Shockwave 6-4

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Hang in there kid." Ethan put a hand on my shoulder as we stood in the driveway looking up at my house. I say 'my house' because it was now actually mine. Dad had left it and everything else he owned to me in his will. I hadn't even known he had made a will.

Lisa gripped my hand on my other side. "Normally I would say there is no rush for this but with the evacuation orders…." Lisa trailed off.

I didn't say anything. To me the house looked both familiar and foreign. An empty husky of what I knew it once was. A container for memories now held only by me. It was a feeling of simultaneously wanting to keep it safe forever and wanting to just let it go and get away from the pain.

"Tay?" Lisa gently tugged at my chin until I looked away from the house to look at her. "I'm with you. We are all here for you. You aren't alone."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and felt the sting of tears. "I know. Thank you."

"You ready to go inside?" A suggestion rather than a question.

"Okay." I fished my key out of my jacket pocket and appreciated that Lisa stayed by my side rather than let me walk up to the door alone.

After unlocking and opening the door I stood aside to let in the rest of my friends that came to help me pack up. Lisa of course was first followed by Ethan and Jaime with Michael and Charity Carpenter bringing rear accompanied by their daughter Molly.

"Thanks for coming." I willed the tears in my eyes not to fall. I failed.

Charity wrapped me in a hug and I hugged back hard. This was going to be a long day.

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Lisa and I sat on the tail of the truck looking at my house, maybe for the last time. In the end I designated all the furniture to be donated, I had no use for it and much of it was worn and would be a heavy reminder where ever else I tried to take it. I did the same for Dad's clothes and the boxes of Mom's stuff that were tucked away in the basement. After everything, I only kept the accessories, trinkets, and pictures they had collected over the years. Everything I was taking boxed up and loaded, my clothes stuffed in bags for ease and expediency. We didn't actually have that much after it was all said and done. The things I wanted to save barely took up a tenth of the truck Ethan had rented. Which was well and good I suppose, we were doing Ethan and Jamie's house tomorrow.

Lisa swung her feet a little and bumped her shoulder to mine. "How are you doing?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Numb. Raw. Both?"

She nodded. "It's a lot."

"Yeah." Damn it don't start tearing up again.

"It's going to be okay though." She bumped me again. "You know that right?"

My throat was tight, "I know."

"I hear Chicago is actually a pretty decent city. Crime isn't nearly as bad, the gangs not nearly so violent." She stopped kicking her feet so she could shift her weight and pull me to her in a one armed hug.

I hummed an acknowledgment.

"Ethan and Jamie will be there. Tori and Crystal have also accepted positions in Chicago." She was trying to cheer me up.

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah I talked about it with Tori last night. We thought that between the four of us we could probably afford to keep a comfortable enough lifestyle. It's probably going to wipe out my stash to even get a place outside of the PRT system."

"Share a place?" I asked.

"I mean I'd like to get one with just you and me but, well, we just can't afford it right now." She squeezed me a bit harder. "And neither can they."

I had forgotten that Tori and Crystal probably didn't have much money to fall back on like Lisa did. Until everything got processed in the wake of Leviathan's attack, they would be dependent on what income they could manage. Which explained their signing with the Protectorate.

"Oh, you know who else is going to Chicago?" She resumed trying to cheer me up.

I shook my head. "The Carpenters."

"Oh, that's…..good." I didn't know what else to say.

"Small world huh?" Lisa leaned her head against me. "They are moving there to stay with a friend but when Charity found out we would be transferring to Chicago, she thought that maybe it would be a good place to put Molly into the Wards program with us."

Molly had been pretty quiet when the Carpenters had been here, mostly keeping to herself off to the side. No wonder though. It wasn't exactly long since her trigger. "Do you think it is?"

"Mmm, I don't honestly know much about the Chicago Wards. But she's got a leg up for integration."

"What do you mean?"

"She will be starting in the same time as us and we know each other." She let go of me as Ethan and Jamie returned from around the back of the house.

"Everything locked up?" Ethan eyed the truck. "Good to go?"

I slipped off the tail of the truck. "Yeah."

Jamie gave me a rare hug.

"Thanks." I told her. "For everything."

"Anytime." She smiled.

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The first couple of weeks of living in Chicago was a whirlwind of paperwork, fast food, spontaneous meet and greets with the local team, and a lot of sleeping in hotel rooms until we could find a place to live.

Which brought us to the third house today that we were considering.

"I like the brick." Tori muttered to me while the real estate agent did her best to sell Lisa on the latest house.

"Me too." I eyed the building. "Nearly double the width of the others on the street.

Tori looked around at the other buildings. "Looks better cared for too."

"How else would they sell it?" I snorted.

"True. But it wouldn't kill the other buildings to slap on a new coat of paint every now and then."

I eyed her. "I had no idea you were such a property snob."

She shrugged. "I like the home channel. It's pretty neutral for background noise."

"Wonder how expensive this place is going to be?"

