A/N: Thanks to Two Pence for betareading and pointing out a few plot holes.

Here's a snippet of a scene from 2.5 that got cut because I felt the chapter was already a little dialog heavy, but was originally something of an introduction to Shadow Stalker.

Vista glared. "We don't know who she is or what she wants. Bad as they were, Lung and Oni Lee never executed a child. I doubt we can catch her alive. She deserves a kill order."

"Aww, look whose adorable little balls just dropped," said Shadow Stalker in a mocking voice, grinding her hand on top of Missy's head. "But you're still clueless if you're trying to get revenge for your imaginary boyfriend. The Undersiders are a bunch of queefs, but now that they've got Everywhere on their side fighting them is fucking retarded. Make no mistake, she could've killed us far more easily than she did Oni Lee. We're only alive due to her mercy. In the savannah, the lion eats the gazelle, in business, the big company eats the little company, in school, the popular bully the friendless. It's a law of nature that the strong eat the weak and the cape world is no exception. Relative to the rest of the Undersiders we're predators, but relative to Everywhere we're prey. Cry about it all you want little girl. It's the way the world works. You see Everywhere, don't fight her, run as fast as your stubby little legs can carry you."

ooOoo

And now. Onto the show.

ooOoo

"Congratulations, Everywhere," said Bakuda calmly, her mask blurry despite the Undersider's state-of-the-art 240p television. Four beautiful blonde women were strapped to chairs behind her, as well as two brown-haired men built like superheroes, all their mouths gagged and covered in duct tape. They were in a large empty theater, the spotlight on Bakuda. "You beat me. You stole my gang. You disarmed my bomb. But the bomb was a… not a trap, but more of a calculated gamble, a sacrifice to entice you to show your hand. The Protectorate doesn't have anyone who could reliably discern the bomb's location, but there is one particular parahuman in the city who could, who wants to see me destroyed, who fucking saved your ass when I had you at my fucking mercy. Brockton Bay know this, Tattletale has infiltrated the PRT, and manipulated Vista and Clockblocker like puppets."

Tattletale cackled, but her arm held steady. I felt Amy tremble.

"To Armsmaster, Director Piggot, and Chief Director Costa-Brown," said Bakuda. "I am willing to negotiate. We have a mutual enemy. My actions were bad, I admit it, but I had little choice. Everywhere murdered Lung, and I still don't know why. She didn't give warning, she didn't make demands, she just attacked. Then she executed Oni Lee on national television, along with a little girl. Just this evening, I got word from the Empire. A few hours ago, she killed Purity unprovoked."

Regent, Tattletale, and Bitch cheered.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," said Grue, putting a toned arm on his forehead. "Jesus fucking Christ."

"The Undersiders are no normal gang," said Bakuda. "They mean to take over the entire city. My first condition is that you kill her.

"My second condition is that you allow me to leave this shitstain of a city. You think I ever gave a fuck about the ABB? Fucking look at me. What Asian has blue eyes? Lung recruited me, how the hell was I supposed to say no? I've done some horrible things, but only under orders or to defend myself against a supervillain straight out of the Slaughterhouse."

"In return for meeting your conditions, I'll take care of your true enemies. Not Everywhere, even though she took everything from me, even though she's an unstable serial killer with delusions of grandeur, even though she's taken half the Asians in Brockton Bay hostage, even though she's more dangerous than Jack Slash himself. No, not her. Enough games. We all know your true enemy. The only one that really matters.

"Give me fifty million dollars and I'll create a bomb that can kill Leviathan. I know you want it. That's why you haven't put a kill order on me. It's why Eidolin hasn't come to pay me a visit. Hehehehe… Hahaha… That's why you're leaving me hanging, right? Just enough hope for me to second trig- HAHAHAHAHA! HOLY FUCKING SHIT! You fucking wanted this didn't you? The terror! That's good. That's fucking good. I thought Lung and Everywhere were twisted, they don't hold a candle to the real fucking monsters. Okay, okay, well played PRT, well played. You want terror? You want the next Eidolin? I'll help."

Bakuda chuckled sadistically, and signaled to her servants to ungag the members of New Wave, pointing a finger at each of them in turn. "Anyone want to beg? Turn on their family? Who knows? I might just listen."

New Wave glared at her in silent defiance.

Bakuda pointed at each of them in turn. "Eeny, meeny, miny you."

Lady Photon was wheeled out in front of her. Her body was limp. But she was conscious. Her mouth could move.

