Gnawing hunger wakes me up, and I have a few moments to enjoy my tension headache before I remember that, yes, last night really had been that bad. It may not feel like it, but with some aspirin and a double serving of breakfast I'm sure I'd be ready to go out...and probably get myself shot all over again.

Shit, that's not going to get any easier to think about. I really screwed up last night, and if it hadn't been for Panacea...well, I actually don't know how bad it was. But there's no way I could hide that sort of injury from dad, so I owe her for that, at least. And Glory...Victoria, too, since she's the one that actually brought me in. Which is...ridiculous, now that I think about it. We can't have spent more than five hours together. More, I guess, but I was unconscious for awhile, so-

No, this is stupid. I could spend all day analyzing things to death, but that's not going to help anything.

I push myself up, wince as my neck and back express their lack of appreciation with me for spending the night on the floor. Victoria has a bedside clock, so I don't have to wonder about the time (almost two in the afternoon; dad's gonna be frantic), and there's plenty of space for me to stretch out some of the kinks-

Footsteps, approaching the door. I immediately enhance my vision...relax and blink away the false-color as Panacea slips into the room. She freezes at the sight of me, but recovers quickly and shuts the door behind her. I do my best to smile, but it dies out pretty quickly since she's very studiously not looking me in the face. "Hello."

"You're up. That's good." Her tone is flat, and tired. "If you don't want to sit through a bunch of invasive questions, you should probably get ready to leave." She shifts, turning her head a little further away. "Do you need a mask or something?"

"I've...I've still got mine." It's really awkward just standing here, but I don't know what to do about it, so I just plough forward. "Thanks. For last night, I mean. You probably saved my life." Nothing. "I'm Taylor." That was definitely easier the second time. And it got a reaction, just a bit of surprise, but now she's actually looking at me, at least. "It's...nice? To meet you."

There. Open. Friendly. I can interact with people.

She sighs, and shakes her head, some of the tension going out of her shoulders. "Right. Sorry." Her smile looks as forced as mine had felt. "Amy." Her eyes dart down to my side, for a second. "And...you might have been fine, if Vicky had gotten you to the hospital fast enough."

"'Might' isn't really a qualifier I'm comfortable with, in this case." I manage to make it sound like a joke, but it doesn't do anything to lighten the atmosphere. "I'm sorry that you had to get up and take care of something like that in the middle of the night. That can't have been very pleasant."

"It wasn't." I flinch, and she looks away again. "...but I've seen worse. And I just slept in a little bit. It's not a problem."

Oh, there's the guilt again. Wonderful.

"Still, I owe you." I rub fitfully at my hand, and the prickling mark there. "A lot."

The silence stretches just long enough to turn awkward again, but then she just nods and edges around me. "There's a bathroom, two doors to the left. We only cleaned off some of the blood, last night, so you might want to take care of that."

It sounds more like a dismissal than a suggestion, but given that I'm basically an uninvited guest I'm not about to complain. "Right. Thanks."

I close the door behind me, and do a quick sweep of the house to make sure nobody else is about to stumble across me in the next few seconds; two adults, but they're downstairs, and both sitting comfortably. So not about to start wandering.

I'll be able to scrub dried blood out of my shirt in privacy, then.

Great.

xxxxxxxxxx

"This seems like a lot of trouble to go through, is all I'm saying."

I sigh, not bothering to look up at her. The light glaring off the rooftops is bad enough; Victoria is either completely oblivious, or taking some kind of sadistic pleasure in holding a conversation with the sun ready to blind me, right behind her. I can't wait for that aspirin. "Look, you said you'd help me with this. What did you think you were going to do, flash a smile and say 'don't worry, I'm a superhero'?"

"Hey, don't knock it. That stuff tends to work."

I actually stop for a second, squinting up at her. "Seriously?"

"Oh, yeah." She rolls over to face me, lounging back in the air. "Like...eight times out of ten."

"I...I really don't know what to say about that." I shake my head. "We're going down, here." I don't wait for her to respond before teleporting down to street level. She catches up as I'm shoving my mask into a pocket, and we move out of the alleyway on foot. "But seriously. Stick to the plan." That's another thought that's making me sick. Dad's going to be worried either way, and I'm going out of my way to lie to him in order to make him worry a littleless. "...it'll be fine."

