Chapter 44: Above and Beyond - Part One

I stared at Thera and Vi, and once again felt a faint scrabble of anxiety as I tried to divine just what they were going on about. Time for what? Who were they meeting, and why couldn't they keep her waiting? Was she really that powerful? Was the Blip Centre in danger? Were my kids in danger? My treacherous mind sparked to life with any number of scenarios, and I felt my heart pounding in my chest as catastrophe after imagined catastrophe reeled before my eyes.

"Damnit, Laura!" I muttered to myself, and clenched my clammy hands tight. I was being ridiculous; I knew I was being ridiculous, but that did very little to calm the blood singing through my ears. "Get a grip!"

With an effort, I closed my eyes and took a long, deep breath of too-thin air. When I opened them again, I found Thera and Vi gazing at me with a mutual look of mild concern. I flashed them a big, reassuring smile in response, but it was pretty clear I was fooling no-one.

"So!" I said quickly, and rubbed my hands together in a slightly exaggerated display of interest. "What is it time for?"

"What? Oh, Poppy's mum's just arrived," Thera said. "Turns out she was in that car behind you guys."

"The one from Colorado?"

"The very same."

"Great!" I said, and Vi's expression turned distinctly frosty. "What? It is great, isn't it?"

"What, an hour ahead of schedule? It is. It's fantastic," she said curtly. "I can only imagine the trail of destruction she's left in her wake."

"Given the circumstances, can you really blame her?" Thera asked. "I mean, if it was our kid—"

"I know, Sparky! I'm not blaming her; I just thought I had more time! I wanted…" Vi trailed off, and her expression turned hard and bitter. "You know what? What I want doesn't matter. Let's get this over with."

"That's why I came looking for Poppy. Considering how she'd been clinging to your leg all morning, I figured she'd be with you," Thera said, and grinned. "Did you pry her off with a crowbar or something?"

She waved indistinctly towards the crowds. "Oh, she's with Val—"

"Wait, Val's here?" I cut in, and Vi's eyes flashed. "Sorry! It's just that I talked to Liv when I dropped off Nate. She could've said something!"

"Yes, the schoolgate intelligence network has definitely gone downhill of late," Vi said irritably. "It's like I've always said; if you can't trust the idle chatter of random parents, then who can you trust?"

"Cool your jets, Ell," Thera murmured.

"I am cool! I'm as cool as a cucumber!" she snapped. "Look; I'm going to go grab Poppy. You—" she jabbed a finger at me. "—wait here. You're going to need to see this. So's Clint, if I can corral him."

"Good idea — but don't be too long!" said Thera. "Let's just say that Poppy's mum didn't strike me as the most…patient of individuals."

With a 'hah!' and a toss of her curls, Vi stalked off towards the crowds. At her approach, the hubbub dimmed and partygoers gave her a wide berth, only closing ranks once she had swept haughtily past. In her wake, a sense of affronted sadness hung in the air.

"Oh dear," Thera said quietly. "I was worried this might happen."

I bit my lip. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Nah, it's not your fault," he said. "You know Vi. She doesn't really attach to many people, but when she does she attaches very strongly. Since Poppy just happens to be of a similar age and disposition as my niece…"

"...she latched onto her as a coping mechanism. Yeah, I get it," I said. "So first she loses her niece in the Blip, and now she has to give up Poppy as well?"

Thera nodded silently.

"Poor Vi; no wonder she's upset," I sighed. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Be patient with her," he said. "As long as we give her the space she needs to work through it, she'll bounce back."

"Really?"

"Believe me, Vi doesn't hit rock bottom so much as ricochet," he chuckled. "You'll see."

"I will?"

"You will."

Once again, an awkward silence descended between us as we stood side-by-side, watching the ebb and flow of the crowd. As the seconds dragged by I found myself shifting impatiently from foot to foot, and the urge to say something grew and grew until it was almost unbearable.

Thankfully, Thera broke first. "You know…we were going to try another group session after lunch."

"Oh yeah?" I said. "Are you going to hand out weapons this time, or is it bring-your-own again?"

He grimaced. "Um…"

"Sorry. That sounded funnier in my head."

"It's fine," he said. "And I'd fully understand if you didn't want to join—"

"Hold on, I didn't say that," I hesitated, and then decided to come clean. "Listen; Keame phoned me this morning. He's stepping down as the head of the Simon Keame Foundation and he's…asked me to take over."

Thera gazed evenly at me, his expression inscrutable. Finally, he nodded and said, "Good."

"Good? That's it?"

"That's it. He may be a flaming idiot, but he's no fool."

"Do you think I should do it?"

"You already know what I think, Laura," he said. "The real question is: how do you feel about it?"

"I…don't know," I admitted. "Part of me feels like it's what I'm meant to do, and I want to help people, but…"

His eyebrows went up. "But?"

"It's that little voice," I said, with a wan smile. "The one that says 'you're not ready for this', 'you're just going to make things worse'. What if it's right? What if I screw everything up? This isn't one of my kids' school projects; we're talking about people's lives, their families…" I blew out my cheeks. "How do you handle that kind of responsibility?"

"Oh, that's easy. I don't screw up."

I gave him a flat look. "Helpful as always, Thera."

His lips quirked. "Okay, you want to know the truth? You're going to make mistakes. No matter how good you are —or how good you think you are— something is going to go wrong at some point. Clint probably calls it 'collateral damage'. I'd call it a 'Serious Adverse Event'."

"And Vi?"

