Charlie yawned as she sat up and stretched, enjoying hearing the familiar pop as her muscles protested at the sudden movement. She felt stiff like she'd been in bed far far too long and more importantly she was hungry. She rolls out of bed and scratches her stomach as her feet hit the ground and she slowly makes her way to the door opening. Her eyes snap open as she's met with a loud bark and the pitter patter of Arte and Wolfgang trying to bring her to the ground so they could shower her with affection.

"I missed you guys too—but they wouldn't let me bring you guys along! You guys don't do well with other dogs and the—" Charlie finally opened her eyes and took in her surroundings, she was home. And even though she's starving, she simply sits and just enjoys the unconditional love of her two pets.

"They've been sleeping in front of your door for the past three days." Quinn said looking at her twin and smiling at her, "Welcome back."

"Three days? No wonder I'm fucking starving, where's mom?" Charlie questioned. She was feeling like something good, maybe a nice steak dinner. No, she wouldn't just be satisfied with a steak, she needed something more substantial. "All the bacon wrapped cherries," Charlie decides. "And while she's working on that I think I'll order an extra large pizza with triple bacon and double pepperoni. And like all the wings. Plus like all the soda." She thinks for a second. "But not diet soda."

Quinn rolled her eyes and helped Charlie up, "It's just you and me right now, the entire family is off cleaning up your mess."

Charlie paused for a moment, "I did save the world right? Or at least America right? That wasn't just some fever dream?"

Quinn studied her twin for a bit, "No it wasn't a fever dream, you did it you saved the world, or at least New York. I mean the casualty numbers are in and only 4000 people died."

A frown crossed Charlie's face, "I—"

Quinn holds up her hand, "It didn't land in an populated area, and after you got involved the fatality rate was zero. That's what the media is focusing on. The Seven stepped up, the 4 Horsewomen, large parts of our military and you were the one that stopped it," Quinn smiled at Charlie who still looked rather baffled. "By the way, as your identical twin, I feel like I should get some of your merchandising money. It's also my face."

Charlie rolled her eyes, "You were already set to get 25% Quinn. I mean I don't know why I'm being that generous, I'm the one doing all the work. And besides it's not like I'm actually going to make any money until—"

"Charlie, in the past three days you've become the richest young hero in the country. Forbes wants to interview you for their 30 under 30 series, Times is already publishing a piece, you're on the cover picture of Charlotte kneeling before you. The White House has called dad like a million times. The Mayor of Lima, New York City, and LA want to give you the keys to the city. Then there's the endorsement deals, the movie right deals, the autobiography oh and you know that interview that you did, well guess who was forced to eat crow." Quinn smirked. "I recorded it for you."

Charlie's lip quirks upward for a moment, it did seem like something she and Quinn would enjoy doing talking shit about someone who had wronged them but she just felt exhausted, and hungry. Mostly it was hunger. "I thought mom would be here, she's always here when I wake up, she always knows when I'm about to wake up too."

Quinn paused for a moment, "I mean if you want I can text Frannie—"

"No. It's been awhile since it's just been the two of us. How's Aunt Cass?"

"Well, grandad had to bail her out after she nearly killed Charlotte Flair, like she legit whipped her ass and aired the 4 Horsewomen business out in public so there will probably be senate hearings. They forced you into that situation, once mom found out she wanted blood. But I mean other than you know an assault charge she's fine. Personally, I doubt anything is going to stick, considering you know she's your aunt and she was pissed that they didn't keep you safe. It was classified as a level 5 threat. Doomsday is what they're calling the thing."

Charlie shrugged and met Quinn's gaze, and rolled her eyes. Quinn was as subtle as getting hit in the fucking face. "I'm sure the entire world wants answers. I don't know how, I did what I did, all I remember was knowing that I had to save Aunt Cass and that helped me overcome the fact I nearly pissed myself. Next thing I know I just sort of understood, saw the world working, I could feel—I don't know how to describe it but I wished in that moment you were there to help me contain it and it just—" Charlie shrugged her shoulders. "It's very new."

