-ooo-

Recoil

Part 5-7: (Aster's Story, Part Three) Behind the Scenes

Stumbling to her feet, Aster reached for the phone. As she dialled, she looked up at the clock on the wall. Just after seven. It'll be after ten there. I hope Nina's awake.

The phone rang, and then rang again. On the third ring, it was picked up. "Hello?"

Aster's heart sank. "Sally? Is Nina there? Can you wake her up?"

"No," Sally's sleep-blurred voice mumbled. "She's not here. She's out. In the storm."

"Storm?" Automatically, Aster looked out the window. It was fine and clear, with a few moths swirling under a street-light. "What storm?" Then she recalled the dream, or vision, or whatever it was. There'd sure as hell been a storm going on there.

Clicks and pops interrupted Sally's voice. "Big-ass storm just blew up today. There's some yachts out in it. Nina went out on one of the rescue boats. Rose and me, we've been watching it on the TV and trying to stay awake. I'm worried for her. It's a really big storm." There was a pleading note in her voice, as if she wanted to be reassured.

Oh shit. Pieces clicked together in Aster's head. I told her that Taylor would probably show up in a disaster or something so she didn't get noticed. And I was right. So Nina's gone out to see if this is it. God, I hope she doesn't get hurt because of me. A new worry introduced itself. God, I hope they save Taylor. Because I have no idea how to save the world.

"Don't worry," she told Sally. "Those rescue boats are really tough. Their crews know what they're doing. They'll keep Nina safe."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks. Did you want me to tell her you called?"

"Yeah, thanks, if you could?" Aster breathed deeply. Please let them both be safe.

"Okay. Night."

"Night."

Aster put the phone down and stumbled off toward bed.

Okay, that's a start …

-ooo-

Thursday, 19 October 1989
Aster's Apartment
9:21 AM EDT

Ring ring

Ring ring

Ring ring

A blind fumble for the phone. "H'lo?"

"Arjee! Are you awake?"

"Neens? 'sat you?"

"Yeah, it's me. You rang last night, while I was out on the boat."

Aster's mind began to clear, slowly and reluctantly. "Boat. Yeah. Rescue boat?"

"Yes, the rescue boat. And guess what we found?"

The suppressed excitement in Nina's voice finally got through to Aster. She forced her eyes open and sat up in bed. "You found her. You found Taylor."

"We found Taylor. She fell more or less into my lap. She got rescued by the boat I was on."

Adrenaline flooded through Aster's veins. "Holy shit, Neens. Holy shit. Uh … holy. Shit. You did it." She paused. "Is she all right?"

"She's reasonably healthy. A little hypothermic when we pulled her out of the water, but that was easily taken care of. Took a whack to the back of the head while she was in the water. She's claiming amnesia now, but I'm taking that with a grain of salt."

Aster smiled. Amnesia. Right. "Well, it could be true."

"Or it could be a way for someone who doesn't want her past to be known to skate by. Anyway, she's a sweet kid. About as hyper-aware as anyone I've known, though. Always watching, always thinking. You can see the wheels turning in her head, all the time."

Aster thought back to the TV news she had seen of Skitter and of Weaver when she was just an infant. Yes, that sounds about right. Skitter, the warlord of Brockton Bay. "Well, good. I'll see if I can't wangle some vacation time and get out that way to get to know her."

"Excellent. We just got back in. We're at the police station right now."

Aster froze. "Police station? What for?"

Nina chuckled. "To see if they have any idea who she is, of course. Are they going to find anything?"

Aster took a deep breath. "... probably not."

"Hmm. That's … interesting." Nina's voice was now intrigued, then she changed topics. "Anyway, it's probably too late today, but tomorrow I'm thinking of taking her to get checked over and maybe shopping for clothes."

Aster grinned. She knew how much Nina liked shopping. "Go nuts. I'll pay you back."

Nina laughed. "Now you're playing my song."

"I'll talk to you later. I've got to get up and get showered. I've got a shift starting this afternoon, so I need to get in to see the Director this morning."

"Okay, I'll let you go. Later, Arjee."

"Later, Neens."

"And don't forget that you owe me an explanation. There's a lot that doesn't add up about this kid."

"You'll get one." Once I can figure out what to tell you so you don't freak.

"I'll hold you to that."

"Bye, Neens."

"Bye, Arjee."

Aster put the phone down and jumped out of bed, ignoring the complaints from her muscles. She's here, she's alive, she's all right!

She danced all the way to the shower.

-ooo-

Cauldron Base
Some Other Earth

Doctor Mother's office was well-furnished, but there wasn't much in the way of decoration. However, Contessa wasn't paying attention to that. "Something weird is going on."

The head of Cauldron leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. "You're going to have to give me more than that." We run a super-secret organisation that's trying to avert the apocalypse, she didn't have to say. Weird is what we do.

Contessa's expression was, rarely enough for her, frustrated. "All I can tell you is that something very strange happened in Brockton Bay last night. It only changed some minor factors, but these will have knock-on effects."

"Will these knock-on effects be good or bad for us?" The dark-skinned woman's tone of voice indicated her pessimism in the matter.

"It depends. If we interfere too closely, they're likely to be bad. If we keep our hands off, mostly good. But even in the good scenarios, we're going to lose a few potential assets."

Doctor Mother frowned. "Hmm. Is there any way we can offset this?"

Contessa hesitated, which was again very unusual for her. "There is. But it involves bringing an outsider into Cauldron. Or at least, part of the way in."

Before she had even finished speaking, Doctor Mother was shaking her head. "No. Out of the question."

Contessa folded her arms in turn. "You asked."

The frown turned to a grimace. "There's no other way?"

"Not without a lot of problems. She doesn't need to know everything." Especially the part where we abduct people and give them powers.

"Just that we exist, and our overall goals." It wasn't quite a question. Contessa waited; she didn't need to say any more. Again, the older woman grimaced. "I still don't like it."

"I'm reasonably sure that she's linked in some way to the Brockton Bay thing. I'm just not sure how."

That got her a flat stare. "And your powers can't give you chapter and verse?"

Contessa shrugged, very slightly. "I get anomalous readings."

"Hmm." Doctor Mother shot her a dark look. "Do it. But make sure that there's nothing that can come back to bite us in the ass."

"Of course." Contessa stood and left the office. Step one, complete.

-ooo-

Los Angeles, Earth Bet
A Little Later in the Day

Director Goodman looked up. "Come in, Doctor Goldstein. You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, thank you, Director." Aster pulled the chair back and sat down in it. "I have a favour to ask of you."

"A … favour?" The Director seemed to be just a little taken aback.

