Friends 01

I stirred as the light from the window hit my eyes. That was strange. The window was on the wrong side in my bedroom at Kurt and Lacey's to hit my eyes in the morning, at home the sun never shone in thanks to how I had the shades, and the PRT bunkrooms didn't have windows. Frowning, I peeled my eyelids back, the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling above me. The floral print sheets were definitely not mine, nor was the Queen-size bed.

Despite my confusion, I couldn't deny how the overpowering smell of bacon was making my mouth water and stomach roar. Even if it was burnt bacon. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, trying to pull the wool out of my memories. Waking up would be so much easier if I was a coffee person instead of a tea person.

As I pulled the door open to search out the bacon, a voice floated down the hallway. "Yes, ma'am, I know we should have sent you a message beforehand. It's totally my fault. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. She'll probably be staying over more often now, so do you mind if I text you whenever we have a sleepover instead of calling every time?"

Lisa. I had fallen asleep on Lisa's couch. I fallen asleep on Lisa! My face warmed to a degree I hadn't thought myself capable of; I probably looked like a human tomato. Oh god, this was so embarrassing…

But she hadn't asked me to leave. And she had - somehow - cajoled me into a real bed. That was…

Why was she being so nice?!

"Oh definitely Mrs. Murphy. You have a great day yourself!"

I stepped out of the hallway just as Lisa placed the phone onto the counter, rolling her eyes. She glanced over to me and gave a small salute with the frying pan. The bacon was definitely burned. It still looked delicious. My stomach rumbled again, further increasing my blush.

"Um. Hi," I mumbled.

"Morning! I made breakfast." She looked at another pan behind her and winced. "Well, I tried to make breakfast. The bacon is mostly edible, but I think the eggs are a lost cause. I have some cereal if you're not picky about nutrition. Just don't ask what's in it. The good news: it's not made of cardboard. I did check that. Thank god. Sherlock Scan for the win there, am I right? Of course I am. Bacon?" She slid a plate onto the counter in front of me and moved back to rummage in the cupboard muttering, "How the hell can I not get fucking cooking tips from you? You give me everything else, but no, cooking is too much to ask for? Goddamn useless superpower."

I blinked. The plate had a pile of burned bacon which I accepted without a word before sitting down on one of her bar stools as I tried to process what was going on.

"Sherlock Scan?" I ultimately asked, taking one of the tasty morsels and nearly groaning as it melted in my mouth.

"One of the ways I like to describe my power," Lisa said, grinning. Her smirk was distinctly fox-like. So I hadn't just imagined that the other day. Good to know. "I also refer to it as my crutch, but I try not to lean on it too much if I can help it. Killer headaches, you know? No, you don't. You just pass out. Hmm, hard to tell which of us has it worse. Though I suppose…probably you."

I lifted my eyebrows and she shrugged.

"I get migraines that knock me out for a few hours or a day. You could literally kill yourself if you push too hard. Not all powers are kind."

My bacon suddenly tasted a lot like ash. I swallowed the mouthful and stared at her. "I could…what?"

"You hadn't realized it before?" I shook my head. Lisa frowned, leaning over the countertop and running her gaze over me. "I…could be wrong. But I don't think so. From what I saw when we met - and how I've seen videos of you using your powers with the Wards - I've got enough details for my guess to be pretty damn accurate. Taylor, your ability draws on your own reserves. Go too low and you could overdraw. That's part of why I stayed with you when you passed out. You have to be careful of how much you power up others, or you're going to use too much, too fast, and you're going to drain yourself dry."

Cold dead eyes stared up at me and I knew Lisa was wrong. Not fundamentally wrong, but wrong all the same.

I hunched over, shivering. It didn't matter. I'd let myself die before I let it happen again.

"Hey, hey, breathe." Someone's hand was on my shoulder, shaking me. I pushed the plate of bacon away, sucking in a great gasp of air.

"I'm not hungry anymore."

"Yes, you are. And you need to eat." Lisa sat down next to me and pulled the plate back, her face a mask I couldn't read.

"But -"

"No buts. Eat. Please?"

Suppressing a final shudder, I gingerly picked up another piece of the burnt breakfast. It really did taste good, despite its appearance…

"Good. Okay, you finish your artery clogging plate. I'll call the girls and get our day going."

"Wait, what?!" I yelped, nearly choking on my food. "Call who for what now?"

