4.4
Images filled the screens around him, scanned from the journal that was now packed away with the rest of the belongings that were deemed salvageable. He'd tasked Battery with that, which earned him more than a few jokes from Assault about why he was carrying around a box full of teenage girl's clothes.
Thankfully, he didn't have to deal with that any longer, having retreated to his workshop so he could look into this further. That was before another problem reared its head. That was sitting in one of his chairs, reviewing the images he had collected on his server. Which was fine. He could deal with that, the man in question was good at his job and Armsmaster respected competence where it could be found.
What was intolerable was the glossy red package Glenn Chambers had with him, that he occasionally reached in and withdrew a handful of toffee covered popcorn mixed with nuts to eat.
"Must you do that?" he asked, looking toward him while he made some adjustments to the internal motors for his current project.
"I missed lunch," Glenn said in reply, his eyes never wavering from the images. "Did you want some?"
He eyed the offered bag with distaste. "No. I need my hands clean. Can't risk contamination to any of the internal mechanisms. From anything on my hands or from the environment," he said as he eyed a dried piece of caramel fall to the floor from the offered bag.
"Ah," Glenn shrugged and resumed eating. "I'll stay over here, then."
"You could have just waited for me to assemble my report, you know," he pointed out after a few moments had passed and he finished lining up the pistons.
"Please," Glenn snorted. "After all that I've had to do to keep Emily in her job and contain the recent negative opinion, I need to get things back on track with Ms. Hebert as soon as possible. These may be a useful glimpse into her mindset."
"I already looked them over," he replied. "They're just different costume ideas."
Glenn shook his head. "If they were just that, I'd be gone already. I'm pretty good at reading people by how they present themselves, you realize. It is part of my job, after all."
Armsmaster grunted, lifting up the heavy centerpiece so he could work on it. "And what does your experience at that tell you, seeing these?"
"Well, for one, she has an eye for Parahuman fashion," he remarked before frowning. "And appears to be literally of two minds about it too."
He looked up, his attention sharpening. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Glenn tapped the keyboard in front of him, thankfully with the hand that had not been digging into the bag. "These here, they're just concepts. She starts on them, they're clearly the beginnings of something she thought of, but she gets halfway through and then stops and starts over. And every time, she produces a full costume."
"She had another idea and scrapped the old one," he suggested.
"No," Glenn shook his head. "The finished ones are different. There's a uniformity to that. Design elements carry from one to the other, in many cases. They're more… reproductions of a finished product than something she conceived personally."
"You got all that from some pictures?"
"Every finished product has one feature that carries over in some fashion, except for two specific ones that have their own theme," he tapped another key then reached for a touchpad and stylus. Armsmaster cringed slightly as Glenn began highlighting spots on the images using the tip of the stylus. "Observe."
He scanned the images, a detail he had noticed, but paid little attention to earlier standing out. "X? There's an X on nearly all of them? Why? Some sort of emblem? What does it stand for, then?"
"Only these two differ, but they have their own theme, obviously, one that the costume she ultimately chose shares somewhat," Glenn indicated the two costumes that differed only in their primary color. One green, one crimson. "There is, though, one feature that nearly all of the finished costumes have in common. Or rather, the lack of a feature."
"No mask," Armsmaster said.
"Correct." Glenn made a thoughtful sound. "All of her aborted concept outfits feature masks to obscure identity. The majority of the finished ones do not, with a handful of exceptions. It's like they were designed by someone who either saw no point in it, or felt no need to hide her identity. Why would that be, do you think?"
"Identity being either an open fact, or she simply felt powerful enough that concealing her identity was unnecessary because she was strong enough to ignore consequences."
"Yes, but there is something else. The other thing," Glenn murmured, sliding through each one in the rough timeline that they had been ordered in, "is there's a definite evolution here. Some of these… feel old, wouldn't you say? Like designed with less resources, but they grow more advanced and complex. The second fiddle look gives way to more defensive, protective designs, and then phases back slightly, valuing appearance more."
"Time period too," Armsmaster added thoughtfully. "Some of the initial ones wouldn't have felt out of place in the eighties, or earlier. Also, they look out of place, like something's missing."
"A sidekick or teammate. The earlier costumes are...submissive in a sense. Something someone following someone else's lead would wear." he nodded. "Some of the early ones definitely feel that way, I agree. There's phases too. This girl… her maturity seems all over the place."
"Wishful thinking on a teenage girl's part," Armsmaster dismissed, going back to testing adjustments on his project. "Wanting to appear as more than she is."
"I'm not so sure," Glenn said. "Like, things give way to functionality in a lot of cases. Less from just design but… practical experience? Things that aren't needed are discarded and phased out. And then there's this."
