Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue

Thursday, August 9th, 2007.

Sarah Livsey met her best friend when she was thirteen years old, on a perfectly normal summer afternoon in the woods behind her parent's house.

Well, it was her house, too. And Reggie's. But it didn't feel like it, some days. She liked the forest better. Especially on days like today, when the leaves overhead dyed the sunlight green and the breeze kept the shade nice and cool.

The trees may not have air conditioning, but they also didn't have her mother's shrill, demanding voice.

Sit up straight, Sarah. Posture is important.

Don't make so much noise, Sarah. It's impolite.

Leave your brother alone, Sarah. He has homework to do.

At least the trees didn't talk. Sarah idly wondered what they would say if they could. J.R.R.T. said they talked very, very slowly, which made sense. Trees didn't do anything quickly.

A new sound drifted through the rustling wood. A discordant note, that didn't belong.

Sarah was reasonably sure that trees didn't cry, either.

"Hello?" Sarah called. The disembodied voice didn't sound like a grown up.

The crying cut off abruptly.

That wasn't good. How would she find them, if she couldn't hear them?

Sarah made her way deeper into the woods. She knew that she'd hit another road if she went too much further. The woods didn't go on forever. Just a few square blocks at the edge of her parent's neighborhood.

She hopped up onto the familiar path of rocks that lined the shallow creek. Her mother always got mad if she went in the water.

Sarah looked down at her reflection.

Was the water always purple?

No. No, it definitely wasn't. Water wasn't usually purple. Right?

The strange color dyed her blonde hair pink, in the reflection. It was kind of fun.

Sarah stood up on the rocks, and resumed her search for the crying girl. She thought they sounded like a girl, anyway. Maybe they were lost?

It took her a moment to realize that the light streaming through the canopy overhead wasn't green, anymore.

Strange prisms of rainbow light filtered through irregular leaves made of glass.

This was getting weirder by the minute. Sarah loved it.

Normal was so… boring. Her parent's perfectly precise decorations. The house with white walls and pictures that didn't mean anything. It was all shallow, like puddles, that only reflected what they wanted to see.

Sarah liked the purple stream and the rainbow leaves better.

"Hello?" She called again. "Are you still here?"

She heard a cough from somewhere upstream. High, but wet. Score. She had a heading.

Sarah picked her way over the rocks. Long, crimson thorns grew out of the stones like her mother's rose bushes, so she was careful not to touch. Or trip. She didn't want to explain to her mother how she'd gotten impaled on a walk in the woods. She'd never be allowed out of the house again.

Another shuddering breath filled the air, and the glass trees seemed to breathe with it. She must be close.

Sarah rounded the next bend in the stream. The trees pressed in on all sides, but they weren't oppressive.

There, sitting against the wide trunk of a gnarled oak tree, a skinny girl with curly black hair and thick glasses pressed her face into her knees to muffle the sound of her tears. Her arms were locked tight around her shins, pulling her legs against her chest like she was worried she would fall apart if she let go.

"Hey, there," Sarah said quietly. She didn't want to spook her. "Are you lost?"

The girl opened her eyes. Sarah had never met anyone with white irises before. It was weird, but pretty. Like she was seeing things no one else got to see.

"Don't," the girl whispered. Her voice was ragged, and damp. "Don't come any closer, please."

"Why not?" Sarah asked, sitting down between the thorns on one of the rocks.

"Bad, bad, bad things happen," the girl said.

Sarah waited, but the stranger didn't elaborate.

"Well, this doesn't seem too bad. I like the purple water. Did you do that?" Sarah rested her chin on her knees, mirroring the weird girl.

"I don't know. Maybe," the girl shrugged. "I guess so."

They sat in what Sarah hoped was companionable silence for a while. Most of the time, Sarah hated the quiet around the house, but this felt… different.

"I'm Sarah," she said eventually. She was curious. "What's your name?"

"Taylor."

"It's nice to meet you, Taylor."

"It isn't," Taylor whispered.

"What do you mean?"

Taylor closed her eyes. More tears leaked out of the corners.

"They aren't coming back," Taylor choked out.

"Who?"

"Mom. And Dad. They left, and I can't find them," Taylor said. "I ruin everything."

"Oh," Sarah said.

She didn't know what to say to that, but she liked Taylor's voice.

"Maybe we can find them together?" Sarah wondered aloud.

Taylor shook her head.

"I tried. But I can't… Everything gets all messed up, when I push too hard," Taylor said.

Sarah nodded thoughtfully.

"I like it, though. The trees. And the thorns. They're pretty."

Taylor opened her strange, pale eyes.

"You think so?"

"Yeah. Normal is boring," Sarah grinned.

Taylor's answering smile was tiny, but technically present. Sarah counted that as a win.

"How old are you?" Sarah asked. It was pretty clear that Taylor wasn't going to drive the conversation along on her own, and Sarah was still curious. It wasn't every day she met a weird, fae parahuman in the woods.

"I turned thirteen two weeks ago," Taylor said softly.

"I just turned thirteen, too!" Sarah bounced in place slightly. "When's your birthday?"

It would be cool if they had the same birthday. But hers was just a week ago, not two weeks.

Not that her parents cared. Or remembered.

Reggie got her a present, though. That was nice.

"June 12th," Taylor answered.

"That wasn't two weeks ago, silly," Sarah said.

"Yes, it was," Taylor's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Was not."

"Was too," Taylor insisted. "It's Friday, June 28th. Two weeks and two days. I rounded down because people think it's weird if you count the days."

"It's August, honey," Sarah hated it when her mom called her 'honey', but it felt right for Taylor. Taylor obviously needed someone to take care of her. Even if Sarah's mother never did that for her. Sarah liked taking care of people.

"No, it's not," Taylor said stubbornly.

"It is! I promise," Sarah pulled out her phone.

Huh. No signal. Weird.

Still, the clock worked.

"See? August 9th, 2007," Sarah pointed out proudly. She liked being right, too.

Taylor blinked behind her glasses. The thick lenses made her eyes seem even bigger. Like a pretty fly, or a spider, framed with wild black curls.

"It's 2008, though," Taylor said.

"No, it's not!"

Why was this so hard for her to understand?

"My birthday is June 12th, 1995. 2008 minus 1995 is thirteen," Taylor reasoned.

"Okay, but mine is August 2nd, 1994," Sarah emphasized the year. "2007 minus 1994 is thirteen, too."

"We can't both be thirteen if we were born a year apart," Taylor's lips pressed into a frown.

"Which means you're still twelve, and I'm right," Sarah smiled crookedly.

"I'm not! And you aren't," Taylor's frown deepened. "I just don't have a phone to prove it."

"But how am I supposed to text you if you don't have a phone?" Sarah asked.

Taylor stared at her for a long moment before the tears started up again.

Dang it. She didn't even know what she said to set her off that time!

"Hey. Hey, it's okay," Sarah hopped down off the rock, splashing into the purple water below. It soaked through her shoes and into her socks immediately, but Sarah didn't really care. Her mother would complain, but her mother would always complain, regardless.

Sarah stepped sideways to avoid another thorn that hadn't been there a moment ago.

There was enough space against the oak tree to wedge herself in beside Taylor. She couldn't get the angle right to hug her, so she just leaned her shoulder up against Taylor's arm. Hopefully it helped.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" Sarah tried to make her voice soothing, like Reggie did when she was crying. Back when she still cried.

"I miss them. Why did they have to leave?" Taylor's voice was muffled against her dirty jeans. "Mom and Dad are gone. Emma's gone. Everyone's gone. It isn't fair."

Sarah pushed her shoulder harder against Taylor's rigid frame.

"I'm here, for now," Sarah said. She looked up at the glass leaves overhead. "Even though I'm not really sure where 'here' is. The leaves are normally green, but I like this better."

"Me, too," Taylor hiccupped in between gasping breaths.

They sat like that for a while, until Taylor's tears finally slowed again.

Sarah didn't know what to say. She wanted to say something, though. Something that wouldn't make Taylor cry.

"So… what do you like to do, when you aren't making cool faerie forests?" Sarah asked.

Taylor hiccupped again, and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her T-shirt. That was a bit gross, but Sarah didn't comment.

"I like to read," Taylor said quietly. Sarah could hear the deep sadness under her tone, but she didn't know what to do about it.

"Me, too. What's your favorite book?" Sarah pushed forward valiantly.

"I like the Hobbit. And the Lord of the Rings. My mom used to-" Taylor cut off abruptly, but at least she didn't start crying again.

Okay. Taylor's mom liked to read. And was gone, now. Noted.

"Those are some of my favorites, too," Sarah grinned. Maybe if she smiled enough, Taylor would smile back again. "My dad said I wasn't allowed to read them yet, because they're too hard, but I did anyway. He didn't believe me when I told him, but who cares what he thinks?"

Taylor didn't smile, though.

"That's not okay. Reading is always a good thing. Nobody gets to tell you what you're allowed to read," Taylor sounded almost indignant. It was kind of funny.

"Well, it's not like Dad listens to anyone, anyway," Sarah shrugged. "Me, least of all."

"I like listening to you," Taylor whispered.

Oh.

Sarah's chest felt warm. It was weird, but… nice. Usually, nothing good ever happened when she opened her mouth.

Sarah was about to change the subject again, when something unusual caught her eye.

A shining, golden butterfly flitted lazily over the amethyst stream. It gave off its own strange, ethereal light. Like a tiny sun.

Taylor was watching it, too.

It looped in slow circles, getting closer with every pass. Sarah kept as still as she could, just in case.

The tiny, otherworldly creature landed lightly on Taylor's knee. Taylor reached out like she wanted to touch it, but paused just inches away. Like she was scared anything good would disappear if she got too close.

"All that is gold does not glitter," Taylor mumbled under her breath. Sarah wondered if she even meant to say it out loud.

But she recognized it. It was one of her favorites, too.

"Not all those who wander are lost," Sarah continued the poem with a warm smile.

Taylor glanced away from the butterfly. Her pale, eerie stare pinned Sarah in place, like a bug. But it wasn't a bad feeling. The opposite, actually.

"The old that is strong does not wither," Taylor said. She sounded like she was going to cry again, but Sarah felt like it might not be a bad thing, this time.

"Deep roots are not reached by the frost," Sarah said. She'd never been happier that she memorized this part.

Just in case.

In case of what, she hadn't known. Now, she did.

"From the ashes, a fire shall be woken," Taylor said. Her voice was stronger, now. It echoed unnaturally in the glass forest.

Sarah smiled, and she reached over to give Taylor's hand a squeeze. She was careful not to disturb the butterfly still perched on her knee.

"A light, from the shadows shall spring," Sarah continued.

It felt like something was finally fitting into place. Something important. Like she'd been lost, too, until just now.

"Renewed, shall be that which was broken," Taylor whispered.

Sarah couldn't place the emotion behind Taylor's wide, ivory eyes.

"The crownless, again shall be…" Sarah trailed off.

She was alone in the forest.

The stream was clear, normal water.

The rocks were gray, worn smooth from the current. No thorns in sight.

The leaves overhead were their usual shape, green and alive instead of glass.

And Taylor…

The strange girl and her magical world was gone, and Sarah was alone, again.

That was fine. Maybe none of it was real. That would make more sense. The whole ordeal should have been mildly terrifying, in hindsight.

So why did Sarah feel like crying, too?

…

Chapter Text

Jade 1.1

Monday, April 11th, 2011.

The second-best part about being Wanderer was that she always got to sleep in.

No normal, boring school for the Ward's resident lunatic. Sure, she still had assignments to do, and Hannah would do that totally-not-a-frown thing if she got behind on her coursework, but it was a lot nicer than getting dragged out of bed at the ass-crack of dawn like the others.

It almost made it worth not having anywhere else to go.

Taylor sighed and ignored the twisted barbs of dull red crystal that inched their way out of the ceiling. She'd get rid of them when she was in a better mood. Some mornings were easier than others.

Some days, she didn't mind waking up alone.

The thorns grew longer. Taylor grabbed her glasses off the bedside table before any of the unwelcome intrusions could damage them. She ducked her head as she got up to stalk across her cramped bedroom to the on-suite.

Another perk of being the permanent bat in the belfry. The others didn't get their own bathrooms. No communal showers or lockers for her. Not when the water might turn to blood or whatever if she got too pissy or Sophia decided to be a bitch. Which was pretty much her default state, from what Taylor could tell.

For some reason, that kind of thing made the other Wards uncomfortable. Taylor couldn't imagine why.

She didn't have time for a shower this morning, though. It was already after 10:00, and she was supposed to log her time in the training center before noon. Colin already spent too much of his time riding her ass about the importance of work ethic or some other shit.

As if any of it actually helped. What a joke.

Taylor splashed water on her face and tried to run her fingers through her hair without much success. Brushing it would take way too long.

Every day she wondered if she should just cut it all off. Who the hell even cared, anyway?

But she didn't. She liked her hair. It reminded her of better times, when things were normal.

Besides, Sarah said it was pretty.

Taylor gave up on taming her hair until after she had a chance to shower later. Her eyes landed on the mirror out of habit, and she glanced away quickly.

No point in brooding over herself this morning.

Still… she knew.

Eyes that were too big and weirdly magnified by her glasses. Mouth that was too wide for her thin face. Wild black curls that always looked like a rat's nest no matter how hard she tried to take care of it properly. Her powers let her edit reality, but she couldn't get rid of the fucking pimples or split ends. It was bullshit.

Plus, her eyes might be boring brown right now, but they'd turn creepy white as soon as she actually tried to do anything useful. Like her stupid mind-fuck of a power was adding insult to injury on purpose.

At least Sarah didn't mind. Had Taylor even mentioned that her eyes were usually brown?

She'd try to remember, next time. Whenever that would be.

Taylor took a deep breath to push the thorns away. Thinking about Sarah was always bittersweet, but it helped, overall. Bottle green was a lot nicer than brown. Freckles were better than pimples. Today didn't have to be a bad day.

If she just kept telling herself that, it might even be true.

Taylor finished brushing her teeth without looking at the traitorous mirror. She even managed to put some of the thorns back in their assigned seats.

The PRT provided a stipend to buy normal clothes, but Taylor rarely wore them. She was Wanderer. She was always Wanderer, whether she wanted to be or not. She might as well dress the part.

Her 'daily' costume wasn't as elaborate as her public one. Just a dull purple jumpsuit with teal accents, with a short half cape over one shoulder that connected to her hood and visor. At least the mess that was her hair today wouldn't be immediately obvious. She still wished that she'd gotten a full face helmet, but the Image department was adamant about humanizing her or whatever. She had to pick her battles. They'd let her keep the dark purple color scheme and pants instead of anything too bright and bubbly, which was more than some of the others got. Missy was still pissed about the whole skirt thing.

The others didn't wear their costumes around the headquarters unless a tour group was coming through, but they also got to take their masks off and go home at the end of the day. Home to parents and families and lives that didn't involve thorns or crystals growing out of the walls.

Taylor, on the other hand, was always Wanderer. Regular, normal Taylor got lost a long time ago. She wasn't bitter about it or anything.

The door warped in its frame and wouldn't close right. That was fine. She'd fix it later so Piggot didn't lose her shit. It wasn't like anyone was here to go through her stuff. Or that they'd dare risk pissing her off. Even Sophia had learned her lesson, eventually.

Taylor put some conscious effort into keeping her power in check as she grabbed a frozen breakfast burrito out of the communal kitchen freezer and threw it in the microwave. She didn't want to mess up the shared spaces too much. The others did a good job pretending to understand, but she knew it annoyed them when they couldn't sit down because the couch grew teeth or something.

Food helped, too.

Right. Time to go deal with her daily Sisyphus' boulder.

Taylor caught the Tinkertech elevator down to the subbasement testing center. Luckily, the elevator was empty today. Some of the PRT agents were too chatty for their own good, and Taylor didn't have any patience for small talk.

The Ward's section of the PRT HQ was nicer than the non-public areas. Couldn't have the tour groups thinking they lived in squalor. The underground testing centers were more industrial.

She nodded to the agent on duty in the observation room as she passed.

"Mornin', Wanderer," the monitoring agent's voice sounded through the local comms system.

"Hey, Richard," Taylor greeted. She knew most of their voices by now. Richard insisted that they call him 'Dick' for short, but Taylor adamantly refused. It was a ridiculous name. Dennis thought it was funny; both the name, and her refusal to use it. That didn't mean much, though. Dennis' sense of humor was suspect, at best.

Still, Richard was one of the better ones. Knew how to shut up and do his job.

"We're locked and loaded whenever you're ready. You know the drill," Richard said.

The testing chamber set aside for her was covered in plain gray tiles, floor, walls, and ceiling. Some of the testing rooms had more equipment or props, but she didn't need them. She made her own.

"And… Release," Taylor said. She always liked to warn them, just in case.

Taylor let the walls she always kept up around her power drop, and her worlds flowed into reality like a river escaping a dam.

It was always a relief, letting go. Like she'd been holding her breath without realizing it. Not that it wasn't bittersweet, too. A reminder of what she'd lost. It was always difficult to navigate, even on the good days.

Taylor shaped the encroaching anomalies into familiar patterns. It helped, to keep things similar every time, even if it didn't have to be that way.

The amethyst river was a staple. Her anchor point. If she could find the banks, she could usually find her way back in a timely manner.

Usually.

Taylor took a deep breath. The gray walls were already fading, just another illusion in a sea of endless possibilities.

She stepped forward and walked across the surface of the purple water.

Walking on water helped, too. It was a reminder, that this wasn't real. This was her world, not the world.

Still, even with all the anchors and reminders, she could feel herself slipping. Her mind wandered as easily as she did, and her sense of self liked to get lost amongst the trees.

Some days, Taylor wondered if it was actually her who made it back at all. Would she even realize, if someone else wandered back into her body? Something else?

Right. Focus. She was supposed to be learning how to control her worlds, not the other way around.

Frustration was easy to harness. It was always there, simmering under the surface.

Taylor clenched her fist, and massive thorns exploded from the surrounding tree trunks. The forest on the banks of the river became a deadly maze.

Good. She was still in control.

Time to push things further.

She put both palms down, parallel to the river below. The motions weren't necessary, but they helped. Things always got worse when she left her body behind.

The water beneath her solidified. A pillar of purple crystal lifted her up over the wall of thorns and through the glass canopy overhead.

In theory, she should have run into the ceiling of the testing chamber, but she wasn't contained by physical reality anymore. She was somewhere else. Sometime else.

Colin and Myrddin had all kinds of theories about the nature of her worlds, but Taylor didn't really bother. She already knew that her power would never fit into whatever boxes they wanted to make for her.

She knew better than to tell them about Sarah. They'd lose their shit if they knew she was messing with the timeline or whatever.

Taylor didn't care.

She'd given up trying to make sense of it all a long time ago. If having an actual friend accidentally caused the catastrophic collapse of time and space, that was just too damn bad for everyone else.

The crystal mountain was a lot bigger than she'd originally intended. Whoops. She couldn't see the river below, anymore.

Damn. This was probably going to be a long trip. That's what she got for getting distracted while actively manifesting.

The pale green sky overhead wrinkled like crumpled tissue paper as she approached. It was a weird effect. The sky wasn't supposed to have a texture.

Taylor prodded at it experimentally, and wasn't especially surprised when it tore. The actual night sky behind the false layer sparkled through the gaps in the paper.

This was going to be one of the weird days, then. Joy.

The false green sky was starting to annoy her. Taylor snapped her fingers, and inverted all the colors.

It wasn't an especially useful trick, but it was something, at least. Some proof that she was still in control.

Her costume didn't look nearly as good in yellow, though. Magenta wasn't all that much better than green for the sky, either.

Taylor sighed. This world was already boring her.

Hmmmm. How to move on, though?

She was already frustrated, and it wasn't like she was going to find her way back any time soon. Might as well just scrap this world and try again.

Taylor took another breath of fake air to center herself, then slammed her foot into the surface of her amethyst mountain. Not that it was purple, anymore. She'd have to remember to put the colors back to normal before she got back. Missy hated it when Taylor accidentally inverted everyone. Especially if she left again before she had a chance to fix it.

Massive spires of not-amethyst exploded from the surface of the world far below. The sky became a pockmarked mess of jagged spines.

Taylor could feel her mind slipping. She was taking too much, holding too much, all at once.

She didn't care.

Taylor snapped her fingers, and ripped the planet apart at the seams.

"Down the rabbit hole," she muttered to herself as this false world began to collapse in on itself from the strain.

Taylor let go and fell towards the hollow core of the broken world. She caught a brief glimpse of the purple stream, now a waterfall plummeting along with her.

Then, as quickly as it came into being, the world finished falling apart, and she wasn't part of it at all, anymore.

Taylor landed in the front seat of a very familiar car.

Oh. So this was going to be one of those days. As if she didn't have enough problems.

She knew she shouldn't look, but she couldn't help it.

"I'm on my way, I promise," the woman in the driver's seat smiled into her cell phone. "I'll be home before you know it."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Taylor muttered.

Her mother didn't notice. She never did.

Taylor knew she couldn't change this. Her power kept sending her back here, anyway. Because clearly, her power hated her and didn't want her to be happy.

"I'm glad you had a good day, sweetheart," Annette continued. "You can tell me all about it when-"

Taylor saw the car coming through the driver's side window, even if her mother didn't.

She clenched her fist, and sent a jagged spike of crystal up through the bottom of the incoming car. It didn't help. The approaching doom continued straight through, as if her reality manipulation was made of smoke.

Some dreams were like that. Some were real, and some were just here to torment her. It was difficult to tell which was which, some days.

This one was always the latter, but she always had to check. Just in case.

Speaking of which, she went ahead and turned the colors back to normal.

Taylor closed her eyes before the car hit them. She'd made the mistake of watching, before, and she didn't need to see it again.

Wake me up when it's over.

Maybe Sarah would be there, when she woke up.

Probably not. But she could dream.

The world twisted again, and Taylor knew instinctively that she was somewhere else. Somewhen else.

Sunlight blazed behind her closed eyes.

Taylor blinked.

She was outside?

"Wanderer!" A high, familiar voice called. "You picked a hell of a time to come back."

Taylor shook the remaining cobwebs off of her mind and tried to put her brain back together in a timely manner.

Okay. Order of operations. Step one: where was she?

Standing in the middle of a street.

Was that… Brockton Central Bank?

Not that she'd ever been inside, but she'd seen it while out on patrol. On the good days, when they let her outside. When she wasn't lost in other worlds. Or revisiting traumatic memories. Or…

Don't think about it. Can't afford to get lost again so soon.

The rest of the Wards were already here. Along with several PRT transport vans.

That was… not ideal. Something was going on, and she was out of the loop. As per usual.

Step two: when was she?

Luckily, Missy knew the drill by now.

"It's Thursday, April 14th, 2011. You lost three days, although younger you showed up for a bit, yesterday. She fixed your door. Beat Dennis at Mario Cart," Missy rattled off. "Assuming you're the you that wandered off on Monday, I mean."

Taylor didn't even remember doing that. Everything bled together, over time. Years of tangled threads weren't worth keeping straight.

"Yeah, yeah, that's me," Taylor confirmed absentmindedly.

"Good, because we could use the backup. Undersiders took hostages in the bank," Missy said.

Great. No time to relax or process her most recent bout of traumatic time travel or anything. Straight into more fun. Whatever.

"What's the plan?" Taylor sighed. She hated getting dropped head first into stuff like this.

"Well, Aegis and Clockblocker switched costumes-"

"Oh, that's so fucking stupid-" Taylor groaned.

"I tried to tell them that, but you know how the boys are," Missy shrugged.

"This is going to backfire-"

The doors to the bank flew open.

Okay, so we're doing this.

A rush of what looked like hostages flooded out the front doors.

"Vista. Hostages, to me," Taylor ordered.

She may not be the leader, but she'd been doing this for years. She and Missy could handle more on their own than Carlos, Chris, Dean, and Sophia combined.

Speaking of which, where was Sophia? It wasn't like her to miss out on the fun.

The space between Taylor and the hostages suddenly shrunk from fifty yards to less than a foot.

Taylor slammed her hand into the ground, and let her power leak into the surrounding world. In the blink of an eye, the hostages were encased under a shield of indestructible crystal. It might not be comfortable, but it would keep them from getting trampled underfoot. Plus, they'd be trapped, in case any of the Undersiders decided to pretend to be hostages and slip away in the confusion.

Black smoke rolled through the doors, and everything went dark. Silent. Empty.

Taylor didn't need to see. Being lost was an all too common occurrence for her. Wandering blind was literally her whole schtick.

Besides, Missy knew what to do.

Taylor jumped backwards just as something huge flew past her in the dark, just inches away from her face. She didn't quite know how she knew, but she did.

The space behind her warped, and she was standing in the sunshine next to Missy again.

Taylor shot her a quick thumbs up and surveyed the battlefield.

Carlos was being used as a chew toy. That was unfortunate. For him.

Hmmm. There was a reason his usual costume was red. Clockblocker's white bodysuit was not a good look for him.

Well, at least it'd be red again, soon…

Chris and Dean were already on their way to help him. Carlos would probably be fine.

One of Hellhound's beasts broke away from the two currently snacking on Carlos' spleen, making a beeline for Taylor and Missy. Hellhound herself rode on its back, canine mask bearing down on them with surprising speed.

"You want to handle that, or should I?" Taylor asked.

"I got it," Missy muttered. Her mouth was pressed into a thin line beneath her visor.

"You sure? She's getting closer…" Taylor bounced on her toes, quashing the temptation to send the beast to a nightmare realm. It would fit right in with the horrible vulture things she'd found last year…

"I said, I got it," Missy ground out between clenched teeth. She never liked it when Taylor questioned her. "Step… left."

They both took a measured step in unison, and several things happened very quickly.

Taylor and Missy were suddenly on the other side of the street, closer to the bank but far outside of Hellhound's path.

The space directly in front of Hellhound twisted. For a moment, both the monster and its rider looked strangely stretched, and then they were suddenly going the opposite direction, fifty yards back the way they came. They immediately crashed into one of the other dogs, and Carlos managed to worm his way free of its jaws as they tumbled into a flailing heap on the asphalt.

Darkness rolled towards Taylor and Missy from their left. They'd moved within Grue's range, apparently.

"Localized reversal," Taylor ordered. She didn't wait to see if Missy heard her. Worst case scenario, she'd sink deeper to keep them from falling into space. "Three, two, one-"

Grue tried to tackle Missy from within his cloud.

Taylor snapped her fingers.

Up became down. Left became right.

Missy, Taylor, and Grue all fell upwards towards the sky, which was suddenly down, for them.

Space warped around Taylor and Missy, sending them in a tight loop so they landed against the ground that was now the ceiling. The air compressed under them to hold them temporarily in place.

Grue wasn't so lucky.

"And… Release," Taylor said.

Another snap, and she wrestled her power back behind the barricades before anything too weird could happen. She couldn't afford to stumble into another time right now.

Gravity returned to the correct orientation. Taylor and Missy stood from their respective crouches, looking up and shielding their eyes from the sun.

Grue was barely a black dot against the sky, even after falling for just a few seconds. He'd be back soon.

"Aegis, go pick him up before he becomes a pancake for me, would you?" Taylor called.

Carlos didn't seem happy with her for some reason, but he took off to catch Grue anyway.

Then Chris fell off his hoverboard. Taylor sighed.

Honestly. Did she have to do everything around here?

"Step forward," Missy said.

At least Missy was on the ball. Competent help was always appreciated.

Taylor stepped, and suddenly she was right under Chris.

She crouched and braced a hand against the sidewalk. Her power leaked into the pavement, and Taylor allowed it to change.

Chris hit the sidewalk headfirst… and bounced as if the concrete were made of latex memory foam.

"You're welcome," Taylor said in his general direction.

Chris landed painfully on the once again rock-hard sidewalk, although at least this time from just a few feet up rather than twenty.

"Glad to have you back," Chris wheezed. "Good timing."

"I always have perfect timing. You know what they say, a wizard is never-"

"Incoming!" Dean yelled.

Oh. Right. Regent had gotten a hold of Chris's cannon.

"I thought that thing wasn't approved yet?" Taylor asked casually as she sidestepped the deadly beam. "Or did I miss that while I was out for sushi?"

"No, you didn't miss anything," Chris groaned.

Taylor grabbed Chris by the shoulders, and took a big step back. Sure enough, Missy was on top of things, as always, and they were suddenly back on the other end of the street and out of range of that fuck-off alternator cannon.

"I'd be more forgiving if you hadn't let Mr. Ren Faire get his hands on it," Taylor grumbled.

"I thought it would-" Chris started.

"Not the time," Taylor cut him off. "Vista, let's take…"

Out of the corner of her eye, Taylor saw Victoria fly through the side of the bank at an extremely respectable velocity.

What the fuck was Victoria doing here?

"Change of plans. You go make sure fancy boy doesn't turn Browbeat into a pile of overly muscular ash, and I'll go keep Glory Girl out of jail," Taylor sighed.

"You sure you want to-" Missy started.

Missy didn't like Victoria. For very silly reasons. Despite her best efforts, Taylor still hadn't managed to convince Missy that the cardboard cutout of a boy that was Dean Stansfield wasn't worth her pining.

Whatever. She'd revisit that later. Or maybe earlier. Because time travel.

Besides, there were much more logical reasons to dislike Victoria. Like the reckless arrogance. And the property damage they'd probably have to pay for.

Not that Taylor ever actually spent any of her money, but still. It was the principle of the thing.

Taylor didn't give Missy time to answer. She raced away over the crystalized hostages towards the now unguarded front doors of the bank.

"...and, aside from that, I'm also psychic. And your sister here knows so many things you'd rather not hear," a smug voice said.

"Bullshit," Victoria replied.

Taylor rounded the corner, and resisted the urge to face-palm over her visor.

Honestly. How did this kind of shit even happen?

In the middle of the bank atrium, Glory Girl floated ominously. She was so fucking dramatic. Jesus Christ.

Behind the counter, a villain in a purple and black catsuit held Amy Dallon at gunpoint. Wasn't that just fucking wonderful. What was Amy even doing here?

Taylor wracked her brain for whatever breadcrumbs remained from their last briefing on the Undersiders. It felt like a long time since then. Maybe just for her. For the others, it was probably just a couple weeks, but time moved strangely in her worlds. Not to mention the fact that her brain didn't work all that well, even on the good days.

Still, she apparently managed better than half the other idiots on her team.

"Alright, that's enough," Taylor called over whatever crap Victoria was spouting now.

"Oooh, the cavalry's arrived," Blonde Girl said in a taunting voice. "Let me just go ahead and surrender, then, I guess."

Something about her was weirdly familiar, but Taylor couldn't place it. Maybe she'd fought the Undersiders before, and just forgot about it? She forgot a lot of things.

"Yeah, that's the idea. You have three seconds to either go ahead and shoot the unarmed healer and die, or drop the gun, and live," Taylor said.

Hostage situations were such a pain. Best to just pretend she didn't care about the captives. As an added bonus, she didn't really care about the captives, so it wasn't all that hard.

Besides, this random villain wasn't about to actually kill Panacea in cold blood. Especially not when Victoria would turn her into a fine, purple and pink paste if she did. That would be incredibly stupid.

Blonde Girl froze.

"Wanderer!" Victoria yelled in horror.

So dramatic.

"Shut up. Three, two-"

A snap echoed in the atrium, and the world around them cracked.

Taylor tasted iron. Blood leaked from her eyes.

She released all control over her power automatically, throwing her unrestricted will against whatever the actual living fuck was tearing the world apart at the seams.

Her power roared out of her, twisting and swallowing the fragile tissue paper that was the surrounding world. The bank's windows turned into pigeons. The floor rippled like water, and several hostages fell into it.

Someone screamed. Probably Victoria.

Taylor focused, and forced her power back under her control.

She needed to contain the villains. That was all she needed. She could do that. Take the existing tapestry, and turn it into a more appealing shape. Easy. She'd fix the rest of the damage later.

Except…

Something stopped her.

That had never happened before.

She was the Shaker 12. Reality was her plaything. The only legitimate threat to her was supposed to be her own stupid, broken mind.

Blazing white eyes stared at her out of the darkness.

"Sorry," a disembodied voice whispered in her ear. "You'll understand, someday."

Then Taylor was falling. Before she could catch herself, she was lost, in the dark, once again. She drowned in the familiar amethyst sea. She'd misplaced her body somewhere along the way. That was going to be a bitch to find, later.

She'd only lasted… what, ten minutes, this time? Less?

That fucking sucked.

Hopefully she'd get to skip over Piggot's lecture, though. Silver linings.

A future version of her would show up to fix the hostages. Probably. She didn't remember doing it in the past, but she forgot a lot of stuff.

Whatever. In the meantime, she was going back to bed. Today was clearly cursed.

And maybe, when she woke up, she'd get to see Sarah, again.

…

December 24th, 2007.

Sarah didn't cry, anymore.

There wasn't any point. She knew that.

Some days, she wished she didn't, though.

Her parents were at some work event. Reggie was locked in his room.

And she was alone, again.

It was too cold to go outside, so she was stuck in her bedroom. In the house that didn't feel like home.

Her parents put up a few Christmas decorations, but it was performative, like everything else. Recommendations from their interior decorator. God forbid they put up anything personal.

She'd tried to make her room her own, but her parents still had standards. As if they would ever have guests in her freaking bedroom.

It was just another way to remind her that nothing was her own. Just another way to control her.

Knowing that didn't make it easier.

She hated the white walls. When she got out of this place, she was going to paint all the walls purple.

Like the river, in her dreams.

She didn't like thinking about Taylor. It wasn't real. It couldn't be.

And even if it was, Taylor wasn't coming back. Sarah had returned to the stream every day for a month, and she never came back.

That brief, stolen moment still haunted her. It wasn't fair.

There was a knock at her window, and Sarah about jumped out of her skin.

Of course they were being robbed on Christmas Eve. That was totally on brand.

Then she saw the pale eyes, through her window.

Her second story window.

"Taylor!" Sarah gasped, rushing over and throwing the window open.

There was still a screen between them, but Taylor was here!

She was real.

"Hey, Sarah," Taylor whispered. "Sorry I'm late."

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked without thinking.

It took her a moment to notice the differences, but Taylor looked… older. She was still definitely Taylor, like Sarah remembered. Dark curls, thin smile, white eyes behind thick glasses, but…

"It's a long story. One that I didn't tell you, so I can't, yet," Taylor said.

"What…"

Taylor reached up, and the window screen dissolved away into soap bubbles under her fingers.

"Come on," Taylor said conspiratorially. "I have a surprise for you."

"Come on… what? You mean…" Sarah looked nervously at the ground fifteen feet below.

It was only at that point she realized Taylor was standing on what looked like…

"Is that a beanstalk?" Sarah asked without thinking.

"Fee-fi-fo-fum," Taylor grinned.

Then she held out her arms expectantly.

"Oh. Um… right," Sarah said.

Her stomach clenched, but it wasn't… unpleasant.

"How do I…" Sarah fumbled as she tried to figure out how to exit the window. She hadn't exactly snuck out through the second floor before.

Her parents weren't even home. She could just go through the door downstairs.

But running away with Taylor felt like an adventure.

Taylor laughed and scooped her up easily, wrapping her arms around her back and pulling her headfirst through the window.

It was possible the glass bent slightly to let her pass, but Sarah was a bit too distracted to worry about that now.

Besides, Taylor was magic. It didn't matter if she broke the rules.

Taylor set her upright on the beanstalk, and lowered them both back to the snow-covered grass below.

"Taylor, I don't have shoes," Sarah whispered.

Even adventurers had to deal with some practicalities.

"What?" Taylor asked, glancing down with a smug smile.

Had she been that tall last time? Sarah wasn't sure. She'd been curled up on the ground.

This Taylor didn't seem to need anyone, Sarah least of all. The thought made her sad.

Sarah suddenly realized that her feet weren't cold.

She looked down. She was wearing comfortable boots with fuzzy liners.

"You made me Ugg boots?" Sarah moaned in faux disgust. Well, sort of faux disgust. Because seriously. Ugg boots? More like 'ugh' boots.

"You know what they say about beggars and choosers," Taylor grinned.

"What about a jacket?" Sarah asked. It was cold, even if she was ecstatic to see Taylor again.

"So needy," Taylor mumbled.

She was still smiling, though, so Sarah didn't care.

Taylor snapped her fingers.

Sarah was suddenly wearing a warm, perfectly tailored jacket. It was even purple. Much better than the ugly boots.

It took her a moment to realize Taylor was wearing a matching jacket, with black jeans and combat boots. No stupid footwear for her, apparently.

"Happy, now?" Taylor asked.

"Yes, thank you," Sarah said contentedly.

Maybe it was okay, to let Taylor take care of her, this time around. Fair's fair.

"Come on," Taylor offered her a hand.

Sarah only hesitated for a moment before taking it.

Taylor's skin was callused, and warm.

"How old are you, this time?" Sarah asked.

She'd decided, after last time, that Taylor must have been some kind of time traveling parahuman. She was just from next year, when she was thirteen. No one actually forgot what year it was, and Sarah was pretty sure Taylor hadn't been messing with her.

"I'm fifteen, right now," Taylor said.

She was trying to hide it, but Taylor looked worried, to Sarah.

Worried that she'd freak out, maybe?

It was kind of weird, but Sarah didn't care. Taylor was here, for her. That's what mattered.

"That's cool," Sarah said as confidently as she could.

"At least, I think I am," Taylor murmured softly. "Things have been a bit… messy, recently. It's easy to get lost…"

Sarah felt lost, a lot of the time, too.

"As long as you find your way back, right?" Sarah said.

Taylor's answering smile was warm. Sarah liked seeing her smile.

"Yeah," Taylor said. "Something like that."

They walked in silence for a while.

Sarah liked the quiet, but she wanted to talk. Taylor was the only one who ever listened.

"Are you a parahuman? Like… Alexandria, or whatever?" Sarah asked.

It was a bit of a stupid question, but she didn't know what else to say. It felt silly to ask about their conversation by the purple stream. It was only a few months ago for Sarah, but apparently it was two years ago, for Taylor.

"Not quite like Alexandria," Taylor chuckled. "But yeah, I'm a cape."

"That's cool," Sarah said again, and immediately regretted it. This version of Taylor left her feeling off-balance. "What can you do? Aside from time travel and summoning convenient vegetables, I mean."

"How do you know that's not all I can do?" Taylor asked.

"You turned the window screen into bubbles," Sarah deadpanned. "Plus, did you forget about the glass trees? I know you're old and decrepit now, or whatever, but you can't have forgotten."

"I forget lots of things," Taylor mused. Her voice was quiet, in the dark. "But I'll always remember everything about you."

Oh. Wow. That was… a lot.

It was good, though. Probably.

"Have we met, before? Other than by the stream, I mean. Like, for you, in the last…" Sarah trailed off. It was so hard to keep track.

"Yes," Taylor said simply.

"When?"

"I didn't say, so I can't," Taylor replied.

That didn't really make sense, but Sarah didn't question it.

Taylor stopped, and Sarah continued for another two steps automatically before Taylor's grip on her hand pulled her back.

"How about, you close your eyes, and I'll show you what I can do?" Taylor's smile had a mischievous edge, even if it was still soft. It felt like something special, reserved for her.

Sarah still glared at her suspiciously. Weird, unpredictable parahuman with weird, unpredictable powers. Regardless, Sarah huffed and acquiesced after a moment.

She didn't actually know Taylor very well, but she trusted her. She wasn't sure whether it was this smiling Taylor or the crying girl in the fae forest that reassured her, but she didn't care.

Sarah heard the sound of Taylor's fingers snapping.

That probably wasn't necessary for her power to work, but it was… cute.

Sarah could see lights in the dark, through her eyelids.

"Open your eyes, Sarah," Taylor commanded quietly.

Sarah did, and for a moment, she couldn't breathe.

The woods behind her house were transformed into a winter wonderland straight out of a storybook. A twenty foot tall Christmas tree wreathed in rainbow lights and shining garlands dominated the previously empty clearing. Warm, golden light reflected off the thick layer of snow and made everything glow.

Her parents never bothered with a tree. It wasn't worth the effort.

Why were her eyes watering?

Sarah dragged in a rattling breath to force the tears back where they came from. She wasn't about to cry in front of Taylor.

Taylor wrapped one long arm around her shoulders, and pulled her gently against her side. It wasn't quite a hug, but it was as close as Sarah ever got. She wasn't about to complain.

They just stood there, in silence, for a long time. Sarah wanted to speak, but she couldn't find the words.

"Thank you," Sarah finally settled on. That was safe. Less was more, and all that. Fewer chances to cry, the fewer words she said.

"Merry Christmas, Sarah," Taylor said.

Sarah sniffed, and the walls almost broke.

Almost.

"I didn't get you anything," Sarah said instead of crying.

"I didn't exactly tell you I was coming," Taylor replied. Sarah could hear the grin in her voice, even though she couldn't see her face from this angle. "Kind of rude of me, actually, to show up uninvited without a present."

Sarah bit her lip and debated whether to ask what was on her mind.

She chickened out at the last second, and asked something else, instead.

"Do you have… does anyone get you presents?" Sarah asked.

Taylor didn't answer right away.