"I was originally just going to suggest we sit and talk or watch a movie or something, but girl, you need to unwind. So we're going to have a Girls' Day Out."

It was probably a minor miracle that my eyes managed to stay in my head at that declaration.

Lisa waved a spatula at me, an easy grin back across her lips. "Don't even think it, Taylor. You do too have friends. I looked through your phone while you slept to figure out who I was supposed to be calling to let them know you were alright. You have three contacts that aren't the PRT in there, sweetie. I'd say those other two count as friends, hmm?"

"Missy and Vicky?! They won't want to come out for a girls day. They don't - they have lives! I don't even know what people do on a girls' day!"

Lisa's grin slipped a bit as the spatula lowered and she laid a hand over mine, squeezing just enough to remind me she was there. "Taylor…do you trust me?"

I shouldn't. I barely know you.

But she let me sleep in her bed, and she was listening when I talked…

"…Yes," I whispered, my chin dropping to rest against my chest so I wouldn't have to meet her gaze. "Please don't make me go shopping…"

"Okay. I promise. We can change up your wardrobe and get you feeling beautiful again another day. Today is solely about having fun. I'll take care of it. Okay?"

I could only nod mutely as I grabbed another piece of bacon. Lisa stood. I thought she was going to walk away, but before she did, she stepped behind me and wrapped me in a hug, her arms squeezing me tight and her ponytail tickling my cheek.

"If it's too much, we can come back; just work 'raspberries' into a sentence and I'll make up an excuse. Just let me try and cheer you up for a bit. I promise, you'll enjoy this."

Lisa moved away, taking my phone with her as she headed into the living room. My hand lifted almost on its own to touch my collarbone where she had been leaning.

I didn't remember the last time I had been hugged by anyone else.

Oh wait, yes I did: it was Lisa, last night.

Well, apparently this was going to be a thing. Warmth blossomed in my chest at that thought.

"Oh ho ho! The dork can sing! Who would have thought it?"

I threw a pillow at the sole boy in our group as I passed the microphone to Missy and flopped down onto the couch, keeping Vicky between Alec and me. Alec just laughed, rolling his eyes and changing targets to egg Missy on as the next karaoke song queued up.

"Shut up!" I said, laughing, actually laughing for once. This was…fun! We had been here for…holy cow, we'd been here for three hours?! How had we been here for three hours and how was I still enjoying it?! Lisa had been right, this was a good idea. My voice was starting to hurt though…It was a lot of singing. "What are you even doing here? It's supposed to be a girls' day, and you're a boy."

Alec ran his hands down his sides, cocking his hip out and batting his eyes at me. Vicky whooped next to me and Missy studiously avoided looking his way while she searched through the list on the screen.

"I am so a girl today. I am more of a girl than you, dork. Look at my sundress! Aren't I beautiful?"

"Work it, sexy!" Vicky crowed. Alex winked at her and blew her a kiss.

"Guys! I am trying to pick a song here," Missy groaned. "Vicky, don't encourage the guy. And Taylor, you look great today! Lisa, control your friend, he's messing with my groove!"

"Thank you, Missy," I said. "Oh you should pick Bon Jovi! My parents loved his music."

"Who the hell is Bon Jovi?"

Lisa groaned, laying a hand over her forehead. "Oh god, I am surrounded by children and uncultured swine. Pick it Missy, you'll love it!"

"Ohhh, does that mean -"

"Not a word, Alec. Not. A. Word." She glared at him from between his fingers and he dropped back down into his seat cackling, his dress flaring around him.

"That was smart of her to bring him along," Vicky commented, elbowing my side and jerking her head towards Alec as Missy started to belt out a hilarious rendition of It's My Life.

I shrugged. "Sure? I don't really get why she invited him, but he is funny, even if his humor is a bit on the jerkish side."

"Your friend is keeping it casual by including him," Vicky said, leaning closer to me so that I was the only one who could hear her over the music. At my confused stare Vicky pointed a finger at Missy, and herself. "We're your friends. I'm always happy to hang out with new people, but coming out with just Missy, you, and your new sarcastic friend? That's an entirely different context than Lisa dragging her own friend along. Now it's a lot of friends going out for some fun, instead of one friend asking for backup on a maybe date. See, big difference!"

