Equilibrium 8.2

Amy could practically feel Vicky's anxiety from across the food court.

"There you are! Finally," her sister exclaimed, walking quickly to meet her. "You took your time!"

"It's not my fault you only gave me ten minutes' notice!" Amy hissed back as they made their way towards the exit.

"Well, Mom didn't exactly tell me in advance, either," Vicky said.

Amy saw her sister's eyes slide over her appearance and she groaned internally.

She was well aware that she looked a bit… flustered.

Vicky's grin was irritatingly smug.

"Well, it looks like someone had a good morning," she said.

Despite the excitement and warmth bubbling in her chest, Amy kept her face flat. No need to encourage her sister's voyeurism. Her feelings were already complicated enough.

"Yes, I did," Amy snapped. "And I'd rather still be there, rather than getting pulled into whatever is going on at home. Did Carol say why we're having an early meeting? She said it would be later tonight, this morning."

As if she didn't already know exactly what had Carol's shit in a knot. Taylor had that effect on heroes, unfortunately.

"No, but it's gotta be related to Hunter and the Empire, right? I wonder what went down last night," Vicky mused.

The cold February air was startling compared to the warmth in the Workshop. The Labyrinth had spat them out in a utility hallway inside the mall, so she hadn't actually needed to go outside at all.

It was wild to think that she could walk from her house, to Taylor's workshop in the Trainyards, and back to the mall Downtown, all without going outside. Taylor's Labyrinth was bullshit.

Although it was kind of hers, now, too. Now that she could see the doors.

Amy couldn't open new ones or anything; that power was restricted to Taylor's lantern, but she could find her way from one to the other easily enough. She couldn't exactly put her finger on how she knew where to go, she just did.

Because the Labyrinth was bullshit.

Still, the knowledge that she could access a permanent escape hatch from Carol's basement was… reassuring. No matter what happened, she would always have a way back to Taylor. And if things went really, really wrong, Taylor could always find her.

It would have been nicer to just pop back to her house directly today, but she had to keep up the ruse for a little longer. Carol would probably notice if she just randomly appeared downstairs, not to mention Vicky.

"I guess we'll find out. God dammit, it's cold, this is going to suck," Amy grumbled.

"You should have worn a thicker jacket," Vicky said, scooping Amy up into her arms with practiced ease.

Amy fought down the flash of heat that raced under her skin at the casual touch. Nothing she wasn't accustomed to, unfortunately.

It was hard to get used to Vicky, though.

She could still feel the ghost of Taylor's lips on her own, lingering from just before she stepped back out of the Labyrinth. Back into the real world.

Amy already missed their little separated paradise, so far removed from the worries of her actual life.

Although, she wasn't entirely sure which one was real, anymore. Wasn't sure if it mattered.

Vicky rocketed into the sky, and the cold wind pushed away the spiraling intrusive thoughts.

…

The Workshop felt strangely empty without Amy. Taylor may have been alone for most of the time she spent in her Hospital, but the relatively few moments with Amy stood out starkly compared to the rest.

Taylor glanced over at the mess of blankets in her nest, the one Amy had been wearing tossed on top.

With her newly enhanced senses, she could still catch a faint hint of rose scented shampoo. An outlier, compared to the candles and metal and blood.

This morning had been… a lot, but it had been good. Better than good. Despite the roller coaster of emotional upheaval, Taylor felt lighter than she had in a long time.

Amy knew most of the truth, and she understood, for the most part. She agreed to follow Taylor down the rabbit hole, for better or worse.

"What do you want to be, to me? You can be whatever you want."

"Everything."

Taylor shivered at the memory.

She hadn't imagined feeling like this, again. Not after what Emma did. She thought that part of her was carved out and gone forever, lost in the rotting bloody box while she cried.

Apparently, she just couldn't help herself, though.

She knew that it was objectively fucked up, for Amy to ask for everything when she couldn't return the favor. Even now, with the lantern hanging at her belt, Taylor could feel the faint warmth somewhere to the south.

Victoria.

