"Alright, look, as funny as it is watching you freak out...I'll admit that calling it a 'party' might be stretching things a little bit." I roll my eyes, and don't bother responding. Victoria doesn't seem too bothered by my silence, because she picks up again without hesitation. "I mean, there'll be music, and probably food? But mostly it's gonna be a bunch of city officials and VIPs. Classic fundraiser."

"So a bunch of Brockton's elite celebrating the ABB takedown." I clarify, letting my head drop back against the wall. "Which you still haven't told me anything about."

"Oh, don't be grumpy." I can hear her pouting at me. "You should be getting excited! Maybe start working on some cool poses now that you've got a real costume."

There's a memory, there. Standing in front of a mirror in a black towel-cape. Playing Alexandria with my best friend in the world.

I close my eyes, and try not to think about it. "I don't think there's enough room in that mirror of yours for two."

"Well, you're not wrong." A zipper pull, the sound of shifting cloth. "Alright, so...the ABB. There was apparently a whole big...thing, last night. A bunch of villains hit one of their safe-houses, wrecked the place. It drew a lot of attention, so the PRT and Protectorate made their move...hmm. Hey, I need a second opinion."

Right. I push away from the wall, nudge the bathroom door open a bit further to make sure she's fully dressed this time. She is. That's a relief. "With?"

"I still really like this dress, no problems there...but." She turns to face me. "Hair down?" A pause, as she gathers her hair up into a rough approximation of...something. "Or up?"

"Um." I'm no slouch when it comes to hair care, but style…? "Up?"

She eyes me for a second, turns back to the mirror, and groans in disgust. "Why exactly am I asking you?"

"It's so good to know you value my opinions."

"Of course I do. Even when they're not very helpful. But it's okay, because I've got enough fashion-sense for the both of us." She grins at me, then drops her hands and shakes her hair out again. "Updos are annoying anyway. I'll wear it down." A pause. "Where was I?"

It takes me a second to actually remember. "The Protectorate made a move."

"Right, right." She picks up a hairbrush, waving it in my direction as she continues. "Armsmaster led a group through the Trainyard, took down Lung again. The PRT had troopers out and about with the Wards, and they were the ones who found Bakuda."

Bakuda and the Wards…? "So they caught her?"

"Vista and Clockblocker did, while the rest of the team took care of her security." She nods, her focus entirely on the mirror as she works the brush through her hair. "Which is awesome, you know? I mean, Clockblocker's going to be impossible, but Vista totally deserves a big win."

Vista and Clockblocker took down Bakuda. That's...I dreamed that. Over a week ago. I swallow, doing my best to ignore the way the Mark on my hand is itching. That much, I know, is just in my head. The rest…? "What'd they do about the bomb?"

"Kept it frozen and isolated until the Tinkers could get their hands on...it?" I wince at her curious look, once more very glad that my mask is so concealing. "I thought you said you didn't know what happened?"

"...this is Bakuda we're talking about. Why wouldn't there be a bomb?"

I try to pass it off as a joke. I'm not entirely sure she buys it, but she doesn't question it, at least. After a second, she even smiles. "Yeah, that's way more true than I'm comfortable with." She sets the hairbrush down, turns her attention back to the mirror. "So the ABB's busted. And, apparently, the Mayor didn't want to wait to pounce on that particular bit of good news. So celebratory fundraiser, here we are."

This is good. Moving past the fact that apparently I dreamed about something that hadn't happened yet. I force myself to relax, lean back against the doorframe. "Okay, so I guess that makes some kind of sense." It doesn't, really. At least, not to me. "How does that lead to me, going to the celebratory fundraiser?"

"Would you believe I immediately thought to invite my least stuck-up Cape friend to a fun, public event so she could show off her shiny new costume?" I very purposefully don't respond. She pretends not to notice until after she's retrieved an array of makeup products from a drawer and laid them out on the counter. "Oh, come on, not even a little bit?"

"I seem to be your favorite last choice lately." She looks pained, for a moment. I really didn't mean that to sound as sharp as it did, so I tug my hood back and pull my mask off. Offer the best smile I can. "Guess it's my own fault for always picking up the phone."

She relaxes, and sighs. "Yeah. Sorry...look, you really were up on the list, this time? It's just...well, everyone else being busy is just because of everything that's been happening, you know?" Another moment of silence. "Basically, I was going to go with Dean. My boyfriend?"

"You've mentioned him."

"Right, well, he's usually great. I mean, for the most part. But he just...his bosses are ridiculously strict, and he always folds when they go after him. So when they say that they decided he doesn't get a night off like they'd told him…"

This is starting to sound more like relationship troubles than a simple explanation. Which isn't something I'm really equipped to deal with at the moment, so...moving on. "Why go at all, then?"