He looked up at the row of images, noting the two highlighted. "What about them? She revisited an earlier design."
"She was moving toward more functional, then she changed to the green and gold, then changed back to something that was hideously impractical." He bit his lip. "There's something I'm missing here though. The next one is the red, or crimson as you said, and gold. And then…"
"You've thought of something?"
"The costumes that are finished," he said slowly. "They aren't designed for someone with Ms. Hebert's build in mind. Like I said, two minds."
"Wishful thinking," Armsmaster repeated, frowning at the screen.
"I've watched every bit of video we have of her," Glenn retorted. "Where, exactly, did she give you that impression? Enlighten me, as I'd like to know what I missed."
"What are you proposing?"
"There's something we're missing here," Glenn said. "Her concepts are clearly built with her own appearance in mind, but these others… they all follow a single individual… through various stages… The first one or two might be around Ms. Hebert's age, but whoever they represent, she gets older. Even at a younger age, she's clearly a more developed figure, shall we say, than Ms. Hebert. This.. will sound crazy, but it's almost like two different people drawing, but they're the same person."
Armsmaster straightened, looking up at the pictures as recollections from questioning sessions that occurred months before returned to his thoughts. "You're suggesting some sort of mental issue?"
"It's possible," Glenn allowed. "The circumstances under which powers are gained
can create some personality shifts. They're usually, from what I've observed, extremely pronounced though. Did you think of something?"
"When the situation at Winslow turned into a complete mess with Shadow Stalker," he said slowly. "I spoke with Browbeat regarding her complicity in events and she remarked that it seemed almost like Taylor Hebert had become someone else. She carried herself differently, more self-assured."
"Are you suggesting some sort of severe personality shift? Or that she could be Mastered?"
"There's one question I have for you," Armsmaster asked, reaching to a nearby touchpad and moving the images to two specific ones. "These. They don't fit at all with any of the others. What sort of insight do these lend to your theories?"
Glenn looked at the two pictures with a grimace, glancing at the woman in provocative black lingerie and a cloak, of all things and the sketch of a man in nineteenth century clothing. "These two, I'm afraid I have no explanation for. Characters in some sort of story, perhaps?"
Armsmaster frowned, then shook his head, eyeing one of the images askance. "I don't think we need to probe too deeply into that. Given that one's clothing, I'm not sure it's the sort of story we need to investigate or ask Ms. Hebert about."
Glenn nodded absently, putting the tablet down. "I can see that. You'll forward the information to me?" Armsmaster nodded absently, feeling relief as the other man excused himself and left him to work in peace.
~~~~~~~~
Lisa stared at the computer screens arrayed before her, gently rubbing the sides of her head to ease away the dull ache forming there. Arrayed across the monitors was everything was that she had collected regarding Sirin; Taylor Hebert. White boards hung around the room, covered in sticky notes with lines drawn between them to connect certain notes together. There was an order to how everything was laid out.
It was, however, an order that clashed with the disorder everywhere else. Empty cans of iced coffee and energy drinks littered the floor, intermingled with discarded wrappers from easy to fix meals. Eyes with bags beneath them from lack of sleep flittered from board to board, before settling on the computer at her desk.
What was she missing? Everything she knew or had gleaned about the girl's personality and power was here, but something was missing, something vital. And it burned, that she couldn't piece together a clear picture.
"Okay, run down the list from the top," she muttered, looking back to where her collected information started. "Hebert got powers earlier this year, around the…" Her words trailed off as she stared at the picture of Hebert in costume, her eyes falling on the emblem on her chest.
"Holy shit, no way," Lisa said, quickly bringing up another image from January, staring at the picture that had been plastered all over the news for several weeks.
It was right in front of her the whole time. Her eyes darted between the image from the news and the emblem on Sirin's chest.
"Wait, wait, no," she bit her lip. "That can't be right. Hebert didn't show signs that she was aware of this. Was it just a one time thing? How…"
Massaging her temples slowly, she shook her head. "No, getting sidetracked. Whether or not she was aware of that doesn't matter right now. What she's going to do next is what I need to sort out. And what I'm going to do."
Lisa sighed, looking over the mess of her office before bringing up the paperwork she had filed days ago. There was still red tape to sort through, but she had managed to lay hands on a good portion of Coil's assets. Not
everything. But enough that she could be reasonably comfortable for the rest of her life even if she did nothing with it.
There was still more to do. There was going to always be more to do for a long time yet. The man had his hands in a lot of pockets and corralling all of that was taking time. Officially, Thomas Calvert was listed as missing and she'd taken care to ensure that there wasn't anything to connect him to his identity as Coil just yet. The last thing she wanted was for scrutiny to fall on him until she had stripped him of everything he had ever owned. Her own compensation for what he put her through.