Maybe it should bother her more, that Amy cared about her sister that much… but it didn't. Amy had her own life, outside of the Hunt, and that was a good thing. Taylor wouldn't dream of taking it from her.

Even though she probably would, inevitably. If Amy didn't come to her senses and leave before everything fell apart.

Still, it was almost… Impressive? Endearing? Enticing? That Amy cared that deeply about someone. Could care that deeply. Victoria's sun dwarfed the light generated by Taylor's own attachment to Amy, her father or Rachel's dogs. It was strangely humbling.

"I don't know what I'd do if Vicky turned on me like that. I don't think I'd survive. I don't think I'd want to."

Taylor understood that better, now. Losing Victoria would destroy Amy. There was something vaguely reassuring, knowing that Taylor now had the ability to ensure that never happened. A gift she could give Amy, if it ever became necessary.

And Amy wanted to be Taylor's everything, the same way that Victoria was hers.

Taylor wasn't necessarily opposed to that, for some reason. Maybe she actually was insane.

She studiously ignored the other shimmering star to the south. Even now, Emma somehow managed to haunt her.

Taylor forced her thoughts away from the lantern lights and back to her ongoing projects.

The ongoing distillations worked their way slowly through the glistening glass tubes and receptacles.

It felt appropriate to go in order. Crusader first, then Fenja.

Unfortunately, they hadn't found enough of Kreig to do anything useful, aside from some bone shards. Apparently, detonating the stars of the beyond that close to a regular human body was… overly effective.

Krieg's kinetic manipulation field hadn't even slowed down the wave of silver death.

Fenja was significantly more salvageable. Her brain was gone, unfortunately, but the rest of her had remained surprisingly intact when she shrunk. It would have been nice to have a giant's worth of parahuman blood, but sadly it wasn't meant to be.

Menja was in the same boat.

Taylor idly tapped the glass while she considered.

The Valkyries were an interesting case. Twins with identical powers. How did that even work?

It occurred to Taylor that she didn't really have any idea how powers actually worked, or why processing and imbibing their blood enhanced her.

Seek Pale Blood to transcend the hunt.

Parahuman blood obviously wasn't Pale Blood. But it had to be related somehow, right?

Ghosts danced in the fog. Her power offered no answers, even though Taylor got the impression that they hovered just out of reach.

She would stay the course, for now. Maybe, with more insight, more blood, she would find the way forward.

Kaiser's blood was… barely salvageable. The unholy flames fueled by blood and quicksilver and bones burned far hotter and more voraciously than mundane fire. She might be able to wring a blood shard or two out of him, but it wouldn't be enough for a true vial.

Unfortunate, but not unexpected.

Othala was in excellent condition, aside from the ruined skull. Taylor was idly curious about how the healer's power would manifest through her eyes. She hadn't consumed a power enhancer before. Rune was similar, but still fairly different.

And finally, Hookwolf. The metal Changer had lost quite a bit of blood from being bisected, but he was a pretty big guy and had enough to go around. She would be able to get a vial from him, as well as the various fluids from his brain.

She needed to be more careful about taking so many headshots. Parahuman spinal fluid, nervous tissue, and eyes could all be useful.

And skulls. In case she needed another chalice.

At least Kaiser's skull was still intact. She would hate to break her promise.

For now, though, she needed to take another nap. It had been a long night, and the few hours of sleep she got in between hanging the bodies and meeting up with Amy wouldn't be enough to keep her going for the rest of the night.

It would be nice to be one of those Noctis capes who didn't need to sleep, but sadly none of the powers she had consumed so far provided that benefit.

In the meantime, Taylor unhooked her prosthesis and stretched out on the lab table that was also her nest.

She wrapped the blanket around her and inhaled.

Roses, and coffee.

Taylor drifted off, and her dreams were plagued with the melody of an ethereal choir, the shining silver isle, and an endless, serene lake of wine-dark blood.

…

"The Empire is gone," Aunt Sarah said.

New Wave was once again assembled in the living room of the Dallon house. Amy wasn't sure why they didn't meet at Aunt Sarah's more often. She was the leader, and each house had the same number of capes.