My eyes widened and my cheeks heated up again. "That's not what this is! She just - I just - I'd had a bad day and - I wasn't even - It was Lisa's idea to - I mean -"

Vicky punched my shoulder, laughing. "Calm down, Tay! I'm saying it's not a date. That's why the dude's here! I bet you ten bucks Lisa didn't have any female friends before you and she's as desperate for us all to get along as you are."

I thought of Hellhound. Anyone with dogs couldn't be that bad. Even if those dogs were gigantic slobbering monsters with arm-length spikes half the time.

"No bet. I'm sure she has at least one female friend."

Vicky grinned wider. "Bet you a sundae she doesn't."

"I'm going to win."

"Put your money where your mouth is then, girl."

I thrust out my hand. "You're on."

Vicky enthusiastically shook my hand hard enough to make my shoulder ache. Missy finished her song a second later and as she handed the microphone off to Vicky, Vicky's grin stretched from ear to ear.

"First!" she stood up and jumped to the center of the room. "Lisa! As you are Taylor's new friend and we are highly protective of her -" Missy quickly nodded, sending her curls flopping about her head, "-we require some minor details about your life!"

Lisa's eyebrows arched as she met Vicky's gaze. I just buried my head in my hands.

"Vicky!"

"I didn't think I spiked our drinks yet, but sure, shoot," Lisa stated. I didn't have to see her face to hear her grin. "I reserve my right to interrogate you two later."

"No you don't! No interrogating! Back to singing!"

"Lisa! Do you…Have any other female friends?" Vicky crowed, triumphantly.

Alec nearly fell over laughing, his arms around his middle. Missy snorted.

"Of course I don-" Lisa started to comment, then stopped as she glanced at me. "Do. Granted, we're not close. But we work together all of the time. She runs an animal shelter and I walk her dogs. They love me."

"Ohhh, I'm so telling Rachel you consider her a friend. Judas is going to eat you alive, Lizzie." Alec's eyes were practically dancing as he wheezed out his words. "I'll make popcorn!"

Wait…'Rachel' was almost definitely Hellhound and if Alec knew her, then…he was probably with the Undersiders too…and Alec had a dry, but hilarious sense of humor…Oh! Alec was Regent! No wonder I found him funny! And why he looked good in a dress. Hell, Regent looked better than me in a dress.

Not that that was all that hard. Most people looked better than me in a dress.

"Aw man, I was so sure!" Vicky deflated. "Damn. Taylor, I owe you an ice cream sundae."

Lisa met my gaze and winked. "Yeah, but trust me, Vicky, Alec here looks much better than Rachel in a dress."

"Oh Lisa, I'm touched. I didn't realize you had actual fashion sense."

I laughed along with the other girls at his comment. Vicky turned back to the song list and started searching through for something decent. I shuffled over to lean my head against Lisa's shoulder.

"Thanks," I murmured.

"No raspberry jam needed?" she replied just as soft, Missy's booing drowning out Alec's comments over Vicky's choice of music.

"You were right. This was…a lot of fun."

Lisa took my hand as Vicky and Missy both joined forces, deciding on a duet. Alec's answering groans were entirely lost under their dueling tones.

I didn't need to bring up Dean to Vicky right now. It would ruin a fantastic day.

This was all…so worth it. And I wasn't going to mess it up.

\/\/~*.' '.*~\/\/

Forward

The last of the children finally, finally sat down, allowing for Piggot to bring the meeting to order. It was about time. He had been waiting for what felt like hours. Not that it was literally hours, but it had certainly seemed like it. It had been quite some time since he had been without the ability to perform a second task during a pointless meeting. Yet, there was no way to miss this without appearing suspicious, so there was no use in even trying. This briefing hadn't even started yet and it was already dragging into eternity. The only good thing was that now he could easily gauge the reaction of nearly every heroic individual in the city. Piggot had truly called in everyone. He was almost impressed.

Not that it would save her if he had anything to say about it.

"This is what we know for certain," Piggot stated, clicking her pointer and changing the slide, an image of Sophia Hess entering Fugly Bob's appearing on the wall monitor. "Shadow Stalker entered the restaurant at 1628 in her civilian guise."