Quinn hummed in response and grabbed a can of soda from the packet and shoves it towards Charlie who looks at her expectantly, "Oh come on. I'm curious."

There's a moment where Charlie stares at the can before pushing it back to Quinn, "I've got no energy left Quinn and my blood sugar is probably dangerously low. I can't work under these conditions."

Quinn tapped the can causing it to frost over, before shoving it back. "They're saying that you might be the world's first Level 6."

"Are you going to start being nice to me and doing whatever I say since I'm the famous and rich one?" Charlie questions as she opens the soda and drains it, she lets out a burp before flashing Quinn a grin.

"Gross." Quinn gags. "God no, I'm just making sure you're still going to be you, and that nothing has changed between the two of us."

"You're always going to be my twin, and my best friend Quinn, and my older sister. Though I do worry about you Quinn, how did you not know what dad does for a living?"

Quinn flushed, "Seriously, even you knew? How am I—how are you even okay with this? He does business—"

"He never tells me the details. After I kind of destroyed PVA's new training facility dad took me on a very long and very uncomfortable car ride. I understand the need and I'm grateful for it. I want to protect the masses, I don't want to be a weapon for the government."

Quinn was quiet, her father had managed to force Blanton Silver into kissing his ring, and if being a power player meant keeping the politicians honest, "The good thing about being the only level 6 means that I don't think the government will attempt to force you to do anything."

"Trick me, force my hand, I would rather be apolitical."

"What if I ran for president one day?"

"Why in the world would you want to be president?"

"Why in the world would you want to make a career of what you did three days ago?" Quinn fires back.

Charlie let out a laugh, "I like fighting, it's not all going to be Doomsday scenarios Quinn. You on the other hand hate people who are self-important, ignorant or condescending pricks not to mention you thrive on being a rule breaker. Thank god I managed to talk you out of that ironic tramp stamp."

"Yeah well I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. You cast a very big shadow and I want to be my own person. I think I've been trying to fix my codependent tendencies with Marley. I'm trying to fix all her problems." When Charlie flashes Quinn a knowing grin, she can't help but groan loudly. "You were right about that."

"And?" Charlie presses, wishing she had her phone so she could record this joyous occasion. Qinn was going to admit that she was indeed the more romantic twin.

"And, Santana's been texting me non-stop about your condition," Quinn smirked at her twin. But when Charlie doesn't take the bait Quinn groans, "Are you two dating now?"

"No, but I've planned our first date out. I'm going to whisk away and we're going to go to a secret fight club in New York, then once we win we're going to get some food, and flirt and then have like mind blowing sex, well for Santana anyway."

Quinn blinked at how proud Charlie seemed of her idea, and for once she didn't really have the urge to burst Charlie's bubble. She had saved the world after all. "I mean that sounds like a lot of fun actually."

"Yeah?" Charlie grinned pleased that Quinn hadn't immediately made fun of the idea. "I can probably afford to take Santana to a nice place right?"

"I mean I don't know, take a look at your bank account. I'll call mom and let the family know that you're awake and the weird energy field that was around you is gone."

Charlie reached for her phone before her head snapped up, "Wait what? What happened? What energy field?"

~ O ~

"I mean there are a lot of things that we can talk about this morning, but the world is buzzing, and waiting to hear from the hero of the hour. Charlie Fabray. I'm going to be frank, I was one of those people who doubted her readiness, who questioned if the hype was real, especially after her loss to Charlotte Flair, I'm a big enough man to say that I was wrong. And I'm so glad that I was wrong. Zero loss of life, from the moment she intervened, and the property damage? I mean while it would be nice to say that it was also zero, according to the latest reports, the damage that she caused incidentally was under a million dollars. That's unheard of."

"I mean she's simply astounding, I personally thought she was someone to watch in the future. I also underestimated her, I mean she's 17, I thought we'd hear about her exploits in a few years not a few months. The scary thing is I don't think she's even hit her prime. I mean it's only been less than two months, so either her growth is astounding, or she was holding back at Nationals."