"No," she said finally. "No, they don't."

That shouldn't be reassuring, but it was. Nobody ever got Sarah presents, either.

"You never found your parents, then?" Sarah asked hesitantly.

"No," Taylor said again. She sighed, but it didn't sound sad. Just… resigned. "They're dead, Sarah."

"Oh."

That should have been obvious, but…

"Even with your powers, you can't…" Sarah trailed off.

"Some things can't be changed," Taylor whispered.

"But you're here, aren't you? Changing my present, or your past, or whatever," Sarah pointed out.

Taylor chuckled darkly.

"I can only do what I already did," Taylor said. "And you seem to be the exception, anyway. Everything's always easy, with you…"

Sarah didn't know what to say to that.

"I don't want you to go," Sarah said.

She hadn't really intended to say that out loud, but she couldn't exactly take it back, now.

"I know," Taylor sighed. "But, unless you want to find your way back in the dark…"

Sarah didn't want to. Every stolen moment with Taylor felt like she was in a different world. A better world.

"Do you know when you'll be back?" Sarah asked.

The warm light faded into the forest behind them as they walked.

"Yes and no," Taylor sighed. "I know when past me will be back, but not future me, if that makes sense."

"You could always ask present me?" Sarah wondered aloud. This whole thing was confusing, but it was interesting.

Taylor didn't answer, and Sarah looked up at her.

Taylor's strange, pale eyes were sad.

"I haven't found present you, yet," Taylor said quietly. "And I don't know how."

"Oh," Sarah frowned.

There had to be some way to figure that out. It couldn't be that hard to meet up somewhere.

"We could just schedule something? For a certain date and time, or whatever," Sarah suggested.

Taylor just shook her head sadly.

"We tried that. I… missed it," Taylor said. "I don't really… control when I'm going. I'm working on it, but it's… I don't know."

Wow. That really was complicated.

"When was it?" Sarah wondered.

"December 25th, 2009," Taylor said.

Okay. That was still a ways away. She could figure that out.

"Where?"

"I can't tell you," Taylor's voice was unreadable, sad and empty and… worried, all at the same time.

"That's dumb," Sarah said.

Taylor snorted.

"Yeah. Yeah, it kind of is."

The back yard of Sarah's parents' house looked dark, compared to the warm glow in the forest.

"Is this the part where…" Sarah trailed off, again.

Her hand was empty.

She was alone in the woods.

Again.

Sarah sighed, but she didn't cry.

Taylor would be back. She was real. Sarah was sure of it, this time.

She just didn't know when, but that was okay. She'd be fine until next time.

Sarah was always fine.

…

Chapter Text

Jade 1.2

Monday, April 27th, 2009.

Getting to see Sarah was always bittersweet.

Taylor took a sip of her tea and stared out the front window of the coffee shop without actually seeing it. Raindrops left ever-changing trails across the glass.

That was the youngest version of Sarah she'd ever stumbled across, aside from the very first time. That was interesting. Sarah had told her about the Christmas tree, a long time ago, so it was nice to close that particular circle.

So many loops, interwoven and connected. Taylor usually forgot about them until after she'd accidentally closed them.

Everything with Sarah stood out, though. Taylor did her best not to lose those memories when she wandered. She didn't always succeed, despite her promises, but she did… better, comparatively.

She couldn't handle seeing the disappointment on Sarah's face if she forgot about her. Never wanted to see that.

"Can I get you anything else? You seem a bit… down, if you don't mind me saying so," a voice from behind her said.

Taylor turned just enough to glance at the overly-friendly barista out of the corner of her eye.

"You aren't real. You're an extra-dimensional construct created to fill in the gaps based on my subconscious expectations," Taylor said dryly.

"Oh. Right. Sorry, I'd forgotten," the woman replied with a slight frown. "I'll leave you to it, then."

One day, Taylor was going to say that to a real person by accident, and it would cause all kinds of strange things to happen. Maybe she already had, and she just forgot.

It was difficult to tell what was real, some days. Most days, honestly.

Taylor sighed, and drained the last of her imaginary tea. It always tasted the way her mother made it, in her dreams. She couldn't get the flavor right in the real world.

The rain plastered her hair to her head as she made her way out of the imaginary coffee shop.

Finding Sarah always helped her put her body back together, but it wasn't her body. Or, rather, it was even more her than her usual body. Uncomfortably her. No costume, no visor, no hood. Just her jacket, and jeans, and thick glasses. Taylor didn't like her glasses. Taylor wore glasses. Wanderer wore her hood and visor.

And Taylor was only Taylor when she was with Sarah.

This city wasn't Brockton Bay. Thunder rolled over the tall, needle-like skyscrapers. Neon lights shone in the gloom. The cars rolling past didn't have wheels.

Taylor didn't bother paying too close attention. She'd find her way out of here sooner or later.

At least this world had good tea.

She walked for what felt like a long time, over the narrow streets and between the alleyways. The people walking past didn't look at her. They probably weren't real.

A familiar logo stood out in the dark, white and blue against the black skyline.

There were always clues to guide her home. Places where reality touched her broken worlds.

Taylor crossed the street to the PRT Headquarters that was her home, these days. Had been, ever since-

Don't think about that. She'd just found her way back; no need to let the thorns in so soon.

Rain lashed against the wide front windows of the PRT lobby. The lights in the gift shop flickered eerily.

"Hey, Gus," Taylor greeted as she passed. She wasn't sure if that was the real Gus or not, but it never hurt to be polite. "Stuck on nights again?"

The night desk agent smiled tiredly at her. He had his helmet on, currently, so she couldn't see his receding hairline that he clung so desperately to, like he was trying to sail a ship that already had way too many leaks. He should just shave his head and call it a day.

"Evening, Wanderer. Yeah, you know how it goes. The Director likes to spread the misery around. Don't suppose you can do anything about the rain?" He asked, mostly rhetorically.

"I don't think the rain is real," Taylor shook her head.

"Ah. Well, say 'hi' to the real me for me when you find your way back," Gus said. He turned back to his computer screen.

"Will do."

Taylor took the elevator up to the Wards' quarters.

She never knew what would trigger the shift. Sometimes she'd stay in her world way longer than she expected, other times she'd stumble back into the real world right at the threshold.

The elevator doors opened.

Tangled briars dominated the shared living space of the Wards' quarters. The walls bent inward at abnormal angles, and the refrigerator was simply… gone. Sunlight streamed in through what little of the window was still visible.

"Now, there's no need to worry," Hannah said placatingly to the child at her side. "We all have our own struggles, and Wanderer can be…"

Hannah trailed off when she caught sight of Taylor in the doorway.

"Hey, Hannah," Taylor said. This part was always a bit awkward.

Hannah's eyes widened for a moment, but this version of her apparently already knew the routine.

"Welcome back, Wanderer," Hannah said. "It's the 27th of April, 2009. I was just showing your newest teammate around, but, well…"

The girl at Hannah's side turned to face her, and Taylor's stomach squirmed.

It was always strange, meeting her friends in different times. Different ages.

This was probably real, Taylor decided, so she couldn't fuck it up. But, at least, she knew she hadn't fucked it up in the past, so maybe she couldn't fuck it up in the present? Was that reassuring? She didn't know.

"Good morning. My name is Vista," Missy said. "I look forward to working with you."

So serious. Taylor had almost forgotten how determined Missy was to prove herself, at first.

God. She was so fucking short. Taylor forced herself not to laugh.

"Good morning, Vista. I'm really looking forward to working with you, too," Taylor returned with equal seriousness. Part of it was faked, for the sake of this version of Missy's pride, but… this was serious, in its own way. She only got to meet Missy once. Even if Taylor remembered meeting Missy at a different time, Missy would remember this as the first time.

Taylor glanced at the briars.

"Sorry about the mess. Let me take care of that," Taylor added.

Taylor waved her hand slowly over the room, and brought her power back under the surface. Like water circling the drain, the thorns retreated to their assigned seat in the back of her mind. The walls straightened, and the fridge returned from its unscheduled sabbatical.

"Thanks, Wanderer," Hannah said. She was always so kind. Not pitying, or scared, like the others. It was nice. "If you don't mind me asking…"

"2011," Taylor said.

She hadn't told Hannah about the bank, or anything else, so she couldn't, now.

"Are you doing better?" Hannah asked.

Right. Taylor had been a bit of a mess in 2009. To put it mildly.

"Some days are better than others," Taylor shrugged. "But yeah, I guess so. Relatively speaking."

'Better' was definitely a relative term, but it would make Hannah feel better, and she deserved a comforting lie to help her sleep at night.

Well, not sleep, because it was Hannah, but whatever. Help her stare blankly at the ceiling, or twiddle her thumbs, or whatever it was Hannah did at night.

Missy was almost bouncing in place with curiosity, but obviously trying hard not to show it.

"We didn't exactly give the public the full story," Taylor grinned down at her future friend conspiratorially. "But I guess you get all the dirty secrets now, right?"

"If you think it would be beneficial," Missy said. "We need to have an accurate understanding of each other's abilities to coordinate effectively as a team."

Oh my god, she's adorable.

Taylor had honestly forgotten about early-days-Missy. It was a long time ago, and she hadn't exactly been in the right headspace to notice at the time.

"I'll take it from here?" Taylor asked in Hannah's direction.

Hannah bit her lip for a moment, but nodded eventually.

Oh. Right. This Hannah only knew 2009 Taylor, who was… not exactly responsible. This version of Hannah hadn't already worked with her for years. Or maybe she'd already met an older Taylor? Who knows.

It was rare that she got to meet anyone for the first time, and she wanted to make sure she set Missy on the right course. As much as she could, at any rate.

"Come on," Taylor gestured with her head to the back hallway. "I'll show you the dorm rooms, and all the secret passageways."

Hannah headed back towards the elevator, and then they were alone in the Wards' quarters.

"Where are the others?" Missy asked.

"School. They'll be back later. I'm the only permanent resident of ye olde PRT hotel currently," Taylor said.

"Are there actually secret passageways?"

Good. Missy was already relaxing.

"There are for us," Taylor smirked.

Taylor opened one of the doors on the left.

"This is my room. No, you don't get your own bathroom unless you join the madhouse permanently," Taylor said.

Her room was spartan, despite the dark purple walls. What was the point in getting decorations, when they inevitably got consumed by her power eventually? She had enough trouble keeping a consistent supply of costumes up.

Part of her was happy she was meeting Missy like this, though. No costume, glasses, rat's nest. Let her see the person behind the Wanderer, first. Before she met past-Taylor.

"Is that an option?" Missy asked quietly.

Fuck. They'd already had this conversation, before. Taylor didn't know how to pretend she didn't already know.

"No," Taylor sighed. "No, They… Sorry, Vista. They don't count… Your problems aren't… It's only available if you suffer from power-induced psychosis that leaves you a threat to your surroundings. Sorry. But you can come stay with me, anytime you want. As long as you don't mind a little weirdness."

Missy blinked up at her with a strange expression.

"How do you-" Missy started.

"Let me grab my costume and I'll show you your room, then we can talk," Taylor said.

Taylor closed the door for a moment to change in private. She allowed herself a deep breath to center herself as she left Taylor behind and became Wanderer, again.

She didn't know how to do this. She should have plenty of practice by now, but it hit her every time. She liked being the responsible one, the knowledgeable one, but…

Talking to this version of her friend, who didn't know her… It hurt, even though it shouldn't. It wasn't Missy's fault.

Taylor's smile was back in place by the time the door opened.

Missy's room was just as plain as her own, minus the paint job. Obviously, since it hadn't been used. Taylor could see it as it was last week, in her mind's eye. Posters and books and games and clothes thrown everywhere. Missy pretended to have her shit together, but she was just as much of a mess as the rest of them.

Well, maybe not as messy as Taylor, but then again, nobody was. Power-induced psychosis and all that jazz.

Taylor walked into Missy's room and sat in the desk chair. Missy took a hesitant seat on the bed.

"My power causes me to spontaneously and uncontrollably travel through time," Taylor said without preamble. "We don't exactly tell the public that part. Better for them to think I'm just a mid-tier Shaker who can summon constructs. It's actually… a lot more involved, than that."

Missy just stared at her for a long moment.

"Wow. You aren't kidding," Missy said.

Taylor shook her head, and waited for Missy to come up with a question.

"So, wait… have you already, like, met me?" Missy asked.

"We were fighting villains together in 2011 yesterday, from my perspective," Taylor grinned. "Future you is a badass."

"Really?" Missy asked excitedly before she got control of herself. "I mean… I'd love to hear more, if you can tell me. Any future knowledge would be advantageous."

"Really. I'll tell you what I can, but I can only tell you what I've already told you. I know; it doesn't make sense to me, either, and it's my fucking life," Taylor said sardonically.

Missy twitched slightly at the cursing. She'd learn quickly.

"The 'me' that's going to find her way back from the ether soon isn't this version of me, though," Taylor continued. "She won't remember this conversation, because she won't have had it, yet. She's also… well, I remember being her. Life is hard, for us, and some versions of me handle it better than others. You saw the results of a bad day in the kitchen. And sometimes, future-me isn't around to clean up my messes."

"That sounds… I don't know what to say," Missy blinked.

"It's a lot, and I wish I could say it gets easier, but…" Taylor bit her lip. "If you're willing to deal with the weirdness, past-me could really use a friend. And I think you could, too. And I know we'll be great friends, because future-you is already my friend, if that makes sense. But you still have a choice. You still have to decide to do what you've already done, even though I remember you doing it."

Missy didn't answer right away. Her eyes combed over the empty walls before eventually returning to Taylor's.

"Okay," Missy said. "I feel like I should hate this, but it's… kind of cool, actually. Like… I don't know. This is the kind of stuff I was looking forward to, when I got powers, right? The weird… shit."

Look at that, she was getting the hang of it already.

Was Taylor corrupting poor, innocent, baby Missy?

Maybe.

Did she care?

Naw. That kind of stuff went out the window pretty quick with all the time traveling. It was for her own good, anyway. Missy needed to learn how to stand on her own sooner rather than later. Having a friend would help.

"Exactly," Taylor grinned. "Us reality warpers gotta stick together. And, when in doubt, just roll with it."

Taylor stood up, and stretched. Her spine popped. It was very satisfying.

"You'll give yourself arthritis," Missy pointed out.

"Arthritis is a government conspiracy designed to keep the evil league of chiropractors in business," Taylor said. "Besides, my body isn't even real."

"I can't tell if you're joking or not," Missy replied warily.

"Good. That means I'm doing my job right. Now, come on. I'll show you the training rooms. Best part of this whole shit-show."

"Didn't you say you were going to show me secret passages?" Missy asked as they made their way back to the kitchen.

Taylor raised an eyebrow at her.

"How adventurous are you feeling?" Taylor asked in return.

"Maybe like… a four? Out of ten?"

"Okay," Taylor grinned.

She walked over to the elevator, but didn't press the button. With a casual flex of her power, the elevator doors turned into a set of heavy purple curtains instead of Tinkertech metal.

Taylor pulled the curtain back, revealing the elevator shaft. It disappeared down into the darkness above and below.

"Now, if you don't mind, it would be great if the bottom of the shaft was a bit closer to us, don't you think?" Taylor glanced down at her sidekick for today's tomfoolery.

"What if the elevator comes back down?" Missy asked.

"Then we die," Taylor shrugged.

Missy blanched, and Taylor couldn't help but laugh.

"Kidding. You could always make the shaft a mile long, or I could just turn the elevator and everyone inside into bees," Taylor said.

Missy was still gaping at her.

"I'm kidding! Jeez, everyone gets so worked up over a bit of transmutation…" Taylor mumbled.

"You probably shouldn't joke about-"

"Whatever. Catch me, Vista!"

Taylor hopped into the elevator shaft.

This version of Missy wasn't quite as quick on the uptake, but she got there.

Taylor slammed into the floor of the elevator shaft hard enough to rattle her ankles, but not hard enough to do any permanent damage. Well done, Missy.

Missy stepped in next to her, breathing hard and glaring.

"That was mean," she said accusingly.

"You asked for a shortcut," Taylor shrugged.

She fixed the doors upstairs and deleted the wall in front of them from existence.

"Is current-you this…" Missy didn't seem to have the right words.

"Naw, current-me is a drama queen," Taylor grinned over her shoulder as they made their way to the testing chambers. "She hasn't had time to get jaded, yet."

Plus, Christmas wasn't here yet, for her. She still had hope.

"I think that might be an improvement," Missy muttered.

Taylor laughed. She'd learn.

"Morning, Gus. Imaginary-you says 'hi'!" Taylor called as they passed the monitoring room.

"I… what?" Gus-with-slightly-more-hair said in confusion.

Ah. This version of Gus wasn't used to her yet. He'd learn, too.

"Alright, Vista," Taylor turned to face the younger version of her future-friend in the gray testing chamber. "I don't know how much longer I've got before I get tossed into a different time, so let me show you one of my favorite tricks. Well, our favorite tricks. I call it 'Localized Reversal'..."

…

Thursday, April 14th, 2011.

"...what I have difficulty understanding is why you decided to utilize an untested, unapproved weapon supposedly designed to combat Class A threats against a group of unimportant crooks in the midst of a bank robbery with hostages!"

Damn. She hadn't missed the lecture, after all. Her power clearly hated her.

Taylor stumbled slightly and narrowly avoided taking out a very patriotic display of Miss Militia dolls in the gift shop. Sometimes the transition between worlds was slow, others it was a bit like getting yanked off stage by a shepherd's hook.

"Wanderer! That was quick," Carlos waved.

Wow, he looked like shit. RIP Carlos' spleen. The dogs clearly won that tug of war in her absence.

"If it lasts for more than four hours…" Dennis grinned.

Missy smacked him on the back of the head. She didn't have to reach up quite as far as she used to.

"You know I can never stay away for long," Taylor made her way over to the rag-tag group across the lobby.

"Wanderer. Report," Piggot barked.

The Director didn't hate her as much as she hated Dennis or Sophia, but the Director didn't like anyone. Some days, Taylor thought Piggot might actually tolerate her, before Piggot remembered it was her job to be a bitch.

"Temporal displacement starting Monday morning during mandated power testing. Returned on site just before the bank debacle, which I'm assuming was today. Followed Glory Girl into the bank to avoid unnecessary casualties. I was negotiating with one of the Undersiders for the release of Panacea when I experienced an unknown spatial anomaly. My power reacted subconsciously, resulting in a temporary discorporation and another bout of temporal displacement," Taylor rattled off easily. She had a lot of practice with the PRT's jargon for this kind of bullshit.

"Well, that 'unknown spatial anomaly' also transported the Undersiders to who knows where," Piggot said stiffly. "Fortunately, a displaced version of you arrived moments later to perform damage control, so the property costs remain low. Unfortunately, this incident did not do us any favors with the public. The hostages were exposed to potentially hazardous effects, and there are already reports of the pigeons…"

Taylor and Dennis both smothered their laughter. It wasn't funny. But it kinda was.

Piggot obviously didn't think so.

"We will be meeting later to discuss the public perception of your abilities, Wanderer," Piggot snapped. "Kid Win, come with me. Everyone else, dismissed. And clean yourselves up. There's another tour group in an hour, and we need to present a positive public image."

Chris followed the Director with a nauseated expression.

Taylor wasn't exactly sympathetic. It served him right, honestly. Chris tried his best, but he could be a bit dense at times. Taking an unapproved super weapon into the field and then letting it fall into enemy hands, even temporarily? Ridiculous. He could have just… not done that.

"Debrief," Carlos rasped. His lungs looked kind of fucked. "Clock or Gallant. Don't care which."

Oh. Right. She should probably learn the purple and blonde Undersider's name.

"Anything exciting happen during your 'temporal displacement'?" Missy asked as they stepped into the elevator.

Taylor grinned.

"Taught you the 'Localized Reversal'. And how to curse properly," Taylor said in a low voice.

Missy's eyes widened.

"Really? I was wondering when-"

"Yeah. Me too," Taylor nudged her friend. Missy's shoulder still barely reached her elbow. "Guess I gave good advice, huh?"

"Us reality warpers have to stick together," Missy grinned back.

"Speaking of which, did future-me have anything to say for herself?" Taylor asked idly.

The door dinged open.

"No, actually. You didn't pull any of your usual cryptic bullshit," Dennis said. He wandered over and flopped down on one of the couches. "Or, I guess you did, since you just fixed the windows and the brand new Glory Girl sized doorway and left without a word. Plus, y'know, saved the hostages that got stuck in the floor. And the crystals."

"Just another day in wonderland," Dean said, rolling a whiteboard over from the other side of the room.

Taylor rolled her eyes at him. Dean wasn't a complete ass, but he managed to be unintentionally annoying way too often.

"What even happened, anyway?" Browbeat asked. Taylor should probably know his name, but she didn't. He'd been introduced like, a week ago, real time. Whatever.

"I'm kind of curious about that, too," Dean said.

"I don't know what to tell you," Taylor shrugged. "My powers work in mysterious ways. I told Purple Girl to either shit or get off the pot, and next thing I knew I was straying out of thought and time and whatever."

"And the pigeons?" Dennis asked.

"I was hoping they'd shit on Victoria and Amy on their way out," Taylor snorted. "That whole mess was their fault, anyway. How did Panacea get herself captured? And why did Victoria fly in alone when she knew her sister was a hostage?"

"I'd say it was the Undersiders' fault more than theirs," Dean said carefully.

Taylor ignored him.

"What's Purple Girl's name, anyway?" Taylor asked.

"Tattletale," Missy said.

Huh. Good to know.

"That's kind of dumb," Taylor said.

"I mean, it's no 'Clockblocker', but then again, few are," Dennis pretended to examine his fingernails.

Dean was prattling on about today not being a failure, or something. Taylor didn't really care.

She leaned against the counter and hummed quietly to herself, fingers tapping on the counter.

Something fucked with her power. She didn't feel like it was Tattletale. The blonde villain had looked legitimately scared, or shocked, or something, in the moments before everything went haywire.

Why did Taylor feel like she'd seen Tattletale somewhere before? It was uncanny.

Maybe she'd run into her in the future, and she just forgot?

But then something had happened. Something that rivaled her for control of reality. Another villain? Or something else?

Taylor felt like she was missing something obvious, but her brain didn't want to spit it out.

Carlos wandered back in, wearing sweatpants and a towel. He still kind of looked like shit. Also, being a beefcake wasn't an excuse to walk around shirtless. Double standards. Especially not when his chest looked a bit like a Saw movie extra.

"Anything on Tattletale?" Dean asked.

Taylor tuned back in.

"She said she was psychic," Taylor shrugged.

"Is that possible?" Dennis asked.

"Not conventionally-" Dean started.

"Anything's possible," Taylor cut him off.

The others seemed to forget that powers were more than just flying or shooting beams out of their hands, sometimes. Taylor had seen more than enough to justify a bit of mind-reading.

The incoming guest alarm went off, and the others grabbed their masks. Taylor never took hers off.

She was always Wanderer.

The door hissed open. Colin and Hannah entered, followed by Amy.

Good. Looking at Carlos in this state was mildly nauseating.

"Armsmaster. Miss Militia," Dean said.

"Glad to see everyone's still in one piece," Hannah said. "We brought a volunteer to patch you up, just in case."

As if they had a choice. It wasn't like they could send Carlos back to school with his organs rearranged.

Colin just nodded. His eyes flicked over to her.

"Wanderer. Welcome back," he said stiffly. "Anything to report?"

Colin tried his best, but he was still a bit of an ass. He just couldn't help himself.

Still. They were both bats haunting their respective belfries, in their own way. Taylor was reasonably sure Colin had never set foot in his actual off-base apartment.

Plus, Colin wanted to advance. He wanted power. Building a positive relationship with the unstable, time-traveling Shaker 12 living in the PRT's attic was in his best interest.

"Something happened at the bank," Taylor said. It galled her to admit it, but if anyone could figure it out, Colin would be a good first step. "I tried to implement a full-scale reality shift to save Panacea and keep the Undersiders from escaping, but something, someone, stopped me."

The others went silent. Dean and Amy were still muttering to each other in one of the alcoves. Taylor ignored them.

"You're certain this wasn't just a self-generated anomaly?" Colin asked carefully.

Asshole.

Taylor tried not to let the lack of faith get to her. It was Colin's job to consider every angle. He was analytical like that.

"I mean, as sure as I can be. It felt like an outside influence. I didn't strike first. Something tried to overwrite our localized reality, and my power responded instinctively. I tried to reassert my control, and I failed," Taylor said.

It hurt to admit it, but Taylor knew there was nothing wrong with admitting defeat, here. It was much more important that Colin knew there was another reality manipulator running around.

"That's… concerning," Colin said after a moment.

No shit, Sherlock.

"Maybe it was Tattletale?" Dennis suggested.

Taylor was already shaking her head.

"Tattletale was just as shocked as I was," Taylor said. "I don't think it was the Undersiders' doing."

"They did benefit more than any other party from the intervention," Colin pointed out.

"Maybe it was Tinkertech?" Hannah suggested. "They could have purchased a 'get out of jail free' card from someone. Leet, or Toybox."

"That seems more likely than another reality manipulator of Wanderer's caliber," Colin mused.

Taylor hated it when they talked about her like she wasn't here. Adults did it all the fucking time, and it always pissed her off. She was the fucking time traveler. She was the fucking dream walker. They had no idea what it was like to-

"Wanderer," Missy said, touching the back of her hand lightly.

The others were staring, too.

Crimson thorns grew from the walls around her, each easily three feet long.

"Sorry," Taylor forced out through clenched teeth. "Long day. Excuse me."

Taylor stalked down the hallway towards her quarters. She left the thorns where they were. The others might have trouble cooking dinner, but they could deal. She'd fix it later.

She needed to shower. She never got the chance this morning.

Taylor shucked her costume from 2009 and threw it in the corner, against the purple walls. She always kept lots of different sizes on hand, just in case.

The spray of warm water was heavenly. At least she didn't have to wait for the water to heat up, here. Perks of high tech facilities.

Taylor braced herself against the wall, and let herself slide down until she was crouched on the floor. She did her best to control her breathing, and kept her power from leaking into the surrounding world.

She was mostly successful. The water still ran amethyst purple. That was okay, though. Almost cathartic.

Taylor didn't cry, anymore, but she kind of wished she could.

She wished she was still standing in the snow, with Sarah. Wished she could have just stayed.

Back when things were easy.

"I don't want you to go."

Fuck.

Taylor didn't know how many more visits she had. Her number had to be running low.

She didn't know which time would be the last. How would she even know?

But one day, Christmas would come and go, and she'd never see Sarah again.

…

Saturday, March 8th, 2008

Sarah felt like she spent way too much time looking over her shoulder.

But how could she not, knowing that Taylor might pop out of the woodwork at any moment? Maybe literally?

Taylor didn't control her time travelling. It wasn't like she was choosing specific dates on purpose.

Still, Sarah found herself looking for moments where Taylor could feasibly find her. She spent most of her time alone, anyway, so it wasn't all that hard.

The weather was finally warming up, which was nice. It made her walks in the woods more pleasant, and kept her mother from complaining too much. Soon, she might not even need the purple coat Taylor left with her.

She still crossed the same stream every day, looking for glass leaves.

Was it pathetic? Maybe. But she was lonely, dammit. She was allowed to admit that in her own head.

Reggie barely bothered, anymore. He was just like their parents. Doing what a brother should do, rather than anything authentic. He didn't actually care. He just felt like he should care.

The kids at school were idiots. None of them felt real. Just bumbling, two-dimensional masks that spat out whatever automated response the inputs prompted. They didn't think.

Taylor was different. Taylor was special. Taylor was magic.

She'd be back. She promised. She just didn't know when.

Something shook the forest, and Sarah froze.

The leaves quivered. The birds all took off at once, cawing raucously as they abandoned the canopy overhead.

It could be nothing, but Sarah didn't think so. Strange things meant Taylor was here.

Somewhere.

An anguished, frustrated scream echoed from somewhere up ahead, and Sarah was running before she could stop herself.

Gnarled red and black thorns grew from the trees. The ground shook under her feet. Sarah's heart soared, even though she knew that probably wasn't a good sign. She just couldn't help it.

Taylor was back. She had to be.

Even if she was hurting, that was okay. Sarah would take care of her, this time.

The thorns grew more and more dense, until Sarah couldn't force her way through without tearing her coat.

"Taylor!" She called through the briars.

The dull thunder stopped. The forest was still again.

"Sarah?" A surprisingly small voice said.

Not fifteen year old Taylor, then. The smirking, kind-eyed voice in the snow never sounded like that.

"Hey, honey," Sarah said through the thorns. "You okay over there?"

"I'm fine."

Taylor didn't sound fine.

"Can you let me through? I missed you," Sarah said gently.

It didn't feel bad, to admit that. Not to this Taylor.

"Okay," Taylor said.

It was a slow process, but the thorns eventually retracted into the trees. Just in front of her, opening her own personal path through the nightmare.

Sarah picked her way through the tunnel briars slowly. She didn't let herself think about Taylor's control slipping, about the churning blender of thorns ripping her to shreds and-

She slipped through the final layer, into a bright green clearing. Too green. The grass was glowing, knee high and perfectly flat.

Taylor stood in the middle of the circular ring of thorns. Her midnight curls were wild, even compared to the last two times, and her white eyes were shining with ethereal power.

She was also young. Still the same height as Sarah, and… uncertain. Ungrounded. Her eyes didn't hold the same solid confidence she had on Christmas Eve. She looked more like the fae girl by the creek than the smiling magician.

"Hey," Sarah said again. She didn't know what else to say.

"I didn't think I'd see you again," Taylor said. "Nobody else ever comes back."

"You came back to me, silly," Sarah replied.

She took another step closer, away from the thorns.

"I did?" Taylor asked.

Sarah nodded.

"When is it, for you? What's today's date?" Sarah asked. Maybe this Taylor didn't know, yet.

"It's August 2nd, 2008," Taylor said distractedly.

Then her eyes widened even further behind her glasses. It was cute.

"It's your birthday! Happy birthday, Sarah," Taylor didn't quite smile, but it was close. "I didn't get you anything. Sorry."

Sarah laughed.

"That's okay. I like that you remembered," Sarah said.

No one else ever remembered.

"But it's not, actually," Sarah explained. "It's March 8th, 2008, here. You've been time travelling again."

Taylor blinked.

"Really?" She asked.

"Really," Sarah confirmed.

"They called me a 'temporal anomaly', but I didn't…" Taylor shook her head. "I don't like them. The doctors. The agents. Colin says they're just doing their jobs, but they're so… so… they don't have to be such assholes about it."

Sarah laughed at the cursing, even if the words themselves were sad. It sounded out of place, on this version of Taylor's lips.

"Did you tell them about me?" Sarah asked. That could be… bad, if her parents found out. She didn't know what she'd do if the PRT came knocking.

Taylor shook her head.

"I didn't want to. You're… special," Taylor said softly.

Sarah kind of felt like crying again, but it didn't feel bad, this time.

"You're special, too. Don't let them push you around," Sarah said. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"They said they'd send me somewhere called the Asylum if I didn't cooperate," Taylor whispered.

Sarah's blood boiled, but she kept the anger off her face. She had a lot of practice repressing unpleasant feelings.

"You're right; they do sound like assholes," Sarah said. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask them if the Asylum has protections against 'temporal anomalies'. Besides, you can still come back here, no matter what, right?"

Obviously she could, given the Christmas thing.

"I don't know," Taylor said. "I guess you're right."

"I'm always right," Sarah said confidently.

"Okay," Taylor nodded with a weirdly serious expression, like she was updating an internal reference. 'Sarah' equals 'always right'.

Sarah laughed, and Taylor smiled for real, for the first time this visit.

"Can we sit?' Sarah asked after a moment. "This grass looks comfy."

"Sure," Taylor said, then she blinked behind her glasses. "Wait! Let me try something."

Sarah froze. It didn't hurt to be careful, with the thorns.

Taylor's brow furrowed in concentration.

The ground suddenly fell out from under them, and Sarah screamed as she toppled. She couldn't help herself.

She fell through the grass and… bounced?

The ground wasn't gone; it was just very, very soft.

"Taylor!" Sarah yelled in some combination of indignation and laughter.

"Sorry! I think I overdid it!" Taylor yelled from where she also floundered in the pit of over-stretched marshmallow.

Sarah flung her arm out to the side, looking for anything solid to anchor her. She managed to snag what felt like Taylor's leg.

It was awkward as hell, and she couldn't stop laughing long enough to catch her breath, but Sarah managed to pull herself up through the grass to Taylor's side.

They both flopped on their backs at the bottom of the living trampoline, panting for breath in between giggling fits.

"Sorry, sorry," Taylor said again, even though she was laughing, too.

"It's okay," Sarah grinned. She let her head fall back against the greenery.

The pale spring sky overhead was a perfect circle, framed on all sides by briars.

The soft, stretchy nature of whatever Taylor did to the grass meant she and Taylor inevitably fell into one another in the middle. Taylor's arm and shoulder pressed against her own, her hips and legs touching all the way down as they lay side by side.

Sarah didn't mind.

"I'll get the hang of it, someday," Taylor said resolutely. "Then no one will be able to stop me."

"Sounding a bit like a villain, there," Sarah looked away from the sky to smile over at her.

"No! Just…" Taylor trailed off. "I hate it, y'know? Being trapped. Being alone."

Sarah understood that feeling far too well.

"Yeah. I get it," Sarah said quietly.

"I hate the white walls," Taylor said.

It was a random coincidence, but it hit Sarah like a punch to the gut.

"Me, too," Sarah whispered.

She didn't want to cry.

"You should paint them purple instead," Sarah suggested.

She might not be able to escape her problems, but Taylor could. Taylor could do anything.

"Maybe I will," Taylor said.

Taylor managed to stay for a whole hour, this time. Sarah felt spoiled.

They didn't talk the whole time. Sometimes they just enjoyed the sunlight.

But they did talk, a bit. About books. And the virtues of tea vs. coffee. Anything except the past. Or the present. Or the future.

Until it was time to go.

"Will I see you again?" Taylor asked, when the briars and the verdant grass began to fade.

"Yeah," Sarah said. She didn't have time to explain. Didn't know how. "You already have."

"Okay," Taylor smiled, and Sarah's chest felt weirdly warm. "See you later, Sarah. Or maybe earlier?"

"Yeah," Sarah said again.

Then she was alone in the woods. No briars. No strange, too-green grass.

"See you, again," Sarah said to no one.

She missed her already. She wondered if Taylor missed her, too.

…

Chapter Text

Jade 1.3

Friday, April 15th, 2011.

Taylor woke up early, for once.

Well, early in a relative sense. Time wasn't exactly stable for her. She'd had a very long day yesterday, given that her day had started on Monday morning and ended on Thursday afternoon. And that wasn't even taking into account her relatively brief trips to 2007 and 2009 in between.

The purple ceiling mocked her, but at least it was better than white.

Always bittersweet.

Colin kept telling her that she should record all her wanderings, but that got old extremely quickly. Plus, she wasn't about to tell the PRT about Sarah, so what would even be the point? It would all just be half-truths, anyway.

She never seemed to be able to do anything other than what she'd already done, so it would probably be fine. The timeline hadn't collapsed in the last three years. Well, not that she knew of, anyway. Myrddin said it was technically possible that she was just dimension hopping rather than time travelling at all, and that every time she wandered she was actually just appearing in a brand new dimension where the past had already happened exactly as she'd previously acted, and she was leaving behind countless doomed dimensions where she simply never came back… but that thought was extremely depressing, and would probably exacerbate her already troublesome level of nihilism, so she decided not to believe that.

And, with that pleasant thought out of the way for today, Taylor rolled out of bed and took another shower, even though she'd just taken one last night. It made her feel better. More human.

Today was going to be a good day. Manifestation and shit.

She even fixed the water color. And the thorns growing out of the walls of her room.

Taylor sifted through the pile of costumes to find one in the right size, and pulled it on. She swapped her thick glasses out for her visor and pulled her hood up.

It was mildly disturbing that she was currently wearing the largest size costume the PRT provided for her. She was already the oldest officially documented version of herself they had on file. There might be older versions of her running around somewhere, but they never stopped to chat.

She didn't know what that meant, specifically, but she could guess. Things probably weren't going to get better. Whatever happened at the bank was only going to happen again, and she didn't know why.

Something in the back of her mind itched. It felt like she was missing something obvious. Something she'd forgotten.

But it wasn't like there was anything else she could do besides get up, fix yesterday's thorns in the kitchen, and warm up another frozen breakfast burrito.

Taylor took the elevator to the testing chamber rather than the shortcut down the empty shaft. She hummed along to the Beatles song playing quietly overhead.

The doors hissed open at the bottom, and Taylor made her way to her usual gray tile room.

"Morning, Arlene," she called on her way past.

"Good morning, Wanderer," the voice on the intercom replied. "We missed your visits this week. Keeps things interesting around here."

"Interesting is my middle name," Taylor replied dryly. It was annoying when the agents were feeling talkative.

"We can begin whenever you're ready," Arlene said.

Taylor took a deep breath. She would keep herself under control, this time. No excessive wandering today.

"And… Release."

The amethyst stream poured through the cracks in the tile, and Taylor let herself rise on its currents until she once again found herself in the forest of glass.

She didn't think about Sarah, this time.

Instead, she turned her focus inward. She needed to figure out how to control her abilities, and herself, sooner, rather than later.

In her mind's eye, Taylor held the current world she created in the palm of her hand. A single, iridescent marble. One among many. One among infinite.

The world outside of her glass forest was pitch black. Taylor moved herself outside of that, too, and held a spherical void in her hand next to the purple glass.

Outside the void, there were only stars. Uncountable, unfathomable. Primordial forces that burned in the endless nothing.

Taylor took the stars, and made another marble, to hold alongside the others.

Over and over, she condensed her worlds, her infinite nesting doll. When her hands eventually became full of unique and wondrous spheres, she stopped to admire her work.

It was so hard to tell what was real, some days.

And with that, she knew she was starting to slip. Her mind was stretched, trying to hold too much. If she didn't stop now, she'd be lost all over again.

So, instead of wandering any further, Taylor knelt down and carefully lined the marbles up in a row on the crumbling burgundy rock in front of her. Odd, skeletal white crags of salt arched overhead. Some of the marbles didn't want to stay in line, but she kept moving them back until they behaved themselves.

Then she picked up her original forest of purple and glass, staring into its depths. She fell back through the countless tessellating layers, and let the amethyst stream guide her home.

The gray tiles returned. Her vision became light filtered through her retinas and processed by her physical brain once again, rather than the worlds that existed both within her mind and outside the reality she currently inhabited.

"Well done, Wanderer. It is 2:21 PM, April 15th, 2011. You were gone for just over six hours, four of which you retained your spatial alterations. The results have been documented and sent to Armsmaster for review. Thank you for your cooperation," Arlene said.

Six hours. That wasn't bad. She could handle that. It wasn't like she had anything planned for today, anyway. Plus, Missy would be done with school soon.

Missy always came to the PRT building after school, whether she had a patrol or not. It was better than going home.

Taylor had lost track of who was officially on patrol this afternoon. The day after a long displacement was always a pain.

The elevator door hissed open, and Taylor wandered around the empty Wards' quarters for a while. She didn't have the motivation to actually do anything, but she didn't want to sit still.

Eventually, she threw another burrito in the microwave, and flopped down on the couch.

She should probably go work out. Or do her coursework. She had a week's worth of worksheets to catch up on. But she just… couldn't bring herself to care, right now.

Bottle green eyes danced in the corner of her vision. The crooked, knowing smile that always haunted her.

Sarah always knew just what to say. Taylor wished she could ask her for advice, right now.

What would Sarah even say, if she were here?

Taylor wished she knew.

Sarah was one of the only people Taylor had never met an imaginary version of, in any of her worlds. There was only one Sarah, and she was special.

Even though she left.

The snowy graveyard haunted Taylor, too. The note.

Poor, time-lost Wanderer. So powerful, so unique, and always too late, when it mattered.

Taylor was still lost in thought, but luckily not in time, when the elevator doors opened again.

"Hey, Wanderer," Missy said on her way past. "You know it's snowing in here, right?"

"Hey," Taylor responded distractedly, pulling herself back to the present. "No, actually. I missed that. Sorry."

Taylor put the snow back in the graveyard, where it belonged.

"No worries. Your morning go okay? I mean, you're still here, so that's good, right?" Missy called from down the hallway.

"Yeah. The usual. Nothing too crazy," Taylor stood up and stretched. "How was everyone's favorite brainwashing institution?"

"Weird, actually," Missy reappeared in costume and wandered over to the kitchen. "One of the kids disappeared, yesterday. Dinah Alcott. Mayor's niece. I wonder how Rory's holding up?"

Triumph hadn't been back to the Wards' quarters since his promotion. Taylor didn't hold it against him. If Missy weren't here, she might not come back, either.

"Disappeared? As in…" Taylor let that thought hang. She wasn't sure what she meant, exactly.

"I don't know. We can probably check the local updates. They must have a file started for her, just in case," Missy said. "You know you still have a burrito in here?"

Right. She'd forgotten about that.

Taylor wandered over and snagged her slightly cold burrito out of the microwave.