"Okay, okay." She shrugs; my finely tuned people-skills are telling me she's bored. "Why don't you just tell him the truth?"

I stare. "That I got shot."

"Well I mean...yeah, don't tell him that part. But the rest of it. Y'know, powers, hero-stuff."

That has been looking around to make sure nobody's listening. Considering where we are there's not any foot-traffic to speak of, so we're good for now, but seriously. "Keep your voice down. And he'd make me join the Wards."

"Which you don't want to do, for some reason."

"I already told you why-"

"Well, it's a stupid reason." She huffs, hooking her thumbs in the pockets of her (designer) jeans. "I mean, being independent is great and all, but not everyone can hack it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"C'mon, you know what I mean...you do know what I mean, right? You're not half bad at this, but you need backup. Somebody to keep you from doing stupid crap."

Here it is. "I wondered how long it would take you to get around to this."

"I was working my way there." She reaches up to poke my shoulder. "And I figure you can't just teleport away, out in the open like this."

Alright, so she's more devious than appearances suggest. That's fine. "Get on with it, then."

She huffs. "You took the bone-things."

"Yep."

"The things that had you hearing things from, like, ten blocks away. The things that we found in an empty apartment, on some kind of psycho modern-art exhibit, and made you completely space out before I dragged you away from them."

"Yes, I did." It sounds really bad when she lays it out like that. I hunch a bit more as we walk, wishing I'd left my hood up. "They were...interacting with my powers, somehow. It seemed like a good idea to take them with me to see what they were doing."

"I'd ask what you were smoking, but I'm afraid you'd answer me." She shakes her head. "Messing with your head and your powers? That's some kind of Master/Trump bullshit. That is the kind of stuff you report straight to the PRT and let them deal with it."

"So you're saying you're not going to give them back."

"I'm gonna toss them out is what I'm gonna do." She scowls. "I'm not keeping them near my family after today. I don't really know how to explain what we were doing in that place without bringing everyone down on our heads, so I'm just gonna forget about it and let somebody else clean that up. And we," Her tone makes it very clear that 'we' is mostly 'you', "are going to avoid any more stuff like this that might show up."

I'm...really not sure how to argue that, right now. She's got a good reason to be worried, when I think about it, but I've got no idea how to explain the Outsider without either sounding crazy or freaking her out even more. "...fine."

"Alright then."

We walk in silence, for a few more blocks...once we're in range I take one more look around, then reach up to grab Victoria's hand before teleporting us directly to my room.

"Being in the open really wasn't going to stop me." I whisper, as the brief moment of disorientation passes. She doesn't say anything, just glances around for a second before plopping down on the edge of my bed.

I fight not to feel too self-conscious, but given the state of my room it's not easy. Nothing for it, though. I move, as quietly as I can, to the other side of the the room so I can get into my closet. As I strip out of my 'costume', I enhance my vision and glance around...dad's here, downstairs. He's sitting, probably at the kitchen table, and judging by the way he keeps fidgeting, he's not happy. At all.

Which is about what I expected. Still…

A change of clothes is very welcome, even if they're just my running things. I reflect on that, as I shove my bloodied shirt and jeans into the bottom of my laundry hamper...it's strange, how different clean clothes can make you feel. And clothes without bullet-holes in them. Although maybe that part isn't as surprising.

"Cmon." I reach out, and she takes my hand again; I put us between a pair of fenced-in yards, mostly out of sight of the street and any neighbors. Not that our neighbors are particularly nosy, but...better safe than sorry. I'd hate for this to fall apart a hundred feet away from my house.

"Hey, what's your last name, anyway?"

"Uh, Hebert? Why?"

"'Cause our story is that we've known each other for a little while?" She shrugs, eyeing the surrounding houses as we make the long approach to my door. "I mean, who invites someone to their place without knowing their last name?"

...is she serious? "You." I actually stop again, turning to look at her. "You do. You wouldn't let me not sleep on your floor. And that was before you knew my first name."

"Huh...you're right." She rocks on her heels, then shrugs and starts walking again. "So, this is the place?"

