I am back with another chapter. Got nothing to say this time so let's get on with the chapter.

Chapter 7: A Change of Pace

Saturday, January 15th, 2011

Taylor woke up bright and early. After the conversations yesterday, she felt refreshed, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She went through the motions of getting ready for her morning run. It was while she was doing this she noticed something in the mirror. Her face had been changing slowly since she received her powers and it was only now she realized how much it had changed. While it clearly still resembled her old face, it was now much more feminine and beautiful than she remembered. All in all it wasn't a bad change that made her smile.

'You know, I just realized something.'

What's that?

'How are you going to explain the fact that you look different to your friend?'

Taylor just stared at the mirror as the problem dawned on her.

"Fuck…" She muttered.

The next day, noontime…

Taylor nervously approached Cafe Leblanc. She had taken time yesterday between training to come up with a way to explain her changes to her friend that doesn't point to her being a cape. While she was willing to try and be friends with the girl, she wasn't about to trust her with that secret. Thankfully she had nothing really to do yesterday, aside from putting in a new spool of thread into the converter. Though her dad was fine with the offer from the school, he still wanted a lawyer to look over it. Even if it still looked good, her father still had to officially turn it in and he wanted to wait until the money from it started flowing before going out and buying a new computer. On top of this, Jim won't be helping her with anything until next week. Thus she was left to spend her free time brainstorming a way to not get called out.

As she stood before the cafe entrance, she prayed her explanation was believable. Here goes nothing. She took a deep breath and took hold of the door handle.

"Taylor?" A somewhat familiar voice spoke up.

She stopped and turned to see a familiar face, though it took a bit to recognize her. She was a girl about her age who was clearly of asian descent. She was slightly above average in attractiveness, by Taylor's estimates, with long black well maintained hair. She stood a bit shorter than Taylor. Taylor stood there like a deer in headlights and just stared at the girl.

"Uh… hi… ah… Rosemary, right?" Taylor eventually replied.

"Y-yeah… looks like we arrived at the same time." Rosemary replied.

"So it would seem." Taylor returned.

"Well let's not just stand around. Let's go in." Rosemary stated.

"Uh… right." Taylor replied.

She opened the door to the cafe and stepped inside, Rosemary not far behind her. The faint chime of a bell heralded their entrance inside. It was a quaint little place with a warm relaxing atmosphere that invited you in. It was fairly empty save for an older man working the counter with a younger guy helping him.

"Ahh… Rose, back again I see." The older man greeted them.

"Heya boss, and not just me I brought a friend, Taylor." Rosemary returned.

"Uh… hi…" Taylor expressed reservedly.

"Hahaha… I can see that, grab a menu and take a seat. I'm guessing the usual for you Rose?" The older man inquired.

Rose giggled.

"You know me well boss." She replied, taking a menu and handing it to Taylor. "Come on, I know the perfect seat."

"Ahh… right." Taylor replied, taking the menu.

Rosemary led Taylor to a seat by the window, giving a good view of the boardwalk and the bay. The two sat down across from each other. Taylor immediately opened the menu and began browsing through it.

"So I take it you come here often." Taylor noted.

Rose snorted.

"Oh yeah. This is probably my favorite place to visit." Rose spoke up.

"Probably? With how often you stop by it might as well be your home away from home." The older man called out.

Rose giggled.

"What can I say? I love this place." She replied. "Oh… By the way, if you don't know what to get, their curry is to die for."

"I'll… keep that in mind." Taylor replied with a hint of nervousness.

"Can I at least offer you a drink for now?" The voice of a young man spoke up.

"Y-y-y-yes I-I'll haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…" Taylor began but trailed off when she got a good look at who she was talking to.

While she saw the young man working behind the counter when she entered, she never got a good look at him. He was a handsome young man with sharp features and a cool air around him. His hair was black and shaggy and he wore glasses. She felt her face heat up.

"Uhm… tea… please…" She managed to squeak out.

"Coming right up." He replied smoothly with a soft smile.

She managed to hold back a squeal as he walked away. The snickering of her friend broke her out of her daze.

"I see you've found the reason other than the food I stop here." She noted with a knowing smile.

Taylor felt her face heat up as it turned a bright red. She hid behind her menu. Her friend giggled in good nature at her reaction.

"I have to say I was surprised when I first saw you. You looked a lot different from what I remembered. I almost didn't recognize you." Rose noted.