It took Aster a moment to figure it out, then she realised what was going on. She was expecting me to complain about the shifts I've been getting. She's probably got a whole carefully-arranged explanation set up to shoot me down. Asking her for a favour put her on the back foot.

"Yes." Aster put a serious expression on her face. "I've got a friend on the east coast who needs some help, so I was wondering if I could take some vacation time starting perhaps … tomorrow? Or the next day?"

"Vacation time?" Director Goodman seemed to puzzle over the words, then her eyes clicked into focus. "Ah … for that, you'll have to speak to the Chief of Surgery. Doctor Friedrich. He'll know if we need you or not."

"Oh. Okay. Thank you." Damn it, I was hoping to not have to deal with him on this.

Oh well, once more unto the breach.

It was remarkably easy to locate Doctor Friedrich. It's almost as if he wants me to find him. Fancy that. By now, Aster was almost sure that Friedrich and Goodman were colluding on matters regarding her. She wasn't certain who was taking the lead, but she strongly suspected that they were sleeping with each other. She can have him. Why can't they just leave me alone?

The answer to that, of course, was also reasonably obvious. Because Friedrich wants to have his cake and eat it too. And Goodman's not complaining, so long as she gets a piece of him as well.

He was in the ER, checking on one of the new patients, when she found him. He noticed her, but finished with the examination before turning toward her. "Yes, Doctor Goldstein?" he asked, handing off his clipboard to a nurse.

"May I speak with you for a moment, Doctor Friedrich?" she asked politely.

"Certainly," he agreed warmly. "Walk with me."

They strolled off down the corridor toward the commissary, for all the world like two medical colleagues conferring over a difficult matter. He was as handsome as ever, she noted clinically. His well-practised charming manner must be making the girls in the bars he attended swoon over him on a daily basis. Because he's not getting much in here.

But that was neither here nor there. "I have a favour to ask you," she said. "A friend of mine on the east coast needs my help for a week or so. I have the vacation days saved up. Can I take the next week or two off?"

"Hmm," he mused thoughtfully. "Possibly difficult to arrange. Other staff are taking their vacations, there are sick days coming up … I'm really not sure we can manage this."

Her lips tightened. "So that's a no?"

He bestowed his most charming smile on her. "Well, you can always come and say pretty please to me sometime. You remember how to do that, don't you?"

She remembered. Dark anger rose in her, but she tamped it down. He's still holding that over my head. Abruptly, she stopped; he moved a few more steps on, then turned back toward her. "Ruth, seriously. I still don't see what your problem is. We're consenting adults. I know you like it."

Me liking it is beyond the point. "If I did that for you, then I would be selling myself to get what I want. And you don't see a problem with that?"

He spread his hands. "We all sell ourselves to get what we want. How is this different?"

Self-respect is what makes it different. But she wasn't going to bring up that argument again. "We're done here. Thanks for your time." Turning, she walked away.

"So that's it? No negotiation?" He was following her, now.

She didn't look at him. "I told you what I wanted. Your price is too high. We're done here."

This time, he let her walk away. It was probably a good thing; she was seething inside, partly at him and partly at her own stubborn pride that would not let her make that compromise.

God damn it.

-ooo-

That Evening

With a sigh, Aster picked up the phone and dialled. And I wonder why my phone bill's so high.

The phone was picked up after just two rings. "Hello, Nina speaking."

"Neens. Hi. How's our mystery girl?"

"Oh, hi, Arjee. Yeah, it went just like you said. Nobody knows nuthin'. But we got a surname for her."

"Really? What is it?" Hebert, Hebert, Hebert …

"Snow."

Aster's thoughts came to a screeching halt. "Uh, Snow?"

"Yeah. Like, frozen water. Bit of an odd name, but it suits her."

"Huh. Okay." I have no idea where she got that one from.

"Were you expecting a different surname? It sounds like you were."

"I … can I take the Fifth on that?"

"Boy, this is gonna be one doozy of an explanation, I can tell. So anyway, I found her a place to stay for the moment."

"Not with you?"

"Haha, nope. You've never met Sally or Rose, have you?"

"Um, nope."

"They're a couple. If Taylor moved in, it would be a race to see who made moves on her first."

"Oh. Right." God, that could be a disaster. "So where's she staying? Someone you can trust, I hope?"

"Yeah, actually. People I know in Brockton Bay. A guy I know called George Hebert. He's the captain of the boat I was on, his boy's the one who pulled her out of the water."

Aster froze again. "Uh, how old is his boy?"

"About twenty, I think. Why? You got a thing for heroes? 'Cause I watched this kid jump into stormy waters to pull her to safety. They don't come much more heroic."

"No … I'm fine … just … wow." Holy shit, that's gotta be her father. This could get really, really complicated. And I can't even tell her not to let them get involved.

"Okay then. Um, listen, I don't want to cut you off or anything, but it's late and I'd like to be up early. Can we talk another time?"

"Oh, sorry. I keep forgetting the time difference."

"Well, when you get out here, we can catch up face to face."

Aster grimaced. "Uh, yeah, that's kinda what I was calling about."

"Why does that sound ominous?"

A sigh. "Because my boss who's also my ex is still holding a grudge, and he won't let me take a couple of weeks off. I can get vacation days off, but I can't string them together."

"Well. Fuck."

"On the upside, I'm pulling in lots of overtime. So I'll send you money to reimburse you and the Heberts for any expenses. Okay?"

"I'd like to say no, I'm fine, but … yeah, thanks. Appreciated."

"Hey, you're doing me the big favour here."

"And trust me, you're gonna be repaying in full someday." But there was a smile in her voice as she said it.

"Count on it. Bye, Neens."

"Bye, Arjee."

Aster put the phone down. I can't help Nina, except financially. She's on her own with Taylor. But maybe I can help myself. Picking up the phone book, she began looking through it. There was a number she needed to find.

-ooo-

Friday, 27 October 1989

"Doctor Friedrich? Can I have a word, please?"

Henry looked around at Ruth. She had taken care with her appearance today, more than she normally did. There was a touch more makeup on her face, bringing out her eyes nicely, and she was wearing an attractive hairband.

"Why, Doctor Goldstein. You're looking ravishing today," he noted. "Special occasion?"

"Oh, nothing in particular," she replied with a smile. It had been some time since she had smiled at him, and he wondered what was going on. "I just … I need to ask a favour."

"Well, then, shall we walk?" he offered.

They strolled off down the corridor, side by side. He could not help but notice the subtle tension in her posture. "So what's the favour?" he asked, when she didn't speak.