"'Whoops', I think, but it was hard to hear her over the falling masonry. Most of it was on fire, too," he said blandly. "That's not the point, though; the point is these people need help, Laura. They don't need you to be perfect, they—"

"—just need me to be present. I remember."

"Good, because if you allow yourself to be paralysed by a fear of failure, then guess what? You've failed. At least if you've tried, you've tried — and I know that's a tautology, but it's true."

"I suppose," I said. "I just wish it didn't feel like I'm jumping in with both feet!"

Thera gave me a thoughtful look. "You know, maybe you don't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"Here's a thought; why don't you take another crack at leading a group session? I know it's not exactly 'director' stuff, but maybe it'll help you decide if this is something you really want to do."

"I…suppose I could," I said slowly. "But one condition."

He inclined his head. "Which is?"

"That it's open to everyone, Snapped or not. No more isolation," I said, and nodded at the party. "Everyone seems to be in a good mood, so let's get them talking before the punch wears off!"
"Cynical and manipulative. You're off to a great start," Thera said approvingly, but then he nodded towards the crowds. "I think we'll have to revisit this later, though. They're coming back."

I followed his gaze. At first, I couldn't see anything over the heads of the chattering masses, but then they scattered as Vi bulldozed her way through them with a seemingly unstoppable stride. She was holding Poppy close, a protective arm wrapped tightly around her back, and was gazing down at her with a broad, encouraging smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Behind them trailed Clint, casting apologetic glances left and right at those who felt brave enough to be outraged by Vi's impertinence.

"Oh dear; I think I know where this is going," Thera murmured. "Brace yourself."

I nodded. Thankfully, Poppy seemed to be largely immune to her guardian's insincere cheer. Instead, she was focused entirely on Clint, and was staring at him over her shoulder as they crunched across the gravel towards us.

"...I don't think you're the real HawkAye!" she was saying. "I heard that HawkAye has a magical alien cutlass, so where's yours?"

"Oh, that thing? I lost it. In a bet," said my increasingly-beleaguered husband, and glared at Vi as if daring her to comment. "With a shark."

"Then what happened to your parrot? Where's SquawkAye?"

"SquawkAye?" Clint gave Vi another disgusted look, and for just an instant her smile seemed almost real. "He's, um, on a secret mission — but you can't tell anyone else that, okay?"

"But—"

"If they ask, tell 'em he's at the vets. Sore wing."

"But—"

With a light laugh, Thera stepped forward, "Easy, poppet! Our guest's been through a lot recently, so how about we skip the interrogation and just be happy he's here?"

"Thank you," Clint muttered.

"And we've got bigger news for you. You remember what we told you this morning? About your Mum?"

"Yup! You said…" she paused, and her eyes grew as big as saucers. "Wait, she's here?"

"Yeah. She's waiting at reception for you," he said gently. "Would you like to see her?"

"Omigod, yes!" Poppy squealed. Vi's expression cracked at her excitement, and I felt a pang of sympathy at seeing the hurt and rejection swirling beneath the surface. With a clear effort, she pushed those feelings to one side and forced herself to smile once again.

"That's a…good answer, sweetheart," she said, with just the faintest tremolo in her voice. "Your mum really loves you, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Poppy said, and then gave her a curious look. "But how do you know?"

"Who do you think told her you were here, sweetheart?" she asked, and reached out to ruffle Poppy's hair. "She was the first person I called after we got our hands on the List."

"...oh."

"And when I'd convinced her you were here, she only said one thing before hanging up. Do you know what it was?"

Poppy shook her head.

"'I'm on my way'," Vi said, and this time her smile was genuine. "Sweetheart, she dropped everything to drive overnight across two states because she loves you, and she got here way faster than she should've because she couldn't bear the thought of being separated from you a second longer than she had to. That's how I know."

"Wow," Poppy was momentarily dumbstruck, and then, "I can't wait to tell her about everything that's happened! About Blipping, and meeting you and all my friends, and being kidnapped—"

Vi's eyes went wide. "Um, can you save that story for another time, sweetheart? Maybe for when I'm safely out of your mum's reach, for instance."

"But you were so cool!"

"Yeah, because that's the part of that story she's going to focus on."

"I was really scared, but then your friends burst in and saved me and then you came swooping in on that motorcycle and made all those assholes—"

"Oi, language!"

"But that's what you called them!" Poppy protested. "And you said you made them…see the light?"

"Well, something like that," Vi said blandly. "They won't be back to cause you any more trouble, at the very least."

"So can we go and see my mum now? Please? I really want to see her and I just know she's going to like you!"

"Well…" Vi looked at Thera with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Just a moment, poppet," he said quickly. "I, um…I just need to go and make sure that your mum's ready, and then in a couple of minutes Vi'll bring you inside. Is that okay?"

Poppy seemed to consider this for a moment and then chirped her assent, while silent gratitude shone in Vi's eyes. Thera winked, and then turned away and beckoned us to follow him.

"C'mon guys," he said. "Let's go gee up her mum."

He strode off without so much as a backwards glance, crunching his way towards the administrative complex. I stared after him, and felt a sense of dread settle into my bones. Did I really want to follow him inside? The last time I'd been in that building, it hadn't ended well…

"Hey, hon," Clint nudged me. "You okay?"

"What? Oh, yes," I said, and dragged myself back to the present day. "I was just thinking…well…"

"It's okay, you know," he said, quietly. "If you don't want to go in there, then—"

"No. I'm being ridiculous," I shook my head and set off after Thera. "I'm not about to let some damn stupid memory tell me where I can and can't go!"

"Now there's the Laura I know and love. Stubborn to the end, right?"