Her office room door creaked opened, and she squinted and turned away from the spear of light that intruded into the room. When the door closed, Brian stood there, a glass of water in one hand and a familiar bottle in the other.
"I have your painkillers," he said quietly, glancing at the assorted white boards and the shadows they cast against the wall in the dim light of her computer screen. "What are you doing in here anyway?"
"Nothing important," Lisa answered, accepting the glass with a half-forced smile. "Just some research." She scanned the boards quickly, to make sure there was nothing that would give away the identity of her her research project to Brian. She downed the pills and water quickly, then glanced back toward where Brian was eyeing the garbage strewn across the floor.
"Okay, what?" she asked as he nudged an empty can with one foot, scanning the room with an expression of distaste.
"When was the last time you cleaned up in here?" The question made her frown and shift in her chair.
"I've been busy," Lisa replied after a moment. "Research, trying to salvage what I can so that we're not left in the cold after what happened. Our backer's gone, remember?"
"And that means you need to wallow in a mess?" Brian asked, raising an eyebrow. "Have you looked around, I mean, really looked?"
She shook her head. "I don't have time for that, right now. This needs to get done, and fast. The longer I wait, the more we risk losing something valuable in the shuffle. Did you need something else?"
For a moment, Brian was silent. A look of indecision on his face before determination set it. He pulled up the spare chair, and sat across from her at the other side of the desk. "Sure, I've got something. What are we going to do now? If our backer's gone, we're left picking our own jobs." Brian explained. "What's the plan then? Especially if members start drifting off?"
Lisa was silent for a moment, before she realized what Brian meant and her eyes widened slightly before she shook her head. "I don't know. And more importantly, I don't care."
Brian frowned. "I don't follow."
"I explained this to you. How do you not?" she said. "I was forced to bring this whole thing together. The Undersiders? Coil's little pet project for his plans. Do you think I really wanted to be part of this? Held at gunpoint wasn't unclear, I hope?"
"So, what, you're just going to bail and we can fend for ourselves?" he asked, anger beginning to curl around his words as he spoke. "I seem to recall promises to help with my sister."
"What part of 'I was held at gunpoint' and 'our 'backer' is carbon on a wall somewhere' is unclear to you?" Lisa asked. "I don't have his contacts, if those were even real. But here, I can at least do this." She switched screens on her monitor and began typing.
"What did you just do?"
"I'm moving funds around, so that you, Rachel and Alec are compensated," she explained. "I'll give Rachel her money myself, but that's it."
"So that's it?" Brian asked, a hard edge to his voice as he stood, looming over her. Whether intentional or not, the display rankled. But she wasn't going to be strongarmed by anyone. Not again.
Never again.
"That's it," she said in agreement, her own temper beginning to flare. "What else did you expect? The leash around my neck is off and at the end of the day, none of you are anything more than co-workers I barely know. You have money that can use and ensure your sister is taken care of. You can go now."
Brian stood there for a long moment, fury radiating from him in waves before he stepped back. "You had better hope that what you just said is true, if no-"
"I said you can go now!" Lisa interrupted harshly, not looking up from her desk. She couldn't look at him. She wouldn't. A clean break, even if a hostile one, was best.
A moment later and her room's door slammed shut, leaving her alone in the dimly lit office. Lisa stared at it for a moment before drawing in a shuddering breath and trying to calm herself. She was free.
He was dead and there wasn't going to be another phone call, ever again. Brian might be mad, but he could manage things now. It would be all right.
Wiping at her face, she forced her attention back onto what she had been working on before, letting her power resume the dropped thread of her inquiry. Hebert was where everything lead back to and she didn't want to misjudge which way the girl was going to land. Something told her it was vitally important.
~~~~~~~~
Noelle, when she got moving, was as much a force of nature as Vicky, pulling me along in her wake until I found myself in a small cafe with some sort of green tea mixed with milk. I had eyed it dubiously, but found the mixture quite nice, if a bit different from my typical preferences.
"So, you dragged me from the roof to a tea house?" I asked, sipping the steaming drink slowly.
"Warms you up," Noelle replied. "And to talk. Less attention this way."
"You're joking, right?" I asked, glancing around at the crowded room. "How is this less attention?"
"We're just two more people in the room," she shrugged. "As opposed to standing on a rooftop and lighting yourself on fire."
"I wasn't lighting myself on fire," I said with a glare before sighing. "I was trying to test a theory."
"What? How to burn yourself?" Noelle asked.
