Nightmares weren't anything new to me, after my mom had passed away and dad had started his downward spiral I used to have nightmares about waking up and being totally alone. I would go looking for my dad and wouldn't find him in the house, and even when I went outside there would be nothing there. After the Trio began to make my life a living hell I had nightmares of them following me home, and of course after they shoved me into the locker that became one of the bigger ones.

Meeting Stetson and Riley had helped with my nightmares a bit, making it so I didn't feel so alone in the world anymore. And once I started training and figuring out what I could do the Trio didn't scare me enough to play that big of a role. I still had the occasional dream about my dad being gone, but I had learned to ignore those.

However what I had seen in Heartbreaker's base haunted my dreams, people's bodies decaying from the cold, huddled together to find some form of warmth. Women whose bodies had been abused huddling around a generator with eyes devoid of any thought for themselves. The broken form of Edge Shooter as I forced the doll to sacrifice itself for a chance to win.

It was all fresh, and no matter how much I tried to push against it in the dream the images would simply replay again and again in horrible focus, asking why I wasn't doing more for them.

When I finally woke up it was with a small gasp, thankful for the alarm the Dollhouse played.

Communication from Stetson, would you like to connect?

I glanced down at myself, seeing that I hadn't changed out of my uniform before passing out on the bed, not even mentioning the sweat that was still clinging to me from the nightmare. But given how busy my teacher probably was this might be one of the few times we got a chance to talk.

"Connect." I answered, straightening myself up in the bed and watched as a hologram of my teacher appeared at the foot of the bed.

Stetson looked much the same as he always did, if one didn't know he was a projected image they would assume he was physical in the room, just another miracle of the Dollhouse. "Congratulations on a job well done Taylor, taking down a monster like Heartbreaker is a fine first mission. Freeing those that he enslaved to his will at the same time was a master stroke as well."

Despite the nightmares still being fresh I couldn't help but feel proud at the praise that Stetson had given me. "Thank you, I just…"

"You wish you could have done more for his victims, or stopped him sooner," Stetson finished my thought and offered a smile. "I understand that it is hard, you have a good heart and feel for those hurt by others. Remember that you've saved so many lives today and take comfort in knowing that Heartbreaker will never hurt another because of your actions."

Hearing those words from him made some of the worry that had been hanging over my thoughts leave me. This had been my first mission without him looking over my shoulder, and I was probably judging myself more harshly than was needed. If I had actually stopped healing each individual person, Heartbreaker might have gotten away, or I might have lost to Desperate after draining too much stamina.

"Thank you, I just hope that the people he kept there are being taken care of," I took a small breath to steady my emotions before turning back to his image. "How did you know about the attack?"

"Riley happened to send me a message through the Dollhouse. I believe her exact words were 'Even if Taylor is amazing she will probably blame herself so please call her when you can'. That girl worries about you quite a bit you know." my teacher offered me a sly smile that I could only reply to with a laugh.

It felt good to have people worried about me.

"Sorry if you had to take some time out of..whatever you are doing just to call me." I felt a bit embarrassed about the situation, even if Riley was right about me being hard on myself. I was still new to having someone go out of their way just because I was feeling down.

"Nonsense, you are my student after all, even if I can't be there to teach you day to day I still have an obligation to check in on you once in a while." he waved off the issue.

With that worry set aside for the moment I decided to focus on another concern. "Then if you have time, I need to ask you about something."

"Of course," he took a seat and motioned for me to continue.

"Yesterday I called upon a Black Box doll, Lord Rebellion. The Dollhouse said that my 'current control level' might lead to danger when using it…and I nearly drained myself just activating its power for a few seconds." it had been shocking to me just how quickly the activation of a single doll had nearly put me under. Even after a night filled with fighting I should have been able to keep up for at least a few minutes.

"Ah, yes I suppose introducing the concept of the Boxes just before leaving was ill thought out on my part. You have my earnest apologies on that matter," Stetson sighed. "Do you remember why we use our blood to connect to the dolls?"