"Are you patrolling today?" Taylor asked. She should have checked earlier, but at least it was something to talk about. She knew she wasn't on patrol, either way. Piggot always made sure to warn her in advance if she wanted Taylor to make a public appearance. Can't risk the PRT's shining public image if the insane Ward goes AWOL unexpectedly.

"Yeah. With Sophia," Missy made a face.

"My condolences," Taylor said.

"Thanks."

Neither of them bothered talking about Sophia or her sour disposition. They'd done it all before. Sophia wasn't going to change, and time wasn't making her attitude any more palatable.

Taylor vaguely remembered a time when Missy was excited to get another girl on the team, only for her to be… well, Sophia.

Whatever. No use crying over spilled milk. Not everyone was going to be a good person. Or even halfway decent. They should probably just be happy Sophia wasn't on the other side of the line, shooting arrows at them instead of insults.

Right on cue, the doors hissed open again.

"Sup, Sophie?" Taylor called. "Have fun at heroin high?"

Sophia hated that nickname far more than anything more creative Taylor could come up with, and she'd learned a long time ago that it was better to get the sniping with Sophia over with early. If they tried to ignore her, she'd just keep pushing until she got a response, anyway, and then she'd feel like she won something when they inevitably caved.

"Midget. Spaz," Sophia spat on her way past. "You manage to go a whole day without shitting yourself, this time?"

God, Sophia was so fucking insufferable.

"I dunno. Why don't you go check your bed and see?" Taylor shot back.

Missy laughed, even though it wasn't funny. It was more about pissing Sophia off than actual humor. Gotta present a united front against the seemingly unlimited supply of bitchiness overflowing from Sophia's soul.

"Fuck you, too. At least I'm doing something useful, instead of eating my weight in shitty burritos and wasting everyone's time," Sophia called over her shoulder as she made her way into the back to change.

Taylor formed a disembodied hand out of the steel wall of the hallway, and flipped Sophia off as she passed.

She should know better than to let Sophia get under her skin, but she still couldn't help it, sometimes.

"It could be worse," Missy said. "You could be walking around the city with her for the next two hours."

"True," Taylor sighed. "You're a saint, taking one for the team like that."

"Make sure to include that on my quarterly performance survey," Missy grinned.

"What's PRT jargon for 'put up with Sophia's bullshit?'" Taylor leaned against the counter and took a bite of her cold burrito. "Successfully navigated a hostile work environment without resorting to homicide?"

"Went above and beyond to build rapport with teammates despite overwhelming personality differences," Missy suggested.

"Took active steps to assist with duties that other Wards considered too trying and unpleasant to stomach," Taylor chuckled darkly.

"God, you're both fucking pathetic," Sophia groaned as she made her way back into the common area. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Nope," Taylor took another bite of her burrito. "Free-loading crazy person, remember? I've got nothing but time to sit around and think up ways to fuck with you, specifically. It's my life goal. It's all I have to live for."

"You're lucky you're Piggy's favorite, or I'd leave your body somewhere and let them think the Empire got ahold of you," Sophia growled.

"Bring it on, Sophie. I'll go a round or three on the mat with you anytime you want. Or would you rather I just give you taste buds in your asshole and call it a day?"

Again, crudeness always worked better than creativity with Sophia. She wouldn't appreciate Taylor's more elaborate threats anyway.

"You can't-"

"Try me, bitch. I'm the favorite, remember? You think they'd throw me out over, what? An edgy voyeur with a crossbow?" Taylor taunted.

She could practically hear Sophia's teeth grinding. Score.

For a moment it seemed like Sophia might try her luck. Taylor probably wouldn't actually fuck up her sensory inputs, but she absolutely would kick her ass across the break room. It wouldn't be the first time.

But, for better or worse, Sophia just turned on her heel and stomped into the elevator.

"Thanks for that," Vista sighed sarcastically. "Now she's going to be twice as difficult."

"Sorry," Taylor grimaced. She might have gone a bit overboard, there. "She just… she gets to me, y'know? It's not like her power fucks with her like it's its job, but she always has something to complain about, anyway."

Sophia had everything. Sophia wasn't about to expire due to unknown circumstances. She didn't get dropped through time with no warning. She didn't grow thorns that could kill people when she lost her cool. She even got to be friends with Emma, of all people, while Taylor got locked in the attic. And she had the audacity to act like a fucking victim all the time, while simultaneously pretending that being a complete bitch to everyone made her strong. Her hypocrisy was infuriating.

"I know, I know," Missy said. "And she'd probably do worse if you didn't shut her down, but still… not looking forward to tonight."

"Who's supposed to be on console?" Taylor asked. The control kiosk was still noticeably vacant.

"Chris. He's been off his game since yesterday. Hopefully he isn't too late," Missy frowned.

"I'll hop on until he gets here," Taylor offered. "Go, before Sophia decides to run off and bury you in paperwork."

"Thanks, Wanderer," Missy headed towards the elevator. "Don't snipe at Sophia over the comms. Hannah will give us the disappointed look."

"I would never. I'm a consummate professional," Taylor grinned after her.

The elevator doors closed, and Taylor was alone again. Her smile fell.

Missy didn't know about her expiration date. None of the others did. Colin did, and Hannah. The Director must know.

Maybe she was just hopping between universes, and her next jump would take her out of this one forever. That wasn't exactly comforting.

It was better that they didn't know. Better for everyone if one day she went wandering, and never came back.

She idly wondered how long it would take them to realize something was wrong. How long before they noticed that it was only younger versions of her who popped in.

Although, now that she thought about it, she'd never gone forward any further than this, either. For the last few months, her trips had been almost entirely backwards.

Nostalgia, for the win.

She didn't remember cleaning up the bank, though. So maybe she was due for that soon. Why wouldn't she check in, though? What stopped her?

Always more questions, and never enough answers. Not until it was too late.

Taylor sighed, again, and took her seat at the console.

"Ward's console online. Alpha patrol, comm check," Taylor rattled off into the mic.

"Vista, check," Missy's 'business' voice crackled over the headset.

"Shadow Stalker," Sophia snapped.

"Heard, Alpha. No active reports, carry on," Taylor said.

Then she leaned back, and waited for Chris to arrive. It wasn't like she had anything better to do.

…

Friday, April 15th, 2011.

Chris did, eventually arrive.

"Sorry, sorry," he muttered as he tossed his backpack on the couch and scurried over to the control kiosk.

"No problem," Taylor pushed the rolling chair back and stretched. "If the Director asks, just tell her I was going stir crazy and you were tinkering or something."

"You're a lifesaver," Chris smiled tiredly before he took the headset.

Taylor gave up the hot seat and stood aimlessly in the middle of the living room for a moment.

It wasn't even six o'clock yet. What did normal people do with all their time?

Whatever.

"Did you ever get that alternator cannon sorted?" Taylor called over to the control kiosk.

"It's under review right now. Had to give up the power supply," Chris sighed. "I know they need to be careful, but it's still bullshit."

"Only because Regent didn't vaporize Carlos or something," Taylor pointed out.

Chris shuddered.

"Don't remind me. It was so weird, losing control like that. Like my body was acting on its own."

Huh. Wonder what that must be like?

Taylor didn't say that out loud, though. Chris didn't mean it that way.

"Want anything for dinner?" Taylor opened the freezer to see what was left from the last resupply.

"Got any more of those pizzas in there?"

Frozen pizza was always on the menu at the Ward's cafe.

"Yeah. Twenty minutes," Taylor said.

She put the oven on to preheat, then got impatient and threw the pizza in before it was actually hot. It would be fine. Everything cooked eventually, right?

An hour and a shared mediocre pizza later, and Taylor was wandering aimlessly again. Not through time or space, this time. Although technically through 'time' at a rate of one minute per minute and 'space' in that she was pacing back and forth across the Wards' quarters like a caged tiger.

Finally, she decided to just give up and retreat to her room. Staring at the purple ceiling was preferable to pacing.

She was almost tempted to go wandering for real, on purpose. Anything was better than waiting. Maybe she'd get to see Sarah one more time before she wandered off into the ether.

Those kind of thoughts were Bad with a capital 'B', though. She knew better than to listen to them.

Taylor had almost managed to actually doze off when the alarm blared overhead.

She sat bolt upright.

That wasn't the visitor alarm. That was the 'holy fuck the sky is falling' alarm.

It wasn't time for an Endbringer attack, yet, although they weren't always predictable. Not that the PRT ever let Taylor attend the Endbringer battles, anyway. There were lots of other things that could be wrong, though.

A dull 'thud' echoed from somewhere outside the building, and the walls shook.

That definitely wasn't good.

Taylor threw herself out of bed, grabbed her visor, dodged the newly grown thorns with practiced ease, and raced down the hallway.

"What the fuck is-" Taylor started.

"Bombs," Missy cut her off from the console. Apparently their patrol had finished before the commotion started. "Fourteen detonations so far, but there's more rolling in right now. Esoteric effects, Tinker-made. All over the city."

"Fuck," Taylor cursed again.

Even Sophia didn't comment. She just stood silently behind the control kiosk chair, arms crossed.

Chris fidgeted nervously.

"What do we-"

"We get our marching orders, and go to work," Missy said. "The others are already on their way."

"Ward's console, come in," Colin's voice barked. No nonsense, this time.

"This is console," Missy answered. "Vista, Stalker, Kid, and Wanderer present."

"We have intel that the ongoing attacks are the work of the ABB. Oni Lee has been sighted, and Bakuda has claimed credit online. She's hitting soft targets, no stated goals outside of making her mark at this time. Standby for orders and targets," Colin spoke purposefully.

"Roger that. Standing by," Missy said.

The console fell silent, and the four of them all looked at each other for a long moment.

"Bullshit," Sophia finally growled. "We should be out there."

"We will be, in like, two minutes," Missy said. "Patience is a virtue."

"Fuck off."

Taylor was almost on Sophia's side for once. That was weird. Although Missy probably was, too, she was just being professional. Plus, agreeing with Sophia out loud about anything would just make her even more insufferable.

"Wonder if they'll give me back the micro-reactor for the cannon," Chris mused to no one in particular.

Every second seemed to pass with agonizing slowness in the tense silence. Taylor kept a lock on her power to avoid growing anything unpleasant. Or speeding up time.

Taylor's phone buzzed in her pocket. The others didn't notice.

She turned slightly to check the notification. Nobody outside of the PRT ever texted her. It wasn't like she had any friends who weren't Wards. Aside from Sarah, of course, but text messages couldn't exactly travel through time.

The number was unavailable, rather than blocked. That only happened when someone with high security clearance within the PRT was redacting the communication.

N/A: Roof.

Well, then.

Apparently, it was going to be that kind of night.

Taylor let a tendril of power free. The light around her warped to create a pocket of unseeable space. She stilled the vibrations in the air so the others didn't hear her footsteps or the pneumonic hiss of the elevator doors.

She hit the button for the roof access.

The Beatles music seemed extra ironic, right now. Taylor still hummed along anyway.

The door hissed open, and Taylor made her way up onto the helipad.

The Director stood near the railing, her cane braced on the aluminum surface. She leaned on it heavily, both hands in front of her, staring out over the burning city.

"Ma'am?" Taylor asked warily as she approached.

"Wanderer. Have you been briefed on the situation?" Piggot asked.

"Bakuda."

"Yes."

Taylor stopped beside the rotund woman, and waited.

"Officially, you and the other Wards are being assigned to search and rescue, only," the Director said in a clipped, deliberate tone. "You are to avoid direct confrontation with the ABB or any other active villains for the duration of the crisis. You are to prioritize your own safety and the preservation of civilian lives over all else."

The wording stuck out like a sore thumb, and Taylor resisted the urge to smile.

"Officially?"

The Director didn't look at her.

"If I were to order a child to pursue and eliminate a terrorist bomb Tinker, I would be out on my ass before the Youth Guard even finished opening their morning emails," Piggot said.

Very subtle.

"Understood," Taylor said. She was practically vibrating with excitement, internally, but she held her external response tightly in check. She had a lot of practice suppressing her emotions. "Restrictions?"

The Director met Taylor's eyes through her visor for the first time.

"She bombed a school," Director Piggot's voice was ice cold. "She blew up a hospital. I'll be sending parents glass sculptures of their children."

Damn. That was pretty fucked up, even by Taylor's standards.

"I want her head on my desk by morning, Wanderer," the Director continued as she turned towards the elevator. "And I don't particularly care if the rest of her is still attached."

"Yes, ma'am."

The elevator door hissed shut, and Taylor was alone on the roof again.

Taylor cracked her knuckles.

This was going to be fun.

She slammed her hand into the helipad at her feet, and it twisted under her power.

Spatial shift: Bypass.

The PRT building collapsed in on itself, splitting down the middle and stretching like taffy to connect the nineteenth story to the roof.

Taylor opened a hole in the helipad, and dropped through into the Wards' quarters.

Release.

The building snapped back to its original location in space. Taylor landed heavily on the living room floor.

"...detonation locations are being distributed now. Report any sign of hostile action. Do not engage unless absolutely necessary. Cooperate with emergency services to locate and extract any survivors," Hannah's voice emanated from the console.

The others were already in costume and ready to go. Not that Taylor was ever out of her costume. Carlos eyed her sudden entrance suspiciously, but he didn't comment.

"Stalker, with me," Carlos ordered. "We'll take Downtown. Gallant and Kid, you cover the Commercial District. Clock and Browbeat, catch the next transport over to the Downtown Coast. Wanderer, are you cleared for action?"

Hell yeah, she was.

"Yep. Just got confirmation from the Director," Taylor grinned.

Carlos didn't seem reassured.

"Alright. Vista and Wanderer, you take the Docks. You're the most mobile, so you'll also be on call for emergencies," Carlos finished. "Any questions?"

"All set," Dean said.

Browbeat just shook his head. She should really learn his real name at some point.

"Nope!" Chris looked like he couldn't decide whether to be nervous or excited.

"Crystal clear, Boss-man," Dennis shot him an exaggerated thumbs up.

Sophia, Missy, and Taylor didn't answer, probably for different reasons.

Carlos and Sophia headed for the roof. Dean and Chris left for the lab exit to pick up the rest of their armor and tools. Dennis and Browbeat made their way towards the garage to find a transport van.

Finally, Missy and Taylor were alone in the Ward's quarters.

"So… What did the Director actually want?" Missy glanced up at her.

"My evening is going to be a bit more exciting than the others, unofficially," Taylor smirked. "You in, or do you want to cover?"

She already knew the answer, but it was rude to assume. It was Missy's reputation and future on the line. Taylor didn't exactly have anything to lose.

"Of course I'm in," Missy sounded like she was rolling her eyes behind her visor. "Restrictions?"

Taylor's smile widened.

"None."

Missy froze.

"You sure?"

They didn't get those not-orders very often at all.

Taylor just laughed quietly.

"Yup. Ready?" Taylor asked.

Missy cracked her knuckles. She'd learned from the best.

"After you," Missy answered.

"Spatial shift: Splinter. Three, two, one…"

Taylor snapped her fingers, and let her power free.

The roof and walls of the Wards' quarters split open like a strange, metal flower. The entirety of the building above them split with it, revealing the smokey night sky above.

The hive of PRT agents continued their frantic activity, unaware of the unnatural distortion bending their existence. Taylor saw a team run down the hallway on one petal of the flower straight into what looked like empty space, only to reappear on the other side of the hallway on the petal directly to her right in blatant violation of conventional physics.

She loved her power, sometimes. On nights like this, it was almost worth losing everything else.

Taylor pressed her hand to the floor, and pushed.

A massive spire of glowing amethyst crystal exploded upwards underneath them, carrying her and Missy high into the sky overhead.

The burning city sprawled below.

"Release."

The PRT headquarters returned to its assigned seat, leaving Taylor and Missy floating alone on their platform of purple crystal.

"Temporal shift: Relative Acceleration," Taylor said.

She didn't narrate aloud for her own benefit, even if it was kind of fun, but rather for Missy's. Reality warping required precise communication whenever possible, so Taylor and Colin had worked out a somewhat functional system of labels ages ago. Surprising her teammates with unexpected temporal or spatial distortions would be counterproductive at best, disastrous at worst. Plus, they needed to know if she was about to implement a full reality shift, since that almost always resulted in a temporal displacement.

Another snap, and the fires of the city below slowed to a crawl. The smoke billowed in strange, lethargic patterns as Missy and Taylor began moving forward through time at a much faster rate than the rest of the world. Temporal shifts were one of the many reasons that Taylor didn't actually know how old she was, anymore.

"Any suggestions?" Taylor asked.

"The most recent blast was reported on the northern edge of Downtown, near the Docks. We could try to pick up the trail from there, and it would give us plausible deniability," Missy said.

"I knew you were the smart one. Let's do it," Taylor grinned. "Release."

Time returned to its usual rate.

"Step forward," Missy said.

They both stepped in sync, and they were suddenly on the roof of one of the northernmost skyscrapers Downtown, easily a mile away. Taylor could just barely make out the glowing purple speck in the sky behind them before she dismissed her construct.

"And… again," Missy ordered.

Another step, and they were at the blast site.

It was… pretty rough. No if's, and's, or but's about it. And she and Missy had seen a lot of fucked up stuff.

What used to be a grocery store looked like it'd been shuffled like a giant rubik's cube, except with a lot more blood and screaming. Body parts littered the scene, combined and melded with the remains of the brick building in grotesque, unnatural ways. Some of them were still alive, somehow. It wasn't quite Bonesaw levels of messy, but it wasn't pretty.

"Fuck," Missy breathed.

"How long since the blast?" Taylor called to the nearest bystander.

"What?" They seemed to snap out of their horrified staring.

"How long?" Taylor repeated with some frustration. It wasn't their fault that they were shell shocked, but they were running out of time.

"A couple minutes?"

They might still be within range.

"Get ready. I won't be able to hold it for long," Taylor said. The grocery store was pretty damn big.

Missy nodded.

Taylor let out a long, slow breath. This was going to suck, but she had to try.

"Temporal reversion."

Time in front of them stretched…

And began to move backwards.

Taylor gritted her teeth and focused. The abyss called to her, but she didn't have time to go wandering right now.

Temporal reversion was one of the most taxing techniques she'd developed that didn't immediately result in her untimely discorporation.

But she had to try.

This kind of shit was why Sarah said she was magic. This was why the PRT put up with her. Nobody else could do things like this.

Forcing time to cede to her demands felt like trying to stretch a rubber band the size of a car, but Taylor was nothing if not stubborn.

Nothing dramatic happened, at first. Just a few weird, flickering movements.

Then, all at once, the ruined grocery store un-shuffled itself. It looked like a time-lapse video being played in reverse, because that's exactly what it was. Literally.

"Now, now, now," Taylor muttered through her clenched jaw.

Missy was on top of things, as always.

Within the bubble of reverted time, space twisted and warped under Missy's power.

Missy couldn't warp humans. They created dead zones, empty areas of space she couldn't manipulate with her power. She was very jealous that Taylor didn't seem to have the same limitation, from what they could tell.

But the future victims of Bakuda's bomb were currently moving backwards through time, so Missy could put down folds in the space that they would inevitably move into as soon as time resumed its forward march. For the people standing still, she opened holes in the ground beneath them for them to fall into. Weirdly enough, they didn't fall while the temporal reversion field was active, because that would be going forward, and they were currently going backward. Gravity was just the inertia generated by mass moving forward through time. Or something. Colin explained it better.

"Release."

The rubber band snapped.

A total of fourteen people suddenly stumbled onto the sidewalk as their relative time returned to normal. They wouldn't remember being turned inside out and combined with the masonry. That hadn't happened to this version of them.

Time flew back to its intended position much more quickly than it originally left. The grocery store imploded in on itself within a fraction of a second.

But this time, it was just bricks and produce that got shuffled.

Taylor tried to regulate her breathing. Pushing so hard had its downsides. Bright teal-blue liquid leaked from between the cracks in the pavement, falling upwards towards the sky in vertical streams. Glowing magenta grass grew sideways out of the walls of the ruined grocery store. One of the nearby cars rusted away to nothing as it experienced several hundred years of fluctuating time in less than a second.

The survivors just looked around in confusion. The bystanders and emergency first responders stared at Taylor and Missy with awe.

It was nice to be a real hero. Taylor didn't get to do that very often.

Temporal reversion still hurt like a bitch, though.

"Give us some space?" Taylor gasped.

Suddenly, she and Missy were alone in front of the pile of rubble. Taylor could barely see the rest of the city, now miles away in every direction.

"Thanks," Taylor forced out. She leaned over, bracing her hands against her knees.

Missy just nodded. She understood. Taylor didn't need any congratulations, or affirmations. That wasn't the point.

She'd just do as much good as she could, wherever she could, whenever she could, until she couldn't, anymore. Keep moving forward, or she'd be lost. Metaphorically, and literally.

Her heart-rate eventually returned to something vaguely resembling healthy levels, and her lungs didn't feel like they were trying to climb out of her throat anymore. Taylor stood up. She shook the pins and needles out of her fingertips.

Her phone vibrated.

Another unavailable number.

A location pin in the north-west corner of the Docks. Old shipping yards and warehouses.

And under that, a single line of broken text.

N/A: mgic trk plz honey?

Taylor's heart stopped.

Only one person ever, ever called her that.

And, until right this second, she'd been sure no one ever would, again.

…

Friday, June 13th, 2008.

"Sarah!"

Sarah paused at the bus stop, looking back over her shoulder. The bus driver gave her a 'are you coming or not?' look, and Sarah waved him on.

She recognized that voice.

The bus pulled away, and Sarah turned.

Taylor stumbled slightly in her rush to close the distance between them. She was taller again, today.

Before Sarah could get a word in edgewise, Taylor crashed into her and almost sent both of them sprawling to the pavement.

Sarah's mind went strangely blank. She couldn't understand what was happening.

Oh. Taylor is hugging me.

That was… good? Yes. Good. Sarah just hadn't been hugged in a long time. Or touched at all. The sudden deluge of metaphorical water after such a long drought was overwhelming.

Sarah blinked, and managed to recover enough to hug Taylor back. This was new, but not unwelcome.

"Hey, honey," Sarah said into the mop of black curls currently enveloping her face. "Everything okay?"

"You're here. You're still…" Taylor trailed off and seemed to realize what she was doing.

Taylor let go quickly and stepped back, clearing her throat awkwardly and straightening her glasses.

"When are we?" Taylor asked.

Sarah still felt like she was catching up, but she answered, anyway.

"June 13th, 2008," Sarah said. "You turned thirteen, yesterday, somewhere."

"Oh… yeah…" Taylor looked almost as disoriented as Sarah felt.

"What about you?"

"It's, um… January... 2010, for me," Taylor said in a weird, halting tone.

Something about that jogged Sarah's memory.

"So you just… uh… missed our meeting, then?"

"I told you about that?" Taylor blinked.

Sarah nodded.

"You came to see me, last Christmas," Sarah said quietly. "You made a tree for me."

"Oh."

Taylor's eyes were watering.

"Can you tell me?" Sarah wished she understood. It always felt like she was missing so many pieces, even though she cherished every moment with Taylor.

Taylor just shook her head.

Sarah took a careful step forward, and reached out to take Taylor's hand.

This version of Taylor's hands weren't nearly as rough as they'd been at Christmas. Sarah wasn't sure what to make of that.

They were also cold, despite the summer heat.

"Is this okay?" Sarah asked, just in case.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's…" Taylor didn't seem like she could find the right words. "I'm just… really happy to see you, again."

Sarah smiled. Taylor missed her, too, while she was off doing whatever she did when she wasn't time travelling. That made her happier than it should.

Whatever happened in December of 2009, she'd figure it out when she got there. For now, she'd just enjoy the time she got.

"Want to go get ice cream? There's a place within walking distance," Sarah offered.

Taylor just stared at her dazedly for a moment.

"What?" Sarah wasn't sure if she should feel self conscious or not.

"Sorry, nothing, just… yeah. Ice cream. Okay," Taylor said.

Sarah felt like she was walking on air, but also constantly waiting for the other shoe to fall. Every step, she wondered when her hand was suddenly going to be empty, like Christmas all over again.

But Taylor made it to the ice cream shop.

Everything was going great until she ordered mint chocolate chip.

"It's cold toothpaste!" Sarah protested.

"Maybe I like toothpaste," Taylor grinned.

Taylor was starting to loosen up, again. Good. Even if she was clearly a monster.

"I don't have any, y'know, money," Taylor said.

Money was one thing Sarah didn't have to worry about. Her parents may not care about her, personally, but they wouldn't stand for her appearing destitute.

"You don't have a stash for every time period?" Sarah raised an eyebrow. "You could have, like, the appropriate outfits and currency for the current era."

Taylor was wearing a loose black T-shirt and jeans, today. Sarah barely remembered what she usually wore. It didn't seem important. She still had the coat Taylor made for her, though. And the horrible boots.

Sarah paid for their ice cream. Taylor let go of her hand to grab her cup and spoon. Sarah couldn't help but feel disappointed, but the fact that Taylor also looked sad to let go helped a lot.

"It doesn't work like that," Taylor said. "I don't think it does, at least. I've never gone forward or back more than a few years. I've gone to other worlds, but I kind of think they're imaginary."

"Like what?" Sarah asked. It wasn't every day someone said they went to other planets. Or dimensions. Or whatever magic it was Taylor did.

"There's a city where it always rains. And there're people there, but they're all fake, I think. It's like talking to myself," Taylor frowned. "I just found a world with red rocks and tons of salt, and there're these crazy looking vulture things…"

Sarah forgot she was supposed to be eating her ice cream, while she listened. Taylor's white eyes sparked with entrancing interest while she talked.

Taylor paused after the seventh world, looking a bit sheepish.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble, it's just…"

"You're magic. You know that?" Sarah said.

Taylor blinked, then blushed. It was cute. She looked down, and didn't seem like she was going to answer.

Then Taylor clearly noticed that her ice cream had melted while she'd been busy monologuing.

"Oh. Shit," Taylor frowned. The curse word still sounded strange, coming from her, for some reason. But it was also kind of nice, like Sarah was seeing the authentic Taylor behind the mask.

"It's okay," Sarah smiled. More than okay. She liked listening to Taylor talk.

"Wait, I learned a new trick!" Taylor said. "I don't know if it'll stick, but…"

Taylor glanced around the patio. There weren't any other customers in sight, and the lone employee was in the back somewhere.

"Okay, let me just… I call it 'Temporal Reversion'," Taylor said.

Sarah raised her eyebrows.

Taylor pointed a hand at the melted ice cream dramatically. She glared down at it like it had personally insulted her family tree.

Her eyes gleamed eerie white, even in the sunlight.

Wow.

Sarah was so busy staring at Taylor that she almost missed the magic trick.

The remains of their ice cream… un-melted? Was that even a word?

It was the only thing she could think of to describe it. It didn't just freeze, or solidify. It reformed, back to how it was.

Temporal reversion. Right. Backwards time.

Holy shit.

Taylor gasped, and dropped her hand, and…

The ice cream exploded, splattering both of them generously with sticky, rapidly re-melted liquid.

Sarah blinked.

"Oops. Sorry… I didn't know it would do that," Taylor whispered in a mortified tone.

Sarah started laughing. Really, really hard. She couldn't help it. The shock of it, the look on Taylor's face, the ice cream on Taylor's glasses, the surreal combined with the mundane… It was amazing. Everything else was boring, compared to Taylor.

"That's… a hell of a magic trick," Sarah forced out in between gasps.

Taylor was laughing too, even though she still looked embarrassed.

"It wasn't supposed to do that!" Taylor complained.

That just made Sarah laugh harder.

It was cathartic. She never laughed like this with anyone else. Taylor was special.

"Here, let me just…" Taylor snapped her fingers, and the melted mess was just… gone.

"Wow," Sarah said automatically.

"I'm pretty good at cleaning up my own messes, by now," Taylor said ruefully.

"See? Magic," Sarah smiled crookedly. "Quick, unrelated question, though… You can't do that to people, can you?"

"The temporal reversion, the exploding ice cream, or the deleting from existence?" Taylor asked with a thin layer of false bravado.

"All of the above?"

"In that case… yeah, I can," Taylor said.

Huh.

"I feel like that should be a bit scary," Sarah noted casually.

"It is. There's a reason they wanted to send me to the Asylum," Taylor whispered.

Right. That was probably a sore spot for Taylor. Sarah regretted bringing it up.

She reached over and took Taylor's hand again.

"I'm happy they didn't, for the record," Sarah said. "And, if it helps, I trust you."

Taylor nodded slowly. She looked almost resigned, although some deep pain lingered.

Was Taylor lonely, too?

The thought shouldn't make Sarah happy, but it kind of did. Maybe they were both alone, together. The idea was vaguely comforting.

"Yeah, it does," Taylor said softly. "Help, I mean. You're the only-"

Sarah's hand was suddenly empty, and she was sitting on the patio alone.

Sarah stayed there for a long time, even though she knew Taylor wouldn't be coming back. Not right away, anyway.

That's one hell of a magic trick.

…

Chapter Text

Interlude 1

Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

Lisa Wilbourn decided that she hated rain even more than she hated snow. At least she'd had a decent jacket and boots back when there was still snow on the ground.

Nice things didn't last long on the streets.

She hated being alone, but people were shit, and being around them made it that much harder to keep the walls up. It made her want to know.

Resisting the urge to delve into their secrets was just as difficult as dealing with the resulting headaches.

Before she broke, she could pretend that blissful ignorance wasn't a choice. The rose tinted lenses had been welded to her face, and it'd been absolutely okay to keep them firmly in place.

Now, she always had the option to take them off. Not knowing felt like a willful choice, because it was. And choosing to willfully blind herself wasn't an option.

She'd been blind for so long, and now her brother was gone forever.

So. Being alone was better.

Maybe, if she said that to herself often enough, it would be true.

Especially because she knew, deep down, that being alone was a choice, too. She could probably use her power, the words, the whispered insights, to find her, again, if she really wanted to.

But she wouldn't. Couldn't. Because then she would know.

So, instead, Lisa was on a quest for new shoes. And a jacket. And a way to get out of this damn rain.

It was so cold. Even the snow hadn't been this cold. The water leeched any semblance of warmth from her skin, chilling her to the bone.

She also hadn't eaten today. Or yesterday.

The pain in her stomach was a new and different kind of pain. No matter how shitty her parents were, she'd never been hungry at home.

This pain was preferable.

The good news about the rain was that it made it easier to walk through neighborhoods that would normally be inaccessible to her. Nobody looked too closely at another old rain coat. They couldn't see the worn clothes underneath, the greasy hair, the sunken eyes.

Lisa made her way slowly through the residential areas of the Docks. Definitely not somewhere her parents would ever set foot, but safe enough, compared to the gang territories or even the Boardwalk.

The houses still filled her with an uncomfortable combination of dread and longing. Part of her still missed being Sarah.

But she wasn't. Not anymore. And she never would be, again.

She'd left Sarah's problems behind. She'd taken the only good part of Sarah's life and thrown her away before she could rip her apart.

And she wasn't going to think about it.

Instead, she slowly lowered the walls around her power as she scanned the street. The whispers echoed in her exhausted mind.

Unnecessarily large personal vehicle. Personal preference. Says it's because they'll need space for children. Lie. Fulfillment of adolescent idolization. False symbol of wealth. Struggling financially. Residents likely present.

Unhelpful. Lisa moved on to the next house.

Mowed lawn but unkempt front walkway. Bare minimum to avoid undue criticism from neighbors. No hose attached to spigot. Unpatched holes in drawn curtains. Young resident. Does not care about unnecessary appearances. Resident likely present.

Damn.

Lisa put the walls back up and moved on. Being blind was uncomfortable, but she couldn't use her power forever. She'd look for a more likely target before she let it off its leash again.

She walked for another block.

One of the nicer houses down the street caught her eye. No cars in the driveway, but the lights were on and the curtains drawn. She watched for a few minutes from the corner. No shadows ever moved behind the curtains.

It would be worth a headache later, if she was right.

The walls came down, again.

No recent mail. Mail redirected to post office. Cluttered side yard. No space for car in garage. Slightly overgrown lawn. Mown week and a half ago. Lights set on automatic timer to deter burglars. Residents absent, likely on vacation. More than one week, less than two. Will likely return in two to three days.

Perfect. Now… how to get inside?

Basic security system package. Peace of mind over practicality. Door and window sensors. No motion sensors.

Should be fairly easy to overcome. Locks?

Front path unused. Front door used only by guests. Locked. Windows locked. Back patio used regularly. Locked. Back garage door used irregularly. Cluttered garage. Used by disorganized resident. Garage unused by responsible resident. Back garage door unlocked. Door from garage into house primary method of entry by disorganized resident. Unlocked.

Score.

A lance of white hot pain shot behind Lisa's eyes, and she roped her power back in before it could knock her out on the street in the rain.

She looked around quickly, just in case. Hopefully the rain would obscure her approach.

Part of her was tempted to use her power even more, to figure out if the residents of her target had told their neighbors they were going on vacation, if they had anyone watching the house. But she would just have to risk it. She'd need her power to disarm the security system.

Lisa marched up the driveway and around the side yard like she belonged there. Appearances were half the battle. She picked her way through the cluttered side yard, and around to the door at the back of the garage.

The back yard was fenced in. That was an added bonus.

She let herself into the messy but blissfully dry garage.

Being inside should feel good, but it didn't. Houses weren't safe.

She'd take the objective, straightforward danger of the streets over the slow, insidious poison of her parents' manipulations any day of the week. No matter how cold or hungry she was.

Lisa pulled her hood down and peeled off her outer windbreaker. The torn and filthy jacket underneath was more noticeable, and it wasn't doing much for her in its current state, but Lisa kept it, anyway.

She could barely even tell that it used to be purple.

Lisa shook her matted hair out and ran her fingers through it. Maybe she should cut it again while she was here.

The garage might have some useful items. It would be better to grab them now, in case she accidentally set off the alarm, somehow. Lisa poked around and snagged a multi-tool, some duct tape, and a can of spray paint. Paint wasn't exactly a substitute for pepper spray, but it might make one of the assholes at the shelter think twice.

Then she opened the door into what looked like a mud room. Her anxiety cranked through the roof, both from the beeping of the alarm timer and being inside any kind of house again.

The alarm control panel was just inside, in the kitchen.

The incessant beeping continued.

Okay. Last step.

Lisa let her power free.

Pictures held to fridge by magnets. Two children. Older child uncomfortable in photos. Younger child's birthday used for passwords and pins. Four digits, month and day. Reversed, for security. Day, then month. Seven button more worn than others. July birthday-

Another burning nail of pain shot through Lisa's head, racing down her spine and radiating out through the rest of her body.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

She could really use some magic right about now.

That thought hurt worse than the headache, so she shoved it back behind the walls and refocused.

July birthday, day containing a seven. Wouldn't use exact repeat, would pick a different reference instead. Disarm code is 1707 or 2707.

Fifty-fifty shot.

Lisa got it on the first try.

She took another deep breath now that the beeping wasn't hammering into her burning brain.

The anxiety wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon, though.

Better to move quickly, anyway. She couldn't stay long, in case the neighbors saw her enter. The cops didn't move very quickly on this side of town, but they still showed up eventually.

Lisa moved with practiced efficiency, despite her pounding headache. She was used to it.

She stole a backpack first. Her old one got stolen last week.

Food from the pantry. Unperishable goods that didn't require cooking. A handful of shredded cheese from the fridge that Lisa stuffed directly in her mouth.

Her mother would be appalled. Good fucking riddance.

A kitchen knife. The shelter wouldn't let her bring that in, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

A bottle of ibuprofen. Thank God.

The bathroom was next.

Lisa almost cried when she found an unopened toothbrush in a drawer. One of the cheap ones they give you for free at the dentist, but literal beggars couldn't be choosers.

She went ahead and brushed her teeth right then and there. It helped her feel human. Even if brushing her teeth while wearing gloves felt weird.

Back to business.

Shampoo. Dry shampoo, even better.

She found some scissors in a drawer, and went ahead and cut her greasy hair off at her chin. It wasn't pretty, but it would be less obvious than her current matted locks.

She didn't want to, but she couldn't help but look in the mirror.

For the briefest moment, pale, bone-white eyes framed by black curls stared back.

Lisa dropped the scissors with a strangled gasp.

She looked in the mirror again, just to be sure.

Uneven, dirty blonde hair. Dull, sunken, bottle green eyes.

Maybe she could use her power to find…

No. No more, tonight, or she'd wake up in police custody or something.

It was just her imagination, anyway. It had to be. She was good. She'd listen to the note. She wouldn't try to find her.

Even if part of Lisa still wished she would.

That part got shoved behind the walls with the other remnants of Sarah that refused to die properly.

She wrenched her gaze away from the mirror and continued her pilfering. That was more important than reminiscing or hallucinating or whatever the fuck that was.

This family's oldest daughter was shorter than Lisa, and wider, but close enough that her underwear would fit. Or technically stay up, which was the only real requirement.

Lisa shucked her ruined jacket and swapped her threadbare flannel for a new long-sleeved T-shirt. It kind of fit. At least it was long enough.

Jeans were a lost cause. Luckily, her current pair weren't too destroyed, yet.

Her shoes actually did fit, which was an unexpected bonus. Good shoes made a huge difference, and these running shoes looked almost new.

Lisa stared down at the remains of her jacket. One last piece, from her.

She tore her eyes away from it, and left it in tatters on the stranger's bedroom floor.

Don't think about it.

Her skin was starting to itch, so Lisa decided it was time to make a break for it. She grabbed her bag and made a final stop to check the front hall closet on the way out. Coats were also important.

She opened the closet door, and froze. Her muscles locked down and her stomach squirmed.

Hanging in the front hall closet was a dark purple jacket, almost identical to the ruined one she'd just left behind.

Lisa looked around worriedly. Like she was about to pop out of the woodwork. The knot in her stomach was definitely dread and nothing else, waiting for her to walk through a wall, appear out of nowhere and smile and snap her fingers and make everything okay again and-

Some things couldn't be fixed.

The walls had more holes than Lisa originally thought. Fuck. She'd have to work on that.

She almost bolted right away.

But, instead, she grabbed the coat, and pulled it on.

It fit perfectly, like it was made for her.

That didn't make her feel better.

Lisa hefted her ill-gotten gains over her shoulder and slipped through the cluttered garage, back out into the rain.

…

Sunday, April 10th, 2011.

Lisa held on for dear life as Brutus took another turn at top speed. She craned her neck backwards, scanning the skyline for their pursuer.

A dark shape moved on a rooftop to her left.

Looking for gaps in dampening effect. Requires line of sight to teleport.

Good to know.

"Oni Lee, incoming. He needs line of sight," Lisa called to Brian. "Put a hole somewhere away from us. He might take the bait."

Brian nodded grimly.

A grenade went off somewhere behind them. At least the darkness cloud dampened the sound, even if they weren't currently enveloped in Brian's power. The dogs needed to see.

Oni Lee appeared in front of them.

"Regent!"

Alec waved a hand, and Oni Lee dropped the bandolier in his hand before he could pull the pins. Brutus crushed him easily under one massive claw, ash spiraling around them as they ran.

Heat increasing exponentially.

"Lung is ramping up too fast; we need to go!" Lisa yelled.

Rachel whistled, and the other two dogs took off after them down the ruined street.

Gunfire followed. The ABB enforcers weren't fucking around tonight.

Lisa ducked. At least one bullet hit Brutus, but he kept running without even noticing.

Too close.

Go, go, go…

She heard a different roar, over the chaos and gunfire.

Mechanical. Too smooth for internal combustion engine. Tinkertech vehicle.

Maybe the heroes could actually make themselves useful, for once.

Lisa caught a flicker of something. Not anything she could put her finger on, or direct her power towards, but it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

The roaring faded into the distance, and all of the Undersiders visibly relaxed. It wasn't a victory, but it wasn't a loss, either. And that was all they could hope for, given the circumstances.

Besides, Armsmaster and Lung might just manage to kill each other. That'd be pretty cool of them.

…

Thursday, April 14th, 2011.

"Ready?" Brian's head tilted from Rachel to Alec.

They nodded. Alec didn't even make a sarcastic comment.

This wasn't ideal. The bank robbery had been a stretch from the start, and things kept going wrong. They hadn't been planning to take on the entire Wards roster.

Lisa still felt like she was missing something, but she shoved that feeling behind the walls. She couldn't afford to second guess herself now.

"As soon as the doors open, run out immediately, or you'll get crushed. I don't want that any more than you do, but we'll do it," Brian threatened the group of hostages chosen to be the distraction.

They would do it. They wanted away from the dogs, and they trusted the heroes outside.

Lisa glanced out the window to check on the Wards position.

A tall, lithe girl in a deep purple and teal costume appeared out of thin air next to Vista. Her hood was drawn, but Lisa could just make out dark curls spilling around the opaque visor that covered her eyes. A half cape fluttered slightly behind her left shoulder in a non-existent wind.

Fuck. Lisa hadn't expected Wanderer to be here. The reclusive Ward barely ever showed her face outside. Maybe she had an actual life outside of being a baby hero.

Lisa focused her power. She'd never gotten a chance to delve into Wanderer's secrets before. Her PRT files gave away very little, and the speculation on PHO was all entirely unfounded. No one even knew what her power was, aside from the vague description of 'constructs' at the original press release almost three years ago.