"I'm immune to my own fire, as far as I know," I looked away, staring at people as they came and went. "I was trying to… oh hell, I don't even know." I sighed and stared down at my cup, biting my lip as I thought about that moment on the roof again.
"Something's bothering you," Noelle observed after a moment. I looked up at her and nodded slowly.
"Since I got my powers," I admitted. "I didn't pay it much attention before, but I've noticed several things lately and it seems to be getting more frequent."
"And this has you trying to immolate yourself?" Noelle asked, drawing another glare before I saw the grin playing around her lips.
"Wasn't," I grumbled, taking a drink of the tea to settle my nerves. "This is something else, and not a joke."
"Sorry, sorry," Noelle said. "Trying to lighten the mood. You've just been so dour and it doesn't feel right. Especially after what I've heard about what happened. You shouldn't be depressed."
"I don't remember much of that," I admitted, shaking my head. "I'm not sure I want to either."
"You can't run away from it, you know," she told me.
"I know," I answered with a tight smile. "But, I can put it to the side for now, while I figure things out."
"Figure out what things?" Noelle asked.
I turned my head slightly, looking at the window for a long time before I answered. "Sometimes, I'm not sure who I am."
"Is this teenage angst? Because I've had my fill of that," she asked, giving me a grin to take away any sting from the words. "Everyone goes through that."
"Not like that," I grimaced. "I mean… I dream things, or have moments where I am remembering something that I know I didn't do. Couldn't have done."
Noelle eyed me with worry in her eyes. "This isn't teenage angst, is it?"
"Probably not," I replied. "I don't know what it is, except that it bothers me and after what happened when I was captive, whatever that was, I can't ignore it anymore."
"Ok, so go over this with me from the top," Noelle said after a moment. "Details, from the beginning."
"It starts," I began after taking a deep breath, "with a firebir-" I stopped, frowning. That wasn't right. I didn't know why, but firebird was the wrong word. Too simple.
"A firebird?" Noelle asked, finishing my half-formed thought.
I shook my head, certainty growing. "No, with a
phoenix."
"A phoenix?" Noelle's forehead furrowed for a moment. "Mythological bird, dies and is reborn in fire and all that? Outside of the gaming scene, I was studying mythology."
"I got my powers back in January," I told her. "I was stuffed in a locker filled with... "
Noelle's hand found mine, her expression a mixture of comfort and distaste. "I get that. Keep going"
"I don't remember much after I was locked in, but apparently, at the same time, a gigantic phoenix made out of fire appeared above the school. I was comatose for a bit and they apparently did some tests and didn't find any signs that I was a parahuman. But.. well, I'm something, that's for sure." I glanced around the room, relaxing as Noelle's words came back to me. There was enough noise that our conversation was unlikely to be overhead.
I took a sip from my cup and sat it down. "For the first while after I was back in school, things were different. Before the locker, I'd just been trying to endure, but after, well, I didn't care about that. I was going to be better than them. I made friends, pushed past what they had tried to do to me."
"And the person you are now doesn't resemble who you were before?"
I shook my head. "There were a few times, not long after, where I had thoughts, urges, even a moment or two where I was sure I was remembering something that had never happened to me. I drew a lot of pictures then. I thought I was designing costumes, but most of them didn't seem like something I would have worn." I frowned. "Guess those got torched with most everything else."
"Why didn't you stick around and check for more than the jacket?"
I looked to my left, scanning the room as I thought about the answer to that question. There were several couples scattered across various tables. My eyes fell on a pair of girls curled in one of the booths across, a redhead and a brunette, the whole world forgotten as they sat there, leaning into one another.
Melancholy washed over me for a moment and I pulled my gaze away, wishing suddenly that I could be like that with someone. I frowned and pushed the whim aside, focusing on what she had asked. "Part of it was that everything was so wrecked when I got there. The fire department had come by at some point and hosed it down to put the fire out. I was surprised the jacket was still intact and after everything else.. I couldn't bring myself to root through everything looking for stuff that wasn't burnt or ruined."
"And you didn't want to go back and sift through the ashes," Noelle murmured in question.
"Exactly," I replied, grateful that I didn't have to explain in further detail. The connection between us had dimmed since the incident, but she seemed to be able to pick up my mood and easily gain an idea of what I was going to say or think. The lack of privacy in my own thoughts might have bothered me once, but it felt like something I had dealt with for a long time.
Everyone else's thoughts were an open book for a long time before The Professor had—
I swallowed suddenly, feeling my blood run cold. The Professor? Who was that?
"Taylor?" Noelle asked, picking up on my sudden mood change. "What is it?"