"I think that it has to be the latter, I think there is a difference between what was supposed to be a friendly spar and a life and death situation." Joe jumps in shaking his head. "I mean there are some real questions about the 4 Horsewomen, and we'll probably get to that in the next segment, we have her current principal on video, for an interview."

"Welcome Principal Figgins, we should just get into it shouldn't we? What went through your mind while you were watching Charlie fight that monster?"

Figgins closes his eyes, "As an educator and I would like to think of a mentor for Charlie, I was worried sick. I never for once doubted that she had the strength to win, but I mean this was some sort of alien that we don't have any information about. Anything could have happened. I prayed, I was in my office praying that she would continue pushing my buttons in the fall."

"That sounds like so many other teens, what can you tell us about her personally?" Joe questions.

"She's an excellent student, and an even better leader. When I convinced her to join the Titans, she promised us a national championship and she delivered. She promised us that she'd beat Charlotte Flair, and I personally believe she did. She pushed Charlotte Flair like she hasn't been pushed before. And while the fight ended, when it did, I personally believe that can be considered as a win."

"I think I'm going to have to agree with that statement, with the poor sportsmanship that Charlotte Flair displayed—and can you imagine if that last attack had hit? The carnage if Charlotte had ended her career? She didn't even show her face—where was she?" Joe questions, shaking his head.

"Does it matter? Charlie is the future of heroics, and I am so grateful that she's a student at McKinley. Due to the commission's new eligibility rules, it's clear that she can't compete in her senior year, but we were expecting that. Charlie will be assisting Coach Beiste, we decided that was the best place for her. Coach Beiste assures me that another national championship run is in the cards for the team, and with Santana Lopez at the helm well I imagine you'll be interviewing me next year around this time."

The hosts laugh, "Well we look forward to it!"

"Santana Lopez, I mean she managed to keep the team together when Charlie was unjustly suspended, and from the rumors that are floating online—are they the next power couple? The next Maeve and Homelander?" Mika questions.

Figgins smiled, "I can't comment on the personal lives of my students, and I'm afraid with how teenagers are with all their hooking up, that information might be outdated."

~ O ~

"Do you need help?" Russell asked Judy who was zipping around the kitchen, when she gave him a look he held his hands up. "I can clean dishes and chop vegetables."

Judy narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, Russell had never once offered to help her make dinner, and his idea of feeding his children was a cheese sandwich with the crust still on. "I thought you were going to check on Charlie."

"She's brooding on the roof. I asked if she wanted company and she said sure but I have to find my own way onto the roof. Since I don't want to break my neck, I came inside. Is she okay?"

Judy looks up at the ceiling for a moment before sighing, "Quinn thinks she's fine, but I don't know if it's the two of them protecting each other. I don't want to be the bad guy Russell, but she is not going back to New York. I need you to back me up—"

"I mean I think your mother should have let Cassandra rip them apart, so we're on the same page here. I mean I don't think we should ban her from New York, but this sidekick nonsense we agree that they can't be trusted." Russell said, narrowing his eyes. The fury he had felt, when he had learned that this hadn't been an accident, that they had forced Charlie to intervene. "I didn't get there in time to pay Cassandra's bail, Shelby did that, but I am going to make sure that she doesn't face any consequences."

Judy nodded, she hadn't had time to thank Cassandra, but she would. Her sister had tried to keep her promise, and Charlie was fine. "I have so many questions but I don't want to overwhelm her. Maybe a family dinner isn't a good idea, and we should do something a bit smaller," she was worrying now.

"No, I think it's a perfect idea. None of us want anything from her, I mean except to be safe, and do well in school but we don't want her money, we don't want her for our own personal gain. She needs an anchor Judy, she needs family right now. Because at the end of the day, the four of them need to be close. Your parents, my parents, the two of us, we're not going to live forever."

