Finding the Way


Part 6: Sophia


"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me," snarled Danny, looking as angry as Taylor had ever seen him. "One of the girls who's been giving Taylor hell for more than a year is a Ward, and you never picked up on it?"

Miss Militia looked rather embarrassed. Panacea stood off to the side, watching Taylor and Danny sympathetically.

Vicky joined her, watching Danny confront Miss Militia with interest.

"What's going on?" she asked in an undertone. "There's nothing else interesting happening around here. How come Mr Herbert's ripping chunks off Miss Militia?"

"It's 'Hebert'," Amy corrected her, "and they just found that one of the girls who shoved her in the locker was Shadow Stalker."

Vicky's eyes grew wide. "Well, fuck," she muttered. "That's a fucking turn-up for the books."

"Mr Hebert – Danny – " said Miss Militia placatingly, "we try to give our Wards enough leeway to have normal lives while in school, though we also try to ensure that they can get away in order to carry out the superheroic side of their lives without too much trouble."

"So you tell the schools, she's a Ward, don't question any absences, and they decide that means, give her carte blanche to bully other girls?" he shouted in her face. "Yeah, that's a really smart way to let them have their normal lives. Did you perhaps stop to fucking think that maybe her idea of a 'normal life' is to hurt people? For fuck's sake!"

Turning to Taylor, he said, "Okay, kiddo, let's go. I'm taking you home."

Miss Militia stepped forward. "Wait –"

"I'm. Fucking. Done. Waiting," he snarled. "You want me in the fucking Protectorate? Well, until your precious fucking Shadow Stalker is either behind bars or fucking dead, then forget it! Clean up your own fucking messes for once!"

And purple-brown smoke billowed around them, and they were gone.

"Damn," said Miss Militia. She looked at the other two. "For the record, I wanted to tell him that we still had his personal effects. And Taylor's."

"Right," said Panacea.

"Got it," said Glory Girl.

"Never doubted it," said Panacea.

"But if you want my advice …" said Glory Girl.

Miss Militia looked at her suspiciously.

"Do what he says. Fix this shit," said Glory Girl.

Panacea nodded. "Come down hard on Shadow Stalker and her friends. If she's guilty, throw the book at her. And then…"

Glory Girl nodded. "And then go to him and very humbly ask him to reconsider."

"And invite Taylor to join the Wards too, of course," agreed Panacea. "I doubt very much that they'll want to be apart."

Miss Militia frowned. "I'll be taking that under advisement." She nodded at the two of them. "I'll stand down the guards. Thank you for your assistance. Have a good day."

Amy nodded at Victoria. "Time we went," she said with a smile.


They appeared in the middle of the living room. The purple-brown cloud dissipated around them, and they looked around. It was undisturbed. Taylor clung tightly to him.

"Oh god, Dad," she murmured. "It was like a nightmare."

He nodded, holding her tight.

"But we're all okay now," he said softly. "All okay."

She wondered, inside, if she would ever be really okay again.


"Shadow Stalker … please report to the Director's office … Shadow Stalker … please report to the Director's office."

"Oh, what the fuck?" Sophia snarled. She looked at Aegis. "Seriously? I just got through with talking to you over the thing at the school. Now I have to go talk to her about it?"

"Hey," said Clockblocker, leaning lazily back against a computer terminal. "Miss Piggy isn't happy unless she hears about it first hand."

"You shouldn't call her that," said Aegis reprovingly, but there was no heat in his comment.

"Yeah, well," began Clockblocker, but the rest of what he heard was lost to Sophia as she went to change into costume.


She took just as long as she thought she could get away with, drawing it out, but finally the last accessory was placed just right, and her costume had no wrinkles in it anywhere. So she strode out of the Wards' area and entered the elevator that would take her to the officer of the regional Director of the PRT.


They walked out of the hospital, and Victoria scooped Amy into her arms.

It was fun, flying with Vicky. She felt so safe. Leaning against her sister's shoulder, she sighed.

"What's up, Ames?" asked Victoria with a smile. "That sounded sad."

"I just got a reminder that some things don't last forever. And that I should say some things to some people before it's too late."

"Oh?" said Vicky. "Like what?"

Amy took a deep breath. "Vicky, can you promise me that what I say next, you won't freak out, and you won't tell anyone? Especially Carol?"

Glory Girl looked a little worried. "Now you're scaring me, Ames. What is it? Do you have some condition? Are your powers killing you?"

Amy smiled and shook her head. "Nothing like that. But I need you to promise."

"Okay," said Victoria. "I promise."