"You're pathetic," said Lady Photon, her eyes cold as ice. "Full of excuses. Begging."

"Are those your last words?" Asked Bakuda easily.

"You're going to die," said Lady Photon.

Bakuda took a few steps back.

"You're going to fucking die," said Lady Photon. Her body started to grow. In seconds she was morbidly obese, with no signs of her expansion slowing. "You're… Gonna… no… NO MORE! STOP! STOP!"

Her brave words devolved into screams of pain. Agony. A primordial fear. Until her body had expanded so much she collapsed in on herself.

"Perhaps we should turn off the television," said Tattletale softly, one arm raised to Amy's back.

"Or at least let Tattletale put that thing away," said Grue. "It's… unprofessional."

"No," I said.

Amy quivered. "No."

Bakuda quipped, "You probably can't smell it through the television, but she totally shit herself before she croa-"

"I'll fucking kill you!" Cried Glory Girl, her blue eyes glistening with tears. "I'll fucking kill you! I'll fucking kill you!"

Brandish's scream was so rage-filled, so incoherent, that I doubted even she knew what she was trying to say.

"You have my conditions," said Bakuda pleasantly, her henchmen gagging Brandish and Glory Girl. "Every hour you make me wait, I'll kill one more. Let's snake the order. I just killed a Pelham. The next two will be Dallons."

Tattletale turned off the television with a remote, but to her credit she never lowered the arm protecting me, never let her aim wander from Amy. "The order will be Carrol, then Victoria. If we kill her, all the hostages die instantly."

"Fucking awesome," said Regent. "I wonder what she'll do next."

"She's an idiot," I said, partly to reassure Amy, but also because it was true. "She's revealing more about her powers than she has to. She's copied Panacea's power, and I've seen her copy Vista's. We've got to be on the lookout for a bomb that teleports them, or maybe a bomb that always makes you tell the truth."

"Exactly," said Tattletale. "She's still putting her own personal fame over being pragmatic. That's an exploitable weakness."

"Fucked up," said Bitch stiffly.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Grue told Amy.

What a terrible thing to say! Sure condolences could be nice, but not in the middle of a mission. As long as you had a goal in front of you, it was easy enough to put your personal feelings aside and focus on what to do next.

"Thanks," Amy sniffed. She took her hand off me, and I moved my left arm experimentally. Good as new.

Tattletale holstered the gun she'd had pointed at Amy's head.

"I c-can make a plague," said Amy. "S-something that will paralyze her. S-something airborne. I c-can make it so she doesn't realize what's happening."

"How long would it take to work?" I asked.

"Fifteen minutes after exposure," said Amy. "That's the fastest it could work without being detectable."

"Too slow," I said. "You think she's going to see people dropping and not realize what's happening? She kidnapped your family, she expects an attack from you. She's baiting you, just like she did the rest of New Wave when she attacked their homes. We'd have to get right next to her for the thing to work, and at that point there are easier ways to take her out. You'd be better served just making her braindead with your power."

"M-my power doesn't work quickly enough," said Amy. "She'd have enough time to detonate all I've got left of my family… My sister."

"Too bad," I said. "Bakuda can do more harm than your family could do good. We need to prioritize killing her before she can do more damage. We let her go, it'll just embolden her- and next time she'll be threatening the entire country."

"I'm with Panacea," said Grue. "If we're going to take down Bakuda anyway we might as well save New Wave. They'll owe us one. As I see it, we're gonna need some allies after this."

"Ames, Ames, Ames," said Tattletale. "You know I got your back. Having Glory Hole owe me her life- that just sounds hilarious."

"I'm with neither of you," said Regent. "Let Bakuda and the PRT fight it out. We're not getting paid for this, it's a needless risk."

"Regent's right," said Bitch. "Shit's stupid."

"You know she can heal your dog's right?" Asked Tattletale.

"Right," said Bitch. "Changing my vote. With Panacea."

How the fuck had Tattletale gotten Bitch to agree with her? Whatever, I'd been outvoted. So now we didn't just need to sneak past both the PRT and Bakuda's defenses, we'd also have to wait fifteen minutes undetected for the plague to do its work. Why not make an impossible mission more impossible? That was sarcasm by the way, I was firmly opposed to making long odds even longer.