Judy nodded, they agreed on that. It wasn't that she thought that the world was out to get them but she had spent the past two days not only worrying about her daughter, but doing research into agencies, and therapists. Charlie would need a professional to talk to, and it was a hill she was willing to die on. "Do you think that they'll want to test Quinn again?"

Russell shook his head, "They might want to, but the results will be the same. It's possible that the results would be the same for Charlie as well. She's already said that she can't do what Quinn does, at least not at this moment. And quite frankly, both Charlie and Quinn have shown that they are both incredibly dangerous, if and when they want to be."

Judy smiled that was true, "I mean it's always been White House Policy to not piss off my mother. It'll probably extend to the rest of the family."

~ O ~

"I hope it was worth it,"

Artemis tilted her head and looked at her eldest grandchild, she studied her for a moment before turning her attention back to the document she was reading. "I thought you believed I was babying her."

"I forced her to into a situation, that could have gone wrong—"

"I always knew that having a child would soften you Frannie, it's not an insult you were always so rigid." Artemis sighed when Frannie stared at her. "Do you think that I had something to do with this? That I somehow orchestrated all of this?"

Frannie scoffed, "Why ever would I think that, I see you're finally working on Quinn."

"She was moping around, and her father wanted to make things right with her. I merely facilitated it." Artemis said, tilting her head, "You're beginning to act like your aunt, finding hidden meanings in my actions to imply that I am some nefarious being."

"No, you didn't make me possibly send my youngest sister to her death. I did that, but Charlie being labeled as a level 6? You've wanted that to happen, you've been trying to make it happen." Frannie's mouth snaps shut and she immediately straightens herself out as her grandmother gives her a look, she was on thin ice. "She shouldn't have needed to face that alone."

"You could have fought alongside her, even if I wanted to see Charlie as a level 6, that doesn't mean that I would put her in danger. Certainly not in front of that thing. Every action I've taken was to do exactly as my granddaughter asked me to. She asked me to make her strong and I obliged. The fact that you and Cassandra question my methods doesn't change the fact that Charlie wanted this, she wanted to be a hero and we both made her strong. Charlie will overcome this Frannie, she needs time and understanding."

~ O ~

"I'm okay Shelby," Cassandra said with a small laugh, as Shelby fussed over her. "There's not even a scar. Rose does extremely good work," Cassandra says, touching where she'd been impaled. For a brief moment she was sure that she was going to die. She exits the car and looks at her sister's place for a moment.

"I don't think Judy's upset with you. I mean she wouldn't have invited you if she was," Shelby reminded her. "You did everything you could—"

"I got my ass kicked, I didn't do shit," Cassandra frowned and sighed. "I mean, my failure meant that the kid had to fight, and it turned out fine, and will probably turn out fine in the future, but what if it hadn't gone well? What if the kid had failed?"

"It still wouldn't have been your fault, and Judy's not mad at you."

"You don't—"

"She invited me without you asking if I could come," Shelby reminds Cassandra who finally quiets down and just listens to her. "Charlie's okay. And part of the reason why she's okay is thanks to you. That being said—"

"Hey Aunt Cass!"

Both Cassandra and Shelby look up to see Charlie standing on the roof waving at them. "What the fuck are you doing up there?"

"Brooding?" Charlie replies and takes a running leap before jumping off the roof and landing in front of them, "I'm sorry," Charlie said immediately, when Cassandra shoots her a confused look she clarifies. "I was scared, and I ran away and I just left you there—"

"Please I told you to run and you followed my orders and then you defied them, and saved my sorry ass. So, thanks. Also I was scared shitless of that thing, and it's breath was rancid." Cassandra said, brushing off Charlie's apology.

"Well, I still feel horrible, but maybe when I head back to New York—"

"You're not going back to New York. There is no way that you're going to be the sidekick to the 4 Horsewomen. Pretty sure they voided your contract with them regardless, I imagine your father is looking into it," Cassandra responds and before Charlie can add. "We can get your things, also there's a good chance that you get mobbed while you're in New York, so my advice is to stay away until people move onto the next big thing."