"It was another one," I said quietly. "I was just thinking about my powers, about hearing someone's thoughts and the lack of privacy and then I was thinking of someone who had helped me with that. I've never met anyone like that, though."
Noelle didn't say anything for a moment, simply looking concerned as she regarded me. "You're sure?"
The image was clearer in my head now, an older man, wheelchair bound, regarding me with affection. I shook my head in dismissal. "No, I don't. I remember him, but I've never met him before." I looked at her and let my hands grip the edge of the table. "How is that even possible?"
"Maybe it's just from the drugs that you were doped with?" Noelle suggested. "Maybe they'll pass once you're fully recovered?"
"I guess," I said, moving my hands to grasp my cup of tea. "I had moments of this happening before this though."
Noelle winced. "Right, there is that. Well, you should tell someone other than me, at least. I mean, that way if you start acting weird, they'll know what to look for."
I felt a laugh bubble up. "Right, tell all my friends that I might be crazy."
"You aren't," she said firmly. "Powers are weird. I should know, of all people. I doubt a crazy person could have fixed me."
"I don't even know what I did!" I protested. "I was drugged out of my mind and apparently did… something. Krouse's explanation of what happened… well, it didn't really explain anything since I can't remember anything more than brief, unsettling flashes."
"And you want to know, don't you?" she asked, then tilted her head. "But you're afraid?"
"I don't… Yeah, yeah I am. Like, I was drugged up beyond belief, but what about anything else? The doctors said there was no evidence I had been-" I paused for a moment, struggling with the words, "raped, but there's a lot of things that could have happened that they couldn't have found with tests or examinations."
"I can't speak for that, but, the impressions I can recall and the things Krouse told me… I don't think you have to worry about that," Noelle said finally. "That didn't seem like a thing he was interested in."
"You'll forgive me if I am not reassured," I replied with a sigh, finishing off the last of my tea. "I suppose there isn't a whole lot I can do if I let it work me into a frenzy."
"What will you do, then?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. But I'm not going to find answers by agonizing over this. The only way out is through, right?"
Noelle smiled. "Don't do anything, stupid, alright?"
"No plans to," I agreed. "I, um… thanks for the tea, and for listening."
"Just don't go setting yourself on fire," she said with a grin. "That isn't a solution, at any time. I might not always be around to put you out."
I snorted. "I told you-" I glanced at her face and the smirk there. "Yeah, yeah. Take care of yourself and try not to overshare. I don't need those images when I'm trying to sleep."
"You know," Noelle's grin widened. "I'm rather focused on other things then. So if you're picking up things, that's all on you." She fanned herself. "So lewd, spying on my private time with Krouse. He's off limits, though."
I snorted. "Not interested in him, sorry."
"Oh, me then?" The grin grew a fraction more. "Well, I suppose I could see if he's okay with sharing…"
My face heated up. "I am going now and you are horrible."
"You can come see me whenever, you know that, right?" she asked as I stood. "Don't make me come hunt you down and really, talk to more people. You can't take it all on yourself."
"Thanks," I said, then frowned. "Did you need me to drop you off anywhere?"
"Nah, Krouse will be by soon, if he can get free that is. The others will tag along and then we're going to talk some things over," she waved a hand absently. "Don't sweat the tea, either. I've got it. Just be safe, okay?"
"Will do," I answered, my frown morphing into a smile before I left.
~~~~~~~~
"...I'm at war with the world and they… try to pull me into the dark…"
The band performing wasn't the sort of stuff I normally listened to, but the concert was for some sort of free performance and I sat with my legs dangling over the edge of a wall, enjoying the show, the worries and stress of the last week or three forgotten.
The Empire might still be an issue and I still had no answers to what was going on with the things I kept remembering or having the odd flashes of. But I would find them, find a way forward.
"It's getting harder to stay awake and my strength is fading fast, you breathe into me at last…"
The larger question was what I was going to do about the other situations before me. A place to stay more long term, money for food and expenses. And whether I wanted to continue as I was doing. Being a hero had resulted in a lot of pain since I went out.
"No one ever said it would be easy," I muttered to myself, watching as the drummer of the band blasted out another line in counterpoint to the lead.
"Right here, right now, stand my ground and never back down!"
Being a hero had brought a lot of pain, but there had been positives. I held out my hand, letting fire curl around it, forming a serpentine shape before shifting into a small bird. I had powers. A lot of them.
"Maybe...too many?" Too many. And they were getting stronger. Vicky's words from a conversation came back to me, about how powers just came along a theme and that was it. But I just kept getting new stuff, and getting stronger. I had gone by the crater of Coil's base again and surveyed how much damage. The shockwave from whatever I had done had blown out windows for 3 blocks in every direction. I hadn't been capable of something like that when I first started out.