It was probably Carol's fault, somehow.

Everyone straightened at the overdramatic proclamation. Amy managed to avoid rolling her eyes. They were so easily impressed.

Or maybe she was just getting overly accustomed to Taylor's antics.

"What do you mean?" Crystal asked from the other end of the couch.

"Last night, Kaiser made good on his promise to go after Hunter, and she met his challenge head on," Lady Photon said gravely. "She killed them all, or at least a sizable percentage of their members, and all of their capes."

"The official report says that she killed two hundred and two of the three hundred and forty one Empire members who participated in the assault," Carol chimed in. "Well, her and Hellhound."

Amy shoved down the random spike of irrational jealousy. It was stupid. It was a good thing that Taylor had backup who could actually help her fight, rather than just sit around at home and worry.

Also, it was only two hundred and one. Alabaster was still wandering around somewhere, unless Taylor had remembered to go get him.

"Hot damn," Eric muttered.

Amy wasn't exactly arguing.

"Hunter and anyone associated with her have been upgraded to a potential Class A threat, in addition to her personal threat rating. I don't even know what the PRT have labeled her as, now," Aunt Sarah said, glancing towards Carol.

Amy idly wondered if they would hit S Class, when the PRT inevitably learned about her involvement.

Carol flipped through a few of the pages in the folder and raised her eyebrows.

"Tinker 8, and it looks like they just rolled all the other ratings into that," Carol said "It must have been getting a bit tedious to keep track of them all."

Even Amy was having trouble keeping track at this point, and Hunter was her damn girlfriend.

It was nice, to be able to think of her like that.

"It also seems like she might be able to empower other capes, too," Lady Photon continued. "That beast of Hellhound's looked bigger than any she's used before, from what I could tell. It was pretty much holding off Hookwolf on its own."

If only they knew.

With the kinds of ideas Taylor came up with, this definitely wasn't the last surprise the heroes would be getting. Bigger monster dogs were the least of their worries.

Living pipes. What the fuck, Taylor?

And Amy was going to help her, because she just couldn't quite make herself stop. Didn't really want to, anymore.

"I just want to matter. Is that too much to fucking ask?"

Maybe she wanted to matter, too.

"So, what's the game plan?" Uncle Neil grinned at his wife from the other couch.

"Nothing, for now," Aunt Sarah said. "This isn't a problem we can tackle directly, and we aren't going to make the same mistake the Empire did."

Carol looked like she was chewing on a lemon. It was fantastic.

"We'll adjust the patrol routes to include a loop of Hunter's Hospital. The PRT think they have her locked down, but I'm willing to bet she has a back door out of there. It would be stupid not to, and Hunter doesn't strike me as stupid. Her conversations with Armsmaster and Assault were calm, calculated, and controlled. For better or worse, she's not insane," Lady Photon lectured.

Amy begged to differ. The thin veneer of sanity that Taylor projected was a trap, designed to snag unsuspecting heroes and lure them into villainy with magic blood bullshit and burning kisses.

Or maybe that was just her personal experience. Mileage may vary.

"It's highly unlikely that Hunter will attack us unless we break the cease-fire, so we'll follow the PRT's recommendations for now. Stay back, report if you see her, and if you are somehow forced to make contact, try to keep it civil," Aunt Sarah continued. "Hunter promised Assault that she wouldn't kill any heroes, but I'd rather not test her word on that. Plus, after seeing what that Blaster power of hers did to Krieg…"

Taylor did mention something about trying to find all the pieces of Krieg.

The fucked-up part of Amy's brain wondered if she could do that to Carol.

"...I don't want to take the risk if we can avoid it. This time, we're the ones who benefit from playing by the rules," Aunt Sarah shot Brandish a look. "So we won't be the ones barging in half-cocked."

Amy glanced over at Vicky. That was usually her bread and butter.

But Vicky just looked vaguely concerned, chewing on her lip.