"You'd better believe it," I smiled faintly. "Besides, they seemed pretty clear that they wanted us to see this, so we may as well humour them."

He snorted. "Sure, because humouring them always works out so well for us, doesn't it?"

"Be nice, and be nice to Vi," I added, with a warning nudge. "She's pretty fragile at the moment."

"What, 'cause she has to give back the world's leading authority on fictional Avengers?" Clint shook his head. "I'm telling you, by this time tomorrow HawkAye's gonna have a longer rap sheet than I do."

"What're you, jealous?"

"Nah. I just don't want people asking me why my leg's grown back. Or where my parrot is."

"Maybe we should get a parrot, then. You could train it to sit on your shoulder."

"I think I'll pass, hon," he said, and grinned slyly. "Besides, don't you think one parrot's enough?"

I glared. "This again? I'm telling you, my singing is—"

There was an ear-splitting shriek of protesting hinges as Thera grabbed the door handle and yanked it open. I stared past him down the long, Spartan corridor, and felt my blood turn to ice as I saw the conference room at the far end. Suddenly, my ears rang with the echoing sounds of combat and the screams of our would-be murderers, and the air was thick with the stench of burning flesh. I gagged, and—

"Laura?" Clint's voice was strangely distant, but I clung to it like a lifebuoy. "Hey, hon. Are you okay?"

"I…um…" I blinked and found myself back outside. The screams vanished, replaced by the distant sounds of partying, and the only thing I could smell was the sharp tang of industrial cleaning agents. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Thera added his concern to Clint's. "I can imagine that coming back here might be a bit…unnerving for you—"

"No, it's fine! I'm fine!" I said sharply. The last thing I wanted right now was the damn mystic sticking his oar in where it wasn't needed. "But you still haven't told us what you want us to do!"

"Stand there and try to look professional, mate," Thera said, and gave Clint a critical look. "Or…maybe just stand there. You're here to observe, not participate, okay?"

"Okay."

"Great," the mystic said, and took a steadying breath. "Well, I guess it's showtime!"

The conference room had been rearranged. Not so much that it was completely unrecognisable, of course, but enough to keep my more nightmarish memories at bay. The large circle of chairs was gone; in their place were several simple tables of different shapes and sizes, surrounded by an equally motley collection of multicoloured plastic stools. A scattered collection of toys lay in the far corner, in various states of disrepair, as well as a couple of puzzles and some half-finished colouring books. In the other corner was a table of refreshments, including the ever-present coffee machine, gurgling and bubbling away, and a suspiciously similar tray of pastries that looked like it hadn't been touched since the last time I was here.

A tall woman with bright, bottle-red hair sat pensively by the largest table. She looked tired and drawn, with large shadows under her eyes, and her long violet fingernails were tapping out a tense tattoo next to two crushed disposable cups and a crumpled sheath of paper. Her face lit up when we filed into the room, but turned to disappointment and anger when she saw that Poppy wasn't with us.

"Where is she? Where's my daughter?" she asked, pinning Thera with an icy stare. "You said you were going to get her!"

"She's just outside, Ms McCannon," Thera said calmly. "'Saying goodbye to a couple of acquaintances."

"Well, tell 'em to hurry it up!" said McCannon, and I found myself frying under her gaze. "And who're you? You here for your kid too?"

"Um…no," I said, and for some reason felt it necessary to add. "I Blipped."

"Unlucky. You missed out on a real shitshow."

I smiled weakly. "Yeah. That's what I heard."

"But you know…" her eyes narrowed. "Now that I think about it, you two seem real familiar. If you're not here to collect someone, why are you here?"

"Safeguarding, Ms McCannon," Thera said. "No child leaves the 'Centre without witnesses and a paper trail. I'm sure I don't need to tell you why."

McCannon looked as if she was about to say something, but then another shriek of hinges tore down the corridor. The outer door banged shut, possibly a little louder than was necessary, and as the echoes faded I heard footsteps approaching. McCannon listened, her expression turning to one of awe, and she came to her feet just as Poppy rounded the corner. The world froze around them, and for a single wonderful moment everything was still, soft and quiet.

"Mom?" Poppy said timidly.

"Poppy," McCannon breathed, and with a low sob she lunged forward and wrapped her daughter in a warm, maternal hug. "Poppy! Oh, Christ, it's you; it's really you!"

"Mom! Mom! You're squashing me!" Poppy giggled, and her weeping mother laughed and showered her with kisses as she squirmed. Clint's hand found mine, squeezed it hard, and hot tears stung my cheeks as memories of our reunion bubbled up inside. For just an instant, I was lying in the grass amongst my family, revelling in a sense of peace and togetherness as we watched the clouds scudding across the sky…

After what seemed like an age, McCannon released her daughter and sat back on her heels. "My god, honey, you really haven't aged a day, have you? Are you…"

"I'm fine, Mom, really!" Poppy assured her. "I mean, it was scary at first, but Auntie Vi and Thera took really good care of me!"

"We found her by the side of the motorway, just after the Blip," Vi said hoarsely. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she wiped them with a hand before continuing. "It was total bedlam, but this brave young girl took it upon herself to take care of some of the other kids. Put most of the adults to shame, if I'm being honest."

"That's my Poppy," McCannon said proudly, and looked up at my friend. "We spoke on the phone, didn't we? I recognise your accent."

"People tend to 'round these parts. It's very irritating."