Pyrokinesis, precog, telepathy, telekinesis. And whatever the hell I had done to fix Noelle. Even with them sharing their story, I still wasn't exactly clear on what had happened to her that I had fixed or even how.
"Guess there's something to be said for bad drug trips," I snorted with a current of dark amusement running through me at the words. "But apparently I can fix people? Healing too?"
I thought about that for a while, then shook my head. I didn't think that it was healing, the thought didn't feel right. Related to healing somehow, certainly. I couldn't remember healing her, or even the feeling of it. All that time was lost. I prodded at the blank spot, trying to pull anything from it, but all that I found, as the other times I had tried, was an empty haze, obscuring everything.
I snuffed out the flame I had been playing with, relaxing as a scan of the area told me that no one had noticed my display. Whatever I was going to, whatever I was going to be from here on out, I needed a better handle on my powers. If something like what had happened with Coil occurred, what was I going to do if I reacted the same way, or worse?
My powers were getting stronger and Vicky had been sure that there was something wrong about that; that powers didn't work that way. I needed to know why mine did. There weren't many options for figuring out how my powers worked. Dr. Manton had disappeared ages ago and I thought I had read something a few years ago about him being dead, something to do with the Slaughterhouse Nine when they were all killed and the bounties collected in a single day.
I wondered who had done that. At the time, I hadn't been that interested because of what had happened to my mom and then the events that followed when Emma went nuts on me. Probably no way to find that out now, anyway. I pushed the thought aside. The Protectorate could help, I was sure, but I was fairly certain what their price would be.
They all wanted something. Coil had wanted my precognitive powers, the Protectorate and PRT want another powerful cape. My friends just wanted to be friends, I thought, but Catherine's dad definitely had an agenda of some sort. I sighed and pushed off the wall with my hips, taking flight. Maybe If I went home and talked to the others, I could figure things out.
I gained altitude and turned southwest, picking up speed as fire wreathed around me. It was just under three hours driving to where I wanted to go, but I could make it in twenty minutes at a relaxed pace. I turned my thoughts back to my current dilemmas. Things with my Dad weren't so good right now and I wasn't sure I wanted to deal with bringing all that up again. But ignoring that, there were still more issues that I would need to face eventually.
Maybe I can call Sara and talk to her about how to deal with the Dad situation, or just to catch up. It's been a long time since we talked last. I could only hope that she wouldn't take my parent's side.
Banking around a cloud, then turning into a spiral, I shook my head. Sara was probably busy and our last conversation hadn't been good. She didn't approve of what we were doing at the Institute, but it was the right thing to do, whatever she thought.
Bobby would just suggest something stupid and Hank would be busy reading or experimenting. Warren would be off with his fifth girl of the week and thus, useless.
Maybe Scott? I shook my head. No, he didn't understand. He didn't even have parents to argue with. I hadn't known any of the rest long enough that I couldn't see sharing with them. I breezed past another row of clouds and angled downward, beginning my descent.
I frowned as I landed, the sudden feeling that something was wrong flaring in my mind. Where was the mansion?
...Mansion?
I swallowed and looked around at the farmland around me, trying to pinpoint where the hell I was. What the hell had I been thinking, flying off in a random direction? Had I gone off on another spacing out instance like with Vicky the other day?
And who the hell were Bobby, Warren, Hank and Scott? Why did those names feel so familiar? I could almost attach faces to the names. Faces that belonged to a place that was meant to be here in the fields, surrounded by a forest. A place filled with familiar faces, laughing and living and fighting for their lives and something they believed in.
That place was supposed to be here.
It wasn't.
So why was I?
I took a step back, shaking my head as I looked around, a thread of panic rising. This was wrong. Why wasn't it here when I was? What the hell had happened to put me here without everything else I knew?
...Who was I? I shook my head, pushing at the insistence that there should be a mansion and carefully kept grounds here, not forgotten farmland in need of clearing. I didn't know this place, had never been here.
So why was I so certain that it should be? That there should be people here that I knew, most of whom I had known for years? Why was I certain it was this spot and that I wasn't in the middle of nowhere?
I looked around again, pushing down the insistence that this was the place I needed to be, swallowing roughly as the impressions of people and the feelings they stirred released me, leaving me feeling empty.
My feet left the ground as I took one last look around, my eyes stinging as I began to move away,. It wasn't here… so why was I? The answer did not come to me as I flew away, feeling more lost and alone than I had in a long time even as rain began to pelt against my skin.