"Fine," I said. Amy's plague was our only chance to stop Bakuda subtly enough to prevent her from detonating her bombs and wiping out New Wave. Did I think it would actually work? No. Did I think the reward was worth the risk? No. This was one of many reasons group projects were bullshit, you had to go along with the idiotic ideas your partners came up with. Guess it was up to me to turn that F into a C-. Wahoo. I turned to Tattletale. "Where's Bakuda?"

"Immaculata High," said Tattletale, smirking. "She's going after every high school in the city. She figures she'll hit yours eventually."

Should I just tell Bakuda I went to Winslow? No. I wasn't about to give her any help unmasking me.

"We need a way to get on the roof," I said. "Enter the ventilation shaft. Make sure Bakuda is the first inoculated by our plague. Then…"

I went over the plan, changing it based on suggestions from everyone in the group, until we had a plan that everyone could agree on. Five votes yes, and one performative no, used to lull me into a false sense of security. The group could never truly go against Tattletale's wishes, no matter how much she tried to convince me otherwise.

"It's a good start," said Tattletale. "But it could use more revision. There's got to be another way. Maybe we should go back to your old idea of straight up murdering her. Don't you think we're crossing a line here? Frankly, I'm uncomfortable with this."

"Frankly I don't care," I said. Nor did she. Not really. If she actually cared, her manipulations would be better. This was another ploy, to try and make her seem less powerful, more controllable, as if she weren't the true master of the undersiders.

"And don't even try and talk your way out of it," said Regent. "You and your democratic process just got me shanked, and has me going on another retarded mission, so I really don't want to hear it."

"They're right," said Grue. "The votes are in; the plan's a go."

Tattletale scowled. "Surprising. Y'know, I can normally count on you to be a pussy. What happened? Trying to impress Everywhere, show her you're a big strong man? Or maybe it's because it's not your ass on the line?"

"I'm going to forgive you for that one," said Grue. "You're upset. We get it. But you're the only one who can go undercover, and we're going to need a mole for this to work."

"Always the professional," said Tattletale. "Always have to act like you're in control. Truth is you're more uncomfortable with this than I am- just wanna look good in front of your cru-"

Grue covered up her mouth with a large gloved hand. He easily maneuvered Tattletale into a firm hold; pressing her against his broad body with powerful arms. Fucking bitch, she hadn't been trying to manipulate me, she'd just been running her mouth so Grue would have an excuse to touch her. It was a little unprofessional, but I'd have traded places with her in a second.

The plan was fairly simple. Amy would create an airborne plague confined in an electric spray bottle and inoculate us with its cure. The plague would first induce a calm stupor in the victim, and then transition to permanent paralysis. The process would take about fifteen minutes. In order to avoid tipping off Bakuda, we would release the spray bottle in a ventilation shaft above her room. Hopefully, by the time she noticed what was happening she would be paralyzed. Once Bakuda was caught and killed, and our safe retreat secured, we would have Amy release a more transmissible cure for her plague.

After Amy had provided us with immunity to her plague and Tattletale had thrown a hissy fit about being touched, I made the necessary preparations that would ensure the success of our mission. Nothing big. I just made some minor modifications to the RC car. Better safe than sorry.

Grue cornered me just before we left, grabbing me with a large hand. Unlike Regent, he had a man's body. If not for my power, I might have found him intimidating rather than attractive. Of course, if he asked me out and I hadn't known he was a supervillain, I'd still have probably said yes.

"No pointless fights," said Grue, the tension in his broad shoulders visible even through the thick leather of his costume. "I don't want to end up taking on half the protectorate because Armsmaster looked at you funny."

What?

"I don't start fights," I said. I was a good person. I wasn't going to abuse my powers like some bullshit bully. Besides, I was the perpetual victim. Maybe with my powers I'd started to grow a bit of a spine, but it wasn't anything stable. I didn't like confrontation, it wasn't in my nature, even this conversation was making me a little uncomfortable.

"Lung, Oni Lee, Puri-"

"All villains," I said, a little irritated at the waste of a conversation, when I really needed to be focusing on the mission.

"The Wards," said Grue. "Kid Win, Gallant, Aegi-"

"To lure out the ABB," I said. "Violent, but purposeful."

"Right," said Grue. "So your argument that you're not bloodthirsty is that you only took out the Wards so you could have a deathmatch with Oni Lee?"

"Leading to less fighting in the long run," I said. "I think with all that the old ABB has done, even my harshest critics would admit that they deserved everything I gave them."

"The plan was to rob the bank, draw some attention, and teleport the heroes into the containment foam," Grue nagged. "Not almost kill them and risk a kill order."