"I'm sorry I was so short with you. And you," McCannon added, with a quick glance at Thera. "I mean…I really don't know what to say, except thank you, for everything you've done. From the bottom of my heart, I…I…"

"No, no, please don't start crying again," Vi said quickly, as McCannon's voice cracked. "Because if you start crying, I'll start crying, and then I'll end up ruining a perfectly good uniform and—"

"—and it was a pleasure taking care of your daughter, Ms McCannon," Thera said. "But we can't take all the credit. In the end, we weren't the ones who brought her back."

"I know. It was the Avengers—" she stopped, and stared at Clint with a look of astonishment. "Oh my God; I knew I recognised you. You're Hawkeye, aren't you?"

"He says he is, Mom, but I'm not so sure," Poppy said, and dropped her voice to a whisper. "I think he's got too many legs."

"Yeah, I guess I am," said Clint, pointedly ignoring Vi's titters in the background. "But keep it under your hat, yeah? I'm trying to keep a low profile."

"Of…of course," Ruth said. "Is it true? Did the Avengers really travel through time? And go to other planets?"

Clint shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah. It was a pretty big op. Lots of moving pieces."

"I…also heard that not everyone made it," she said, and her expression turned sombre. "Look, I know that we just met and you don't know me from Adam, but I'm sorry for your loss. I know what it's like to lose someone you love."

"Don't we all, right?" he said, with rather forced casualness. "But it's okay; I think she'll rest easy, knowin' that she sacrificed herself for times like this. I mean—" he glanced at Thera. "—that's why you wanted me to see this, right? For closure?"

Thera was silent for a moment, apparently marshalling his thoughts. "Clint, I wanted you and Laura to see this because I wanted you to see that what we did mattered. Not Stark, not Rogers, not Romanov, us. Sure, we didn't save the world or kill a god; in fact, what we did basically amounted to a bunch of people scrapping over a glorified receipt, but that doesn't mean it wasn't important! If we hadn't gotten bloodied and bruised and—" his gaze met mine. "—dented getting that List out of Keame, then we never would've found Poppy's mum and every Lost in Missouri would've ended up as chips in Pexley's pile!"

There was a stunned silence in the wake of Thera's outburst. Finally, Vi laughed and patted him fondly on the arm. "And to think; people say I'm the melodramatic one."

"You are the melodramatic one," Thera smiled bashfully, and ran his fingers through his hair. "I…just wanted that to be acknowledged. That's all."

"I know, Sparky; I'm only teasing," she said. "And I'm sure you'll do a grand job of it in your report. They're always such fun to read."

Thera's expression went flat. "You're still teasing me, aren't you."

"Always, my love," she said, with a playful wink. "Who else is going to keep your feet on the floor? Your sister?"

Ruth coughed. "Sorry to interrupt, but Keame? Isn't he the one who marched on St. Louis?"

"It's a long story, and one you'll probably get sick of hearing about soon enough," Thera said grimly. "If this all plays out how I think it will, Missouri's about to be rocked by an almighty scandal."

"It's the reason it took us ages to track you down," Vi added. "But look — the point is that we have, so…why not get out of here and spend some quality time with your daughter?"

"Yeah! We should go to the party, Mom!" Poppy said eagerly. "There's snacks and this magician and I saw this girl talking about how she was going to be a 'double pirate'!"

Ruth hesitated. "I don't know, honey. I'm pretty tired, and we've got a heck of a drive ahead of us..."

"Please?" Poppy begged, with a pair of puppy dog eyes that were almost as good as Lila's. "We could stay here tonight and go tomorrow morning!"

"Actually, you probably should get some sleep before you head out," Thera said. He fished around in his pocket and produced a long, silvery key, which he tossed to Ruth. "Here; you can use my room. It's not like I ever used it."

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm sure I'll be…be fine…" Ruth said, and covered her mouth to ward off a treacherous yawn. Thera gave her a severe look.

"And I'm sure you shouldn't be driving in your current state," he said pointedly. "We didn't go to all that trouble to find you just to drag you out of a bloody ditch."

"Yeah, okay — point taken," she said, and yawned again. "Okay, honey; I suppose we can go to this party, but then I've got to get my head down!"

"Yay!" Poppy hauled her mom to her feet and dragged her to the door. "Let's go check out that magician! I heard he can do actual magic!"

"We'd better get going as well, Clint," I said, and pinned Vi with a glare. "You know, before a certain daughter of ours ends up in the concussion ward trying to be a 'real swashbuckler'."

"Actually…" Thera said. "If it's okay, I need to grab Clint for a few minutes."

"Really? Why?"

His hesitation was brief, a split-second at most, but to my hyper-vigilant mind it may as well have been an eternity. "Nothing earth-shattering. Just a quick, post-op checkup. Standard stuff."

I looked worriedly at my husband, who shrugged in a rather noncommittal fashion. For no apparent reason I found his casual response immensely irritating, and so I crooked a finger in Vi's direction and said, "Fine. You're coming with me, then."

"Me?" she said, and held up her hands in protest. "Hold on, you don't know it's Lila—"

"Vi? Now."

Vi muttered something under her breath, but fell into step beside me without another word. Mercurial supersoldier or no, it was clear that this time she'd decided that discretion was the better part of valour.

The sun was at its peak when we emerged from the dingy little building, and I threw up a hand to shield my eyes from its surprisingly intense rays. Somewhere out there was my daughter, and if I was lucky then maybe the little seed Vi'd accidentally planted in her mind hadn't had time to blossom into a full blown disaster.

"I can't believe you told Lila that!" I groused, as I strode purposefully across the grounds. "You know how suggestible she can be!"

"Actually, no, I don't," Vi retorted. "And what did she say again? 'I'm not Nate', was it?"

