The police had been unable to find Sophia.

They'd picked up the two morons that she'd gotten to help her attack me and asked me to come in to identify them out of a lineup, but Sophia herself had gone missing. Apparently she hadn't returned home or gone to school in the past week.

I would have liked to think that she'd simply run away or been a victim of one of the gangs, but I knew better. The coward had gone to ground. She would be back once the heat was off. It wasn't in her nature to let this go. The insult would be too much for her to bear.

Dread churned in my gut. Would she come after me again? Or would she go after Dad? Or maybe Emma? I lowered my face into my hands and took a steadying breath.

"You doing okay?"

A reassuring hand settled on my back and I looked up to give a small smile to Victoria. "Yeah. It's just…"

"Hey, you're worried. I get that."

I nodded slightly and glanced over at Dean, who had been looking increasingly uncomfortable with each new detail of the story I'd told him. Victoria followed my gaze and asked, "So what do you think? Can you think of a way for me to track this girl down? I was thinking of maybe talking to the Wards about helping if I needed to."

"I mean… Do you even need to find her? It sounds like she ran when she heard the police were looking for her."

"Dean… I don't even know the girl and I know that's stupid. Who do you think she'll blame for reporting her to the police?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I get that she's probably a bit overly… aggressive. But even if she's a bully, she probably cares more about intimidation and scare tactics, right? Most bullies are just trying to establish some sort of social dominance. It doesn't mean she'll seriously come after Taylor now, especially with the police after her."

"Are you kidding?" Victoria's chair skidded back across the floor as she leapt to her feet. She glared at Dean, but it was me who cringed back. Run. Get away. Escape. I squeezed my fists tight and forced my breathing to calm down. "Taylor had bruises around her throat, Dean! Choking someone out is a lot more than just intimidation and scare tactics!"

Dean shifted silently under Victoria's gaze and didn't respond. Why was he trying so hard to defend Sophia? I frowned slightly and closed my eyes to instead reach out with my feelings. He was… conflicted? Why? There wasn't any doubt. He believed us. Or at least, he believed that we believed what we were saying. And yet… he didn't want to believe us? Why? What stake did he have in it?

I paused as it came to me. "You know her." My words, barely more than a whisper, cut through Victoria's shouting as she turned to look questioning at me. "That's why you're trying to excuse her. You know her. You're friends with her somehow."

Dean went wide-eyed, confirming to me that, yes, my guess was correct after all. Victoria just looked back and forth between the two of us for a moment before asking in a hard tone, "She's right, isn't she? You do know Sophia. How?"

He licked at his lips, his eyes locked on Victoria. "From the- From my work, Vicky."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Victoria threw her hands up into the air before grabbing my hand and tugging me out of my seat. She growled out, "C'mon, Taylor, let's get out of here. Sorry I wasted your time with this."

"Vicky, wait-"

"I don't want to hear it right now, Dean."

She pulled me out of the room. I glanced back and spotted Dean resting his head in his hands, before we moved away from the classroom entirely. "Are you sure you want to leave things like that? I mean… I don't want to make things awkward with the two of you."

"It's not your fault, Taylor. It's just…" Victoria pressed her lips into a tight line for a moment before continuing. "Dean always sees the best in people. He always wants to give them the chance to live up to that. And I love that about him."

"But sometimes giving people chances just means letting them do whatever they want."

"Yeah." Victoria sighed. "Sometimes words and hope isn't enough. It's why heroes like me are out there to begin with. Sometimes you have to act. Sometimes people have to be stopped."

I turned the words over in my head. Sometimes words and hope weren't enough. Sometimes you have to act.

"Hey," Victoria interjected, interrupting my thoughts. "So you know Spring Break is next week, right? I was thinking, our family was planning a get-together barbeque thing. You could come hang out if you like? That way I could introduce you to Crystal and Eric and you could help keep Amy from hiding away in her room."

I blinked. "Is that really okay? I mean, if it's a family thing…"

Victoria waved her hand. "It's fine. We bring friends over for this sort of stuff all the time. I mean, normally I'd bring Dean, but I think I'm going to let him stew for a bit after today. So you get to be my replacement plus one."

"Gee, lucky me," I drawled.

Victoria winked in response. "You know it. So come on, you up for it?"

I rolled my eyes but smiled despite myself. "Let me check my schedule and make sure I don't have anything else going on, alright?"

"Sure, sure. And if you can't make it, it's not a big deal, just thought it'd be nice to have you."

