Looking Glass, what doth thine eyes not see?
Annette begins adding the finishing touches to her latest work. Her daughter, Taylor would love it once it's done but she had to edit a few things about the entire manuscript before showing it to her family. It would prove terrible of course if the end result was less desirable than it could be, especially since she was a professional in her field.
Well, at least she could brag about it if it were not for her current condition.
Her husband, Danny, had been the backbone of their family recently, most of the responsibilities and income came from him, and him working late deep into the night almost daily made her feel guilty. More so because while her professional career was in stasis, her secondary projects, in the form of small novellas and two full-length novels in the local publishing house, were merely a trickle in the current state of their monetary situation.
Her injury had proven to be a large nuisance, even with the clarity given to her in the aftermath, the fees and everything else was just too much, and seeing the bills both for her medication and their daily necessities, Annette was starting to feel the pressure when in the other night, Danny asked the possibility of selling the house.
It said a lot about where they were currently and even with some new friends she made along the way, she knew that they needed something, anything to get their lives on track again. Which is why she had to make a few calls… a few deals. Nothing shady or anything of the note, since she already talked to Danny about it, but deals that would help elevate them, both in a safe position both literally and figuratively, but also to pay for some of the problems they were having lately.
Annette knew that she was never going to walk again, without any sort of intervention, she was stuck like this for the rest of her life unless something happened. It was the main reason why she hoped her gamble would pull off its intended result.
Hopefully.
"Mom?" A knock on her door was heard as well as the voice of her daughter as Annette turned towards the open entrance of her room. Taylor standing there with a tray in both hands along with a smile that made Annette feel better. "I made you lunch. You were busy so, I just had to improvise."
Annette blinked before she turned her eyes toward the clock on her desk and saw that it was well over past lunch. She had been way too focused on her work that she neglected her daughter again because of it. Guilt wracked her head as she also recalled that today was a Saturday, and she promised her daughter she would help with her current project…
"Honey… I… I'm sorry." She said before Taylor's neutral expression slowly morphed into a small smile. Her daughter was not the best at expressing clear-cut full emotions. She was an introvert like Danny and it was cute seeing it manifest especially with how grown she was now so far. "I didn't mean to."
"No, it's fine. I got a little carried over as well with my own things. I can show you some of it later." Her daughter offered as she walked towards her and prepared the small table installed in Annette and Danny's bedroom when she was still mostly bedridden.
"Oh? You finished on something I assume?" Annette asked, intrigued.
Her daughter shyly made a small chuckle as she started setting their lunch. "I think it works now, but there's issues with some of the kinks you know?"
"Hm. I'll check on it later, don't want your father to get another panic attack again."
The two shared a laugh as Taylor helped her mother to position herself closer to the table. She prepared her own meal as well and they shared the room together, face to face. The clinking of their utensils made up the sounds around them as the air was comfortable, peaceful, and wholesome…
Both radiated a sense of subtle happiness in each other's presence, but Annette began to notice that her daughter looked absorbed in something that was bothering her. The way the subtle frowns made up her entire face made Annette frown as well.
"Sweetie, is there anything you want to say?"
"Hm? Oh… it's nothing Mom. It's just, are you sure Arcadia was the right choice?"
"What brought this on?" Annette asked as Taylor set her fork down.
"I could've stayed in Winslow… I could've just kept ignoring them."
Annette quickly placed a hand on her daughter's own as the aura around Taylor started to turn into something negative and sorrowful. The contact of that small little interaction between them made Taylor's own mood dip back to comfort as she saw her mother's warm presence and smile.
"Honey, when it comes to you, your dad and I aren't going to hesitate."
"But-
"No buts, because as far as I'm concerned, the only thing that matters right now is if you're happy. If you're happy, your dad and I are happy, and that's the only thing that matters."
Taylor smiled and looked away for a bit as some of the light that was lost from her daughter's recent issue with her once-best friend returned a bit. "Darn it Mom, y-you make arguing with you hard."
Annette chuckled as she squeezed her daughter's hand. "That's the charm of being a mother. Your dad's pretty bad at these direct talks, but he cares all the same. I think he'll always round the conversation back to this, and we both already agreed that this was the better choice. Blackwell and Alan be damned."
"I miss Aunt Zoe though," Taylor remarked to which Annette could only sigh.