[ERROR]

Ex-fucking-scuse me, power?

"Three, two, one… Go!" Brian called.

Lisa had a very bad feeling about this.

But she still had work to do. No time to delve into whatever the hell that was.

Lisa put a slightly exaggerated strut in her step. Appearances were half the battle. More than half, in this case.

"And remember, everyone, I'm psychic, and I'll know if you decide to be a hero. Leave that to the actual heroes, hmmm?" She let her eyes drift between the hostages. She took careful note of who was most likely to try something, and matched their stares when she knew her gun was clearly visible.

A girl with frizzy brown hair refused to meet her eyes, but not in the normal, scared way.

Attempting to avoid notice. Doesn't believe in psychic abilities. Doesn't want mind read. Terrified of secrets being revealed. Waiting for intervention. Already called. Fast. Intervening party is a hero. Intervening party is close. Family.

Holy shit. Frizzy Girl was Amy Dallon. Panacea.

Dammit.

That could complicate things. Namely because kidnapping New Wave's darling healer was a fair bit higher profile than robbing a bank.

"Up, Ms. Dallon. Keep your distance, and stay where I can see you. I know what your magic hands can do," Lisa waved her gun at the unmasked hero.

Panacea scowled, but she complied. She'd make a move eventually, though, especially if the Wards gained any ground. Plus, Glory Girl would be here shortly. They were on a timer.

Lisa chanced another look outside, just in time to see Brian get launched into the stratosphere.

What the actual fuck?

[ERROR]

Not helpful.

Lisa kept her facade firmly in place. She made her way back behind the counter, and gestured for Panacea to follow.

This was going to be dicey, at best.

"So, Pan-Pan, what is it that you're so afraid of me pulling out of your brain? Don't think about it now, or I'll know," Lisa smirked.

Panacea just glared at her.

Features don't match other New Wave members. Adopted.

"Are you worried that you're not really part of the team? The weird little healer girl, in a family of flashy heroes? Well, real heroes, I mean," Lisa continued with false sympathy.

Panacea flinched.

Possesses repressed desires she considers villainous. Considers power villainous. Worries she's a bad person. Believes she's a bad person. Scared of adoptive family finding out. Adoptive family already suspicious. Not due to behavior. Adoptive family suspicious because of birth parents. Birth parent is a villain.

Well. That was interesting.

Glory Girl crashed through one of the walls. Debris tumbled across the floor, miraculously missing the hostages.

"Welcome to the party, Glory Hole," Lisa called in her most obnoxious voice. She needed to keep Glory Girl off balance, but not so unhinged that she attacked while her sister was still at gunpoint.

"Let her go. Now," the floating hero hissed.

"Yeah, I don't think so. I'm not stupid. We're going to wait until the others are done outside, then I'm going to leave, and then I'll let her go." Lisa said slowly, like she was explaining something basic to a child. "I'm the one with the leverage, here. I believe the term is 'mutually assured destruction'? I doubt even you can kill me faster than I can pull the trigger. Aside from that, I'm also psychic. And your sister here knows so many things you'd rather not hear."

Wanderer sprinted through the front doors of the bank. That either meant the situation outside was going too well for the heroes, or it was about to get slightly more balanced in the other Undersider's favor. Although Lisa was liking her personal odds less and less. Sweat pooled along her spine under her costume.

[ERROR]

Either come up with something useful or shut the fuck up!

Lisa kept her facade firmly in place. She stared at the new arrival without a care in the world.

"Oooh, the cavalry's arrived. Let me just go ahead and surrender, then, I guess," Lisa drawled.

The mysterious Ward looked familiar. The shape of her chin under her hood, thin lips, wiry arms, black curls…

"Yeah, that's the idea," Wanderer said. She sounded almost… bored. Like this didn't really matter to her. Like Lisa didn't matter to her. "You have three seconds to either go ahead and shoot the unarmed healer and die, or drop the gun, and live."

Lisa froze.

Merry Christmas, Sarah.

She knew that voice. It haunted her dreams. Memories, that leaked through the walls.

Those lips.

The purple costume.

The weird, anomalous lack of information from her power. Unique. Almost like magic.

If she lifted her visor, Lisa knew she'd see white, gleaming eyes.

No.

No, no, no.

She wasn't allowed to be here. Wasn't allowed to find her now, of all days, by accident.

Lisa hated the part of herself that wanted to drop the gun and run to her. Throw her arms around her like she'd done at that bus stop, years ago. Let her solve all her problems, and never let go.

It wasn't that simple. It never would be.

Glory Girl was yelling about something. Lisa couldn't hear her. Nothing else mattered.

"Shut up," Taylor said coldly.

Because she was Taylor. Of course she was. Over a year of avoiding her name, and all it took was one look to destroy her resolve.

"Three, two-"

Snap.

The air of the atrium warped, like a heat haze hovering over burning asphalt.

Taylor screamed, and Lisa understood why the PRT kept her true abilities out of the official reports. She'd always known what Taylor was capable of, even though Taylor had always been so soft, with her.

The world twisted around them, fundamentally wrong on an unfathomable level. The walls bent inward. Space stopped working correctly. There was an explosion of screeching movement as the wide sheets of glass turned into fucking birds, of all things. Glory Girl screamed as she was unceremoniously tossed through the now empty window frames, taking several dozen pigeons along for the ride. The floor rippled and turned to liquid, and Lisa was falling. A memory of bright, glowing green grass slipped through the walls.

There was a clap of booming thunder. A flash of blinding light. Lisa didn't know which way was up, couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't-

For a very brief moment, she hung suspended in an infinite amethyst sea. It felt like home.

She was standing in the Undersiders' loft.

Brian, Alec, and Rachel were sitting on the tattered couches across from her, along with the dogs, somehow freed from their shells.

And the money.

They all just sat in silence for a moment.

"What the hell was that?" Brian said.

Normally, Lisa hated admitting ignorance of anything. She'd rather pull out her own teeth with rusty pliers. It was her job to know things.

This was, apparently, the exception. She felt more off-balance than she'd been since... Well, since the last time she'd seen her.

Taylor was a Ward. A hero. In Brockton Bay. She'd been here the whole time. And somehow, Lisa had managed to land practically right on top of her, purely by accident.

But Taylor had been about to arrest them. She would have succeeded. Should have succeeded. They were no match for her. No one was.

Except something happened. Something intervened.

Or someone.

Lisa let the walls down.

[ERROR]

That seemed like a hell of a coincidence.

"I have no fucking idea," Lisa said.

…

Friday, April 15th, 2011.

Lisa sipped her coffee and scrolled through another heavily redacted PRT report. It was late, past midnight, and she had a hell of a migraine, but she couldn't stop.

She needed to know.

And, of course, her power was still falling flat on its face any time it tried to pick up anything about Taylor.

Lisa refused to acknowledge that, and any of the implications.

But she could use it. A unique blind spot was obvious now that she knew what to look for. Lisa just never tried turning her power specifically on Wanderer before. She hadn't seemed important.

Ha. Funny.

Wanderer's page itself was an obvious forgery. Power testing involving the durability and range of crystalized constructs. Bullshit, all of it.

Lisa had a hunch. It obviously didn't come from her power, but she was more than her power. She didn't need her power to put the dots together.

She opened a new link in the PRT database.

Ellisburg. June of 2009.

"A joint task force consisting of carefully chosen Protectorate assets, Guild associates, and military forces entered the quarantine site at 0400 hours…"

Lisa let the walls down.

[ERROR]

Found you.

The only question was whether Taylor was with the task force, or if Taylor was the task force, and this entire report was a fabrication to hide her involvement. Lisa was betting on the latter.

The Butcher. October of 2009.

"A joint task force consisting of carefully chosen Protectorate assets and Guild associates…"

The month and year were burned into Lisa's brain. She ignored it.

[ERROR]

Of course it was. She delved further.

Eagleton. January of 2010.

"A joint task force consisting of carefully chosen Protectorate assets…"

[ERROR]

The Slaughterhouse Nine. March of 2010.

"A joint task force…"

[ERROR]

Lisa leaned back in her chair and ran a hand down her face.

Just who the hell was Taylor? Wanderer?

Was her former best friend… Sarah's only friend… the PRT's bogeyman? The whole time?

What the actual fuck?

Lisa took a deep breath and set her coffee on the table.

She didn't know what to do about this. Didn't know what to think.

Taylor's Ward phone number taunted her. So close, yet completely impossible.

She was a villain, now. She was Lisa, not Sarah. She couldn't just… call her. Couldn't do anything. If her hunch was right, Taylor would have no trouble defeating the Undersiders with both hands tied to her ankles. Not if she was willing to pull out all the stops.

A traitorous voice in the back of Lisa's head wondered if Taylor would be willing to kill Coil for her. Her own power didn't work on Taylor… maybe the snake's wouldn't either?

Was it worth the risk?

Was it worth admitting that she was wrong?

Was it worth having to face her, again, after what she did? What she said?

Lisa didn't know. Couldn't decide.

She saved Taylor's number, anyway. She couldn't help herself. It might be useful, having the cavalry on call. A one-time-use magic trick. No other reason.

…

Friday, April 15th, 2011.

Gravity shifted. Lisa flew sideways and slammed into the brick wall of the closest storage locker with an involuntary wheeze. Her head rang from the impact. She couldn't move. She was stuck, pinned against the wall like that, unable to breathe, for a very long three seconds before the effect wore off and she fell face first on the pavement.

For the record, fuck Bakuda.

Smoke obscured the air. Distant explosions echoed across the city. Clearly, this wasn't an isolated incident.

Lisa dragged herself back to her feet. Her head was foggy. She forced herself to run.

She'd lost Brian and Alec somewhere between the dilapidated buildings. She could only hope she'd find them soon, or that they'd make it out on their own.

The abandoned storage yard was crawling with conscripted ABB members. Bombs and trip wires and sensors hidden everywhere. It was a nightmare.

She could escape. She had to. There was no other option.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Bakuda's synthesized voice bounced between the brick hovels.

Yeah, she was gonna go with 'no'.

Lisa ran faster.

Closed locker. Trip wire. Trap.

She skidded sideways around a corner.

Multiple assailants. Imprecise sweeping techniques. Untrained. Won't look up.

Lisa climbed the side of a locker, and scrambled over the edge.

She'd almost made it to the other side when it exploded underneath her.

Manual detonation-

She hit the ground hard. The breath was driven forcibly from her lungs. Again. She heard something in her ankle snap.

She barely felt the burn.

She couldn't run. Her foot wouldn't work correctly.

Lisa looked down, and then immediately looked away and slammed the walls into place before her power could tell her that her foot wasn't supposed to bend that way. She didn't want to hear it.

"Enough games, little rat. Your friends weren't quite as clever as you, and I've given them some lovely presents to hold onto. If you want them to stay pretty, surrender. I don't need any of you alive," Bakuda called.

She could be lying. But then again, she might not be.

Lisa honestly hadn't expected to need her miracle so soon. She thought she'd last at least one whole day.

She typed out the message as quickly as she could. She made sure to spell the most important part correctly.

Taylor would come. Taylor was good. And she didn't know Lisa wasn't.

Taylor thought she was coming to save Sarah.

The thought made Lisa sad.

The storage locker two doors down from her exploded violently. Lisa's body bounced over the pavement like a rag doll. Her ears rang. She couldn't see. Couldn't breathe. Everything hurt. Her ankle was on fire. Her head pounded with every heartbeat.

"There you are!" Bakuda said from somewhere to her right.

Lisa forced an elbow under herself, pulling her face out of the rubble.

"Now, I just need to implant your present, and I'll have some fancy new tools at my disposal," Bakuda continued. "I'm sure you'll learn your place, eventually. Always so smart, aren't you? I bet you're a quick learner."

Bakuda knelt down next to her prone body. A gloved hand caught Lisa's hair, dragging her head back.

Bakuda lowered a small cylinder towards her face.

"Nothing to say, Tattletale?" Bakuda's tone turned her chosen name into an insult.

Lisa wasn't looking at her.

She was looking up, towards the sky.

Beautiful glass leaves bloomed overhead, branching between the smoke and the stars. They looked exactly like Lisa remembered, in her dreams.

All that is gold does not glitter.

Glowing white eyes shone in the dark.

Not all those who wander are lost.

"Found you, first," Lisa grinned crookedly. She wasn't talking to Bakuda.

The old that is strong does not wither.

A roaring deluge of familiar amethyst crashed through the storage lockers, and Lisa finally lost her battle to remain conscious.

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

Everything would be okay, now that Taylor was here.

Taylor was magic.

…

Chapter Text

Opal 2.1

Friday, April 15th, 2011.

"Any updates?" Missy asked.

Taylor was still staring at the text message.

Sarah.

How was Sarah texting her from an unavailable number? How did Sarah have her number at all?

It didn't make sense.

Sarah left. She told Taylor not to look for her. That she didn't want to see her. That she was never coming back.

And now she wanted a magic trick? Out of nowhere? After a year and a half of silence?

Sarah had found her. She'd finally, finally, reached out to her… and it was only because she needed her help. Needed her power. Wanted to use her. Like she was just a tool, a dog who'd come running at a few honeyed words.

But none of that mattered.

Because if Sarah was in trouble…

Well. Like Sarah said… Taylor was magic. She wasn't going to turn her back on Sarah. That was one thing she'd never, ever do. If Sarah called her, Taylor knew she'd come running, over and over and over, even if it tore her to shreds every time.

Even after Sarah turned her back on her.

"Temporal shift: Relative Acceleration," Taylor said.

Her power flexed, and the world slowed to a crawl around them again. Every second counted.

"We have a location," Taylor continued. "North-west. The old storage container shantytowns."

It was pretty likely that Bakuda wasn't actually there. Why would Sarah have any reason to interact with Bakuda? Sarah probably just got caught in one of the blasts, or ran into some other kind of trouble, but Taylor didn't care. She'd apologize to Missy for lying, later. Hopefully, Missy would understand.

Taylor sent Missy a copy of the location, but not the message underneath.

"Not a lot of tall buildings to step off between here and there," Missy observed.

Taylor forced herself to focus. Like this was just another search and rescue operation. Like it wasn't Sarah.

"Yeah. Railgun, then?" Taylor's lips quirked up at the edges, despite the situation.

"You just like making a dramatic entrance," Missy accused.

"What's the point of being badass reality warpers if we can't be dramatic?" Taylor grinned under her hood.

"I didn't say I was complaining."

Taylor gave Missy's shoulder a quick, affectionate nudge, then rolled her own shoulders in preparation.

"Whenever you're ready. I'll mark and secure the landing zone. Don't forget to catch me," Taylor said.

"That was one time," Missy groaned.

"One involuntary discorporation due to fall damage is still one too many," Taylor shot back, even though she was still smiling.

Taylor checked the location on her phone one more time. Just to make sure she had the angle right.

"Right. Okay. Let's do this thing," Taylor said.

Missy dropped the spatial distortion that separated them from the rest of the world. This trick wouldn't exactly work if there were a few extra miles of relative space between them and the target. The onlookers still stared. They moved in slow motion, now, compared to Taylor and Missy. They'd definitely see something, like a VCR recording in fast-forward, but Taylor didn't really care.

The Director said no restrictions. She couldn't exactly get angry if they ended up with some PR work to do at the end of the night. She'd probably be pissed anyway, because being pissed was the Director's job, but Taylor was used to it.

What were they gonna do? Dock her pay? What a joke.

Taylor put a single glowing crystal at the edge of the acceleration zone. Missy needed to know exactly where the field ended.

"Mark."

"Two steps, jump," Missy narrated. "And… Go."

They both took two running steps forward in sync, and leapt together.

"Localized reversal," Taylor said as she jumped.

They both hit the area of tightly compressed space at the edge of the temporal acceleration field just as their personal gravity shifted. Missy's spatial distortion combined with their sudden return to normal relative time greatly amplified both the forward momentum from their short leap and the newly redirected gravitational forces.

Taylor and Missy rocketed into the sky like a cork fired from a champagne bottle; a barely controlled upwards free-fall that sent them flipping head-over-heels towards the stars.

Taylor whooped automatically at the sudden acceleration, her stomach lodged somewhere in her throat. Falling with style was always so much fucking fun.

But she had work to do. Sarah was in danger. Probably.

"Release!"

Gravity returned to normal, and then they were falling.

Taylor spotted the storage yard from the location ping. The aerial view was a bit disorienting, but this was her city. She knew where to go.

It was also on fire. Even as Taylor and Missy fell towards the old shantytown, Taylor saw another bomb blast go off below.

Maybe Bakuda was there, after all. Neat.

"Spatial shift: Domain Intrusion," Taylor called.

Taylor let her power run free, and called to her imaginary worlds. The amethyst stream was the easiest to conjure, her first and most comfortable domain. It gave Taylor relatively fine control over her surroundings, which was a huge advantage when falling ass-first into an unknown, potentially hostile situation.

Glass trees bloomed. An avalanche of liquid purple crystal flooded the burning storage yard below. Taylor flipped midair to prepare for impact, even though they were nowhere near the ground, yet.

Appearances could be deceiving.

A patch of ground just big enough for her feet stretched upwards under Missy's power. The spatial distortion caught Taylor with practiced ease, moving with her towards the ground and slowing her momentum at a precise rate to avoid turning her into a bloody smear on the pavement.

Taylor and Missy appeared out of thin air with barely a dull thud from the impact. The amethyst tide surged around them.

A woman in a wicked-looking gas mask snapped her head up in their direction as they landed.

Bakuda.

She was kneeling, holding a familiar blonde woman in a purple and black catsuit by the hair. The captive's freckled face was covered in soot and leaking blood from several scattered cuts along with her nose. Her hair was burned halfway off, her body a mottled mess of scrapes and scorch marks. Her ankle was badly broken, her foot pointing an unnatural direction compared to the rest of her leg.

Despite her injuries, the blonde woman smiled. Her bottle green eyes were glassy and unfocused, but still reflected the prismatic leaves overhead with something akin to relief.

"Found you, first," Sarah said.

Taylor couldn't think. Couldn't move.

Her brain refused to process the obvious evidence in front of her.

The glass canopy overhead trembled. Thorns began to grow from the scorched pavement.

The amethyst stream rushed around her frozen form, wiping away the surrounding storage lockers in its mindless advance.

Missy moved quickly to avoid being swept away by the oppressive deluge. Space stretched and twisted. The amethyst stream parted around the six of them.

The Undersiders were here. Most of them, anyway. Grue and Regent stood stiffly behind Bakuda.

And Tattletale…

Tattletale was Sarah. Sarah was Tattletale.

Sarah had been at the bank. With a gun.

Sarah was a villain.

Sarah was here.

Sarah was hurt.

Taylor couldn't breathe.

"Now, what do we have-" Bakuda started.

"Wanderer. Bombs," Missy said.

Right. They still had a job to do.

Taylor was still staring at Sarah's face. It'd been so long.

Except it hadn't, really. She'd just seen her yesterday. A different her.

Merry Christmas, Sarah.

She'd seen her yesterday in this world, in this time, too. At the bank.

Had Sarah recognized her, then? Was that why she…

Right. The bombs. They were all still in danger.

Were the Undersiders working with Bakuda?

Probably not.

Okay. No more bombs.

Taylor didn't bother to narrate. She couldn't, right now. Thinking wasn't exactly something she wanted to do.

She could just delete Bakuda.

But the bomb Tinker almost certainly had a dead-man's switch. That was villain one-oh-one. Always have a dead-man's switch.

Which meant Taylor also couldn't lock Bakuda in temporal stasis. The time-stop would register as a lack of a heartbeat.

So. Better to delete the nearby bombs. That would take some of the immediate risk of death and discorporation off the table. Plus, she had to protect Sarah.

Taylor snapped her fingers.

The capsule in Bakuda's hand, along with the devices inside Regent and Grue's nasal cavities, simply ceased to exist. The grenade launcher on Bakuda's belt became a squirt gun filled with grape jelly. The charges on her bandoliers and belt pouches turned into lemons.

Taylor also took away Bakuda's mouth. She didn't want to hear from her, right now. Plus, it would probably distract her for a moment.

Sarah's head fell back against the broken concrete as Bakuda let go of her hair to claw at her own face. Taylor made sure the concrete softened just before Sarah's face hit.

"Taylor…" Sarah mumbled, clearly still mostly unconscious.

Like they were on the bed of glowing green grass, back when-

"Stand down. All of you. You're under arrest," Missy said coldly.

Taylor was still frozen. Staring. It was all too much.

The thorns grew longer.

The glass leaves began to crack.

"I don't think-" Grue's darkness pooled around him.

Space twisted under Missy's power, reaching out to close the distance between them and the Undersiders. To isolate them. To capture them.

Not Sarah.

A wall of amethyst crystal exploded from the ground, separating Grue, Regent, and Sarah from Bakuda, Taylor, and Missy.

"What-" Missy stumbled in confusion as Taylor overpowered her spatial distortion.

Bakuda tried to scream. It didn't quite work without a mouth. Taylor clamped Bakuda's arms and legs in crystal, just in case.

Missy turned towards her slowly. Warily.

"Wanderer…" Missy said in a low, uncertain tone. "What's going on?"

Taylor couldn't begin to explain. Her mind wasn't working correctly. The thorns crept closer.

"I can't," Taylor forced out through clenched teeth.

She couldn't hurt Sarah. Even if she was a villain.

Wouldn't.

The thorns closed in.

"Wanderer!" Missy called in a panic. "Don't!"

Taylor couldn't explain. Couldn't understand. Her world felt like it was falling apart, metaphorically and literally.

But she had to try. For Missy.

"Let them go. Bakuda is the priority," Taylor ordered.

Her voice sounded flat. Fake, even to herself.

Missy's mouth fell open slightly, beneath her visor.

"You're helping them, aren't you?" Missy breathed. "You let them escape, yesterday. That's how they teleported away. You… you…"

She didn't. She hadn't. She wasn't.

Except…

Sorry. You'll understand, someday.

No. It couldn't be.

Why had she forgotten? How?

And, if Tattletale was Sarah… had she-

"Wanderer…" Missy's voice sounded broken. Missy couldn't cry anymore, either, but it kind of sounded like she might. "Who's Taylor?"

Me.

She's me.

The 'me' that matters, anyway.

The 'me' I never let you see. Never let you know.

Taylor knew what she had to do, even if it tore her to pieces.

"I'm sorry," Taylor said softly. "You'll understand, someday."

"Wanderer, no!" Missy yelled. Space fluctuated wildly around them under Missy's power.

Too late.

Full reality shift: Absolute Jurisdiction.

Taylor's physical body stopped existing as she separated herself from the current reality she inhabited. She didn't have much time to enact the changes she required before she got lost. And yet, at the same time, she had forever. Time didn't work correctly for her, in this state.

Still. Taylor moved with purpose. She was no longer a piece on the metaphorical chessboard, but rather the hand that moved the pieces.

Step one: prevent Missy from coming to harm.

In her mind, Taylor created a new reality where Missy was safe, back at the Wards' quarters. She forced that reality into this world, and overwrote what was real.

Missy disappeared. Taylor didn't overwrite her memories or her personal timeline, just her position in physical space. She may have hurt Missy with her actions, but she wouldn't violate her like that.

Step two: deal with Bakuda.

Taylor didn't have time to identify every bomb in the city. She couldn't know what failsafes the mad Tinker had in place.

If she wiped Bakuda's memory, or even knocked her unconscious, there might be a check-in timer or something. Ironically, one of the few things Taylor couldn't do was read minds.

She'd have to trust the PRT to handle this one from here.

Taylor overwrote Bakuda's position in physical space, and dropped her in a holding cell at the PHQ.

Step three: help Sarah.

Taylor didn't have a real body, anymore, but her presence hung low over Sarah's unconscious form. Grue and Regent were just starting to move, kneeling next to her to assess the damage.

Taylor was tempted to steal Sarah away from them, but…

Sarah wasn't hers. Taylor didn't get to decide that for her. And Sarah obviously wanted to be a villain, on some level.

When did Sarah even get powers? How long?

So many questions, with no satisfactory answers.

But ultimately, it didn't matter.

Taylor created a new reality where Sarah was uninjured, and whole. She remade the purple and black catsuit, along with Tattletale's mask.

She didn't know where they lived, so instead she placed Sarah, Grue, and Regent in an empty parking lot half a mile away. Hopefully they could figure things out from there.

Sarah's eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, Taylor swore Sarah could see her, somehow. Sarah reached an unsteady gloved hand up towards her, like she thought she could touch Taylor's non-existent face.

If Taylor had still had a heart, it would have broken.

In a fit of manic nostalgia, Taylor created a single glowing, golden butterfly, and sent it fluttering down to land on Sarah's outstretched finger.

She got one last glimpse at the look of wonder, and… guilt? On Sarah's face before the amethyst sea closed over her head, and Taylor was ripped away from this time and place on its inescapable current.

That was good. It was easier, not to think. Not to feel.

Non-being was a strange sensation. She was conscious, but at the same time, she was asleep. Dreaming. She strayed out of thought and time.

What even was real, when she was like this? Did it matter? She couldn't see, but the uncountable colors blinded her anyway.

Some semblance of reality returned as quickly as it fled.

She was standing in her old living room, back before the PRT HQ became her home. The lamp on the side table in the corner was on, casting warm shadows behind the coffee table and the well-worn, burgundy couch.

Taylor knew this memory. She'd been here before. This was one of the things she could never change.

She didn't want to see, but she knew the memory wouldn't end until she followed the path.

The path she'd taken, that day. Two weeks, and two days, after her thirteenth birthday.

She'd refused to wear a dress to the funeral. Dad yelled at her, but she wore an old T-shirt and jeans anyway. Mom wouldn't care.

He left early, from the funeral. Alan and Zoe took her home.

Maybe, if she'd left with him…

'What if's' would drive her insane, if she let them. Maybe she already was.

Poor, poor Wanderer. So powerful, but always too late.

Taylor walked up the stairs slowly. Her footfalls sounded muted, but also somehow too loud, at the same time.

She glanced through the door to her old bedroom, for nostalgia's sake. She'd been happy, there, for a long time. It was where she and Emma had sleepovers. Where her mother used to read to her, weaving stories of other, fantastic worlds and characters.

But that wasn't for her, anymore. This house. That room. Her parents.

Being happy.

Taylor continued down the hall. She knew what she would find at the end.

Her parents' bedroom door was closed, but not locked.

The first time, she'd called for him. Knocked on the door, then decided to let him be for hours before finally giving in when he never answered.

Now, she just sighed, and pushed the door open.

Blood coated the far wall in a telltale pattern. Her father's body was slumped against the headboard, the gun slipping from his limp fingers.

"You couldn't have just taken pills or something?" Taylor muttered darkly. "Or told Alan where to find you? Might have been a bit less traumatic, that way."

The corpse didn't answer. He never did.

"But, if you weren't selfish, you wouldn't have run away in the first place, would you?" Taylor continued, wandering around the bed and letting her hand trail over the wooden footboard.

Taylor sat on the edge of the bed. She never knew what would trigger the next shift.

"It's fucked up, you know, but you probably did the world a favor. I've done a lot of shit I'd never get to do if you'd stuck around. Saved a lot of people. Killed a lot of people. I like to think I've saved more than I've killed," Taylor said.

She sighed, and braced her elbows against her knees.

"I wouldn't have met Sarah, if you stuck around. I don't know if that would've been better for her or not. Must've sucked, having a friend who couldn't stay in one time with her. Who had to lie to her."

She could still see the look on Sarah's face, that day.

The horrible, inevitable realization, after the funeral… that Taylor had known.

Known, and didn't tell her. Couldn't tell her.

Poor, poor Wanderer.

"I can only ever do what I've already done, say what I've already said," Taylor said to her father's corpse. "And sometimes, that's just… not good enough. But you get that, I think. Why else would you leave?"

Taylor couldn't cry, anymore.

"I know where to find her, now. But it doesn't change anything, if she doesn't want me to. Maybe I'll just have to hope she gets herself into life threatening situations on a regular basis so she'll call me again. Of course, then I'll be obligated to arrest her, or get into even more trouble for letting her go," Taylor said ruefully.

She didn't want to think about any of that.

"I'd like to leave now, please," Taylor asked the empty room.

As always, her power didn't listen.

She sat there for a long time.

"Fuck it," Taylor muttered to herself.

She leaned over the dead body, and grabbed the pistol. She hadn't even known her father owned one. Although, this was Brockton Bay, so it made sense.

Taylor weighed the weapon in her hands for a moment. She didn't normally use guns. Didn't even know how they worked. It just… wasn't necessary, for her. She had more efficient ways to kill her enemies.

Then she put the barrel in her mouth, and pulled the trigger.

…

Sunday, May 15th, 2011.

Taylor landed with a splash on a flooded sidewalk.

Well, that was an effective way to end that particular walk down memory lane. She'd have to keep that in mind for next time. No need to sit around and ponder, if she could just shoot herself from the get-go.

Now. Where the hell was she? And when?

This looked like it could be Brockton Bay, but it was hard to tell. The heavy rain was oppressive. The street was submerged in a solid foot and a half of water. Screams and dull, roaring thunder drifted overhead. Half the surrounding buildings were collapsed…

Ah. Fuck.

Taylor turned a slow circle. She usually reappeared near someone she knew, and…

Missy was kneeling in the water, next to the nearest building. She wasn't crying, or screaming, or saying anything. Wasn't moving. Just staring.

In front of her…

Ragged, shredded silver power armor. And a lot of red, running in the rain.

Shit.

Taylor refocused. She could do this. She could fix this.

Just keep… moving… forward.

"Vista!" Taylor yelled over the rain and the thunder and the screaming. She let the water part in front of her so she could run over unimpeded.

"Wanderer!" Missy's head snapped up sharply. "You came back."

"Of course," Taylor said. "What day is it? How long since-"

"May 15th!" Missy scrambled frantically away from what was left of Dean. "Fix him fix him fix him fix-"

"Temporal reversion."

Taylor focused, as the rain soaked her hood. Time fought to continue it's forward march, but she forced it to wind back, instead. Forced life back into the corpse.

Just do as much good as you can, until you can't.

Dean's body put itself back together. His armor reformed, blood flowing out of the water and back into his veins and-

An enormous, scaled foot with cruel talons smashed through the temporal reversion field like glass and reduced the newly reformed body to a silver and crimson pulp.

Missy screamed. Some horrible mix of pain and surprise and fear and hopeless frustration.

Taylor looked up slowly.

Leviathan loomed.

Glowing green eyes stared down at her through the cracks in his inhuman face. Easily three stories tall, with disproportionately long arms and claws, the unnatural monster stood strangely still for a long moment. His tail whipped idly back and forth behind him.

"Step back," Missy choked out.

Missy stepped, and disappeared. Taylor didn't move.

Taylor tipped her head to the left.

Leviathan mirrored her.

Well, then.

Time to see how her power held up against humanity's strongest foes. The unspeakable evil that nobody liked to talk about, until they had no other choice. The lurking, omnipresent death that waited at the finish line for their doomed species.

Endbringer.

She'd waited for this, but the PRT never let her go. And not in the 'we're going to go out for lunch and maybe the crazy robots will have mysteriously disappeared by the time we get back, Wanderer' kind of way. There were some lines even Taylor knew not to cross.

"Let's see what you've got, then," Taylor said.

Full reality shift: Absolute Isolation.

Taylor rose from her body, took hold of the empty void outside of her worlds, and brought it flooding into reality.

She and Leviathan hung alone, in the endless abyss. He continued to watch her silently with that blank, expressionless face.

For a second, Taylor let herself hope that it would be that simple.

Then Leviathan swung his wicked claws with blinding speed. The jagged edges sheared straight through the surrounding void, ripping it to shreds. The gaps revealed the flooded Bay, again… Like they'd never left. Like her world was just a fragile illusion. A curtain to be pulled back by anyone who knew it was a facade.

Then his claws hit Taylor's discorporated awareness, and shredded her along with her world.

Which was some bullshit.

How long had she lasted, this time?

A minute?

That's what she got for being overconfident.

Maybe she'd last longer, next time. If she made it back.

And maybe, when she woke up, she'd get to see Sarah again. Whether it would be in the past, present, or future, she couldn't be sure. But at least it was possible, now. That was mildly comforting, in spite of everything else about this shitty, shitty day.

The amethyst sea reclaimed her, and Taylor lost herself, once again.

…

Saturday, April 16th, 2011.

Taylor sucked in a ragged gasp.

It turns out, returning to physical reality after being ripped to pieces by an Endbringer was a little bit more traumatic than her usual displacements. Who'da thunk?

Endbringer. Right. May 15th. Missy hadn't been any taller, so it was probably this year. Unless Missy was just cursed to always be short.

She needed to tell them. She usually only had trouble providing information while she was temporally displaced, not once she made it back. As much as she was ever back. Still, hopefully she could share this specific bit of trivia. Very important.

Time to figure out where and when she was. Again.

Nighttime. That was easy enough.

Actually, the 'where' was pretty easy, too, this time. Gotta love arriving back near landmarks.

The Bay extended in every direction. She recognized the wide field of metal that formed the front loading area of the PHQ. Steel spires rose high into the night above her.

At least it wasn't raining, whenever this was.

Something felt… wrong, though. She couldn't put her finger on it.

Taylor turned in another slow circle.

Everything looked very… dark.

There were always lights on at the PHQ. Brockton Bay wasn't in great shape, infrastructure-wise, but it still had plenty of working streetlights. Downtown never truly slept.

But now, everything was dark.

Taylor didn't have her phone, anymore. Sometimes it survived her trips through alternate worlds, sometimes it didn't. There didn't seem to be much rhyme or reason for it. Par for the course, with her power, honestly.

She idly wondered how much the PRT spent on phones for her. Did they take the cost out of her account? She never really paid attention. They never paid her the bounties for her kills, since she hadn't technically killed them, officially, but the Director knew. It would be silly to quibble about money when they knew what she'd done to the Nine.

None of that helped her figure out why the power was out, everywhere. The PRT should have backup generators for their backup generators for their backup batteries, why would they…

A deafening roar suddenly filled the previously still night. A blinding spotlight appeared midair, shining down on her.

Taylor raised a hand automatically, squinting behind her visor.

"Wanderer," Dragon's voice boomed over the loudspeaker from what Taylor now recognized as one of her suits. What was Dragon doing here? "We have reason to believe you've been compromised. Please recite the required passcode."

Shit. They thought she was Mastered? Why?

"Corridor nine-two-seven. What's going on?" Taylor called.

"Yesterday evening, you disobeyed direct orders, engaged a volatile, ongoing threat without clearance, attacked a fellow Ward, and aided three villains in evading arrest," Dragon said.

That was… technically true. Fuck.

"As a result of your actions, Bakuda was able to remotely detonate a long-range electromagnetic pulse device, destroying all electronic devices and short-circuiting the power grid within over a hundred miles of ground zero."

What?

"No. No, Bakuda was in custody when I-"

"She possessed an alternative means of triggering the device. We were unable to determine her method of detonation in time to prevent the blast," Dragon said.

She sounded almost… sad. Disappointed.

Armsmaster landed on the open loading zone fifty feet away. His armor looked like it had been hastily cobbled together, which made sense. He'd probably lost a lot of his equipment to the EMP.

Velocity appeared out of nowhere to his left.

The front blast doors of the PHQ creaked open manually. Miss Militia, Assault, Battery, and Triumph made their way through. They spread out slowly, warily, as they approached.

Dauntless landed on one of the spires of the PHQ. His flickering lightning lance cast stark shadows across the loading zone.

Something in Taylor's gut curdled. She didn't like the look of this at all.

The air on the edge of the reconfigured oil rig warped behind her. Missy… Vista stepped across the Bay, along with Aegis, Gallant, Kid Win, Shadow Stalker, Browbeat, and Clockblocker.

Fuck. This was… bad. Probably.

"Wanderer. Please remand yourself immediately for Master/Stranger clearance and disciplinary review," Armsmaster called to her.

Really?

Really?

After everything she'd done?

"You don't understand!" Taylor yelled. She pushed back the thorns. They wouldn't be helpful, here. "It wasn't-"

"Now, Wanderer. We can discuss it further after you've been cleared," Armsmaster cut her off.

Bullshit. This was bullshit.

"Leviathan-" Taylor tried again.

"Come in peacefully, and we can work this out," Miss Militia called. "Please."

Taylor narrowed her eyes behind her visor. Thorns grew from the steel around her.

"I don't think so."

"Compromised Class-S asset confirmed. Contain by any means available," Armsmaster ordered.

Oh, fuck you, Colin.

Fine, then.

They wanted to play hard ball?

They knew exactly what they were asking for.

Taylor cracked her knuckles.

There was one final, tense moment of silence…

Then everyone moved at once.

Armsmaster, Assault, Velocity, Aegis, and Browbeat charged. Miss Militia, Dauntless, Gallant, Dragon, and Kid Win fired. Space warped under Vista's power.

Temporal shift: Relative Acceleration.

Everything slowed to a crawl except for Taylor and Velocity. The Protectorate's speedster raced towards her, but he was still too slow.

"Sorry, Robin," Taylor said.

She wasn't, really, though.

Taylor snapped her fingers.

Localized reversal.

Everyone began to fall towards the sky in slow motion.

Everyone except for Taylor and Velocity, who fell at a normal rate. Well, normal for them. Superspeed, to the rest of the heroes who'd betrayed her.

No time to think about that, now.

Taylor caught herself on an upside down platform of crystalized amethyst. The ground became a ceiling fifteen feet overhead.

Velocity made it about fifty feet into the empty air before he remembered to deactivate his breaker state so one of the flyers could catch him before he left the atmosphere. He slowed to a crawl along with the rest of them.

Behind her, Clockblocker fell forward through compressed space, courtesy of Vista. He appeared on the platform behind her, inside the acceleration field. Vista even managed to put him upright.

Well done, Missy. Always on top of things.

It wouldn't be enough.

Clockblocker lunged for her, trying to freeze her in time. But two could play at that game, and time was her domain.

Localized stasis.

Clockblocker froze in relative time, his hand outstretched just inches from her back.

Down low, too slow, Dennis.

Taylor assessed her situation.

Gallant's concussive blasts were barely leaving his hands, even as he fell. Miss Militia's containment foam grenade flew like it was sinking through molasses. Dragon fired a swarm of tracking missiles that buzzed like ponderous bumblebees overhead. Kid Win was still trying to right himself on his hoverboard. His shot went wide without her interference.

Assault was closing the distance between them with concerning speed, even in the slowed time outside her acceleration field.

Triumph's sound waves were also getting a bit close for comfort. She'd have to do something about that.

Taylor exhaled slowly.

She was the dream walker. The only Shaker 12 on file. She'd killed the Nine… and the PRT hadn't even brought the Triumvirate with them when they'd decided to stab her in the back?

It was almost insulting.

Maybe they'd forgotten what she was actually capable of. Fallen for their own propaganda.

Apparently, they were overdue for a reminder.

Spatial shift: Splinter.

The PHQ overhead split into four separate segments and folded itself around her. Taylor twisted the space and the steel and the heroes until their position fit her liking.

Assault flew sideways past her. He collided headfirst with Aegis on the other side of her platform as the heroes all continued their slow fall towards the sky.

Triumph's sound waves were redirected and reflected back at him, catching both him and Battery in the expanding cone of concussive sound.

Dauntless' arc-lance shot curved through the warped space-time. Taylor glanced around speculatively, then aimed it back at Armsmaster. Just for being such an asshole about this whole thing. Wouldn't even let her talk.

Taylor took a quick moment to make sure there were no living humans inside Dragon's remote suit, then simply deleted the entire thing from existence. Unmade it, at a molecular level. They could take the cost out of her unofficial bounties if they really wanted to.

On a related note, Taylor turned Sophia's crossbow into a chicken. That should keep her distracted. It was also funny.

Release.

Taylor let go of all her ongoing distortion effects. Too many at once would risk another discorporation or displacement, and she didn't have time for that, right now.

Taylor let herself fall headfirst towards the ground.

Miss Militia's containment foam grenade and Gallant's concussive blast passed each other midair beneath her. The ball of compressed light knocked Hannah flying backwards as she fell, while the containment foam grenade managed to catch Gallant, Aegis, Kid Win, Browbeat, and Assault in a wide net of sticky goo.

Taylor almost laughed. Probably would have, if she hadn't been so fucking pissed.

Colin tried to dodge the incoming lightning bolt, but he was also just a bit too slow. Hopefully Dauntless used a non-lethal voltage. Although, it would serve them both right, if he'd tried to actually kill her for saving Sarah.

Space rippled as the rest of the heroes fell back towards the platform along with her. Unnatural distortions cushioned their impacts.

Vista was on top of things, as always.

Spatial shift: Bypass.

Taylor twisted the rig underneath her into a pretzel, and dropped straight through the steel ground below. She fell headfirst out of the ground right next to Missy, landing lightly as gravity slowed her upwards momentum.

Temporal shift: Relative Acceleration.

The world slowed down around them, again.

It was so familiar, but also different, now.

Taylor and Missy just stared at each other for a long moment, alone in their bubble of time. Wanderer, and Vista.