I smiled at that. I'd been doubtful of Victoria at first. Her status here at Arcadia had reminded me too much of how Emma had ruled over Winslow. But for all the similarities I saw between the two, I think Victoria was a genuinely good person at heart. More than that, she was a true hero, the sort that didn't just put on an act, but raged against injustice. Perhaps that could go too far - I'd heard the phrase 'Collateral Damage Barbie' circled about on PHO a few times - but I was beginning to be confident that it came from a genuine place of passion.

I paused and squashed the current of awe that was beginning to thread through my emotions. My opinions hadn't changed. I think that if Victoria had been at Winslow, she would have spoken out the bullying that went on there.

On some level, that was the sort of person I wanted to be. The sort of hero I wanted to be. It was like an itch under my skin, the urge to do more with my power than just beat up criminals, but to instead be a leader, to speak against injustice and have my voice be heard.

Sometimes words and hope weren't enough.

If I wanted to help anyone, then maybe I first had to help myself and stop relying on others to fix things for me. I would have to act to protect myself. Sophia was always going to be a threat as long as she went uncaught, and I didn't want to spend my time looking over my shoulder or worrying over her attacking my dad.

The police hadn't been able to catch her and Victoria hadn't been able to find her. If I was going to do better, then I needed more information.

Good thing I knew just who to talk to get it.

·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·

I pressed the button and listened to the doorbell echo through the house. It'd always struck me as something odd when I visited, but rather than a short, abbreviated two-note ring, the Barnes' doorbell played the more drawn out Westminster Chime. It was an uncomfortable reminder of Winslow, which had used the same melody for it's bell.

The door opened to Zoe Barnes' smiling face. "Hey Taylor. It's good to see you over again."

"Hi." I hesitated, unsure how to refer to her. Miss Barnes felt too formal, but I didn't feel completely comfortable referring to her as Aunt Zoe anymore. Just referring to her by name felt weird though. I decided to just dodge the issue. "Is Emma home?"

"She's in her room. Go on and head up there. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."

I wasn't so sure, but I walked up the stairs towards Emma's room anyways. I still wasn't sure how I wanted to approach this. If I wanted to demand information or wheedle it out of her. I just knew I needed answers. I paused in front of her door before knocking quietly.

Emma's voice answered. "What is it, Mom? I'm busy!"

"Not your Mom. Are you too busy for me too?"

There was a thud from the other side of the door and a moment later Emma was yanking it open. "Taylor!" She rushed out, a flurry of red hair flowing behind her as she wrapped her arms around me. "God, I'm glad you're okay. When the police came by… I mean…"

I let out a slow breath and forced myself not to pull away, to simply stay still and let her hug me. Where had all this concern been a year ago? I just didn't understand. Couldn't understand.

"I get it. It's okay, Emma."

"It's not okay. She's dangerous and I stupidly made you a target by blowing her off."

I put my hands on her shoulders and slowly pushed her away. "It's okay, Emma. I'm not helpless. Now come on, I wanted to ask you about something."

She nodded and led me inside and I quietly closed the door behind us. I waited until she sat on her bed to ask my first question. "What has you so convinced she's dangerous anyways, Emma? I mean, she's violent, sure, but this seems like more than that."

Emma bit down on her lip. She was afraid. So afraid that it filled the room. So afraid that I felt as though I was choking on it. Why? What was it about Sophia that had her so scared?

"Emma. It's okay. You can tell me."

"I shouldn't. I'm not supposed to and she'll definitely come after both of us if she knows I told you." Emma shivered and pulled her legs up, hugging her knees to her chest. "But… You need to know. You need to know why she's dangerous."

"Emma… what kind of big secret is this that has you acting like she'll murder us if you tell me?"

Emma was quiet for a long moment before answering. "She's a cape, Taylor. She's Shadow Stalker."

I froze as everything suddenly clicked into place. This is how she could get into my locker to trash my stuff even when I'd changed the lock. Because she had powers. Shadow Stalker supposedly had some sort of power to go intangible. More than that though, was that this was the reason Blackwell always overlooked whatever she did. It wasn't because she was a track star. It was because she was a Ward. A Hero.

How was someone like that a Hero? How did someone like that have the backing of the Protectorate? Were they just ignorant of what sort of person she was? Or had they just ignored whatever she did the same way Blackwell had?

My thoughts came to a stop. Dean had defended her. Dean had known her from "work." I felt my nails bite into the palms of my hands.

