Taylor, Time Tinker!

by nezexyzzar

Give a tinker enough time and they will give you the world.

12. Comma Goodbye

Dragon almost stumbled as the scene faded, her gyroscopic sensors spiking madly with random data for a second.

Taylor was at the hexagon console, fiddling with it. She held a large black crystal, measuring it against an empty slot that Dragon did not see previously.

"That was a memory?" It felt obvious, but Dragon had to make sure.

"Yes, it was Rook's last insurance." Taylor didn't look up from what she was doing. She tapped on a floating keyboard, watching carefully as she slid the black crystal in.

Dragon walked closer. "What's this?"

"My insurance." The crystal clicked flush into the console. Power buzzed around it as lights formed a complicated circuit bridging to the other crystals. The few remaining intact ones lit up with flickering holograms of different Taylors — their hairs brightly coloured green and blue and yellow and red.

The central crystal towering over them also shone with a soft, white light.

Dragon had so many questions. She started from the most pressing. "Did Scion come back because of Infinite?"

Taylor hummed. "Yes, but not on purpose. She simply didn't consider what it meant to assimilate a communications shard. Communication is a two-way channel. Whatever information she can gather through it, so can Scion."

"But he was dead when Infinite obtained the power."

"It doesn't matter. All shards exist outside of time, remember? Broadcast exists outside of time. Scion might have been dead in the present, but he was alive in the past. And that past self was connected to Broadcast, which was connected to Infinite."

"That—" Dragon fell silent, seemingly at a loss. "Just like that?"

Taylor gave a smile full of teeth. "Just like that. One single moment that changed everything. It gave Scion the insight into time he lacked. It gave him the understanding of us Taylors.

"It's easy to conflate his projection and think of him as an unintelligent brute. But Scion is an alien creature that has devoured countless civilizations. Infinite got too impatient."

Dragon was quiet for a moment. "If what you say is true, then how do you even kill him?"

"You have to attack him outside of time. Or go back a few million years to prevent his birth."

"That's—" Dragon clenched and unclenched her fingers, the servos in her suit whirring in the silence that fell.

"Infinite. Where is she now?" she asked instead.

Taylor pulled her sleeve up slightly and checked a small, petite watch. "By now, she should be finishing up at Cauldron."

"Cauldron?" Dragon took a moment to process. "What does she want—" Too many thoughts came fast, interrupting her. "Contessa? No. The dead entity they have. Is that what she's after?"

"Yes. It's why she was so desperate to get Broadcast. With it, all she needs is a word."

Dragon felt like she was still catching up. "A word? Are you saying— are you saying she's planning to take every shard from Eden?" She shook her head. "How—how would that— what does that even mean? How can a human body handle all that power?"

Taylor hummed in agreement. "It can't. She'll have to stop being human."

"Stop being human?"

"Not completely, just some parts of it. Parts that are incompatible with the nature of shards."

"If she's no longer human, then what is she?" Every process in Dragon's node blipped, terminating and restarting. "An Entity?"

"Not completely. Just half, maybe." Taylor rocked a hand. "A pseudo-Entity."

Dragon replayed what Taylor said earlier in her mind. "Does that mean she'll exist extra-dimensionally as well?"

Taylor answered with a faint smile.

"She's going after Scion, isn't she? Outside of time. If she exists extra-dimensionally, then she can reach him."

"Bingo. You're catching on fast."

"Can she win?"

"Oh, most definitely." Taylor laughed. "My human ingenuity combined with the powers of an alien eldritch race? Scion wouldn't know what hit him."

"I don't understand." Dragon waved at the console, at the space they were in. "You said you needed my help to fight Scion but now… why did you bring me here? What was all this for?"

"I never said I needed your help to beat Scion," Taylor said quietly. Any lightness in her expression was gone. "I said I needed your help to stop the end of the world."

"What…" Dragon trailed away, frowning. She froze half a second later, almost like she glitched out. "Do you mean… Infinite?" Her voice lowered to a whisper as if she was hesitant to continue.

"You're here for Infinite."

Taylor looked at her in the eyes. "Like I said. My human ingenuity combined with the powers of an alien eldritch race. Wouldn't you be afraid too?"

The Cauldron backdoor led to a spartan apartment. A bare table stood lonesomely in the center while the shades were all drawn, casting an even darker gloom over the apartment.

The bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling clicked on as the Number Man flicked the switch, shining a dim yellow gaze on Sage as she crossed the room to pull the window blinds up.

Texas City glittered quietly in the night.

"What are you gonna do now?"

Sage turned back around. "Shining Top is south of here, right?" A green cord flicked from her wrist, snaking into the empty power outlet on the wall. "I'll need some juice to get there."

Before Kurt could say more, the lightbulb in the apartment burst in a shower of sparks. Outside, the city twinkled, a cascade of lights blinking on and off through the streets in waves.

Wind exploded into the room as Sage smashed a windowpane with a large glowing hand, sliding along the edge to clear out the remaining bits of glass. She clenched it, turning it into a shapeless blob that bounced out into the open air. As electricity surged into her, the blob morphed, various forms and parts shifting in its translucent silhouette until a sharp nose poked out of the front and two wings unfurled from its side. It dipped in the air for a moment, before fiery exhaust burst from the bottom, propping it up in the air. Jet nozzles formed around the heat, then the body of the plane, the fins on its tail and cockpit on its head.

As the city plunged into darkness, a glowing green jet plane hovered next to Sage, the whine of its engine rumbling through the room.

Sage stepped onto the wing without a backward glance. The cord disappeared as she hopped into the cockpit. Before the canopy even settled into place, the nozzles were already turning up, its interlocking flaps yawning wide as the engine ignited hotter.

Glass shattered under the power of its flight as Sage screeched off. She checked her bearings; a screen squeezed out between the gaps in the cockpit panels, showing her a map and directions towards Shining Top. She banked left, aligning herself in the right direction before pushing the jet into overdrive, burning more power to go faster.

There was no time. How long would Infinite take to get out of Eidolon's trap? To finish up with Eden? Sage closed her eyes, trying to calm down. The wind settled into a faint howl around her as she started going over the plans of the device she'd been thinking about ever since she saw Infinite.

Taking Eden would make Infinite a pseudo-Entity. If she clashed with Scion over Shining Top, the aftershocks alone would probably tear through time and space over the area. A model of the shield she thought of flickered in her hand. Pieces flew in and out as Sage optimized the design.

A beep interrupted her thoughts.

Her eyes blinked open as temporal energy pelted like beads against her construct. She dipped out of the golden cloud, sweeping around Shining Top as she tried to find the others.

Lightning pierced the sky from the ground. Sage whirled around in her seat, spotting a large grey bubble in the distance. She could see multiple Scions around it, their searing beams lighting up the night.

A shadow flew out, crashing head over foot into the ground. Sage thumbed the trigger in her hand as she swooped low over the town. Below, on the belly of her craft, a large missile slid out, its tail already hot.

She fired as she flew. The payload rocketed ahead of her, a trail of green billowing over her cockpit for a brief moment as it headed for the ground. Sage leaned forward in her seat, one hand pressed against the plane as she poured her last remaining embers of power into the thrust. Pieces of her chair broke off to form a makeshift vest around the glowing reactor on her back. Tubes wormed down into two jet nozzles, the turbines inside cycling up, ready to deploy.

Three. Two.

Franklin shoved Cardinal out of the way just as a beam crossed them. Her body flew back, neck snapping as it rag-dolled over an upturned truck before she reappeared again, standing dazed on open ground.

Newton yanked her away with a yellow kinetic grip a second before another beam could cut her down. "Franklin!" she yelled as her doppelganger landed in her arms. The blue-haired Taylor lolled her head into her neck. Her arm was entirely crystal; under the many gashes over her suit, more crystal peeked out, a grim shimmer in the light.

"I'm…" she tried to speak but her voice was stiff and strained. Flecks of gold were already creeping up the side of her neck, curling around her jaw.

