Enlightenment 6.2
The first of the new parahuman blood vials finished condensing just before 9:00.
Taylor had refined the process somewhat since her first work with Victor. Having more room to work and more equipment definitely helped. And, she was left with a decent amount of Rune's blood left over after the process was complete. Lovely.
It was ironic. She had infinite space to wander and yet still felt trapped.
Being confined to the Hospital was going to become extremely inconvenient, extremely quickly. She missed Amy, and she really didn't have the necessities of life set up here. Like, for example, running water.
She needed to fix that at some point. The Workshop would be much more useful as a base if it was self-sufficient.
But, for now, she would settle on finding a way to leave undetected. Her powers already offered a makeshift solution, but she wasn't all that pleased with it.
The blue elixir was an anesthetic that also imbued the drinker with a Master-esque effect. It would make her less noticeable, especially while standing still.
There were multiple problems with using it in this situation.
For one, she would need to move, and quickly, to escape the PRT's surveillance zone before the anesthetic wore off. Which made the anesthetic less effective, which in turn would mean that she would need to move faster. Round and round the circle went.
Additionally, she didn't like the idea of numbing her mind while trying to sneak past trained agents with cameras and tinkertech equipment. The last thing she needed was to cloud her judgement in a potentially hostile situation.
And finally, it might not even work at all. All that the elixir did was make her less noticeable, and Armsmaster's tech was probably more than a match for a bit of psychic distortion.
The ethereal blue liquid had the potential to be useful, and she was definitely going to keep some on hand, but it was designed for either staying still and hiding or slowly sneaking past enemies who didn't know you were there. It wasn't quite right for trying to sneak out of a static location that was actively under surveillance.
If she found herself truly trapped, she would give it a shot. But she wanted to see what other options she had, first.
There was something, in the fog… a hint of a dream, that called to her.
She needed more blood.
And Rune was finally ready to provide.
Taylor took the unique blood vial and walked out to the Hospital proper, finding a wide waiting room with a vaulted ceiling.
She had learned her lesson from Cricket's vial. No imbibing unknown, potentially volatile solutions anywhere near her fragile equipment.
Taylor stood in the center of the ruined space and took a deep breath.
Once more, unto the breach.
She slammed the vial into her good leg, and her eyes flew wide as light engulfed her vision.
Her mind stretched and twisted under the strange concoction's effects.
It wasn't as bad as Crickets, in some ways. The beast was quiet. This was not a vial of rage and fury.
But it was much, much worse, in other, stranger ways.
Wisdom allows one to serve a grander purpose, for posterity.
It reminded her of the infinite moment when reality thinned during the ritual, but within her own mind. She was both herself and not, outside herself while looking in simultaneously.
Might the cosmos be very near us, only just above our heads?
Reality was only real as she perceived it, and she had no idea if her experience was an accurate depiction of existence. Eyes stared at her in the dark. How could she possibly know if others saw the same world she did? The only person that she knew for certain was actually real was herself, and she didn't even know that, anymore.
Am I dreaming?
The Labyrinth warped around her, and she couldn't know if it was real or not.
Does it matter?
Taylor reached out through the unknowable tomb. In a strange moment of clarity, she focused on her current desire. A way to travel through physical space that was both real and not in this moment.
Her wish permeated both the Labyrinth and her mind, directing and becoming one with Rune's power.
She was struck by a sudden spark of inspiration, as wild and intense as lightning.
The part of Taylor that was still sane cursed that she had left her workshop, when Rune's power drove her to imbue her unknowable wisdom into a physical object.
She instinctively knew that this fever dream was a one-time event, rather than a repeatable ability. Powers worked in strange ways, especially hers, and she didn't want to squander the opportunity.
Taylor raced back to her workshop as quickly as her prosthetic would carry her.
The forge roared to life and she frantically grabbed for her various stockpiled pieces of scrap metal and hardware supplies.
She worked in a mad fervor as the world continued to warp and twist around her. The lantern slowly took shape under her hands.
As it did, she pushed this strange power of Rune's into it.
It was a bizarre experience, but she felt the power flow from her into the lantern, just as it had traveled from the vial into her. She felt the connection between the eldritch artifact and the Labyrinth build, and sing.