"Well, first, because it is a perfect opportunity to break in your new threads." She smirks, leaning in closer to the mirror, examining her reflection. "But also, Dean spent like 700 dollars on our tickets, so it'd be kind of a waste notto go."

Those aren't actually bad reasons. I shake my head, and don't bother trying to keep the incredulous smile off my face. "When you put it that way, how could I refuse?"

"That's the spirit."

And that's the end of that.

xxxxxxxxxx

Per Victoria's repeated instructions, I teleport us both down to ground-level half a block from the entrance to the Forsberg Gallery. Which, I will note, remains one of my least favorite buildings in Brockton Bay. Maybe it's just that I've been traveling through downtown a lot more lately, so I've been seeing it more often, but it just bugs me. All reflective, tempered glass and bright, colored lights...I'm sure that they meant to make it as sleek and 'post modern' as possible.

They definitely succeeded in making every other building on the block look shoddy in comparison. Which...I don't think was their intent? But it's something somebody should have considered before signing off on the whole thing.

Victoria seems a little more impressed with it, of course. I'm a little jealous of how completely at ease she seems; she has absolutely no concerns about dragging me through the doors and into the small gathering of well-dressed men and women in the lobby. Me, I have trouble standing there and trying to ignore the staring, as she hands the invitations over to a man at a podium just inside the door.

It's not actually the staring that's getting to me, either. It's the fact that I can't feel any of it. Being in the middle of a crowd with an ability that makes me constantly aware of who can see me didn't particularly appeal, so I left the Bone Charms back at Victoria's place. I still think it was the right decision, feeling a dozen sets of eyes on me at all times wouldn't have been any better, but...it's surprising how unsettling it is to know people are watching me without knowing that people are watching me.

And then we're standing in the elevator. Victoria is smirking at me. There's a man in a tuxedo pretending he's not nervously glancing my way every few seconds.

Here I thought I wasn't going to enjoy myself.

The elevator stops. Top floor, everyone out.

"C'mon." Victoria flicks the beak of my mask as she slips out of the elevator. "The Wards are around here somewhere. We can swap stories about kicking ABB ass."

I look around at the milling crowds, the well-dressed wait-staff...the PRT troopers positioned around the room. Kind of hard to miss those…

"Sounds like a plan." Better than mingling with a bunch of strangers. Sort of. It's not like I've had the opportunity to make friends with the Wards, either, but...well, I can see Gallant, now, so that's at least one person I've met. "Over there?"

Victoria lifts into the air for a brief moment, which, of course, just draws more attention to us. And with everyone watching, I can't do anything except stand there and wait for her to set down on the floor again. "Yeah, that's them." And then she's moving, and all I can really do is trail after her.

Clockblocker stands up as we make our approach, acting out something for the group of teenagers gathered by their table; it's surprisingly difficult to make out what he's saying over the chatter of a dozen nearby conversations. Gallant doesn't seem particularly impressed with him, judging by the way he's just standing there.

Vista, though, is the only one to actually spot us. She looks startled, just for a moment, before Victoria glides ahead the last few feet. I feel a moment of acute empathy at her long-suffering sigh.

"Seems like everyone's having fun over here, huh?"

Clockblocker huffs as he loses his crowd, facing us with arms crossed. "I'm afraid there's no time for fun, citizen. Justice is serious business. As is our duty to inform the public of...said justice. And the, uh...manner in which it was carried out."

A moment of silence, before Gallant clears his throat. "Glory Girl, Crow. Good to see you both."

"No no no, it's Not-Crow. You gotta remember the 'Not' part, right?" Clockblocker's grin is obvious in his voice, as he motions my way. I take a moment to decide whether he's mocking me or not. When the moment stretches on and I still can't find anything to say, I settle for an acknowledging nod. "Rrright. Also, you're looking very snappy today. Good work on that."

Vista perks a bit, leaning forward in her seat. "That's a new costume?" I nod again. "You've really got the look down, huh?"

"I guess so." I really didn't really know what to expect from it, but it did come together pretty well. "I'm just glad Glory Girl-"

She raps her knuckles on the side of my head with a chiding frown. "Victoria."

Right, out of costume. "I'm just glad that Victoria…" I look at her, she nods in approval, and I'm free to focus on Vista again. "...was willing to help me."

"I really am amazing."

"Yeah, yeah, everyone's great, snappy banter...guys, I was in the middle of a story here."

"Your version of the story, maybe." Vista scoffs. "I don't remember navigating any laser grids inside the warehouse."

"That's because you were working to disarm the shark-bombs, remember?"

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, yeah. Those…'shark-bombs' sure were distracting." She turns back to me. "But we've been hearing about this stuff all day. How about we get a story that we don't know?"

It takes me a second to realize where she's going with that. "What, me?"

"Uh, I'll second that. What's she supposed to bring to the table, exactly?"