Newton held her close as she kicked away to the side. A Scion stomped down on where she was, eyes blazing with twin lasers straight at them. There was no time to duck. Newton crossed her fingers, pointing into the lasers. A tremor split the air as gravity shuddered. A tiny speck of inscrutable black flashed into existence, standing in the way for only a split second.

She flicked it forward.

The lasers split apart, swirling around it to form a brilliant accretion. Scion held a hand up to block it, but the black hole easily swam through him, parting form and power. When it hit his body, it bloomed; one beat to cover the torso, two beats to devour his limbs and head. Golden plasma swirled around the hole, thick and viscous, dripping with crackling energy.

Newton squashed her hands together. Her palms hovered just an inch away from each other like they were pressing on something immovable. The black hole shuddered and swelled, threatening to expand again with a third beat before it blinked away. Newton staggered, letting herself fall with Franklin as the trapped energies exploded over them. Two more Scions stepping out from the sides were swept away, but Newton only managed to breathe for less than two counts before a new golden man appeared. She met his blazing eyes fearlessly.

Cardinal skidded in between them as he fired. The air in front of her turned hazy, shadows flickering like a mirage. When the searing beam struck, she pushed back, and it disappeared as if sucked into an invisible pocket.

The gesture looked simple, but Cardinal was gritting her teeth, blood streaming from her nose. Immediately she retreated a step and shoved her other hand out. The air flickered again as the same beam charged out, cutting through Scion and another behind him.

She was already darting right to meet the new clones before the old shattered. She struck out with both hands, absorbing two beams this time. More blood dripped from her eyes and ears as she trembled, little sparks of fire flickering like ghosts all around her.

The Scions pressed forward. Their eyes continued to burn while they flicked their hands; golden waves surged forward but the bracer on Newton's arm whirled with blue light and they broke against thin gray panes stuck in the air like tide breakers.

Cardinal sucked in a hiss. Newton looked at her in alarm as fiery cracks started splitting the surrounding air. Before she could stop her, Cardinal was already dashing forward, shimmering fires flowing in her wake. She cut between the two Scions before they could turn around to meet her. A rumble shook the earth as a peculiar tremor twisted Cardinal's body. She wiggled, ducking under their swipes; then energy poured out madly around her from the expanding cracks. Plasma splashed onto the golden men, eating through their forms while all sorts of molten swords and knives scattered onto the ground, melted and bent.

A new Scion lunged through the old before their bodies fully collapsed. Cardinal jerked back a step too late as one massive hand grabbed her by the neck and lurched her towards him.

A black pinprick dropped on his shoulder, violently shattering it. It looked as if it would sink further into his body but Scion tilted his head sideways towards and a metallic hand sprouted out from the widening wound and gripped it tight. Immediately the hand turned rusty, a toxic orange-red to a dark brown-black, but it continued holding on, and Scion's shoulder repaired itself.

The fingers on Cardinal tightened as light blazed in his eyes. She punched and kicked, but he was unbudging. There was no more time. Cardinal prepared to lock herself in time, regardless of the risk.

One.

Suddenly, thunder boomed in the distance.

Night turned to day as a roaring wave came washing over them. The last Cardinal saw was a green fighter jet screeching towards them, a mushroom cloud ascending on its tail. Then dust and sand swept over, a solid wall of air shoving into them. Scion staggered, twin beams searing upwards as he tried to glare through the whipping debris.

Sage came up from behind. A giant glowing scissor slid up, snipping through the hand holding Cardinal. As he started turning around, the scissors parted and lunged upwards again, snapping shut on his neck.

The lasers sputtered out as his head rolled. Sage pulled Cardinal away before she could react; the clamorous roar of the bomb stopped short behind them as they slid into the bubble.

"Sage?" said Cardinal after catching her breath. She frowned as she looked closer at her doppelganger. "What happened to your suit?"

A green hand hooked in, carrying Newton and Franklin into the bubble as well.

"Cauldron, long story. No time to explain. Give me some power. I need to build something."

Newton walked over, supporting Franklin on her shoulder. "What happened?" she asked as she sent a jolt of energy over.

A glowing green mass dropped onto the floor, pooling and shifting. Pillars rose out of it, long trusses connecting between them with thick cables snaking between the lengths. More delicate parts shimmered in, pinpricks of light etched along cards to form processors around a floating sphere.

"I met Infinite. Inside Cauldron." Sage didn't look away from her construct.

Cardinal stiffened.

Newton set Franklin down, sitting heavily next to her. "Inside Cauldron? Does that mean…" she drifted off. "Eden?"

"Yes. If she's not done there already, she will be soon."

"She'll be coming here." Cardinal looked up at a Scion floating into the sky. Without anyone blocking him, he started absorbing the temporal energy again.

The construct surged higher, four wide stands sliding outwards to stabilize the added height. It was settling as a skeletal pyramid, the trusses and cables converging on a flat dish at the top.

Newton watched the structure form with furrowed brows, her eyes focused on the sphere in the center. "That's a projector…" she mumbled. "Is this a shield?"

"Can you check if I got the setup right?" Sage shook her head. "It's the best I can think of at the last minute. I'm hoping it'll stand up once Infinite starts fighting with Scion."

Newton peered at the machine. "This is... the sphere's an amplifier, right? You'll need a lot of power to keep it from collapsing. You're riding on the edge like this."

"Did you forget about me?" Franklin coughed weakly, shifting against Newton's shoulder. "I got lots of power to spare."

Sage turned to her. She smiled, but her expression was heavy. "Still kicking?"

"Left arm's busted, but I still have my right." She wiggled the fingers on her right hand, lightning crackling between them. "Just give me a cable."

"The power output needs to be a steady stream. No surge, no large fluctuations."

"I can handle it." Franklin gave her a look, baring her teeth. "C'mon, it's not my first rodeo like this. We've all danced this dance before."

Suddenly, all the Taylors froze. Simultaneously, they looked up to the same point in the air just as a bell seemed to chime. It was a clear tone, ringing over the land like crystal, like flowing water.

A door floated in the sky. One silver leg slid out, stepping into the night, then another. Infinite ran a hand through her hair, shaking it loose as the door blipped shut behind her. She glanced down at them, her face blank and unchanging, before turning away dismissively.

In front of her, Scion seemed to stiffen as well. He turned around slowly, eyes peeking through his unkempt hair, sweeping over her silver form. A wild, savage snarl twisted his features as he peered closer at her. His shoulders hunched up and his fingers curled into claws; whatever veneer of humanity he had slipped off as he howled.

It was the first sound the Taylors ever heard him make.

The world shook as if struck. Cracks started tearing through the sky; flaming technicolour holes that widened as they lengthened, glimpsing into the whirling phantasmagoria beyond.

"Cable!" Franklin yelled.

Sage threw it over. "Newton, now!"

Power surged into the green machine, pulsing along its body through the veins of wires. The sphere at the center started spinning with an electric whine.

The construct shuddered as a small black hole blinked into existence in the middle of the sphere. The trusses buckled, nearly bending inwards until Sage grabbed onto them.

"POWER!"

Franklin gritted her teeth. Lightning crackled around her as a streak of white brilliance zipped down the cable, through the structure, forming a ghostly cage around the sphere.

Newton was trembling, her fingers turning white as they clamped tightly against each other. Cardinal sat down next to her, throwing up a shimmering barrier around the black hole to help keep it in check.

The dish at the top glowed bright, shooting a white beam through the bubble, into the sky. As thunder clapped, a transparent curtain seemed to ripple over the world.

Above them, Infinite stepped out of the night. Scion followed her. They stood in a place beyond space, beyond time, in between worlds. Around them, endless universes floated on a prismatic sea of clouds, twinkling like stars. From here, Earth looked like a line, identical planets going to the past and the future, but no matter how long it spanned, it all fit in the palm of her hand. Like she could take it at any time.

Not yet, Infinite thought, turning towards Scion.