Maybe Taylor wouldn't be forced into fighting her, after all. Amy was reasonably confident that Taylor would find a way to escape that conflict without hurting Vicky or dying herself, but the idea of them fighting still hurt.

"What we really need to keep an eye out for is the ABB. Empire territory is wide open now, and Coil's mercenaries are methodical in their expansion. We probably won't be able to stop them from working their way into the available areas, but Lung isn't exactly subtle. We'll increase our patrols in the bordering areas and keep an eye out for gang members trying to move into the unclaimed territory. A dual patrol should be sufficient to hold back Oni Lee until backup arrives, but obviously don't try to engage Lung if he actually takes to the field," Lady Photon said.

"I don't miss the Nazis, but having the city split up between two capes we can't actually fight sucks," Victoria grumbled.

Manpower nodded absently, and Lady Photon narrowed her eyes at him.

"It definitely seems like things will either settle down or blow up in our faces," Crystal said. "Like, either Lung and Hunter will take the city down with them, or they'll just sit in their lairs and glare at each other from across town."

Amy was pretty sure that Taylor hadn't even thought about Lung in a while. She had a lot of material to keep her busy with her Tinkering and expanding the Workshop. Unless Lung was stupid enough to attack the Hospital, Taylor would probably content herself with hunting his minions occasionally, at least until he started causing major trouble.

Or if he somehow ended up fighting Victoria.

"I'll keep her safe, for you. Don't worry."

The thought was enough to make her shiver internally, but it was also comforting.

If Vicky ever bit off more than she could chew, Taylor would save her.

For me.

She didn't deserve it, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"If things go the way they did with the Empire, Hunter will inevitably end up harassing the ABB until they're forced to retaliate," Aunt Sarah said. "We'll just have to wait and see how it plays out, and try to mitigate as much of the damage as we can in the meantime. We don't want to get stuck in the middle of a pointless fight with an escalating Brute on one side and a power-copying bio-Tinker on the other."

"Wait, she can copy powers?" Victoria cut in.

"That's what she told Armsmaster, anyway. They don't know how she does it, but she didn't display any kind of light or wind abilities until after she took Stormtiger and Purity's bodies," Aunt Sarah answered.

"Which is all the more reason not to get anywhere close to her," Carol said. "Her supposed truce with the PRT might just be a trick to make it easier to get her hands on some heroes and copy their powers. Don't give her any opportunity to get a hold of you."

Amy definitely didn't laugh, but it was a close call.

She wondered what Carol would say if she knew just how close Amy had been to Hunter this morning.

This was actually kind of fun. She could see why Taylor enjoyed throwing people for a loop. The dramatic irony was hilarious.

"In the meantime, we get to enjoy a Nazi-free city for the first time in… ever? I guess?" Eric shrugged.

Victoria caught Amy's eye.

Oh, right. The gay thing.

It was so easy to forget that that was actually a factor to take into consideration, when compared to the whole 'my girlfriend is a mass murderer' thing.

The fact that there were actually people out there who would be more pissed off that she was gay than they would be about her dating a villain was… very stupid.

Without thinking about it, Amy winked at her.

It was a silly thing to do, but it made Victoria smile, so it was worth it.

Luckily, Carol didn't notice.

…

Taylor heard the barking long before she actually reached the new dog shelter.

Rachel worked quickly. A small army of dogs bounded over to greet Taylor as she entered the wide emergency room area that Rachel had commandeered. The center of the room looked like it had once been a large rectangular reception desk, while the walls were lined with individual alcoves that probably had curtains strung up for privacy at some point.

Taylor waded carefully through the veritable sea of overexcited creatures. It was cute, but she didn't want to accidentally step on any of them with her prosthesis.

The smell was… potent. Even when compared to all the dead bodies. Something about draining and processing the blood kept the stench from growing intolerable, and the corpses didn't quite decay like they should naturally, either.

Maybe even the bacteria didn't want to eat Nazis.

Amy must have done something to keep her from being overwhelmed by her augmented senses.

A whistle echoed sharply in the chaotic space and the dogs backed up with surprising efficiency.