Moment of truth.

'Just say it with confidence.'

Right.

"Yeah, it surprised me too. T-though looking back, I think it was happening slowly over the course of the year, g-growing up and all. I just never noticed it until now." Taylor stated nervously. "There's also the fact that I started dyeing my hair."

"Huh… I guess that makes sense. But I could have sworn you looked more different back in December." Rose noted.

"M-m-m-maybe you just didn't notice. It has been awhile." Taylor replied. "And like I said, I've started dyeing my hair."

"I guess… and we were never really that close beforehand. It's not like I paid too much attention to your appearance." Rose noted, before her eyes went. "N-n-n-no offense by the way. I didn't mean it as…"

"I-it's fine. I get what you meant." Taylor quickly assured her.

Rose breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Though, I am curious. Why did you want to meet up and hang out? Like you said we never were that close?" Taylor asked.

"Well… it's a few things. Me blabbing about what Emma and all the girls did got me ostracized from that group real quick. And with me not going to Winslow anymore, I'm lacking any real friends at the moment." Rose explained.

This caused Taylor to blink in surprise.

"You're also not going to Winslow now?" Taylor questioned.

"Yep, I'm being homeschooled now, since no other school was closer. When I explained my situation to my Dad he pulled me out as fast as he could." Rose explained. "Makes me wish I told him sooner."

"What do you mean 'situation'?" Taylor asked in confusion.

Rosemary just looked at her.

"Taylor, I'm asian. Specifically Half-Japanese." She stated.

"I-I-I can see that." Taylor replied. "S-so?"

"T… Taylor… I'm asian… At Winslow… where there's active gang 'recruitment' among other activities they 'recruit' for." Rose explained. "Not to mention the E88 wannabees looking to prove themselves."

Taylor's eyes went wide at that.

"O-oh…" She muttered.

"Yeah…" Rose expressed with a sigh. "As much as I hate to admit it, the reason I joined in with Emma's clique in the first place was protection. I could hide behind them and avoid being targeted by the ABB for 'recruitment' and the E88 for torment. What a mistake that was, I never wanted to engage in actual bullying."

Taylor wanted to be mad at her for that, but couldn't find it in her to do so. She realized that Rosemary actually felt guilty for taking part in bullying her. Even though she had been told so months ago, it didn't really click until now. Besides, she knew if she were in Rosemary's shoes she'd have at least thought of doing something similar.

"I get that now, but what changed? Why did you come clean when you did?" Taylor asked.

"I honestly wanted to when you'd been shoved into that locker, heck even before that. But Emma had sufficiently cowed everyone into compliance by then and I was afraid to be the only one to speak up. I'd been racked with guilt since then for being such a coward. So… when Mr. Adler, a friend of my dad who's on the school board, came to ask if I knew anything, I finally told the truth." She explained. "And I'm glad I did."

Taylor was shocked by her explanation. Though one thing stood out to her.

"What do you mean Emma had cowed everyone into compliance?" She inquired.

"What, you think everyone just ignored you because they were apathetic?" Rose questioned.

"Uhm…" Taylor began looking away.

"Right… stupid question." Rose replied.

A silence took over as Taylor mulled over this new information. I guess things weren't as straightforward as I thought.

'They rarely are.'

"Here are your drinks." The young man stated, breaking the silence.

He handed Rose a cup of coffee, and Taylor a cup of tea.

"I already know what Rose wants, but what will you be having?" He asked.

"Oh… uhm… I think I'll try the Leblanc Curry." She answered.

"Excellent choice." He replied.

"I agree." Rose chirped.

"I'll put this in and get everything ready." He continued before walking away.

A silence took over once more. Each side not knowing what to say.

"Thanks…" Taylor finally spoke. "For speaking up, even if I would have liked it sooner. My dad and I might have ended up in a messy legal battle had you not."

Rosemary smiled.

"You're welcome. Glad I could stop being a coward and actually help you." She replied.

Taylor merely nodded as she sipped her tea. Her eyes went wide as the flavor blessed her taste buds.

"Wow, this is really good." She noted in shock.

"You should try their coffee sometime. Boss brews a mean batch of the stuff. I swear it's magic." Rose suggested before taking a sip of said coffee.