Rune's power had previously allowed the Empire cape to control the objects she marked. Filtered through Taylor's blood and eyes, it allowed the Hunter to imbue a single object with a singular purpose, of her choosing.
For posterity.
And she had chosen the lantern, to allow her to find new doors into and out of the Labyrinth. To prevent her from ever being confined or chained, ever again, and to guide her to the sparks of beautiful light she had cultivated within her dream.
Taylor finished just as the power and the crazed insight began to ebb. The lamp was simple and plain, a single chamber ringed with thin bars to contain the flame.
As the last of Rune's power faded, Taylor lit the lamp.
Purple-white light filled the workshop as an ethereal flame flared to life within the hallowed creation.
Taylor didn't know if it was blessed or cursed. She didn't know if it mattered.
Breathing heavily and setting the lantern aside, Taylor slumped against the workbench and put her forehead on the cool resin. It felt nice against her feverish skin.
That was certainly… an experience.
Was she going insane?
Does it matter?
The previous vials had been… grounded, by comparison. Victor's skills, Sophia's shadow, Cricket's scream…
This was… different. But somehow also similar, at the same time. Her mind had expanded. Her powers offered new designs and insights.
She looked at the lantern.
The new power itself had manifested differently. Empowering a creation rather than her own body.
That aligned with Rune's power expression, imbuing objects with her power. But the experience itself…
Taylor felt a bit like a wrung out dish towel. Like she had been saturated with something unknowable and otherworldly, only to be squeezed dry again.
Still, she had told Amy she would try to visit, if she could.
And now, she had the means to do so.
Despite her exhaustion, Taylor smiled.
…
Taylor walked through the endless hallways of the Labyrinth for what felt like a long time, ethereal lantern held high.
She checked her watch. It had been less than ten minutes.
9:52
Wandering the infinite corridors with the lantern in hand was a strange experience. She was profoundly lost, and yet she also knew exactly where she was.
Taylor turned one last corner and entered a room she had never seen before.
The destitute morgue was off-putting, even compared to the rest of the hospital. At least it didn't contain any… residents.
An eldritch white flame flickered gently around the door on the far wall. It looked eerily similar to the flame that lined the seal at the main entrance to her Hospital.
Taylor approached and tried the door.
It was unlocked.
She opened the door and stepped into…
An identical morgue, except… new. Unbroken, although luckily it too was currently deserted.
Taylor touched the ethereal flame around the door and she instinctively knew that she would be able to find this new entrance again, even without the lantern. Only those who had taken communion would be able to see it.
Perfect.
She could guess where she was, and it was perfect.
A wide smile spread over her face.
Stepping quickly back into the Labyrinth and closing the door, Taylor took off her coat and changed into the fresh set of clothes she had previously stuffed in her duffle bag to take to Kurt and Lacey's.
She left her coat, hat, scarf, and lantern in the Labyrinth. No one else would be able to find this place.
She also unhooked her stake driver and unfolded her wheelchair.
Five minutes later, Taylor carefully wheeled herself out of the morgue in Brockton General Hospital and took the elevator to the main lobby.
It occurred to her that Amy might be on the roof, and she didn't have an easy way to get there.
So she just called her, instead.
Amy answered on the first ring.
"Hey, are you coming?" Amy asked.
"I'm here," Taylor grinned. "I'm in the lobby."
"What?" Amy squawked.
"Come down and I'll show you," Taylor laughed.
"Okay, okay-"
Taylor could hear her echoing footsteps in the roof access stairway.
"I'm going to hang up, I'll see you in a sec," Taylor said.
"Right. Yeah, okay," Amy said again.
A minute later, the elevator dinged and Amy walked out. Well, Panacea, currently.
Taylor grinned crookedly at her from her wheelchair.
"Alright. You have some serious explaining to do," Amy hissed when she got close enough. She wasn't all that much taller than Taylor, even sitting down. "How? And also, why?"
"Let me show you! Come on," Taylor whispered.
"Vicky will be here any minute, you took your sweet fucking time-" Amy snapped.
