Chapter six incoming. Before we start, just wanted to let everyone know I've changed the first chapter's title to "Fifth to Impact" because I realized it didn't match some recent changes in the story I realized were needed. With that out of the way, on to the chapter.

Chapter 6: Moving On

Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

Taylor's day started with more training. Since her dad wasn't stopping at Jim's until the evening to pick everything up, she had little to do besides training and doing research on the cape scene in the bay.

'You could call that friend of yours' Kiana pointed out, as Taylor did her strength training.

She's probably at school, besides I'll be busy by the time she's free for me to call.

'Your just making excuses with the last part.'

Yes, now shut up and let me. Bonk. Not gonna work. Bonk. Bonk. Bonk. Bonk. Bonk. Bonk. Bonk. Bonk. Bonk. Bonk. HA! I'm used to it now, how's that?

'OhohohohohOH… getting confident now are we. I'll just have to up my game then.'

Taylor adopted a smug expression. Bring it on, I doubt you've got anything better.

'Famous last words Taylor-chan. Famous last words.'

Later…

It was about seven at night when her dad had come home with everything from Jim's. Since he had a truck and Jim didn't, they decided it would be best for him to come get it instead of Jim trying to cram everything in his car. Her dad lowered the tailgate allowing Taylor to peer inside and see what she had to work with. The bed of the truck was filled with various kinds of old junk, though not as much as she had hoped. Old radios, record tape players, an old printer, and other stuff like it were all in the back of the truck. Of all of these, one thing stood out to her.

"They didn't have an extra computer?" She questioned.

"Nope, got rid of it a while ago." Danny answered.

"Seriously, he had all of this just lying around, but not a computer." She noted with exasperation.

"Just means you'll have to wait until we can buy one. Hopefully the offer from the school comes soon and hopefully it's good." He added.

Taylor sighed.

"Well, hopefully I can salvage enough from this to make what I need." She noted.

"Hopefully, now come one, let's just get this stuff inside." He directed.

Taylor nodded and went to work gathering what she could, as did her father. They carried them in and deposited them in the basement before returning for more. In all, it took about a half hour to get everything inside. Having already eaten, Taylor got back to training her honkai energy while Danny heated up what Taylor had made for his dinner. After this, she went to bed.

The next day…

Thursday morning came with a new problem. Her bra, which had been slowly becoming too small for her new chest, could no longer be forced to work. Taylor sighed. It was only Sunday when this damn thing started becoming tight, I feel like I'm changing faster than I should be.

'You are. Though not by too much. I expect the changes to happen over a longer period of time, two months and at a minimum.'

Taylor sighed. Guess that means it's time for a shopping trip.

'You… might want to wait, or at least see if you can get something that'd be more flexible. You're still growing.'

Taylor groaned. Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. Guess I'll have to improvise for now. I should be able to get stuff that's adjustable later today when I go shopping.

'Worth a shot.'

Taylor continued to get dressed as best she could. So do you know why this is happening faster?

'I think the fact you've been training your energy more than I expected is accelerating the process. At this rate, I'd say, at the earliest, by the end of the month you should be done with most everything, though superficial stuff like your hair might take longer. Speaking of which, you need to dye it.'

I'm not gonna dye it. I'm just gonna make people think I'm dyeing it.

'Either or should work.'

Taylor just rolled her eyes. Anyways… how much were you expecting me to train with it anyways?

'Well… don't take this the wrong way but I expect you to do more normal teenager stuff when I came up with the timetable and… you had uh… less of a social life than I had anticipated.'

Taylor winced at that. Hard to argue against that, even if it stings. The three bitches made damn sure that was the case.

'Well… you could fix it by calling that girl.'

She'll either be still in bed or getting ready for school. I don't want to bother her.

'You can do it after she's done school.'

I've got stuff I need to do. She felt Kiana grab the large megaphone again. This time she was ready.

'THAT STUFF CAN WAIT! YOU NEED FRIENDS!'

Taylor held back a wince and became quite smug because of it. Ha… is that all you've got. I'm already used to that.

'OhohohohohOH… you think this is the worst I can do. Prepare yourself Taylor-chan. I have plenty more things up my sleeve.'

Later that day…

"YES!" Taylor cheered.

She looked on proudly at the two machines before her. She had not only finished her assembler but fabricator as well. Each were important for the battlesuit building process. The assembler, as she called it, was less impressive than it sounded. As of now, it was basically a more advanced loom that did more stuff. Enough to make a simple but durable outfit, shoes and all, but nothing like an advanced battlesuit. For that she'd need to upgrade it with better materials and parts.