"Taylor, there's more." Emma's voice pulled me from my thoughts. She was pale, trembling as she pushed the words out.

"She's killed people before."

Once again, I found myself hopping along the roofs of the Docks. After Emma's revelation, I felt the need to take out my unbridled anger upon some hapless criminals. Not that I would seriously harm them. I was a better Hero than Sophia ever would be, and I'd be sure to prove it.

Just as soon as I found any crime to stop.

I let out a frustrated sigh and sat down, my legs dangling over the edge. How did the Heroes go about finding crime all the time anyways? Just leaving it up to luck like this felt inefficient. Surely there was some way for me to monitor the city for goings on? Maybe I could get an old police radio and listen in for any reports on their channels… except I would probably need money for that, and I was broke. I put it on the list, right next to a cheap cell phone to call the police with.

I suddenly found myself very sympathetic for how the adult members of New Wave all had day jobs. Maybe I needed one myself. Except, who would hire a fifteen year old? The cinema, maybe. Or I could babysit, but that wasn't exactly steady work.

It's not like I had the time anyways. Between school, and training, and actually patrolling the city, it felt like I was constantly busy with something these days. Case in point, Zoe had caught me on my way out of the Barnes' to invite me to dinner next week. I guess Anne and a friend of hers from Cornell were going to be back visiting for Spring Break. A part of me wanted to go. I hadn't ever been as close to Emma's older sister as I had been to Emma herself, but there was still a connection there, from back before Emma had betrayed me.

The only problem was, that the dinner was the same day as the Dallons' barbeque that Victoria had invited me to. Emma had looked hopeful when I said I'd think about it, and I was supposedly trying to fix things between us… but if I were being honest, I would probably enjoy visiting the Dallons more. There was less baggage there.

Well, I'd give it some thought. I didn't have to give an answer right away. I could -

A sharp staccato that anyone who had lived in Brockton Bay would recognize rang out to the south. I cursed under my breath and scrambled to get to my feet before sprinting to the south, chasing after the gunfire.

For all my hurry however, it was still a good three minutes of travel, flinching every time I heard another shot go off. I drew on my powers, trying to let them fuel me as best I was able, to make every second count. To never miss a jump. To climb faster than I should have been capable of. I finally leapt down a story and rolled before coming to a stop, taking a brief second to look over the conflict below.

Five guys dressed in ABB colors had formed a semi-circle facing a car on the street. A red hood peeked out from behind the car for a moment, only to immediately duck back down, as one of the ABB thugs fired a shot in their direction. A moment later, a broken half of a skateboard shot out from under the car to slam into a man's ankles before returning itself back to whoever had hunkered down back there.

The man cursed and hopped on one leg for a moment, but I don't think the attack had actually broken anything. I frowned, trying to figure out who was back there. Clearly it was a parahuman of some sort. I saw the hood pop out for a brief second again and it clicked. Rune. The Empire's new telekinetic. What was she doing here in ABB territory?

There were another series of gunshots, but Rune had gone back to hiding. Things went quiet and one of the men started shuffling to the side to try and flank her, only to cry out in pain as half a skateboard flew out to smack him in the face. A moment later, a set of bolts and the car's hubcap followed, harrying the man as he retreated.

I frowned. The five ABB guys were cowards, but they were clearly willing to at least wait Rune out and shoot her if she tried to leave. I didn't have all that much in the way of sympathy for a Nazi, but the longer this went on, the greater chance there was that someone got shot - either Rune, or some civilian in their house, hit by a stray bullet. Plus, if the five guys hadn't already called for reinforcements, all the shooting would probably draw other gang members before too much longer.

I grimaced as I noticed someone leaning out of their window with a cellphone, filming the confrontation. Yeah, that was just asking for something to go wrong. On the other hand… I wasn't really established on the cape scene. If I jumped out now, I could end up getting associated with the Empire and labeled a villain. If I waited…

If I waited I could let them whittle each other down. Let Rune take down one or two of the guys before sweeping in to arrest both the ABB goons and the Villain in one swoop. It was a cold thing, willing to risk injury to others for the sake of my own reputation.

I bit down on my lip. How would that be any different from every person who had seen what I'd gone through at Winslow and simply ignored it? Whether for their own ease or safety or to keep the same thing from happening to them? Hadn't I just told myself that I would act? That I would be better as a Hero?

Another gunshot rang out, swiftly followed by the crack of the hubcap against a man's wrist. My nails dug into my hands. I saw Rune poke her head out from behind the car as another man's knee bent backwards with a sharp snap. Why was I still hesitating? A bolt smacked against a man's fingers and his gun fell to the ground.