"Me too, but it'll be a while before any of those wounds would heal sweetie. I don't blame Zoe at all for this mess, but she and Alan have to figure this out together." Taylor bowed her head slightly before Annette stopped her. "… and Taylor, don't ever feel responsible for what happened with Emma. It was not your fault." She stressed.
"I know… I just miss the old Emma."
Annette didn't say anything else as their conversation pivoted towards something lighter. Taylor became a lot more excited when she talked about her new friend. Annette felt the same, recalling Carol Dallon in the process as they both talked and finished their meals with relative ease and comfort.
Taylor helped her mother get downstairs a moment later after they finished but as soon as Annette was easing herself in on her chair, there was a ring on their doorbell. Immediately, she sensed the change of the atmosphere in the air, at least from her perspective as she sat upright and prepared herself.
"I'll get the door honey, just continue doing the dishes." She remarked as she heard Taylor's dutiful reply while Annette moved herself to greet her guest.
This was step one.
Once she opened the door, she was exposed to the presence of a very important individual.
"Good Afternoon, Mrs. Hebert."
"What should I refer to you as?"
The woman, wearing a fedora tilted her head precisely in a way to create some form of ease by acting a bit human but to Annette's eyes it was just odd. "Your message has been received, for now, you may call me as Contessa. Miss Costa Brown will be joining us in a moment."
Annette nodded slightly as she looked at the woman again. "Has my information been helpful? I believe that was the reason Miss Costa Brown was even interested in me."
The woman froze. Annette was unsure if it was because she was legitimately concerned about the small drop of info she shared, or if it was of something else. She was used to the many types of people over the years with her experience, but reading this woman was quite different from what she was used to.
"We wish to discuss the implications of this discovery you made."
"It's not a discovery. It's as natural as the world around us." Annette said.
"Nevertheless, the matter is of great interest to us and with the loss of Hero years ago, we wish to have someone that would fit that missing spot."
Annette watched Rebecca Costa Brown, a renowned figure around the world sitting there with a professional mask laced across her face. It was a shock of course, when the very first person she had ever met after her accident when she opened her eyes was her.
"How do I know I'm speaking to Annette Hebert at this very moment knowing that before her accident, she was never an expert on esoteric, extranatural phenomenon?" the woman bluntly asked as Annette found herself setting her freshly brewed tea down on the dining table of her house. The steam of the beverage seemed to sway figuratively to tension in the room as Annette sighed.
"I'm willing to bet on an educated guess, that you wouldn't have approached me or come to my house had you not brought along someone that can validate my claims. Lying after all is easy, and even if I were the best liar around, I'm confident you would have dismissed me without an afterthought."
The woman simply settled back on the backrest of her seat as Contessa looked at the woman with a nod. Annette then watched Rebecca sigh as her fingers began to tap lightly on the table.
"Many things can be fooled. Powers, after all, are very wild and unpredictable. Even if we were to admit that we are the foremost experts on the topic, we don't consider ourselves as all-knowing…"
"Hm." Annette hummed.
"…but, as far as we are concerned you are genuine, at least with what tools we have to verify it. The problem, however, is that we have no means to actively verify it to the fullest extent because of this discovery you passed on to us."
"That's a good point."
"… it is. More so now, than ever given that we're clearly lacking in information about this topic. You could be fooling us right now like a pitch-perfect sleeper agent that can just activate a proverbial bomb when the time is right, or you're just a simulation, one that's so flawless that any trace of the Annette Hebert there was that existed is now overtaken completely and you're what's left. Having no choice but to live the life of a woman that's possibly dead."
"I assume the hypothesis you proposed to your comrades is still in effect, and I know for sure that you've already seen the results of my medical records post-accident. If I were what you say I was, then you would have quickly deduced that I possess no errant tumor in my head nor has my body gone through extensive changes that modern science cannot explain or make sense of." Annette said as the two became unnaturally quiet.
"Well, you're here now, if I was so untrustworthy in the first place, then I would have been dead before I even opened the door for Contessa." She added as the two looked at her intently.
"Then make us understand, Mrs. Hebert. What exactly is the nature of these sudden changes? What exactly is the nature of the discoveries you passed on to us?" Contessa asked.
"Adding to that, what is your relationship with the anomaly over Brockton Bay?" Rebecca said as she leaned closer.
