Disclaimer: In chapter 1.

Author's Notes: I've had so many ideas for Hero that I'm going to have to revise my plot structure. Don't worry, it just means there'll be more awesome stuff for you guys to read. I'm still alive after Emma went off with Meg, so thank you for not killing me. Here's the aftermath for you.

"Did you know about Regina and Ares?"

Xena hesitated. "I figured he would have known her. She made quite a name for herself in certain circles the last time she was here. But by the sounds of it she refused him back then like she did yesterday," she smirked. "She's stubborn, I'll give her that."

"Do you think he meant what he said?" Gabrielle leant her elbows on the table.

"Yes and no."

Gabrielle raised her eyebrows at her friend and waited.

Xena sighed. "He wants a mortal to help him conquer the world. Regina would be a perfect candidate for that. I don't think he'd actually take her to the portal though."

"Would she? She's trying to change, Xena. I know you can see that too."

Xena shrugged. It took losing Solan to make her want to change, so she could understand that Henry could inspire Regina to do the same. Lucky for her she had Gabrielle to help her. She doubted she would have stayed good for long if the bard and her and fought as much as the two mothers do. She looked up to see Regina descend from the stairs and make her way to the table, her face passive but her eyes were full of anger. She sat opposite Xena and crossed her arms.

"Good morning, Regina." Gabrielle smiled at her warmly.

"Gabrielle." Regina replied curtly. She didn't want to be rude to the blonde. After all, it wasn't this one she was angry at.

"Sleep well?" Xena baited. She may have been reformed, but she had to admit she liked toying with a former enemy.

Right on cue, Regina glared briefly before the mask returned. "Just fine, thank you. Yourself?"

Xena smirked, "Like a log."

"Is Emma going to be long?" Gabrielle asked unknowingly. "Breakfast should be ready soon."

"I wouldn't have a clue," Regina seethed, "I haven't seen her since I retired last night."

"She didn't go to bed?"

"No."

"I guess you can ask her yourself, Gabrielle," Xena said. "Here she comes now."

Emma approached the table with a slightest of guilty looks. She pulled her messy hair and stood beside the table. "Morning."

"You look tired," Gabrielle observed.

"Ah, yeah," Emma scratched the back of her neck. "I didn't get a lot of sleep."

Before Regina could make a scathing remark Meg appeared behind Emma, who jumped slightly when she felt strong fingers pinch her butt. She avoided looking at Regina but could tell by Xena's face that the warrior had already figured out the whole sordid story. Meg put a pitcher full of water on the table and walked away without a word.

"Meg!" A scream pierced the relative quiet of the tavern. "MEG!"

The summoned woman raced out the door to the kitchen and Xena got up to follow. She knew a panicked tone when she heard one, and her sense told her it was trouble. Meg, Xena and then the others arrived in the alleyway behind the kitchen to see a man lying face down in the dirt. The dark red bloody contusion to the back of his head, and the paleness of his skin indicated he had been dead for a few hours.

"Meg, get the girl back inside and keep everyone away." Xena ordered and Meg obeyed without question.

Xena crouched down beside the body and examined the wound. Emma did the same on the opposite side. She felt suddenly awake and alert, and pushed everything else from her mind. Her eyes scanned the body and made a note of a few details; nice clothes but clearly not new, no sign of a money pouch, and no defensive wounds. She also thought the direction of the blow to the head came from the top right, with enough force to crack the skull she guessed. No hesitation…

"I can't see any sign of a struggle," Xena stated. "He knew his attacker, or it was unexpected."

"He doesn't smell like alcohol, so he wasn't drunk." Emma added.

Xena felt along the man's arms until she found what she was looking for. "A hidden blade," she pointed it out, "Given a chance he could have fought back."

"Xena!" Gabrielle carried over a shovel with red stains. "Look."

Emma briefly worried about prints, until she realised she couldn't do that in this world. "It looks like it could be our murder weapon."

Regina rolled her eyes, "Like you're such an expert."

Emma ignored her and took the shovel from Gabrielle. She held it near the man's head to see if she could match the size and shape to the wound. "Like a glove," she quoted Ace Ventura. "So we know what killed him, now we just need to figure out who he was and who killed him."

"Sure thing JB Fletcher," Regina mocked. "Wait, I take that back. You're more like Sheriff Tupper. I would be Jessica."

Gabrielle stared at Regina in confusion. "She's Jessica?"

"She's referring to an old TV show." Emma explained unhelpfully. "So, you're a closet Murder She Wrote fan?" She repeated Regina's words from earlier. Has it really been 6 days?

"There is nothing closeted about my admiration for Mrs. Fletcher. She uses her powers of observation and memory to ensnare people."

"You mean catch the bad guy."

"That's beside the point." Regina waved her hand dismissively. "He is outside the tavern so he may have been staying here. We need to interrogate Meg."

"Wait a second. No one is interrogating anyone." Emma insisted. "We need to finish getting clues from the body and then place it somewhere safe. We can check alibis later."

"So glad you brought it up," Regina smiled sweetly and crossed her arms. "And where were you last night? Have you seen this man before?"

"Are you accusing me of whacking this guy?" Emma asked incredulously.

"Answer the question," Regina demanded as she took a step towards Emma.

"Hey, maybe we should…" Gabrielle started.

"For your information I was nowhere near the alley." Emma said angrily as she stepped forward in defiance.

Regina took another step and scoffed, "And we're just to take your word for it? I certainly can't corroborate your story; you never returned to the room last night."

Emma glowered across the short distance to brown eyes, "That's because I went to Meg's room!"

The impact echoed against the walls of the tavern and the building opposite. Emma stared in disbelief and raised a hesitant hand to her cheek.

"No wonder you gave birth at 18," Regina fumed. "You're a bad influence on Henry. What do you plan to do when he knocks some girl up in a few years? 'Gee Henry, don't worry, the same thing happened to me at her age.'"

Another slap echoed. Regina ignored her stinging cheek and pressed on. She was pissed and she was going to make bloody sure that Emma knew about it. "Or maybe you're not easy, maybe you just wanted to sleep with your hero? Sure as hell looks like her!"

"That's enough!" Xena yelled. "You two need to stop fighting right now, or I'll tie you both up and gag you myself."

"Go ahead," Regina dared, "She'd probably just enjoy it anyway."

"You're your own worst enemy Regina," Emma shook her head with pity. "If I, or anyone for that matter, could just have a nice conversation with you then maybe you wouldn't be so miserable. All you do is manipulate and hurt people in some warped sense of protecting yourself. Have you ever thought that I'm not out to destroy you? That instead of World War III, we could both take care of Henry?"

Regina stared at Emma.

"You're right, I'm not the best influence on our son, but right now neither are you." Emma turned to Xena, "Can you finish up here? I'm gonna go check with the barkeep."

Regina continued to stare at the place Emma had stood. Her brain was working in overdrive, a lifelong internal war raging between her hopes and fears. How can I even trust Emma? All she's done is work against me. Has she? Or has she only pushed back in response? She's the daughter of Snow White. But that didn't stop her from saving me. She's a fool. A fool who puts up with me…