Vicky stared at the rain as it fell against the window, watching it make patterns that disappeared as quickly as they formed. She didn't want to go home, but she didn't know what to do. Amy was pissed over something, probably related to their mom acting weird because of the bomb that had hit her. With her dad barely doing anything and Mom on a constant tirade, she didn't really want to go home. Whatever was bothering Amy, too, was prompting her to spend more time at the hospital. Home was simply an unpleasant place right now.
Normally, she would have distracted herself with Dean, but he was very low on the list of people she wanted to deal with right now, still. Taylor hadn't replaced her phone since that whole mess from a few weeks ago, so she had no way to get in touch with her after finding that she wasn't at the shelter she had been staying at.
"This sucks," she muttered. Dean being an ass was a thing that happened far too often and despite the ups being quite fun, she was wondering if the downs were worth it. Grimacing, she pushed thoughts of Dean and that entire shitty situation away. Until he pulled his head out of his ass, it wasn't worth it. And even if he did, it might not be.
She glanced outside, watching the rain as it fell into a circle of light left by a streetlight across the street. Her breath left her lungs in a rush at the sight of the person standing in that circle.
Taylor. The other girl was standing motionless, her expression forlorn and dejected. Vicky's eyes immediately noted that the jacket she had gotten Taylor was missing and her clothes were soaked. A car roared by, blocking her view for a second and when it passed, the other girl was gone. Vicky grabbed her coat and tossed money down on the table before dashing out.
There was no sign of her when she crossed the street, glancing around wildly before settling on a direction as she saw someone turn a corner. Turning the corner, she even took flight, glancing around for any sign of her friend before landing a bit further ahead. Above, a clock chimed and she looked up, scanning for any sign of Taylor as it announced midnight.
There was no sign of Taylor and she grimaced, hoping that her friend was alright. Even in the few days after she escaped from Coil, Vicky had never seen such a haunted look in the other's eyes.
"Damnit," she muttered, slamming a fist against a nearby streetlight pole, then wincing as a dent formed in the metal. "Maybe I just imagined it?" She shoved her hands into her pockets, giving the empty streets around her a frustrated glance before starting to walk away.
Footsteps splashing in rain were her only warning and she turned to see the other girl running toward her. Taylor stumbled at the last and Vicky moved, surging forward to catch the other girl. However slight she was, the act threw her off balance and she spun into the air before setting the other girl down.
"Taylor? Are you okay?" she asked. Wide eyes met her own and then her friend's expression crumpled and she buried her face against Vicky's shoulder. Unsure of what to say, she settled for holding her friend in a hug as she cried, wondering what had happened to upset her this much.
She wasn't sure how much time passed as she walked with her friend, letting the other calm down. Though, even after she had, Taylor remained silent, staring off into the distance and looking lost. Vicky sighed and slipped her coat off as the rain finally stopped, draping it over the other girl's thin frame.
"What is it?" she finally asked.
"Nothing," Taylor's voice was barely a whisper as she answered.
"Come on, I can tell something's bothering you, something big," Vicky pressed as they came to a halt out near Captain's Hill. She was and was surprised to realize how far they had come while walking.
Taylor didn't say anything for a long time, and Vicky began to get worried that she had lost focus again and was about to say something when she finally spoke. "You know how we discussed that there was something weird about my powers? How I kept getting more of them and they kept getting stronger?"
Vicky nodded. "Yeah, is that what has you upset…?"
"I flew to New York today," Taylor went on. "Looking for a place that isn't there."
"Hold on, you flew to New York? City?"
Taylor shook her head. "No, Westchester County, near Salem Center."
Vicky frowned, thinking of the last map she had seen. "Why? There's nothing but farms out that way."
Taylor's laugh was bitter and just a touch hysterical and it made Vicky's frown deepen. "That's right. There's nothing there. Just farms. But I'm here."
"You are not making sense," Vicky said. "What's so special about these farms or whatever isn't there?"
A sigh escaped her friend and her shoulders hunched a bit, as if she was retreating. "It's nothing. Just a memory from a dream."
"With dancing bears and painted wings?" Vicky asked, drawing an odd look from her friend. "Sorry, animated movie I saw. Very terrible retelling about Anastasia Romanov."
"I don't think I've seen it," Taylor said quietly.
Vicky grinned. "I like looking up old animated films. A lot of them have really good music. Mostly the ones made here in the States, at least. I try some foreign shows every now and then, but…"
"But?"
"Just ask me before you watch anything from Japan, alright?" Vicky asked her, making a face before grinning. "If you're really curious I'll send you some recommendations."
"I… am frightened," Taylor murmured, the faintest hint of a smile appearing on her face for a moment. "It's something horrible, isn't it?"