Amy looked her in the eye and said, "Victoria Dallon, I am in love with you."


The door to the office opened, and Shadow Stalker entered. Director Piggot looked up; her face registered disapproval. "While I understand that it takes some little time to get your costume on, Miss Hess," she said, "a little more promptness may be in order."

"I'm sorry," said Shadow Stalker insincerely. Director Piggot would have to know it was insincere, but so long as she said the words, they couldn't fault her on how she said it. "What is you wanted to see me about?"

Director Piggot nodded off to the side, where Miss Militia flanked Armsmaster. "Those two will explain it better than I can. If you will?"

Armsmaster nodded to Miss Militia, who stepped forward. "I interviewed Taylor Hebert at the hospital today," she said crisply. "She spoke of three girls who have been bullying her for the last year or more, and who are the prime suspects for having shoved her into her locker this morning."

A cold feeling rolled through Shadow Stalker. Bluff it out, bluff it out. "What's this got to do with me?" she asked, trying to strike a light tone.

Miss Militia looked her directly in the eye. "Did you have anything to do with Taylor Hebert being criminally assaulted and imprisoned in her own locker at Winslow High, this morning?" she asked directly.

Sophia stared boldly back at her. She can't see my face. She can't see my face, she told herself. "No," she said flatly.

"That's a lie," said Armsmaster.

Sophia stared at him. The chilly feeling intensified. "I'm not lying!" she blurted.

"I have a lie detector in my helmet," he told her coldly. "It says otherwise."

"One more time, Sophia," said Miss Militia implacably, "Have you been bullying Taylor Hebert for more than a year, and did you help lock her in her locker this morning?"

Her nerve broke; she turned to shadow, darted toward the windows behind Director Piggot's desk. They'll expect me to go for the door.

There was a taser in Miss Militia's hand. She swung it, looking for a clear shot.

Shadow Stalker reached the window, hit it. A crackling buzz of electricity surged through her. She solidified, fell to the floor in a tangled heap.

Director Piggot looked dispassionately down at her as Armsmaster secured her with specialty cuffs. "I think we can call that a confession of guilt," she said blandly. "I am going to have to thank Kid Win for installing that anti-intruder mesh over my windows. Though I have to admit, I thought it would serve to keep intangible people out, rather than in."

Armsmaster nodded. "Well, I'll go get her processed in." He hefted the unconscious girl over his shoulder, and looked at Miss Militia. "You can call the Heberts and give them the good news."

She grimaced. "I'm not looking forward to this," she confessed. "I hate looking like a fool in front of anyone, and Shadow Stalker made me look like a fool in front of Danny Hebert."

"She made fools of us all," Armsmaster reminded her, on his way out the door. "Time to make it right."

She nodded, and pulled out her phone.


Glory Girl and Panacea sat on a rooftop.

"Wait, wait, let me get this straight," said Victoria. "You find me sexy, and you want to sleep with me?" Disbelief and disquiet warred in her tone.

"Yes,"said Amy. "I love you, and I want to hold you in my arms every night." Her voice was patient; this was perhaps the fourth time they had gone through this. Victoria apparently had trouble fitting it into her worldview.

Victoria shook her head. "Where did this come from? You're my sister, Ames." You're supposed to act like it, her tone said.

"Only adopted," Panacea reminded her. "Besides, you're smart, you're sexy, you're beautiful." She blushed. "I really ... I mean ... I've had the urge to ... I just want to grab you and kiss you sometimes."

"Ames!" protested Victoria, blushing bright red in her turn. "You did not just say that!"

Amy nodded. "I did too," she contradicted Glory Girl. "Besides, this is all your fault."

Vicky shook her head. "It's my fault you've got the hots for me? How's that?" she asked.

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Remember the first time you let your awe aura go full blast?"

Victoria giggled. "Oh yeah. That was interesting."

Amy nodded. "That was the first time I looked at you and wanted to see what was under your clothes, rather than just loving you as a sister."

Vicky looked stunned. "My aura?Is that possible?"

Panacea shrugged. "If it affects brain chemistry … sure. I was young –" loftily ignoring the fact that she was still only sixteen, " – and your aura hit me right between the eyes. Made you into my ideal sexual partner. Every time I felt it after that, it just made me feel all the more attracted to you."

Victoria put her face in her hands. "Well, fuck," she said, her voice slightly muffled.

Panacea went to put her arm around her; Glory Girl flinched back. "Hey –"

"Whoa, whoa," said Amy. "Just a hug. I can still give you those, even if I'm hot for your sexy bod."