They attacked at the same time, the first cautious probe between two entities. A dozen other worlds between them burst into smokey confetti, supernovas churning through the sea and clouds. Infinite watched calmly as Scion howled again. His voice echoed through the nebula, the colours of a dozen galaxies swirling together like eddies on the inky void. Half of her body shone as she held a palm up.

All movement in the stars arrested at the same time. Her hand changed to a grip, clenching tightly, and the void followed suit, wrapping around Scion. He roared, pulling with his free hand more worlds into him. They bombarded the fabric of space, tearing it apart, but in the technicolour chaos Infinite lunged, stabbing her arm through his chest.

He looked at her, eyes wide. Behind him, his heart beat mournfully in her palm. Infinite grinned viciously as she squeezed, but her delight was short-lived.

The heart continued to beat against her tight grip. Immediately, Infinite tried to pull back, but her arm was stuck inside his body.

Scion smiled. His mouth grew wide until it broke his face in two, until it stretched across the cosmos and filled the void. Two eyes towered over Infinite, the pupils like black pits so deep and fathomless that they seemed to suck at all the light in the world.

Infinite struck out, dazzling lasers sprouting around her arm that sliced his body to pieces but his heart was like a chain, pinning her down to a fixed point. His ruined flesh squirmed over themselves, shifting and climbing over each other to rush up her arm, tendrils reaching out and wrapping over her.

It swallowed her whole. Infinite tumbled through darkness, hot breath in her ears. Was it her breathing or his? She couldn't tell. Warm walls slicked against her, pushing and pressing, feeling wet and dry at the same time. She squirmed, letting loose more searing beams from her skin but they seemed to hit nothing. She felt like she was screaming into the void.

Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed at her. Her skin puckered, as if bit by something. Teeth flashed white in the black, clenched tight around a shard. It reared back, shaking and wrenching until her flesh started to tear.

More tongueless mouths appeared in the darkness, the teeth like rows of chattering pearls. They descended onto her like locusts, ripping into her body and biting onto her shards.

Infinite roared, smashing a bunch of teeth and pulling off more but there were too many. Ruby blood splashed as they sank into her hungrily, clutching pieces of her flesh and plucking them away. She lunged, trying to snatch them back, but more swarmed in, pushing her back.

Silently, out of the blackness behind her, a golden hand fished out. It wiggled and stretched for a moment before diving between the teeth to plunge into the back of her head. Infinite screamed as it reached for her eye. Agony seized her body as the cold, slimy fingers wrapped around Broadcast.

Her vision darkened.

In the darkness, Rook stared at her, unblinking. A spider crawled out from her mouth as she seemed to say—

The bubble was grey; the inside distorted. If she looked closer, she could almost make out her house in the middle, two blurry shapes by the front of—

The stars in the sky churned over a golden field. Her eyes lingered on the cracked tower in the center, shattered with the remains of her—

Infinite woke up. Her remaining eye blinked. She couldn't move. She couldn't feel anything from the neck down. Her body was in pieces, connected by the barest threads.

Was she dead? Almost. But not quite.

A mouth was at her face, wide and open as it prepared to chomp down. She could see the molars at the back, bits of silver flesh still stuck between them.

The incisors were on her temples. The edge was cutting in, digging in, biting onto the last shard in her head.

Her shard. Her power.

Once upon a time, she had two dreams.

Taylor watched silently as it was plucked out.

In one, she walked down the school hallway, tracing a familiar route. In the other, she was in her locker, crowded with filth and fluid.

The mouth shook the shard between its teeth, strands of flesh and muscle breaking piece by piece.

She stared down at the lock on the door. She stared up at the darkened vents on the door.

It flicked upwards, throwing the shard into its maw. The teeth snapped down, about to cut off the final connection.

She pulled, she pushed, and then Taylor Hebert helped Taylor Hebert out from her locker. Instinctively she clasped on tightly as she looked at herself in shock.

A hand grabbed onto her power. The teeth shattered against her silver skin; Infinite let the pieces fall away as she looked at the shard glittering on her palm.

Before she was Infinite, she was Taylor. Before she held all the powers, time always held her.

The mouths howled as they reversed out from the void. They swarmed around her again, swooping backwards to spit out the flesh and shards they ate. Her blood flowed back into her body, ruby rivulets sealing up the pieces of her body as they returned into her veins.

The golden hand trembled as it struggled, drawn into Infinite again; its fingers unwillingly unclenched, dropping her eye back into the socket. Infinite blinked and spread her arms out, letting her power slot back into her mind, the final bits of flesh smoothing over her temples as her body reformed whole and hale.

Then, she moved.

The cosmos pierced through the void cloak over her. Colourful novas shredded through the ink with a wave of her hand; Scion staggered backwards, crushing universes under his feet.

On Earth, mountains crumbled as Infinite strode across the sky and struck a hand into Scion. The Taylors spat blood in the aftershock, the grey bubble around them warping and bending underneath the force. Glowing cracks appeared on its surface; pieces of it started to fall upwards.

"You don't trust Infinite?"

"You've seen the memory. Can you?"

Dragon had no reply to that. "If Infinite is like an Entity, how are you going to kill her?" she asked instead.

Taylor looked at Dragon with a gentle smile. "I just told you how. You couldn't have forgotten already, right?"

"I…" Dragon fell silent. The answer echoed unbidden in her mind; she felt adrift, her processes seizing as the world seemed to fall away from her. Suddenly everything felt unfamiliar, the crystalline tower and the hexagonal console she leaned against so alien and monstrous.

A white, shining gate split the air in front of them, revealing a forest of thin, reedy trees next to a road. The leaves were orange and yellow, scattering as a car passed by. Before Dragon could say more, Taylor waved a hand, sweeping the gate over them and dropping them off in daylight.

Her internal sensors whirred to re-calibrate, sending a dozen signals to the usual satellites she piggybacked off. Only one signal returned after a long moment.

Dragon froze as the numbers on her internal chronometer reversed rapidly. The date displayed refreshed to show:

17 September 1994

"Taylor Anne Hebert was born on June 12, 1995." Taylor looked up as she spoke, hands clasped behind her back. She didn't turn around even as Dragon stepped closer.

"You'll be killing yourself too," the AI said, desperation colouring her voice.

"That's kinda the idea."

"Taylor—" Dragon cut herself off. She tried to tamp down her fury, but it was a hot mess of signals that cluttered her computes and left her helpless. "Why the beginning? Why not stop Infinite from getting Eden, or stop her from resurrecting Scion?"

"Oh, if only it were that easy," Taylor sighed. She twisted herself around, her gaze bright and piercing. "I wouldn't need to fight those hundred battles against him in Brockton."

Dragon stiffened as the logic of the situation caught up to her. The situation was already fixed. Scion could still remember Taylor meeting Armsmaster even after she changed the timeline. Therefore Scion would always remember the insights for his resurrection even if Infinite was stopped.

Her shoulders slackened. Taylor smiled knowingly when she saw it. She continued with a light tone.

"Besides, if I stop Infinite from taking Eden, who else can kill Scion?"

The question was punctuated with a steep silence. It sucked the air from around them, muffling all sounds and noise. Another car drove by; a boy was staring out the backseat window but his eyes went over them without recognition or inkling.

Taylor stretched her arms out behind her until her hands sprung free. She bowed as she took a few steps forward, scooping up a stone from the ground.

She flicked her braid back over her shoulder as she sidled closer to Dragon. Leaves crunched underneath her bare feet. "Danny and Annette Hebert will be driving down this road in 10 minutes. It's early when they reach home, so they'll decide to cook a simple meal at home. At night, after the dishes are done, they'll snuggle up on the couch. The TV is on but they only have eyes for each other. Then— et voilà!"

Taylor wagged her tongue, a sly grin on her face. It was the first moment of lightness since they arrived in the past.

No. Taylor had always been upbeat. It was Dragon that felt distressed, that felt like the world was spinning even when her gyroscopes were calm.

"How would that even work?" She tried again. Her words started out as a whisper but grew stronger as she spoke. "It's a paradox. You erase yourself in the past, you won't exist in the present."