Tattletale was right- Grue was kind of a pussy. Bit annoying too, sitting on the sideline, pointing out all the little downsides of my adjustments that had ultimately brought Oni Lee to justice. As if any mission would go perfectly in the real world. As if violence and fear weren't what made the world go round. Yeah, go ahead and suggest that we try and save Brockton Bay using love and compassion. Rehabilitation and second chances. Sounds good; works like shit though. A soft approach like that just enables bullying and worse.

"My stamps will be occupied with Bakuda," I said. "Unless you think I can make an RC car dangerous, you've got nothing to worry about."

Grue stared at me for a moment. Then sighed. "Fair enough. You're a lot of things, but you're not stupid."

Or defenseless. I stifled a smirk. I hadn't even outright lied. Could I make an RC car dangerous? Of course. But unlike what Grue was implying it wasn't so I could start a fight with the Protectorate. It was insurance more than anything. Sure the plan was about stealth more than anything. But what if we were discovered? I had to be prepared for that eventuality. Ironically, being ready for a fight would give me the reassurance I'd need to make sure that one didn't actually happen.

We took a ride on one of Coil's vans to get within a few blocks of Imaculata High. I stamped a drone, and Grue covered it in his darkness. Tattletale flew the drone onto the roof of the highschool, and we waited.

"Innocent, innocent Everywhere," said Tattletale. "What would your mother think of you if she saw you now? Do you think she would be proud? Impressed by what you're doing?"

Thanks Emma. Couldn't have ignored her without you.

"She wouldn't," said Tattletale. She smiled sadistically. "She'd have seen you for what you were. But your father? He's on your side, Taylor. You could tell him who you really are, tell him how you're really doing everything to save the city and he'd buy it. He'd be on your side no matter what. Y'know, like Alan."

My stamp sense flared, and I teleported one of Bakuda's henchmen to us. Grue covered the balding man's head in darkness, Regent took him down with his taser, and Amy knocked him out with a touch. She studied his face closely.

"No," said Tattletale. "C'mon guys! C'mon, this isn't right! This violates God's will- turning something so pretty into something so ugly. C'mon Regent, you really want your eye candy turning into that slob?"

"I dunno," said Regent gleefully, nodding at the skinny, middle-aged, balding, very ugly asian man. "It'll be nice for your outside to finally match your inside."

"Fuck!" said Tattletale. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Okay fine. But after this, you'd better not fucking question my loyalty ever again Taylor. Never. You fucking owe me!"

She and Amy disappeared into the van.

"Bask your eyes on the perfection that is my body," said Tattletale, her voice only slightly muffled by the van. "I give you full permission to lewd out, go full pervert. Go on, give my perfect tits a squeeze… Yeah, I knew you wouldn't say no to that- wanna pay me back- remember every fucking detail on this work of art and I'll let you have another go at 'em. The perfect proportions, the lithe muscles, the slim waist, the enchanting blue eyes, and the calves, you've gotta admit I've got great calves. But you'd better fucking get my smile right, capische?"

A few minutes later, Tattletale and Amy got out of the van. For a second I felt a pang of sympathy. For all her mind games I did owe her one. She'd taken on a near exact appearance of the ugly asian man.

She shot me with her familiar vulpine smile. "Aww look, are you starting to trust me? Almost makes it worth it. Almost. Seriously, fuck you for this." Her voice was deeper, sounded like a man's, but no matter what, Tattletale was still Tattletale. I'd recognize her anywhere, no matter her appearance.

I gave Tattletale Regent's RC car. I'd taped a few things onto it, some nails, a box of tacks, and a couple tiny plastic bags filled with vinegar and baking soda, but nothing that should make much of a difference.

I teleported myself, Grue, and Tattletale onto the roof of the school. Grue covered us in darkness, I replaced the stamp on the drone with one on the RC Car, teleported Grue and myself back to the rest of the Undersiders, and left Tattletale to complete the most important part of the mission. Next we needed to provide a distraction. To that end we would launch a moronic and counterproductive frontal assault on Bakuda's forces. Well, all of us aside from Regent, he'd be trailing us, hiding behind some cars in a nearby parking lot. Unfortunately, one of my stamps was tied to the rc car, and I couldn't replace it until Tattletale gave me the signal. That meant I couldn't teleport, couldn't fly, couldn't banish my enemies, couldn't redirect their attacks, all I could do was summon the things I'd attached to the rc car. I was as defenseless as I'd been since I'd gotten my powers.