"It's my friend on the east coast," she began. "She really, desperately needs my help. I need three weeks off. I have the vacation days. I just need you to sign off on me taking them all at once."

"I see." Henry smiled. She's finally coming around. "Well, there should be no problem with that. Just so long as you're willing to say pretty please to me first."

She turned to look at him, deadpan. "Pretty please."

Playing hard to get, I see. "No, not like that."

She looked just a little puzzled. "I'm not sure what you mean, Doctor Friedrich."

He glanced around. "Not out here." There was a storeroom nearby; he opened the door and ushered her inside.

She watched, apparently slightly apprehensive, as he locked the door from the inside. There's playing hard to get, but this is getting irritating. "Back when we were seeing each other. That sort of pretty please."

"But we're not seeing each other now," she pointed out.

"And?" he countered.

"Uh … Couldn't you just, you know, let me have the vacation days? Please?"

He had the power now, and knew it. "I'm sorry, Ruth, but there's a price to be paid. If you don't do what I want, I can guarantee that you'll never get all that time off at once."

A sigh. "What exactly do I need to do?"

That's more like it. His smile widened. Up until her change of heart, Ruth had been the most compliant of his recent conquests. Now it looked like she was coming around. I've been looking forward to this. "Well, to start with …"

Aster worked at keeping her expression level while he related his requirements to her. They were very detailed, not to mention … explicit. Some were things she was already familiar with, while others … okay, wow. Just wow. I never knew he was into that.

Overall, it took him a little under two minutes to explain what he wanted from her.

"... with your feet."

She blinked. That's a mental image that I wish I could forget. Barf.

He was looking at her expectantly. "Well?"

"Well what?" she asked.

"The sooner you begin, the sooner I sign off on your vacation days," he prompted. "I have half an hour free." He began to unbutton his lab coat.

She shook her head. "But I don't. I've got patients to get back to." Turning, she moved toward the storeroom door.

He put a hand on her arm, stopping her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"This was a bad idea," she said. "I'm going back to my patients. Please let go of my arm, Doctor Friedrich."

"It's the only way you're going to get what you want," he prompted.

She pulled her arm free; he let her. After opening the door, she glanced back. "You won't change your mind?"

"Not unless you change yours first," he replied with a grin.

She pretended to hesitate for a long moment, then stepped out through the doorway.

"Wait!" he called out from behind her. "You can't just leave me hanging!"

"I'm sorry," she replied over her shoulder. "I have to think about this."

As she walked off down the corridor, she reached into her pocket and pressed STOP on the minicassette recorder that resided there.

-ooo-

Saturday, 28 October 1989
Los Angeles Offices of the American Medical Association

"I have to think about this."

Dan Sullivan was thirty-nine, married, with two daughters. One was starting college just that year. He liked to think of himself as a reasonable man, but the demands that had been made of the woman before him, by her boss of all people, made him want to punch something. Or someone.

If someone tried that on one of my girls, I'd feed him his feet.

The click as the recording ended roused him from his thoughts. He glanced up from the pad where he'd been jotting notes. Doctor Goldstein was still sitting there, as composed as ever.

"Well," he said heavily at last. "That was … definitive."

She nodded. "Yes."

"One thing I have to ask you," he noted. "Doctor Friedrich mentioned a relationship between the two of you. Is it still ongoing?"

"No." She shook her head very positively. "We were engaged in a physical relationship, but I ended it two weeks before I was due to start work. I found out what sort of a man he was, and what he really thought of me. So I broke up with him."

He frowned. "He got you the job, yes?" For which we're going to have to have a little talk with Doctor Friedrich, on top of everything else. Favouritism like that is a big no-no.

She coloured. "I'm qualified for it," she replied, a little defensively. Oh? Feeling guilty for jumping the queue? "I'm a good surgeon. Ask anyone."

"If you weren't, this would be an entirely different conversation. My point is that once you broke up with him, I'm surprised you managed to retain the position."

"I didn't want it!" she burst out.

His eyebrows shot up. "Wait. Despite the fact that you broke up with him, and you didn't want the job any more, he didn't fire you, or even just let you go?" In Dan's experience – not personal, thankfully – both parties to a breakup like that usually couldn't wait to get as far from one another as possible. The fact that Friedrich hadn't done this was … odd.

"I tried to get out of the contract," she explained. "They invoked the penalty clause. Which I couldn't afford to pay off."

"'They'?"

"Doctor Friedrich and Director Goodman. I got the very distinct impression that they wanted me to stay. Or at least, Doctor Friedrich wanted me to stay, and Director Goodman backed him up."

"So you stayed."

She shrugged. "I didn't have much of a choice. I mean, it's not like I was under involuntary servitude; they were paying me, after all. It's just that I didn't want to be in the same hospital as him. Or have him as my boss. Which turned out to be justified. However, he hasn't seen it that way. Each time I've requested vacation days, that's the demand he's made of me."

"Which you've been unwilling to carry out." It wasn't a question.

"Well, yes." She spread her hands. "I don't like the man. I don't want to be near him. Can you blame me?"

"Hmm." He frowned. "Well, you've done the right thing. We don't need this sort of thing happening in our hospitals. Can I get a copy of that tape?"

"Keep this one," the surgeon replied briskly, popping the minicassette from the player and putting it on the desk. "I've already copied it."

For the first time, Sullivan smiled. "You really do have all your ducks in a row, don't you?"

She tilted her head in acknowledgement. "I try."

He took the tape; she retrieved her player from the desk.

"You do realise that it will take a little time to get an investigation under way," he advised her. "We have to get all of our ducks in a row as well. Don't do or say anything that might arouse his suspicions."

She nodded. "I understand. Just so long as you do something."

"Oh, trust me," he told her. "With evidence like this, our investigators can definitely do more than 'something'."

"Good."

They shook hands before she left his office.

This is a big one, he decided, looking over his notes. Time to pass this on to the CEJA.

The Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, Sullivan knew, looked very poorly on matters such as this.

-ooo-

Thursday, 17 November 1989
Director Goodman's Office

"What the hell have you done, Goldstein?"

Aster had seen Director Goodman pleased, irritated and triumphant. She'd never seen the Director actually angry. The statuesque brunette was standing up behind her desk, glaring at Aster.

"I -"

Goodman cut her off. "I've had AMA investigators going through my private life. Through Doctor Friedrich's private life. Asking questions about his conduct with the nurses! With the other female staff! And all because of you!"

Aster composed herself, waiting for the Director to finish. After a moment or so, Goodman seemed to realise this. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I never wanted to work here. You know that." It was the first thing that came to mind.

"But that's no excuse for ruining the life, the career, of a damn fine surgeon!" The Director's voice rose to a shout.