I blinked and thought back to some of the first lessons that Stetson had taught me. "I think it was something to do with sharing life between yourself and the doll."

"Correct, however it's a bit more complex than that. Each doll shares a unique link with its user, how one doll will function and act while I command it might not be the same as your own experience."

"But that doesn't explain why Lord Rebellion exhausted me." I felt like there was something I was missing, but I couldn't quite figure it out.

"Simply put, the personality behind Lord Rebellion didn't mesh with your own mindset, thus the link you established with the doll required much more energy than you were used to. And of course all of the dolls within the boxes are on a different scale in terms of power compared to those outside of them. Even for me it is less exhausting to control two or three dolls at the same time then try and make prolonged use of a single doll from those collections. They are meant to be used as situational weapons or methods of last resort."

"You couldn't have told me that before I summoned one and nearly passed out?" there was a bit more of an edge then I had meant to put into my tone.

For a moment Stetson didn't reply, before letting out a small sigh and lowering his head. "You are right." for a moment my teacher looked like a totally different person. While he was always on the older side he had always seemed more energetic, hardly ever acting it. "There is a story you need to hear, if only to help you understand more about why I make the decisions I do. And the mistakes…I've made more of those than I can count."

Part of me wanted to apologize for upsetting him, because while I had been annoyed I hadn't meant to hurt him with my words. But I was equally caught up by the idea of getting to learn more about the man who had saved my life.

"When I was younger I lived in an orphanage in a small community that was rather isolated from the rest of the world. I like to think my childhood was fairly normal, though I maybe had a bit less of an education then some and a bit on the frail side," a small smile came to his face. "Those were good days, they didn't last of course. They never seem to." Stetson drew in a small breath, his eyes unfocused as he remembered his past. "My small community came under attack and in the span of an hour I lost everything. My family was gone, my community was gone, and…" he put a hand over the arm that connected him to the Dollhouse. "Other things were lost as well."

I could see how difficult it was having to talk about his past, it had taken a bit before I had been able to tell anyone about my mother after all, and it seemed like he had lost quite a bit more in a short period of time.

"The next time I woke up I was inside of the Dollhouse, with a new arm and a man that would go on to teach me almost everything I know about the world. For a year I learned from him while also trying to do some good in the world. Then we ended up facing the same force that had destroyed my community. It was a terrible battle, and by the end of it my teacher was dead and I was injured quite terribly. The only bright point of the entire endeavor was that our mission had been accomplished, we provided a beating they would take years to recover from. Even still there was so much that needed to be done. Even if the worst happens to me I want to leave you with a world where you can properly grow without worry."

While the entire story was interesting I couldn't help but feel a small amount of shock. Outside of an Endbringer or someone like Eidolon or Alexandria it was hard to imagine anyone being able to beat the Dollhouse. "What…I mean who did you guys fight?"

"A terrible enemy, Taylor. I don't intend to keep you in the dark about things that might prove dangerous to you, but I also know you well enough that you aren't the kind to simply stand back and let things be. So I intend for the moment to give you only enough information to avoid them at all costs, or to call for me should you encounter them. Do you understand?" Stetson's gaze was rather serious, and honestly from the description given I could see why he would want me to avoid them.

I couldn't exactly say he was wrong, letting things go when they were hurting others irked me, especially now that I had power to stop them. If he gave me enough information I would probably end up in a dangerous situation without even thinking about it. "I understand."

He looked at me through the hologram for a moment, as if searching my face to check for sincerity before nodding. "The names you must watch out for at all costs are as followers: Third Cause, The Family, Infinite Circus, and any mentions of the Seeker or Warrior. So long as you avoid those names there is little that you have to fear so long as you move forward with purpose."

I closed my eyes and burned those names into my memory. Not getting involved might be difficult because after his story I now had a reason to worry about the man who had saved my life and given me the power to make a difference, but I could at least keep him in the loop. "Got it. I'll make sure to keep you informed if I hear anything."