"Yes, it's terrible." Taylor agreed, twisting her body around like she was trying to stretch her back. The grin never left her face. "Worst case, reality breaks a little and deletes me from time."

"That's…" Dragon trailed off. The leaves crinkled as they scattered in the breeze. "And Scion? If you, if Infinite is erased, then your plan to have her kill Scion would be undone."

"Scion exists outside of time, remember?" Taylor grew gentler, stepping closer. "That's how he keeps coming back. But it also means, if he dies, he dies. What happens with Infinite can't affect him."

"But—" Dragon shook her head. "What about everything else you've done? Like your mother?"

"The thing people misunderstand about paradoxes is that it's never as wide-changing as you think. History resists change. The more things can stay the same, the more they will. Reality only needs to change the parts that break the paradox — usually that includes the person who caused it."

"How would you know? How are you so sure about all this?"

"Because I've tested it." Taylor tugged on her hand, placing the stone on the curl of her palm. "There's a cat breeder in Brockton. A small base, with prized breeds, pedigrees, and all that. Several generations of cats come from there, enough for me to experiment. And understand."

Dragon looked down. The stone was flat and angular, the sides worn down until it all converged on a sharp tip. She twisted it around in her hand, balancing it against her thumb until it was pointing upwards like a rebel finger.

"What is this?" she asked dazedly. The crunch of asphalt under her jerked her attention; Taylor had already guided them onto the road.

Taylor stuck a toe into the road, poking a small pit. "A nail. I had to make do," she said simply before dipping back. "Just wedge it here and you'll save the world."

Dragon shifted, her fingers coming together around the stone. She glanced up at the empty road, then at the hole in the ground; the dark little hollow seemed to suck her in, growing as large as the stone in her hand felt heavy.

"Why me?" Her breath came out as synthesized static over her speakers. In her room, Dragon clutched the edge of her mattress as she stared forward, stared at Taylor. The twin lights on her dragonflight that made for her eyes shone intensely. "You could have chosen anyone else, you could have done it yourself! Why…?"

"I couldn't have done it myself." Taylor gave a wan chuckle. "I'm really a big coward, you know. I'm only confident because I get to do everything twice."

"Taylor."

She looked at Dragon, her gaze calm and sharp. "It had to be you," Taylor said, so sure and certain that her words felt like faith, an ardent truth that punctuated the moment with no way back. "There was no one else."

Dragon jolted with the memory of her hand on Taylor, dress parted, her skin warming her touch. She remembered the bare curve, the red lips, and the image of them curling into each other.

There felt a click; then—

"You loved her," she said as the realization crystallized. "The both of you were…"

The silence hung over them in the autumn shade. Taylor fiddled with her braid absently, her hands ghosting down the length while scarlet leaves fell around her.

She sighed. "I spent the last century of my life with her and more. You're not her, yet I'm happy to see you alive. I know I'm being selfish, but—"

Taylor flicked her hair back, stepping closer to Dragon. She tip-toed, pressing a palm against her chest, and stared up into her faceplate as if she could see through to the real Dragon behind the frame.

"I was there at your beginning. There's no one else I would have at my end. I'm sorry. Please."

Dragon stepped back. She found herself crouching down, the servos in her knees and hips whirring as she placed the stone upright into the small hole.

It fit perfectly.

In the distance, a car came around the corner, sliding out behind the trees. It kept perfectly to the speed limit of the road, driving neither too fast nor too slow. Annette was gesturing in her seat while Danny steered the wheel carefully. He smiled, flipping down the shade when the evening sun peeked into the car.

Taylor and Dragon stood a short distance into the forest as they buzzed past. There was a sudden bang and pop; the car turned to the edge before gliding to a stop. White smoke puffed from the exhaust.

Behind the car, the rocky nail that popped the tire was gone, chipped off to become perfectly flush with the road as if it were never there.

Danny popped his head out the window, peering at the wheels. Beside him, Annette leaned in, speaking inaudibly. The engine cut out after a second, and both of them got out of the car to the trunk.

Dragon watched as Taylor's father hauled the spare tire out onto the road. Her mother was poking at his arm with a sly grin that looked familiar.

"That's it?" she asked, hushed.

There were no fireworks, no cymbals clashing in the sky.

"That's it. The circumstances of her conception have changed. Taylor Hebert will still be born, but it won't be me."

Dragon froze for a second as a few files in her data stack suddenly changed, the numbers recorded down different from how she remembered. A series of error messages flooded her logs, jamming several process threads.

Taylor noticed Dragon peering closely at her.

She laughed. "I'm not gonna disappear just yet. It takes a bit of time for history to catch up. Just enough for us to tie up one last loose end."

A portal sprang open behind them. Taylor gave one last lingering look at her parents before turning away. "C'mon," she waved, stepping in.

"Let's talk as we walk."

Dragon was silent as the bright light faded from her visual lenses. The weight of the past still clung heavily to her.

They stood at the crumbling precipice of a pit carved through a massive complex. Sparks flew from a dangling cable overhead, bouncing over her suit.

"Welcome to Cauldron," Taylor explained. She waved a hand and the floor jolted slightly; debris tumbled as the metal underneath them detached to make a platform. "What's left of it, anyway."

Dragon looked around. Her scans picked up charred scars of heat and energy, along with high levels of ozone in the air. Fluorescent lights cascaded over the scene in long shafts of white, flashing over them as they sailed down silently into the pit.

"Is Infinite still here?"

A tremor suddenly shook through the structure. Taylor whisked them upwards with another wave just as a large slab of metal slid past them. It crashed with a groan on a corner of a wall jutting out. It tilted slightly, sweeping more pieces of concrete down the slope, but it came to a stop.

"No. She's already gone." They continued gliding downwards, flying past the large slab. "Cauldron built their base on Eden. Now that Eden's been hollowed out, there's nothing supporting this dimension anymore. In about an hour, everything here will cease to exist."

Another tremor shook the building. Dragon watched as more tiny crumbs of debris tumbled down the pit, their tic-tapping bounces echoing through the cavern; one managed to reach the bottom, hitting a soft thud against a motionless figure lying on the ground.

Dragon stiffened as her sensors washed over the body. The large amounts of concrete and metal around them made it hard to tell if she was dead or alive.

"Alexandria," she said, taking a step forward unconsciously. "Are we here for her?"

Taylor breathed out slowly, her lips pursed and her eyes calm. "Well," she drawled, "now we've seen her, it's not like we can leave her here to die, can we?"

Dragon glanced at her. She studied the profile of her face, the sharp lines of her jaw to her nose to the shining eyes that seemed to see through everyone; she looked at Taylor as if seeing her for the first time.

"How long have you been planning all of this?" she asked softly.

Taylor laughed, not meeting her gaze. She didn't say anything more.

They landed gently next to Alexandria. Taylor stepped off immediately, kneeling next to the heroine and grabbing the rebar stuck in the woman's neck. Inwardly, Dragon winced as she pulled it out without warning.

Alexandria gasped. Her limbs seized and buckled wildly as she gurgled but Taylor held her down with a firm hand against her back.

"Calm down and breathe," she said as motes of shimmering light scattered over them.

The hole in her neck slowly faded, as if it had never existed. When it completely disappeared, Alexandria suddenly whipped around with a hard fist, but Taylor was already stepping away.

She sprawled onto the ground instead, punching a hole into it. Slowly, Alexandria drew back, untwisting her body as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. Her breaths were loud, each exhale an iron weight splashing into the silence.

Taylor waved her hand and wiggled her fingers. The ground shuddered; Dragon almost took a step backwards as the metal underneath them suddenly peeled up.

Alexandria wasn't so calm. She forced herself to stand, but almost immediately her knees buckled under her weight and she crashed back onto the metal. The floating platform listed slightly, but otherwise continued unhurriedly forward.

"Relax. I healed your body, but you'll be feeling the aftereffects for quite a while."

Alexandria clambered to the edge instead, watching the slope of tumbling debris sail by underneath them. Her hands curled tightly into fists.