"No. It's not." Aster's agreement took the Director aback. "But I didn't do this to Doctor Friedrich. He did it to himself. He chose to keep me here when I just wanted to leave. He wouldn't sign off on giving me any sort of substantial vacation time unless I slept with him. And everything he ever did with the nurses? I didn't make that up. He actually did that."

"You could have come to me. We could have talked about it!"

Aster's voice was firm. "I did come to you. You referred me to Doctor Friedrich."

Goodman's voice rose to a shout once more. "You didn't have to go over my head!"

"I'm sorry, Director, but I felt that I wasn't being treated fairly here. I had no other choice."

"Well, I feel that I have no choice as well. You won't be working at this hospital any longer than I can help it."

Aster tilted her head. "Are you firing me for exposing a colleague's wrongdoing?"

"No." Goodman bit the word off sharply. "We're recognising that you're unhappy here, and we're paying out your contract in full."

"Without reference to the penalty clause."

If Goodman compressed her lips any harder, they might disappear altogether. "Without, as you say, reference to the penalty clause."

"And all unused vacation and sick days paid out in full."

Despite her own powers, Aster was lucky that the Director wasn't a parahuman, because the look on the older woman's face should have incinerated her on the spot. "Agreed."

"Thank you, Director." Aster didn't quite smile, although she felt like dancing on the spot. I'm finally getting out of here!

"The paperwork will be drawn up and mailed to you," Goodman told her venomously. "You leave today. I don't want you in my hospital for one moment longer than necessary."

"The feeling is mutual." Aster paused. "But do me a favour, and don't make any mistakes on the paperwork?" She took her minicassette recorder from her pocket. "This conversation, and your agreement, has been recorded." As the Director's eyes widened, she nodded politely. "Good day, Director."

Slipping out through the door, she closed it just before something heavy – probably the marble paperweight from the Director's desk – crashed into the wall.

I'm now unemployed, but that was so worth it.

-ooo-

Aster let herself in through the front door of her apartment. I can't believe it's finally over. I'm done with Friedrich forever. Whatever he's got coming to him, he deserves it. I think I'm going to have a drink. A big one. I've earned it. Then I'm going to call up Nina and tell her the good news. And Darlene, too.

Locking the door behind her, Aster continued on through the living room to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she took out a carton of juice and drank from it, enjoying the fresh taste running down her throat. There are perks to living alone. Such as drinking from the carton.

And then, just as she was starting to reach for the bottle of wine she had stashed at the back of the fridge, she heard the voice behind her.

Contessa

Step seventeen: Say "Hello, Aster. We need to talk."

Contessa had been certain that the woman's name was Ruth, but it definitely looked as though the name meant something to her. Or perhaps that was always how she reacted to a stranger in her apartment. She straightened up and came around fast, fists clenched. A glow seemed to build up around them in the dim apartment, almost matched by her eyes, which had become orbs of swirling silver and red. An odour of burned metal came to Contessa's nostrils.

Step eighteen: say the following words.

Aster

"Who are you?" demanded Aster. "What are you doing in my apartment?"

She felt her power surge along with her anger; trickles of steel collected in each hand, and she could feel her eyes filling with the metal as well. Oddly enough, she could still see, although her vision had shifted to shades of heat. Everywhere under her skin, she felt molten steel welling to the surface, trying to break through, to annihilate her enemies. But before she could take the last irrevocable step, the woman in the business suit spoke quietly.

"Brockton Bay. Nineteen eighty-nine. Find Weaver. She knows how to save the world. Help her. Do not use your powers."

Pure stunned surprise broke Aster out of the anger; she stopped, trying to process what she had just heard. " … what?" she asked, even as her vision faded back to normal. "Where did you …"

Contessa

That was … interesting. She's definitely a parahuman. A powerful one, if I'm any judge.

Step nineteen: Three words. Smile. Twenty-three words. Tilt the head. Twelve words.

"... hear those words?" Contessa smiled. "You would be surprised. I am a friend, Aster. Our goals are one and the same. We both want to save the world." She tilted her head fractionally. "Can we talk now, or do you still want to incinerate me?"

Aster breathed heavily; the scent of burned metal was no longer detectable on her breath. "I don't want to incinerate you. But I would like to know what this is all about. And I notice that you haven't given me your name yet."

Step twenty: suggest a cup of tea.

Aster

Tea was a good idea. Contessa, as she had introduced herself, sat composedly at the kitchen table while Aster went through the motions of making the beverage. The dribbles of steel that had leaked from her palms had since hardened, so she surreptitiously discarded them in the trash can.

Carrying the teapot and cups to the table, she sat down opposite … well, she supposed that Contessa was effectively her guest. "So why did you break into my apartment?" she asked. "Was it just to meet me? Because you could have made an appointment."

"Here and now was the best place and time to meet you," Contessa replied, taking the teapot and pouring the beverage into Aster's cup. Then she added a precise amount of milk before completing it with two lumps of sugar. Gently, she replaced it on the saucer and slid it Aster's way.

Aster blinked, then stirred her tea and sipped at it. It was perfect; just the way she liked it.

"All right," she ventured. "Should I be asking how you managed to do that?"

Contessa smiled slightly. "You already know the answer."

She was right; Aster was merely asking for confirmation. "You're a parahuman, like me." It wasn't something she could deny either.

"Correct." Contessa took a cookie from the jar on the table and nibbled on it.

"So I'm a parahuman. You wanted to meet with me, why exactly? I'm sure I'm not all that special."

The smile she got from Contessa was one that she'd gotten from one of her professors at university; You and I both know better than that.

"You've had powers literally longer than anyone else on Earth," Contessa pointed out. "But that's not why I'm here. I'm here because of Weaver."

A chill snaked down Aster's spine. This woman knows way too much. "What about Weaver?"

"She's … problematic. I can't influence her in a particular direction, because if I try, she will do something different." There was the distinct sound of irritation in Contessa's voice. "She is, of course, of considerable interest to me, and thus to my home organisation."

Aster made a stab in the dark. "Because she knows how to save the world?"

"The person who gave you those instructions thought she did. He may well be right."

"Well, good." Aster spread her hands. "I'll be going to Brockton Bay just as soon as I can finish up here. I'll be making contact with her -"

"No." Contessa's voice, though quiet, brought her up short.

"Why not?" Aster frowned. "I was sent back to -"

"Find Weaver and help her," Contessa completed. "She is currently undergoing a process of toughening her mind and body. At the moment, she thinks that she is the sole traveller from your time; this gives her impetus to ever improve her edge and refine her focus. When the time is right, you should reveal yourself, but not before then. In the meantime, you can help her from a distance, and we can help you keep track of her."