"Missy. You don't have to do this," Taylor said. It was a long shot, but…

"I do. You're not… she did something to you," Missy said. She didn't sound sure, though.

"Who?"

"Tattletale."

Taylor blinked.

"What?"

"She's a Thinker. She got in your head, somehow," Missy said.

"No, she didn't. I just…"

Taylor didn't know how to even start explaining. Sarah was in her head, kind of. But not the way Missy meant.

"Can't you just trust me?" Taylor said.

Missy bit her lip, under her visor.

"If you'd asked me yesterday, I would have said 'yes', with my life, in a heartbeat," Missy whispered. "Now… I don't know."

"This," Taylor gestured to the remaining heroes righting themselves in slow motion. "Is ridiculous. They know I could just erase them all from existence if I actually wanted to. What's the point?"

"I don't know. Get you back in line? Tighten your leash? Prove they're still in charge? I don't call the shots, Wanderer. You know that," Missy said.

"No. But you get to decide whether or not you follow them."

"That's what we do!" Missy yelled. "We do what we're supposed to. We're the heroes! That's the whole point!"

"No, it's not," Taylor said.

She squared her shoulders. There'd be no going back, after this. No going home… but Taylor found that she didn't care nearly as much as she thought she would. What was she going home to? An empty room with purple walls. Wards with real lives that didn't include her. PRT agents who would gladly lock her up in the Asylum if they could. If she wasn't useful.

"We're heroes because we help people. Because we do as much good as we can, where we can, when we can, until we can't, anymore. That was always the point."

Missy flinched.

"We still have to-"

"Leviathan is coming. Here. May 15th," Taylor cut her off. She needed to tell someone.

"What?"

"I went forward, after the incident yesterday. Landed in the middle of the battle. Tried to isolate him, lock him in another world," Taylor said. "I failed."

At least Missy had the decency to look worried.

"That's even more reason why you should follow procedure," Missy said. "We can find a way to make them listen."

"Fuck that. If I haven't earned some trust by now, I'm never going to. They can find themselves a new attack dog," Taylor snapped.

The quiet between them was oppressive.

"I can't let you leave, Wanderer," Missy said.

Taylor took a deep breath.

"My name is Taylor."

Missy's lips quivered.

"Bye, Missy. I'll be back, when it's time."

Missy tried to warp space around them.

Taylor didn't let her.

Missy may be the best the Protectorate ENE had, but she wasn't her.

Spatial shift: Domain Intrusion.

The world around them twisted, and Taylor brought the realm of stars to Brockton Bay.

Multiple massive spheres of light danced in the night high overhead, blinding and brilliant. Gravity twisted and warped under their hyper-dense mass. The PHQ started to rip itself apart at the seams, huge sections of metal coming free and flying upwards into the sky. A spiraling tower of water rose from the Bay to orbit the celestial light.

Hopefully they'd had enough sense to evacuate the rig before confronting her. Taylor had trouble caring, anymore. They should have known what would happen the moment they turned on her.

While everyone else was distracted, Taylor folded a pocket of space around herself. Missy or Colin might still be able to detect her, but they would be too busy trying to save their friends from being pulled into the false stars.

Well, Colin was too busy being electrocuted. Ass.

The stars shouldn't actually hurt them, though. They weren't real. Just contain them, hold them, until Taylor was long gone. Being dropped from a couple thousand feet up along with a million tons of busted up metal might not be ideal, but they could figure that part out for themselves. Missy could probably handle it.

And if they died…

Well, Leviathan would probably kill them all, anyway, if Taylor didn't figure out how to stop him.

Taylor turned on her heel, hopped down off the edge of the crumbling oil rig, and walked away across the surface of the Bay.

…

Thursday, November 6th, 2008.

Sarah couldn't decide if she had the energy to go for a walk, or do anything, really.

She could pick up where she left off in her current book. Find something on TV. Catch the bus to the mall, or anywhere else.

Part of her wanted to catch a bus and just keep going. She idly wondered how long it would take her parents to cut off her debit card. Would they even notice?

Reggie would probably notice, but even he was getting more and more distant. Locking himself in his room. Any time he spent with her felt performative, like he was just checking another box off his list. He didn't actually see her.

"You know, I don't know why, but I thought you'd have more stuff," a familiar voice said from right next to her.

Sarah almost jumped out of her skin. She didn't scream, but it was a close thing.

Taylor was sitting on the bed next to her, legs hanging over the edge. Like she'd been there the whole time.

She looked young, again. Younger than she had at the ice cream shop. Her eyes were brighter, less haunted.

"Taylor… God, you scared the shit out of me," Sarah wheezed.

Something in her chest loosened, though, even as she said it.

Taylor was here.

In her room.

"Sorry. I don't exactly choose where and when I land, when I get discorporated," Taylor shrugged.

Sarah had to ask.

"Discorporated?"

"Yeah. My body doesn't really survive the shift between worlds, sometimes, you know?" Taylor said, like that was a regular occurrence for anyone else.

Like it wasn't mildly horrifying.

Sarah smiled, though.

"Straying out of thought and time…" Sarah said. "See? Told you. Magic."

"Damn right, I am," Taylor grinned back. "Maybe I should change my name to Maia."

She seemed like she was in an especially good mood today. Her white eyes were more animated than usual behind her thick glasses. Like an overenthusiastic bumblebee. It was nice.

"Taylor the Gray," Sarah said.

"Taylor the Purple, thank you very much," Taylor shot back.

"There aren't any purple wizards," Sarah pointed out.

"I could be the first."

Sarah couldn't stop smiling. Everything with Taylor just felt so… easy. Some days, it felt like Sarah was just floating along in her real life, waiting for these stolen moments with her best friend. Her own personal imaginary friend.

"So, when is it, for you?" Sarah asked.

"June 12, 2009," Taylor bounced slightly in place.

"It's your birthday?"

"You remembered!" Taylor said. "What about here?"

"November 6th, 2008," Sarah said.

This Taylor didn't know about whatever happened on Christmas, 2009. Sarah decided not to tell her. She liked this shining, enthusiastic version of Taylor.

"Hey, we're pretty close, for once," Taylor folded one leg under her on the bed.

"Yeah, I guess so. What do you want to do for your birthday?" Sarah asked.

"I already did something," Taylor's smile turned smug. "I'm probably going to be in big trouble when I get back, but I don't care."

"Let me guess. You can't tell me?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"You're a super-genius. But it was awesome. And a bit messy," Taylor chuckled.

"To causing trouble, then," Sarah said.

"To causing trouble," Taylor gave a mock salute.

Taylor laughed and fell backwards onto the bed. Her messy dark curls splayed across the perfectly made comforter.

I wish she could stay.

It wasn't a new thought, but it hit especially hard, right this second. Sarah didn't hate the white walls, the empty shelves, the bland bedspread, nearly as much when Taylor was here. Taylor breathed life into everything around her.

"Never struck me as the white walls type," Taylor said suddenly, propping herself up on one elbow.

"Hmmm?" Sarah pushed her melancholy thoughts away.

"Just… thought you'd liven things up a bit, is all," Taylor said.

Sarah's stomach twisted. Maybe it was a good thing, that she didn't fit into the mold her parents made for her.

"My parents are very… particular," Sarah said.

"Yeah, but it's your room, right?" Taylor said.

"I mean, yes, but…"

"You should do what you want with it, then," Taylor sat up.

Sarah bit her lip.

"I guess I could…"

"I made the walls purple, at home," Taylor said. "Want me to make your's match?"

Sarah blinked.

"You can do that?"

"Yep! I can do anything, remember?" Taylor grinned crookedly.

Not anything.

Because Taylor couldn't stay.

Sarah pushed that thought away.

She looked around at the empty walls. The framed pictures of places she'd never been. The shelves with decorations chosen by someone else.

Fuck it.

"Alright. Do it," Sarah said.

Taylor smiled wider, and snapped her fingers.

And just like that, the walls were a deep, rich purple.

Sarah loved it.

Her mother was going to be pissed. She'd probably repaint, complain about the resale value or something the whole time, but Sarah didn't care.

"What do you think? Is that okay?" Taylor asked.

Sarah nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak.

"I think it'll stick around, when I go. I'm getting better at controlling what's real and what isn't," Taylor continued. "I'm pretty sure this world is real. Some of my worlds aren't, but I can't really change them the same way.

Sometimes, Sarah wasn't sure Taylor was real. She was too good to be true.

"I wish I could give you something to take back with you, too," Sarah said.

"You do!" Taylor leaned forward. "You always do. You're… I'm just Taylor, when I'm here, and it's so… I always look forward to seeing you. Every time I wander, I hope I'll end up here."

Sarah's stomach twisted, but it felt… good.

"Every time?" Sarah asked. It was stupid, but the words slipped out before she could think about it too hard.

Taylor nodded.

"Every single time," Taylor said softly.

Taylor missed her, too.

The thought filled Sarah with a weird, reckless sort of confidence.

"How about a memory, then? Is that a good present?" Sarah's lips tugged up at the corners.

"I forget, a lot," Taylor said. "But I always remember everything with you."

"Good," Sarah whispered.

Then she leaned in, and pressed her lips against Taylor's cheek.

Taylor froze, and blushed, and Sarah smiled.

"Happy birthday, Taylor."

"Yeah," Taylor stammered. It was cute. "Yeah. Yeah, it really-"

Sarah was alone in her bedroom.

Her heart still hammered in her chest.

Part of her felt empty, like she always did, when Taylor left.

But her walls were still purple, and her lips were still weirdly warm.

And that helped. Just a bit.

…

Chapter Text

Opal 2.2

Saturday, April 16th, 2011.

Taylor leaned against the railing at the edge of the Boardwalk and watched the fragmented remains of the PHQ fall back into the Bay.

That… might have been overkill, in hindsight.

The angry knot in her gut had loosened, somewhere on her walk across the water. Colin was still an asshole, and the PRT had obviously been taking advantage of her for years, but…

It didn't make it easier to watch the broken pieces of her life literally crash and burn. Well, not really burn, because they were sinking into the Bay. Crash and sink? Capsize?

Whatever.

Without the false stars hanging over the water, the city seemed even darker than before. What would the hundreds of thousands of regular people think of the lightshow? What would the official statement be?

At least nobody had a damn phone, for now, so she didn't have to worry about ending up on PHO right away. Good riddance.

It did beg the question, though…

What to do now?

Taylor hadn't exactly thought this far ahead. Everything happened so fast… Her dramatic declaration to Missy felt a bit hollow.

How the hell was she going to help people, now? How was she supposed to figure out how to defeat Leviathan on her own?

Well. One thing at a time.

Step one: avoid immediate detection.

She'd never edited her clothes consciously before, but it couldn't be that hard. Wasn't that different from turning Sophia's crossbow into a chicken, really. She obviously created a new outfit for herself subconsciously every time she rematerialized. She never wandered back naked, even in the beginning, thank God.

Maybe all those tests in the gray-tiled room had actually been beneficial, after all. She didn't used to be so confident letting her power free for trivial things. All it used to do was grow thorns and flood perfectly good elevator shafts. Nowadays, direct reality edits didn't come with a significant risk of discorporation or displacement, that she could tell. Not small ones, at least. She wasn't sure when that happened.

She had to start testing her control somewhere, though. No time like the present.

Especially given all the time travel. Ha.

Taylor focused, and let the barest trickle of her endless worlds free. Just saturating the specific part of reality she wanted to overwrite. She was the author of this world. She could change a word or two without completely drowning the book in ink. Or something. Her metaphors needed work.

She wasn't sure if she was Olórin, or Tom Bombadil. Something to talk to Sarah about, when she found her again.

Taylor's costume melted away.

She wouldn't need it, anymore.

She wasn't Wanderer, anymore.

That was… freeing. One less weight around her neck. Free to just be Taylor, for a while.

Taylor let more power loose, more confident now, and restructured reality to fit her preferences. A plain purple t-shirt, black zip-up jacket, and jeans folded themselves around her. Instead of her opaque visor, Taylor formed thick, square, black-framed glasses.

She left the hood of her jacket up. No reason to show her face off too much.

It wasn't like they could use security cameras or traffic cameras to track her.

Colin and Dragon probably still had scanners that could locate currently active spatial or temporal anomalies, though. They had a lot of data to work with from all her hours in the testing chamber. Taylor wasn't sure what their effective range was. They shouldn't be able to track past fluctuations, but they would probably notice if she started throwing distortions around like candy. No running around in accelerated time constantly.

It was tempting to just establish a domain and tell them to fuck off, but that would probably be more trouble than it was worth, in the long run.

She'd rather not be forced to erase any of her former coworkers. Better to keep a low profile, for now.

Step 2: find Sarah.

That would be difficult, especially if Sarah didn't want to be found. Her apparently villainous ex-best friend probably hadn't missed the stars over the Bay, but Taylor wasn't about to wait around for Sarah to text her again. Not that she had her phone, anymore.

Sarah had already told her to leave once, and Taylor had listened. Then Sarah told her to come back, and Taylor came.

Now, Sarah would have to tell her to leave again, if she wanted Taylor to stop looking for her. Taylor couldn't live with herself otherwise. She was too selfish to care.

So. How to find a supervillain who may or may not want to be found, without being found herself, in a city with no power and no functioning electronic devices?

It was a bit of a pickle, honestly. Sarah really could have done a better job with the whole 're-entering Taylor's life' thing. Getting her kicked out of the Wards and throwing her headfirst into Leviathan was a pretty rough start.

Maybe she should sleep. It'd been a very long day, considering that her day had started on Friday morning, and it was now Saturday night. Plus, she'd died twice. Maybe three times. It was hard to keep track.

Right. Find Sarah. Then sleep.

Finding Sarah wasn't impossible. Taylor was magic.

Not that her power would actually help her much, here. Worst case scenario, she could always implement a full reality shift and try to figure out where Sarah was that way, but Taylor didn't want to do that unless she had no other choice. She had more important things to do than get lost in time right now. Like figuring out how to kill an Endbringer.

She had the general framework of an idea.

Sarah would be impossible to find, but Tattletale wouldn't. It was reckless, and ridiculous, but Taylor was running low on options. Caring about little things like 'consequences' was getting more and more difficult by the second. She'd already told the Protectorate to get fucked and sunk their little metal island into the bay. How much worse could things get?

Obviously, this was the perfect time to go to a bar.

…

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

The Palanquin was surprisingly crowded, considering the power outage. Although, maybe not. Going to a club isn't the worst thing to do while the world's ending.

Taylor glanced at the night sky. There were a lot more stars than usual. No lights. No drones, either.

She risked a subtle spatial distortion, bending the light of the oil barrel fire by the door of the club around herself and slipping through the door behind the bouncer.

It was a bit of an open secret that Faultline's crew operated out of the Palanquin. Newter and Gregor the Snail weren't the most subtle, and Newter literally sold his bodily secretions as drugs. Faultline and co. occupied a fairly small niche of villains who were too strong to easily capture without extensive collateral damage, and too unobtrusive to be truly worth capturing. Plus, they only did non-lethal mercenary jobs out of town. Myrddin in particular wasn't happy about the situation, especially after Philadelphia, but even he agreed that attacking them on their home turf out of costume was a bad idea.

In short, the Palanquin was the last place in the city any of the Wards were allowed to set foot, especially Taylor. Mainly because she and anything even slightly resembling a hallucinogenic drug should not be allowed in the same state as each other for the safety of everyone involved.

Long story short, this was going to be fun.

Taylor let her spatial distortion drop and picked her way between the tables. Actual fucking candles cast strange shadows on the walls. The buzz of overlapping voices bounced around the open warehouse. Nobody looked at her twice.

The bartender didn't look happy to be here.

"Everything's warm, case that ain't obvious," he said as she approached. "Should have a generator brought in by tomorrow, but it'll take longer to replace everything that got fried. Also, all prices are tripled, on account of the lootin'."

Taylor didn't really care.

"Just water, if you have any that's clean. And I need to talk to your boss," Taylor said.

That sounded good, right? That was totally something someone badass would say. Someone who wasn't making this shit up as they went along.

Fuck, she was tired.

"You're funny. How does 'fuck off' sound?" The bartender shot back.

Well. More flies with honey? Or vinegar? Or both?

Taylor let her power loose into the world, and pictured the cash from the bank debacle in her mind's eye. If making copies of the stolen cash caused trouble for Sarah… It kinda served her right.

Taylor's eyes glowed eerie ice-white behind her glasses. A stack of cash formed from nothing in her hand.

"The longer I'm here, the higher the odds of Dragon bombing this building into oblivion. You really want me to stick around?" Taylor said conversationally.

She set the money on the bar.

The bartender eyed both her and the money with extreme caution, but ultimately his greed won out.

He picked up the stack of cash.

"This is like… ten 'k'," he said slowly.

Taylor shrugged. Money wasn't even real.

The bartender considered for another long moment.

"Alright. Yeah. Boss can figure out what to do with you. Fuckin' capes. Above my pay grade," he muttered.

He still pocketed the money, though. Taylor still didn't care.

She stood alone in the dim candlelight, drumming her fingers on the bar.

Sarah better appreciate this fucking detective work. When did shit get so complicated?

Taylor felt a presence behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

She flexed her power again.

Localized stasis.

Newter's prehensile tail froze less than a foot away from the back of her neck.

Irritating, but not unexpected. Taylor wouldn't appreciate an uninvited home visit from an unknown cape, either.

Taylor carefully walked around Newter's frozen form. His orange skin looked even more unnatural in the gloom.

She picked a spot behind him, just out of range of his tail, and crossed her arms over her chest.

Release.

Newter tensed at her sudden disappearance.

"That's a terrible idea, for the record. I've never actually tried it, but I guarantee giving me drugs would end badly for everyone involved except me," Taylor said dryly.

Newter spun to face her with supernatural dexterity. He was surprisingly quick to smile for someone who'd just tried to drug her.

"If you'd gone down that easy, you wouldn't've been worth our time, anyway," he said.

Taylor snorted lightly. Gotta love villain logic.

"Whatever. Did I pass, then? Can I talk to Faultline, now?"

"Sure, come on up. What's your name? And where's your mask? Gotta say, I'm loving the eye thing. Super creepy, but in a good way. Eye-catching, captivating, y'know?"

Was he… hitting on her?

Weird.

Taylor sighed.

"Taylor."

"No nonsense. I can get behind that," Newter nodded as they climbed the stairs. "The Boss'll either love you, or hate your guts. Always a bit of a toss up."

Taylor decided not to deign that statement with an answer.

They made their way across the second floor balcony and through a heavy door into what looked like a private lounge area.

Faultline's crew were obviously prepared for the worst. Gregor the Snail's enormous bulk dominated the left side of the room nearest the door, ready to shield the others if necessary. Behind him, Spitfire and Faultline stood ready and waiting. In the corner, tucked in an armchair with a blanket over her knees, a girl with pale, white-blonde hair watched them enter in silence.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Faultline demanded as soon as Newter closed the door behind her.

No nonsense, indeed.

"My name is Taylor. I need to contact Tattletale."

Whatever Faultline was expecting, it clearly wasn't that.

"You want to…" Faultline cut herself off. "Why?"

That was a good question. Taylor didn't even know, really. Also, Faultline sounded vaguely aghast at the idea. What had Sarah done to offend Faultline, of all people?

"She owes me a favor, and I've come to collect," Taylor said.

That was pretty close, at least. From a certain perspective.

"Why come here, then?" Faultline asked suspiciously.

Her hands hung loose at her sides, but Taylor got the impression she was ready to jump into action at a moment's notice.

"I don't exactly have many villains on speed dial," Taylor shrugged. "And even if I did… no phones right now, right?"

Faultline narrowed her eyes behind her mask.

"You say 'villains' like you aren't one," Faultline pointed out. "Who are you, really?"

Before Taylor could answer, a soft voice interrupted from the corner.

"She's the wanderer," the pale girl in the armchair said. "The one who erased Mimi."

Taylor blinked. That was… what?

Faultline's head jerked towards her… teammate? Taylor wasn't familiar with the pale girl's identity. The PRT didn't have a file for her. Not that Taylor was aware of, anyway.

"She what?" Faultline snapped.

That was an excellent question. Taylor hadn't deleted that many people, in the grand scheme of things. Some, she killed the old fashioned way.

The pale girl didn't answer. Instead, she resumed her previously scheduled agenda of unfocused staring into the middle distance. That wasn't creepy at all.

Faultline was apparently used to it, though. She turned back to Taylor without comment, seemingly even more wary, now. Taylor hadn't thought that was possible.

"You killed the Nine?"

Okay, this was getting weird. Well, weirder.

"Not officially," Taylor said.

That seemed to be all the confirmation Faultline needed. Whoever the pale girl was, her words had weight.

"That doesn't explain why I should help you," Faultline said.

Taylor shrugged again.

"I guess I could just pay you, if that's what you want. Or I'd owe you a favor. I'm a useful person to have in your debt. Plus, the PRT is a little bit miffed at me for destroying the rig-"

"You destroyed the-" Faultline spluttered.

"-so every second I'm here, the chances of the Triumvirate breaking your door down increase exponentially."

Faultline took a slow, exaggerated breath.

"Right. You're right. Get out of my club. Now," Faultline ordered flatly.

"Tell me where I can find Tattletale," Taylor shot back.

For a brief moment, it looked like Faultline might give the order to attack. Taylor felt her power buzz under her skin in response.

But, instead, Faultline visibly deflated in frustration.

"Fine. Go cause problems for her instead of me. But I want that favor. And fifty thousand dollars. Don't think I missed that stunt at the bar."

"Greedy," Taylor grinned. She couldn't help herself.

Faultline just glared.

Taylor chuckled and let her power loose again. Five bundles of cash appeared on the coffee table.

"That's a neat trick," Newter whistled.

Faultline shot him a look.

"Bitch, you probably know her as Hellhound, has a dog shelter in the Trainyards. Off of East Commerce. I'm assuming the other Undersiders operate out of the Docks, but that's all I know," Faultline said.

Taylor nodded. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

"Thanks," Taylor said. Faultline was brusque, but at least she helped. And didn't try to kill her.

"Don't thank me yet," Faultline bit out. "I don't like you very much, Wanderer. Please get the hell out of my club, and don't come back."

That was… pretty fair, honestly.

So Taylor left.

…

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

The Trainyards were less dark than Downtown, for once. Trash can fires burned throughout the abandoned warehouses.

The people here didn't exactly have power on a good day. There wasn't much difference for them.

Taylor eyed the groups of ragged people crowded around the fires. It would be risky, but kind of funny, if any of them tried to mess with her.

None of them did, though. She couldn't tell if she was disappointed or relieved. Maybe she just didn't care.

Sleep sounded nice. She could just call to the glass forest, and find a nice tree to nap under, and…

She could hear dogs barking in the distance. She must be close.

The dog shelter was an old brick building that might have originally been a factory of some kind. The roof overhead was partially collapsed, and the shelter clearly didn't have much in the way of amenities before the EMP, either.

Taylor knocked on the only door she could find. The barking inside got louder.

She waited for what felt like a long time.

No answer.

Taylor shrugged and let a whisper of power free. She walked straight through the door, its surface rippling like water behind her.

The shelter was dark. She could see the shapes of countless dogs whining and shifting in their kennels.

"Hellhound?" Taylor called.

Faultline said she also went by Bitch, but that felt… rude.

Worth a try, though.

"Bitch? Anyone home?" Taylor tried again.

Movement in the shadows.

"Who the fuck are you?" A rough voice growled.

Not the most polite introduction, but Taylor wasn't going to complain. Better than nothing.

"I'm Taylor. I'm looking for Tattletale-"

"Brutus. Judas. Hurt," the voice in the shadows called.

Okay. That was a bit more than impolite.

Two dogs, ostensibly named Brutus and Judas, charged across the open shelter floor towards her.

Her localized stasis trick was pretty short range, and Taylor didn't really want to let the dogs get that close. Plus, it was hard to focus on anything else with more than one stasis target active.

Temporal shift: Echo.

The dogs continued their approach, then hit the inside edge of the echo field.

And immediately popped back to the far side of the anomaly, to run across again. After the second round, the dogs just stopped and shuffled in confusion for a few seconds before they reset, yet again.

Short, endlessly repeating time loops were surprisingly easy to set up. Easier than holding someone in stasis, or turning back time. It might look a bit like a Gray Boy bubble from the outside, but it was different. The people inside weren't doomed to do whatever they'd previously done. Besides, Taylor didn't use them to torture people, and she couldn't keep them around forever.

Hellhound… Bitch… sprinted out of the back rooms after her minions.

"What'd you do to them," Bitch demanded furiously.

"Just a time loop to keep them from eating me," Taylor said. "Can we talk, or are you gonna keep trying to fight for no reason?"

Bitch responded by flexing what Taylor assumed was her power, causing the two dogs to begin growing rapidly. Armor formed around their shoulders, spikes and matted fur and…

And… they popped back to their original state at the start of the time loop almost immediately.

Taylor sighed.

"There's really no reason for-"

Bitch roared and tried to punch her in the face.

Localized stasis.

Taylor took a step back.

Release.

Bitch missed, stumbling from the unexpected lack of impact.

"Can we talk, now, please?"

Bitch tried to hit her again.

Apparently not.

Fine, then. The old fashioned way, it is.

Taylor brought her left elbow up to deflect the powerful but clumsy incoming haymaker. She stepped into Bitch's chest with her left foot and twisted to slam her right elbow into Bitch's chin from the side, sending her opponent stumbling to the concrete.

Taylor preferred using her elbows. Less little bones to break by accident, compared to her hands and wrists.

Bitch tried to scramble to her feet, but Taylor was quicker. Taylor swung her foot forward and swept Bitch's legs out from under her, knocking her into an uncoordinated sprawl on the shelter floor.

It'd been a while since Sophia or Carlos had been willing to spar with her. There wasn't much else to do but train, read, and eat shitty, frozen burritos, locked in the PRT HQ all day. Hannah had always been up for a match, when she'd had time. Same with Missy, but a ten-inch difference in height was a tough disadvantage to overcome without powers.

Thinking about that made Taylor's chest ache, for some reason. Not sure why.

She kicked Bitch in the ribs, hard, when she tried to get up.

Taylor felt a bit… disappointed. She'd expected more excitement from a career villain. Sarah should train her people better.

"You done?" Taylor asked. She was already so over today.

"Fuck you," Bitch spat out a gob of bloody saliva onto the shelter floor.

Taylor kicked her again.

"Jesus fucking Christ! I just want to talk to Sarah," Taylor half-yelled down at her. Crimson thorns grew from the ground behind her. Angry whispers filled the dark corners of the shelter. "Why is that so goddamn difficult?"

"Not her name," Bitch grunted, bringing her legs up to protect her stomach and guarding her head with her arms.

Of course Sarah had picked a new name. Anything, to leave everything behind.

The frustration and anger drained out of Taylor like a plug being pulled. She suddenly felt empty, instead.

"It used to be," Taylor said sadly.

She took a couple deep breaths, and forced the thorns and the dark back into her mind. She didn't have time to wander, right now.

"Just take me to Tattletale, and I'll leave you alone," Taylor reasoned. "I'm not here to fight. I'm the one who got you out of that mess at the bank. And with Bakuda."

Well, she was reasonably sure it was her at the bank. Or it would be, when she inevitably went back at some point in the future.

"You… what?" Bitch pulled herself up into a sitting position, and Taylor backed off.

"I teleported you away from the bank. And I healed Tattletale after the Bakuda thing. Got rid of the bombs she put inside Regent and Grue," Taylor said.

Bitch hadn't been there, but hopefully the others told her about the mess last night.

"Let the dogs go," Bitch snarled.

"Fine, fine. Don't set them on me again, though," Taylor said.

Bitch glared at her, but she didn't try to get up or hit her again. Progress.

Lots of glaring, tonight.

Release.

Bitch whistled, and the dogs abandoned their charge to circle her protectively.

"Glad we got that straightened out," Taylor said. "Now. Tattletale?"

Bitch pulled herself slowly to her feet.

"Why you want her?" Bitch asked.

Taylor decided to be honest, for once.

"She's my best friend," Taylor said.

Present tense. Sarah may have walked away, but Taylor never did.

Bitch stared at her for a long moment, then snorted.

"Figures," Bitch muttered. "Whatever. She can decide what the fuck to do with you."

That was weirdly close to what the bartender had said, too. Why was getting in touch with Sarah such a pain in the ass?

"Come on," Bitch said. Taylor honestly wasn't sure if she was talking to her or the dogs.

Either way, she and the two dogs followed Bitch out the door without complaint.

One step closer to Sarah.

Taylor's stomach felt weird. It'd been a long time since she was actually anxious about anything. Nothing really felt like it mattered, anymore.

But, obviously, Sarah still mattered.

Maybe she should have gotten an actual drink at the Palanquin, after all.

…

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

Bitch stopped her silent march on a random stretch of cracked sidewalk in the Docks.

"Wait here. I'll go get her," Bitch said.

Taylor raised an eyebrow, but stopped alongside her anyway. Bitch didn't seem like the type to fuck her over, but she couldn't be sure.

Whatever.

It was easy to forget how dark the city was, without streetlights. Not that Taylor had gotten out much, before. The PRT got antsy anytime she left the HQ. Had to fill out paperwork and everything.

One of the many, many reasons she'd never told them about Sarah. They'd have a coronary at all the unauthorized galivanting.

Bitch disappeared around the corner, and Taylor waited.

At least Sarah didn't take too long.

Instead of Bitch returning, a familiar figure in sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt rounded the corner.

Right. It was the middle of the night.

Sarah's hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. It was too dark to see her eyes, but Taylor could imagine the deep bottle-green. She never forgot anything about Sarah.

Sarah came to a stop about ten feet away. They both just stared at each other for a long moment.

"Found you," Taylor said.

Sarah's lips tugged up at one corner, almost involuntarily. That was probably a good sign.

"It's the 17th of April, 2011, for me," Sarah said quietly.

Taylor couldn't cry, anymore, but that almost did it. It had been a very, very long day.

"Me, too," Taylor said.

Silence fell again.

"Why are you here, Taylor?" Sarah asked.

That was still a good question. Taylor probably should have thought of an answer before starting this conversation.

"The PRT wasn't very happy with me for letting you go," Taylor said. "Thought some villainous Thinker might've got in my head."

Taylor smiled. Just a bit.

"Guess they're right."

…

Friday, February 13th, 2009.

Sarah found herself taking even more walks in the woods, these days.

The house was as unbearable as ever. Reggie was being insufferable. Everyone at school called him Rex. It was ridiculous.

Even when he made time for her, she could tell he didn't really care.

Her mother was as persnickety as ever, and her father just as infuriatingly condescending. Nothing ever changed.

Taylor hadn't made it for Christmas, this year. Sarah hadn't realized how hopeful she'd been until the holiday came and went without a repeat of last year's tree.

So… more walks in the woods. Maybe, if she went back to the stream enough times, Taylor would appear out of nowhere and make everything okay, again.

It was pretty late. After sundown. If her mother cared enough to check her room, she'd probably be pissed. It would be kind of funny to get in trouble for sneaking out, when she was just wandering around between the snow-covered trees a mile from the house instead of partying or whatever normal teenagers did when they snuck out.

The cold might have been unpleasant under different circumstances, but Sarah liked it, tonight. The contrast between the warmth of her coat and hat, and the frigid breeze on her face. Better to feel something.

She felt… empty, some days. Like everyone else was feeling more of everything than she did. Like she was on the outside, looking in.

Everyone just seemed to… do things, without thinking. Like they were on autopilot, taking actions and then justifying them afterwards without thinking about them in the first place.

It was endlessly frustrating.

Sarah didn't know how long she walked before she realized that the leaves overhead weren't dark and opaque, anymore. She could see the stars through the glass.

Warm, vibrant hope bloomed in her chest.

Taylor was here. She had to be.

Just then, as if summoned by her thoughts, a voice drifted between the trees.

"Sarah?" Taylor called from somewhere up ahead.

"Here!" Sarah answered. She got a strange sense of déjà vu, but in reverse. Normally she was the one tracking down Taylor.

Taylor appeared between the trees, and Sarah smiled.

Taylor was older, again. Less so than back on Christmas, but Sarah was starting to wonder if maybe that Taylor just seemed so put together because Sarah herself was younger, then, by comparison.

This Taylor had the haunted look in her eyes, though. Her face seemed almost stretched, her strange white eyes cold.

"Found you," Sarah said. "When is it, for you?"

Taylor closed the distance between them slowly, like she was worried about scaring Sarah away. Silly.

"It's March 3rd, 2010, for me," Taylor said. "At least, it was when I left."

"February 13th, 2009, here," Sarah said softly. It felt right to speak quietly, in the dark forest under the snow and the glass.

Taylor nodded. She was still staring at her with this odd, starving look.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked. Even ice-cream-day Taylor hadn't looked so… frayed.

"I don't know," Taylor said. "Some days, I'm good, but others…"

Sarah closed the last of the distance between them slowly, too. She didn't want to scare Taylor away, either.

She touched the back of Taylor's hand, and let their fingers tangle together lightly. Taylor's hands were very warm, but that might have just been because Sarah's were cold. She'd been out here for a while.

"Can you tell me?" Sarah asked. She didn't know what governed whether Taylor could explain things or not. Clearly it wasn't simple.

"People just… people just suck, sometimes," Taylor sighed. "And I forget how much, occasionally. I do what I can to help, to make the world better, but some days…"

Taylor leaned her head back.

"Some days, it doesn't feel like enough."

Sarah did her best to just listen.

It was quiet for a while.

"I… erased… some people," Taylor closed her eyes. "Bad people. People the world is definitely better off without. But I wasn't thinking of that, when I ended their existence. I just… I saw… I saw what they did, and I…"

Wow. That was a lot. Sarah felt kind of shallow for worrying about idiots at school and Reggie's bullshit.

"I could have just stopped them. Could have contained them, or something, instead. But I didn't. I just… removed them," Taylor whispered.

Sarah squeezed Taylor's hand reassuringly.

She wasn't sure what the normal response was to one's time-traveling, reality-warping best friend admitting to murder, but all she felt was concern. For Taylor.

That should be a bit concerning, but Sarah didn't really care.

"What can I do to help?" Sarah asked. She hated feeling so useless. She was supposed to take care of Taylor, and she didn't know how.

"You're doing great," Taylor smiled sadly. "I'm happy you're here. Happy I found you again. It was a good time to land somewhere happy. Maybe my power doesn't totally hate me."

"Let's do something happy, then," Sarah said, forcing a smile in a slightly vain attempt to lighten the mood. Taylor seemed to appreciate it, even if it must have looked a bit fake. "What do you do for fun, normally?"

Taylor bit her lip and looked almost… mischievous. Sarah was suddenly less sure of this plan.

"So. My friend and I. We call it 'falling with style'," Taylor said. "It's totally safe, trust me, but it's… not for the faint of heart."

"Try me," Sarah said with slightly more confidence than she actually felt.

"Okay. Come here, then," Taylor's grin widened.

"Oh. Um. Sure," Sarah blinked.

She let Taylor pull her into a hug, letting go of her hand in the process. Taylor's arms wrapped tightly around her lower back.

Taylor was… sturdy. And strong. More so than Sarah expected.

Taylor's lips were also close to her ear. Sarah wasn't all that much shorter than her, anymore.

"Its less disorientating if you look up," Taylor said in a low voice. Sarah shivered, and not from the cold.

Sarah halfway followed the instructions, looking up into Taylor's face.

She was very close. It was disorienting. Black pupils stark against bright white irises. Otherworldly, and pretty, framed with wild midnight curls.

"Ready?" Taylor asked.

Sarah had no idea what she was ready for, but she nodded, anyway. She trusted Taylor.

"Localized reversal," Taylor said.

Sarah's stomach abruptly flew into her throat as they fell away from the ground, plummeting head-first towards the night sky overhead.

Disorientating didn't even begin to cover it. Sarah tried to scream, but her jaw was clamped shut, so all that came out was a sad, strangled whine.

Taylor was laughing. That didn't make it better.

The cold winter air whipped past them at hurricane speeds. It started to feel like they were being pushed upwards, back towards the ground. Surely this much force pressing against them meant they had to be moving upwards, right? Or was it downwards?

Nothing made sense. Sarah desperately fought with her traitorous stomach to avoid throwing up in Taylor's face.

She didn't look down… or was it up? Towards the ground, whatever fucking direction that was, now, but they must have been thousands of feet up. The air was frigid. They were almost level with the thin, wispy clouds.

"And… release," Taylor said.

Sarah's stomach dropped all the way into her toes as gravity reasserted itself, and now their descent was rapidly slowing in the opposite direction. Any second now, they were going to fall to their deaths and it would be all Taylor's fault. Stupid, overconfident, impossible magic time-traveling little shit-

At the very top of their 'fall' the sky hung still and silent for the briefest moment.

And suddenly, Sarah was standing on a solid, sturdy platform of translucent glass.

She gasped for air, clinging to Taylor with a death-grip that she couldn't let go of if her life depended on it. Which it kind of did, since Taylor was clearly trying to kill them.

Her jaw could finally unlock now that they weren't actively falling, so Sarah took advantage of the situation to scream at the top of her lungs.

"Wow, right in my ear," Taylor muttered when Sarah ran out of breath. "How's it going over there?"

Sarah took a deep breath and screamed again. Just to spite her.

Taylor just laughed.

"Come on. You have to admit that was kind of fun," Taylor smiled widely. At least her melancholy mood seemed to be long gone.

"I admit nothing of the sort," Sarah gasped. "That was terrifying. You do that for fun?"

"I mean, yeah. Maybe it's less terrifying for me because I'm the one in control. Like driving vs riding shotgun or whatever," Taylor shrugged. "But it's so cool! Look."

Taylor tried to let go of her, but Sarah's vice grip on her jacket hadn't loosened one bit.

"I think it's less terrifying for you because you're obviously insane. Or suicidal," Sarah snapped.

Taylor's face fell. She looked legitimately crestfallen, and hurt, and Sarah flinched.

"Sorry. I didn't mean that," Sarah tried to make her voice gentle, despite her still-racing heartbeat.

Taylor nodded, but the dark clouds didn't dissipate fully.

Sarah took a deep breath and looked out over the lattice of lights far below, the suburbs laid out before them in an endless grid.

"You're right. This is really cool," Sarah tried again.

"I like being up here, like this," Taylor said quietly. "The rest of the world seems so far away. Like it can't weigh me down, this high up. Like one of my worlds, but real."

Sarah leaned her head against Taylor's shoulder.

"Your worlds sound beautiful. The ones I've seen are, anyway," Sarah whispered.

She didn't know why she was whispering. Obviously no one could hear them, up here. She'd been screaming a moment ago.

"Do you want to see one?" Taylor asked. Her voice sounded weirdly… fragile. "I figured out how to bring them into the real world, without losing myself. I think I can make it just for us, so everyone down below doesn't freak the fuck out."

"I'd love to," Sarah smiled at her. Genuinely, this time. She'd dreamed of the Amethyst stream and the glass trees ever since that first day. And the Christmas tree had been dazzling.

"Do you want to see the world of stars, or my glass forest, again?" Taylor seemed pleased with her answer. Good to know that her slip hadn't ruined everything, at least.

It was tempting to see a new world, but Sarah knew what she wanted.

"I want to see the amethyst river, again," she said. "And the magic forest."

"Okay," Taylor whispered.

Taylor let her head fall back, and her eyes glowed even brighter than usual. Strange, ethereal light, in the empty sky.

"Spatial shift: Domain Intrusion," Taylor intoned.

Sarah would have to remember to ask about the narrating thing.

Later.

Right now, she couldn't do anything but stare.

The night sky around them lit up with impossibly brilliant moonlight, filtering through the layers of prismatic glass leaves overhead. Towering trees lined the edges of the amethyst river, sentinels as far as she could see in every direction. The river itself flowed around them on both sides, their platform now a tiny island in the middle of the purple rapids.

It was stunning. Impossible, alien, and wonderful, all at once.

The stars overhead were dyed every color possible by the leaves. Behind them, three separate moons hung low over the horizon.

Sarah couldn't tell what was real, anymore. It was amazing.

She looked back at Taylor, and almost lost her breath all over again.

Taylor had her head tipped towards the sky, languishing in the reflected pearlescent light. Her face was finally, finally relaxed, and serene.

Sarah never personally experienced the kind of attraction that her books and her classmates and her parents described in, frankly, disturbing detail. Never wanted to be close to anyone, like that. It just… didn't seem important. Wasn't something she wanted, or found appealing.

She still didn't feel it. This was something… different. Some combination of awe, and wonder, and appreciation. A desire for companionship. Connection. Something that mattered.

Taylor was incredible. Impossible, just like her worlds. Just being around her made Sarah feel alive, and important. She wanted Taylor to be happy. Taylor deserved to be happy. And Sarah wanted to spend every second figuring out how to be the one to do it. Wanted to appreciate her. Figure out what made her tick.

But Taylor always left. Even if it wasn't her fault. And they never knew when, rarely got the chance to say goodbye. It all felt so… fleeting. It wasn't fair.

Speaking of which…

A sudden thought yanked Sarah out of her bittersweet reverie like a hangman's noose.