He offered a smile and a light chuckle at my reply. "I'm sure you will. Now then there are two more things to go over. First is about the team you are putting together."

I leaned forward. "What about them?"

"It's important that you learn about each one as an individual before focusing on them as a team. Take time before rushing toward your goal to properly understand who they are and what they can do." Stetson said.

"Have you been on a team before?" my teacher had always struck me as the loner type, it was hard to imagine him traveling with others and doing their own thing.

"Oh, more times than I can count. Sometimes leading, more often than not following someone and playing the role of a distant mentor. Mind you, I have the hardest time finding young people who don't needlessly rush into danger." he eyed me for a moment and I felt that I couldn't quite meet his eyes on that one.

"What's the second thing?" I asked, trying to change subjects.

"There is someone I'd like you to meet," he turned away and motioned for someone to enter into the range of whatever he was using the record himself. A young woman, maybe mid-twenties at most with blonde hair entered the picture, offering a smile toward me.

"You must be Taylor, Stetson here goes on about you all the time," the woman laughed softly and looked forward. "My names Paige, but you probably know me better as-"

"Canary?!" I couldn't stop myself, nearly collapsing from shock. "I thought, I mean the whole trial…you broke her out of prison?" I turned toward Stetson, my mouth hanging open slightly from shock.

"I happened across a news broadcast about the situation she faced and found her argument toward it being a terrible misunderstanding more convincing than it being an act of malice. And I figured that serving out a community sentence where her talents could be put to use made more sense then being thrown into a pit." Stetson seemed rather nonchalant about breaking out a prisoner that was going to be sent to the Birdcage. Then again he had never really struck me as one to listen to the law when it didn't suit him, considering that despite all his power he was more of a rogue than a proper hero.

"I uh, yeah okay that makes sense." I couldn't exactly argue, anyone with half a brain that had heard about the trial knew that Canary had been railroaded for the entire process.

Canary laughed a bit and held up a hand to show she didn't mean offense. "You're exactly like how he described you, he talks about you basically all the time."

I felt a small blush at that, dipping my head slightly to hide behind my hair. "Thanks I uh, I really like your music."

"Then how about when we meet up I do a live performance?" Canary smiled and turned toward Stetson. "That being said we should probably get going right?

"Indeed, so much to do so little time sadly," Canary stepped away and Stetson turned to focus on me. "Keep up on your training Taylor, I'll try and keep in contact when possible."

The hologram ended, leaving me somehow even more tired then I had been before passing out last night. But there was no rest for the wicked, and after getting out of bed and throwing on some clothes I had kept in the Dollhouse after one too many 'accidents' involving juice getting spilled on me at school I was ready to face the world.

Or in this case a half dead looking Lisa and Riley staring into their breakfasts in front of them before turning to look at me, giving small mutters of welcome as I sat down at the large table.

Within moments I had food brought to me by T.V. Butler and began to dig in myself, even if it was just pancakes and fruit it still had the same Dollhouse quality that came with all of the food that was grown within the greenhouse here.

After her second cup of coffee Lisa turned to me. "So I don't know if it hit any official news source but Heartbreaker's arrest is all over the web, apparently full credit is being given to Thread. Top that off with donating the full bounty attached to his head to a Dragon created and sponsored charity that sprang into existence last night for victims of his and suddenly there are about as many active threads on the PHO about your cape name as there are people to make them."

"And that's good?" I asked hopefully. I had flown under the radar for almost my entire life, so suddenly being the center of attention was weird. Even if technically it was my secret identity getting most of the spotlight.

"Little of A, little of B," Lisa answered. "Everyone hated Heartbreaker, but at the same time most people thought he was just someone that was going to be around and making people miserable for the rest of his natural life. Like the Nine-" she winced and looked over to Riley, who simply waved it off. "-or Nilbog. Taking him down and breaking his mind control over his victims is going to get you attention from basically everyone. Good guys and bad guys."