Charlie blinked, this was the first time she'd heard about that. Not that she wanted to go back to being a sidekick. "I mean I can still go to—you know," Charlie drops her voice and shoots a look at Shelby.

Shelby blinked and looked at Cassandra who looked baffled at Charlie's words. "I'm going to go say hello to your mother, thank her for inviting me." Charlie glances over at Shelby. "Rachel's coming with her dads, or at least one of them. I'm not a hundred percent sure, I was only half listening when they told me what they wanted to do today."

Cassandra racks her brain for a moment before remembering the only thing that would probably interest her. "Yeah, you can't go back to New York for fight club."

Shelby paused, "What? Cassandra!" When she has Cassandra's attention. "Fight club, really?"

Cassandra glances at Shelby and then back at Charlie, "You're underage, and fight club is an underground and illegal thing, you're a hero."

"But—"

"You're underage," Cassandra repeats, flatly.

"I just—"

"Your mom and I are on good terms, she'd kill me if it got back to her that I encouraged you to do something illegal, I'm trying to be better remember?"

Charlie scrunches up her face, "Fine," she grumbles as she starts to float. "I'm going to go back to brooding on the roof."

"Have fun," Cassandra said and turned to Shelby who smiled pleased that she'd made the right decision. Cassandra smiles back and lets Shelby head inside to greet Judy before she fires off a very small energy blast at Charlie who ducks without looking and immediately turns to look at her aunt from the roof. "I'll text you," Cassandra mouths and winks at Charlie who immediately lights up.

~ O ~

"Hey Quinn."

Quinn looks up from her phone and freezes ever so slightly, there's a small part of her that wants to ask why Rachel is there but she and Charlie were friends. "Rachel." She greets with a small nod of her head. "Charlie's mentioned that you've quit the team."

Rachel nodded, "I mean in a world where Charlie breaks conventional wisdom, I realized that I'd never be able to be a star if she was a part of the conversation."

"There are other ways to become a celebrity," Quinn responded with a shrug. "I'm sure whatever you choose to do next will end up great." When Rachel makes a move to sit down beside her she immediately gets up, as Charlie suddenly drops down from the roof. "Rachel, I can't be around you. Things are already tense with Marley and I'd like to figure that out, but if she catches me near you she'll dump me for sure."

Rachel flushes, as Charlie opens the screen door catching the end of it. "I'm very much aware—"

"I mean there's probably no fixing your issues with Marley, Quinn. I'd cut my losses and move on," Charlie interrupts. "Also Rachel is a guest, mine and mom's. So the very least you could do is be a good hostess, maybe offer her a cold beverage. I mean I could certainly use one."

Quinn narrowed her eyes at Charlie and looked around for a moment, but her mom was probably still out on the deck talking to Hiram and Leroy. "Seriously."

"Seriously. Come on Rachel Arte and Wolfgang want to play fetch." Charlie said, flashing Rachel a smile.

~ O ~

Hiram watched the Fabray family quietly for a moment, they really did seem like any other family, and watched Charlie attempting to argue with Frannie about feeding Mikey who seemed to enjoy being fussed over and he smiled. He and Hiram had been quietly ecstatic that Rachel had finally gotten over her hero obsession. Even more grateful that she had gotten out before she had gotten seriously hurt. He could only imagine how Rachel would have insisted on trying to fight the monster with Charlie or something as ridiculous. "So, Quinn, Charlie, you're seniors which means universities. Where are you applying?"

"Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton and Stanford," Quinn replies. "In that order."

"Those are some very impressive schools," Shelby says. "But I'm sure that you'll get into all of them."

"We're so very proud of her, she's going to be valedictorian," Russell said proudly. "But that's to be expected. Frannie graduated from Dartmouth. Brittany's at Stanford. I know you'll get into Yale, and Charlie—"

"I don't think that higher education is for me," Charlie interrupts, and blinks when the entire table goes deathly silent. She glanced around the table, her father had dropped his fork, and even her grandmother was mid-sip. "Summit's got a really good hero program, but I'm not going to be like my peers. And spending another 4 years going over material I already know and have mastered just for a piece of paper seems pointless."