She shrugged. "Depends on your point of view, I guess. They have some odd ideas over there, is all. Anyway, going to get to the point about what's bothering you?"
Taylor was silent for a moment before scowling. "I'm not sure there's anything bothering me."
Vicky felt a frown return. "Who then? Your imaginary friend?"
Shaking her head, Taylor answered. "I don't know how to explain it that doesn't sound crazy."
Vicky reached over with one arm, drawing the other girl into a single-armed hug. "How about starting from the beginning? I don't have anywhere to be and have plenty of time."
"Don't you need to go home? It is pretty late," Taylor asked, glancing up at her friend with a worried look.
"You need a shoulder more than I need to go home," she gave her friend a grin as she spoke. "Also, I'm avoiding home, just so you don't think I'm being entirely selfless."
"Right," Taylor murmured before falling silent again. It was a while before she said anything and Vicky waited, sensing that her friend was struggling with how to put the thoughts into words. "Well, it starts right after the locker…"
~~~~~~~~
"...And there was nothing there, just empty farms." I finished, feeling parched and wishing I had a bottle of water. Internally, I cringed, wondering how Vicky was going to react to everything I had just dumped on her.
Vicky whistled softly. "I- You're sure about this?"
"If I had another explanation, I'd go for it. Especially if it was more sane than the idea that I have someone else's memories in my head." I told her. Talking about it had lifted my spirits a bit, but it was still frustrating. Walking around while we talked had definitely helped, but I wasn't even sure what time it was now.
"Any ideas how this happened?" Vicky asked. "We know you have mental powers. Maybe you copied from someone during your trigger?"
"I guess it's possible," I said slowly. "I don't know a lot about powers and where they come from, admittedly, but I much prefer the copying idea to some of the other thoughts I've had about getting pieces of another person in my head."
"Well, maybe if we can work out who this person is, we can figure out how to separate the memories?" Vicky mused. "Has anything else leaked through?"
"Our first meeting," I said, sighing. "What was I doing again?"
Vicky frowned. "The clothes. You were shopping for her!"
I snorted and nudged her with my shoulder. "How do you know it's a her?"
She rolled her eyes, gesturing with the arm that wasn't draped across my shoulders still. "One, I take some university classes, most about parahuman powers, but there's some psychology in there. Two, you obviously weren't picking out clothes for yourself. I had wondered about that for a while and you telling me this is the piece I was missing."
I shook my head, "Was it really obvious that they weren't for me? I just remember picking them out because they looked good."
Vicky nodded. "Taylor, sweetie, they were designed for someone with, well, a lot more up-top and more hips than you have. Also, they were totally not your colors. You're a Winter. These were for someone who is a Spring or Summer."
"Not all of us can be built like the model of a superheroine in the old comics," I snorted.
"Taylor, I wish I had your build sometimes," Vicky rolled her eyes. "Like, I've seen you eat, when you do. Where do you put it?"
I shrugged, then glanced around, trying to determine where we were. "Okay, you've succeeded in distracting me. But where are we?"
Vicky looked around with a frown and I took a moment to glance her way while she was distracted. Just wandering around with her like this, it was nice, and her taking the time to just listen had done wonders for my mood. Even if I was no closer to figuring everything out, it felt good to just walk around with a close friend.
"Looks like we're almost to where you're staying," she remarked. "So! Here's what I think. You're going to go stop worrying about this. I'll think about what you've told me and we'll talk tomorrow."
I gave her a shy smile and tilted my head toward the beginnings of the sunrise to our left. "Don't you mean tonight?"
"Tonight, right," she laughed and grinned. "You know, I could make my family flip if I told them I had spent all night with a girl."
"You won't get any problems from staying out, will you?" I asked, frowning.
"Eh, Mom might gripe, but whatever, that's nothing new lately," Vicky said, yawning. "Just lost track of time, is all. And don't beat yourself up over that, what are friends for, after all?"
"There might be space if you don't want to fly home," I said hesitantly, unsure how she'd take the offer.
Vicky made a face. "If you still had your digs at the firehouse, I might take you up on that, but your current place is a bit cramped."
"We can go hunting for someplace else for me to squat later," I laughed. "Be safe, Vicky."
"Get some rest, Taylor," Vicky said, taking to the air. "Fugly's at six sound good?"
"I'll be there," I promised as she flashed another grin and took off.
I stood there for a few minutes until she was out of sight and I turned, starting on the rest of the walk to the shelter, feeling less burdened than I had when this night began. The elderly lady who ran the shelter gave me a stern look as I entered, then pointed upstairs. I smiled, nodded and ventured up to my room, taking a quick shower before falling into the bed.
My dreams, when they came, were filled with fire.