"Sorry 'bout that. They're all full of shit from the move," Rachel said as she approached.

Taylor just nodded. Telling Rachel that she didn't mind the chaos or that it was okay didn't seem like the right approach. Rachel took pride in her ability to train and handle the dogs.

"What do they need?" Taylor asked directly.

"Food, unopened stuff that lasts a long time. Could use some more food and water dishes, too. More crates and kennels. Dry shampoo and deodorizer, if you can find it. Always need more towels and blankets, even the trained ones shred 'em if they get anxious. Gotta get running water set up at some point. Could also do with some vet supplies, flea meds and antibiotics and shit," Rachel rattled off quickly.

That was a lot of words. It was… nice. Taylor objectively knew that Rachel cared about her dogs more than she cared about people, but it was good to see that her faith wasn't misplaced.

Maybe they were both kind of shitty at being villains, after all.

Taylor mentally filed away her new shopping list. She would also try to get a mattress for Rachel.

"Okay. I actually want to talk to you about the medication thing. Brutus was bigger than usual, last night," Taylor said.

"Was a lot easier to juice him up, and he seemed okay," Rachel shrugged.

"I think it's related to the blood I gave him. It interacts with your power, somehow. Do you want me to give it to the rest? It will also heal anything that's not, well, this," Taylor gestured to her foot.

Rachel just stared at her impassively for a long moment.

"Okay. You got anything to fix Angelica?"

Taylor had never actually seen Angelica when she wasn't powered up.

Rachel pointed to a terrier with a missing eye.

"Maybe. I have rapid healing solutions like the one I gave Brutus, and a slower regeneration solution that I use to keep my leg from falling apart any further. I don't actually know if the regeneration solution can fix previously lost body parts. It obviously hasn't grown my foot back, but it's worth a shot," Taylor said.

"Won't hurt them, right?" Rachel asked.

"Not that I can tell," Taylor said honestly. "The only change I've noticed is the interaction with your power. But it's up to you, of course."

"Do it," Rachel said after barely a moment's thought. "I trust you. Give it to all of them, just in case."

Taylor nodded. Luckily, she had an abundance of standard blood vials after the massacre last night. Unpowered Empire goons made for excellent blood bags, and her silver stars were apparently extremely efficient at killing them and cauterizing the wounds at the same time. Not a lot of leakage, except for Krieg.

She loaded a regeneration vial into her quick injector and got to work.

Angelica didn't even flinch when Taylor stuck the needle into her. Unfortunately, her eye and ear didn't magically regrow. Similar to Taylor's wayward foot, the old wounds were beyond the reach of the basic regeneration concoction.

"Sorry," Taylor said. She wasn't sure if she was apologizing to Rachel or Angelica. "I'll figure out something else, or I'll ask a… friend, for a favor."

She still wasn't ready to tell anyone about Amy, and she hadn't actually asked if Amy was okay with anyone else knowing, regardless.

"It's okay," Rachel shrugged. "Worth a shot."

A great number of injections and irritated dogs later, Rachel's army was ready.

Just in case.

"I have a couple more things to run past you," Taylor said as Rachel finished getting the last of the dogs settled.

Rachel walked back over and sat in one of the sturdier chairs. Taylor perched on the reception desk to take the weight off of her prosthesis.

"I want to make you some weapons. I know capes usually stick to their powers and gimmick, but we aren't normal capes. We're fucking hunters. I can make you a quick injector and stock you with blood vials, so you don't end up out of the fight next time," Taylor said. "Do you want a gun, sword, axe? Whatever sounds fun to you."

Rachel considered for a few seconds.

"Wouldn't say no to an axe. Maybe a shotgun, I guess," she grunted.

Excellent. Taylor already had the axe made, and she never used it, anyway.

She could also picture the design for a blunderbuss, even if she hadn't bothered to make it for herself.

"I'll get right on that. Next, I have a plan to get running water, but I need to open a door somewhere with easy access. There's a desalination plant up the coast, north of the Graveyard. Will you take a run up there tonight and call me? That way, I can open a door to you, and then lay the pipes back here through the Labyrinth," Taylor summarized.