She snorted. "Way more than you would think I bet."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah, if she is still talking bout buying instead of renting, it's going to clear six figures easy."

My eyes widened. "I didn't know that!"

"Hmmm." Tori looked thoughtful. "I'm sure I don't want to know where she got the money."

I tried not to dwell on it. I didn't ever ask Lisa about money, how she had earned, saved, or spent it. She never did with me either. Something for later?

Lisa turned to us and waved us forward to tour the house. She even gave me a wink when we got close. A sure sign she was in her element and knew she had the upper hand.

I had to smile at her. I loved seeing her like this.

The house was amazing. The difference in size we noted out side was apparently a bit deceiving as the extra width came from a common area that could be shared by the residents. The kitchen was better than I could have dreamed and, if we somehow got this place, I couldn't wait to put it to use. Other than that, the extra width of the lot was taken up by a small yard and a cute patio just outside the sliding glass door in the kitchen.

As for the rest of the house? Listen, I'm no architectural expert or interior designer but let me tell you. It was deceptively spacious. Each of the two floors, even the basement, had their own set of bedrooms and bathrooms. It almost felt like a dorm house with the separate living areas but had shared domestic amenities. It was kind of perfect for what we had talked about.

Lisa took one look at my face, set her jaw, and strode forth to do battle with the agent.

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"Do I even want to know how much this cost?" Ethan gawked at the entryway leading into the common area. "Are you renting the place? All of the floors? Did you just bu- no. No No. Don't tell me. It will only make me feel inferior."

Lisa stood proudly in the center of the room. "Aggressive negotiations and creative accounting during my Villains days."

Ethen slapped his hands over his ears. "La la la la I can't hear you. La la la shut up."

She rolled her eyes at him but smiled.

"Still though. It is amazing. You ladies going to be alright?" He asked.

"I pity the fool who tries something in this house." Lisa grinned. "I've already got quotes for security cameras and some creative renovation in the works. Though we may have to wait on those. We strained the budget as is."

I frowned. We were still on leave for another week while the paperwork sorted out. Tori was in a similar boat with the protectorate now that she was eighteen and Crystal wouldn't be starting until she finished all her mandatory doctor appointments for her arm.

Ethan snorted. "That's not what I meant. You ladies are technically still wards to Jaime and I in the eyes of the government."

"Psssh we got this." Lisa scoffed. "I've got accounting down so hard I'd be a billionaire if I could play the markets. Taylor could probably be a legit chef if she wanted to be. And between the four of us we could have started our own superhero modeling agency if we wanted."

I flushed at the image that provided even if including me was too generous on her part.

"Ahem," Ethan deliberately avoided looking at either of us. "Right then. I'll take it as you've got it handled then."

"Understatement." Lisa laughed. "You know, you and Jaime could get in on the agency if we decide to start it up. Maybe a couples special issue. A little X rated stuff on the side."

"I'm gunna go." Ethen hurried to the door. "Don't forget to get your papers submitted by the end of the week Taylor!"

"Tell Jaime we said 'Hi'." Lisa waved Ethan out the door.

"Evil." I accused. "Pure evil."

She gave me a wicked smile and held out an inviting hand. "You going to punish me oh Hero?"

I flushed but I took her hand and let her pull me towards the stairs.

"Or maybe you need some more lessons yourself?" She squeezed my hand.

I smiled and followed her lead. She had taught me quite a lot since we moved in after all.

.

"Taylor how are you?" Charity hugged me hard.

"Ack, uh, I'm doing okay." I struggled through her rib damaging hug with short breaths. Maybe she didn't know my ribs were still tender.

"Good good." She released me and looked around. "Goodness you girls seemed to have done well for yourselves."

"Credit goes to Lisa and her shark ways." I smiled.

"Shark?" Lisa squawked indignant. "You make it sound like I took advantage of her."

"You did." I pointed out. "They almost voided the sale."

"We wouldn't have been able to afford it otherwise." Lisa actually harrumphed at that before ignoring us in favor of Charity. "Charity, have you found a place yet?"

Charity shook her head. "We are still staying with a friend of the family. He's done quite well for himself and his wife too."

Lisa nodded. "Let us know when you find a place and we will be there to help."

Charity laughed. "Of course. Will you two be at the wards induction ceremony?"

"Unfortunately," Lisa sighed. "I'd really rather not be paraded around though. Even though this one is just 'in house' it still gives me goosebumps."

"I agree." I nodded.

Charity gave us a questioning look.

"Sorry, it's just after everything, I don't like the way they call us the Brockton survivors." I shrugged feeling the thin veneer of recent joy slipping. "Every time, someone always asks about it and it's just a reminder everytime."

Molly hugged herself.

"I'm home." Tori called from the entryway.

"Guests." Lisa called back.

"Oh, hey Charity." Tori hung her bag on the back of a chair as she entered the kitchen. "And you must be Molly."