"And of course, whoever you're working with can quite possibly make use of the capabilities of a powerful as-yet-unknown parahuman, correct?" Aster smiled, sipping at her tea. Saw that coming.

Contessa chuckled. "Why, yes. I suppose we could."

"Just so you know, I reserve the right to veto any use of my power that I consider unethical." Aster searched Contessa's face for a reaction.

The only one she got was a slight smile. "Entirely fair."

"Good. And I suppose you'll be training me up. I'm going to need to be on top of my form when we go against Behemoth." If I can even go against him. That scary SOB killed everyone I cared about, and I owe him him for that. And if bowing his ass away and saving the world isn't righteous, I don't know what is.

Gradually, she became aware that Contessa was looking at her, teacup poised in midair. "What?"

"I beg your pardon," Contessa said slowly, obviously thinking out each word in advance, "but who or what is Behemoth?"

-ooo-

Cauldron Base
Some Other Earth
Later

Contessa hadn't wanted an office, but they gave one to her anyway. There was by far enough room in the base for one to be set aside for her needs. It held a desk and a chair, and was even more Spartan than Doctor Mother's.

She made use of it now, leaning back in the comfortable swivel chair, swinging from side to side as she wrestled with the problem.

At some point in the future, no less than three creatures of truly monstrous capabilities would inflict themselves on the world. Aster hadn't been able to give her much in the way of details, such as when or where these things were due to appear, but she had told Contessa what she recalled of their powers.

The body count was bad enough; Aster had mentioned something about entire islands being sunk, with millions of people dead. But what terrified Contessa the most was that she could not see it. She could not formulate a Path to deal with even one Endbringer – as Aster referred to them – let alone three. Because her powers were blind to them.

How do I deal with something like this?

And who do I tell?

It wasn't an idle question. Aster thought that Weaver held the key to defeating the Endbringers – Behemoth most of all – and saving the world. She did not yet know about Scion; Contessa had held off from telling her that little bit of bad news.

Any Path she formulated that involved telling Alexandria or Doctor Mother about Behemoth and his fellow Endbringers usually ended up in her having to convince that person not to have Weaver, or Aster, or both, hauled in and interrogated. Because this was the kicker: Contessa was the only one who knew that both Aster and Weaver were time travellers.

Left alone, Weaver seemed to be working toward something. If she were to be interfered with, then her plans – whatever they were – might be derailed. And if she knew how to save the world, where nobody in Cauldron did, that could be disastrous.

The conclusion was as inescapable as it was distasteful. I tell nobody. I let Alexandria keep thinking that Weaver is merely a highly talented normal.

When she finds out, she'll be very unhappy with me. But I think it's better than the alternative.

-ooo-

Saturday Afternoon, 26 November 1989
Brockton Bay

Nina frowned as she heard the knock on the door. Greg was coming around to take her out to the movies, but he wasn't due for a couple of hours. Getting up off the sofa, she went to the door and peered through the peephole.

A moment later, she opened the door wide; with a squeal of joy, she wrapped her arms around her best friend, doing her best to lift Ruth into the air. She found it harder than she expected, but that didn't bother her.

"Arjee! Wow! This is so unexpected! Come on in!" she blurted. "Wait, are those suitcases?"

"Uh, yeah," Ruth replied. "I'm moving to Brockton Bay."

"Awesome! When?"

"Now. I am literally moving to Brockton Bay now."

Nina blinked. "Uh, wow. Kinda sudden. Come on in, come in."

"Thanks." Ruth picked up the cases and brought them inside, then flopped on to the sofa, apparently exhausted.

Nina subsided on to the cushions beside her. "Damn, I can't believe that you're actually here." She paused as a thought struck her. "Wait, what about the overbearing boss who's also your ex?"

Ruth smiled slightly. "Still my ex, no longer my boss. I got let go when I kinda called the AMA on his sleazier practices. Last I heard, people with badges were asking him some very pointed questions."

"Good. But wait, that's not fair." Nina frowned. "They fired you for that?"

"Officially, no. They realised that I didn't want to be there and paid out my contract."

Nina snorted cynically. "And unofficially?"

Ruth's smile was wry. "Out on my ass, never darken our door again, et cetera. They didn't want it to seem that way, so I got a severance payment, all my unused holiday pay, and so forth. But hell yes, I was fired. And therein also lies the bad news."

"I'm not seeing it," Nina said cautiously. "What's the bad news about all that?"

A sigh. "I made a few phone calls and set up interviews with hospitals in the area, both here and Boston. Heck, I even checked with Portland."

Nina was getting a bad feeling. "And?"

Ruth chuckled. It wasn't particularly humorous. "They were enthusiastic, right up until they began to ask around. But it appears that, despite the best of intentions, a whistle-blower is remarkably unpopular among potential employers. Every single interview has been cancelled before I even got to show up."

"Oh, that sucks." Nina leaned over and gave her a companionable squeeze across the shoulders. "But at least you're finally here."

"Yes," Ruth agreed. "How's Taylor going?"

Nina rolled her eyes. "She doesn't believe in making life easy for anyone. First day of school, she nearly got suspended for fighting."

"Fighting?"

"Yeah, a bullying situation. Three other girls picking on someone she'd befriended, and she kind of beat the crap out of them. All at once."

Ruth got a speculative look on her face. "That's … interesting." She didn't sound particularly surprised. "So what happened?"

Nina snorted. "What happened is that Principal Woodbine suggested that she take up JROTC to deal with her spare aggression. Not only did Taylor and her friend take it up, but apparently they're excelling at it."

"I'm sorry, JROTC is …?"

"Ah. Sorry. Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps. Sort of pre-pre-military training for high school students. Once they hit college, they can go into ROTC, which is the same thing, only more full on. Which is a direct gateway into the military."

"Do you think that's where she's aiming to go, once she leaves college?" asked Ruth.

Nina laughed out loud. "If that's where she wants to go, then that's where she'll go. That girl is driven." She tilted her head slightly, looking at Ruth sideways. "Kind of reminds me of you, just a little bit, when we were younger. Before you grew up and mellowed out."

Aster wasn't quite sure how to take this. Sure, she'd always had a purpose in mind, but it wasn't as though she didn't have years to complete it. "I guess?" she ventured.

Nina grinned at her. "So, when do you want to come around and meet her? I haven't told her about you yet, but I think she'll be thrilled to meet you."

"Um." Aster grimaced. How do I say this? "I'm thinking … maybe I should leave it for the moment. Stay at arms' length just for a bit longer."