"Taylor, this is beautiful, and absolutely amazing, but it just occurred to me… what would happen if you left, by accident, right now?" Sarah asked nervously.

Taylor blinked and looked at her in confusion for a moment.

"Oh. Right. You'd probably be stuck up here. At least, I think the platform would stick around…"

She didn't sound all that sure, though.

"I love this, so much, but, um, maybe we could look at the view from the ground?" Sarah suggested.

Luckily Taylor just laughed.

"Yeah, of course, let me just-"

Taylor disappeared into thin air.

"Taylor!" Sarah screamed.

This could not be happening. It was absurd. How would she-

Taylor's arms wrapped around her again, and Taylor was laughing in her ear.

"Sorry. I couldn't help myself," Taylor said. "I can bend light around me. Makes me invisible, kind of."

"That… wasn't… funny," Sarah forced out in between her own gasps.

She let herself melt against Taylor's chest, anyway. At least Taylor was still here.

"It was a little bit funny," Taylor grinned. "Okay, back to the ground, now?"

"Yes. Please tell me there's a different way back down. I don't want to fall again," Sarah said.

She sounded kind of whiny to her own ears, but she really didn't want to throw up on Taylor. Her limit for adrenaline-junky activities was several life-threatening situations ago, at this point.

"Yeah, there is. It's easy, one sec. Just…" Taylor looked at the ground far below, and focused. "Spatial shift: Bypass."

Taylor pulled her one step forward…

And they were on the ground, in the snow, again.

Sarah managed not to fall to her knees, because that would probably hurt Taylor's feelings, but it was a close thing.

"I loved the view. And your worlds," Sarah said. "I'm less sure about the falling, but that might just take… practice?"

She didn't sound very convincing, even to herself.

Taylor laughed again.

Sarah felt her own worries slipping away, when Taylor laughed like that. It was nice, compared to the haunted eyes earlier.

"I'm curious," Sarah asked, separating from Taylor just enough to take her hand instead of being locked in her arms. "Why do you name your… powers? Techniques? Strategies?"

Taylor looked a bit sheepish.

"From a practical standpoint, it's so people have some idea of what I'm about to do. My power is so wacky, it's disorienting at the best of times. It's a lot worse if you don't know what's about to happen," Taylor glanced at her. "You got to experience that first hand. I kinda forgot how wild it can be, if you aren't used to it."

Sarah just laughed. Taylor was cute when she was embarrassed.

"And from a non-practical standpoint?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.

Taylor actually blushed. It was fantastic.

"I… well, I also just think it's kind of cool." Taylor admitted.

God, I love her so much.

That unexpected wayward thought managed to completely derail Sarah's brain to the point that she almost forgot to say anything in response.

"Want to know something?" Sarah grinned crookedly to hide the ever-so-slightly overwhelming internal panic. "I think it's kind of cool, too."

Taylor smiled back, for real, this time. Her brilliant white eyes glowed in the forest, the glass leaves still sprawling high overhead and-

Then Sarah's hand was empty, and the leaves were dark, again.

Sarah couldn't cry, anymore.

But she really, really wanted to, right now.

…

Chapter Text

Opal 2.3

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

"Guess they're right."

Taylor wasn't sure what else to say. Part of her wanted to tell Sarah about Leviathan, or to ask one of the millions of questions that had been bouncing around in her brain since she got that text the night before, but Sarah had already run away once. Taylor didn't want to scare her off again.

Sarah's smile was brittle, but definitely present now. And she hadn't told Taylor to leave immediately, which was a good start. Taylor tried not to let the hope bloom too brightly in her chest. Hope would kill her more effectively than being alone ever could.

"Your eyes are different," Sarah observed.

Taylor blinked. She'd actually forgotten about that. She'd always been displaced when she was with Sarah, before, her power constantly active to keep her present in that… well, present.

"Oh. Yeah, they only turn white while I'm using my power, and I'm not, right now, so…" Taylor trailed off.

There were so many things they still had to talk about. Taylor didn't know where to start.

"I didn't know that," Sarah said.

"I didn't tell you."

She hadn't told Sarah a lot of things. Some, because she physically couldn't, and some because she hadn't wanted to. Taylor honestly wasn't sure which was which, anymore.

Her stomach twisted. It wasn't entirely her fault, but some of it was. Some of it was Sarah's fault. A lot of it was no one's fault. Taylor thought she was done feeling guilty. Apparently not.

"Sarah, I'm sor-

"Don't," Sarah cut her off sharply. Her voice had an edge to it that it'd never had, before. "Don't apologize to me."

Right. This Sarah had lived through… whatever had happened to her in the last year and a half. This wasn't the girl in the forest who held her hand and called her 'honey'.

Part of her still was, though. Probably. The text, the way she'd said 'found you', the way she said what day it was, for her…

"Okay," Taylor said. "I won't."

The moonlit street was silent, for a while.

"I go by Lisa, now," Sarah said.

A new name, for a new life. Just like her note had said.

But Sarah had reached out first. She'd invited Taylor back in. One remaining piece, from before.

Taylor didn't know what role Sarah… Lisa… wanted her to play in her new life. It had to be her choice. Taylor would be anything she wanted, until she told her to leave.

"Do you want me to call you Lisa?" Taylor asked carefully.

Do you want to forget what we had, and start fresh?

Do you want me to remember?

Do you remember?

"I don't know," Sarah said.

Taylor nodded. She wasn't sure what she wanted, either. Maybe she didn't have to decide right this second.

"Well… um… let me know when you decide?" Taylor said. Her uncertain tone made the statement into a question.

Silence fell, again. It might have been awkward, but Taylor wasn't sure. She was really, really tired.

Sarah took a deep breath.

Taylor decided, internally, that Sarah would be Sarah, until Sarah told her otherwise. Easier to keep things straight in her head, that way.

Besides. She didn't want to forget. Not really. She never forgot anything about Sarah.

But she would. If Sarah asked her to.

"You should probably come inside," Sarah sighed.

…

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

Sarah led her through an old industrial warehouse, up a spiral staircase, and into what Taylor assumed was the Undersiders' hideout. Part of her automatically filed that information away, before she remembered that she wasn't a Ward, anymore.

The wide open space was pretty dim, just a couple unscented candles in jars on the kitchen counters to keep it from being pitch dark. Two couches divided the main area of the loft, facing what used to be two TVs and several gaming systems. More Bakuda victims, unfortunately.

A lanky boy with dark hair lounged on one of the couches with exaggeratedly bad posture. Regent, probably? Too short to be Grue. He wasn't wearing a mask, but then again, neither was Sarah. Neither was she, for that matter.

She wasn't Wanderer, anymore. Just Taylor, the 'compromised Class-S asset'.

"Who's the new girl?" Regent asked without moving. His half-closed eyes jumped between her and Sarah. "Also, did you really beat up Bitch?"

Taylor wasn't sure how to answer that. She decided less was probably more.

"Taylor."

Regent nodded idly.

"You a cape?"

Well. She wasn't about to lie.

"Yes," Taylor said.

"What do you do?" Regent asked. He didn't seem on edge, and his posture didn't change. He just looked… bored, honestly.

Taylor figured there was no point in lying about this, either. In for a penny…

"I manipulate reality. Also time travel," Taylor answered.

"Thats cool," Regent said without batting an eye. "So, you from the future, or what?"

"Sort of. And the past. It's complicated," Taylor grinned despite herself. His uncaring attitude was kind of refreshing.

She looked over at Sarah.

"Actually, we need to talk about that," Taylor said. "The future, at least."

Maybe not the past, yet. Not tonight.

Sarah stared at her blankly for a second. Taylor couldn't tell what was going on behind her facade.

"My room's this way," Sarah said after a moment. She led the way down the hall, past a closed door with a crown on it and an open door into the bathroom.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Regent called. His voice was still flat. Monotone, despite his teasing words. "Or anything I would, either."

"Go fuck yourself," Sarah called over her shoulder.

"I just might-"

Sarah closed her bedroom door behind them, cutting off Regent's taunting.

Sarah's room was… clean. Spartan. She had a desk crammed against one wall with a laptop on it, and a desk chair. An unmade double bed filled more than half the small space, shoved into the opposite corner. A single lit candle sat on the desk.

One of the walls was brick, the outside of the old warehouse. The others were painted purple.

That made Taylor smile.

Taylor wasn't sure whether she was supposed to sit or stand. The bed looked really comfortable right now, but Sarah probably wouldn't like that. Standing, it was.

"So… you run a gang?" Taylor asked without looking at her host. She kept her voice neutral.

"Grue's the leader," Sarah said conversationally. Keeping it light. Taylor appreciated that. Everything felt really heavy, right now. "I'm ops and intelligence, for the most part, but my power works best in person, so I end up along for the ride most of the time. Plus, it wouldn't be fair if I got to hang back and let the others take all the risks."

Taylor nodded and chewed her lip. She wasn't sure if she should ask, but she was extremely curious. Sarah had just been a regular human, the last time they'd talked. Well, last time aside from the bank, and the Bakuda thing, but those didn't really count.

"Can I ask…" Taylor trailed off.

Luckily, Sarah seemed to get it.

"Like I told GG at the bank," Sarah grinned crookedly. "I'm psychic."

Wow. That was awesome. Can you hear this, Sarah? Are you listening, right now?

Sarah didn't say anything, so Taylor decided to answer out loud. Maybe Sarah's power wasn't on all the time. Or maybe it didn't work on her. Taylor's extra-dimensional existence fucked with a lot of Thinker powers. Watchdog couldn't track her at all, much to their continual irritation.

"That's… really cool. I wish I could read people's minds. Would have helped with the whole Bakuda thing," Taylor grumbled. She knew it was stupid, complaining about the one thing she couldn't do when she could do functionally anything else. "But it also has to kind of suck, right? People say enough awful shit out loud. I'm sure their thoughts are way worse. Are you reading my mind right now?"

Maybe that idea should bother her, but it really didn't. Everything would be easier if Sarah could just read her mind. Less awkward than saying everything out loud. More efficient, too. Definitely useful for combat situations, especially with how messy her own power could make things. Having a Thinker who knew what she was going to do before she did it would be extremely useful.

"No, actually, my power doesn't work on you," Sarah said. Taylor could see some mix of conflicted feelings warring behind Sarah's eyes, but she couldn't identify what they were. "You're special. Just like always."

Bittersweet. Like always. Poor, lost little Wanderer. So powerful, so unique, but always too late. Special, and magic, but always alone.

"Figures," Taylor muttered. "Being special isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know."

At least she wasn't Wanderer, anymore. Being Taylor was easier.

"Yeah. I figured that part out for myself, crazily enough," Sarah said sardonically.

Taylor wasn't sure if she was talking about the time traveling, the running away, the becoming a villain, or something else entirely. Maybe all of the above.

They stared at each other across Sarah's bedroom. Taylor wasn't sure what to say, and Sarah seemed to be content to just… watch her, with an unreadable expression. Taylor couldn't bring herself to look into her eyes for very long.

"I went forward, after Bakuda," Taylor said. Sarah deserved to know. "Landed right smack in front of Leviathan."

Sarah's eyes widened.

"Here? In Brockton?"

"Yeah. I tried to…" Taylor bit her lip, trying to decide how to summarize. Sarah already knew how her power worked, for the most part. "I figured that I wouldn't be able to just erase him, so I used a full reality shift to drag him into a different world, but he just ripped his way out and killed me."

Sarah flinched. Taylor wasn't sure why.

"I like it better when you call it discorporation," Sarah said.

Oh. Yeah, that was probably disconcerting for mortals.

Taylor sat down on the edge of the bed. It really had been a long day. Sarah didn't complain. That was probably a good sign.

"That's the thing," Taylor said. This felt almost… comfortable. Like before. "I was already discorporated. Endbringers… they're something different."

Sarah nodded thoughtfully. She didn't look all that freaked out, considering Taylor had just told her that their city was going to get destroyed soon. Well, even more destroyed.

Taylor took a deep breath. This was going to be the hard sell.

"I'm going to find a way to kill him, Sarah," Taylor said. "Leviathan. And once I figure out how, I'm going to kill the others, too. And any more that show up, later. And I'd… I'd really like it if you helped me do it."

Sarah's expression was carefully controlled in a way it'd never been before. Sarah wasn't just the girl in the woods, anymore. Part of Sarah was Lisa. Tattletale.

Then Sarah smiled. It was a harder, sharper expression than before, but Sarah's familiar crooked grin was still in there, somewhere.

"I guess we've got our work cut out for us, then," Sarah said.

Taylor's stomach loosened, and her heart soared. Sarah wasn't going to ask her to leave. Sarah was going to help.

Maybe it was okay to hope, after all.

Taylor yawned widely, then chuckled to herself.

Maybe the End-slaying could wait until tomorrow.

"I think I need to sleep first, though," Taylor said. "I've been awake since Friday morning. Plus, y'know, time travelling."

Sarah nodded, and sat down in her desk chair. She swiveled in what looked like a well-practiced motion and opened her laptop, just to realize that it was fried, and close it again.

"Bed's right there," Sarah said casually. "Shower's next door. The water heater's ancient, but it's gas, so at least that's not dead. Towels are in the cabinet under the sink. There should be a fresh toothbrush in the top left drawer."

Taylor blinked.

Sarah wanted her to stay… here? With her?

That was… Wow. Okay. Sure. Totally fine. Nothing to freak out about. Better than sleeping on a random couch in a villain lair.

"Oh. Alright… Thanks…"

Taylor wasn't sure what else to do, or say, so she left her glasses on Sarah's bedside table and left to find the bathroom they'd passed on their way in. It was pitch dark, in the bathroom, but Taylor didn't need light to see.

The shower could use a cleaning. Or three. Maybe she'd take care of that later, if she got to stay. If Sarah wanted her to stay.

The hot water was wonderful. Taylor didn't even really have to focus to keep the walls from growing thorns. Or turning the water purple.

It would be extremely stupid if Colin found her because she turned the water purple while daydreaming in the shower. That was assuming Dauntless' lightning shot hadn't killed him.

As tempting as it was to stay under the warm spray all night, Taylor really did need to sleep. Plus, Sarah was waiting for her.

That thought made her stomach squirm, but it wasn't unpleasant. Just… different. Good different.

She brushed her teeth in the dark.

Shit. She didn't have fresh clothes. Her previous outfit was kind of dirty from walking around half the city, and she didn't want to put it back on after her shower. It felt like that would defeat the purpose.

Taylor could always just create more clothes, but she was trying to avoid generating any spatial distortions in the Undersiders hideout if she could help it. The PRT had to be looking for her by now.

Whatever. She didn't really care. What the fuck was modesty, anyway? Her body wasn't even real.

Taylor wrapped a towel around herself and poked her head out of the bathroom door.

She almost tripped over the stack of neatly folded clothes sitting on the floor in front of the door. Comfy looking sweatpants, and a purple T-shirt.

Sarah left clothes for her?

Oh. That was… good. Definitely good, right?

Taylor pulled on the borrowed pajamas and made her way back to Sarah's bedroom. The living room was dark, now. Apparently Regent had gone to bed at some point. At least he'd been responsible enough to blow out the candles.

Sarah was still sitting in her desk chair, eyes closed.

Taylor still wasn't sure what to say, so she didn't say anything right away. Sarah had said that she could sleep in her bed, but it still felt almost presumptuous to just… tuck herself in. She settled for sitting down on the edge of the bed, instead.

"Thanks for the clothes," Taylor said eventually.

"Don't mention it," Sarah opened her eyes, and grinned. She seemed more… centered, than before. Relaxed. "Seriously, don't. Regent is already going to give me enough shit for letting you sleep in here."

"I can sleep on the couch-"

"No, thank you," Sarah said.

Taylor floundered for a moment. This was all… a lot. Today had been a lot. Sarah was a lot.

But Taylor couldn't bring herself to regret any of it. Not when Sarah was here.

Sarah sighed, and stood from her desk chair.

"Scoot over," Sarah ordered.

Taylor moved sideways on the bed to make room for her to sit on the edge beside her, but apparently that wasn't what Sarah meant.

"Not like that. Are you going to sleep sitting up? Lie down, honey," Sarah's tone softened.

Taylor felt her cheeks heating up, and she couldn't even figure out why. She wasn't about to say 'no', though. Taylor pushed herself back from the edge of the bed and stretched out on her side, her back to the far wall.

Sarah blew the lone candle out, and darkness filled the room.

Taylor could feel her moving carefully, in the dark. The bedsprings creaked under her weight. Taylor held herself still to avoid tipping towards the dip made by Sarah's body. She didn't want to fall into her by accident, touch her by accident, if that wasn't what Sarah wanted.

Sarah laid down next to her, also on her side, facing away from her in the dark.

Taylor's nerves felt like live wires, pulled taut. She didn't want to scare Sarah away again, but she wanted…

Sarah reached back behind her and patted her hand over the blanket like she was looking for something. Taylor tensed automatically, frozen on the bed behind her. Sarah's hand landed on her hip. The unexpected touch almost managed to jolt Taylor out of her rigid stillness before it continued to move up her side. For a moment, Taylor thought Sarah was trying to hold her hand, but instead she grabbed Taylor's wrist and pulled Taylor's arm around her middle.

The movement also pulled Sarah's body back against her, and suddenly Taylor couldn't think of anything else.

Sarah was here. Sarah was touching her. Cuddled up beside her, even if she wouldn't look at her.

Taylor forced herself to relax as much as she could, but it was a lost cause. She tentatively tightened her grip around Sarah's stomach, laying her head down to rest on the pillow behind her. Sarah reached up to move her ponytail out of the way.

Taylor didn't know what to do with her other arm. How did normal people cuddle? Why hadn't she thought about this before now? The logistics were-

Sarah reached back again and pulled Taylor's pinned arm forward under her head, under the pillow, before settling back down again, still facing away from her.

Taylor was having a bit of trouble breathing correctly. That was weird. She consciously tried to relax, again, with similarly unproductive results. Her ankle was touching Sarah's calf. The back of her knee, her thigh, her back. Taylor felt like she was hyper-aware of every point of contact.

"Is this okay?" Taylor asked softly.

"Obviously."

Taylor could hear the smirk in Sarah's voice. At least someone was enjoying themselves.

Not that Taylor was complaining.

The knot in her stomach wouldn't loosen, though. She wasn't sure how long she laid there, tense and spiraling in the dark.

It really was inconvenient that Sarah couldn't read her thoughts. Stupid power, messing up everything.

"Sarah…" Taylor forced herself to say out loud eventually. "Do you want to talk about-"

"No."

"Okay."

Right. Maybe it was better to let everything rest, for now. If only Taylor could make her stupid body listen. At least she wasn't growing thorns. She felt almost painfully present, currently. Her worlds seemed very far away.

Taylor's thoughts didn't want to shut up, either.

"Is it okay if I still call you Sarah?" Taylor whispered. She couldn't help herself. She suddenly wasn't all that tired, anymore.

"...Yeah," Sarah answered after a long moment. "Just not in public. Or in front of the others. Only when I'm with you, okay? The rest of the time, I'm Lisa."

"Okay," Taylor said again.

She knew this was going to be complicated, but that little confirmation made her happy. Sarah didn't want to forget.

"Are you sure-" Taylor started to ask.

"I thought you needed to sleep?" Sarah cut her off. Taylor could hear the indulgent smile in her voice, but there was a core of something sharper, raw and exposed, underneath.

Sarah didn't want to open too many metaphorical boxes, tonight. Maybe that was for the best. Taylor would let herself enjoy the moment, enjoy getting to hold her, again, and the rest could wait until morning.

"Sorry," Taylor said.

"I told you not to apologize."

"Sor-"

"Taylor," Sarah cut her off with a low laugh. "Go to sleep."

"Right," Taylor said. She couldn't stop smiling. Sleep might be difficult, like this, but it was worth it. "Goodnight, Sarah."

Sarah's breathing hitched, but she didn't answer.

Taylor's pulse eventually slowed, and she managed to relax some of her weary muscles. Sarah's body was warm against hers, her breathing slow and even, now. Taylor was weirdly self-conscious about her own breathing, which was stupid, but she couldn't help it. She tried to time her breaths with Sarah's. Which was also stupid.

It took way longer than it should have for her to actually fall asleep, but Taylor didn't regret a single second. She'd never have enough time with Sarah.

…

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

Taylor woke up early, for the second day in a row. It felt early, at least, despite her late night. There weren't any windows in Lisa's room, so she couldn't tell if it was light outside yet.

Awareness flooded back to her almost instantly. Taylor was always overly aware of her surroundings, always careful not to grow thorns or slip through the cracks by accident. She was part of the canvas, as much as she was also its paintress.

Purple walls. Not her own, though.

Sarah's.

Sarah was asleep beside her, still hugging Taylor's arm tightly to her chest. The blankets were bunched up at the foot of the bed, discarded at some point during the night. It was warm, in the loft. Almost uncomfortably so. Heat rises, and the AC clearly died with the rest of the electronics.

This was, by a considerable margin, the best morning of Taylor's life.

Part of her would rather die than move right now, but some things were, unfortunately, necessary, even for her. Plus, she could start some coffee while she was up. Sarah probably still liked coffee.

Taylor carefully extricated her very numb arm from under Sarah's head, then levered herself over the foot of the bed. Sarah shifted, and mumbled something unintelligible, but didn't wake up.

Her face was so relaxed, when she was asleep. Both the Sarah from last night and from before never let her guard down that much when she was awake. Her expressions were always alive, watching, picking apart the world around her with careful precision.

Taylor's chest ached, but it wasn't nearly as bittersweet as it used to be. Sarah was here. She was real.

Taylor grabbed her glasses off the bedside table and slid out of Sarah's bedroom as quietly as she could, closing the door lightly behind her. She turned to head towards the bathroom.

There was a very tall, muscular black guy with neat cornrows leaning against the kitchen counter at the end of the hall.

He stared at Taylor.

Taylor stared at him.

Taylor became uncomfortably aware that she was wearing Sarah's clothes.

It wasn't much of a consolation, but the stranger seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

"Good morning," Taylor said. She didn't know what else she was supposed to say.

"Morning," the stranger said. Probably Grue? "Not to be rude, but… who're you?"

"I'm Taylor. I'm… um… Lisa's… friend."

Maybe she should just go ahead and discorporate right now. That was a suitable way to get out of an awkward conversation, right? Try again another time?

"That's… okay. Wish she would've given me a heads up. I guess the phones are out, but…" Grue trailed off.

At least Taylor wasn't alone in her awkwardness. Maybe she should have just woken up Sarah, after all.

Grue sighed heavily.

"So… Do you know…" he didn't seem to know how to ask.

Taylor was reasonably sure he was referring to the 'being a villain gang' thing.

"Yeah. Lisa… recruited me?"

That was pretty close to the truth, in a roundabout kind of way.

"You're a cape?" Grue asked. He tensed ever so slightly, even though Taylor could tell he tried not to show it.

"Yeah," Taylor said again. "We've met, actually. Very briefly. With Bakuda. And at the bank?"

Maybe that wasn't the best way to lead into this, but Taylor had no fucking idea what she was doing, and she still had to pee.

"We… what?"

"I may or may not have reversed your personal gravity, for a bit. Took that bomb out of your nose, too," Taylor shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. Hopefully he'd play along.

"You're a Ward?" Grue hissed. "Wanderer?"

Not being chill about this, then. Understandable, but annoying. It would be really inconvenient if Grue gave himself an aneurysm or something on her watch. That'd be hard to explain to Sarah. She'd have to do a full reality shift to heal him, and that would be a whole thing.

"Not anymore. I'm pretty sure sinking the PHQ and running away counts as my resignation," Taylor couldn't help but smile. She still felt weirdly weightless. Like nothing could touch her, now. "They tried to take me in for M/S holding and disciplinary review after I let you go, and I… disagreed."

Grue just stared at her blankly for a solid four seconds.

"Lisa!" He yelled suddenly. "Get your ass out here. Now."

"She's sleeping-" Taylor protested automatically.

"You sunk the PHQ?" Grue cut her off. "Do you have any idea how-"

"Yeah, I do, thanks," Taylor shot back. "It's my life I'm fucking up, in case you hadn't noticed."

"And ours, by extension, apparently!"

"Yours are already doomed," Taylor said coldly. "Leviathan is coming in less than a month, and-"

"Leviathan?" Grue gawked.

"Too loud, children," Lisa groaned as she opened the door. "Brian, meet Taylor. Shaker twelve, PRT's unofficial hit-woman, involuntary time-traveler. Taylor, meet Brian, long-suffering old man of our team."

"Time traveler? Is that even possible?" Grue… Brian… still looked decidedly unsure about this whole thing.

"Seeing how future-Taylor stopped past-Taylor from arresting us at the bank, and I spent Christmas 2007 with a fifteen-year-old version of her then ate ice cream with a fourteen-year-old version of her six months later, I'm confident that she does, in fact, time travel," Lisa said dryly.

Brian just stared. Again.

"That's never happened before, by the way," Taylor said in Lisa's direction. "The whole 'stopping myself' thing. I mean, it seems like the only explanation, but it's still weird. In the past I've only been able to do what I've already done, and there's usually only one version of me running around at a time. So why did I stop myself that time, and not… others?"

"Maybe something's changed, by the time you come back to interfere," Lisa said. "But I can't be sure. My power doesn't work on you, remember?"

"You're still the smart one," Taylor pointed out.

That made Lisa smile. Just a little bit, but it wasn't crooked.

"Wait, so you two…" Brian trailed off again.

"I didn't know Taylor was Wanderer until the bank. I was just a wee bit conflicted about contacting a Ward, afterward, for obvious reasons, but then Bakuda happened and that went out the window," Lisa said.

"And I didn't know Lisa was Tattletale until I came to save you from Bakuda," Taylor added.

"Sure. That's… whatever. Fine," Brian sighed. "So… what? You want to join the team?"

"Not exactly," Taylor said. She didn't actually want to be a villain, even if she might technically be one currently by process of elimination.

"We're going to kill Leviathan," Lisa said with a faux, overly upbeat tone.

Brian looked like this was the longest morning of his life, and it wasn't even… what time was it, anyway? All the clocks were fried.

"Now that that's straightened out, no more talking about killing Endbringers until after coffee," Lisa declared. "You brought the camp stove, right?"

Brian nodded wearily.

Lisa made her way to the kitchen, running one hand idly over Taylor's back on her way past, like it was totally normal. Like the casual touch didn't send an electric jolt down Taylor's spine.

Hopefully Brian didn't notice.

Since Lisa apparently had her team's leader well in hand, Taylor finally managed to make her escape to the bathroom.

…

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

Taylor had the strangest sense of déjà vu, and she couldn't put her finger on why. Usually, this feeling was caused by time traveling wackiness, but this time it didn't feel like it.

Lisa wrote '5/15/2011' at the top of the whiteboard. Taylor, Brian, and a somewhat-awake Regent, whose name was apparently Alec, sat on the couches with their coffee.

"Okay. We have less than a month until Leviathan hits Brockton," Lisa said. "On Taylor's first loop, she arrived in the middle of the battle, spoke to Vista, tried to heal Gallant, failed, tried to send Leviathan to the void, failed, then died. Sound about right, Taylor?"

Oh. That's why. This was uncomfortably similar to a Wards debrief. Whiteboard and everything.

Also. Taylor was well aware that her short conflict with Leviathan hadn't gone well, but Lisa didn't have to say it like that.

Whatever.

"Yeah," Taylor said. "Vista acted like I hadn't been there yet, so either my subsequent loops fall after that, or future-me doesn't contact her during the displacement."

"Or future-you told her to act like that, so you could get yourself the date of the attack, so that you could relay the information to past-Vista and begin preparing with us," Lisa pointed out.

"It's always possible, but I don't think so. Vista was… emotionally compromised, at the time. I don't think she'd seen me in a while."

"Okay, we'll run with that, then. Vista thought you weren't coming, which either means future-you won't see present-her until the day of the attack, or you'll see her but leave her with the impression that you aren't coming. Which would be weird, considering she already knows you visited the future during your last displacement," Lisa hummed thoughtfully.

"Wow. I already hate this with a burning passion I didn't know I was still capable of," Alec said. "Thank you for teaching me that there are, in fact, new and interesting kinds of torture I haven't experienced."

Lisa and Taylor both ignored him. Brian just looked vaguely shell-shocked. He'd probably be fine.

Lisa started a new column, labelled 'ineffective'. She added 'temporal reversion' under the header.

"What'd you name the void shift thingy?" Lisa asked.

"Full reality shift: Absolute Isolation."

Lisa wrote it down. She added another column, this one labeled 'untested', then filled in 'localized reversal', 'temporal shift: Relative Acceleration', and 'spatial shift: Domain Intrusion'.

It took Taylor a moment to realize that Lisa remembered those. Taylor had said her stupid, made up names once, years ago, and Lisa remembered.

Taylor didn't know how to feel about that, but it was good. Definitely good.

"Do you have a name for your erasing thing?" Lisa asked.

"Um… no. But I have to use a 'full reality shift: Absolute Jurisdiction' if I want to hit more than one target simultaneously," Taylor said.

"Do I even want to know what you mean by 'erase'?" Brian said as Lisa updated the board.

"I can delete people. Or anything, really. Reality manipulation, and people are part of reality. I mean, it's basically just killing them, but it's more effective than shooting them or something," Taylor shrugged.

"Metal," Alec said appreciatively in his usual monotone.

Brian shot Lisa a look. Lisa just shrugged, too.

"Alrighty, then," Lisa said. "Time to put together some test runs."

This was exactly why Taylor didn't bother to record her wanderings. Trying to make sense of them got very complicated, very quickly.

But Lisa was helping, so Taylor decided not to complain. It was still a hell of a lot better than Colin or Dean running the presentation.

…

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009.

Sarah couldn't decide if summer vacation was worse than school or not.

In theory, it should be better. Less dealing with all the shallow idiots and their petty problems. Less listening to them call Reggie 'Rex' while he sauntered around and ignored her.

But during the summer, she was alone. Despite how much people could annoy her, Sarah also hated being alone.

She missed Taylor. It felt like longer, since she'd visited, this time. The snow-covered forest and the shining amethyst river in the sky felt like a dream.

The extra time at the house that wasn't really home wasn't a good thing, either. Her mother didn't exactly work a regular nine-to-five, and Sarah never knew when her demands would start. They had people to do all the cooking, cleaning, everything that needed done, and yet Sarah somehow never did enough.

Not enough, and simultaneously too much, at the same time. Story of her life.

Rex was the favorite. The golden child.

They only pretended to care about her as an excuse to belittle her.

I wouldn't be so hard on you if I didn't care, Sarah.

I wouldn't yell if I didn't care, Sarah.

Would you rather I just stopped bothering? That I didn't care? Would that be better, Sarah?

It would be better. At least that way, she wouldn't have to listen to it.

But saying that wouldn't work, either.

It was even worse on days like today, when it was raining too heavily to walk in the woods. Damn rain, taking away her only escape option.

"Sarah!" Her mother's voice echoed up the stairs.

Speak of the devil…

"Is that your mom?" Taylor asked from where she sat perched on the edge of Sarah's desk.

Sarah managed not to scream, but it was a close call.

"Taylor!" Sarah hissed. "You can't keep doing that!"

"Doing what?" Taylor cocked her head to one side. It would have been cute, if Sarah wasn't busy panicking.

Taylor looked young, again. Almost like she had in the meadow surrounded by thorns.

"Scaring me," Sarah said.

"I haven't scared you before," Taylor frowned. "Have I?"

"Future-you has, before," Sarah said quietly. "You made me think you abandoned me on a floating platform in the sky, one time."

"That doesn't sound like me at all."

Sarah couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

"Sarah!" Her mother's voice was closer, now.

"Not that I'm not super excited to see you, but you should probably hide," Sarah whispered.

"Why? Is your mom mean or something?"

"Yeah, let's go with that," Sarah said. "Quick, just get under the bed and I'll-"

"Sarah, can't you hear me? I've been calling you."

The door started to open. Dread flooded Sarah's veins like ice-water.

Then, the moving door slowed to an almost-stop.

The raindrops outside hung in the air like icicles, slowly inching their way towards the ground.

"That was close," Taylor said. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"What?" Sarah was still staring at the frozen rain.

Not frozen from cold, but frozen in time.

Right. Taylor was magic.

A wide grin spread over Sarah's face. She felt jittery.

"You turned this window screen into bubbles a couple years ago," Sarah said as she opened the same window she'd snuck out with a different Taylor, Christmas before last.

"Awesome. Okay, jump!" Taylor said.

"What?" Sarah protested.

Taylor jumped two stories down onto the muddy ground, and bounced.

Sarah blinked, then laughed. Taylor always had more tricks.

Sarah jumped after her.

The ground was like a trampoline, just like the grass in the meadow, and Sarah bounced twice to get her momentum under control before she jumped off and landed next to Taylor on the normal, solid ground. Still muddy from the rain, though, and Sarah wasn't wearing shoes.

She didn't care.

Sarah reached down and pulled her waterlogged socks off.

"Should we close the window?" Taylor asked, staring back up at the second floor.

Sarah was done thinking about that. Her room, her mother, all of it.

"No, let's just go," Sarah said.

There'd probably be hell to pay when she got back, but she didn't care.

Sarah grabbed Taylor's hand, and they raced off across the perfectly mown back yards of her parents' cookie-cutter, fake neighborhood. The rain still hung in the air around them, a million little crystal tears.

They didn't stop until they were three houses away, both panting from the exertion. She really needed to exercise more.

Sarah gasped for breath, and laughed.

"This is amazing," she said, looking around at the rest of the world in slowed time. "What'd you name this one?"

"Um. It's a time thing that affects a wide area, so it's a temporal shift, and we're moving quicker compared to the rest of the world, so I went with Relative Acceleration," Taylor said.

The name might be a bit nerdy, but the effect was extremely cool. Sarah's head was spinning with the possibilities.

Taylor had superspeed, on top of everything else, as a side effect? Wild.

Sarah didn't know too many of the fine details about parahumans, but Taylor had to be up there. Older Taylor said she wasn't like Alexandria, but Sarah wasn't too sure about that.

"When is it, for you?" Sarah asked.

"December 25th, 2008," Taylor said.

Then her face fell. She stared at the rain, avoiding Sarah's eyes.

"I miss them," she said quietly. "Most of the agents went home for Christmas, and Colin is… well, it's not the same."

"Your parents?"

"Yeah."

It wasn't fair. Taylor obviously used to have decent parents, who she missed, who'd been taken from her, while Sarah had… them… and they kept on kicking with no end in sight. The universe had a cruel sense of humor.

Sarah pressed her bare feet into the soaked grass. Muddy water pooled over her toes.

"Can you tell me about them?" She asked eventually.

"My mom was a literature professor," Taylor said. "She liked to read to me. She always said that books were magic. Like, you're just staring at ink in specific patterns on paper, and hallucinating in your mind. It's weird, if you actually think about it. Must be magic."

"There's a poem about that, by Shel Silverstein, called 'Magic'. About how you can be a million different people, with different voices, in your own mind," Sarah said. She didn't know why that particular tidbit stuck with her.

"I'll look it up when I get back. Anyway, she was amazing, and she…" Taylor bit her lip. "She didn't come home, one day. We were on the phone, talking, and then she wasn't, anymore."

"Oh, honey…" Sarah took Taylor's hand. She didn't know what else to say. Maybe talking about it would help, in the long run?

"And Dad… he was always so happy, and excited about everything. Up early, always doing something. Like an Energizer Bunny. But he just… I think the real him died with her, you know? It just took his body a while to catch up," Taylor said.

The rain plastered Taylor's dark curls to her head, forming a slick midnight curtain.

"I just wanted to put everything back the way it was. Fix it, somehow," Taylor shook her head. "So I went wandering, looking for different worlds, trying to find my way back to them, before everything was broken… But no matter how many times I found them, I couldn't change anything. Always too late."

Poor Taylor. That was… Wow, that was a lot. Once again, Taylor managed to leave Sarah feeling stupid for worrying about Reggie and school stuff.

Then Taylor smiled.

"But then I found you, instead," she said. "I'm really, really happy I met you, Sarah."

Sarah blinked. She couldn't tell if her heart was breaking or growing three sizes or what. Whatever it was, she crushed Taylor against her chest like she could keep her there forever. This Taylor was shorter than her, for once.

"Me too, honey," Sarah choked out.

Sarah tilted her head so she could kiss Taylor's forehead.

"I don't have presents, or a tree, or anything, but… I'll always be here," Sarah said.

She didn't know what was supposedly going to happen at Christmas this year, in her time, but surely that wouldn't change.

"Merry Christmas, Taylor."

They stood like that for a long time.

Until the rain suddenly started falling at normal speed, again, and Sarah's arms were empty.

…

Chapter Text

Interlude 2

Friday, April 15th, 2011.

The first thing Lisa noticed when she woke up was the unexpected absence of pain. Lucidity flooded back to her with surprising speed.

Her ankle was definitely broken. Maybe some ribs. Probably a concussion somewhere along the line.

But everything felt fine, now. Better than fine.

How did they make it out? Was she drugged?

Taylor's here.

Holy shit, she'd actually texted Taylor.

And Taylor came. The real Taylor. Current Taylor. Or maybe it was a future version of her, coming back to help? It didn't really matter. Lisa remembered the glass leaves, the alien tide.

Taylor, who was also a Ward. A hero. Who hadn't known that the Sarah she used to know was Lisa, now. Tattletale.

Fuck. It was entirely possible that she was about to wake up in a holding cell.

Lisa's eyes flew open.

She was still outside. The stars overhead barely shone through the smokey haze from the burning city.

The glass leaves were just starting to fade.

Lisa couldn't see her, but she could feel her. Taylor was watching, somehow. Lisa felt like all she had to do was look harder, and she'd find familiar, glowing white eyes.

She reached up from where she lay on the cracked asphalt, grasping for something that wasn't there. Reaching for the last, dying pieces of glass.

Was Taylor still here? Or had she wandered away, already?

Lisa didn't mean to, but the walls around her power fell, anyway.

[ERROR]

Taylor was still here somewhere.

A shining golden butterfly appeared out of thin air above Lisa's head. Her eyes followed it automatically as it fluttered down to land on her finger.

All that is gold does not glitter.

For a moment, Lisa was back in the glass forest, sitting beside the stream amongst the thorns. Leaning against the strange, wonderful, lost girl who could never stay with her.

Out of everything she'd lost when she left Sarah behind, Taylor had hurt the most.

She'd managed a year and a half without thinking about her. Without wondering where she was. What she was doing.

And now, within a day of finding her… Lisa hadn't been able to resist contacting her as soon as she'd had an excuse. It was a bit pathetic, honestly.

It was a pretty good excuse, all in all, but that didn't change what she'd done. It didn't change the fact that she'd left, after promising Taylor she'd always take care of her.

Lisa had to live with that. She couldn't pretend those mistakes belonged to someone else. Not if Taylor came back.

The butterfly faded away into nothingness, like ash in the breeze. The unknowable presence faded with it, and Lisa knew her power would work correctly again, if she bothered to let the walls down.

Of course Taylor couldn't stay. Story of her life.

Lisa let out a long, slow breath. She didn't really have time to mull over everything right this second. Things to do, people to see. Messes to clean up.

Brian's face appeared above her. Bakuda must have taken off his mask to implant the bomb. Hopefully Taylor fixed that when she'd fixed Lisa's ankle.

"You okay?" Brian asked, checking her for injuries as she sat up.

"Yeah, I think so," Lisa said. She rolled her ankles. Even her costume was fixed. Taylor was magic. "Did I miss anything important?"

"I don't know. The Wards showed up, said we were under arrest, then those weird crystals popped up everywhere, and then we got teleported out here," Brian recapped. "Second time in two days. What the hell is going on?"

Taylor was helping them, even if they couldn't see her.

Lisa didn't know how to explain that to Brian, though. Especially if Taylor was currently off in another time. Plus, there was no guarantee she'd want anything to do with them, when she got back. She helped Lisa because she was in trouble, because she didn't know any better, but she might not come running next time.

Taylor was a hero. Not just because she was a Ward, but because she was good. She was the type of person who'd always help, even if it killed her.

And Lisa… wasn't.

She didn't have time to think about that right now. If and when Taylor came back, Lisa would decide what to do about her. There wasn't exactly a big hurry.

"I'll check in with the Boss and see if he knows anything," Lisa lied. "Let's find the money, and Rachel, and get back to the loft ASAP."

Brian offered a hand, and hauled Lisa to her feet.

"Right. Now where-" Lisa started.

A dull, powerful, thud shook the air. The streetlights went out. All the lights went out.

God dammit.

Lisa let the walls around her power down.

Multiple fail-safes. Multiple methods of detonation. EMP blast to avoid unintentional harm to herself. Large blast radius to ensure suitable distraction. City-wide radius. Wider. Wants to limit immediate outside interference. Statewide radius.

"Balls," Lisa swore. "She knocked out the power for the whole fucking state."

"Bakuda?" Brian asked, glancing around like she was about to ambush them again.

"Yeah. EMP. That probably means…"

Lisa pulled out her burner. No dice.

"Yup. Everything's fried. Fantastic," Lisa sighed.

Now she didn't even have a good way to get in touch with Taylor if she wanted to.