"It is magic." The old man noted with a hint of amusement. "The magic of years of experience coming together into the perfect roost. Countless iterations done to create the pinnacle of coffee brewing."

"Long story short he's old and been doing it awhile." The young man quipped.

"Quiet you!" The old man shouted. "Don't forget who gave you a place to stay!"

The two girls giggled at the two men's antics before diving into idle chit-chat as they waited for their food to come out.

Meanwhile…

Danny sat across from Carol Dallon in her home office. As he was looking over the settlement offer, it occurred to him it would be wise to have a lawyer look over everything. Given he still had Carol willing to work with him thanks to Jim, he figured she'd be the best to look at it.

"Everything looks fine from what I can see. Though it seems all the parties involved really want to keep this quiet. You could probably push for more money and get away with it." Carol noted.

"I'm already happy with the money being offered, lord knows what I'm gonna do with all of it." He noted.

"Then I'd say you're safe to accept it." She replied, placing it down.

"Wonderful. Thank you for all your help Carol." Danny expressed.

"Think nothing of it. Jim's helped me a lot in the past so I don't mind helping a friend of his." She expressed.

"Well thank you nonetheless." Danny returned. "We'd have been in a tough spot if we couldn't get things done through the school district. Having you as a backup was reassuring."

"I'd imagine, but I'm glad it never came to that. Alan is a colleague and friend of mine. I'd rather not have to battle him in court if it could be helped." She stated.

"Yeah… I can relate." Danny noted with a sigh. "Welp, I'd best get going. I've still got things to do today."

Danny picked up the document.

"Take care." He expressed holding out his hand.

"You as well." She replied, shaking it firmly.

The two parted, with Danny leaving her home office and Carol remaining to do some extra work on a separate case. Danny made his way through the hall, through the living room, and out the door. As he got in his truck he noticed a girl with long blond hair flying down to the front door of the house. He recognized her as Carol's daughter Victoria Dallon, known as the hero Glory Girl. Beyond the brief glance and recognition, he paid her no mind and pulled out of the driveway.

Meanwhile…

Beyond a curious look, Vicky paid little mind to the truck currently leaving her house as she opened the door.

"Mom! I'm home!" Vicky called out as she entered the house.

"Welcome back!" Her mother called back.

She closed the door and made her way towards her mother's home office.

"Hey, did you get Amy's text?" She asked.

"I was in an impromptu meeting just now, so no. What did she want?" Carol asked as she worked through papers.

"She's just wanted to let you know she's hanging out with a friend. You know that girl from the villain fight who Amy healed a few days ago, Anastasia." Vicky brought up.

"No." Carol replied.

"Oh ahhh… well she healed this girl a few days ago and they seemed to have hit it off. As friends that is." Victoria explained. "When I was visiting Ames at the hospital the girl showed up and practically dragged Amy out of there."

"She dragged her out of the hospital?" Carol questioned.

"Practically I said. Given that me, dad, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Neil, Crystal, Eric, the hospital staff, and virtually everyone that knows her has been trying to get her to take a break from healing all the time; none of us stopped her from doing it. Actually I'm pretty sure some nurses helped push Ames and the girl out." Vicky explained.

"Get to the point." Carol stated.

"The point is she wanted to let you know where she was, just in case you needed her for whatever reason." Vicky finished.

"I… see…" Carol noted.

"I think it's good. Ames spends way too much time at the hospital. She needs to get a social life outside of me dragging her to places. If it takes one determined friend to do it. I'm happy." Vicky expressed with a smile.

Carol didn't reply, she merely continued to work.

"So who was that guy who just left?" Vicky asked.

"Just a friend of a friend. He needed a second opinion on a settlement offer." Carol explained. "I'd already agreed to be on call if things escalated to a lawsuit. Since the school he'd been planning on suing looked to settle out of court, he figured having me look over the settlement would be prudent."

"Geez… must be pretty bad." Vicky noted. "What happened with the school?"

"I won't get into details as it's personal to him and his daughter. But let's just say it's a good thing she'll be going to Arcadia in the near future."

"I see…" Vicky muttered as a thought began to bounce around in her head. "Maybe I should be on the lookout for her then, she'll need new friends to help her out."

"That… would probably be good. Just… try not to come on too strong. The girl's gonna need ease and comfort more than anything else." Carol pointed out.

"Please… I'm the queen of ease and comfort. I'll be as gentle as a butterfly" Vicky declared.