Annette tapped her mug which was filled with her favorite blend of tea. For this very moment, she would have liked to have coffee, the specific mix that she used to drink in another life when things went bad. Yet even with the brave front she possessed, there was a tinge of worry knowing that she was dipping her toes into something that her family would be dragged into.
It scared her.
"Before we go deep into that… I will be honest with you that I am indeed Annette Hebert. Born and raised here, in the United States. There is no change or difference in the person who I once was and the person that I am now… yet, after the accident, I unlocked or in this case, retrieved certain memories, knowledge, and understandings of a life that I never thought I'd have."
The two perked up at her words as Annette rubbed her fingers along her mug. "There is no other person holding the wheel, I'm still basically me but the rush of all of these memories… these experiences have caught up to me, and I believe it's just the start of what's coming."
"What is coming?" Rebecca asked, her tone becoming firm and serious.
"Nothing overtly problematic right now, no… but the simple answer is, the world is awakening, and this merging of information being poured into my head is just the beginning. There's something out there that's sent a piece of itself into our world and it's for a purpose that I have yet to identify."
"So, you're aware… of the others?" Rebecca asked, a bit shocked with her tone.
"What 'others'?" Annette asked, genuinely baffled by this new tangent.
Contessa then placed two photos on the table as Annette pulled them over to her to see.
It was a photo of two girls. One that she was very familiar with, and the other that was in a pitiful, and painful state of being.
"The ambient energies that you passed on to us with that device attached allowed us to pinpoint these two individuals within the Anomalous Haze that's seemed to envelop this city. We've already kept watch on Amy Dallon weeks before due to the burst of errant electromagnetic frequencies that surged at the time of her own hospitalization, but your device seemed to corroborate the theory that what we're facing is something that's basically unknown to the pool of knowledge we have, currently." Rebecca explained.
"And the other?" Annette asked as she looked over the other photo.
"Subject, Sarah Livsey is one that we're keeping an eye on extensively. Mostly because the bubble and aura of the energy detected by your device is much more saturated with her. We assumed that she was the source of the anomalous haze, but we can't actually verify it because again, we're treading into a phenomenon that we have no experience nor understanding of… until you, apparently."
"I see…"
Before Annette could say anything further, Costa Brown audibly sighed and conjoined both her hands on the table as she leaned closer to Annette's position.
"Look, I'm going, to be frank, I'm not one that easily trusts sudden, almost spontaneous developments on the scale of something that I'm very much concerned about. We have experts, the kind that trumps most of the world's understanding of where powers come from but even they are scratching their heads. The only man that had the resources and brains to actually think outside of the box and manage to quickly discern and synthesize such questions was lost years ago."
"Hero." Annette guessed.
"Yes…" Rebecca said as she bit her lip. The tone of that affirmation had a degree of guilt within it before the woman continued. "…we have Contessa of course, and based on how quickly you can make sense of things, you understand that for her to be stumped, then it means something is at play within the shadows… and the only person that can give us a glimpse into that… is you."
"I understand."
"Do acknowledge, however, Mrs. Hebert, that if we drag you into this, you must be accepting of what's at stake," Contessa warned, almost stiffly as Rebecca nodded along.
Annette however, despite her worry merely kept a straight face. "I've objectively seen worse. I don't think you have anything that can surprise me."
The answer intrigued the two women.
"But… I will ask for a favor. If… If I accept this, I will need assurance on one titular thing."
Rebecca's eyes narrowed. "Go on…"
"I don't wish for any sort of grand thing… just the safety of my family. Both my daughter and husband are very dear to me… and I… with the new clarity to my senses and memories, I wish for them to live."
"That can be arranged, but you do know that you have to keep this all to yourself?" Rebecca asked.
"Oh yes, but if you are willing to bargain any sort of investment, then I am confident my daughter can be of use. She has talent, and a degree of finesse and understanding that one day she'll be very good at finishing whatever I started." Annette said, with a sheen of pride in her voice.
"You are not going to die, Mrs. Hebert. You are far too important than you realize." Contessa assured.
"Oh no, I'm very determined to live with this second life I garnered. I love my family too much to be gloomy and cynical. I'm just stating that you do have to invest some degree of trust in Taylor, for I'm quite sure she will break even your own expectations." Annette cheerfully said.