"You know what this means, right?" Alec said.

"The whole city is about to devolve into lawless looting and chaos?" Lisa raised an eyebrow behind her mask.

"I've lost all my save data," Alec deadpanned. "Knew I should have sprung for the cloud backup service."

Lisa almost laughed, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

Brian looked like he was about to bolt. Lisa didn't need her power to figure out why.

"Go. Find Aisha, get everything situated. We'll track down Bitch," Lisa sighed. That was going to be a pain without a phone. "Meet at the loft when you can. And bring any food and camping supplies you have. We might not have power for a while."

Brian nodded, and took off back towards Downtown at a jog.

Right. Time to find Rachel and get their house in order.

And once they did that, Lisa could sit down for a good long think about whether she actually wanted to find Taylor, again. And how.

…

Saturday, April 16th, 2011.

The cold ravioli straight from the can brought back unfortunate memories. Not the worst memories she had, but close. Her months on the streets had been shitty, but they'd also been freeing. No expectations. Nothing to look forward to, but nothing to dread, either.

"So… what do people do, without shit to, well… do?" Alec commented from the other couch.

They both stared at the fried remains of their TV and Lisa's computer monitors.

"Read? Or we could take turns reminiscing about our totally normal and well-adjusted childhoods," Lisa suggested sarcastically.

"So, this one time, at band camp…"

Lisa threw the empty ravioli can at him.

They returned to their previously scheduled evening of sitting in silence and brooding.

Well, Lisa was brooding. She wasn't sure what Alec was doing. She didn't really care.

What was she going to do about Taylor?

Should she try to find her?

She couldn't even hack the PRT servers to get an update, currently. Even if she wanted to find Taylor, it wouldn't be straightforward. Especially because she didn't know if Taylor was even currently present in this time or not.

What would it mean, to see Taylor now? Lisa wasn't a child anymore. She didn't need a magic, time-travelling best friend. She wasn't alone, anymore. And Taylor probably wasn't, either.

That didn't change the fact that Lisa still missed her.

Brilliant, blinding sunlight shone through the thin, horizontal windows that ran along the far wall of the loft.

"Someone finally drop a nuke?" Alec glanced up with his usual level of disinterest.

Lisa unfolded herself from the couch and walked over to the windows.

She couldn't see what was causing the light over the surrounding buildings, but it was coming from the Bay.

Her curiosity got the better of her.

"I'm going to see if I can get a better angle from the roof," Lisa called over her shoulder. "You coming?"

"Naw. Let me know if I'm about to get, like, double superpowers. You know, from the radiation?"

Lisa ignored him and headed down the spiral staircase, across the warehouse floor, and climbed the ladder to the roof access. They really needed to clean this ladder more often.

The hatch creaked as she forced it open and climbed onto the roof.

Holy shit.

Hanging over the Bay were three miniature suns, shining stars that lifted a huge, spiraling helix of water from below along with what looked like pieces of the PHQ. Their light threw the city into sharp relief, every bit as bright as a morning sunrise. They orbited in slow, ponderous circles, within their halo of seawater and steel.

Lisa had to double check. Had to know.

She lowered the walls around her power.

[ERROR]

Lisa caught herself smiling without even realizing it. She could almost hear Taylor's voice in her ear, on the glass platform above the clouds.

Domain Intrusion.

Taylor did say she had a world of stars. And now, Lisa finally got to see it.

…

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

Lisa sat at her desk in her bedroom at the loft out of habit more than anything else. She didn't really need to be awake. She didn't need to be sitting here. She should go to bed. It wasn't like her laptop worked anymore.

But she couldn't sleep. Her brain didn't want to turn off.

The single candle flickered lower by the hour.

It was late. So late it was early. Maybe three or four in the morning. Not that any of the clocks worked, anymore.

Lisa tapped a steady, restless staccato on the desktop with her fingertips.

Taylor was back, in this time. Probably. She was out there, somewhere. She'd ripped the PHQ to shreds, and then… what? Had she gotten lost again already?

There was also the question of why she'd attacked the PHQ. Had they tried to strong-arm her? That seemed… stupid. And short-sighted. But the PRT wasn't necessarily known for their tolerance and level-headedness. A powerful resource like Taylor would have been meticulously curated to ensure her willing compliance, or turned into an adversary to justify her unwilling containment.

Had they underestimated her power, or overestimated her loyalty? Maybe both?

"Did you tell them about me?"

"I didn't want to. You're… special."

The intrusive thoughts wouldn't shut up, anymore. They were just getting more and more persistent. Turns out, now that she'd opened the box labeled 'Taylor', those memories didn't want to go back behind the walls like they were supposed to.

The PRT never knew that Taylor came to see her, over the years. They had no idea that Taylor had anything else to live for. Anything that would make her willing to walk away.

But that was absurd. Taylor wouldn't quit the Wards for her. Wouldn't throw away everything, just because an old friend texted her for help out of the blue… Right?

Did Lisa even want her to?

Her stomach twisted.

She had no idea what she wanted.

How was she supposed to reconcile Taylor with Wanderer? Her friend who made her Christmas trees and told her about her dead parents in the rain also killed Nilbog and sunk the PHQ.

How was she supposed to figure out what kind of place Taylor had in her life, now?

"Lisa!" Rachel yelled from somewhere out in the main warehouse.

What the hell was Rachel doing here? She said she was staying with the dogs tonight.

Lisa sighed and stood from her desk chair. Another problem to solve. Maybe it would help her sleep.

"What? Do you know what time it is?" Lisa said as she met Rachel and her dogs in the main living room.

"Tell that to your friend, or whatever she is. She's the one who came breaking down my door in the middle of the fuckin' night," Rachel spat. "Wouldn't take 'fuck you' for an answer."

It took Lisa a moment to notice Rachel's split lip and bruised jaw.

Lisa couldn't resist. She had to know.

She let the walls around her power down, and…

[ERROR]

Taylor was here.

"What's got your leash in a knot?" Alec yawned as he wandered out of his room.

Lisa was frozen.

"Fuck off," Rachel tossed in his general direction. "I'm taking the dogs back. Crazy girl is your problem now."

"Who's crazy?" Alec flopped down on the sofa.

Lisa blinked and managed to unfreeze herself.

"No one. But we have a… visitor. I'll go talk to her," Lisa said.

She managed to sound surprisingly nonchalant. Lots of practice.

It was one thing to text Taylor when Bakuda was about to put a bomb in her head. It was something else entirely to just walk downstairs and talk to her, like it hadn't been years. Like she hadn't…

Lisa took the stairs two at a time.

She caught her breath just as she rounded the corner and…

Taylor.

Not the Ward in the purple and teal costume, with the opaque visor and hood to separate her from the world.

Just… Taylor. Her Taylor. With her jacket and purple T-shirt and wild curls and thick glasses that made her eyes look too big for her face and…

Taylor's eyes were dark, now, though. Lisa didn't know what to make of that.

Taylor was here. She was real.

Lisa barely felt like herself. Was she even Lisa, right now?

To Taylor, she'd only ever been Sarah.

And, for once, the idea of being Sarah again didn't make her sick.

"Found you," Taylor said.

Lisa's stomach twisted at the familiarity.

She couldn't tell whether Taylor was some long lost treasure, or a ghost, come back to haunt her. Maybe both.

Still… this was Taylor.

Lisa couldn't help but smile. Just a bit. This felt like meeting in the woods, at the bus stop, in Sarah's old bedroom. Like the last year hadn't happened. Easy, and familiar.

"It's the 17th of April, 2011, for me," Lisa said.

Taylor's face softened. She looked so… relieved… Lisa couldn't decide whether she wanted to look away or hold her and never let go.

"Me, too," Taylor whispered.

Lisa had no idea where to go from here. How did they do this? Just… continue? Together?

"Why are you here, Taylor?"

Why did you turn on the PRT?

Was it for me?

[ERROR]

Wasn't asking you.

Taylor smiled. Her expression was still a bit sad, and very tired, but it was a smile, nonetheless. Lisa's chest hurt.

"The PRT wasn't very happy with me for letting you go. Thought some villainous Thinker might've got in my head," Taylor said. "Guess they're right."

Of course Taylor chose her. Even though she didn't deserve it.

Lisa stared into Taylor's dark eyes, trying to figure out what she wanted. What Taylor wanted.

It was like there was a wall between them. Lisa knew exactly who'd built it, but she didn't know how to break it down without talking about-

"Your eyes are different," Lisa said the first thing that came to mind.

"Oh. Yeah, they only turn white while I'm using my power," Taylor said casually. "And I'm not, right now, so…"

That was obviously old news for Taylor, but it was disconcerting for Lisa. What else about Taylor didn't she know?

"I didn't know that," Lisa said.

"I didn't tell you," Taylor replied.

Something about Taylor's voice sounded so… sad. Lisa hated that melancholy, wanted to tell her everything would be alright… but another part of her liked it. Liked the idea that being away from her made Taylor sad.

Fuck. She didn't deserve Taylor. Didn't deserve the unflinching way Taylor cared. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"Sarah, I'm sor-"

Sarah.

No one had called her that in a long time. Aside from Coil when he was trying to fuck with her head, and he didn't count.

In that moment, Lisa couldn't stand to hear Taylor apologize. Not when Taylor was so fucking wonderful, so good, and Lisa was nothing.

"Don't. Don't apologize to me," Lisa said.

She should be the one apologizing, but she couldn't. The words stuck in her throat. Old habits died hard.

Taylor just stared at her for a long moment.

"Okay. I won't," Taylor said neutrally.

Lisa let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

She had to figure out how to fit Taylor into her new life. She knew she couldn't ask her to leave, again. She hadn't even been able to do it in person, last time.

And she'd been wrong, anyway. Even if she wasn't ready to say it out loud yet.

"I go by Lisa, now."

If anyone could counter Coil's power, it would be Taylor.

Actually… would Lisa even need to ask? If future her was planning to tell Taylor to end him as soon as he outlived his usefulness, did that mean that future Taylor would just… take care of it, in the past?

Time travel was a mind-fuck, but it was strangely exciting. Lisa had never allowed herself to consider the possibilities. Thinking about that hurt too much.

If Taylor really was here for her… if she would really stay if Lisa asked her to…

Lisa didn't know what that would mean for her.

"Do you want me to call you Lisa?"

Taylor met her eyes.

Dark eyes. Not white.

This was real. Taylor was actually here, in the present, with her.

And Lisa still had no idea what she wanted.

"I don't know."

…

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

Lisa pressed her forehead into the cool surface of her desk. She could hear the shower running in the adjacent bathroom.

What the fuck am I doing?

She told Taylor she was psychic instead of just describing her actual power, because apparently opening up any part of herself to Taylor was too much to ask. And for what? It was a stupid lie that she was going to have to fess up to almost immediately.

Especially since she'd agreed to help Taylor kill Leviathan, which was equally insane. If anyone could, it would be Taylor, since dying was barely an inconvenience to her, and her power was magic, but still. It was insane.

And then, to top off her ongoing series of unhinged decisions, she told Taylor to sleep in her fucking bed.

Lisa wanted to pull her hair out.

Something about Taylor just… threw her off her game. Like Taylor was seeing under a mask everyone else didn't even know existed.

Maybe it was that simple. Taylor knew the real her, even if she didn't know everything. The girl from the meadow ringed in thorns wasn't completely gone, no matter how hard Lisa tried to bury her.

Okay. She had to pull herself together. This was ridiculous.

First, and ultimately most important decision: Did she want to ask Taylor to leave?

Obviously not. Now that she'd opened the box, she couldn't close it again.

Second… Did she want to talk to Taylor about what happened to Reggie and her parents?

Absolutely not. Not right now, anyway. Maybe not ever.

And third…

Well, there wasn't really a third thing, was there?

See? That wasn't so difficult.

Lisa sat up.

Taylor was staying, as long as she was willing to. Lisa wouldn't ask her to leave again, and it didn't seem like Taylor wanted to. She'd gone to a lot of trouble and fucked up her life just to find Lisa again.

Which also meant Taylor would probably want a fresh set of clothes when she got out of the shower.

Lisa took a deep breath, and set about finding some clean clothes that Taylor would like to sleep in.

She could do this. She could take care of Taylor, again. Despite spending a year and a half stuffed behind the useless walls Lisa built for herself, that part of her refused to die.

And now, she didn't want it to.

…

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

"I can sleep on the couch-" Taylor looked concerned.

"No, thank you," Lisa cut her off without thinking.

She couldn't handle it if Taylor disappeared again, out of sight. Without her knowing. At least this way, if Taylor got lost in another time, Lisa would know right away. It was always easier, even if it was still sad, when her hands or her arms were suddenly empty. She'd still rather know. Her stomach didn't drop the same way if she was touching Taylor when she left.

Taylor seemed in control, so far, though. She hadn't manifested anything unusual. No thorns or beanstalks. Dark eyes, instead of white.

Lisa found that she liked both.

Taylor fidgeted on the edge of the bed.

That was… cute. Taylor had never been this flustered when she'd visited. Except maybe that time Lisa kissed her.

Lisa pushed that memory back behind the walls before she lost her composure, too. They couldn't both be a mess. And right now, it was clearly Taylor's turn.

"Scoot over," Lisa said. The distance between them was starting to grate on her, and she'd been more than patient enough.

Taylor shifted over along the edge of the bed, and Lisa couldn't help but smile.

She never thought she'd get to have this, again. Feel like this. It felt like a dream.

"Not like that," Lisa said. "Are you going to sleep sitting up? Lie down, honey."

Taylor actually blushed. It was amazing. Lisa felt kind of high.

She blew out the singular candle on the desk and joined Taylor in bed. Her stomach felt weirdly tense, some blend of excitement and nervousness and giddy satisfaction she hadn't felt since…

Well, since Taylor made a forest of glass for her, standing in the clouds.

Lisa idly wondered if Taylor would make more worlds for her, now. She felt a bit silly for complaining about the localized reversal, last time. Now, that sounded exhilarating. Especially if Taylor wasn't going to disappear.

Taylor was so tense, lying behind her. It was kind of funny.

Part of Lisa was pleased that she had such an obvious effect on Taylor. The rest of her wanted Taylor to get over it and hold her properly, already.

Whatever. If you want something done right, do it yourself.

Lisa reached back and searched for her target, working her way up Taylor's body until she found her arm. Taylor stopped breathing. Lisa managed not to laugh.

This was so much fun.

Lisa shifted backwards so she was pressed against Taylor. Taylor could be the little spoon tomorrow if she wanted, but tonight Lisa was making up for lost time. Even if she didn't deserve it. She was selfish enough that she didn't care.

She wrapped Taylor's arm around her and tucked Taylor's fingers under her side to make sure she kept her arm there. Taylor tightened her grip automatically, pulling Lisa back into her.

Much better.

Taylor was still too tense, though. Lisa wasn't sure what she was so worried about.

Lisa pulled her hair out of the way in case it was in Taylor's face, since at this point Taylor clearly wasn't going to voice any of her own discomforts. She also shifted so she could reach up and tug Taylor's other arm under her head. Lisa settled back down onto the pillow again, finally wrapped up in Taylor again after so, so long.

"Is this okay?" Taylor whispered worriedly.

Silly girl.

"Obviously," Lisa drawled, even though she was smiling.

It was wonderful.

She shifted slightly to press back against Taylor even more, and sighed contentedly.

"Sarah… Do you want to talk about-"

Definitely not.

No talking. Not tonight. Not when she'd just gotten this back. They could figure everything else out… eventually. Maybe never. Maybe Taylor would get distracted killing Endbringers and forget that Lisa ran away.

"No," Lisa cut her off again.

"Okay," Taylor whispered.

Taylor always talked too much when she was nervous. Lisa should've expected it.

"Is it okay if I still call you Sarah?" Taylor asked.

The name sent a shiver down Lisa's spine. She honestly couldn't tell if she liked it or not.

From anyone else, it would be unacceptable. Insulting. A violation. But from Taylor, wrapped around her, with her breath in her hair…

"...Yeah. Just not in public. Or in front of the others. Only when I'm with you, okay? The rest of the time, I'm Lisa."

That felt right. Taylor was special.

The one, little piece of Sarah she would let herself keep.

"Okay."

Lisa slowly started to relax, again. Maybe Taylor was finally out of questions, for tonight. Or morning, really.

"Are you sure-" Taylor started.

"I thought you needed to sleep?" Lisa cut Taylor off again.

Lisa knew she really needed to stop that, but she just couldn't help herself. She just wanted to enjoy having Taylor back without making things complicated. Was that too much to ask?

"Sorry," Taylor's voice sounded so… worried. It was heartbreaking.

Dammit.

I'm sorry I left you.

I'm sorry I hurt you.

I didn't mean to.

I thought I needed to.

I did need to.

But I'm still sorry it hurt.

Lisa didn't say any of that.

"I told you not to apologize," Lisa whispered, instead.

Taylor didn't have anything to apologize for.

"Sor-"

That made Lisa laugh. She couldn't help it.

The knot in her stomach loosened a bit. Taylor was still here, despite everything. She'd come back the moment Lisa opened the door again, without hesitation.

"Taylor. Go to sleep," Lisa smiled in the dark. In Taylor's arms, again.

"Right. Goodnight, Sarah," Taylor said softly.

Lisa hadn't realized how much she missed her. Hadn't let herself think about it.

Missed touching her.

Missed seeing her smile.

Missed hearing her voice.

"Merry Christmas, Sarah."

"I'm really, really happy I met you, Sarah."

"I'm so sorry, Sarah."

No. She never wanted to hear Taylor apologize again.

…

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

Lisa woke up alone.

Adrenaline shot through her veins and settled in the pit of her stomach.

The empty spot behind her was still warm.

Taylor was gone. Again.

I knew it was too good to be true.

Lisa's eyes flew open.

Okay. Calm down. Taylor knew where to find her, now. She'd be back, sooner or later. Taylor always left, but she always came back, too.

Taylor's glasses weren't on the bedside table.

Oh. Maybe…

[ERROR]

Again, wasn't asking you. Useless fucking-

"Lisa! Get your ass out here. Now!" Brian's voice echoed from the hallway.

"She's sleeping-"

The dread in Lisa's stomach evaporated, and she almost laughed in relief.

Taylor was still here. And, apparently, making Brian's life difficult. It was a bit of a rude awakening, but Lisa couldn't bring herself to care.

She could do this. Figure out how to keep Taylor in her new life. Figure out how to kill Leviathan so they could stay together. Figure out how to be close to Taylor, again. All of the above.

Lisa dragged herself out of bed and put a crooked smile on her face.

It wasn't even fake, for once.

…

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

Lisa watched bemusedly as Taylor consumed one of the MRE's Brian had picked up from the relief checkpoint with almost mindless efficiency.

It was easy to forget that Taylor had been the PRT's pet killing machine until yesterday.

Lisa didn't know how to talk about that, either.

"Do you think they're looking for you?" Lisa asked, leaning against the counter in the kitchen area of the loft while her own ration pack heated up.

"Oh, for sure," Taylor said between bites. "I bet Dragon has a hundred drones scanning for spatial anomalies anywhere nearby, by now."

"They can track you?" Lisa raised her eyebrows. That was… concerning.

"If they happen to be pointing a scanner at me when I use my power, yeah. I did tons of tests for Armsmaster when I was trying to figure out how to use my power without getting sucked into the ether," Taylor said.

At least Taylor seemed more comfortable, today. This felt more like before, talking about her power, about normal things.

Well, normal for them, at any rate.

Brian left to go check on Aisha a while ago. Alec was somewhere, doing whatever Alec did when she wasn't watching him. Lisa didn't really care.

"That's why you haven't been using your power?"

Lisa thought it was just to avoid wandering off to another time by accident.

Taylor nodded and shoveled more tasteless, high calorie cardboard into her mouth. Lisa was almost impressed.

"Yeah. Can't risk them finding you. Don't really want fight my old coworkers too often if I can help it, either. Plus, they might get worried and send Legend after me or something, and that could get messy."

Lisa snorted. Messy, indeed.

"We'll need to figure out a way around that if we're going to try to send you back to Leviathan," Lisa mused. "Or forward to Leviathan. Back forward?"

"I could just go to a random coffee shop or something and trigger a full reality shift," Taylor shrugged.

"What's your range limit on that, anyway?" Lisa asked.

Taylor shrugged again.

"Don't really know. It depends on what I'm focused on, and the changes I make. Moving Vista and Bakuda away and healing you cost me twenty-four hours, ish. There isn't much rhyme or reason, though. I lost three days just testing my power last week. When I deleted the Nine it was longer."

Lisa decided not to think about that, either.

They ate in comfortable silence for a while.

"Do you think I'm Olórin, or Tom Bombadil?" Taylor asked out of nowhere.

Lisa laughed and almost choked on her nutrient paste.

She'd missed Taylor so much.

"You're obviously a wizard," Lisa said seriously. "Too proactive to be Tom. Plus, you have a habit of showing up on my doorstep offering outlandish adventures at the least likely of times."

Taylor cocked her head to one side while she considered. It was a bit of an odd gesture, but it was cute.

"I guess I can live with that, if you can," Taylor grinned.

It didn't feel like a serious question, but Lisa answered it anyway.

"Yes, I really can," she said.

She'd never ask Taylor to leave again. Or, more accurately, she'd always want Taylor to come back.

Taylor's smile brightened, and something in Lisa's stomach flipped. Probably just the shitty ration pack.

Lisa's thoughts circled back to the future, and what they were plotting together.

"Could you create somewhere they can't see you, for the next shift?" Lisa wondered aloud. "Like, imagine an insulated bunker?"

Taylor chewed her cardboard thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I could do that," Taylor said. "They might catch it being created from nothing, though, even if it was insulated against future scans."

Lisa grinned.

"I guess we'll have to make sure they're looking somewhere else at the time, then," she said. "I saw the show, yesterday. Seems like diversions are right up your alley."

Taylor smiled back, and Lisa's chest tightened.

Taylor would have to leave again. It was inevitable. They had to find a way to stop Leviathan, and time travel was their primary method of testing multiple avenues of attack.

But this time, she'd come back. Lisa had to believe that, or she'd go insane. Taylor knew where to find her, now. They had plans. They had a future. Taylor would come back.

And maybe, as long as Lisa kept making her smile like that, she always would.

…

Chapter Text

Lazuli 3.1

Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

Taylor had been too tired to properly appreciate it last night, but Sarah's bed was extremely comfortable. Was this memory foam? She kind of felt like she was sinking, like the mattress itself didn't want to let her leave.

Sarah was currently rummaging through the oversized and barely organized filing cabinet beside her desk.

"We'll need something that the PRT would expect from you, if it wasn't a distraction," Sarah narrated idly. "Something that will also keep them nice and busy after you leave, so they don't look too closely at any rogue spatial anomalies they manage to detect before you get back."

Taylor sat cross legged on the unmade bed, still wearing Sarah's borrowed clothes. She'd have to make herself some outfits once she could use her power again. She didn't want to take advantage of Sarah's hospitality.

She was already sleeping in her bed, apparently.

"It sounds like you already have something in mind?" Taylor asked.

Today had been… good. Really good. Sarah felt like herself, again. They hadn't talked about anything important, but maybe that was okay. Taylor could figure out how to act around this sharper version of Sarah, around Lisa, and Sarah could acclimate to having Taylor back in her life.

Time travelling always had strange consequences. Taylor was pretty used to it by now, overall. Still, it was important to keep in mind that this version of Sarah hadn't seen her in a year and a half. To Sarah, Taylor made her a Christmas tree and held her hand in the snow over three years ago. For Taylor, it was three days ago.

That was weird to conceptualize, even by her standards.

"Yep. I've been saving these for a rainy day. Plus, I made hard copies in case Coil decided to screw with me. Good job, past-Lisa," Sarah smirked.

The sun went down a while ago, so the bedroom was once again lit by candles. Bakuda really had managed to go down in as inconvenient a way as possible. Even the flashlights were fried.

Sarah finished emptying one of the drawers, then reached to the very back and pulled out a false panel.

"It's cliché, I know, but a little paranoia never hurts," Sarah said.

Taylor couldn't stop smiling. Just getting to watch the Sarah show was awesome.

Sarah tugged a slightly crumpled file folder free. She spun dramatically in her desk chair and tossed the documents onto the bed in front of Taylor.

"Wanderer strikes me as the overzealous, reckless type," Sarah's grin widened. "What do you think she'd do with that?"

Taylor raised her eyebrows and skimmed the top page of the packet.

"Is this…" Taylor trailed off, her eyebrows climbing up her forehead with every page she flipped through.

"Yep," Sarah said again. "Think that might give the PRT something to chew on for a while?"

Taylor chuckled darkly.

"Piggot is going to hate me. Well, more than she already does. How dare I offer her anything she didn't ask for on a silver platter, so she has no choice but to take credit for it?"

"Very heroic chaos," Sarah agreed.

Sarah stretched in her desk chair. Taylor studiously did not look at the line of exposed skin above the waistband of her sweatpants.

"I'm going to get ready for bed," Sarah said casually. "Tomorrow'll be a long one. Probably longer for you than me."

Taylor hummed in agreement while she continued to review the documents. She would need to keep the details in mind during her upcoming full reality shift if she was going to pull everything off before she got lost.

Sarah grabbed a change of clothes and shut the door behind her. Taylor heard the shower turn on next door.

She definitely didn't think about that, either.

This was completely surreal. Just… existing, with Sarah. She'd never gotten to stay this long, before. It felt like she'd been suffocating for years without realizing it, only getting sporadic, fleeting moments of air, and now, suddenly, she could breathe to her heart's content.

It was amazing, but it was also disorienting at the same time. Taylor didn't know how to do this.

She'd gotten used to being the ghost of the Ward's quarters. The barely-stable orphan that everyone pitied and tolerated when they weren't busy being scared of her unpredictable powers. She didn't like it, but it was familiar. This was different.

Taylor really didn't want to leave, again, even though she knew she had to.

She finished reading the documents for the third time before setting them back on Sarah's desk.

The shower cut off.

Taylor didn't know what to do with herself. Should she sit on the edge of the bed? Should she lie down? Why was she like this?

She settled for not moving, still cross-legged on the bed. That was easiest.

Sarah wandered back into her bedroom, and Taylor couldn't help but stare, just a little bit.

She just looked so… comfortable. Soft. Her hair was wrapped in a frayed towel on her head, and she'd traded her sweatpants for a long-sleeved T-shirt and shorts. Freckles and warm, bottle green, in the candlelight.

Sarah grinned at her in a way that made Taylor wonder if she'd been lying about not being able to read her mind.

"Miss me?" Sarah asked.

"Of course," Taylor said as nonchalantly as she could. "Not like there's much else to do, right now."

Sarah sat down on the edge of the bed. It somehow felt like she was too close and way too far away at the same time.

"You could always read, if you're bored," Sarah said.

"I was, actually," Taylor gestured to the file. "I have to memorize the names and locations, so I can track them down quickly after I discorporate."

"I meant you could read something for fun, honey. The shelves in the living room are stocked," Sarah smiled softly.

Taylor had kind of forgotten that she'd left all her books at the PRT. Maybe she'd have to go back for them at some point, if Piggot or Sophia hadn't trashed them out of spite.

"Right."

Taylor didn't move, though. She couldn't think of anything she wanted to do more than just sit and watch while Sarah unwound her hair from the towel and ran a comb through the dark blonde curtain with easy, practiced strokes.

"You're staring," Sarah pointed out.

That was a bit embarrassing, but Sarah was smiling, and it wasn't even crooked, so Taylor decided she didn't care.

"I know," Taylor said.

Sarah's cheeks turned a bit pink, which Taylor counted as a win. Sarah wasn't the only one who could play games.

Taylor watched until Sarah was done, pulling her hair back into a loose braid. She seemed to like keeping her hair in a ponytail or braids or something. It had been down at the bank, and with Bakuda. Maybe that was just her Tattletale look.

Sarah glanced back at her again, and Taylor swallowed involuntarily. Not sure what that was all about.

Taylor blinked and realized she hadn't brushed her teeth, and the last thing she wanted was to go to bed with MRE breath with Sarah.

Just in case she-

If Sarah actually was psychic, hopefully she didn't hear that thought.

Taylor unfolded herself as gracefully as she could under the circumstances and made a beeline for the bathroom.

She couldn't help but glance at herself in the mirror when she was done.

She didn't really look any different, but she felt… better. Her mess of curls was just a bit wild, instead of looking like a rat's nest. Her eyes were still too big behind her glasses, but at least they were alive. Her mouth still looked too thin and too wide, but now there was a ghost of a smile lingering at the corners.

Even though things were more hopeless than ever, they didn't feel hopeless. It made more of a difference than Taylor expected.

Everything was better when Sarah was waiting for her.

Taylor managed not to run back to their bedroom, but it was a close thing. She wasn't that excited.

Okay, maybe she was, but Sarah didn't need to know that. She was already smug enough as it was.

Taylor closed the door carefully behind her.

Something about seeing Sarah stretched casually across the bed with one leg kicked out from under the covers made Taylor's stomach flip. Her heart was beating entirely too fast for a perfectly normal situation.

Sarah smirked. Again. It wasn't fair.

"Get the lights?" Sarah asked.

Taylor put her glasses on the bedside table and blew out the candles.

She spent two whole seconds deliberating in the dark, deciding how to get over to her side of the bed, before giving into temptation and just climbing over top of Sarah.

"Hey, watch it," Sarah laughed under her. "Shit, your knees are sharp. Why are your knees sharp?

"Stop moving around so much, then," Taylor shot back.

She made it over the squirming obstacle in her way and flopped down between Sarah and the far wall. Mission success.

Taylor started to reach for Sarah automatically before she froze with indecision, again. Sarah clearly liked cuddling last night, but that might've been a one time thing. Maybe Sarah had just been happy to have her back, and it had been really late, and-

"Roll over, honey," Sarah whispered.

Taylor's face felt weirdly hot, but she did as she was told and turned onto her other side to face the wall.

She stiffened slightly when Sarah's arm wrapped around her ribcage. She could feel Sarah's face in her hair.

Sarah threaded one of her ankles in between Taylor's, holding them together.

"Is this okay?" Sarah asked quietly. She sounded extremely pleased with herself. Taylor wasn't exactly complaining.

"Yeah. Yes, um," Taylor cleared her throat. It sounded too loud, in the pitch dark bedroom. "Obviously."

Taylor felt Sarah laugh, vibrations against her back and her breath on the back of her neck. Taylor shivered involuntarily.

"Good," Sarah said.

It really, really was.

Taylor managed to keep her breathing even, but her heart was hammering against her ribs. Part of her was paranoid that Sarah could hear it, or feel it, or something.

Deep breaths didn't really help all that much. Taylor stared into the dark. Her eyes didn't want to close, for some reason.

She knew Sarah didn't want to talk about what happened. Taylor didn't really, either. As long as they could keep this, Taylor wasn't going to force anything that didn't need to be said.

There was only one thing she really needed to know. Sarah had hinted at it, today, but Taylor needed to double check.

Sarah had already told her not to come back, once.

"Hey, Sarah?" Taylor whispered.

Taylor was stalling, and she knew it, but she couldn't help it.

"Hmmmm?" Sarah hummed in her ear.

"You aren't going to tell me to leave again, are you?" Taylor asked.

That sounded a bit pathetic, out loud, but she needed to know. Needed to hear it. Even if it could still be a lie.

Technically, Taylor knew she'd have to leave. That was the plan for tomorrow.

Sarah would know what she really meant.

Sarah's breath caught, behind her.

"No. No, I won't-" Sarah choked on her words. "Taylor, it's… I…"

"It's okay," Taylor said. Maybe she shouldn't be smiling right now, but she couldn't help it. "We don't need to… I get it. Everything else can wait. I just… I had to make sure."

Sarah pressed her face against the back of Taylor's shoulder. The arm around her middle tightened almost painfully.

"Thank you," Sarah whispered.

Taylor didn't know what to say to that, so she just reached down to hold Sarah's hand, instead. It was a bit awkward, with the angle, but she figured it out.

And if Sarah's hands were cold, or she held on a bit too tightly, Taylor didn't mention that, either.

…

Monday, April 18th, 2011.

Taylor looked up at the familiar building that had been her home until two days ago.

It was weird how different it felt, already. Like she didn't belong there. Maybe she never had.

The only good she'd done as a Ward had been directly against orders. Everything else just felt… fake.

And all of that paled, when compared to the imminent threat of Leviathan.

The PRT would never give her free reign to use her powers like this. They required control. Even when acting against orders, they had still been the ones calling the shots, if indirectly.

Except for the Ellisburg incident. That had been her own act of rebellion.

Although, in hindsight, even that might have been staged. Piggot was sneaky like that. It was impossible to tell.

The area in front of the PRT headquarters was cordoned off to allow for the delivery of new equipment. The street wasn't all that crowded, but there was a slowly cycling crowd of onlookers waiting to see if the PRT would help them next. Agents in body armor lined the blockade, keeping a wary eye out for villains or troublemakers.

Taylor didn't consider herself a villain, even if the PRT did. Sure, she was staying with Sarah, currently, but that was different. She was doing what was necessary to combat Leviathan, and that just happened to involve breaking away from the PRT's control.

Sometimes, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

Like, for example, setting up an overdramatic distraction so the Protectorate doesn't notice you installing an insulated bunker in the Docks.

No time like the present. The sooner she left, the sooner she'd be back. Maybe. Time travel was finicky on a good day. She might not even land at Leviathan at all, but she wouldn't know until she tried.

Showtime.

Taylor let the walls within her mind fall. Her power flowed into the surrounding world, and Taylor became both the subject, and the canvas. The paint, and the paintress, all at once.

Her T-shirt and jeans dissolved, and were remade.

Crystalized, amethyst armor formed over her purple jumpsuit, encasing her arms and shoulders inside interlocking plates. Gauntlets wrapped snugly around her hands while greaves covered her shins and flowed down into her boots. A flexible cuirass wove itself around her chest and a heavy, hooded cloak fell over her shoulders.

She replaced the teal accents and trim with black.

No visor, or glasses. She didn't need her eyes to see while her power roamed free. Her irises glowed stark white, even in the morning sun, her pupils eerie black pinpricks in their center. Taylor knew the effect was disconcerting, but that was exactly what she was going for.

Crystals began to inch their way out of the surrounding buildings. Iridescent puddles formed from nothing on the street.

Taylor kind of expected more screams, but all she got were gasps and whispers as the crowd around her backed away. Whatever. Can't win 'em all.

She deleted the barricade in front of her, and strode forward.

"This is a restricted area. Stand down, Wanderer," one of the braver agents called. Was that Richard?

"Wanderer. Yes, at the front entrance," Taylor heard one of the other agents muttering into his radio.

She made it two more steps before a different agent got a bit trigger happy. But, instead of containment foam, his launcher only fired oversized, rainbow soap bubbles.

Taylor laughed. This was way more fun than it should be.

She took another step, and pushed off the concrete.

Localized Reversal.

Taylor fell headfirst towards the morning sky. The air whipped around her as she accelerated. Thirty two feet per second per second was nothing to sneeze at.

Falling with style never got old.

Release.

Taylor's momentum began to wane as she passed the roof of the PRT building. She grinned widely and did a lazy backflip at the height of her arc. Her cloak almost got caught in her face mid-flip, but she performed a quick reality edit to make sure that simply didn't happen. Easy peasy.

Her timing was pretty good. Lots of practice.

The aluminum helipad on the roof of the PRT headquarters rippled like water under her boots as she landed. She bent her knees to absorb the latent force, her cloak flowing around her in the non-existent breeze.

Pretty good superhero entrance, all around. Or, technically villain. Whatever. Shame no one was up here to see it. They probably had security cameras.

The PRT could call her a villain if they wanted, but it wouldn't stop her from being a hero. They didn't have a monopoly on saving people.

Taylor stood, crossed her arms, and waited.

How long would it take them to come running? Who would they send?

The answer was 'not very long', and 'not who she'd expected'.

A hooded figure in a brown burlap robe flew up from below and landed smoothly across from her. He carried a gnarled oak staff with easy familiarity.

"Myrddin!" Taylor grinned at the bearded 'wizard' of the Chicago Protectorate. "I should've known they'd call you."

"Wanderer. It's good to see you, again. Although, I wish it were under different circumstances," Myrddin said calmly.

Myrddin was one of the original capes they'd brought in when Taylor first managed to stumble her way back into this reality, years ago. He was eccentric, but respected, and he was an expert on interdimensional manipulation. Even if the researchers made fun of him for calling his portals 'spells' and 'runes'.

He was also a massive nerd, not he'd ever admit to it. Taylor was reasonably sure he was just cosplaying the whole wizard thing for his own amusement, but she could never get him to crack.

"I take it everyone's freaking out about losing their 'Class S asset'?" Taylor said.

Myrddin might have been smiling under his beard, but she couldn't tell for sure.

"Things have been… tense, yes," Myrddin said. "I don't suppose I could convince you to come back willingly?"

"Can I have free reign to use my power in any way I deem necessary to stop the Endbringers?" Taylor asked candidly.

Not that she would ever leave Sarah, regardless, but it was worth a try.

"I am not the one to make that decision," Myrddin said.

Translation: Absolutely not.

"Well, then, I'm going to have to stick with 'no, thank you', for now," Taylor said. "Is Colin still kicking?"

Myrddin regarded her in silence for a moment.

"Yes…" he drew the word out. "Why?"

"I thought Dauntless' lightning blast might've killed him. Wanted to know if I should send his halberd an apology card," Taylor quipped.

"No," Myrddin said. "He and everyone else from the PHQ survived, I hope you're happy to know."

"That's nice. I hope they all learned their lesson about backs and the appropriate time and place to stab them," Taylor said.

"Perhaps you should consider that your perspective of the conflict may be biased," Myrddin said dryly.

"Probably," Taylor shrugged. "Still, I have stuff to do, and I don't have time to sit in M/S confinement until the PRT realizes I'm immune to Master and Thinker powers. Again."

"And just what kind of… stuff… are you doing?"

"This and that. Some time travelling, some spellwork." Cuddling with Sarah. "Lots of dark magic," Taylor smiled. "You know how it goes."

"Yes. I suppose I do," Myrddin sighed. "I've been tasked with bringing you in, Wanderer. They hope that my spells might be able to contain you."

"You know they can't," Taylor said.

She'd put one of his pocket dimensions out of commission for days last time.

"I've learned some new tricks since we last dueled," Myrddin said.

He was definitely smiling, now.

Unfortunately, Taylor wasn't here for a fight. No matter how fun it would be.

"Tempting, but like I said, I have better things to do," Taylor spread her arms wide. The air around her warped. Amethyst energy crackled down her arms. "Besides, what's the point of being a level twenty wizard if I never bust out the ninth level spells?"

"Wanderer, please-" Myrddin said warningly.

"Another time, Myrddin. Maybe later, maybe earlier, you know how it goes," Taylor said.

The sky overhead dimmed. The morning clouds began to spiral around them.

"Now… Make a Wish, old man!" Taylor yelled over the roaring wind.

Myrddin just sighed. Again. He did that a lot.

"I wish you wouldn't."

Taylor laughed. At least Myrddin had a sense of humor. And was generally pretty laid back, when lives weren't on the line. The rest of the Protectorate could take some notes.

"Full reality shift: Absolute Jurisdiction."

Taylor's body and fancy new costume dissolved as her power ran rampant. Her physical shell was insignificant, insufficient to contain her. She was both within and outside of the world to which she was anchored. She was the pen and author both, the page on which the story was inscribed.

The city sprawled beneath her, in this unknowable awareness. She had no eyes, yet she saw everything. She had no ears, yet the shadows whispered to her.

After a brief mental review of her priorities, Taylor began to move the pieces around the game board.

Step one: Diversion.

Taylor searched for her targets, in the crumbling city. The names and locations Sarah had compiled and shared with her last night.

James Fliescher. Head of a successful chain of pharmacies. Otherwise known as the Empire Eighty-Eight villain Krieg.

Brad Meadows. Proponent of several dog fighting rings and underground pit fighting operations. Also known as Hookwolf.

Kayden Anders. Mother. Interior decorator. Empire parahuman artillery who also went by Purity.

The list went on.

Melody Jurist.

Nessa Biermann.

Jessica Biermann.

Taylor found them, one by one. In their homes. At work. Trying to put the pieces of the Empire back together and take advantage of the chaos in the wake of Bakuda's attack.

Crusader.

Rune.

Victor.

Othala.

Stormtiger.

And finally, the leader of Brockton's own little neo-Nazi cult, Max Anders. CEO of Medhall. The ferrokinetic villain operating under the codename Kaiser.

The Empire was undoubtedly a blight on her city, and they'd do nicely as a distraction. Taylor had no doubt that her actions would only reaffirm the Director's opinion that she was an uncontrollable wild-card.

Mainly because she was, just not in the way the Director would expect.

Taylor focused her power, and imagined a new world where all of the Empire capes were sleeping peacefully on the helipad on the roof of the PRT headquarters, unable to wake for at least a few hours. She overwrote the current reality with this new vision, and it became so.

Twelve unconscious bodies landed in front of Myrddin. He barely looked surprised.