"Oh, um, yeah Hi." Molly gaped at Tori.

I guess Tori had a home town fan here in the Chicago.

"We were just talking about the Wards induction ceremony tomorrow." Lisa filled Tori in.

"Oh, yeah, I'll be there too. I haven't rebranded yet but I'll be there to support you all as me if I haven't gotten around to it by then."

"Any idea what you will be calling yourself?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I was thinking Antares but I don't know. Molly, you are joining the Wards right? What did you come up with?"

"Uh, Rave." She blushed seemingly from embarrassment more than infatuation.

"Neat." Tori nodded. "Power related?"

Molly nodded. "I uh, make illusions and sounds and stuff."

"That's cool." I leaned forward. "What kinds of sounds?"

Molly glanced our way but quickly averted her eyes. "Um, anything." She twirled a finger and the opening of "The Gift" by Angels and Airwaves started playing from no detectable source.

"I love that song!" Tori smiled her first full genuine smile in a few days.

Molly seemed to brighten too. "I have the whole album memorized. Now I can listen whenever I want!"

I caught Charity wiping her eyes discreetly in my peripheral vision. I guess we all have been treading on eggshells since leaving The Bay.

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"Lisa?" I whispered into the dark of our room.

"Yeah?" She didn't sound sleepy so I hadn't woken her.

"Is everything okay?" I decided to jump right into it. "Are we okay?"

I felt her shifting and rolling beside me presumably to face me. "Of course Taylor, I love you."

I smiled. "I love you too but I didn't mean us. I mean I kind of did but, I mean like money and stuff. We never talked about it because I knew you had it covered, but with the house and stuff…"

"You're worried?" She asked.

"Yeah. No." Ugh. "Maybe? I don't know. It's just that everyone keeps saying how nice our place is, and it is nice, but…."

Her hand rested on my elbow and slid up to my shoulder. "Tay, just say it."

I sighed. "I guess I just felt like I haven't been able to help much."

She huffed a small laugh and moved her hand to mine. "Tay if you feel bad about not having a secret bank account that you used to stash money you stole from villains then I have been corrupting you more than I thought."

She rolled back over away from me pulling my hand with her so that I had to snuggle into her back to wrap my arm around her middle.

"Corrupted?" I murmured into her ear.

"Mmhmm," she hummed. "But really Tay, don't worry about it. It's the best use for that money I can think of and now we have a place of our own. Sort of."

I thought about Tori and Crystal splitting the ground floor while we had the whole of the second.

"If you're still feeling guilty though, maybe you can make it up to me." There was a bit of a leading suggestion in her voice.

I moved my hand down to the hem of her shirt and slipped underneath it to trail back up her stomach. "I can probably think of something."

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"Hello everyone." Myrddin stood atop the dais of what seems to be room more geared to a press conference than a formal orientation. "Unique and tragic circumstances have lead to today. As everyone here is aware either by news coverage or personal involvement, Brockton Bay was essentially sunk by the Endbringer Leviathan."

I felt sick.

"As a result the city has been evacuated and many of its people have relocated or in the process of relocating." Myrddin continued. "As such, today we welcome new additions to our teams. Please extend to them your courtesy while they get settled." He waved at the costumed heroes waiting off stage and I couldn't help but smile a bit as Assault was naturally the first in line.

"Please welcome Assualt, Battery, Laserdream, and Antares." Myrddin indicated each in turn.

There was polite applause from the assembled Chicago capes and even from the PRT leaders as well.

"We still have some ways to go in our efforts to fit our new friends into our patrol patterns and roster but I'm confident we will have something akin to a workable schedule before the public announcements."

I groaned internally. The press days were going to be hell.

"Next let us welcome Brockton Wards, Willow Wisp and Alice." I followed my girlfriend up onto the dais and tried not to show how nervous I was. "We will be working towards proper integration into the Wards team over the next week or two, pending some revised power testing, but it is the hope that we will get to see our newest members joining our Wards team for the upcoming press event."

I looked to where Molly stood, now alone off to the side of the stage. Her costume, newly made, was of a blue and pink jacket over a purple ballistics vest and black cargo pants. Her face completely hidden behind the featureless mask we used frequently for temporary occasions. I guess her finished mask was still in the works.

"I hope everyone here will join me in welcoming Chicago's newest cape and Ward, Rave." Myrddin clapped to start off the welcoming applause.

Molly now officially Rave, joined Alice and I on the dais and I could practically feel the nervousness radiating off of her.

"Much like our other two additions to the Wards team, Rave's integration to the patrol and even schedule will be postponed until power testing has been completed.

I tuned out the rest of the show, choosing instead to try and imagine what being a cape in Chicago was going to be like.

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Author's Note:

Eh, Myrddin came off a bit stiff. I'll need to do some work on getting him where I want.

I've been doing my best to get chapters out, which if you have been following for a while know how much of a struggle ive had with that before.

Thank you all for the Fav/Follows!

K. Raiden