"Yeah, got it. No problem," Rachel nodded.

"Cool. Do you need to know where…"

"I'll find it. You worry too much, Taylor," Rachel said.

Taylor almost laughed. She definitely worried significantly less than most people, generally speaking, but she appreciated Rachel's confidence.

Taylor shook her head and shot Rachel a not-smile.

"I warned the heroes not to fuck with you, but if they do…"

"I'll call you, and we can fuck 'em up," Rachel said. "You're still fuckin' worrying, though. Go, steal some shit, kill some assholes, whatever the fuck you usually do."

"Alright, alright," Taylor said. It was nice to see Rachel in a good mood.

Rachel nodded and stood.

"Brutus," she called, along with a command whistle.

The familiar, scarred rottweiler padded over.

"Later, Boss," Rachel said, clapping a hand on Taylor's shoulder as she strode past.

Taylor smiled.

She liked that more than she should.

…

There was a knock at her bedroom door.

Amy jumped and hastily re-stoppered the blood vial, shoving it haphazardly into her desk drawer. Like a fucking alcoholic hiding airplane bottles or something.

Before she consciously realized what she was doing, she quickly licked the remaining blood off of her finger.

Jesus fucking Christ, I'm turning into Taylor.

The fact that it tasted good didn't make it better.

"What?" She snapped at the poorly timed intrusion.

"It's me, can I come in?" Vicky's voice filtered in from the hallway.

She usually didn't bother to ask before barging in. Which probably meant that she wanted something. Fantastic.

"Yeah, sure," Amy called, rolling away from the incriminating drawer. Just in case.

Victoria floated in and unceremoniously flopped onto the bed before rolling to face her.

Seeing Vicky stretched out in her bed did weird things to Amy's stomach, but she pushed the unwelcome feelings aside with practiced ease.

Well, not ease. Practically herculean effort. But whatever.

"So…" Vicky said.

"So…" Amy narrowed her eyes.

Had Vicky picked up on something? Or was she just going to give her shit for doing… whatever she thought Amy was doing, with 'Anne'?

"You should bring Anne on a double date with Dean and I tomorrow," Vicky said.

Amy blinked.

"It doesn't have to be public," her sister clarified quickly. "And I'll tell Mom that I found another random beefcake for you to shoot down. We'll go somewhere private-ish, and no one will ask questions."

No one except Trust-Fund Ken, who also happened to be a Ward.

But…

She and Taylor were definitely doing this, whatever the fuck it was they were doing. Girlfriends, villainous bio-tinker partners, 'kill for her' or 'die for her' without a second thought kind of bullshit. She was allowed to want an actual fucking date.

And it was extra time with Victoria. Even if he was along for the ride.

"And before you say no, I promise that Dean will be on his best behavior-"

"Okay," Amy cut her off.

"Really?" Vicky's face lit up.

Shit, that hurts.

Amy sighed.

Why do I do this to myself?

She knew why.

"I'll have to check and make sure Anne is okay with it, but… yeah, fine. We'll do an actual double date, or whatever," Amy said.

Taylor would be fine with it. An opportunity to fuck with both Vicky and her Ward boyfriend? Taylor would probably think Christmas had come early. Fucking crazy-ass Tinker.

Plus, if everything went sideways, Taylor might even kill Dean. That would be a hell of a silver lining.

Amy briefly allowed herself to enjoy the fantasy of asking Taylor to kill the paisley asshat just for shits and giggles. She wouldn't actually ask her to do that, because it would hurt Vicky, but still. A girl could dream.

Vicky squealed excitedly and flew over to hug her tightly before floating back up and towards the door.

"Ahh! This is so exciting," Vicky chattered.

"It isn't nearly as much fun when it's just me trying to find a guy for you. Now we can actually enjoy ourselves!"

"Yes, yes, you're welcome," Amy grumbled. As if she could say no to Vicky. "But I make no apologies for whatever Anne does to your precious nepo-hero."