I didn't realize what happened at first. Rune slumped to the ground, the objects she had been manipulating falling with her. The sound of the gun's misfire blended in with the poorly aimed shots that the ABB thugs had been taking. My breath caught. Rune wasn't moving. One of the guys was saying something about putting a bullet in her head to be sure, but I didn't have the mind to listen any more. I slipped down, hanging off the edge of the roof before letting myself drop the rest of the way. The ABB hadn't noticed me yet, and I had to use that for all it was worth.

The first guy went down hard and fast. I wrapped my power around his ankles and yanked, sending him sprawling. His gun went skittering away, and with a push, I sent it further. His grunt of pain brought the attention of the other four however.

"Cape!" I ignored the shout and brought my baton across a man's broken wrist. The pain made him drop his gun, and I immediately sent it flying to join the first. Two gone, three to go. Disarming these five was the first priority. I really didn't want to test my ability to dodge bullets. I turned to the next and-

-jerked back as something heavy hit my shoulder. A second gun went off and I felt another impact in my gut-

-Fell into a slide. I'd been drawing on my power a bit to push myself through roof hopping, but on a smaller scale, maybe I could keep myself moving even when I was prone. I let myself move between the legs of the asshole who would have shot me and then spun to my feet behind him, my leg lashing out to sweep his from under him.

I grabbed the gun before he could land on it and sent it to the pile. Next guy was the one with the broken leg and… he'd put his gun down and hands into the air. Alright, I could work with that. I took just enough time to push his gun away and-

-Felt an arm wrap around my neck, lifting me in a choke hold-

-Ducked down, spinning around to jab my baton into the final man's stomach. I followed it up by stomping on his foot and then bringing my fist across his jaw. He went down in a heap and I sent his gun to the small pile. The others were starting to get back up, but they were eyeing me warily. They didn't have the same stomach for a fight that the three in the alley had a few nights ago. Too used to using the threat of guns to getting their way, maybe.

I jerked my head. "Leave the guns and get out here."

I grinned as they scrambled off. I had to admit there was a certain pleasure in being able to scare off these sorts of goons before they had a chance to put up a fight. True, they'd just gotten finished fighting one cape and another had shown up to kick their ass within seconds. It was probably enough to knock the fight out of most people.

I took a moment to glance around, before heading over to Rune. The guy with the broken leg had been left behind, but he probably wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Rune though… I turned her over and let out a hiss. The bullet had punched through her shoulder. Even beyond that though, her leg was bent at a sickening angle, and there was a smear of blood on the pavement under her broken skateboard. Had she just been flying through the area and the ABB had shot her out of the air?

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and focused on my power. I focused on my connection to the world around me. I focused on my connection to the energy that flowed through everything. Most of all, I focused on my connection to her. Her breathing was shallow. Her heartbeat was faint. But it was still there. I poured myself into her, strengthening her at cost to myself.

I still didn't have a good grasp on this part of my power. I knew what I was doing was inefficient, that I could pull on the energy that surrounded us to help. But I didn't know how, and I couldn't afford to take the time to figure it out right now, anymore than I could when I'd been faced with that car crash.

It was inefficient. But it was enough. Rune's eyes fluttered open and stared up at me. I met her startlingly vibrant gray eyes and gave her a smile. She'd live. I'd see about getting her to the PRT - I can't imagine that she'd done enough as a villain yet that they wouldn't want to try and rehabilitate her. I'd-

My body jerked forward. What was… It felt like something had punched me in the shoulder. Why was Rune suddenly scared again? I turned. The guy with the broken leg had moved. He'd crawled over to the pile of guns that I'd left lying in the street. I tried to focus on what was in his hand, but everything was so blurry.

Then, there was darkness.

·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·:·

"-Flying in ABB territory? I've told you before that you have to be careful around those animals."

I woke wanting to groan. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. Still, I forced myself not to. I didn't know where I was. It wasn't the hospital. The bed I was in felt too comfortable, too normal for that. I cracked my eyes open and winced as the light hit them.

"I was just headed to the library. I thought it'd be fine as long as I was flying. Didn't think anyone other than maybe Oni Lee would bother me, and at least I'd be able to see him coming."

The room was empty, but the door was cracked and voices were coming from down the hall. The room itself was… homely, I guess. It had a certain garishness, not from the decorations themselves being extravagant, but from being decorated by the sort of person who felt every inch of space had to be covered in something. Pictures and crosses and kitschy art projects lined the walls and dressers. The covers of the bed had lace frills.