I could see that getting to be a bit of a problem, if the bad guys started running every time I decided to fight them it was going to be a pain in the ass to beat the rest of the gangs in Brockton. "We'll figure out what to do about that latter," right now I was more focused on getting the Undersiders settled and following Stetson's advice about figuring out the people on my team. Not only that, but there was something I was dreading even more. "So are you still up for the meet up?"

Lisa looked at me for a moment in confusion, before realization dawned on her face and the most evil grin I had seen from her yet appeared. "A broken leg couldn't keep me away from it."

Part of me wondered if that would be less painful than trying to go out and try and pretend like I knew what a social grace was with two superheros, a former supervillain, and possibly other people my age. "Well, it's only…" I pulled out my phone and gulped. "Eleven Thirty?!." Apparently I was a heavy sleeper after having most of the blood in my body drained.

Who knew?

Thankfully the Dollhouse had a shower and I was able to make myself look almost put together before bringing Lisa and I a few blocks away from the mall. "Do I look okay?" I asked Lisa, seeing her rolling her eyes from just out of my view.

"Boss you just took down one of the biggest assholes in the world yesterday and then followed it up by giving away enough money to set you for life away. Are you really worried about what…" she paused for a moment and looked at the expression I was giving her. "You look fine, probably. Once again, not my type."

"Don't have a type." I responded with a sigh.

"But if I did, you probably aren't it, chief." Lisa winked at me, and I responded how any mature adult would.

I slugged her in the arm.

"Let's just get this over with." I was honestly excited for the chance to hang out with people my age outside of the Dollhouse and my other identity. But I was equally nervous about my sheer lack of social skills and that I would somehow make them hate me by doing something wrong.

It didn't take long to find the Dallon sisters and the small group that was with them, an older girl and two guys I didn't recognize. One of the guys was pretty close to Vicky with an arm wrapped around her, so probably her boyfriend? The other guy was muscular beyond belief but had a sort of plain face that was almost at odds with how well he was built. He seemed to be making small talk with Amy. It took a moment to recognize the girl as Lazerdream of New Wave, or more accurately Crystal Pelham if I was remembering correctly.

When Vicky saw me she moved away from the guy and floated over to me. Literally floated. A small cough from Crystal made her realize what she was doing and put her feet back on the ground with a small embarrassed cough. "Glad you could make it, we got here a bit early but you didn't send a text or anything."

"Still getting used to having a phone I guess," I felt a bit embarrassed by my apparent social slip up, but the guy who had his arm around Vicky earlier approached with the rest of the group and spoke up.

"It's fine really, names Dean," he offered his hand and I took it, giving a small shake before he pointed toward the large guy near Amy. "That's Edgar, and I'm pretty sure you already know the girls."

"Actually we didn't have a chance to talk back during that whole thing last week," Crystal smiled and waved. "Hopefully no more stalkers bothering you?"

"Yeah, I mean I haven't noticed anyone at least," I tried to push past any awkward questions and turned toward Lisa. "This is Lisa, she's the friend that I told you guys about."

"Friend or 'friend'?" Vicky asked with a smile, noticing the two of us standing close to another.

"Just friend, no matter how much it might break her sensitive he-" Lisa was cut off by my elbow striking her ribs, a small cough coming from her. "Jeesh fine, yeah we're just friends, outside of her d-" she dodged to the side before I could deliver another elbow to her ribs and she stuck her tongue out, getting a laugh from the group.

It was a weird experience, laughing as a group instead of just being the butt of the joke, and I think that's what Lisa was going for. I was glad to have brought her along, even if I wanted to drop her off of a building at the moment.

Vicky smiled and turned toward the mall with a wave of her hand. "Okay everyone here is the plan, we hit every store until Taylor has everything she needs, the boys carry everything and we help her put together something nice."

Crystal and Lisa gave a cheer while Amy might have muttered something to the positive, the boys mainly just looking put upon as we began to head into the mall itself.