"Yeah, but then she would've gone away and thought about it and decided 'You know what? Maybe being a 'double pirate' would be cool!' and then one thing will lead to another just like it always does and—"

"Laura, stop!" Vi grabbed my arm. "What do you think is going to happen? That she's going to run full-tilt into a wall?"

"Well—"

There was a short, sharp laugh from somewhere behind me, and I turned to see Ruth standing in the shady lee of the reception block. She was rolling a lit cigarette idly between her fingers as she watched, her lips pursed in a sardonic but not entirely unpleasant smile.

"May we…help you?" Vi asked warily.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt your tiff." She took a long drag of her cigarette, and the tip flared to life with a cherry orange glow. "I was just thinking that Poppy would do exactly the same thing."

"Uh-huh. So where is Poppy?"

Ruth waved her hand idly in the direction of the party, tracing a thin line of smoke through the air. "Oh, I sent her on ahead. 'Save me a place, y'know. And…"

"And?"

There was the briefest of pauses. "I didn't want her to see me, well, smoking."

Vi wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, something tells me she'll be able to work that out for herself, mate."

"Easy, Vi," I said, and looked at Ruth. "Poppy doesn't know you smoke?"

Her smile hardened. "Why would she? I only started after she was Snapped. It's weird, but for some reason seeing your only child poof out of existence can drive you into the arms of all kinds of vices. I'm lucky I stopped at cigarettes."

"Ah."

"But now…I'm a mom again, just like that," Ruth said wonderingly. She stared at the crowds, apparently lost in thought, and then with a flick of her wrist she hurled the cigarette to the ground, crushing it viciously beneath the heel of her boot. "So I've got to set a good example. No more wallowing, no more cigarettes. I mean, hell," her lips quirked once again. "I'm gonna need that extra money just to keep her fed."

"Try having three of 'em," I said, with a grin of my own. "If it weren't for them, I swear I'd be a millionaire several times over."

"Yeah, but they're worth it, right?"

"And more," I agreed, and looked coolly at Vi. "Which is why I'd quite like this one to stop trying to trick them into bumping themselves off!"

"Sounds like a woman after my own heart," Ruth snorted, and surveyed Vi with a curious look. "Actually, 'Auntie Vi', I'll admit that you've really piqued my curiosity. I mean, your clothes, your accent…you're a real out-of-towner, aren't you?"

My friend smiled, wryly. "Believe me, you have no idea."

"And yet there you were, right when my kid needed you," she went on, and her eyes narrowed. "I wonder, was she really that lucky? Or was she just…convenient?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Vi's smile vanished, and I felt the hairs on my arm stand up on end. "'Convenient'? What do you mean by that?"

"Okay, I'll try a different question. Does she know you're Ronin?"

Vi seemed genuinely caught off guard. "Um…"

"You know, I'm glad you're not trying to deny it," Ruth folded her arms. "I'll admit, you picked a pretty good place to hide. Nobody would think to look for the world's most wanted vigilante in a Blip Centre, especially not if she had some kids in tow."

"What?" Vi looked at her incredulously. "You think I was using Poppy as cover?"

"Were you? I need to know the truth, Ronin. For her sake."

"I told you the truth!" Vi snapped. "We found her by the side of the motorway, along with a bunch of other unaccompanied children! What was I meant to do? Walk away? Leave her crying by the side of the road?"

"No! No, of course not," Ruth subsided, just a little. "And I really am grateful for everything you've done. Ronin or not, you were there when I…I wasn't, and I'll never forget that."

"Uh-huh," said Vi. "So why am I sensing a 'but' is just around the corner?"

"Because…you are Ronin. I know the kind of people who're hunting you, and if they thought they could use Poppy to get to you, then—" she swallowed, and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to have any more contact with her. When we leave tomorrow, that has to be goodbye. For good."

"What?" I exclaimed. "But that's not fair!"

"No, Laura, she's right. Poppy's safety has to come first," Vi said. "And honestly? I was kind of expecting this."

"Good," said Ruth. "Because it should go without saying that if you do anything to put her in danger, I swear I will make your life a living hell in ways that the cartels can only dream of."

The air crackled between the two women for a single, dangerous moment, and then Vi burst out laughing.

"Tough words, coming from a florist," she said, and leant forward to clap Ruth companionably on the shoulder. "You're alright, mate."

The supposed florist grimaced and rubbed her shoulder. "I am?"

"Of course! How often do you find someone willing to mouth off to the world's foremost femme fatale vigilante?" Vi laughed again. "Honestly, I was worried you'd be some kind of milquetoast shrinking violet who wouldn't say boo to a ghost, but something tells me Poppy's in safe hands. She…is in safe hands, right?"

"The safest," Ruth promised her. "If nothing else, there's no way I'm going to let myself be shown up by her 'Auntie Vi'."

"I'm glad to hear it. Now go!" Vi said, and made shooing motions with her hands. "Go be with your daughter!"

Ruth nodded at both of us in turn, and then turned and crunched away across the gravel. Vi watched her leave in silence, her expression a strange mix of both longing and pleased satisfaction. When the tall woman finally vanished from view amongst the crowds, she took a deep breath and turned to me with a surprisingly peaceful smile.

"And that, I believe, is 'game'! One-nil to the Order," she said happily. "Drink it in, Laura. This is what victory feels like."

"Are you sure? I mean, are you really okay with this?" I asked. "You seemed pretty upset earlier."

"I'll be fine, Laura," she assured me. "This is…what's right. For everyone."

"Sure, but that doesn't mean you have to be happy about it."