Vicky pursed her lips.

"I know she's a bit prickly, but I'm sure he'll be fine," Vicky said.

A bit prickly. Sure, Vicky.

Amy had lost track of 'Anne's' kill count. Two hundred and fifty? Ish? Plus or minus a few Nazis and a Ward.

Fuck it.

"Uh huh. Whatever you say. Just remember, this was your idea," Amy said airily.

Vicky narrowed her eyes at her.

"It'll be fine," Vicky repeated, but she seemed less sure this time.

Good. Let her feel some small amount of the anxiety that Amy always had to put up with when she was dragged along on these disasters in the making.

"I'll let you know what Anne says," Amy grinned.

"Cool, cool," Vicky shot her one last look before she left.

Amy bit her lip.

Now she just had to actually make the phone call.

At least it gave her an excuse to call Taylor.

…

Upbeat music echoed in the cold warehouse.

Taylor flinched involuntarily and dropped both of the queen mattresses precariously stacked on her shoulder.

Luckily, furniture distribution centers weren't exactly guarded, and mattresses weren't fragile.

Taylor fished her phone out of her pocket.

Amy's calling?

She hadn't expected to hear from her tonight, but she certainly wasn't complaining.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something," Taylor said. Amy never bothered with a greeting; let's see how she liked it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Am I interrupting your evening of dastardly villainy? Are you out saving more puppies?" Amy shot back.

"I already finished up with that. Rachel's shelter is well stocked and ready to go. Pet supply stores don't exactly have Medhall level security," Taylor said. "Luckily, neither do mattress warehouses, or you'd be dealing with those bullet holes you mentioned earlier."

"It's not my fault you don't keep your phone on silent while you're out doing crimes. I stand by the 'kind of a shitty villain' thing. I bet even Uber and Leet remember to silence their phones," Amy said. Taylor could hear her smiling through the phone. That was nice.

Still, though. Uber and Leet?

"How dare you! I kill people!"

"Excuses. Anyway, you want to go on a double date?" Amy asked. It sounded like she was being deliberately casual.

"I… what? With who?" Taylor blinked. She had never been asked on an actual date before. The idea made her stomach clench.

Thanks for that, Emma.

"Me, obviously," Amy drawled.

Taylor rolled her eyes. Hopefully Amy could feel it through the phone.

"Right, yes, very clever. You know what I meant," Taylor said.

"Fine. Vicky and her boyfriend, who definitely isn't Gallant."

Taylor snorted.

"Sure. I can't possibly imagine how that could go horribly wrong," Taylor chuckled.

"Look, if shit goes down, you totally have my permission to take a limb or three from Dean. You can tinker with parahuman bones and shit, right?" Amy said.

Taylor couldn't tell if she was joking or not. She wasn't sure that Amy knew either.

"I don't have Anne's identity ready yet. When's this date?" Taylor asked.

"Tomorrow."

Taylor assumed that Lisa was pretty efficient, but there was no way she was that quick.

"But you shouldn't need it," Amy continued. "Vicky is covering for us, and it's not like Dean is going to ask for your ID. Carol eats up whatever bullshit Vicky comes up with, so we should be fine."

Taylor couldn't help but smile. This was going to be a train wreck, but it sounded fun.

"Fuck it. Yeah, let's do it."

"Cool," Amy said. Despite her casual attitude, Taylor could tell she was smiling.

Good.

"Now, not that I don't appreciate the call, but I really am in the middle of something," Taylor glanced down at the fallen mattresses.

"The great Hunter can't multitask?"

"Maybe if I was just hunting Nazis, but mattresses are awkward, okay?" Taylor said.

"Fine, fine," Amy laughed. Taylor's chest tightened at the sound. "I'll call you with the details in the morning."

Taylor still didn't want to hang up, but she also didn't want a repeat of the Medhall fiasco.

"Goodnight, Amy," she said.

"See you tomorrow, Taylor," Amy replied.

Taylor closed her phone and considered her unwieldy spoils.

I hope they fit through the Labyrinth door.

…