Someone apparently recorded Animos's death by a 1.2 ton cannonball, which I neglected to pick up afterwards, the death of at least a dozen Teeth, the unnatural swarming of insects, and the Butcher's "kidnapping."

And then uploaded it to the PHO, because of course they would.

This caught the attention of the PRT and the Protectorate, because they released an announcement about "possible new Butcher with high Shaker rating."

In essence, they were looking for me. I suspected that whatever Teeth remnants that were still in Brockton Bay was also looking for me.

I… really didn't care. If they came into my territory, then I might greet them but otherwise, I was going to do what I was going to do.

In a different news, Taylor came to me with a bad news. After the Teeth fiasco, she had returned to her house and found letters from the local bank. It was a letter of foreclosure. With her dad's currently laid out in the hospital, add that to the current decline of the DWU meant that there was about no way that they would be able to keep their house. Apparently, Danny was thinking about selling but so far no one willing to buy up the house, which meant that the bank was going to foreclose it on them.

"Do you want to keep the house?" I asked Taylor, who was once again teary and angry. Recent events have conspired to make her like this, and I really didn't like it. Honestly, I wasn't even related to this issue aside from the fact that Taylor was losing her home (which opened up options to bring her to my territory without issue).

She nodded hastily. "But we don't have the money," she said dejectedly. "we can't stop them from taking it."

"Hmm," I mumbled before going out of the room we were, which was my "main room" where my bed was, and then came back with a suitcase. "How much mortgage did they say?" I asked her.

She looked at me and then the briefcase. "Thirteen thousand," she mumbled.

"Chin up," I told her immediately and she did pull herself after a moment. "Don't worry, Taylor. I can help."

"Really..?"

"Yup," I said as I opened the suitcase and showed her the bundles of hundreds inside it. "I mean, I have more than fifty-thousand dollars right here, even if it is all of the funds I have."

She looked at me with wide-eyes.

I smiled to her. "So, do you have phone numbers for the lenders?"

I called the lender, Brockton General Bank, as a "friend of the family." After a quick conversation with the representative of the bank, I agreed to directly pay for the mortgage. I drove down to the Downtown on my own, which was where the bank was, and met the representative.

It took us less than ten minutes to sign paperwork, give him the money, get a receipt back, and then it was over.

I saved Taylor's home at the expense of delaying my business plans.

I wasn't sure if I was unhappy about that, though. I couldn't honestly give a rat's ass about Danny, but It made Taylor happy, and making her happy made me happy.

God, I sound like a guy hopeless in love. "Willing Chain" was too risky to use on anyone else, if this was the extent of the influence I was falling under.

"I'm home!" I said loudly as I entered Taylor's house using the key she'd given me.

Taylor was waiting for me in the living room, obviously seen me returning through her bugs from far away. It was that kind of surveillance ability and on-ground tactical swarm that I initially targeted her to be Mastered by me, but now, I just liked her.

Actually, did I love her? I was going pretty far for her. Yeah, I fucked her, but one night stands also involved two people fucking. I went after the Butcher and then dumped a quarter of the money I had, both of which were risks for me. Fighting the Butcher meant a possibility of becoming a Butcher and losing myself in its insanity. Money could be lost but also regained.

Taylor quickly stood up and came up to me. "So?" she asked anxiously.

I smiled and pulled out a beige envelope. I opened it, pulled out the receipt and the letter the envelope held and showed them both to her.

The first was the receipt of thirteen thousand dollars being deposited in the Hebert family mortgage account.

The second was a letter from the lender stating that the account's asset was not to be foreclosed and the account was to be closed because said account has paid back all of the money with interest.

Taylor read the words and then looked up at me with teary eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered and wiped her eyes.

"Anything for you, Taylor," I said. God, I sounded so corny.

But we were happy.

Taylor opened her mouth to say something but stopped.

"Armsmaster is on patrol. Why is he here?" she asked herself but loud enough for both of us to hear. "Did you get seen?"

Obviously, she was asking whether or not I've been using my power without my mask. Considering that I haven't since I needed to go to the bank, the answer was a no. "No," I told her. "I actually used the buses to get around…"

I knew that it would be alarming for a man to be going around in stolen car, and I also hadn't gone back to retrieve my stolen car, which Taylor left behind to come shake me awake.

"How close is he?" I asked her.

"He's coming here!" she hissed in fear.

Seeing as she was near hyperventilating, I held her shoulder. "Taylor, can you make sure that none of the insects are acting unnaturally? We can't insects following Armsmaster around."

"Right. I'll, uh, get to that," she said dazedly, and I helped her go back to the living room couch.

"Do you want me to hide or talk to Armsmaster if he knocks on the door?"

She looked troubled. "W-why do you need to ask me that?"

"Because this is your home."

"... Can you answer it for me?"

I smiled. "Sure."

And sure enough, Armsmaster knocked on the door to Casa de la Hebert.

"This is Armsmaster of the Protectorate ENE. I have some questions for the residents of this house."

I undid the locks, because normal houses would have them on, and then opened the door after a moment. I looked up at Armsmaster but did so grudgingly. "How can I help you?" I asked, intentionally not putting in any names or honorifics after the question.

Armsmaster didn't seemed to have noticed.

"I am here on behalf of the Parahuman Response Team to see one Miss Taylor Hebert?"

"On what grounds?"

"It is not your business, sir."

"Well, the wellbeing of my friend is definitely my business, so state it to me or state your warrant," I grunted back.

I definitely saw his jaw muscles clenching. "This is a private matter-"

"And you come to someone's house when she is currently under a tremendous amount of stress, stress from the fact that her father was currently in the hospital with heavy injuries. And did I mention the fact that she is a minor and cannot be questioned without a parent or a legal representative? Again, say the message or show the warrant before I escort you off her property."

"... Very well. I shall come at another time."

"Preferably with a warrant as well."

I slammed the door on his face.

… Now, why had I gone so aggressive on him?

A thought for another time.