"Let's be honest, Laura, what kind of life could I have given Poppy?" she said, and her smile turned slightly wistful. "At least this way she gets a chance to grow up without a target on her back. Another target, I mean."

"But if you hadn't outed yourself as Ronin, then maybe Ruth'd would've let you see her—"

"Maybe — but the point is that I did, and I don't regret it for a second," Vi said firmly. "A clean break is what's best for Poppy, too. She needs her mum, not some half-mad Empowered with sociopathic tendencies."

"Now you're not being fair to yourself," I chided her. She shrugged in response.

"Well…be that as it may, I'm pleased I got through it without breaking down or lashing out at someone. After how I treated you and Clint—" she winced guiltily. "—well, let's just say that gave me a lot to think about."

"You did great, Vi. Really."

"Thanks," she said, and perked up once again. "Now, how about we go and see if your daughter smashed her way headfirst through a container?"

"No, no," I shook my head. "I'm sure she's fine."

Vi's eyebrow went up. "Really? 'Cause you seemed pretty keen on it just a moment ago."

"Um, yeah. Sorry about before," I said, with a guilty wince of my own. "I shouldn't have dragged you out here, but today I've been…I dunno, a bit—"

"Loopy? I'll say."

I glared. "I was going to say 'agitated'."

"'Same difference," she said, but the look she gave me was surprisingly understanding. "Rough night last night, huh?"

I nodded silently.

"'Figured it would be. In the Order, we normally have old hands stay up with the newbies to help them decompress," she said. "I would've done the same for you if Clint hadn't been there, but I figured he'd know what to do."

"He created a pop-up cafe that served terrible coffee and stale donuts — and don't look at me like that!" I said, as her brow furrowed in apparent confusion. "It's a thing that he and Nat used to do after a mission! A tradition!"

"So you're telling me you didn't have sex? Goddess, no wonder you're frustrated!"

I smiled glassily. "I'm not frustrated, Vi—"

"Do you need me to take him aside and explain a couple of things? I mean, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't get—"

"Vi!" I repeated myself, more loudly this time. "It's fine. I'm fine!"

"Actually…" She took my hand. "No. You're not."

"Yes, I am! Christ, how many more times do I have to say it?"

"Until you realise you're not, I guess," she sighed. "Trust me, Laura, you're a long way from being okay. You're anxious, you're irritable, you're constantly on the lookout for danger, and I'm pretty sure you're either having intrusive thoughts or some kind of flashback. Am I right?"

"How'd you…"

"Let's just say I've got a good eye for it, eh?" she said kindly. "Look; I want you to promise me something."

"What?"

"I want you to promise me that you'll get help. You've been through so much; assault, torture, near-death experiences, emergency surgery…nobody can go through all of that and not be affected somehow."

"Clint can," I said, a touch defiantly.

"Clint objectively can't, sweetie. If he could, we wouldn't be here."

"Then how about you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Have you forgotten? I have an entire psych team watching me like a hawk — and I probably will until the day I die. Again."

"But…but…" I floundered. "Don't you think you're jumping the gun a bit? All that stuff only happened yesterday! You don't need to worry about me!"

"Of course I worry about you; you're my friend!" Vi said, and I could hear the fear and frustration humming in her voice. "And I've been you! I've stood where you're standing right now, insisting that I didn't need help while the cracks turned into fissures and—" she stopped and visibly collected herself. "I can't let it end for you the way it did for me."

"But I'm not you. I just need a chance to unwind and work through what happened. That's all."

"Yeah, because you did such a good job of that last time, didn't you!" she said scathingly. "Hiding in your workshop, stewing in your rage and cursing your loved ones instead of swallowing your goddamn pride and admitting that what you really wanted was someone to hug you and let you cry it out! Did you learn nothing from all of that?"

"Well, I…um…" I floundered, stunned into silence by the outpouring of emotion.

"I'm sorry; you didn't deserve that," she said, more softly this time. "But you're not alone, Laura. You have Clint and your kids and friends who care about you, so why're you trying to do it all yourself? What're you trying to prove?"

"Nothing! I just don't want everyone to…worry…" I trailed off, and stared at her as I belatedly realised what she'd just said. "Hold on; how did you know that?"

"Know what?"

"That I hid away in my workshop! I never told you that!" I scowled suspiciously. "Did Thera tell you? He said those sessions were confidential!"

"And he was telling the truth! Confidentiality is sacrosanct."

"Then how do you know?"

"Well…" she paused, and my heart sank as a calculating glint appeared in her eye. "Do you want to know? Really want to know?"

"Yes! I do!"

"Then prove it. I swear by the Goddess herself that I'll tell you the truth —the whole truth— if you promise me that you'll get help. Deal?"

"That depends," I said. "What do you mean by the 'whole truth'?"

"Exactly what I say. I know you've got questions, about that drawing, about us, and—"

"Your real name. I want to know your real name," I said, and decided to seize the moment. "As an advance."

"Oh, so we're doing advances now?" she asked archly. "You know I'm trying to help you, right? This is for your own good!"

"Then you shouldn't have a problem with it," I pointed out, and allowed myself a victorious little smirk. "Deal?"

Vi shook her head in mild amazement, and then spat on her free hand and held it out for me to shake. "Okay, deal."

I was familiar with this custom, or at the very least I'd read about it, but even so I wasn't prepared for the cold, wet, slimy feeling as our spit-laden palms slapped together. I shuddered, gave her a quick perfunctory handshake, and then whipped my hand away and wiped it on my clothes.

"Well, that was disgusting," I muttered, to no-one in particular. "Okay, Vi; time to give up the goods. What's your real name?"

