equipment for the BBPD through donations, and was responsible for all the equipment being clean, AND was responsible for discovering all of the moles in the PD, but she had, at the time of the security checks (three months earlier), left one such thumb drive with each 'dead-end' to see to it that all the things she wanted done could be completed… including twenty-seven separate quite operations that will only be revealed at a later time, and the name of her bullies, who she was worried about surviving… which, interestingly, included the aforementioned Emma Barnes… and informed us of additional info hidden in three separate caches, all of which have been claimed, consisting of… several secret files, all found… as well as… her locker.

'…Upon investigation, it was discovered that her locker had yet to be checked, due to the fact that no-one admitted to knowing where it was… when found, the previously mentioned reek was coming from inside the locker. HAZMAT was called to open it, and, upon doing so, Ms. Hebert was found inside, along with many pounds of dangerous biological material, where, it appears, she had been since the day she disappeared…

'… She was unconscious, and had multiple contusions on her head, apparently from seizure due to toxic shock… multiple places where bugs had eaten away at her… multiple organ failure… infections and diseases, some of which were unrecognizable even under the examination of a lab… and many other issues, including evidence of unhealed bruises, broken bones, and other issues… most concerning, however, was the three stab wounds in her chest that had, apparently been placed sometime AFTER she was incarcerated, event though the doors showed no signs of opening, and the mess showed no sign of being disturbed…

'… one thing this officer can guarantee, is that, between the Dockworkers and other Unions, except the teacher's union, which remains split, the police, fire, and EMT service members who owe her their lives (who, it is worth noting, [again, baring the teacher's union] are all abandoning Winslow High for its treatment of one of their own, including boycotting work orders, refusing service, and removing ALL affiliated children), and the general public outcry against the budding philanthropist's treatment, the people who did this are going to WISH for a quick death when we find them.'

In conclusion, while there is some evidence of potential triggering, there is only BARELY enough. Indeed, all things considered and SOP being what it is, I would not even SUGGEST this course of action, baring one thing. Based on forensic analysis, it was almost 72 hours after Miss Hebert was placed in the locker she was found in that she was found and removed, but professional analysis places her trigger sometime between the night of January sixth, or the early morning of the seventh, near the EXACT timeframe for her to potentially be the cause of the 'Singularity'. As such, observation is REQUIRED!

Setting the file down, Rebecca Costa-Brown, also known as Alexandria frowned as she mulled over the various problems represented by its contents. Of course it took a thinker of her caliber barely a second to trace the issue back to Shadow Stalker, a member of their own; if that little nugget reached the public, PRT and Protectorate popularity would plunge in ways that were… unacceptable, Sadly, given the girl's… tendencies, and the tenacity of the investigation, that was only a matter of time. This meant that some… changes would have to be made.

Most obviously, Shadow Stalker's protection would be at an end. In addition to the fact that she was rapidly becoming too hot, she would also actively resist ANY attempts to talk or calm her down, accelerating and escalating until… worse things would happen. Thankfully, if Taylor Hebert DID trigger, the odds of her becoming a villain given the situation were… high, assisting with the PR issue. Villains were BAD, after all, and every child knew it. UNTHANKFULLY, she MAY have triggered with a Triumvirate-Tier (or, god forbid, higher) power, something that, according to all their research, shouldn't be possible. The Triumvirate had only gotten their powers by stripping away critical bits of Eden the Thinker, the second of the two Entities. Such shards should NOT be available to common people, at least as far as they could tell.

This also meant the Brocton Bay Experiment would have to be scrapped. The odds of revelation were… very low; but, with Miss Hebert entering the board with unknown powers and untold influence, it was just too risky to keep such a high-impact, negative-reputation project going. Yes, this was a setback, a MAJOR setback. Thankfully, they weren't burning anyone important, and a little subtlety could see it so the pawn, Thomas Calvert a.k.a. Coil, didn't realize that his backup was gone until it was too late, making him over-confident and prone to mistakes. Actually, a little bit of cautious probing could see him believing himself extra-protected, which might make him… careless. That could be MOST beneficial. And, if worst came to worst, Alexandria could kill him 'while resisting capture'. Sure, the parahumans he had under him would have to die, but there were none there that were unreplaceable. All in all, an acceptable collateral. A pity that Contessa couldn't deal with him like normal. She was one of the ones hit hardest by the Singularity.