That got her a disbelieving stare. "What the fuck? Arjee, seriously? I go through all of this, take care of her for you, and now you don't even want to say hello? What is it between you, anyway? What in God's name is going on?"

Aster sighed. "God's got nothing to do with it, Neens. But if you want to know what's going on … I can tell you. Some of it. Not all. And not here."

"Okay, where?" Nina stood up from the couch. "And why not here?"

"Because I don't want to chance anyone overhearing us." Aster stood up as well. "We need someplace where we can talk in private."

After a moment, Nina nodded. "I know where we can go."

There was a notice posted regarding proposed improvements to the observation platform, but Aster thought that the view from the top of Captain's Hill was just fine the way it was. She climbed out of Nina's car and looked around, inhaling the cool breeze with appreciation. "It's nice up here."

"It's also a place where we can talk," Nina pointed out. "Nobody comes up here very much."

"Good." Aster walked over to where the observation platform jutted out over the drop and leaned on the rail. "What I'm about to tell you goes nowhere. You don't tell anyone. Not your mom, not your boyfriend, not Taylor."

Her serious tone was lost on Nina. "Hello?" her friend retorted. "Psychologist, here. I already know about confidentiality. So spill. What's the big deal?"

Aster took a deep breath. "I'm a time traveller from the future." Nina stared at her for so long that she began to feel self-conscious. "What?"

"Mff." Nina covered her mouth with her hand. "Phmmph. Mmmm. Mmmmha. Hahahaha!"

Feeling obscurely insulted, Aster watched as Nina sat down at a picnic table, laughing helplessly. She took a seat opposite her friend, then decided that they wouldn't be able to get any talking done until Nina got it out of her system. So she waited patiently as the laughter turned into chuckles.

"Finished?" she asked sweetly, once Nina had wiped her eyes.

"Heh, yeah. That was a good one." Nina grinned at her. "Got any more?"

Aster tried to frown at her. "It wasn't a joke. I really am a time traveller."

Nina rolled her eyes. "Seriously? I've known you since you started studying medicine. I met your folks more than once. I saw the photos they've got up of you. I've seen your baby photos. You're not a time traveller. Not unless you were about one year old when it happened."

This time, Aster just gave Nina a level stare. At first, Nina looked back at her, slightly puzzled. Then her eyes widened. "Oh, no way."

"Yes way. Dad and his partner found me on the front seat of his police cruiser in 'sixty-one. They only stepped away to get coffees, and nobody came close to the car in that time. Apparently, they got a real roasting over the fact that someone left a baby in the vehicle and nobody saw a thing."

"Doesn't mean a thing," protested Nina. "You could've just been left there. Doesn't prove you're a time traveller. Unless you had, I dunno, a raygun or something else from the future with you."

"No, no rayguns." Aster tapped her head. "You know how I don't forget stuff? I can remember the future. I can remember things that happened just before I was sent back here."

"You can remember what happened when you were one?" Nina shook her head sceptically. "Memory doesn't work that way, Arjee. I should know. I studied this stuff."

"Powers do, though." Aster nodded seriously. "I have a power that lets me remember everything I ever experienced, perfectly."

"Wait, wait." Nina frowned. "You've had this power how long?"

"I triggered just before I was sent back in time. So, since I was one."

"No, see, that's impossible," Nina protested. "The youngest parahumans I've ever heard of are about eleven or twelve. You don't get powers younger than that. And it's usually older."

"Not if you're a second generation cape," Aster pointed out. "They tend to trigger a lot more easily. And third generation is easier still."

"'Cape'. You mean parahuman, right?" Nina seemed to be having trouble taking this in.

"Yeah. Cape, parahuman, same thing, sort of." At least, Aster thought that was the way it worked.

"Right, right. So let me get this straight. Kids of parahumans trigger more easily?"

"That's the way it works. I remember my mom saying that I was third generation, which is probably why I got my powers so young."

"Wait, your parents are in on this?" Nina was looking more flabbergasted by the second.

"No, no. I meant my mom from before." Aster grimaced. "I'm pretty sure she died."

"So … your mom, from … before … she was a parahuman, a cape, as well?"

"Yes." Aster shrugged. "Someone told me she was a hero."

"And you got powers from … well, from her?"

Aster shrugged again. "I … guess?"

"So, what was she, some kind of mind-master or something? Able to remember anything?"

"No." She paused, unsure. "Well, I don't think she had a power like that. What I do recall seeing of her powers was a lot brighter and more flashy."

"Well, come on, show me," Nina urged. "Don't just talk about it. Do it."

"I try not to use my powers, as a rule," Aster told her flatly. "I was told not to."

"Who by?"

"The guy who sent me back here."

"And who was that?" Nina's eyes were intensely interested.

Aster frowned. "I … actually don't know. He was Indian, I think, from the way he spoke. English was not his first language. He was wearing ornate robes, but he was kind of messed about, like he'd been through a lot. He told me … well, this is what he said to me. 'Brockton Bay. Nineteen eighty-nine. Find Weaver. She knows how to save the world. Help her. Do not use your powers.' Then I was on the front seat of a police cruiser."

"To save the world," Nina repeated. "That's … that's wild." She frowned. "And you've never used your powers?"

"Well, maybe once or twice," Aster admitted. "Just to see what I could do. Way out in the woods, so nobody saw or heard me."

Nina spread her hands. "Well? What happened?"

Aster grimaced. "I nearly set the woods on fire."

"So you have fire powers, then?"

"No. Well, kinda." Aster sighed. "If I show you, will you shut up about them?"

"Sure." Nina nodded, her eyes bright.

"Right." Aster huffed a breath. "Watch carefully. Don't touch. I'm pretty well immune to heat, but you aren't." She held up her left hand, palm cupped. Her right hand she curled into a loose fist, then held over her left. Exerting her power just a little, she poured liquid metal from her right hand into the palm of her left, until it threatened to spill out of her hand.

Nina watched, fascinated. "What is that?"

"Molten steel," Aster replied tersely. "This, right here, is about five thousand degrees Fahrenheit." She stopped the flow from her right hand, then poured the white-hot metal from her left hand back into her right.

"Wow, it's bright," Nina observed, shading her eyes. "And kind of hot, even over here."

"That's the general idea," Aster agreed. "I can eject this stuff at fire-hose quantities and speed, interspersed with what I suspect is plasma." She cupped her hands around the liquid steel, feeling the gentle warmth against her skin. "But fortunately I can control both the quantity and the power of the flow, so I can use it like an oxyacetylene torch or even a thermal lance. And my skin absorbs heat amazingly well."