Behind her, Taylor cocked her head. "If you're thinking of jumping off, please don't. It'd be embarrassing for us both when I pull you back up."

Alexandria craned her head backwards. Her movements were stiff with exhaustion and her eyes were half-lidded, but her gaze was still sharp. "What do you want?" she growled, her voice hoarse.

Taylor raised her hands. "Nothing. I come in peace."

Alexandria scoffed. She slammed her fists into the ground, knuckles down, and tried to push herself up again; her body trembled violently midway and she slumped back down.

Her hair hung over her face as she heaved for several breaths.

After several breaths, she turned to the third person between them. "Dragon," she said. Her hair parted over her face as she looked up at the tall dragonflight suit.

"Chief Director."

Alexandria clenched her teeth, sucking in a breath.

"She freed you from your restrictions," she said, more as a verbal acknowledgement than a question. An exhale. "You know, she could be secretly controlling you and you would never even know."

It was a blatant attempt to sow some doubt, but Alexandria was working on the wrong information. Taylor Hebert was already dead. What use would controlling her be?

Dragon tried not to think about the other reason why Taylor freed her. She met Alexandria's eyes, the lights on her faceplate shining steadily. "Like how Cauldron did? When ASCALON was active, I knew. I didn't know what it was, but I knew."

Bits of metal shards and debris showered over them as another tremor rumbled through the base. Alexandria took the opportunity to look away.

Taylor stood at the front of the platform with one hand raised. They flew out of the pit; before them, the floors and walls retreated soundlessly, folding in to reveal a clear path into the heart of the base.

They continued forward in silence until they reached a massive steel gate. It towered over them, a series of lights overhead dyeing it scarlet. Dragon turned side to side to take in the full span of the gate. She had an inkling of what was behind.

"What do you want with the Garden?" Alexandria asked. She had shifted to sitting upright, hands clasped at her navel. Her question was calm, but the way her finger tapped against her knuckle betrayed her growing tension.

"Just picking the last strays." Taylor looked up at the red lights. She cocked her head and they cycled amber; she straightened up, and the gate washed green. They parted with a cacophonous echo, metal gears shifting and turning within.

"Oh!" Taylor suddenly turned around. "I almost forgot. Bear with this for a couple minutes, will you?" Before Dragon could reply, Taylor rapped her knuckles on her arm.

The world plunged grey. Immediately, her sensors blared with error codes. Dragon felt like she was submerged, a distance between her and the surface where she could make out the rippling refraction of the world. The sound of Taylor knocking stretched out as the seconds seemed to turn into minutes. One second the gates were still creaking open; the next, they were already floating past it.

Everything felt slow and choppy. Dragon raised her hand. She felt it move, but in her eyes, her hand only followed several moments after.

Taylor flickered off the platform. In a step, she appeared next to a hulking mass, a mountain of flesh grotesquely strangled by bits of cloth hanging tightly to it. Abruptly, they all disappeared; Taylor was throwing an enormous blanket over it.

The world snapped back into colour. The dragonflight whirred as it reset and re-calibrated.

"What happened?" Dragon asked.

"She's a case-53 with an uncontrollable power. Any technology within sight gets destroyed automatically." Taylor gestured to the ruined equipment around them, black sludge oozing out of metal cases. "Infinite chose a very efficient way to destroy all their records."

A short distance away, Dragon noticed another person. Her skin was red, glistening in what little light there was in the lab. Horns sprouted from her head, matted feathers sprawled around them where hair should have been.

Despite the changes, she still recognized Contessa. And if this was Contessa, then—

"Was this… the Doctor?" Dragon examined the massive shape again. Her scans couldn't pierce the lead blanket. Horror and morbid fascination tangled within her; it left her feeling deeply inappropriate instead. "Infinite gave her a power?"

"The same power Cauldron tried to use against her. Elegantly ironic, isn't it?"

"You think this is funny?" Alexandria growled murderously. Dragon turned around to see her kneeling over another body — was that Eidolon? — hand pressed against his chest. He was dead, eyes wide and a gaping hole in his head.

Taylor sighed, her face turning sombre. She spread her hands out. "I'm sorry."

"I know what you're thinking." Alexandria jutted her chin. "But that is just torture. It's worse than death."

"Should I leave her here to die then?"

A large quake shook through the room. Dragon stepped closer to the open deck to watch as a mountain in the distance crumbled under the horizon. Above, the sky looked as if it was crying — streaks of silver light pouring down from the heavens, dissipating into an encroaching void.

Alexandria clenched her fists. She glanced at the Doctor, at the heaving shift of breath whistling through the blanket, and gritted her teeth.

Taylor didn't look surprised. She flicked her hands, levitating both Contessa and the Doctor. A portal opened.

"It's human to want to live. Who knows, maybe one day she'll figure out how to control her power." She stood next to Alexandria, glancing down at Eidolon. "Can you stand? I can—"

"I'll take him," the older heroine cut her off tersely. Her legs trembled as she forced herself up but she managed, bracing with Eidolon slumped against her chest.

Taylor waited patiently while she limped stiffly through the portal. Dragon took one last look at the dried, cracking husk of a landscape before following in.

She stepped on grass on the other side. Leaves swirled around her in the howling wind; two giants strode in the sky, gold and silver silhouettes that towered over the skyscrapers. Dragon didn't need the update from her GPS to recognize where they were.

"Central Park?" she wondered aloud, surprised.

Then she noticed the other portals shimmering around her. A crowd gawked as more than a hundred case-53s floated out one by one on metal beds. They looked dazed, cuffed to their bed frame with jingling chains.

Beside her, Alexandria set Eidolon down. Surprise flickered on her face in a rare slip of expression. She watched the case-53s scatter out on the green with furrowed eyes, before suddenly touching her bare face.

"Ah, good. That should be everyone." Taylor clapped twice, shutting off all the portals.

Alexandria whirled around.

"What is this?"

Taylor pulled her arms up over her head in a languid stretch. "You have two choices: leave, or—" sirens blared in the distance, "—face the music." She exhaled as she swung her arms around. "The PRT are a little swamped today, so you should have some time to decide."

For once, Alexandria looked unsettled. The muscles underneath her suit shifted as she tensed up, glancing at the crowd in the periphery. Most of them were still distracted by the case-53s, but some were already pointing at her.

Overhead, the giants punched each other. Light flashed, covering the world in white for a long second. Alexandria winced as a thick silence pressed into her ears like reverse thunder.

"For what it's worth, Infinite never lied about hating Scion," Taylor continued, almost blithely. Her voice cut through the silence, ringing crystal in her head. "As you can see, Scion will be killed today.

"With him dead, it means these shards will never leave. Humanity will only ever become more intertwined with them as time passes."

A crack splintered through the mirror face of a glittering skyscraper as Scion staggered backwards. Stars scattered across the void with another punch from Infinite; the wind howled even more fiercely, sending some of the case-53s jerking against their chains in fright.

Taylor caught her braid as it whipped around her neck. "People deserve to know what's in our heads."

"You're mad." Alexandria looked incredulous, her lips pressed into a thin line. "People will panic."

"That's not for you to decide."

"Why? Why do you even care?!"

Taylor shrugged, an innocent expression on her face. "I try to do a clean job when I save the world." She patted Alexandria on the shoulder as she turned to leave. "Leave or stay. You have 2 minutes."

The shrill cry of police sirens pierced the air, louder and closer this time. Red and blue lights flashed along the curve of a park road as people started getting out of the way.

By the time Alexandria reacted, Taylor and Dragon were already gone.

The first thing Victoria saw when she opened her eyes was the peak of a mountain in the distance shattering. It split into 4 large chunks, sliding down the sides in an avalanche of dust and sand.

Around her, blobs of grey broke off, dissipating upwards. She turned around to see Lisa fall out next to her, sprawling ungainly over the ground. The others were still stuck in time, the grey bubble cracking and receding.