Thankfully, she had her fabricator done which would help with that. Its main function was enabling her to make any part or component she needed. She'd still have to assemble everything into a working device, but it saved her a lot of grunt work. Unfortunately to fully utilize her fabricator, and eventually her fully upgraded assembler, she needed her computer. While she still had, what she hoped, was enough material left to work with, she still needed to take apart their other computer for most of the core components. She wasn't sure why she needed such a powerful computer, but figured whatever programs she needed to run her machines required the power for it. Regardless, she couldn't make the necessary components to make and or upgrade her tools and machines without it.

With nothing else to do, she ate a quick lunch before deciding to head out for a change instead of just training. She needed hair dye, and, more importantly, she needed new underwear. Thankfully her dad had left her his credit card.

After making sure she had her papers, in case anyone called her out for being truant, she headed off. Apparently, even in a city like Brockton Bay, it was still somewhat enforced depending where you were in the city. The trip to the store was uneventful. No one stopped her and she was able to get all she needed. The trip home took a little while since traffic had to be redirected due to a cape fight. A pretty bad one since she overheard from some people on the bus that a bystander had been injured and was in critical condition. She hoped the girl would make it.

Once she was home, she brought all she bought up to her room. She then put another spool of thread into the converter. After this, she went back downstairs to get started on dinner.

Even later that day…

"Well you seem like you're in a good mood today." Danny noted.

Taylor smiled as she happily bit into her piece of pork. She moaned as the flavor stimulated her taste buds. I've really out done myself with this.

"Yeah, I got a good amount done today." She answered.

"That's good. Did you call the girl yet?" He inquired.

She froze for a bit, then sighed.

"No…" She answered. "I was busy with training and stuff."

"No, you made yourself 'busy with training and stuff'." He pointed out.

"I make no denial of this." She replied.

Danny sighed.

"Is there any particular reason you're putting this off?" He asked.

"I just don't want to bother her." She answered.

Danny just gave her a look. He knew she knew she was just making excuses and now she knew he knew as well. She tried to ignore it, just sit there and eat her dinner. But she eventually sighed.

"Okay… it's not that." She admitted.

"I know." He replied.

"It's just… I'm nervous. I don't know, I guess I'm… just…" She began.

"Afraid to get hurt again." He finished.

"Yeah… Emma was practically a sister to me. But then, one day out of the blue, she just… throws it all away. She stabs me in the back and twists the metaphorical knife in." She expressed with a pained expression. "Sure my 'friend' from Winslow helped me now, but she didn't do it until it got to this point. She had a whole year and a half to intervene and at least do something, but didn't. What if this is just her playing the game, using me to knock Emma down a peg so she could take the top spot. What if she betrays me like Emma. What if…"

'STOP OVER THINKING THIS!'

CLANG! Taylor acted as though something had been slammed on to her head. Did you just use a mental frying pan to mentally whack me on the head?!

'Yes.' Kiana replied, a mental image of her holding said frying pan menacingly appeared in Taylor's mind.

"Not sure what Kiana did to get you to stop, but I'm glad she did." Danny replied.

Taylor glared at him weakly. He chuckled lightly before he got serious once more.

"But I see the problem now. You're so afraid of getting burnt by the fire, you'd rather die of cold." Danny noted.

Taylor looked at him with confusion.

"You need friends, Taylor, companions. To go without them is to brave the cold winter with no fire to keep you warm. Take me for example. If not for Alan, ironically enough, I'd probably still be a depressed mess from Annette's passing. Who knows how much worse this thing with the school would have gotten if I was still like that." Danny pointed out.

"But… Emma…" Taylor began.

"Betrayed you, yes, she did. That'll happen and it'll hurt. It'll hurt badly. But just because you got burned once, doesn't mean you can forgo the warmth of a fire. That leads to something far worse than even the most heart wrenching of betrayals. For the pain of betrayal, while great, is only temporary. The wound will heal given time and care. But a life spent alone is a pain that will not end, a wound that will not close. It is a life with no joy to alleviate the tragedies that life sends our way, where pain is heaped on top of pain. Where death is the only escape. Such a life is something no one should seek." Danny stated.

Taylor was stunned silent, unable to come up with a response. The rest of the dinner carried on in silence. Once finished, Taylor went up to her room to train and ponder what her father had told her.