"I was busy! I had to finish condensing the sample, imbibe it, build a new eldritch artifact-"
"What did you make now-"
"I'll show you if you can manage to stop complaining for long enough, now come on," Taylor still couldn't stop smiling despite Amy's glare.
The healer huffed in annoyance. It was kind of cute.
"Fine, but we need to be quick," Amy looked around nervously.
No one was paying close attention to them, yet. Amy was here almost every day, and even famous miracle healers blend into the background eventually.
"We need to go down to the basement. Follow me," Taylor said.
"I basically live here, and you want me to follow you?"
Taylor grinned over her shoulder as she wheeled herself into the elevator. Amy quickly followed behind her despite her griping. The doors closed, and they were finally alone again.
There was a strange moment of charged silence. The drifting, comfortable solitude that always formed around them came quicker every time.
"Hi, by the way," Taylor said.
Amy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Hi. So, how did you escape your unwelcome guests?" Amy said tiredly.
"I made a new exit. I'll show you," Taylor wheeled her way out of the elevator when it opened.
"Why are we going to the morgue?" Amy asked.
"Because my powers have a sense of humor," Taylor answered.
It was empty, at least of other living people.
"Just to double check, can you see the door?" Taylor asked, glancing between Amy and the door wreathed in white flame.
"Um… what? Like, the door we just came through?" Amy said in confusion.
"No, the other door," Taylor's grin was definitely self-satisfied.
"Are you fucking with me?" Amy glared at her.
"No, I promise. Okay, here, take my hand," Taylor reached out to her.
Amy hesitated for a moment.
Then her fingers interlaced with Taylor's, soft touch wrapping around wiry steel. Taylor took a moment to revel in the warmth. It hadn't been very long in the grand scheme of things, but she had missed Amy. Especially after worrying that she wouldn't be able to visit as easily, now that the PRT had found her.
Now, she had her own doorway, just for her.
"Oh," Amy said quietly.
She wasn't looking at the doorway.
Taylor glanced up at Amy's eyes under her hood and was briefly lost, deep chocolate staring at her in wonder with none of the usual weariness or conflict behind them.
"What?" Taylor asked, looking down at herself. Was she missing something?
"You're…" Amy cut off and cleared her throat. "I always forget, what your biology looks like. It's even more, now, than it was even yesterday. I knew that you imbibed another vial, but… it caught me off guard."
Huh. Interesting.
"What does it look like, to you? I know power senses don't really translate, but…" Taylor shrugged. She was curious.
Amy looked at her strangely, still holding her hand.
"It's like… stars. All the stars on a clear night, concentrated and pulsing with your heartbeat. Except, a million times more, because there are trillions of cells in your body, and they're all… shining. Dancing. With everyone else, it's just tiny sparks in the dark, but with you… it's an overwhelming lightshow. I can't describe…" Amy rambled, going red as she tried to find the right words. "It's… beautiful. And distracting."
"Uh," Taylor said. Very articulately.
No one had ever called her beautiful before. Even if it was just her weird parahuman biology. Her chest felt strangely tight and she didn't know what her face was doing.
"Sorry, I-" Amy tried to let go of her hand.
Taylor didn't let her. She was enjoying it, and Amy liked being able to see her, like this. She said so.
"Don't, please," Taylor said. "I… thank you."
"Okay."
There was a long moment before Taylor remembered that they were still in the hospital morgue.
"Can you see the door, now?" She asked quietly.
Amy refocused on her and then looked up at the wall.
"Holy shit, there's a door. Why is it on fire?" Amy blinked.
"My powers are just edgy like that. Assault said they were 'metal'. Come on, let's go."
Taylor opened the door and led her into the Labyrinth. It was a bit difficult with only one unoccupied hand and one remaining foot, but she managed. Having superhuman dexterity was nice.
"Don't let go of my hand, or you'll get lost. You haven't taken communion yet, and you aren't attuned to the lantern," Taylor whispered. It felt strange, to have someone else here.
"That sounds like nonsense, you know that, right? What are you talking about?" Amy hissed. "Where are we?"
"We're in my Hospital," Taylor couldn't help but grin smugly.
"What? Your Hospital? How?" Amy looked around and then back at the door.