"Yes." And now that we're here...really here, not just sneaking around upstairs...my nerves return in full. I almost drop the spare key twice, trying to get it from inside the porch light to the door. As the lock clicks open, I take a deep breath, and step inside. "Hey! I'm home!"

I wave Victoria in, shut the door, and do my best to seem only a little nervous. "I'm really sorry I'm so late. I really didn't mean to stay out that-"

He's upset. That much is obvious from the way he ignores Victoria to immediately smother me in a hug. "God, Taylor! Where have you been!?"

"Wh-" For a moment, the lie catches in my throat...but as worried as he is now? It'd be even worse if he knew what I really had been doing. "I went on my run-"

"You…" Ah, there it is. He holds me at arm's length, a flash of his more familiar temper showing through the fear. "Taylor, 'going out for a run' shouldn't take seven hours." I wince, and he visibly restrains himself. "I was...I thought something had happened…"

"Uh, I might have had something to do with that."

Dad almost jumps, immediately focusing on Victoria. "Who...ah…" His arms drop awkwardly to his sides, and he clears his throat. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that...Taylor would you like to introduce your friend?"

I try to ignore the plaintive note in that word. Ever since Emma...well. We haven't talked about it since I got out of the hospital, but I know that this has been one of his big concerns. The stilted conversations regarding my social life weren't particularly enjoyable, but they make for a useful excuse now. "This is Victoria. I met her this morning."

"I might have accidentally made her run into a light-pole this morning." Okay, that was not the story we'd agreed on. Her smirk makes it clear that she's not just veering off because she forgot a detail. "So I had to make it up to her with breakfast, and, as it turns out, she's a fan. Not the creepy-stalker kind, either."

"Ah…"

"Victoria Dallon." I try very hard to sound embarrassed, and not look like I'm ready to strangle her.

His brow furrows as he mouths the name back at me, looking thoughtful for a moment before recognition hits. "Dallon. New Wave?" She grins, as he turns back to her. "So you would be, ah...Glory Girl, isn't it?"

"That's me! And Taylor said you weren't big on the Cape scene." She sends me a scolding look, and I roll my eyes.

"You can see what I've been dealing with all morning."

"Oh, please. I'm not the one that completely lost track of time listening to stories of my awesome, crime-fighting adventures."

"No, you're just the one that lost track of time telling me about them."

She waves it off. "Details." Dad is definitely off balance now; I think she knows it, because she immediately pours on the charm. "So, yeah, breakfast might have kind of turned into a thing, and it took forever to get here because she didn't want to fly, and I wasn't about to run with her, because then we'd both need to change...you don't mind if I drag her back out, do you? She owes me a shopping trip. This needs to happen."

That is so wildly off-script that I find myself speechless. Dad, on the other hand, just seems overwhelmed by her sheer cheerfulness...it's a stark contrast to the usual mood around here. And isn't that a depressing thought?

"Ah...no, no. That's...that's fine."

Wait, what? "Are you…" I don't finish that particular question, mostly because dad doesn't appreciate me cursing, but also because it wouldn't fit the new story. "I mean...are you sure?"

He nods, and turns a strained smile my way. I think he's trying to be encouraging...not even a minute ago he was freaking out because I wasn't here, and now he's ready to throw me to the wolves. Or wolf, I guess. Still-

"Great! So, Taylor, you should go, y'know, shower and change and stuff, while I raid your fridge." At Dad's startled look, she offers a sheepish smile. "We may have skipped lunch."

"Oh, that's...that's fine, then." Another hesitant nod. "Taylor, I can have something ready for you when you're done? I'm sure you two won't want to hang around here any longer than you have to…"

I can feel how brittle my smile is, and I doubt my glaring at Victoria is very subtle, but it doesn't seem to bother him too much so…

"Thanks, dad."

I...really should have just snuck back in last night. Sigh.

xxxxxxxxxx

"So, your dad's nice."

I flush, pointedly ignoring her as I dig into the brown paper bag. He packed me a lunch. I'm never going to live this down. "I can't believe that actually worked." He took to the idea of meeting a famous Cape better than I would have thought. I mean, I expected a little more...confusion. Maybe some disbelief, a least.