As expected, we were stopped by the Protectorate as soon as we reached a near-empty school parking lot which was still a few hundred feet from Immaculata High's front doors. Armsmaster in his famous blues; Miss Militia in her legendary greens; Velocity, Battery, Assault, Sere, Triumph, and Dauntless. The heros were all here. The Brockton Bay Protectorate. The Wards sans Aegis. Kid Win manning a turret of containment foam atop a PRT van. All the heroes in the city, all the parahumans I actually respected- the ones who wanted to use their powers to make the world a better place. Unlike the Undersiders, these were true allies, not ones of convenience. I wasn't awestruck or tongue-tied like a Greg Veder would have been, hell like an Emma would have been, we were all just capes. Sure I'd once had Armsmaster's underwear, but it wasn't like he was Alexandria. He was just another bully, and even then, he was nothing compared to Lung.

He wasn't even that tall, although I could admit that he still had the smile that had made him my first crush- but I'd been younger then, more foolish. I was different now, I was a cape too, and I'd fought and beaten capes that he hadn't. As intimidating as I found them, they probably found me just as intimidating. Surprisingly, they actually did seem a little nervous, had I actually gained a bit of a rep?

Yeah, yeah Tay, sure. Their trepidation had nothing at all to do with Bitch's fully transformed dogs behind me, it was big, bad scary Taylor Hebert they were afraid of. Ha! Keep telling yourself that. Maybe if you do it enough somebody will actually beli-

An almost ethereal form streaked away from us, more like a frightened hare made of shadow than an actual person. She'd been one of the vulnerable ones anyways- foolish enough not to wear armor. Sere, Velocity, Battery, Assault, and Vista were similarly vulnerable. Browbeat didn't wear armor, but had regeneration. Armsmaster and Triumph had possibly exploitable holes in their armor.

"Shadow Stalker, get back here," said Armsmaster, but she was already gone. Armsmaster spun on Grue. "Treachery! Sabotage! I thought I'd made it clear at Somer's Rock that any interference in our operation would be considered an act of aggression."

Grue held up his hands. "Understood, but one of our members has personal stakes in the mission. We couldn't ignore what was happening. Sir, listen. If you could work with Panacea we could create an airborne plague which could knockout Bakuda, and allow us to capture her without setting off her deadman's switch."

Armsmaster's smirk would have been right at home on Emma. "You must've prepared something in advance. You wouldn't come here empty handed. You've already completed a rudimentary plague, haven't you?"

I elbowed Amy to keep her mouth shut.

"Of course," said Amy, like a naive child. She showed him our motorized spray bottle. "The plague currently takes fifteen minutes to paralyze. But that's primarily because the bacteria need time to replicate once they're in the system. With a more effective transmission system, we could reduce the time to seconds."

"I see," said Armsmaster smugly. "You've truly become a villain. Threatening the city, no the entire world, with bioterrorism."

"It's n-not like that," said Amy. "They have my sister!"

"Ahh yes, the sister you mastered," said Armsmaster. "You're more terrifying than your teammate Hijack. But your abilities as a master are irrelevant. The Protectorate has a kill order set to trigger should you create anything that self-replicates. As I see it, the greatest threat to the city isn't Bakuda. It isn't even Squirter. It's you."

Amy started to break down. "I was- I'm just trying to help! I just want to save people! I just want to be a good person!"

"Sir," said Battery. "With all due respect, this is Panacea. Should we really be turning down her help? She's the most powerful healer in North America- and you're all but forcing her into villainy!"

"Irrelevant," said Armsmaster. "I don't care how powerful she is, I don't care about her sob story, she broke one of our most important laws."

"To save her fucking family!" said Battery, her voice a little louder.

"Pressure," said Armsmaster. "Is no excuse. Every criminal thinks they're doing the right thing. Every criminal has their rationalizations. Perhaps some are truly deserving of our sympathy. But it isn't about them. It's about the people they hurt, the damage their actions cause. Now. Team. Let's arrest these villains. Lethal force is permitted against Panacea. Do whatever it takes to get that plague from her before she has the chance to release it."

"Boss," said Assault. "Are you sure this is really the right time for this? Don't we have bigger things to worr-"

He was cut off by a chilling scream and a blinding light. The scream had been full of pain, anger, but most of all terror. A cry full of weakness. Death robbed even the proudest of their dignity.

Bakuda had executed Brandish.

Amy's eyes misted, but she said nothing.