"Okay. It's—wait," she stopped. "Are you sure? It's very boring."

"I asked, didn't I? We literally just shook on it!"

"Sure, but isn't the mystery a whole lot more fun? I just don't want you to be disappointed."

"Your concern is duly noted," I said. "Now out with it!"

"Okay, fine," she grinned. "My real name…"

"Yes?"

"...my actual, real name…."

"Yes?"

"...the name given to me by my parents…"

I gave her a flat, irritated look. "Seriously?"

"...the name written on my passport, drivers licence, and all other legal documentation pertaining to me is…"

"Would you please stop dragging this out?"

"Elsinore," she said, and shrugged. "See? I told you it was boring."

'Elsinore'? For some reason, I wasn't quite sure what to make of that. On the one hand, the artist formerly known as Vi had a point; the truth was a little anticlimactic. On the other hand, it felt as if some hitherto unseen wall between us had suddenly vanished. Why? If I had to guess, it was that not knowing her real name had mattered more to me than I'd realised. Sure, she'd been very honest about her dishonesty, but it'd made our relationship feel more like a game of cat-and-mouse than, well, a genuine friendship. I'd chased, and she'd watched, laughed, and danced back out of reach just as I'd thought I'd gotten close. Had it been fun? Yeah, but at least now I felt like an equal instead of…of…why was she staring at me like that?

"You're overthinking things again, aren't you?" Elsinore (nee Vi) observed, with some amusement. "You've gone very quiet and you've got that look on your face."

"What look?" I asked suspiciously.

"The one where you seem to be narrating your own life?"

"I'm not!"

"Then why're your lips moving?"

"I…well…" I quickly changed the subject. "So, 'Elsinore'? Were your parents fans of Hamlet?"

Elsinore raised an eyebrow. "There's a hamlet called 'Elsinore'?"

"No, I mean Shakespeare!" I said, and met a completely blank expression. "Oh, come on! You must have heard of Hamlet! My school did it back when I was in tenth grade. I auditioned for the role of Ophelia but ended up as Second Skull!"

"Is that bad?"

"Bad? I was an understudy for an inanimate object!"

"That must have been quite a blow to your acting career," she observed, with more than a hint of irony. "But don't change the subject; now you know my real name, are you going to uphold your end of the deal?"

"Of course I will!" I said. "It's just…well, Patti said she couldn't get hold of a therapist for love nor money. They were all booked solid!"

Elsinore looked deeply unimpressed. "So what's the plan, sweetie? Beat around the bush until you hit rock bottom?"

"No, but—"

"Because from personal experience, let me tell you that you don't want that!"

"I know I don't, but…" I inclined my head. "Wait, what happened?"

The withering look vanished, replaced by one of rueful embarrassment. "Well, um, I'm a little hazy on the details…"

I put my hands on my hips. "Didn't you say you had a photographic memory?"

"Yeah, but…" she blew out her cheeks. "I don't remember what happened. Hell, I don't even remember what caused me to snap, but apparently I walked out of town in a daze and… never looked back. A week later, I stumbled into an aid station a hundred miles from home, barely conscious, clothes shredded, bleeding from a dozen injuries and dragging three metres of half-eaten snake."

"Ew! Really?"

"Hey, that bit almost makes sense. Low in fat, high in protein, shaped like a baguette; it's the perfect choice for the madwoman on the go!" she said, as if that somehow made it any better. "Anyway, I staggered up to the counter, slammed my hands down on the top, screamed 'Where's the pudding?' and promptly collapsed from sheer exhaustion. Apparently, I nearly died."

"Wow."

She grinned wryly. "Yeah. After that episode, even I had to admit I needed help."

"I can imagine," I said. "And don't worry; I'm going to keep my promise, Elsinore—"

"—Ellie, please. That's what my friends call me."

"—fine. I'm not giving up, but between everyone being booked up and this whole Foundation thing—"

She looked quizzical. "What Foundation thing?"

"Oh, didn't you know?" I said lightly. "Keame's stepping down as director of the Keame Foundation. Something about manipulating the Lost for personal gain. He…might have asked me to take his place."

"Really?" Ellie thought about this for a moment. "Congratulations, Laura — I mean, Director Barton. Should I curtsey?"

"Stop it! I've gotten enough of that from Clint!" I said irritably. "Besides, I haven't said I'll take the job."

"But you really kinda want to, don't you?" she said, with a knowing grin.

"Well, I was thinking that we could use to…y'know, take our show on the road?" I said. "Like what we did at the schoolgates, only multiplied by thousands! Possibly millions!"
"I...ah…" for a moment it seemed like Ellie couldn't quite meet my gaze, but then she rallied magnificently. "Then it's even more important that you see someone! It's like I tell Thera; how can you possibly help others if you can't even help yourself? If you're going to be a public figure, you need to set a good example!"

"I know! I know…"

Ellie stared at me for a little while, then sighed and looked away. "You know, it's okay to tell me if you think I'm being overbearing. Apparently, it's a flaw of mine."

"I'm sorry?" I blinked. "Do my ears deceive me? Did the great and powerful Vi— Ellie just admit to having a flaw?"

"Hah," she snorted. "Listen, I had six years of my life stolen by a bunch of power-crazed mentalists. That's terrible, but do you know what's worse? Letting them steal another four because I was too stubborn and proud to get the help I really needed! When I think about what I could've done with that time…" she stopped, and shook her head disgustedly. "I can't stand here and let you make the same mistake, Laura! Thanos stole five years of your marriage; I'm begging you, don't give him, Keame, or Pexley one second more! You deserve better, and you know it!"