"I used my power to wrap my Workshop in an infinite Labyrinth. The Hospital is now an endless maze, with my Workshop at the center. But only those who have taken communion can find it. That's what I was doing, last night," Taylor explained.
"That's… this is weird, Taylor, even for you," Amy said. "Powers don't normally work like that."
"Mine do. That's why I need to keep hunting, keep searching for answers in the fog. None of this makes sense, and yet… it does, to me. In a way."
Amy took a deep breath.
"So… you have a door straight from your Workshop, to the Brockton General morgue?"
"Yeah, although I can probably open other doors, too. I just need to focus on where I want to go. I think I need to be familiar with the place, though. Obviously I'm not familiar with the morgue in particular but… I've spent a fair bit of time at your hospital," Taylor said. "I could feel it, like a light in the distance. That's what my lantern is for. It lets me navigate the Labyrinth and open permanent doors. Although I'm honestly not sure if I was following the path to the hospital or… you."
Amy stared at her with an unreadable expression for a long moment, her face highlighted starkly with ghostly light.
"Your powers are really fucking weird, Taylor," Amy shook her head, but she had the forgetting-to-frown smile again.
"Being normal is boring," Taylor smiled back, in the dim gloom and ethereal lantern flame.
Amy's eyes softened and her hand that wasn't already holding Taylor's jerked strangely, like she was going to reach out and touch her but thought better of it.
Taylor wouldn't have minded.
Amy's phone buzzed in her pocket.
"Shit, Vicky is probably waiting," Amy said.
Taylor frowned. They never seemed to have enough time.
"Should she know I'm here? It's as good an excuse as any," Taylor said. "You told her that 'Anne' volunteers at the Hospital, right?"
"Um… yeah, okay, sure, let's head back upstairs," Amy said, replying to Vicky's text with rapid-fire typing.
Taylor was more happy than ever that her phone didn't have texting enabled. It seemed like a pain.
They snuck back out of the morgue. Unfortunately, Taylor had to let go of Amy's hand to push her chair. Irritating.
The front doors hissed open and Amy led the way out into the parking lot.
Victoria wasn't in costume since she was just playing air taxi for Amy, but she was still floating a few feet off the ground. Subtlety was not exactly prominent in Glory Girl's vocabulary.
"There you are! What took you so-" Victoria cut off when she saw Taylor. "Anne?"
"Hey, Victoria," Taylor said, trying to remember how 'Anne' had acted before. She had somehow ended up with three identities when she originally set out to only have one. How had she managed that?
"What happened to your leg?" Victoria asked, swooping down to land in front of them.
Shit.
Taylor and Amy both looked at each other. How had they forgotten about that?
"Car crash," they both said at the same time.
Ha! Take that, poor planning skills.
"Well… shit," Victoria said, glancing at Amy. "Are you going to…"
At least she had learned to stop offering Amy's services without asking.
Amy rolled her eyes in irritation. That part seemed authentic.
"No. Someone won't let me. Some bullshit about earning their scars," Amy grumbled.
Victoria looked confused.
"Won't let… what?" She refocused on Taylor.
"I don't like the idea of being an obligation to Amy. She has enough people who want healing. She shouldn't have to worry about that with me," Taylor tried to find a way to explain without including the whole 'I'm a villainous blood Tinker and I lost my foot fighting Hookwolf' part. "And besides, I like the look."
Victoria looked back and forth between them with concern.
Amy shrugged helplessly.
Taylor grinned up at her.
"Right, I guess… uh… to each her own?" Victoria said.
Amy laughed at her sister's expression and Taylor couldn't help but smile wider. Throwing off people's expectations was pretty enjoyable; she could see why Assault acted the way he did.
Victoria just shook her head.
"You guys are both weird, and I mean that objectively and not insultingly," Victoria said.
That was a fair assessment. Nothing about this was normal.
Taylor wouldn't have it any other way, though.
She reached up and gave Amy's hand a squeeze. For some reason that felt okay to do, now, knowing that Amy liked seeing her blood. Amy jumped a bit but didn't complain.
"I'll see you tomorrow, then?" Taylor asked. "I'll try to get here earlier."
"Okay," Amy said, staring down at her with that look of fascinated wonder again. Taylor decided that she could definitely get used to that.