Alexandria permitted her frown to deepen. The Singularity. An unprecedented, unbelievably bad moment for parahumans everywhere, and a continued issue for all. The moment when powers stopped.

All around the world, at PRECISELY the same second, powers glitched out, failing their users. Even Scion the Warrior, the partner of the now-dead Thinker, had just… disappeared. Or, at least, his avatar had. Ironically, despite this short term catastrophe, only two casualties were detected. Mannequin, a Tinker who had built himself into a Tinker-tech self-sustaining body, had had his infinite power supply fail, killing him instantly. Thankfully, he was a villain, a REALLY bad one, of the Slaughterhouse Nine, one of the most vicious criminal groups around, so no loss there. The other was more concerning. Eden, who had apparently NOT been completely dead, was finally offed by her life support systems collapsing. That was bad.

Oh, not that she was dead. Frankly, it couldn't have happened to a nicer world-destroying space whale. No, it was that, until the Singularity, she had still been alive that was the problem. Almost THIRTY YEARS of harvesting from what was supposed to be a corpse, only to discover that it WASN'T? Yeah, not great.

Worse still, while 'Eden' was dead, the Entity itself was showing signs of… rejuvenation. It was almost impossible to remove shards from it anymore to make Triggers in a bottle, and the shard banks were… changing. Was this the moment when the beast would wake up? Had another Entity, even Scion, managed to take the old one over? Or was this the result of the person who caused the Singularity? Was it just how Entities died? Or was this itself the Singularity? WHAT WAS GOING ON?

No amount of time and effort was bringing results. And, even worse, around the world, POWERS WERE CHANGING! Some were subtle, others harsh, but every power in the world shifted, at least a little. Worse still, every Thinker could get no-where in figuring out why, and some Thinkers were out of it entirely, like Contessa!

The woman had been the drive for Cauldron for years with her powerful shard, Path to Victory, a precog power that gave the user a series of easy to use, step-by-step instruction to achieve almost any goal; now however, she couldn't even get out of bed!

Whatever was happening, it needed to STOP!

A.N. Okay, for those of you having trouble following, here is the deal. Taylor was a computer geek, changing her Master 8+, Thinker 4 power of three-hundred-yard perfect bug control called Queen Administrator into a Thinker 7+, Trump 5, Tinker 4, Master 2 power of Administrator, which gave her Tinker programming skills, technopathy of the same range as previous, the ability to affect peoples' programming, but only by injecting single lines of 'code' (next to useless unless they are impulsive as fuck) and the ability to affect any 'active conditions' for others' powers (Glory Girl's Aura, Shadow Stalker entering or existing her Breaker state, Lung's ramping meter, etc.). HOWEVER, the power named itself Administrative Access, and the damn Network of Shards was too dumb to tell the difference between the name and the clearance level, so Taylor got her hands on Admin-level privileges for ALL powers EVERYWHERE, which is the same as before, but Trump is set to YES.

As soon as she tried to use it, the Network tried to locker her out. Her finely-tuned hacker reflexes and skill in that field let her use her temporary powers to make them permanent powers; In the process, however, it got changed. She is still OP, but things have shifted. How? Well, 1. She can copy powers by making bargains with, or by beating up, the users, gaining access to their shards as part of her 'mini-network', but she cannot just collect them without a deal. Each new power can manifest in any way she chooses, as long as it is within the shard's directive. 2. She can use a striped-down version of Observe skill, letting her see/affect any short- or long-term disabilities, stat effects, or other such. She CANNOT, however, master anyone without them ASKING HER TO, and even then it takes time and effort. More on that later. Finally, 3. She is in charge of the Network. As for what that means… heheheheheh. Read to find out!

If I write more, anyway.

Well, that's it for now. PEACE!