Nina's eyes were wide by this time; Aster opened her hands to show the dull lump of metal between them. "It's still a bit warm," she warned her friend. "But you can touch it if you want."

Daringly, Nina did just that. "Wow, it's definitely still hot," she agreed, sucking on her fingertip. "And you just … made that?"

"I have no idea where it comes from," Aster confessed. "But there doesn't seem to be a limit on it."

"Okay, wow, you've definitely got powers," Nina conceded. "But I still can't believe you were holding out on me ever since I met you."

Aster shrugged. "I didn't think about them a lot of the time. We had studies and all the rest of it. And there was the thing the guy said. 'Do not use your powers'. It stuck with me."

"Right. Okay." Nina rubbed her chin. "So I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and accept that you're a time traveller from the future. Who's Taylor? What is she to you?"

"Oh, that's easy." Aster smiled. "She's from the same time as me. But she came straight here. No detours."

"So let me get this straight." Nina frowned in concentration. "You were one year old, and you were sent to nineteen sixty-one. You're now twenty-nine. Taylor was what, sixteen? Seventeen?"

"Around that, I think," Aster agreed. "You understand that I never met her in person."

"Yeah, I can see that," grinned Nina. "So she was seventeen, and she came here as a seventeen year old. She started out sixteen years older than you and now she's eleven years younger. There's something weird about that."

"This whole situation is weird, if you haven't lived through it," Aster pointed out.

"True that," sighed Nina. "Okay, now. There's one question that you haven't answered. Why don't you want to make contact with Taylor right now? I mean, you were sent here to help her, right?"

"It's about readiness and attitude," Aster replied slowly. "She knows what she's facing. She knows a lot more about it than I do. So she's preparing herself to face it. If she doesn't know about me, if she thinks that she's got no outside help in this era, she'll push herself harder and dig deeper to make herself ready. If I show up, she may try to lean on me, even unconsciously. So I'm willing to help out financially, but until I think she needs me to be there, I'll be staying in the background."

"And relying on me to be the go-between," Nina finished. She had taken the lump of steel from Aster and was playing hot-potato with it.

Aster grimaced. "If you don't mind?"

Nina merely looked at her, expression set, as she tumbled the lump of steel from one hand to the other and back again. For a long moment, Aster thought she was going to say, Sorry, Arjee, but I just can't manage it. Then Aster caught the mischievous glint in her eye. "Of course I don't mind. But you'll so, so owe me for this."

"I will. I already do." Thank god. I didn't think she'd accept that explanation.

She already felt bad enough for leaving Taylor to her own devices on Contessa's advice. It was logical advice, but leaving a teenage girl alone in a time that she hadn't grown up in? Aster knew that she wouldn't like it, if it was her. I'm just glad that I know my way around. I belong.

"We should start down again. I've got a date tonight." Nina's voice broke her out of her reverie.

"Oh. Shit. Sorry. Let's go, then." Aster led the way back to the car.

Nina unlocked the passenger-side door, then went around to the driver's side. She got in and started the vehicle. "So," she said, as she backed out of the parking bay. "What are you going to do for work?"

Ugh. I can't tell her that I'm going to be doing piece work for a mysterious organisation. "Uh …"

"Being a surgeon's out, right?" Nina headed for the winding road that would eventually take them back into the city. "No hospital will hire you."

"Well, no," agreed Aster. "Of course, it won't be for the obvious reason. They'll just have all good reasons to not touch me with a ten-foot pole."

"Right." Nina negotiated the first turn. "So how about basic medical work? You're GP-qualified, aren't you?"

"I … yes, of course." Aster frowned. "But won't they also have a problem with me?"

Nina grinned. Her teeth were very white. "I know a guy."

-ooo-

Monday Afternoon, 28 November 1989
Weymouth Mall

He was middle-aged and a little paunchy. But his white lab coat was freshly laundered, his clinic was absolutely spotless, and best of all, his gaze upon her was professionally inquiring rather than personally intrusive. Why no, I don't have any issues about Doctor Friedrich at all. Why do you ask?

"Hello, Miss Goldstein," he greeted Aster, shaking her hand warmly. "It's a pleasure to meet another friend of Edwina's."

Aster held in a smile at that, though it became substantially more difficult at the sight of Nina's sour expression. Very few people used her best friend's given name; it seemed that Doctor Martin French was one of them.

"I'm pleased to meet you too, Doctor," she replied politely. "Nina's said quite a few good things about you."

He frowned ever so slightly. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm being judged somehow?"

"Uh, no, no, I'm the one being judged," Aster said hurriedly. "Nina told me that you're looking for someone to help in the clinic? I'm GP-qualified."

"Oh. Oh!" Doctor French smiled. "Of course. Doctor Ruth Goldstein, hmm? Why does your name sound familiar?"

Aster grimaced. Here we go. "I was in that situation in LA." It had made the papers, in some lurid detail.

"Ah, yes. You uncovered the Friedrich mess. I remember now." He bent a benign gaze upon Aster. "And now you're finding it a little hard to get work, yes?"

"Like, no work anywhere for a fully qualified surgeon," Nina put in. "It's discrimination. That's what it is."

Doctor French looked thoughtful. "I take it that you vouch for her?"

"Hell yes, I vouch for her," Nina declared. "We went through medical school together. She's one of the good ones, Martin."

He smiled faintly, then addressed himself to Aster. "Well, then. I believe that I shall give you a trial run. Let us say, six months? If either of us is dissatisfied at the end of that time, we go our separate ways?"

Aster nodded. "That sounds more than fair, sir."

-ooo-

Tuesday Afternoon, 9 October, 1990
Doctor French's Clinic

Aster heard the tinkle as the clinic door opened yet again. She glanced up from the paperwork she was completing, and froze.

Taylor Hebert – well, Taylor Snow, in this time and place – was standing there.

She looked so much like the school yearbook photo Aster had stored away in her brain, but then there was something different. The glasses, for one. Taylor Hebert had worn round-lensed glasses that made her eyes look even larger; as Taylor Snow, her glasses had rectangular lenses. Where the photo of Taylor on the news had shown her wearing baggy, nondescript clothing that she could hide in, this Taylor had on well-fitting clothing and walked with confidence. She looked harder and more focused, more than could be explained by the year or so difference between photo and reality. There was also a faint scar on her left cheek that hadn't been there before. I wonder what happened there?

Nina stepped in behind her; her eyes met Aster's for just a moment. The silent message was clear: come on, you can just say hello.

Aster shook her head fractionally. Not right now.

The moment stretched; Nina looked as though she might drag Taylor over anyway. But then Martin emerged from the back of the clinic. "Ah, Taylor. How are you feeling today?"