Brittany leaned over to Frannie, "Do you think mom has popcorn in the pantry? This is going to get good." She grins when Frannie shoots her an annoyed look.

"I don't understand this rush to be a hero. I'm sure that Summit would be willing to create a special—" Judy begins.

"There are a multitude of reasons to go to Summit, including the fact that you'll get a massive discount on your insurance, and your premiums will be far lower," Cassandra interrupts.

"Firefly," Artemis said. "Cassandra and I don't agree on much but we are in agreement on this. There are benefits to going to Summit, including the connections that you'll make."

Lawrence was the first to notice Charlie's eyes beginning to shift, and he clears his throat immediately. "She's just been through a traumatic experience, rethinking things is normal. I think you should apply to all the top schools, maybe you go, maybe you don't go. But making a decision like this shouldn't be made while you're not in an emotionally stable—"

"I made this decision like three minutes into my sidekick stint with the 4 Horsewomen. I'm already dreadfully bored in class, I sleep through most of it, I mean at least I have something to do, and grandad already trained me, I'm not saying that I don't have things to learn, and after what happened I'm not in a massive rush to become a professional. I just don't think going to a hero course is for me." She shrugged, when Quinn elbows her she forces a smile at her grandfather. "But I'll think about it. You might be right, trauma or something."

"Well I talked to your school guidance counselor, she suggested a few therapists to help you—"

"I'm not going to see a therapist who lives in Lima, there are therapists for heroes. The Seven has them, the 4 Horsewomen have a couple of therapists on retainer, if I'm going to have one I'd rather have one that actually gets it," Charlie interrupts her mother.

Judy opened her mouth, and then closed it before smiling at her daughter. She hadn't said no to the therapist, she was just questioning whether someone from Lima would understand. "I agree with you, but you need to work to find the right therapist."

"I know a few therapists who might be helpful, they're good, one works at the VA, I'll talk to him if you want," Leroy offers.

Charlie nods after a moment and points back to the mountain of food on her plate and gives her family a look. She had zero idea why her mom had decided to throw a dinner party of all things, she just wanted to eat and go back to sleep, and then she'd start trying to figure out her new abilities.

~ O ~

"Does brooding make you feel better?"

Charlie sits up from where she's back on the roof of her house and peers over the side to see Rachel waving at her from the deck. Charlie glances around before standing up and hopping off the roof to help Rachel up. She sits back down and offers Rachel some of her peanut M&M's.

Rachel takes a handful and pops one in her mouth and leans back, "These are not vegan friendly."

"Well maybe if you eat only the green ones," Charlie suggests and smirks at Rachel who shoots her an annoyed look. She lets out an amused laugh and relaxes on the roof. "I'm sorry about Quinn, if you want I'm pretty sure I could kick her ass for you."

Rachel was quiet for a moment, "There's an older boy named Brody at the dancing camp who I think is interested in me, I'm actually sort of popular. So while I'm upset that Quinn and I are no longer friends, it's not the end of the world. I have options now, and I should thank you. I mean you were the first people who showed me any real kindness. I don't really understand why though."

Charlie was quiet, "People are always trying to take advantage of us. Without even knowing us you put yourself at risk by getting in Santana's face. You certainly didn't have the power back then to stand up to her but you did, and both Quinn and I appreciated that. I mean you gave me food when I was hungry. It was delicious, and when I was miserable in New York you were there for me, as much as you could be. We're the type of ex's that everyone should strive for."

"We dated for less than 5 minutes."

"They were a very special 5 minutes to me, I respect you and you respect me and we both know that as long as you're a vegan, even one that occasionally eats peanut M&M's we could never ever be a functioning couple. We'd never be able to go to dinner together."