Great, I'd been taken back to the house of someone's Aunt.

I rolled my eyes and quietly slid out of bed. I had to bite back a whimper of pain, but it seemed to fade a bit once I got myself moving. I stopped in front of a mirror. My hood had fallen back, revealing my dark hair, but my mask was thankfully still in place. A bullet hole laced through the shoulder, exposing pale skin beneath. I stared for a moment, and then raised my hood once more.

A man's voice spoke up. "So what's the deal with the Cape? Do we know who she is?"

"I don't know. She saved my life though, and those bastards shot her in the back. Will she…?"

"She'll be fine. Probably sore for a few days, but everything major has healed at this point. You, on the other hand, will be limping around for the next few days."

I peeked out my door. There were three people in the other room. I recognized Rune's costume immediately, though she had her hood down, revealing blonde hair beneath. The other two took me a minute to piece together. A woman in a red, skintight bodysuit - Othala, the Empire's healer and trump. She could grant powers at a touch, ranging from invincibility to pyrokinesis. The man next to her would be her husband, Victor. He could supposedly steal skills from people. A visit to a dojo was all it took for him to become a master martial artist, all at the cost of the people training there.

I guess that explained why I didn't have any extra breathing holes right now.

Victor tilted his head and asked, "Haven't heard of any new Wards, and she doesn't strike me as a Merchant. Think she's a new Independent?"

"I don't know. It makes sense, I guess," Rune replied.

"I suppose we could always ask her." Victor turned and looked at the doorway I was hiding behind. "You can come out, you know. We won't bite."

Rune's head snapped around to look at me. Well, so much for listening in. I pushed the door open and stepped out. "You sure about that?"

"Cross my heart," he replied dryly.

Othala spoke up. "I'm surprised you're out of bed. I was expecting you'd be sleeping things off for a bit longer. The Regeneration only goes so far."

"I guess I'm just tough that way. I suppose the two of you rescued us?"

Victor nodded. "Rune had already managed an emergency call. I might not have been in time if not for your intervention, however."

Rune flashed me a smile. "Thank you for that, by the way. I don't suppose my hero has a name?"

"Seeker," I replied, trying to ignore the heat suddenly creeping through my face.

"Seeker. I don't suppose you've had any run-ins with the Protectorate, yet?" Victor asked. "Heard their little speech about joining the Wards?"

"No. Should I have?"

"There's a statistic they like to quote. Most independents don't last longer than six months. Having a team, or even just a partner, is a big step in making sure that you don't end up shot in the back."

"Is this a recruitment pitch?"

"Yes and no. I would prefer you join us, obviously. You saved Rune at personal cost to yourself, and I think that's an admirable trait. I don't have that same admiration for the Protectorate, who often care more about their optics than making an actual difference in this city. However, I would still prefer to see you join them and have people to support you, than to see you as a corpse in six months, Seeker."

I folded my arms. "Talking about making a difference seems pretty out of place, seeing as how you're part of the biggest gang in the city, Victor."

"Crime will always exist. Kaiser believes in keeping it civilized, in protecting the common civilians. The same can't be said for the ABB, who kidnap women off the street to sell into prostitution. Nor can it be said for the Merchants, who force their poison on innocents."

"Yeah… You'll protect people. Unless they happen to be Hispanic, Black, Asian, Jewish, or Gay."

He shook his head. "I will admit that some of our membership takes our rhetoric too far. It is an unfortunate reality of a large organization that is focused on mass recruitment, that not every member lives up to our standards. The Empire as whole doesn't endorse violence based purely on ethnicity or orientation, Seeker."

I frowned. Went unsaid was that while the Empire didn't endorse violence, it didn't really discourage it either. And the so called rhetoric taken too far, still talked about how the "lesser" races were lost souls who needed a guiding hand at best, or degenerate beasts who needed to be kept away from "civilized" society at worst.

"Right. Was there anything else you wanted? Otherwise, I'll be going home."

Rune piped up. "Um, I wrote down my number. Give me a call sometime if you want a partner while you go hero'ing. No strings attached, just someone to watch your back."

I let her press the scrap of paper into my hand and shifted uncomfortably. She seemed genuinely happy to have the chance. I wonder if on some level, she'd grown up wanting to be a hero as well, only to end up with the Empire instead.

Finally, I muttered, "I'll think about it," and turned away to head out the door.