Taylor tilted her head slightly to the side. "I'm feeling fine, but Nina insisted that I come in for a checkup anyway. After all, it's been almost a year."

I'm going to get up. Go over there. Say hello.

The moment passed. "Come on back," Martin invited the newcomers. "I'll be with you in a moment."

As they went back, the doctor crossed to Aster's desk. "Ruth," he said politely, "would you be able to locate Taylor Snow's medical file for me? Bring it to exam two."

"Certainly, Doctor French." Aster stood up, stretching the kinks out of her back. I didn't even consider that Taylor would have a medical file here. That should make for interesting reading.

-ooo-

Monday, 27 May, 1991

"Arjee, how's it going?"

"Pretty well, Neens." Aster locked the clinic door behind her, then hugged her best friend. "The workload's a little hectic sometimes, but it's not life and death, you know?"

"But you're still keeping up with your surgical qualifications?"

Aster smiled. "You know it. So, what's the latest with Taylor?"

They started out of the mall, side by side. "Well," Nina began with some relish, "she had her senior prom on the twenty-fifth."

"Wow, already?" Aster frowned. "Shit, time flies."

"Yes, it does." Nina grinned. "But that's not the juicy bit?"

"Let me guess," Aster replied. "She beat someone up."

Nina pouted adorably. "You knew!"

Aster grinned. "I guessed."

"Well, I suppose it's not out of character for her," admitted Nina. "Yeah, that happened. Those girls who she beat up when she first got to Winslow? Yeah, they came back for a return match. With reinforcements."

"Uh, is she all right?" Aster felt her amusement disappear. If Taylor was hurt … She hadn't come by the clinic, but that meant nothing.

"Split knuckles, is all." Nina shrugged. "She used pepper spray, an extendible baton and dirty fighting to take down a good chunk of the opposition. Her friend Gladys, the one who was being bullied? She's apparently learned how to box."

"Oh. Oh, dear." The glee returned. "So they wiped the floor with them?"

"More or less, yes." Nina had a puzzled tone to her voice. "Taylor was a little traumatised after the fact. I'm not sure why. But she seemed to be happy again the next day."

"So who took her to the prom?"

"Oh, young Danny. The boy who jumped into the water to save her."

A cold chill ran down Aster's back. Her father. Dammit.

"Uh … is there any indication that they're a couple?" If so, I have to nip this in the bud now.

Nina chuckled. "Heh. Nope. I actually asked her that, a couple of days in. She shot it down like a wounded duck. She likes the kid, but I'd wager money that they're nothing more than friends." She turned to look at Aster. "Why? Thinking of making moves on him yourself?"

If I protest now, she'll know there's something up. "Eh, couldn't be worse than that jerk Friedrich." She chuckled, showing that she was just joking, and Nina joined in. "God, no. I'm just curious."

Whew. Another bullet dodged.

-ooo-

Tuesday, 31 December 1991
Aster's Apartment
10:05 PM EDT

"Neens, come right in." She held the door open. "Glad you could make it."

"I'm glad I could, too." Nina entered, then hugged her. "You're looking good."

"So are you." Aster smiled. "I've got to ask. Why are we having this New Year's party at my place? I mean, you've got your own apartment, right?"

"My roomies," explained Nina. "You've met them. Well, they have friends who are pushier than they are."

Aster's eyebrows rose a little. "Oh, boy. And with alcohol flowing …"

"Exactly and precisely." Nina shrugged. "So I let them do their thing, and I have Christmas and New Year's elsewhere."

"So where were you on Christmas?" asked Aster. "You would've been welcome to come over, you know."

"Oh, I went to Taylor's party."

Aster went very still at the mention of Taylor. "She had one?"

"Oh, she had a doozy of a party," Nina said. Aster caught a level of amusement in her tone. What's going on? "Danny came with his girlfriend Anne-Rose. Gladys showed up with her boyfriend Frank. Heck, even Danny's dad showed. And of course, Taylor was there. With her girlfriend." The grin on Nina's face showed that the timing of the last three words had to be deliberate on her part.

"Oh, you have to be kidding me. She's gay?" Aster's upbringing had included no grounding in how to handle such a revelation. Do I offer congratulations? Commiserations? Or do I just ignore the whole situation? She sat down on the sofa.

"Oddly enough, no," Nina replied, sitting beside her. "She's straight. Her girlfriend is gay. I'm not sure how they make it work, but they look happy together. Mind you, the story of how they met is kind of amusing."

"Right. Okay. That's … something to think about. Especially if she's still looking to go into the military."

"Yeah, that could be a problem," Nina conceded, then her expression turned mischievous once more. "Something else that caught my attention. Danny's girl, Anne-Rose? Looks a lot like Taylor. Or vice versa."

Aster knew nothing about Taylor's mother, but this could not be a coincidence. "What are you trying to say?"

"Well …" Nina grinned. "If I believed a certain wild story about time travel, I might suspect that these two young people are perhaps the future parents of another young person. If I was inclined toward wild speculation, that is."

Aster let her eyes roll to the ceiling. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Her tone of voice was dead flat, except for the inflection on the word no.

Nina looked smug. "Right." Aster knew her friend wasn't stupid, and had probably picked up on Aster's concern regarding Danny. After meeting Anne-Rose, it wouldn't have taken long to connect the dots.

The book Aster had been reading slid off the sofa arm and landed on Nina's lap. She picked it up. "An Urdu phrasebook?"

"Uh, yeah." Aster shrugged. "Why not, right?"

"Where's that even spoken? I didn't even know it was a real language."

"Pakistan," Aster replied immediately. Before Nina could probe further, she went on. "So did anything else of note happen at the party?"

"Well, Taylor did get me into a private situation so that she could tell me something," revealed Nina. "So when she started talking about how she'd been lying all this time, I kind of 'guessed' that she was a time traveller. You should've seen the look on her girlfriend's face."

"I'm not surprised, you cheating cheater," Aster accused her. She paused. "Wait, she told her girlfriend? How did she seem to be taking it?"

"Rather well, actually," Nina admitted. "From what I could see, she supports Taylor one hundred percent in what she's doing."

"Hm. Good." Aster ran back through the conversation. "Do you have any idea why Taylor told you?"

Nina frowned. "Not sure. Maybe I haven't been as subtle as I should've been. She might have decided I was on the verge of figuring it out anyway."

"Do you know if she told anyone else?"

"She didn't say. But I don't think she'd spread it around willy-nilly."

"Good." Aster eyed her sidelong. "I still think you're a cheater for pretending to have figured it out."

Nina grinned. "So worth it, though."

Aster threw a cushion at her.

End of Part 5-7