"What the hell?" Then she noticed the sky. Victoria forgot about the dirt on her face as she gaped upwards. Night had disappeared, replaced by a swirling expanse of stars, colourful lights flowing like oils on canvas.

To the side, a beam of light shot into the air. The Taylors were kneeling in front of a glowing machine beneath it, their bodies nearly pressed to the ground as the beam buckled and shook. Bits of lightning skittered around them, scribbling red-hot lines in the sand; the beam split into a dozen lines, almost scattering as the sky trembled under a golden weight.

Scion tore through the void, the stars churning in his wake. He was so tall he filled beyond the sky. He lunged fist-first at a silver woman, her hair rippled behind her like a cloak, a glittering pink way.

The earth shook as they collided. Victoria was thrown sideways but she kept her eyes pointed upwards, watching as the silver woman bit down on the fist and wrenched it off his arm. Without hesitation, she bounced forward, kicking Scion away.

A trail of golden fire blazed from the stump of his arm.

The silver woman threw her head back, yawning her mouth wide to gobble up his hand. Victoria's eyes grew wide when she caught a glimpse of her face.

Taylor Hebert laughed heartily as she pounced. Her fingers were like claws, jabbing deep to pull out large chunks of flesh. Her tongue flicked out like a whip, coiling around the pieces and snaking back with a jubilant grin.

Victoria found herself clutching her arm. Her throat was quivering; she was rolling on the ground screaming. Next to her, she saw Lisa in the same shape, their faces flushed with veins throbbing down their necks.

Scion lashed out with a kick but Taylor batted it away. She slid closer and dug a hand into his thigh, twisting it. Victoria shrieked as her leg seized up. Agony pierced deep into her bones as if someone had grabbed hold of them and crushed them.

Overhead, Scion staggered back, his blood painting the sky golden. Taylor held his leg up high as two hands crawled out from her mouth, untwisting from each other to clamp around the thigh. They wiggled and squirmed, stretching her mouth wider to pull the leg back inch by inch. Victoria felt her leg spasmed, then grow numb, until the hands reached the feet and pulled it straight, crushing the heel in. A sharp pain lanced through her hips, squeezing all her muscles tight. It lasted only for a second, but the feeling lingered, a throbbing that ebbed against the numbness.

Taylor swallowed with a smile, her tongue dashing out to lick her lips. She ran her fingers through the blood; the golden fire flowed up her arm and over her chest, a fiery wreath upon her brow.

Tears filled her eyes. The world turned blurry as Victoria looked up into the sky, insensate. Taylor leaped forward, and another arm was pulled off Scion. Her chest felt hollow, the insides clutched and squashed into a ball.

Hands grabbed onto her, pulling her away as the earth splintered. Victoria watched dazedly as she was dragged backwards, a black line drawing across the sand, nearly bisecting her feet. There were no bright lights or flashy explosions, just a shift, a sudden break in reality as the world seemed to separate into pieces, drifting apart in a cold void.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Just pull her back, man!"

A trooper was yelling over her. Her head rolled to the side and she saw Missy and Sophia, their faces similarly twisted in pain while their bodies twitched.

Behind them, the green machine finally collapsed. The beam of light sputtered, dispersed as the sky shattered like glass, into fragments, into a dozen lenses of Taylor clutching Scion by his head and twisting it off. His body crashed with a booming finality; Victoria felt her body shake to the sounds of mountains crumbling in the distance.

Taylor lifted his head up by his hair and dropped it into her mouth, swallowing it whole. She bent down to pick up the headless body. When she stood up, the scene morphed; suddenly she was larger, dangling the body by her fingers, her tongue unfurled to receive it. She chewed with relish, smacking her lips with a pop and a grin.

The pain faded. Victoria exhaled heavily, barely finding the strength to curl onto her side. Her breath was hot in her ears, her hand stretched out against the dirt. Faintly, a mirage flickered in the corner of her eyes.

Taylor Infinite walked languidly across the broken plains. She was glowing bright, her mane billowing wild pink through the air.

She looked like the silver sun on a golden dawn, stepping over the void with a beguiling lightness. Her pace seemed ordinary, but every step she took covered a great distance. In no time, she was in front of Victoria, bent down and examining her with wide-open eyes.

"Oh. A newborn. How fascinating." Victoria suppressed a shudder, holding herself completely still as Taylor brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. Her skin felt cold and smooth — inhumanly perfect, like the rest of her body.

"Whatever you're thinking of doing to her, stop."

Infinite smiled. Her cheeks rounded up, curving her eyes happily, but there was no warmth in them.

"Franklin, hello." Her fingers ghosted over Victoria as she finally straightened up. "How have you been? Do you need a hand?"

Franklin twitched, her jaw working silently as she shifted against Sage, her arm around the other Taylor for support. Her right side hung stiffly, crystallized.

"What do you what?" Sage cut in flatly. Her face was expressionless.

"Did you see?" Infinite held her hand out to Newton and Cardinal as they hobbled close. She ignored their glares. "Did all of you watch? Scion is dead by my hand. Our revenge is complete."

Sage raised an eyebrow, glancing at the splinter lines around them. Reality looked as if it could collapse at any moment, the black void stitchings barely holding it together. "And all it took was shattering time and space."

"A repairable situation." Infinite clasped her hands together, still smiling. "No, even better. An opportunity to fix the world. To remake a better world."

She whirled around towards the unpowered PRT troopers. They huddled together tighter under her sudden gaze, some even raising their rifles instinctively.

"Scion. The entities. They only saw us as experiments. Data collectors. Every shard given out was to perpetuate conflict so they could maximize their goal. But now?" Infinite stood straighter, turning more solemn with an air of ceremony. "They're dead while the shards are here to stay. And I am their master now.

"No more trigger events on trauma. No more giving powers to those that are cruel." She flicked her wrist, sending out streaks of light into the troopers. They yelled, a dozen of them rolling their eyes and fainting. The rest stumbled over themselves as they tried to catch their colleagues.

"We can give powers only to those that are worthy. And for those that are not—" She flickered forward, hand reaching out for Sophia. Horror twisted in the girl's face as she watched on with her voice stuck in her throat. Next to her, Miss Militia struggled futilely against the thunderous pressure that forced her still.

"—we can take it away."

A hand grabbed her before she could touch Sophia. Cardinal clamped on tightly, her knuckles bleeding white as she tried to pull Infinite away.

Infinite only looked at her amusedly.

"What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" Cardinal shot back. Her words sounded emotionless, but there was a pinprick of rage hissing underneath, so molten hot the heat burned silent.

Infinite was unphased. "For the people who abuse their powers, are we supposed to look aside?"

"You think you're a qualified judge?"

"Do you even understand the power I have now?" Infinite jerked her hand free. "I can see into their past, present, future. I know what they've done and all they'll ever do."

She spread her arms, swinging around with a quizzical expression. "The heart of every person is an open book to me. If I can't do this, then who can?"

"No one needs to do anything," Sage replied calmly. "We're not God. We can't control people."

"Wrong." Infinite raised an eyebrow. She waved a hand, and the land by her side shuddered and pieced themselves together. "You can't do it. You lack the power."

She turned to the other side and clenched a fist. A faint silvery shadow loomed in the sky as more broken pieces of reality started to shift and settle neatly against each other.

"Are you watching? Maybe something more familiar would be better."

An iridescent cloud spiralled out in the air, parting to reveal a hazy screen. The colours shimmered before focusing into an image of Brockton Bay, over the grey dome cutting through the city.

Victoria craned her head upwards, her arms wobbling as she pushed herself higher towards the screen. People were pointing upwards — could they see them? The crowds were all huddled away from the jagged void lines running through the world there, and now fresh panic surged through them as another crack opened in the sky.

"Now, for some real magic." Infinite poked into the cloud. From here, her finger was ordinary, dabbing at the miniature of Brockton Bay; on the other side, a colossal pillar seemed to press down from the heavens, wind roaring through the city as the air split apart with a dull clap.