It was interesting that they weren't even trying to blur Shadow Stalker's identity in the photos. Certainly New Wave's members didn't know who the girl was. Though, at this point, was there really any point in keeping her life - and death - a secret? The family was likely to be moved anyway and even if they didn't, no one would care about a former cape's family. There wasn't any point in going after a former cape's family. Not even the Empire was that suicidally insane. Threatening family members of living capes was one thing. That was just business and, as long as you could get away with it, it was nearly expected. Taking it a step further to assassination was also a rote matter. But once the cape in question was deceased? It was a simple waste of resources and drew attention needlessly.

"There's multiple angles from inside the establishment showing Shadow Stalker and Braid conversing." The pointer clicked again and this time a short video of Hess and Hebert played out, ending when Hebert tried to dash away, with Hess leisurely…well, stalking after her off screen. It was amusing enough to nearly leave him chuckling.

He hoped Regent had managed to get a better angle. To be able to replay that confident walk just before the downfall of such a self-assured arrogant fool…Hmm, exquisite.

"Director," Glory Girl tried to interject, but Piggot shook her head, a scowl on her face.

"No. All questions at the end. Facts first. As I was saying: Braid and Shadow Stalker both leave the establishment by way of the back door at 1636." The video changed again, and now it was Regent carrying a near catatonic Braid from the alley as a waiter shouted behind them, performing CPR on the long-dead Stalker. He couldn't have planned it better himself! Regent had walked her right by a camera for the alley! "At 1640 Braid is seen leaving the alley behind the establishment in the company of another individual. Shadow Stalker is left behind, deceased."

"Director." This time it was Armsmaster that attempted to interject, but again Piggot cut him off.

"All comments at the end," she snapped. "EMTs were contacted by the local staff. Panacea was also contacted once Shadow Stalker's identity was established. Panacea's report was clear: there was sign of life and no clear cause of death. It was as if every source of vitality had simply been drained out of every cell in Shadow Stalker's body simultaneously. All bodily functions and processes were stopped instantly and completely."

The image changed to display Braid's power testing results, an exceedingly short blurb from the lead researcher that they were certain there was a secondary aspect to her power everyone was missing.

He rubbed his hands. He'd overlooked Braid for far, far too long. That she had snapped one day in one his alternate universes was a lucky break. She was as far from useless as could be. Properly trained, with a force multiplying enabler…he could mold her into the perfect assassin and bodyguard both. Breaking her wouldn't be a problem. It would take very little effort to break someone this fragile; using his Tattletale would be almost cheating in that regard. He just needed to figure out which Mover to pair her with to make her truly invincible. Trickster was a decent option if nothing else could be found, but the fool's limits could prove troublesome and Trickster was not the most stable of individuals at the best of times. No, a better choice was required for such a perfect cape. A cape with the touch of death, who could also empower others…He was nearly drooling at the thought. The precog pet he had been considering aiming for was a distant goal now, compared to this. None would cross him with this tool in his pocket. Not even that fedora wearing bitch.

"We now know what the other half of Braid's ability is; why she always seemed unbalanced." Piggot's scowl could have melted lead. He was briefly reminded just why she had survived Ellisburg. "We do not know where she is. We do not know who helped her away from the scene. These are questions that require answers, and they require answers yesterday. She can kill with a touch people. Every one of you should understand how dangerous such an ability is; both to others, and to Braid to herself. The girl is unwell. I expect everyone in this room to be searching high and low for her during their patrols. I want her found. I want her brought in. I am authorizing unlimited overtime for anyone actively searching for her." She paused and clicked the pointer again. The screen changed to show Braid, two photos side-by-side, one in costume, one in civilian clothes.

He almost laughed. Emily could not have made it any easier for him. She really couldn't. He wouldn't even have to edit the footage before he sent it to Tattletale. It already looked like they were setting a manhunt for his newest pet!

"Questions?"

"Multiple!" Glory Girl snapped.

"Glory Girl, sit down!" Brandish hissed.

"No, I will not! Director Piggot, you're acting like this is all Braid's fault. Taylor had a fucking restraining order against Sophia! It went into effect a week ago because everyone here kept putting them on patrols together and she needed something stronger than just a contract that wasn't being enforced! I helped her get to a judge when my mother laughed it off!"

"Glory Girl!"

"I am aware of the restraining order," Piggot stated. "What part of my explanation of events implies I was not? As I stated, I was defining the facts of the case, Glory Girl. Two teenagers walked into that restaurant, only one walked out."