Danny watched her go as he sat down in front of the T.V. Hope she takes what I said to heart. He turned his attention to the television and turned on the news. On it was more information on the major cape battle that happened today. Apparently the girl who was injured managed to be brought to Panacea in time. According to the news story, the girl managed to stay calm by some miracle and not pull the pole that had impaled her out, which would have ensured she'd bleed out and die. Suddenly the phone rang and he went to answer it.

"Hello?" He spoke.

"Hey, Danny." The tired but familiar voice replied.

"Alan." Danny greeted calmly.

"Danny I… I didn't know… Believe me if I did, I… I wouldn't have let it get to this point." Alan expressed in a pleading tone.

Danny remained silent for a time. The seconds ticked by before he let out a sigh.

"I believe you. The way you acted when we met last week was kind of a give away you didn't realize what had been going on." He replied.

Alan let out a sigh of relief.

"That being said, expect things to be tense between our families. What Emma did left deep emotional scars on Taylor. She was scared to even try and talk to the girl who helped expose everything Emma did." Danny added.

He could practically hear Alan wince.

"I… I understand…" He said.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"Would you have gone through with it? The lawsuit. If it came to it?" Alan asked.

"Tell me Alan. If our roles were reversed and it was Taylor bullying Emma to such a degree. Would you?" Danny countered.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"I think you already know my answer." Alan replied.

"Then you know mine." Danny returned.

There was another brief moment of silence.

"I want to know why Emma became like this? You have to know this at least." Danny spoke up.

Alan sighed.

"I have an idea why. Looking back, the signs were obvious." He replied. "It all started after Taylor had left for that camp a few summers ago…"

The next day…

Of all the things Taylor expected to happen Friday, finding out the reason for Emma's betrayal was not one of them. Her father had told her after their morning run. Her former best friend had been attacked by some ABB thugs before being saved by a cape, Shadow Stalker. Details weren't given, but it seemed something truly horrible nearly happened to her former friend. This left Emma an emotional and psychological mess. Her family had tried to help her, albeit poorly according to Alan, and it was ultimately meeting Sophia that allowed Emma to put herself back together. But how Sophia got her back together turned Emma into the monster that had tortured her for a year and a half. Taylor felt strange after finding all of this out. For so long she had wondered what could have caused Emma to turn on her like she did. Now that she knew, she didn't know how to feel about it.

She would go through the day struggling with this. Throughout her various training routines it would be on her mind. It distracted her as she did her honkai energy training. She'd be unable to focus on any research she'd do. She'd even lose count of reps while doing physical training. It was while she was making dinner that she eventually decided she needed help with this. Kiana…

'I have a feeling I know what this is about. But I'll let you ask it.'

Thanks… it just… I don't know what I'm supposed to feel or think. For over a year I had wondered why she had betrayed me like she did. I think… I think a part of me hoped it was just because she felt like it. So I could just hate her, call her a bitch and be done with it. To find out she went through something horrible and just couldn't handle it, it leaves me… feeling sorry for her. Even after everything she's done, I just feel pity for her.

'That just means you're a good person Taylor. And if my read on this whole thing is right, that thought would probably infuriate her more than anything.'

What do you mean?

'Based on what I've been able to piece together. Emma was bullying you not because she hated you, but because she hated being weak. She needed to bully you to make herself feel strong, to feel in control. The very thought you'd take all of what she did and still look at her with pity, would be infuriating to her. It'd be the ultimate proof that she was never stronger than you.'

I guess, though I don't think I'm that strong of a person.

'Being strong doesn't mean being invincible. You took your licks from what she did and the scars will linger for a while. But in the end, you're still here carrying on. You're still trying to build yourself up, to make things better for not only yourself but others as well by going through with being a hero. Emma, on the other hand, could only destroy. She couldn't make herself better so she had to drag everything down just so she could stand above it.'

Evil cannot create, it can only destroy.

'That does seem to be how it is.'

But what should I do now?

'Honestly, just live the best life you can. The ultimate revenge against her would be to move on and treat her as a mere footnote. If you let her hold you back it means she still has some power over you, the thing she wanted more than anything.'

Yeah… you're right… It'll be hard to forget what she did, but I don't have to let it define me. She looked at the phone. It's time to move on. There was a ding from the oven, drawing her attention. After I get dinner ready. With the oven at temperature she put in the london broil she was making. She then got to work preparing the potatoes and green beans. She decided to steam the green beans while with the potatoes, she cut them into slices and lightly doused them in olive oil before salting them a bit and wrapping them in tin foil. When the time came, she put the potatoes in the oven to roast for a bit. She just about had everything finished when her father returned home.

"I'm home!" He called out.