That brought a reluctant chuckle out of Victoria. "Okay, just keep it clean, all right?" she said. She accepted the hug, and after a moment, leaned into it.

"See?" said Amy. "I can control myself."

Vicky snorted. "I guess." A pause. "I always thought you had a crush on Dean."

Amy shook her head. "I was jealous of him. I wanted to be where he was."

Glory Girl eyed Amy. "So where do we go from here?"

Amy shrugged. "I don't know. I'll keep going as we are, if you want me to. I love you, but I know you love Dean, and he loves you – "

"Well, when he's not being a total pain," grinned Victoria.

Amy rolled her eyes. "As I was saying, I just wanted you to know it. If you ever, you know, felt curious about that sort of thing. I'm here for you. Any time."

Victoria grinned and punched her – very lightly – on the shoulder. "Well, I love you too, Ames. In a non-I-want-to-jump-your-bones way. So we'll keep going on as normal, if you're okay with that."

Amy smiled. "Just so long as you're happy, Vicky. That's all I want."

Victoria nodded. Then she paused. "Actually," she said.

"Actually?" asked Amy.

Vicky turned to look at her. "Yeah, actually. I've sometimes wondered what it would be like to kiss a girl. Not seriously, you know. Just wondered. Because there are some damn sexy chicks out there in some damn sexy costumes."

I'm sitting right next to one, thought Amy very loudly. But all she said was, "Yes?"

"And I was wondering … now that you've confessed your undying love and all that … if I could ask you for a favour." She paused. "Just a kiss. One kiss, is all. So I know what it's like. Nothing more, no making out, no putting your hands anywhere they shouldn't go." She gave Amy a severe stare. "Can you handle that?"

Amy felt her heart leap. "I can," she said, hoping her voice would not betray her. "Just one kiss. I can do that."

Oh my god, thought Amy. She's going to do this! She's going to kiss me!

Vicky smiled and leaned in toward her.


I'm straight, Vicky told herself firmly. I like boys. But I love Amy too, and if this helps her a little bit ...For her, I'll do this. Just a kiss.I hope she appreciates what I'm doing for her.


Amy reached out, put her arms around Vicky's neck. They moved their heads awkwardly, turning the same way, then Amy corrected with a giggle. And then their lips met.

To Amy it was wonderful, fireworks, the culmination of a thousand sweaty nights' clutching her pillow and wishing it was Victoria. The warm pressure of Victoria's lips on hers sent bolts of sensation throughout her body.


To Victoria, it was ... different. She had kissed boys before, but this was unlike any of those. Soft, yielding, inviting ... and the knowledge that it was Amy did not disgust her; it instead added a tingle of forbidden delight.


And then it ended, and Amy slumped back, breathing heavily. Oh my god, she thought. Oh my god. Now I can die happy.

Vicky looked at her, expression unreadable. "That … wasn't half bad, actually," she said. "You're a nice kisser."


Her thoughts were a little more chaotic. I think I liked that. How could I like kissing a girl? And my sister? What's wrong with me?

Amy smiled shakily. "Any time, Vicks," she said softly. "Any time at all."

Vicky stood, and Amy stood with her. Vicky scooped her up in her arms.

"Not saying we'll ever do this again, mind," she said, but her smile was soft and tender.

Amy closed her eyes and snuggled into her sister's embrace.


Taylor and Danny lay on his bed, on top of the covers, both fully clothed. The ordeal of the morning, despite having all the injuries fully healed, had left them both drained of energy. Taylor didn't want to be alone at the moment, so Danny held her while she slipped in and out of an uneasy doze.

And then the phone downstairs rang.

Danny grumbled something, stood up from the bed, and disappeared in a puff of brown and purple smoke. A moment later, the phone stopped ringing as he answered it.

Taylor lay there, letting her thoughts drift. She was out of that locker, and her father was just a thought away. They had been getting closer before; now, with their powers, they were almost inseparable.

Idly, she wondered where Sophia was. To her delight and amazement, she saw the dark-haired girl, in full costume, being carried unconscious through a corridor within the PRT building, over someone's shoulder. She wore cuffs of a design that Taylor was unfamiliar with.

Her father reappeared in the bedroom.

"Guess what?" he asked with a grin.

"They got Sophia," she said.

"How did you know?" he asked, looking surprised.

She grinned. "I can see her. She's unconscious and handcuffed."

He grinned right back. "Miss Militia said they'll be pressing as many charges as they can, and would we pretty please like to come by to talk about the charges, and about you joining the Wards and me joining the Protectorate."

She smiled. "I'd love to." She rolled off the bed and headed for her room, wondering what she should wear.


End of Part 6