"And you're asking all of us to go on a manhunt for her like she's some common criminal!" Vista shouted, slamming her hands on the table as she shouted.

Oh…now there was an idea. Vista already liked Braid. They worked well together as it was. The child was young and impressionable. Her power synergized extremely well with Braid's…How to get her alone…

"No, Vista," Piggot snapped. "I am directing you to recover your teammate before the gang members do. This information is going to get out, and once it does, she's going to be an immediate target. She was already a target before, now they have every reason to take her. Can you imagine what the Empire would do with her power? The Fallen? The Nine? Even if she wasn't going to be on the top of these lists, there's still the fact that there was a fatality. We have to at least bring her in to get her side of the story. That is proper procedure."

Armsmaster had not taken his eyes off of the screen. "Does anyone know what happened to cause things to deteriorate between them? I was…unaware the conditions were so bad. I had spoken with Shadow Stalker to reduce her requests for so many buffs each mission, but…"

"They knew each other in their civilian identities," Aegis said, shaking his head. "Stalker didn't like Braid. But Stalker didn't really like any of us. I thought she actually somewhat respected Braid since Braid…made her more effective…"

"Braid was scared of her," Kid Win commented, head low. "She'd leave a room if Stalker entered. More so lately. She used to just sit and take whatever abuse Stalker threw at her. But the last few weeks she's been walking away. It was…It was good to see. I wouldn't have thought Stalker would track her down outside of the office. It shouldn't surprise me."

Clockblocker looked at Kid Win like he had grown a second head. "What the hell are you talking about? Stalker was just ribbing her. Like we all do! It was teasing. Nothing to take seriously. It was just bullshitting."

This time, he did chuckle to himself. Ah, to think with one's genitals. Such a fool. He would have to remember to send Clockblocker a gift basket at some point, that young man was probably at least part of the reason that Braid had even come to his attention in the first place!

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Kid Win yelled, head snapping up and glaring at Clockblocker. "Stalker is dead! That's not just teasing! This is Taylor we're talking about. Taylor! What did you call her? Taylor, the Doormat? Taylor doesn't just lash out! Stop thinking with your -"

"Guys," Gallant murmured, his voice soft yet cutting through the shouting. All eyes turned to the young man. "I…may know a bit more…"

He was amazed the Protectorate members had stayed quiet so far. Perhaps they were all just too shocked? Maybe he should experiment a bit in a different reality and get up and start insulting one of them, accusing them of causing Braid's downfall? It would be amusing at least.

Ah, no, what was the point? They were all too busy waiting for Gallant's great revelation. So was he, if he was completely honest with himself.

"Braid…She…she was always really depressed. It hurt to be near her, it was so overpowering. And she really didn't like Stalker, but not as much as Stalker…Stalker hated her. Like an incandescent hate. I've only ever seen things like that before when the Director talks about Ellisburg."

Piggot's lips thinned to a nearly invisible line, but Gallant seemed unaware. Oh this was too good. It was like television, but real! He should have brought popcorn.

"And you are just telling us this now?" Piggot hissed.

"I thought…I mean…We all had to work together right? I thought that if Stalker could see how useful Braid could be, how much Braid could help her do what she loved best - you know, hitting things and beating people up - that she'd warm up. I knew they'd never like each other, but I figured they'd at least be able to work together. And if they could work together…maybe that would help Braid too…right?"

Glory Girl's mouth was hanging open as she stared at Gallant. "You called out of patrols when our dinners went long…At least three times…I'd offered to fly you over so you could still make it…"

Miss Militia's gaze flashed between the two teens, her eyes narrowed. "Gallant? Is this true?"

"I was just…trying to help…I try to respect people's privacy and -"

"Her girlfriend told me she was suicidal a few weeks ago, you bastard! YOU SET HER UP TO WORK WITH SOPHIA WHEN SHE WAS SUICIDAL?!"

As the room devolved into multiple shouting matches, Calvert leaned back in his seat, just barely managing to keep a grin from his face. These fools would never be able to pull together soon enough to figure out that the Undersiders had Braid before he managed to get his pet to walk into his jaws and figure out how to break her.

The first step was just to determine where to cut the footage of this briefing for Tattletale. The whole thing certainly wouldn't do. Far too many people who seemed willing to help.

But if he just left it with Emily's talk…

He did so love it when a plan came together without any effort on his behalf.

\/\/~*.' '.*~\/\/