It suddenly occurred to her that there was another reason she made the trip tonight.
"Oh! I have your cigarettes, too," Taylor dug the pack out of her pocket.
Victoria looked disapproving, but Amy did the soft-eyed half smile thing, so it was worth it.
Taylor glanced up at Victoria.
"See you around, Glory Girl," she grinned. It was just too much fun to mess with her.
Victoria still smiled back, though, even if she also looked unsure.
"Sounds good, Anne. Have a good night," Vicky said.
Taylor met Amy's eyes one more time before letting go of her hand to wheel herself back into the hospital.
It was only when she went through the Labyrinth door again that she realized she had forgotten to show Amy her new hat.
Next time.
For now, she had some exploring to do. And more blood to imbibe.
…
Amy flopped down face first on her unmade bed and groaned into one of the pillows.
Why did everything need to be so difficult?
She had just been getting used to this strange new routine of meeting with Taylor on the hospital roof, and now the mad blood Tinker went and made a weird-ass direct line to the Brockton General basement?
What the hell, Hunter?
Since when could she do shit like that? Making weird weapons and prosthetics, whatever. Basic Tinker bullshit. Blood concoctions that were biologically impossible? Fine, more Tinker bullshit.
Creating an infinite Labyrinth and using it to secretly navigate the city while also making her base of operations impossible to find?
That was some Toybox level bullshit, and they had a small army of Tinkers shitting things out in there.
But Taylor just… did it. Threw herself into strange and impossible phenomenon with zero regard for common decency or Amy's mental health.
Not to mention what Taylor was doing to herself. Her blood was more inhuman than ever, otherworldly in the way it twisted and sparked in her veins.
And Amy had told her it was beautiful…
She wanted to scream.
Why am I like this?
She could still feel Taylor's fingers clamping down when Amy tried to pull away in embarrassment, like the idea of losing her touch was painful.
Nope, that's not projecting at all.
This was why she couldn't have nice things.
Why did she insist on becoming obsessed with anyone who actually cared about her?
Why couldn't she stop?
There was a knock at the door and Amy groaned again.
At least Victoria knocked this time. Sometimes she just busted in like she owned the place.
Of course, Amy's lack of answer didn't stop her from opening the door.
"You alive over there?" Vicky's voice came from somewhere above her left shoulder. Probably floating over the bed.
"No," Amy said into the mattress.
"Cool, cool. So… your girlfriend lost her foot? How's that… going?" Victoria seemed at a loss for how to bring this up.
Which was fair. It was strange, and Amy knew it.
Taylor was weird, sometimes. Normal people didn't refuse free healing after being maimed by Hookwolf.
Not that Victoria knew about that part.
"It's fine… we talked about my healing, before, and I think she may have drawn the wrong conclusions," Amy grumbled, sitting up. That wasn't even a lie, really.
Victoria looked suspicious.
"How'd she really get hurt?" Her sister asked.
Shit.
Amy knew that she didn't manage to school her expression in time.
Shit shit shit.
"I… can't tell you that. It's not my secret to tell," Amy said.
Victoria raised her eyebrows.
"But you know… whatever it is, then?" She said slowly.
Amy didn't exactly have a better answer.
"Yeah."
"And you're… okay with it? Whatever it is?" Victoria asked carefully.
Was she?
"Yeah, I think so."
Her sister bit her lip but didn't continue her inquisition.
"Alright, I just… I trust you, Ames… make sure to let me know if you need anything."
"Thanks, Vicky," Amy sighed.
Victoria didn't understand, but she was trying her best.
Amy couldn't help herself. She needed to get some of this bullshit out of her head and into the outside world before she exploded.
"How do I… I like her, a lot, Vicky… and I don't know how to… do that," Amy mumbled. It didn't help that she couldn't, given the whole murderous blood Tinker bit. But Vicky didn't need to know all the gory details.
"Aww, Ames," Vicky plopped down on the bed next to her and gave her a one armed hug. "I don't know exactly what's going on between you and Anne, but… it can't be that bad, right? It sounds obvious, but maybe you should just talk about it?"