"A salad isn't going to kill you," Rachel comments before shaking her head. When Charlie flashes an amused smile at her Rachel decides to press. "Are you alright?"

"Everyone keeps asking me that, and the answer is the same. I'm fine. I'm alive, no one died due to my actions, why wouldn't I be okay?"Charlie asks.

When Charlie said it like that, it did make her question if her concern was warranted, but Rachel persists. "You're acting the way you did after Santana got hurt, and no one ever really checked in with you to make sure that you were okay then and to find out what you were thinking."

Charlie brow furrows for a moment, "Dani, knows me a bit too well. She targeted Santana, I don't really know what her end goal was, I imagine she thought she could throw me off my game. And it did, Dani wasn't wrong. Her prediction on my reaction to everything was wrong though. I got upset, and while I managed to get it under control in seconds I'm still furious with her. Dani didn't need a scheme to beat Santana, she's good enough to capture or beat Santana on her own especially at this juncture. I mean it would certainly be difficult but the two of them are that good. It's a competition, Santana could have died. I was busy goofing off and Santana could have died. And if that had been the case, I don't think that anyone in my family could mitigate the disaster if I were to lose control."

Rachel was quiet; she hadn't thought about it like that at all. "I don't know what the answer is, but the solution probably isn't to be alone, and single for the rest of your life."

"It did cross my mind that it was best for me to not be with anyone."

Rachel raised a brow, "You were willing to give up sex?"

Charlie shot Rachel an incredulous look, "I never said I was going to be a nun, we need to set realistic expectations on my behavior. I just meant that maybe I shouldn't have a girlfriend, or a wife or even kids."

"Then why would you want to be a hero?" Rachel asks, completely baffled by Charlie's line of reasoning. "I mean you deserve to be happy too. And having a family means that you have a stake in the game. I mean I think that's why your aunt is finally settling down and being nice."

Charlie flicked her eyes to Rachel, "It's weird, isn't it, but I think you're right."

~ O ~

"Is anyone else scared? I mean, Charlie Fabray is a hero, she stopped a Level 5 attack all by herself. She disobeyed multiple orders to retreat, because she thought she knew better than the adults. She's also seventeen, she's a teenager and she's had outbursts before. Anyone remember what happened at Nationals? Or her dismissiveness, when she was being interviewed. We should be alarmed. Frightened. We should be in the streets demanding legislation from our elected officials to keep us safe." Tucker Carlson stated. "We'll be joined by Senator Blanton Silver after the break to discuss his latest piece of legislation that he's working on. We'll also be talking to Dr. Hearst, who has just written a fascinating new book entitled Augmented Idolatry—"

The television suddenly cracks and Quinn slowly exhales. Charlie could have died and yet these assholes—her father's methods were to tame. People were still nipping at her family's heels, and she wasn't going to just grin and bear it. To think, a man like Blanton Silver who had Presidential ambitions was allowed to run his mouth when his very words had power? No he was only putting a bandaid on the rot, they needed to excise it.

"Doodlebug?"

Quinn's back went rigid and she turns to look at her grandmother, "I'll replace the television. I was just listening to the news and—"

"Ah," Artemis said in a non-committal tone.

Quinn narrowed her eyes, "Some people are saying some pretty terrible things about Charlie."

Artemis nods, "Charlie's in the public sphere now, there will always be people who find fault in her actions. She will never be able to please everyone."

"This is different. Blanton Silver and his anti-AI agenda is dangerous. If he gets a bit of power, he'll turn her into a weapon. Or he'll take away our choice, and dad doesn't see it. Something about the will of the people. I'm finally paying attention. I mean I thought that maybe if I was president—"

"Why in the world would you think that being president would give you power?" Artemis interrupts immediately, wrinkling her nose. When Quinn flushes she lets out a small laugh, "Don't worry about the television," Artemis said with a wave of her hand. "Let's go for a walk, Doodlebug."

Quinn glances at the television, it was probably wise to not be in the house when her mother found the tv.