"Yeah, what'd I say? 'Don't worry, I'm a hero'. Works for me every time. " She smirks, grabs the sandwich out of my hands almost the moment it's clear of the bag. I glare at her, until she's unwrapped and examined it. "Ugh. Mustard. Pass."

I take it back with as much dignity as I can muster. "You had yours already...and I thought you said eight times out of ten?"

"That's close enough to every time for me." She pouts. "And heroing is hungry work! You can't blame me for that."

"Healing from bullet wounds is hungry work too." Amy had been pretty clear about that much, at least, and I wasn't about to ignore advice from the professional. "Hands off."

"Pfft. Fine." She slumps back, kicking her legs in the air. "...hey, do you always hang out on rooftops like this?"

"You don't?"

"Not really." She looks around, leans back to poke at some weathered gravel. "I mean, the view's okay, but it's not exactly what I'd call 'ambiance'."

"I don't think that's exactly the best use of the term…"

"Shut up and eat your pack-lunch. Daddy's girl."

I glare. She grins. I shut up and eat my pack-lunch.

"So, once you're done, we can talk shopping." I narrow my eyes, but she waves it off. "Not shopping shopping. Well, not right now, anyway. Cape stuff. Your costume still needs work, and I think last night was a pretty good example of why you should invest in, y'know, body-armor and stuff."

"You don't."

She gives me a Look. I wish I'd worn my other sweater; bullet-hole aside, I could at least hide beneath the hood. "Anyway. You've got this sort of 'sneaky anti-hero' vibe going on with your powers, so I figure you could probably pull off something a little heavier than mom and Aunt Sarah prefer. Nothing Tinker-grade, but we've got a guy. We could probably swing something bullet-proof, at least."

That's...really not something I expected. Not the costume thing. The offer. "I don't know if you noticed, but I didn't exactly have the money to put toward a costume the first time around." I have a little bit of money saved up, but I've been hesitant to commit it to anything specific yet. And it's not enough to pay for bullet-proof materials, let alone a commercial vest. "I can't afford something like that."

"So we go half-and-half, or you'll pay me back or something. Look," she cuts me off before I can speak up again, "if we're going to be working together, you can't be going around in a thrift-shop costume, okay? That's just not going to work at all. I've got an image to maintain."

Okay. That's implying a lot more than the 'let's meet up' attitude from a couple of days ago. Then again, so does the fact that I'm not wearing a mask right now. "You want to keep working together?"

She shrugs, looking out towards the bay. "You're pretty cool, and you could use some badass backup. Also, my cousins are sticks-in-the-mud, Amy's at the hospital all the time, and the PRT get grouchy when I crash the Wards' patrols."

Yeah, that makes much more sense. "So you want to team up because I'm the only option. Thanks."

"C'mon, don't be like that. We make a great team! I fly in, kick ass, take names, and you do your sneaky thing while everyone's watching me! A perfect one-two combo!" She demonstrates with an exaggerated punch, nearly topples forward before catching herself; with her powers, obviously, since she bobs up off the edge of the roof for a moment before settling back down. "Anyway, it'd be great."

As annoying as it is she just assumes I'll want to keep working with her...it's also a perfectly reasonable assumption. And it isn't as if she was wrong, either. This is the sort of opportunity that I should be jumping at. I'd wanted a chance to build my own reputation, but working on my own hasn't inspired anything but a few rumors. If I was associated with someone who was already a big name…

Besides which, Victoria is...nice. If a little loud. And intrusive.

"We can talk about the costume later-"

"Yes!"

"-but right now, my head isn't hurting anymore, and I don't feel like my stomach is about to eat itself. So why don't you tell me a little bit about what happened last night. I was pretty out of it near the end, there."

Her grin shifts to an impressive scowl. "Right...well, it turns out the Capes that the ABB were fighting were a villain gang. The Undersiders. I don't know a lot about them, but according from the stuff on PHO…"

I listen, as her explanation quickly transitions into a rant about villain conflict in Brockton Bay, and it serves pretty well as soothing background noise. I don't interrupt, even when my lunch is finished and the bag carted off to an open dumpster ten stories down by some helpful insects. She's got some particularly scathing opinions of the Empire, and suggests a few improbable things about Kaiser's heritage that have me smiling.

Yeah...I think this could work out just fine.