Amy shook her head and tried to think of a way to explain that wouldn't end with her being thrown in Master/Stranger confinement while Vicky went off and got herself killed trying to kill Taylor.
That was a strange and vaguely traitorous thought, but… Taylor would eat Victoria alive, possibly literally, if Vicky ever truly forced her hand.
"I won't kill your family."
After growing up around so many powerful heroes, it was weird to think that their safety was guaranteed by Amy's… thing… with Taylor, and not their own considerable strength.
The really fucked up part of her brain wondered what powers Taylor would get from consuming them.
The even more fucked up part was pretty sure Taylor would kill Carol, if Amy asked her nicely.
"It's complicated. Anne is… different. Special. She doesn't look at the world quite the same way as everyone else, and… it's refreshing, but it's also… hard, sometimes. I don't know," Amy rambled.
Victoria pursed her lips.
"It sounds like you don't really know what you want, maybe. That's probably something to figure out, before you actually start trying to get what you want, if that makes sense," Vicky said.
Her sister's arm was burning hot around her shoulders and Amy couldn't help but hunch in on herself. Those feelings hadn't exactly gone away, either. Just more chaos in her stupid brain.
Why am I doing this to myself?
Talking about the object of one self-destructive obsession, with the object of her other self-destructive obsession.
One day, Amy was going to spontaneously combust, and it would be all their fault. And her own. But also Taylor and Vicky's, somehow. She wouldn't be like this if they weren't so irresistibly-
Shut up.
Right. She was spiraling. Victoria was just trying to help.
And she was right, even if Amy didn't want to admit it. She really did need to figure out what she wanted, before she fucked everything up permanently.
But when had she ever known what she wanted? The only thing she ever wanted, for so long, was impossible. Nothing else seemed to matter, before, compared to that.
She suddenly realized that Taylor mattered, to her. Despite the chaos the mad Tinker brought with her, Amy didn't want to go back to the lifeless grayscale that encroached on the world when she didn't have their next 'chat' to look forward to.
Taylor added color, more so than even Vicky, these days. Victoria was part of her 'real' life, while her time with Taylor felt… separate. Hidden away and protected by necessity, behind the curtain of blood and death.
It occurred to her that she didn't quite know if the time with Taylor was her 'real' life, or if it was still her healing, and school, and everything else…
If she had to choose, she honestly didn't know which she would pick.
Which was terrifying, both because the idea of throwing away her whole fucking life for a random girl she ran into on a rooftop was insane, and because she might have to. The house of cards could only crumble in one direction.
And… she was spiraling again. Fantastic.
"Yeah, you're right," she finally said out loud. "I'll work on figuring out what I want, before I stress over possibly not getting it. I think… yeah. Thanks, Vicky."
Victoria squeezed her again and her heart beat erratically. That part never got any easier.
"I'm always right," Vicky said with faux seriousness before grinning at her. "Just make sure to let her know that I'll beat the snot out of her if she hurts you. I don't care if she's missing a foot."
Amy laughed a fair bit harder at that than she should.
"I'll make sure to pass along the message," Amy chuckled.
Taylor would probably get a kick out of it.
…
Taylor opened the door curiously and poked her head out.
The ruined basement was cold.
She stepped through the door of ethereal flame and found herself in the remains of her old house.
The Labyrinth worked in strange ways. She knew that she hadn't actually walked far enough to be here, and yet, here she was.
Overhead, she could see the tarps put up by the construction workers to protect the foundation from potential storms.
She honestly didn't know what the plan was, for the destroyed house. Was it in limbo while the insurance company investigated and paid the claim?
Taylor resolved to ask her father, the next time she saw him.
Speaking of which…
The lantern also worked in strange ways. It seemed like it did indeed draw her to people as much as places. She obviously found this house, but she could also feel the path to Kurt and Lacey's. And the path to Amy's house.
Would it make Amy happy if she opened a door into the Dallon's basement?
Maybe. She said Brandish hated her, so having an escape hatch might not be the worst thing in the world.
Taylor would ask, tomorrow.
For now… she really needed a shower. Hopefully Kurt and Lacey wouldn't mind her popping up unexpectedly in their basement. Did they even have a basement?
She would find out, one way or another.
…