Carol just looked at her. Vicky ignored the look and went away to get herself ready for her date tonight. Carol merely looked at the door for several seconds. Vicky walked back in.

"So what's her…" She began.

"Taylor Hebert." Carol finished.

"Right." Vicky replied before leaving again.

Carol sighed before going back to her work.

Elsewhere…

Taylor moaned in delight as the incredible flavor of the curry enchanted her taste buds. I had no idea curry could taste this good.

'I know…' Kiana moaned in her mind, eating a mental version of the heavenly food. 'Forgive me Mei-senpai, your curry has found its match.'

Taylor elected to ignore Kiana's comments in favor of savoring the flavor of this scrumptious curry.

"I told you there curry is to die for." Rose noted as she continued to eat her own bowl of the wonderful food.

"'Ou 'id." Taylor mumbled with curry in her mouth.

She swallowed it before taking another bite of the heavenly curry.

"Would either of you two like more to drink?" The young man asked.

"Yes please." Rose replied.

"I'll try the coffee now." Taylor spoke before diving into the delectably delicious curry.

"Coming right up." The young man stated.

As the two newly minted friends were enjoying their incredibly flavorful curry, two other newly minted friends were passing by. One was a mousy girl with frizzy curly brown hair and the other was a blond girl with straight hair in twin tails. While the brown haired girl was about average in height, the blond was on the shorter side. As the blond led the brown haired girl along, the brown haired girl took note of the cafe they were passing.

"That seems like a nice place." She noted.

"Oh it is, and we'll have to go there sometime. But the place I have in mind is a personal favorite of mine, and I think you'll enjoy it." The blond declared.

"Are you sure about this Anastasia? I really think I should be at the…" The other girl began.

"Upupupupupup… none of that Amy!" The girl Anastasia declared, stopping and turning around. "You may be the legendary Panacea, world's greatest healer, but you're still human. You can't just work yourself to death like my great Uncle Aleksandr. You need breaks to rest and recharge your batteries. And I told you, call me Ana!"

"Your uncle worked himself to death?" Amy questioned.

"It's a long story that involves a russian gulag, don't feel like getting into it. Now come on!" Ana declared.

She grabbed hold of Amy and led her past Leblanc Cafe and on to their destination.

Later…

Taylor had a small smile on her face when she returned home. After their wonderful curry, her and Rose talked for a bit longer before both had to leave with the promise of hanging out again later in the week. She opened the door and entered inside.

"Dad, I'm home!" She called out.

"Welcome back!" Her father returned from upstairs.

She heard the sound of shuffling feet, heralding the arrival of her father at the top of the stairs.

"How was your time with your friend?" He asked.

"It was great." She replied. "We're planning on meeting up again sometime during the week."

"That's good to hear." He expressed with a smile. "I'm glad you're making friends again."

"Yeah… me too… can't keep talking to the voice in my head." She noted.

'HEY!'

Her father chuckled.

"You're not wrong." He noted with a hint of amusement. "Now, why don't we go down to the basement. I've got a surprise for you."

He made his way down the stairs while she just looked at him with confusion.

"Surprise?" She questioned.

"You'll see." He answered as he walked past her.

She followed him down into the basement, and was shocked by what she saw. Sitting on her workbench was their computer, monitor and all, right next to their old computer. She looked at him, her surprise evident on her face. He smiled.

"I got us a new computer, now you can take apart both old ones." He explained.

"B-b-but… weren't you going to wait a bit, at least until you officially accepted the settlement offer?" She questioned.

"Ahhhh… I'm fine with the offer so I'll be turning it in first thing Monday morning. What's a few hours anyways." He replied.

"But what about the time until the money starts coming in?" She returned.

He waved off her concerns, even if he appreciated it.

"We'll be fine. I haven't gotten anything real nice for you in a while." He stated. "Think of it as a very late Christmas gift."

She stared at him with awe for a few seconds before a big smile bloomed on her face. She hugged her father, surprising him.

"You're the best dad." She declared before breaking off the hug to start working on her custom computer.

Danny stood there in surprise for a second before smiling.

"Be sure to take breaks every now and then, and remember to do your workouts before dinner." He ordered.

"Will do." She returned as she got to work.

Danny chuckled lightly before returning up stairs to relax a bit before starting on dinner.

And that's a wrap, hope everyone 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).