"Arrest them," said Armsmaster. His team didn't move. "Nothing has changed. Arrest them!"

I waited for Grue to capitalize on the weakness in their ranks. Sow dissent. He didn't.

I took the spray bottle full of Panacea's plague and stepped up.

"Another dead hero," I said. "Whatever we think of each other, Bakuda is worse. She needs to be our first priority. Once we've taken her down, freed New Wave, you can come at us like we're the new Slaughterhouse. But for now… Truce?"

"You already ignored one truce," said Armsmaster. "Under normal circumstances villain on villain violence would be the least of my concerns. But today? Squirter, you broke the truce by killing Purity. You're going to the Birdcage."

"She attacked first." I said. "Slaughtering us. I had to defend my people. You go to the Docks, near the boat graveyard, you'll see her corpse surrounded by all the people she murdered. The men… the women… the elderly… children."

"Self-defense? Perhaps," said Armsmaster. "Unlike you, I respect the law. Come quietly Squirter, and I'll look into the matter myself."

Funny how the more I saw of the Protectorate- of any authority really- the less I thought of them. How many fucking Principal Blackwells, Mr Gladlys, and fucking Armsmasters would fucking treat me like garbage, until I just turned fully and became a villain for fucking real? Maybe it wasn't because being a hero really sucked that most capes went villain- maybe it was because they wanted to do some good and becoming a 'so-called' hero would get in the way of that. I was fucking tired of everyone assuming the worst of me. Not believing me! Why the fuck would I lie? They should've known, they should've fucking believed me for one single fucking-

Clockblocker. Tick tock, his armor was covered in so much ash I almost hadn't recognized him, but he was here, between Vista and Aegis.

"Clockblocker was with me," I said. "He can attest to everything I was saying. Tell them. Tell them I was trying to save people. Tell them I'm not an enemy."

Clockblocker stared at me. Tilted his head as if he was confused. What was there to think about?

No… No, no, no.

I knew his answer before he even said it.

"Last I saw her was at the bank," said Clockblocker.

And there it was. Betrayed. Again. I supposed I deserved it. That's what I got for trusting someone.

For putting my fucking faith in a 'hero'.

I threw my head back and laughed and laughed and laughed.

Surprisingly, they didn't attack me in my moment of weakness. My enemies stared at me. Couldn't read their expressions through their masks. Not that I'd have been able to understand without them. I just didn't get people. I never would.

"She's self-righteous and delusional," said Clockblocker. "That's why she's so effective, because she doesn't even have the restraint of a Lung or a Kaiser. She'll kill anyone who gets in her ways. Villains like Purity, heroes like us, even children. I'm sure she thinks she's doing the right thing, I'm sure she can sound convincing, that she can take advantage of people looking for guidance. But beneath the idealism is an insatiable hunger for power. Things need to be run her way, and she doesn't give a shit about all the corpses it'll take to make that happen. Bakuda is nothing. Everywhere is the real threat. We've got to take her out. Here. Now."

Battery and Assault stepped down. Bought Clockblocker's words, bent the knee to the power-abusing bullshit bully Armsmaster, and readied themselves for the fight.

I'd explained myself to Clockblocker. He'd told me not to kill myself. He'd asked me to join the fucking Wards! I thought he was different! I thought he actually fucking cared!

Hehehehe…

Maybe I was a little intimidating. Maybe just a little. He must not have thought he could take me… Oh who was I kidding? Why was I lying to myself? I knew why he'd done it. Afterall, it was a lesson my best friend had so lovingly taught me. Such an easy lesson, one I should have learned a long, long time ago.

I was unlovable. I was despicable. Any kindness I received was a lie, a manipulation.

Betrayal was inevitable.

"Could I have ever been a hero?" I found myself asking, my whisper almost drowned out by freshly sprouted maple leaves rustling in the breeze. "If I'd turned myself in after Lung, could I have been a Ward?"

"Yes," said Battery. "There's always a place for anyone who wants to hel-"

"No," said Armsmaster, grimacing. "And for that I'm truly sorry. Did you think your asinine codename was a coincidence? Do you think I would ever call you Squirter except under orders? There is no place for you in the protectorate. There never was. And based upon your actions, I have to commend Chief Director Costa-Brown's reading on the two of you. Whatever your circumstances, whatever your rationalizations, you're using your powers to hurt people. You are villains."

The distance between us shrunk to nothing, Clockblocker froze Panacea, and Grue covered us in darkness.