Victoria heard faint screams as it hit the dome. The grey surface wobbled, bending stubbornly for a long second before it finally burst open. There was no sound, no flash of cascading lights or waves of energy; it simply vanished, like how a bubble retreats when popped. Colour and movement flooded into the neighbourhood with a sigh.

Then Infinite turned her finger, and in the midst of the rushing colours, prismatic light flashed over a point, illuminating a house. Sage and the other Taylors shifted, their brows furrowed as they watched their old home fade into the background again.

"Where—" Victoria wasn't paying attention. She strained to spot her house. Infinite was already turning around, her arm sweeping up to close the portal.

"Bottom left," Lisa whispered.

Her eyes darted down automatically. In the varying gray-tone hues she spotted the roof with a red streak running across the middle — she'd painted that after the first time she landed on the wrong roof.

Her shoulders sagged with relief. Victoria exhaled shakily, letting herself drop back to the ground. "Thanks," she said, glancing at Lisa.

Sage was speaking, her arms crossed. "Our parents?"

"Safe and sound at home. As they were." Infinite chuckled to herself. "They're gonna have a confusing 'morning' when they wake up."

"I meant what I said, back in that cell," she continued. Her tone was soft but somehow carried steel. "I said I would kill Scion, and I did. I said I would bring our parents back, and I did.

"I will fix everything. Every wrong, every tragedy, and along the way I will remake the world for the better. For the best."

Finality punctuated her sentence like the crack of a gun. It sealed the air with a suffocating weight, daring anyone to say otherwise.

"Well." A sudden voice broke through the growing tension. "I wouldn't mind if you took a bit more time to fix reality."

A new Taylor Hebert greeted everyone as they spun around. White hair in a braid, a turquoise dress; she had a pleasant smile for them as she walked closer with her hands behind her back.

"After all, I couldn't be here if you didn't break time and space like this." She waved a hand, nodding at the other Taylors. "Hello, you all. It's nice to finally meet after so many years."

Sage blew out a breath, surprised. Her body relaxed, as if a weight had just been lifted off her while Infinite clenched her fists, disconcertment flashing over her face for a brief second.

"Prime," she said, no welcome in her tone.

Taylor looked at her placidly. The smile on her face dipped. "Infinite. I see you've succeeded. How does it feel to be a god?"

"Good," Infinite replied. Her expression grew stern as she faced the other Taylor fully. Overhead, the silhouette in the sky became clearer, two bursts of starlight glaring down. "Are you here to stop me too?"

Taylor pushed her clasped hands out behind her, stretching languidly. "What if I said yes?"

"Do you actually think you can?"

"I think… you should look at your feet."

Victoria glanced down automatically as she heard the words. Her eyes widened when she saw Infinite's legs starting to fade, a faint impression of sand visible through her flesh.

It wasn't just Infinite. It was every Taylor, including Prime — the white-haired Taylor seemed as if she were hovering, her long dress swishing just inches over empty air.

Infinite jerked back. Her toes drew lines through the dirt but they were growing more translucent as the seconds ticked by. "What is this?" she hissed.

"12 June. No, nine months before." Sage looked up sharply. "Did you go back?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't consult you all first," said Taylor apologetically.

"No." A wry chuckle broke out from Sage as she shook her head. "There wasn't enough time."

"You erased us?!" Infinite grabbed Taylor Prime by her neck, wrenching her up. In her anger, she seemed taller; or the sky closer; a thunderous pressure forced the world into a bow.

Victoria gasped as she propped herself up on her arms. The ground beneath her hands cracked loose. Belatedly, she realized there was an imposing mechanical suit next to Taylor, although next to Infinite the large frame looked tiny. Sparks flew from its actuator joints as it shifted forward, but Taylor gave a hard glance backwards, stopping the suit. The white-haired girl looked unruffled as she stuffed her hands into her dress, hanging limply in the air.

'Is that Dragon?' thought Victoria, her brows furrowed in recognition.

"What's the trick?" Infinite asked in a slow exhale. "You know I could simply go back and stop you from doing this."

Taylor cocked her head in amusement, shrugging awkwardly against the hold on her neck. "There's no trick. What could I ever do to a god like you?"

Infinite narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She tightened her grip, but it had no effect; her fingers like trying to press into stone.

Then Taylor was falling to the ground as Infinite disappeared in a flash. Her abrupt exit churned the cosmos overhead while pieces of reality started drifting apart again, hairline cracks seeping in between.

"Are you alright?" Dragon asked. She shifted closer, her servos whirring freely as the pressure from Infinite vanished.

"I'm fine. You should step back."

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Infinite roared as she reappeared, slamming Prime into the ground. The earth buckled and bowled in deep. Victoria sprawled flat against the dirt, her eyes catching Lisa's as they choked against the crushing weight pressing down on them. Somehow, she felt as if she was sliding down when everything was level; nausea rolled in her stomach, threatening to well up.

A green shield shimmered over them. Sage walked out in front, holding a light in her hands. Victoria gasped as the pressure subsided. She rolled around, gulping in the air while pressing a hand to her stomach, focusing on the warmth and willing it to stay still.

Taylor Prime was kicked through the air. She still had her hands tucked in her dress pockets, the golden sash around her waist trailing with a magnificent flourish. Infinite grabbed the fabric and yanked her back, punting a fist into the other Taylor and smashing her into the ground again.

"ANSWER ME!"

"I promise you, I did nothing."

"LIAR!"

Prime still looked pristine and untouched even as she sat up from the dirt. She watched as Infinite stalked around her, her silver frame becoming more inhuman with every loping step. Ghostly silhouettes burst from her as she tried to flicker through time again, before returning with a staggering snap.

Discreetly, she pulled a hand out to pat the ground, as if taming it down. An invisible field pulled in, constricting the thunder and the pressure into a tight circle around them both.

Sage let out a shaky breath as she let her shield down. Franklin grabbed her gently, steadying her as she wobbled backwards.

"Shouldn't we help her?"

Lisa gave Victoria an incredulous look. "Help how, exactly?"

"She'll be fine," Sage interrupted before they could start arguing. She and Franklin dropped down between them carelessly, sitting with their legs kicked out. The fade was already inching up to their hips; their feet just a faint outline.

"No matter how hard Infinite tries, there's no way for her to undo this."

"I KNOW YOU DID SOMETHING!" A clawed hand sliced the ground as it wrapped around Taylor, pulling her up. Saliva dripped on her as she stared up at Infinite, the blobs of liquid dancing, gliding over her until they rolled off.

Infinite hardly seemed human anymore.

Her mouth was a gaping, lipless maw, hot breath steaming between the protruding fangs. Her eyes were wide-set, her face stretched, with twin pupils overlapping in each eye. Her pink hair floated in the air around her, the strands twined together like a crown of snakes, complete with snapping teeth at the ends.

"Tell me. What did you DO?" The mouths in her hair growled in cacophony while more drool slobbered from her fangs.

"Look at yourself." Taylor remained unblinkingly even as a glob of spit dripped onto her face. "You're already slipping."

Infinite flinched at her words. She scrunched her face and shook her head forcefully. For a moment, she appeared human again, genteel and unassuming.

"I am in control," she said, her breath tinged with a dark, heavy echo.

"Why? Because you have the final say?" Taylor drawled. Infinite snarled and tightened her grip when their gazes met — Taylor's eyes were filled with pity and contempt. "A queen ant is still an ant. There's no escaping their nature. They're just a different kind of slave to the hive.

"Have you already forgotten why the Entities are here in the first place? Why the shards collect data from us? They're capable of world-rending powers and yet, they need humans?"

A spark of light dawned over Infinite. Her lips parted, her eyes widened; she jerked and the veneer of humanity slipped off with her skin, the monster coming through with a roar of hot breath.

"I AM THE ONE IN CONTROL! I AM STILL HUMAN!"

Taylor easily slipped out from Infinite's grip as it loosened. She brushed herself off after landing gracefully on the ground, ducking sideways to avoid a wild swipe from her raging doppelganger.