"Hey dad! Dinner's almost ready!" She called back.

"Wonderful" He returned as walked into the kitchen, some mail in his hand.

"Smells good." He noted.

"Hopefully it tastes good." She replied.

"I'm sure it will." He expressed sincerely, placing the mail down save for one envelope. "On another front, the settlement offer from the school just came in. Let's see what they want to give us."

Taylor made her way around her father to watch him open the envelope and unfold the offer. It wasn't long before both sets of eyes went wide.

"That's… a lot." Taylor noted.

"I think… I think we should accept this offer." Danny noted. "I'll still take a closer look at it after dinner to make sure it's all okay. But I don't see anything wrong as of yet."

"You do that." Taylor replied in a daze, still shocked by the money they were being offered.

Danny gathered up the mail and moved it elsewhere while Taylor pulled the food out of the oven before setting the table. She portioned out meals for both her and her father. Once that all was done, the two sat down and dug in.

"Mmmm… you've done good, little owl." He complimented.

"Thanks dad. I was going through mom's recipe book, found this, and realized we actually had what we needed to make it." She replied.

"Glad you did. So… did you call that friend of yours yet?" He asked.

"Nope, but I'm going to after dinner. Talked with Kiana just a bit ago and realized I can't let Emma keep holding me back." Taylor stated with a smile. "It's time to start moving on."

Danny said nothing, he just smiled at her with a hint of pride before returning to his dinner. The two ate in relative silence with the occasional small talk dotting their dinnertime. Eventually, they finished. After helping Taylor clean up and put away the leftovers, Danny went to look over the offer from the school. Meanwhile, Taylor went upstairs and grabbed the piece of paper with the phone number on it. She returned downstairs and went to the phone. After staring at it for a bit, she took a deep breath, calmed her nerves, picked up the phone, and dialed the number. The phone rang for a bit before someone picked up.

"Hello?" The voice of a girl answered.

"Ah… hi… this is… ah… T-Taylor Hebert… … from school… I-I-I was told you… ah… wanted to talk to me? Right?" Taylor nervously responded.

"T-T-T-Taylor?!" The other girl exclaimed in surprise, causing Taylor to wince. "I ahh… I honestly didn't expect you to call."

This caused Taylor to blink in surprise.

"R-r-really?" She replied.

"Y-yeah… I figured after everything that happened you wouldn't want to talk to me. I know it wasn't my fault you ended up… there… but I was still somewhat a part of that clique." The girl answered. "Speaking of, how have you been? You hadn't been at school since… that… thing happened."

"I… I… I've… been good." Taylor answered. "A-a-and you don't have to k-k-keep dancing around the… the locker… I-I-I've been getting over it… somewhat."

"Oh… ah… that's good. I guess." The girl replied.

There was a brief awkward moment of silence.

"S-s-s-so… ah… i-i-i-is there a reason y-y-you wanted to talk to me?" Taylor asked.

"Oh yeah… well… ah… I wanted to see how you were and… ah… remember how I had asked if you wanted to hang out back in November?" The girl brought up.

"Y-y-yeah…" Taylor replied. "I remember turning you down. Still too shy after… well… everything."

"Yeah, I figured that. Anyways, I wanted to see if you'd be up for that. And maybe… see if we can become better friends." The girl explained.

This caused Taylor to blink in surprise.

"A-a-a-are you sure?" She questioned. "I mean… y-y-y-you'd still want to be friends."

"Totally!" The girl exclaimed. "I mean… if you'd still like to be that is."

"I-I-I… … … I… … I-I'd like that." Taylor answered.

"Yes!" The girl silently cheered.

"A-a-a-and maybe we could hang out. W-w-would tomorrow work?" Taylor asked hopefully.

"Esh… tomorrow I'm going to be busy, but Sunday would work." The girl replied. "I know this cafe on the boardwalk that'd be perfect. I think I remember you saying you like tea."

"I do." Taylor answered with a small smile. "A-a-and Sunday works for me too."

"Perfect, then we can meet at Cafe Leblanc say around… noonish?" The girl asked.

"That… should work. See you then." Taylor answered.

"Right, see ya." The girl replied, hanging up.

Taylor also hung up. After doing this, she looked at the phone and smiled. For the first time in a long while, she felt she might just have someone she could call a friend.

'HEY! What about me?!'

Besides Kiana.

'Thank you.'

And that's a wrap everyone, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Till next time. If you want me to be able to produce more content, please consider supporting me on subscribe star. (search zmanxv and the link is on my deviantart page).