"Hm." Rebecca hummed as she looked at Contessa who nodded in affirmation. "Very well, if Contessa agrees, then we might look into it."
"Splendid! Now… before we go in-depth to the problem you said, I do have proposals to you both in accordance with the anomaly you have informed me about, as well as solutions to your little vial problem."
Rebecca froze. "H-How… how are you aware of that?"
"How soon can we see better results with the testing?" Contessa interrupted.
"Oh, I assume it was you who sent that to our mail two days ago then? Well, I already have theories based on the data I garnered from the sample you shared." Annette said as Contessa nodded at her words.
"Contessa, you didn't-
"I have full confidence in Mrs. Hebert's ability. The outcomes within the Path, at least those that are discernible, have a high degree of certainty in success in regard to her projects. This outcome was necessary." Contessa explained as Annette narrowed her eyes with a small frown.
"Hm, I've yet to pinpoint what it is that makes you special."
"And I have confidence that you will in time, Mrs. Hebert," Contessa said, making Annette smile as Rebecca was now lost as to how this conversation pivoted this way.
"Does this mean, that-
"Yes, Miss Costa Brown, I guessed that you were Alexandria," Annette said making Rebecca shocked and surprised.
"How?" the woman asked, completely clueless.
Before Annette could answer, however, she quickly smiled as she saw her daughter at the doorway holding a notebook. "Taylor honey, were you listening in?"
Rebecca almost panicked before Contessa placed her hand on top of hers.
"S-Sorry, I was just going to serve everybody's tea." Taylor shamefully said.
"Well, why are you holding a notebook? You want to get an autograph?" Annette asked, almost teasing Rebecca who was looking at Contessa who seemed undisturbed about all of this.
"Uh… if I can?" Taylor asked.
The entire meeting continued on without issue as Annette started discussing with her new 'allies' about things that were relevant for the future. She was satisfied for the most part that it all went smoothly on her end, and she had another assurance that her family would be safe.
This was step two…
And hopefully, she would never have to leave another group of people she considered as family again. More so now, when she actually had a daughter and husband to go back to.
"Eat, Miss Livsey," Colin said as he watched the young girl stare at her meal.
She was still bedridden, but given that she was now responsive and conscious, they had to make sure that she could get all the help she needed, to an extent.
"Why?"
"You need it to recover. While your current state has made it difficult for us to ascertain the proper steps needed for your situation, we are not so cruel to leave you out like this."
"Why?" the girl asked again, making Colin inwardly sigh. It's been a while now since they were extensively watching the girl, more so with the suicidal thoughts that seemed to plague her due to the trauma from the event of her maiming, but Colin was just not used to dealing with something like this.
Miss Militia was currently unavailable, as well as Battery. Assault had tried, but even he could not get to this girl, who was formerly Tattletale of the Undersiders. It was left to him as watch duty for at least five more hours.
"Miss Livsey, I am trying here, but please, just for the sake of your health, I need you to eat."
The girl frowned before she slowly and near-mechanically raised her burnt head and face to face Colin's own. Despite having seen the worst that humanity could achieve with the experience he had on the field, the look on Miss Livsey's face and the injuries she had still made him pause.
"Why… why are you keeping me here? Like I'm some damn lab rat?"
"It's for your-
"Don't give me that bullshit. The fact that they're allowing you all to freely talk to me means that you're perfectly confident that I'm not a threat to you all, or that I'm not going to spout some Thinker nonsense freely into the air."
"I don't understand what you're getting at," Colin said, a bit disturbed.
"My power's gone, isn't it? That's why you're so interested… that's why you're so intrigued… because there's something you don't understand that's going on around me. There's something there that's making you all feel nervous about."
"I am not inclined nor authorized to answer that question," Colin stressed. Mostly in defiance of the taunt, but also because he was disturbed at how cold and unfeeling the look on the burnt, horrifying face the girl had against him. How intense her entire stare was. It was unnerving.
"I know…" the girl ominously said.
Colin merely sighed as he stood up and gave his farewell. As he left the room, he did not notice that Miss Livsey reached for the wild strand of hair that he left on the table as she curled that tiny piece into her fingers.
A frown was still on her face, but if memory served, she knew that this entire venture would not last long.
AN: Vicky chapter next time! With hugs and therapy.