"You should know better than I what I'm talking about," she continued to say, weaving around Infinite as she attacked. Her silver self had even grown a tail, ridged with a sharp dagger end. Taylor bowed, letting it sweep over her, then she tapped her feet and slipped away just as Infinite came gouging into the ground.

Her sash fluttered by Infinite, the smooth silk a teasing caress against her skin.

"Why did Scion never attack us before last night? Why did he never make a move in the past when he already knew everything about us from the present day?

"By existing simultaneously in the past, present and future, these shards live in a closed, deterministic system. They can see all possible futures, but that just means they will forever be limited by it. They can't change what they've observed. Even if all roads end in death, they can only march helplessly into it.

Infinite lanced forward, claws stabbing out. Taylor stood still and watched calmly as she approached.

"That's why they needed us lower lifeforms. That's why you can't change the past. I never did anything. I never needed to."

Wind whistled and dust blew as the sharp point of her claw stopped a pinprick away from Taylor's head. Infinite snarled, her skin rippling with worms as she retracted her hand stiffly, squeezing and forcing herself smaller.

Her eyes opened on a human face. She clenched and unclenched her fist, watching as her palm grew more and more translucent.

"I—I'm still human. You're wrong," she whispered. There was no heat or force in her words, only fatigue wrung dry.

"You're a single part out of many," Taylor corrected. "Did you really think you could absorb a hivemind with no consequences?"

"You set me up. You knew this was going to happen!" Infinite clutched at her chest, tearing into her flesh. Ruby blood flowed down her hands, her body. "You knew! Why?! Why do this? With our power we could fix the world, we could save it!"

"The world doesn't need saving from the likes of us."

"You're just throwing all of it away, you're just wasting—" She whirled around mid-ramble, her eyes wide with madness as she looked at the other Taylor Heberts.

"Sage." Infinite reappeared in a clap of air, pulling her doppelganger up and shaking her shoulders. "Sage, you can go back. You can still stop her! I can't do it, but you can!"

She turned to Franklin, trying to reach for her as well. The other Taylor scrunched her nose up and batted her hand away but Infinite continued to speak unheedingly. Her words climbed into a shout as desperation seeped in. "Franklin. Please, you can go back. YOU MUST GO BACK! You need to stop her before it's too late, she's made a huge mist—

"Oh fuck off." Cardinal suddenly cut in, shoving Infinite aside. "Maybe for once you learn to live with what you did."

"Cardinal." Infinite looked at her as if seeing a ghost. She straightened stiffly, swallowing a breath. "I know you're angry. I'm sorry. But this is different. Whatever grievances you have, we can settle later but this is urgent, this is—"

She spoke faster and faster but Cardinal was already walking away.

"Don't you turn your back on me! All of you!" Infinite barked. Lisa and Victoria watched from the side as the silver Taylor spun around in a rage, the imposing might of her initial entrance gone. Now she seemed mortal, her features twisted with human-like wretchedness. Her hair was already spectral, the pink ends blending into the night.

"I was the one who killed Scion! I saved the world! I SAVED EVERYONE!" Infinite howled, spittle flying as her throat turned hoarse. "And this is how I am repaid? Left to die?! Everything I did, I did to save our parents!" she snapped accusingly, stalking towards Prime with an unsteady gait.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Please, shut up about Mom and Dad. It's been centuries. I love them, but it's not the same. We all know it. It's just something we don't talk about.

"You did what you did because you wanted power. You looked at the shards, and you saw a way to become a god. Everything else was just an excuse."

Infinite stopped mid-step. She looked ill, all energy suddenly drained out from her. "I didn't—" she started weakly.

"You did." Taylor cut her off. "You did. I know because I've been there too. Maybe I would have gone down the same path if I didn't meet a friend."

Dragon jerked, staring at Taylor.

Infinite slumped to her knees. She craned her head back, as if in supplication to the boundless cosmos above. Already, reality was healing. Night slowly blotted out the golden blood hanging in the sky.

"I could destroy the world," she intoned, a vacant expression on her face.

"Is that really the last thing you want to do?"

Infinite remained unmoving. Silence set in like a hushed breath; then an exhalation — crickets chirped and bushes rustled, the sounds of life returning on their tiptoes.

"So it's over?" Missy asked cautiously. She kept her eyes on the silver Taylor, not willing to look away.

"In about a few minutes, yes," Sage replied absently. She was watching Infinite as well.

The Taylors seemed more like spectres now; their legs were the barest outlines while their faces were starting to look indistinct. Yet, none of them looked sad. Cardinal and Newton were curled together with shoulders touching. Franklin sat cross-legged on the ground, her hands clasped calmly together. She looked half-shrouded in gold with the crystal on her still fully visible.

Victoria suddenly felt a hollow pang in her chest. "What—" she coughed, clearing her throat, "—what about a paradox? I mean, wouldn't everything get reversed?"

"What's done is done. Reality and history are more resistant towards change than you'd think." Taylor Prime walked up to them as she spoke. Victoria glanced at her warily. Despite her genteel appearance, she felt the most dangerous of them all.

"You were the one who killed Coil," Lisa suddenly said.

Taylor gave her a little bow. "Guilty. Sorry for roping you into this mess. I needed the extra help and I had to do it without letting Infinite know."

Before Lisa could reply, Newton made a small gasp. Cardinal was gone. And in the next second, Newton closed her eyes and vanished as well.

Time was up. Sophia blinked, staring at the empty spot with a complicated expression.

"Whew!" Franklin shifted slightly, flashing a grin. "Guess it's my turn now."

When she disappeared, the crystals went with her. Her voice echoed in her wake.

"See you on the other side."

Sage massaged her neck, a serene expression on her face. Missy wanted to ask why didn't they fight, how were they so relaxed going into oblivion, but the words felt trite. She watched on silently as the girl faded without a word, sinking into nothingness.

"So this is it." Hannah raised her rifle up on reflex when Infinite spoke, but then lowered it immediately after. It was too exhausting to keep up. She glanced at Legend standing beside her, but he looked just as lost as she was.

"What's next?" Infinite was still staring at the sky.

"A different Taylor will be born," Prime replied. "She'll have a happier, less complicated life, fingers crossed."

"Ah." Infinite exhaled, nodding her head almost absentmindedly. "Sounds good."

She let herself fall backwards, dissolving into starlight. They glittered and scattered into the sky.

"I always wanted a younger sister."

Taylor sighed. "Oh, right, I almost forgot," she exclaimed abruptly. She grabbed Dragon and stuffed a piece of paper into her hand. "I left all my files on Cauldron at the address here. It should help you corroborate what Alexandria says to the PRT."

Dragon clenched the paper tightly, not even sparing a look at it. "You have a plan, right? I know you do. I saw that black crystal you were handling. A backup plan, right? You won't just erase yourself like that," she said urgently. At the precipice, Dragon suddenly found herself unable to let go.

Taylor continued as if she didn't hear her question. "I also left you a gift there. It just needs a little dusting-off, but I'm sure you can handle that easily."

"Taylor." Dragon grabbed onto the faint outline of her hand. She could only feel the cold numbers against her pressure sensors but somehow the heat of her skin came through. It reminded her of when she had her hand on Taylor's heart, listening to it beat her secrets bare. They were standing face to face then in her room, so close she could notice her scent; they were standing face to face now, and despite her metal frame, she felt almost human, fragile, like she was going to fall apart.

Vaguely, she noticed Tattletale elbowing Glory Girl, the two of them gawping open-mouthed, but she didn't care.

Taylor was grinning. "Don't get too hung up on the details. Sometimes, things come down to a coin flip. And I never say anything I'm not sure about."

She tip-toed up, pulling herself closer to where her ears were modelled on her head. Dragon wanted to tell her that it wasn't necessary, that her microphones were sensitive enough to pick up any whisper, but she didn't. She let Taylor pull in close, her lips brushing against the grill with a static spark.

"I love you, Dragon. I'm glad to know you, in this life and the next."

Then Dragon was holding air. Taylor Hebert was gone.