Ellie's last words rang in the air, and a couple of partygoers looked around in surprise. She glowered angrily at them until they looked away, and muttered something uncomplimentary under her breath.
"Thank you, Ellie," I said eventually. "You know, Clint aside, I can't think of the last time anyone was this worried about me. Do you really think it's that serious?"

"Do you?" she said sharply. "Do you genuinely believe you need help? Because if you don't, you'll just be wasting everyone's time. Yours, mine, the poor therapist's…"

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that sounds like the voice of experience."

"Because it is. My psych has the patience of a saint; I spent years treating our sessions as some kind of ridiculous game. Honestly, I must've been an absolute nightmare to deal with," Ellie looked shamefacedly at her boots. "After all that, having to go to her and say 'You were right; please help me' was one of the most humbling experiences of my life."

"It doesn't seem to have slowed you down very much," I remarked. "And…it would be good to talk to someone. Or I think it would…"

"Mmm. You still don't seem convinced," she said, and brightened. "Luckily, I prepared for this!"

"You did?"

"Oh, yes," she said, with a smile I wasn't entirely sure I liked. "C'mon; I've got something to show you!"

Without waiting for a response, Ellie grabbed my hand and set off at a brisk walk around the edge of the crowd. At first, I felt more than a little self-conscious, especially considering some of the looks we were getting from passers-by, but after a little while I decided to stop worrying about it. If nothing else, my curiosity had definitely been piqued. Try as I might, I couldn't possibly imagine what Ellie had in store that might help 'convince me', and I wasn't entirely sure it was unambiguously good. While her general demeanour seemed to be one of eager excitement, I could feel a subtle undercurrent of tension and anxiety that only seemed to grow stronger as we walked. Was she scared? No, but there was definitely something going on here…

"Hey, Ellie? Can you slow down?" I said, playing for time. "I'm getting gravel dust all over my pants!"

"What? Oh, sorry; got a bit carried away," she said, and slowed up a little. "We're almost there, anyway."

"Where is 'there'?"

"Casa Del Doe, of course!" she said, and produced a key very similar to the one Thera had given Ruth. "Well, one half of it, at least. They put Thera and me in different containers."

"Why? Didn't you say something?"

"Didn't know until they gave us the keys," she shrugged. "And why would we say anything? All we had to do was move one of the beds out of the way and hey, free living room! Or, in this case, a handy lockup to store things I don't want these bloody gannets—" she glared at the crowd. "—getting their filthy hands on."

"So what do you want to show me?"

"I can't tell you that; it'd ruin the surprise!" she said. "And I really kind of want to see the look on your face when you see it. I spent too long putting it together to just tell you what it is…"

Ellie stopped suddenly, and I looked around in surprise. During our walk, I'd gotten so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't realised we'd walked almost halfway around the Blip Centre itself. The party was some distance away now, the sound of the crowd muted and indistinct, while ahead of us lay one of the many unlovely 'streets', lined with stacks of containers that had been hastily converted to provide at least some shelter for the recently resurrected. Despite the brilliant noonday sun the road ahead seemed cast in perpetual gloom, and I felt another chill coming on as memories of Bulgakov and his torturer floated to the surface. A hand went almost unconsciously to my neck.

"Hey, you did good," she said, her tone quiet but encouraging. "Thanks to you, Caleb paid for what he did and Thera was able to save Bulgakov. I can't begin to tell you how grateful his wife was."

I gave her an aside glance. "Grateful enough to let you use her as bait for Blacknest?"

"'Let'? Who do you think came up with the plan?" she said. "Believe me, that woman really wanted to hurt Pexley, and…I think she saw it as a form of atonement. I know she was trying to do right by her husband, but her meddling nearly ended in catastrophe."

"Mmm. You think she's back with him yet?"

"If she is, I hope she took a good long shower first," Elsinore said, and pointed grandly down the street. "Well, here we are! 'F Block'. Not far now!"

"So…" I followed her into the deepening shadows, looking warily this way and that. "Was this place always this cheerful?"

"Oh, it's not so bad. At least the inmates largely keep to themselves," said Ellie. "Not like those nosy buggers over in 'G Block'. Bunch of bloody curtain twitchers, the lot of 'em."

"And they really just dumped you here and left you to your own devices?"

"I think it's pretty clear they weren't meant to, but yeah," she said, and looked around sourly. "Maybe your first job can be to straighten this lot out. We did what we could, but as you saw all that amounted to was an offer of 'join us or die'. They need something to believe in beyond 'Ronin will murder me if I put a foot wrong', so they don't fall for whatever the next snake oil salesperson is peddling."

"Yeah," I nodded. "I was kind of thinking the same thing."

"Good, because Keame was one of the first, but he won't be the last. You're going to need to be on your toes."

We came to a halt in front of a bright red container that looked, to my eye at least, entirely indistinguishable from those immediately surrounding it. As with the others we'd passed, the presentation was utilitarian at best; a simple (and rather flimsy-looking) door was the only way in or out, with a curtained-off window providing a rather pathetic source of natural light. Despite its plain appearances, however, Ellie seemed satisfied, and stepped forwards to rap her knuckles loudly on the corrugated steel facing.

"F23! My home away from home away from home away…well, you get the picture," she said. "So, are you ready?"

"Ready? Ready for what?" I said, and felt a little surge of irritation. "C'mon, Ellie; what's behind Door Number One?"

"What, this little door?" While her smile was winsome, I could see the tension deepening around her eyes. "Absolutely everything."