I narrow my eyes, and I think something about my irritation must be showing in my body-language, because Clockblocker backs off almost immediately. "I don't know if it's anything as exciting as poking a giant bomb when your team-mate drops you next to it." Vista grins. "But I could give it a shot."

I almost jump as Victoria rests a hand on my shoulder. "You should totally do that." She smiles, but it's not a particularly friendly expression. "In the meantime, though, I need to have a quick chat with Gallant. So we'll be rightover here."

She sweeps away, dragging him along, before I can formulate a proper response. And that leaves me...here. With a pair of Wards, and the full attention of a bunch of strangers besides. I'd say the feeling was familiar, that it reminded me of Winslow, except I doubt anyone attending Winslow would ever step foot in a place like this.

That thought doesn't really make anything better, I decide. But there's nothing I can actually do about it now. Except maybe teleport outside; it's not that far. I can almost see the next rooftop over, from this angle...

No, no. That's stupid. Avoiding the problem, instead of just...solving it.

"Story time, then." I sigh, and pull out a chair. Consider my coat for a moment before sweeping it back and sitting down. Probably isn't a good idea to share any stories that end with me getting shot. Or stabbed. I fold my hands on the table in front of me, frowning thoughtfully as I adjust my gloves...something impressive, but not overly violent. "I cleared out an ABB safehouse, once?"

Clockblocker scoffs, dropping into his own chair and leaning forward challengingly. "Bull."

"Nope." I shake my head. "It actually started at a gunfight, maybe a mile away. A few of the ABB against some Empire thugs. I had to break that up, first…"

xxxxxxxxxx

Victoria came back around the time I was ambushing the guy who'd been guarding the money-counters, and almost immediately demanded I start the story over. Which...she could have chosen a worse time, I guess. And nobody seemed ready to complain at having to hear it again.

It...hadn't really seemed like a big deal, at the time. A lot of flailing and scrambling to keep up with the situation as it spiraled further and further out of my control. And, alright, maybe not actually bringing that part of it up makes it sound impressive. But I still don't understand just why Victoria is visibly struggling not to laugh, why Vista is staring at me like that, or why Clockblocker has decided that I'm lying through my teeth.

That disbelief is...insulting. Surprisingly biting, too. "I don't see how it's hard to believe."

"Um, maybe the fact that it starts with you knocking guys out with their own guns, and ends with you deciding that, well, you didn't have anything better to do, so why not knock over an ABB safehouse."

I don't know how to argue that, since that's pretty much exactly what happened. I just...isn't that what Capes do? Go out, hit the criminals where the normal authorities can't? Taking out a dozen petty criminals in a drawn-out ambush isn't the most outlandish thing any Cape has ever done. So-

"What's this about safehouses?"

I freeze, reflexively clamping down on my desire to just teleport away before they can...can…

Sophia. Why is Sophia here? Why would...Emma. Emma's dad is a lawyer, and lawyers make money. An event like this, Emma would love it...now that I think about it, I can imagine her, standing on the outskirts of our group like the rest of the powerless teenagers that have gathered. So Emma makes sense, which means...it's not a leap to assume-

"Hey, Stalker." Vista glances past me, offers a distracted wave. "Crow-"

"Not-Crow" Clockblocker interjects.

"-was just talking about one of her patrols."

"Taking the fight to the gangs, huh? I can get behind that." Sophia continues, and I take a slow breath. 'Stalker'...? "What about you, Golden Girl? Thought your family would all be out holding down the fort while the real heroes celebrate."

I can practically hear Victoria's teeth grinding. "Nice to see you again too, Shadow Stalker."

Shadow Stalker. The Ward. I shift in my seat, turn enough to look. To...to confirm. It takes me a long moment to focus on the...details. The mask is different from what I expected; her costume, in general, looks better than I remember from that first dream. Vision. Whatever.

"What? I got something on my mask or something?"

Sophia is Shadow Stalker. Shadow Stalker saved Emma from the ABB. Emma and Sophia…

My heartbeat is thundering in my ears, and I vaguely recognize the fact that I'm holding my breath.

"Crow?"

Victoria sounds...distant. And worried. About me.

I take a deep breath, and close my eyes, doing my best not to imagine how satisfying it would be, at this very moment, to break the chair I'm sitting in over Sophia's head. Because that wouldn't be a good thing, it wouldn't help me, and I really need to get out of this situation. Right now. I'm not religious, but I'll go ahead and make it a prayer anyway. I just need-

There's a crack. Then the ringing, shattering noise of tempered glass breaking under an enormous weight. I didn't know what that sounded like before, but...with a group of giant, spiny monsters crashing to the floor from above, it's suddenly all I can think about.

Then the darkness flows out from one of the dogs' riders. I'm not sure whether I should be grateful for the distraction or not.

"Great." I hear Clockblocker mutter from behind me, just before the silent fog reaches us. "Party crashers."

Just...

Fuck. My. Life.