Taylor also moved twenty-nine different mailboxes an inch to the left, gave all the pigeons in the city tiny, intangible bow-ties, and turned Sophia's hair purple. Just to throw off Dragon's scanners. And because it was funny.

Speaking of Dragon's scanners, Taylor deleted three of the drones circling the city. Specifically the one that happened to be flying over the Undersiders' base. The other two were just a smokescreen. She'd apologize to Dragon at some point after Leviathan was dead.

Step two: Create a secure base of operations so she didn't have to go through this song and dance every time she wanted to use her power.

Taylor focused her attention on the Undersiders' loft.

First, she created a fresh cup of coffee and a croissant out of thin air for Sarah. She also cleaned the shower.

Then, she got to work on the bunker Sarah had designed. It wasn't too difficult to visualize, even though Sarah's drawing and architecture skills were… questionable, at best. Not that Taylor would ever dream of telling her that.

Besides, Taylor's creations didn't have to obey pesky little things like the laws of physics. It wasn't too hard to mimic the insulation panels of the gray tile testing room in the PRT basement. She'd spent more than enough time there.

Taylor felt herself beginning to lose her hold on reality just as she put the finishing touches on their new scan-proof hideout.

One last golden butterfly announced her success to Sarah as she fell. Taylor's awareness plunged back into the amethyst sea, straying out of thought and time once more.

When her awareness returned, Taylor stood on the manicured lawn of a large suburban home. Snow covered the ground, and tasteful white Christmas lights dotted the perfectly trimmed bushes.

Ah. So it was going to be one of those trips, then. Great.

Taylor hated returning to this memory even more than her father's corpse.

Would offing herself end this one early, too?

There wasn't any easy way to do that, from here. The roof wasn't high enough. It would probably just hurt, and then she'd be stuck here for who knows how long.

So Taylor just sighed, and followed her original path.

She wandered over to the side of the house, and grew another beanstalk to peer into Sarah's room.

The walls were white, again. The bed was neatly made, the shelves stocked with decorations that weren't Sarah's.

Taylor had started to panic, at this point, the first time around. Sarah hated white walls.

Taylor strolled through the upstairs of the hollow home, looking for her. But Sarah wasn't here.

Taylor made her way downstairs.

In the dining room, two people ate at a perfectly set table, in silence. A woman with curled blonde hair in a blue dress. A tall man in a button-down with the sleeves rolled back.

"You could at least pretend to be sad that she's gone," Taylor sighed.

That wasn't what she said the first time, but it didn't make a difference, in dreams like these. She could never undo what she'd done.

"Who are you? What do you think you're doing in our house?" The shrill woman demanded.

"Just passing through," Taylor said dryly.

Of course, she hadn't said that the first time around, either.

"Wait, I remember you," the woman in the blue dress said. "From the funeral. You were talking to her."

"You can't even say her name, can you?" Taylor said.

Still not what she'd said, back then. Maybe she should have.

"She left. Ran away. She's gone," Sarah's mother hissed. "Ungrateful little bitch. After everything we did for her, everything she did, she couldn't even be bothered to-"

Taylor didn't say anything, this time, but she had, before. Several things. Not very nice things.

Nobody talked about Sarah like that.

Taylor saw the thorns start to grow before they did.

"Don't you take that tone with me, little girl," Sarah's mother yelled. "She killed him! Our Reggie! She was nothing but a useless, stupid, worthless waste of-"

Crimson thorns erupted from the walls, the ceiling, the table, the chairs.

Sarah's mother cut off with a choked gasp.

Her father didn't even manage that much.

The white walls ran red.

Taylor sighed.

"Sticks and stones," Taylor said quietly into the sudden silence. "But sometimes, it turns out words can hurt you."

The first time, she hadn't said anything. Just frozen, shut down, in horror, in fear, in something. Too many somethings to name.

Taylor watched and waited until the thorns finally melted away, along with the bodies. Not dead, not killed, just… gone.

And suddenly, the walls were white, again.

Taylor had always been good at cleaning up her messes.

The back door flew open. In the past, she ran. Like running fast enough would let her outrun her mistakes. Or let her catch up to Sarah.

In the memory, Taylor just walked. It wasn't worth the effort to run. Time wasn't real, here.

She followed her own path, out of the empty house, through the snow. A familiar walk that was both too long and too short.

Back to the graveyard.

She wandered between the weathered gray stones, capped with snow, until she found the one she was looking for.

Reginald Livsey

Memories like this didn't allow her to see herself, as she had been, when they first happened, but Taylor knew her eyes were dark. It would have been better if she could've cried, but instead, she'd just felt sick.

Taylor hadn't really understood, the first time around. She hadn't been here, before. Didn't remember returning to the graveyard, didn't remember the look on Sarah's face, because it hadn't happened, yet.

But she did find the note Sarah left for her.

The one that told her Sarah was leaving.

Told her not to look for her.

Told her not to make contact, even if she wandered back again.

Just turn around, and walk away, if she ever saw someone who looked like her Sarah.

The note, laminated and double zip-locked and carefully stowed at her brother's grave, that said Sarah needed a new life. A life that Taylor wasn't allowed to be a part of.

And so Taylor stood, alone, in the graveyard. Now, and then.

Until Christmas was over, and she knew that one day, she'd never see Sarah, again.

…

Sunday, May 15th, 2011.

Taylor was standing in waist deep water. Torrential rain thundered overhead.

Huh. She was really right back at Leviathan. That was… suspiciously easy.

She thought that she'd have to jump multiple times, and maybe her power would deign to send her where she wanted.

But no. Apparently, her power was feeling cooperative for once. There was a saying about gift horses and mouths, but Taylor was looking real hard at this one. She couldn't help but wonder when the other shoe would drop.

Well. At least she could start testing Sarah's theories right away.

First, she had to figure out where and when exactly she was, though.

She didn't bring her new costume with her, apparently. She was back in her purple T-shirt, jeans, and glasses.

That was weird, but ultimately unimportant.

A group of very waterlogged capes appeared out of nowhere just down the road. The rippling spatial distortions were very familiar.

"Vista!" Taylor yelled.

Spatial shift: Bypass.

Taylor folded the street between them and took a single step forward.

Release.

Missy tensed at her sudden appearance.

"We've got another wave incoming!" One of the other capes yelled. Maybe one of New Wave? Big guy. Lots of muscles. Tight costume. Taylor didn't bother to keep up with everyone's names.

"Weren't you just…" Missy trailed off.

Temporal shift: Relative Acceleration.

The rain slowed to a crawl around them. The screaming city became eerily quiet.

"Hey, Missy," Taylor said.

Missy's silence was unreadable, behind her visor.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," Taylor sighed. "I know we don't have time, right now, but… It's what I needed, at the time."

Missy nodded slowly.

"Dean?" She asked.

"If I get a chance to go back for him, I will," Taylor said. "But you know how it is. I can't always change what's already happened."

"Right."

Taylor took a deep breath and centered herself. She didn't know how long she'd have before the temporal displacement ended.

"You ready to help me kill this fucker?" Taylor asked.

Missy's spine straightened ever-so-slightly. That was a good sign.

"Yeah. Let's fuck him up," Missy said. She didn't smile, but that was expected. Taylor would take what she could get. "We should probably take care of that wave first, though."

Taylor glanced over her shoulder at the slowly approaching wall of water.

"Ah. Yes, that does seem like a good priority," Taylor said. "I knew you were the smart one."

Missy still didn't smile. That was okay, though. She'd had a long day. Plus, her crush just got stomped by an Endbringer right in front of her. That'd be enough to ruin anyone's mood. Even if it was just Dean.

"I'll generate, you amplify?" Taylor suggested.

Missy nodded again.

"Right. On my mark. And… release," Taylor said.

The rain began to fall again.

"Spatial shift: Domain Intrusion."

Taylor reached for the world of rust and salt, and brought it crashing into reality. The water under their feet dried up without a trace, leaving behind only cracked, red stone. Massive, twisted spires of bone-white salt erupted from the street in the direction of the wave.

Missy's power warped the new material, and suddenly the ivory wall became easily three times taller than the original formation, and wide enough to shield not only their group, but several blocks worth of battered buildings. The incoming tsunami smashed against it like thunder, but the barrier held.

The other capes in their group just stared. Taylor didn't care.

Now. Time to find Leviathan himself. She had a rematch scheduled.

"Hey, is there a 'reply all' on that thing?" Taylor gestured to Missy's wristband.

"Yeah, you just press this button and say 'Hard Override', but-"

"Sweet."

Taylor grabbed one of the random capes by the arm. They squawked in indignation, but at least they didn't attack her. She hit the button on the left.

"Hard Override: Wanderer, CD-5, second loop. Four, eighteen, twenty-eleven."

A massive crash echoed through the rain. Taylor looked up just in time to see Leviathan taking apart a group of capes on the roof of a nearby building.

Oh. Good. Now she could just-

Every armband around her came to life.

"Good timing, honey!" Lisa's voice echoed through multiple speakers at once. "Catch me, please."

Taylor saw a purple speck take a running leap from the collapsing rooftop, a roaring wave of dirty water hot on her heels.

Temporal shift: Relative Acceleration.

Both the rain and Lisa slowed in the air.

"Railgun," Taylor ordered.

Luckily, Missy didn't ask questions.

"Two steps, jump," Missy said quickly.

Taylor took two steps forward and launched herself through the hyper-compressed space at the edge of her acceleration field.

Spatial shift: Bypass.

The empty space between her and Lisa's falling body folded in on itself. Taylor twisted the orientation around so she'd emerge aimed towards the ground with all the momentum gained from Missy's compression zone. It wouldn't do Lisa any good if Taylor hit her from below and crushed both of them into paste.

Taylor rocketed out of thin air and caught Lisa in a bear hug from above as she fell.

Localized reversal.

Gravity pulled both of them back towards the sky, slowing their descent. Taylor flipped them both upright as they fell. Well, upside down to them, right now. Whatever. She aimed their feet at the ground as it approached.

"And… release," Taylor said.

At the height of their arc, about ten feet off the ground, gravity returned to its normal orientation. Taylor softened the dry, rust-red rocks under them to absorb the extra kinetic energy from their fall.

Taylor set Lisa carefully on her feet in front of Missy and the other assorted capes.

"You okay?" Taylor asked. Lisa looked alright, but she didn't like falling, upwards or downwards.

"Wow, that was a hell of a rush," Lisa gasped, pushing her drenched hair out of her face. "Thanks for the save."

Then Lisa bounced forwards and kissed Taylor quickly on the lips, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Taylor immediately short-circuited.

The very small part of her brain that was still functioning heard Missy's quiet "the fuck?"

And honestly, Taylor agreed.

"Tell past-me to get off her ass and do that, already. Now, first test was all your standard tricks, followed by a full shift to shore up the aquifer, right?" Lisa said.

Right. Taylor didn't have time to spiral right now. Fight Leviathan now, think about kissing Lisa later. Priorities.

Leviathan stared down at her from the ruined roof of the building Lisa had just jumped from. His inhuman face was just as unreadable as last time, but if Taylor had to ascribe an emotion to his empty stare, it would be… curiosity.

What the hell even were the Endbringers?

"They aren't human," Lisa chimed in. "Never were. They get more dense the deeper you go, exponentially. There's some interdimensional fuckery going on. It's getting all that matter from somewhere. Nothing should be that dense but that light."

That made sense.

"Anything immediately helpful?" Taylor asked.

"His wounds fill from within, since the interior flesh is so much denser than the exterior. I don't think his injuries are actually hurting him," Lisa mused.

Fantastic.

"Vista, do me a favor and try to keep Tattletale alive until I get back," Taylor said.

"I… what… um… okay?" Missy said weakly from behind her.

Leviathan leapt.

"Step back," Missy ordered.

Lisa, Missy, and the rest of the capes in the group disappeared.

Taylor didn't.

Leviathan loomed.

Time for round two, of many.

But Leviathan had to kill her every time, and she only had to get lucky once.

One way or another, he wasn't leaving her city alive.

…

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009.

Sarah woke up suddenly. It took her a moment to get her bearings.

Familiar, purple walls.

Her bedroom was dark, except for the dull green light of her alarm clock…

And the two glowing white rings staring at her from behind thick glasses.

For once, Taylor's sudden appearance didn't startle her. Everything felt calm, in the almost-pitch dark night. The clock on her bedside table said it was after one in the morning.

"Sarah, are you awake?" Taylor asked quietly.

"I am now," Sarah whisper-laughed. "Hey, honey. I missed you."

That was easier to admit every time. To Taylor, and to herself.

"Is it okay if I…" Taylor sounded nervous. Sarah couldn't place which version of Taylor this was, from just her voice.

"Yeah. Come here," Sarah said. Her stomach suddenly felt strangely tight, but it was fun. Exciting.

She felt Taylor's weight on the mattress next to her, pulling them together like the sinking grass from the meadow ringed in thorns.

"When is it, for you?" Sarah whispered.

Taylor's softly glowing eyes were close now. Sarah couldn't quite see the rest of her, aside from the vague silhouette of her curls.

"December 24th, 2009," Taylor said.

"Christmas, again?" Sarah asked.

"Was my last visit… right, in the rain. I remember," Taylor said. "I haven't been back since?"

Sarah shook her head, then remembered that Taylor probably couldn't see her.

Or maybe she could. Taylor was magic.

"No, it's October, 2009, right now," Sarah said.

"Wow. That's really close, actually," Taylor said.

"Yeah."

Sarah wanted to touch her, again. She missed holding her, in the rain. Missed holding her hand in the snow. She wasn't sure how to ask.

Taylor never seemed to mind, though, so Sarah decided not to overthink it. She reached forward and hunted across the top of the covers until her hand ran into Taylor's stomach, then worked her way up until she found her arm, then down to her hand.

She threaded their fingers together and pulled both their hands so they were on the bed between them, like she was praying, or something.

This version of Taylor's hands were more calloused than last time. Rougher, and stronger.

"Is this okay?" Sarah asked. Just in case.

"Yeah," Taylor replied quietly. "Very okay."

Sarah felt like she could stay here, forever.

But Taylor always had to leave.

If there was ever a time to ask, it would be now. She'd been telling herself that she would for months. Ever since Taylor's last visit.

Her parents were only getting worse. Reggie was pulling away entirely, always angry or sullen. School was a slow purgatory.

And even when she was surrounded by people, she was always alone.

Sarah's stomach twisted with anxiety, and excitement, but she forced herself to get on with it.

"I want you to find me," Sarah said. "In real life. In your current time. Do you think you can get away from the agents, or the researchers, or whoever, without time-travelling?"

Taylor stopped breathing. Part of Sarah worried that was too much to ask. Knew Taylor was too good to be true.

Maybe she wasn't real at all.

"Yeah. I think I can do that," Taylor said. "When?"

Sarah knew Taylor wouldn't find her right away, but if she told her now…

Well, the fifteen year old version of Taylor said she hadn't found her yet, but she might, eventually. Regardless, Sarah had to try.

Maybe it was possible to change the past, after all. Or the future. Or whatever this counted as.

Change her life. Past, present, and future. All of the above.

"As soon as you get back, whenever that is," Sarah said. "I want to spend Christmas with you, for real."

"Okay," Taylor said. Sarah could hear her smiling. "I kind of need to know who you are, though. I'm magic, but I'm not omnipotent. Like, what's your real name?"

"Sarah Livsey."

So, Sarah told Taylor where to find her.

She promised she'd be here, waiting.

And when Taylor eventually disappeared, and Sarah was left alone in her bed, everything didn't feel quite as hopeless. Everything felt better, knowing that she wouldn't be alone forever.

Just a little while longer.

Until Taylor found her, again.

…

Chapter Text

Lazuli 3.2

Friday, October 23rd, 2009.

Sarah watched the casket slowly disappear beneath the ground while the preacher from her parents' church rambled on and on about something that didn't matter. They could talk all they wanted about Reggie being in a better place, about him not hurting anymore, but Sarah knew the truth.

Reggie was gone. He wasn't watching them. He wasn't thinking of them, or feeling better, in some disembodied state. He didn't exist at all, anymore. Just a memory. A scar, to haunt the living.

Hopefully that's what he wanted.

Sarah felt empty, and cold, but somehow too big for her skin at the same time. Like one wrong move would tear a hole straight through her.

It should be raining. At least it was overcast.

She'd known something was off with Reggie for months. But she hadn't done anything. Hadn't said anything.

This was her fault. She should have done something.

But now it was too late.

Sarah followed after her mother and tossed her allocated handful of dirt into the pit.

Bury the memories, one handful at a time.

That's when Sarah saw her. In the distance, between the headstones.

Black curls, and white eyes.

A shiver ran down Sarah's spine. All the thoughts she'd managed to repress since she heard the gunshot last week came rushing back all at once. They pulled her under, and drowned her.

Sarah left her mother's side without a word. No one bothered to follow her. No one cared.

Their precious baby boy was gone, and nothing else mattered. No room for the ghost down the hall, except to sneer.

Sarah hated the part of herself that had hoped they would finally love her, now that Reggie was gone. What an awful thing to hope for. Even worse when it didn't come true.

Taylor just stared, in silence.

She was older. Haunted. Sarah finally understood why.

Sarah couldn't cry, anymore. It only ever made everything worse, for her.

Really, Sarah? Such a spoiled brat. I'll give you something to cry about.

But now, the feelings had nowhere to go, twisting and writhing in the pit of her stomach instead of escaping.

"Why?" Sarah rasped when she was close enough. Close, but still so far away. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Taylor's face was eerily blank.

"I don't know."

Sarah wanted to punch her.

"You could have told me! I could have… I could've done something. Anything. I could have saved him, and you just…" Sarah choked on her words.

Her knuckles were white.

"You let him die," Sarah said.

"Yes. I didn't tell you, and I can only do what I've done," Taylor said.

"That doesn't. Make. Sense!" Sarah forced out between her teeth.

"I know."

Sarah wanted to scream.

"Why?" Sarah demanded again. "Why are you here now? You're supposed to be magic. You're supposed to be able to fix things. So why're you here now, when it's too fucking late, instead of when I needed you?"

Taylor just looked… sad. Resigned. And that made it so much worse.

"I don't know," Taylor said.

"How can you not?" Sarah yelled. She didn't want her parents to come over, but she couldn't help herself.

It wasn't fair.

It was too much. Taylor, always leaving. Never knowing when or if she'd come back. The fact that half of Taylor's iterations had known about Reggie, but others didn't, because this hadn't happened to them, yet. But this version of Taylor clearly knew, and…

All of her best memories were twisted. Tainted. Because Taylor knew. And she let him die anyway.

Sarah wanted to scream. Or throw up. Or cry.

But she couldn't.

How was she supposed to take care of Taylor now? She couldn't pretend, couldn't…

"Just… go," Sarah said. "I can't handle this right now. I can't-"

"Sarah? What are you doing? Get back here," her mother's voice echoed over the gravestones.

Taylor's face contorted in some strange combination of guilt and raw, frigid hatred. Sarah had never seen her look at anyone like that, before.

She didn't have space to think about it. Couldn't bring herself to care.

"I'm so sorry, Sarah," Taylor said.

Too much.

And, at the same time, not nearly enough.

Sarah turned on her heel and walked away, between the headstones.

…

Friday, April 22nd, 2011.

Taylor's feet hit the gray tile floor hard. She stumbled a few steps forward and barely managed to catch herself on the far wall of the familiar testing chamber. She braced her hands against the cool, reinforced tile and allowed herself a moment to breathe.

Being forcibly displaced by Leviathan fucking sucked. Worse than three temporal reversions and a trip to the world of thorns.

Taylor straightened and popped her neck.

Now. Where was she? And when?

The 'where' was fairly easy. She was either in the PRT's basement, or the new bunker she'd built under the Undersiders' lair.

They would really be the Undersiders now. Because they had an underground lair. Hilarious.

Maybe she was still a bit loopy from the whole dying thing. Whatever. Sarah would probably think she was funny. Or at the very least, she'd groan and do the indulgent smile thing.

Anyway. It would also be really funny if she was in the PRT's testing chamber, but no one had started yelling at her over the intercom, yet, so it was probably the latter. Her power had been weirdly cooperative recently. Taking her back to Leviathan, and now bringing her back. The other shoe had to drop soon.

But, for now, she just had to go find Sarah and figure out…

Holy shit, Sarah kissed me.

Future-Sarah. Lisa. Whatever. Taylor touched her lips absentmindedly.

What the hell was she going to do about that?

What did she want to do about that?

She wanted to do it again.

Would that be… okay?

She'd never really considered the possibility. That felt like something that was for everyone else, but never for her. Not for the ghost of the Ward's quarters. Missy's crush on Dean was silly, and anything that came out of Dennis' mouth was dismissed out of hand, but…

But this was Sarah.

Sure, Taylor obviously liked touching her, cuddling with her, holding her hand. She always had. Taylor was well aware that she was a bit touch-starved, and Sarah was her best friend. Not to mention absurdly pretty, light freckles and green eyes and that crooked, knowing smirk that turned genuine when she least expected it. Of course touching her felt amazing.

Besides, Sarah was special. It wouldn't be the same with anyone else. It made perfect sense to want to stay close to her, after everything they'd been through. Want to fall asleep and wake up next to her every day. Take care of her and make her smile and…

Okay. So, maybe it would be very, very easy to love Sarah. Maybe she already did. Was there even a line, really? What was the difference between being friends and… something else? Something more? Did it even matter?

That was if Sarah really felt the same way…

Except future-Sarah obviously did. It was a bit stupid to worry about that, at this point, but Taylor couldn't help it. She kind of wanted to pull her hair out.

Taylor took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes hard enough to see little fireworks.

Order of operations. She had to figure out when she was, first. Then she had to debrief with Sarah about what happened with Leviathan, then they could plan her next loop, then…

Then, maybe, Taylor would think about kissing her again.

The hallway outside the testing room was nicer than the one at the PRT. Taylor hadn't exactly been paying attention to the details when she'd created the bunker, but her subconscious always filled in the little things. Polished concrete floors. Wood-paneled walls with recessed lighting.

Sarah hated white walls.

The main conference room was empty, so Taylor made her way through to what should be the general living space.

"...held a vote, Lisa. This is-" Brian's voice filtered through from the other room just as Taylor was about to push the door open.

"Without me," Lisa cut him off sharply. "And I seem to remember us agreeing to help if an Endbringer ever came to town. As a team."

Taylor froze. She couldn't help but eavesdrop. It was too tempting to know what Lisa thought of her, when she thought she wasn't listening. Taylor's stomach squirmed.

"That's different. That was… look, it's not just that. She's dangerous, Lisa," Brian said.

He wasn't wrong. Taylor had just gotten a vivid reminder of the blood on the white walls of Sarah's dining room.

"You don't understand how big this is," Lisa said. "Taylor isn't just some cape. Look around you! This place is Tinkertech, and she created it from nothing with a snap of her fingers. She healed my injuries from Bakuda as an afterthought. She creates closed causality loops constantly, casually. She can't die! They label her a Shaker and stick a twelve at the end because it's easier and less scary than admitting that she can do anything. Past, present, or future."

On one hand, it was kind of nice that Lisa thought so highly of her. On the other… Taylor felt more like a tool than ever. A valuable tool, but just a tool, at the end of the day. She was only valuable if she was useful.

Brian exhaled in frustration.

"All the more reason to be wary! This is too big for us. Not just her, but what she brings with her. The Protectorate won't just let her go quietly, and we'll get caught in their net when it closes," he said.

"You're overreacting," Lisa replied. Taylor could almost hear her rolling her eyes, but she also recognized the tension underneath. "She's worth the risk, I promise."

"To you more than the rest of us, given that you're the one sleeping with her," Alec drawled.

Taylor clenched her fist without even realizing it. It wasn't like that.

Did she want it to be?

"So what if I am?" Lisa shot back. "Bit hypocritical for you to judge over a little hedonism. I've seen your internet history. Pot, meet Kettle."

"Just pointing out the obvious."

Taylor's heart pounded in her ears. What the fuck did Lisa mean by that? Was she just doubling down to avoid losing face with the others?

Now it was Lisa's turn to sigh. Taylor was pretty sure she was faking the nonchalant attitude, though. Rolling stones and moss or whatever.

"Look. Just give everything some time for the dust to settle before we do anything rash. We haven't even heard from the boss since Bakuda, and-"

"That's the other thing," Brian interrupted. "What the hell is going on with the boss? We never got our payout from the bank."

"I don't know. The phones are shot and all the dead drops are quiet," Lisa said.

"Seems like there's a lot of things you don't know, recently," Brian said.

Silence.

Taylor didn't breathe. What did he mean?

"Fine," Lisa's voice was suddenly cold. No more faking. "Fine, Grue, you want the truth? None of it matters, anymore. Our old jobs, the money, our rep, any of it. You want to know why? Because when I try to use my power to work out what happened to Coil, I get the same blank nothing I get any time I try to read Taylor. So, either Coil got himself some new kind of fancy anti-Thinker protection, or a future version of Taylor already came back and erased him from existence."

What? Coil? How was he related to any of this?

"What?" Brian asked incredulously. "Why would she do that?"

Also a good question.

"Because I'm going to ask her very nicely to kill him for me," Lisa said.

More silence.

Taylor stared at nothing. Saw nothing.

Maybe she was just a tool for Lisa after all. A weapon. Was that the whole point? Was that why Lisa really wanted her to stay?

Did it even matter?

"You…"

Brian… Grue… didn't seem to know what to say, either.

"So take your vote and fuck off. Get Aisha, and get out of the city. Go back to pulling midnight heists and bribing CPS agents and telling yourself you're still a good person while you turn a blind eye to anything that doesn't impact you, personally. I'll make sure all your money and aliases remain available to you, but don't even think about pulling anything on your way out," Lisa spat.

The answering silence was even longer this time

A door slammed.

Lisa let out a long, slow breath.

"What about you?" She asked.

"I don't really give a shit about Coil, but the pay was good and the security was better. Without that… I'm not sure I want to put all my eggs in your girlfriend's basket, no offense. Might be time for me to make like a tree and get out of here. All of this is a bit high-key for my tastes, anyway," Alec replied. His voice sounded as dead as ever.

"Rachel?"

"Leviathan's gonna fuck everything up even worse," Bitch's gruff voice said. "Gotta get the dogs out."

"I guess that's that, then," Lisa said quietly.

"Yeah."

Another door opened, and closed.

The bunker was quiet. Taylor didn't quite remember how to breathe normally.

Lisa sighed again. This time, she just sounded tired, more than anything.

"You can come in now, honey," Sarah said.

Of course she knew Taylor was here. Sarah knew everything.

Taylor swallowed the rock in her throat and pushed the door open.

They stared at each other, alone in their new base's living room. The few feet of space between them suddenly seemed like a whole lot farther.

"When is it?" Taylor asked. Maybe something normal would help ground her.

"It's the 22nd of April, 2011," Sarah said. "Four days. Your eyes are dark."

That was good to know.

The following silence was palpable.

"Coil?" Taylor finally asked. That was as good a starting place as any.

"He was our boss. The Undersiders. He cornered me on the Boardwalk a few months after I ran away. Started the team. He… didn't exactly give me a choice in the matter," Sarah said.

That explained part of how Sarah ended up here, then. Sarah's eyes were unreadable forest depths, some mix of pain and resignation just peeking through behind the facade.

Taylor couldn't make herself look away. Didn't want to.

Did it really matter, whether or not Sarah was using her? Everyone wanted something. As long as Sarah wanted her around, Taylor wasn't sure anything else actually mattered.

At the end of the day… she'd rather be Sarah's weapon than the PRT's.

"Does he need to disappear?" Taylor asked.

"Yes."

Straightforward. Simple. Taylor could handle that.

"Okay."

Sarah blinked.

"That's all?" Sarah's voice rose with incredulity.

What else had she expected?

"I trust you," Taylor said.

Because, at the end of the day, nothing else mattered.

"You shouldn't," Sarah said.

Maybe not. It still didn't matter.

"I don't care," Taylor said.

Simple. Straightforward.

Sarah took another deep breath.

"I guess I'll do my best to live up to that, then," Sarah said eventually.

That was good. Maybe they could both do better, together. Taylor didn't want to be a villain. She didn't want to return to the PRT's leash, either. Maybe they could find something different that worked for both of them.

Taylor wanted to close the distance between them, now that that was settled, but she didn't know how. Moving was just one more thing to process, and her mind was already full.

Sarah broke eye contact first. She glanced towards the far door that led to the elevator.

"They really left," Sarah said. "I mean, I knew they would; it was unavoidable, but I just thought, maybe…"

She trailed off. Her eyes flicked back to Taylor.

"I always feel like… there's a perfect combination of words, to get what I want, you know? Say the right things, at the right time, with the right inflection, and anything is possible. So when that doesn't work, it feels like failing," Sarah said.

Sarah bit her lip and raised an awkward hand in Taylor's general direction. For once, the right words didn't seem to come naturally to her. Taylor hated seeing her so unsure of herself.

"Can I… I mean, I'd like to-" Sarah started.

Taylor closed the distance between them and pulled Sarah into her arms.

It felt natural. Like breathing. Easier than breathing.

There were still a lot of things to talk about. Was Sarah finally ready?

Regardless, Taylor wasn't going anywhere. They had time.

Sarah buried her face in Taylor's neck. They were almost the same height. Taylor tried not to get too distracted by the feeling of Sarah's breath on her throat.

"I'm not psychic," Sarah muttered. "I don't know why I said that. Sometimes the lies just… pop out. Old habits. I actually connect dots that aren't always there. Intuition. Information. Still doesn't work on you. I didn't lie about that part."

Taylor didn't answer. She just ran her fingers up and down Sarah's spine in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. Slow, and steady. Up, and down.

"When I left…" Sarah continued after a moment. "I thought Sarah would sneak back in, if I left any part of her alive. And I had to leave her behind. I wouldn't've survived, otherwise. After Reggie, my parents… I couldn't not know what they really thought. What everyone thought. It was unbearable. I never, ever wanted to be Sarah again."

That part made more sense, now that Taylor knew about Sarah's power.

Sarah wasn't done, yet. They had a lot to cover.

"It took me a while to forgive you. Which was stupid. I knew it wasn't your fault, but… It's so easy to get stuck on what could have been. What I could have done differently, if I'd known. My parents blamed me, and I turned around and blamed you," Sarah said.

Taylor wasn't blameless. She wasn't sure she deserved any kind of forgiveness, from Sarah or anyone else.

"I killed your parents."

The words slipped out before Taylor could stop them.

To her surprise, Sarah just chuckled darkly and hugged her tighter.

"I know. Well, I didn't know, but I assumed," Sarah said. "I never tried to use my power to confirm, but I knew you could erase people, and they just disappeared without a trace on the same day you were supposed to come find me. Thinking about you hurt, and I didn't need my power to connect the dots. Maybe I should have."

"Why?"

"Because then I would've known that my power doesn't work on you. That's the other reason I left you that note… People suck. So much. Literally everyone. They don't even necessarily do it on purpose. Selfish, shitty, horrible thoughts and awful reasons for doing everything they do, even if they won't admit it to themselves. I couldn't… I didn't want to see you that way. Every memory with you was so… so… I convinced myself it was better to remember you like that, even if it hurt, rather than shatter the illusion. Better to cherish a happy memory, than face the ugly reality," Sarah said.

Wow. That was… a lot. Taylor didn't know what to say. Maybe it was a good thing Sarah couldn't read her mind, after all.

"Except, I can't see you," Sarah continued. "I can only guess. But, at the same time… You're so fucking good. It's so obvious. I never should have…"

"I'm good?" Taylor leaned back to look down at her. "I just admitted to murdering your parents."

"Good riddance," Sarah waved a hand dismissively.

Taylor laughed. She couldn't help it.

"But now…" Sarah flashed a crooked grin. "I guess there's one part of Sarah I can keep around, as long as you want to stay."

Taylor started nodding into her head before Sarah even finished talking. Sarah laughed at her, and it was the best sound in the fucking world.

There were still things that needed to be said, though.

"I'm sorry. About Reggie. About-" Taylor started.

"Don't. Please," Sarah cut her off, suddenly serious again. "I… I fucked up. I hurt you. I hurt myself, and I just… Don't apologize, please. I'm so sorry for putting you through that, Taylor. I needed to figure myself out, but it doesn't undo what I did. It would be totally understandable for you to hate me. I can't imagine… Coming back, still making Christmas trees and glass forests for earlier-me, knowing…"

Sarah took a shaky breath, but didn't continue.

Taylor wasn't quite sure how to explain, but it was worth a try. It was weird. Her powers were a mind fuck.

"I wasn't even mad, really. It just felt inevitable. You were always too good to be true," Taylor said. "Every minute I got with you felt like a gift. I wasn't about to waste it."

Sarah smiled, for real. It was a bit blinding. Taylor lost her train of thought.

Then Sarah smirked, again.

"That's because it was the present, for me," Sarah deadpanned.

It took Taylor a second to catch up.

Gift. Present. Ha.

"I can't believe you actually just said that," Taylor groaned.

Then Sarah was laughing at her, again, and everything felt perfect.

"The way you see me is ridiculous," Sarah said after a moment. "You know that, right? Rose tinted glasses, much?"

Taylor just shrugged. It was a bit difficult with Sarah still locked in her arms, but she managed.

"You're awesome. Deal with it," Taylor said.

Sarah didn't quite look like she agreed, but at least she didn't argue.

The bunker was silent, again. Taylor didn't want to let go, and Sarah didn't seem like she was in a hurry to go anywhere.

"I realized some things, afterwards," Sarah said. "Even though I tried not to think about you. You figured out the temporal reversion in January."

Right. That had been earlier, for Sarah. At the ice cream shop. Taylor hadn't done a very good job of following the instructions in Sarah's note.

"Yeah. I thought, maybe, I could actually fix everything, for once… but I never could. Can't go back far enough, and time really doesn't like being rewound like that. You saw the whiplash, with the ice cream," Taylor said ruefully.

Just like always. Her power was amazing, impossible, and never enough.

"Did you leave that coat for me?" Sarah asked.

Taylor tried to remember. She'd forgotten a lot of things. Her brain still didn't always work perfectly, but things were less foggy, now.

"I don't think so. Not yet, anyway," Taylor said.

Sarah didn't ask any more questions. Taylor glanced around the living area of their new bunker. It was… warm. Sturdy, brown leather couches, a thick rug over the concrete floor, and the same wooden panels with built-in shelves.

They even had books. Taylor didn't remember making those, specifically, but her power must have filled in the gaps. Could she make books she'd never read? She'd never thought to test that. Another time.

"So… we're still doing this? Just us?" Taylor asked.

Future-Sarah and current-Sarah made it sound like their crusade against Leviathan was still on, but Taylor felt like she had to make sure.

"Yeah, as long as you aren't chickening out," Sarah grinned. Her sudden confidence was infectious, even if Taylor could tell it wasn't entirely genuine.

"Hell no," Taylor said. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily."

Sarah's face softened. A combination of relief and warmth and something danced behind her eyes. She reached up and laid a cool hand gently along Taylor's cheek.

Breathing was suddenly extremely difficult. That was fine. Taylor didn't need to breathe. She could just suffocate and die. That would be acceptable.

"The old that is strong does not wither," Sarah quoted softly.

A gold butterfly, amongst the thorns.

Taylor remembered. Of course she did. She never forgot anything, with Sarah. She'd always remember her first stumble into the glass forest, sitting beside the amethyst stream.

And her best friend, who saved her. Found her, when she was lost.

Her home that she always managed to wander back to, even though she didn't know exactly why or how.

"Deep roots are not reached by the frost," Taylor said.

And they wouldn't be. As long as Sarah wanted her around, Taylor would be here. As her friend, her tool, her weapon, and anything else.

Past, present, and future.

…

Friday, April 22nd, 2011.

The new kitchen Taylor had created was a fair bit nicer than the loft.

Sarah made them dinner. Just some kind of pasta with cheese sauce, but it was delicious to Taylor. Anything homemade was a step above MREs or shitty, frozen burritos.

Everything felt surreal, again. Sitting across from Sarah at a kitchen table, like it was normal. Like they weren't in an insulated underground bunker buried beneath Sarah's recently disbanded villain team's hideout. Like Taylor hadn't quit the Wards in the most spectacular manner possible less than a week ago.

Like it wasn't amazing that Sarah was here at all.

"Okay," Sarah said between bites of pasta, setting her Tinkertech tablet up on a folding stand. "Leviathan."

Taylor swallowed thickly. She wasn't about to talk with her mouth full in front of Sarah.

"I lasted a bit longer, this time," Taylor grinned.

"How much is 'a bit'?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe thirty seconds? Real time, at least. I realized pretty quickly that I have to keep a mobile, localized acceleration field up constantly. He's too fast to avoid otherwise, even with my Bypass. My reflexes just aren't up to it," Taylor said.

"Makes sense. Did anything fail outright?"

Taylor frowned and mentally replayed her brief duel with the Endbringer. Not that it was really a duel. More of a 'run the fuck away from the big scary monster while throwing random crap over her shoulder' kind of encounter.

"Not really. I can't hold him in an Echo field, but that was expected. He can smash right through my Domain Intrusions. The localized reversal worked, technically, but he just used his water echo to move normally. Which also means he could probably fly, if he really wanted to, but just… doesn't? Kind of freaky."

Sarah tapped her finger on the table thoughtfully for a moment.

"I wonder how intelligent they are," she mused. "All of them, really. They don't seem to be…"

Sarah's eyes widened.

"They're faking. Or sandbagging, handicapping themselves, whatever you want to call it. That's why Leviathan tore through your Absolute Isolation, but doesn't just rip apart the fabric of this reality. It's why we never win, but it still feels like we can try to fight. They adapt their power output and tactics to match the enemy they're facing," Sarah said.

Taylor just stared.

That made way too much sense, even from her own brief encounters, but…

"Oh, that fucking sucks," Taylor groaned.

"No kidding."

Taylor stood up and started pacing, remaining pasta forgotten.

"So we either need to hit him hard enough and fast enough that we surpass his maximum limit, whatever that is, or we find a weak spot in his metaphorical armor," Taylor rambled. "You said… well, future-you. I made contact with future-you, by the way. You jumped off a building."

Taylor didn't mention the kiss. She'd get to that… later. Business before pleasure.

"Did I look cool?" Sarah asked.

"Very cool," Taylor grinned.

"Excellent."

Taylor laughed, then picked up her narrative again before she could get too distracted. Sarah was very distracting when she smiled like that. Not to mention the kiss and-

"Future-you said that Leviathan's flesh gets more and more dense the deeper under his skin you get. That, and there's probably some kind of interdimensional interference going on. All that matter has to come from somewhere, right? It can't all be physically stuffed inside him; reality would collapse or something," Taylor said.

"That… sounds right," Sarah said slowly.

Taylor chewed her lip while she paced.

"Myrddin tried to trap me in one of his pocket dimensions, years ago, and he kind of succeeded. My body and consciousness were transported as expected. Of course, I just discorporated and ripped my way out, but-"

"Taylor," Sarah interrupted. Taylor couldn't decide if she sounded amused or horrified. "Are you suggesting that you're going to try to… go… inside Leviathan?"

"Well, into the pocket dimension where he keeps his extra flesh, yeah," Taylor shrugged. "If I can collapse it from the inside, then the next version of me might be able to just delete his actual body and be done with it."

"That is…" Sarah couldn't seem to find the right words to explain what 'that' was. "Okay. We'll add it to the list of tests to try out. We'll need to find a way to keep him still, and actually damage him enough to force him to pull more matter from wherever he's keeping it. Did the localized stasis work?"

"Yes and no, again. I can freeze him, but he's big, and stupidly strong. He broke out almost immediately. My time-stop isn't the same as Clock's. It takes effort to maintain, and the difficulty varies based on the target and the amount of time they remain in stasis."

"Could you get him close enough? Or maybe you put Leviathan in stasis while Vista moves Clockblocker into range?" Sarah said while actively updating her notes.

Taylor nodded.

"Do you want to try that next time, or leave it for a later loop?" Sarah asked.

"Might as well give it a try. I have some ideas using the Echo, too," Taylor said.

"Also. Tinkertech," Sarah looked at Taylor accusingly. "You can make Tinkertech, and you just… haven't?"

Taylor shrugged.

"It never seemed necessary."

"Never seemed… Taylor," Sarah groaned in exasperation. "I'm going to pull up pictures and descriptions of Hero's stuff, and we're going to try to recreate it during your next full reality shift. That's insane."

"Right," Taylor said. Maybe she should be a bit embarrassed, but she didn't really care. Sarah was the smart one. "I was thinking of Kid's alternator cannon, actually. If I could get it into an Echo field right as it fired…"

This planning session was a lot more fun than the last one. But, then again, everything with Sarah was amazing.

No matter how exciting their plans were, Taylor was already dreading the next time she had to leave. Maybe, someday, she'd actually figure out the whole time travelling thing, and she'd get to stay with Sarah forever.

…

Friday, April 22nd, 2011.

Taylor picked out a new book to read while Sarah worked on whatever it was Sarah did on her computer. She was folded up under a blanket in the desk chair, spinning herself idly back and forth in front of the bank of monitors on her desk.

Their new bedroom was still purple. Some things never change.

Even thinking of it as their bedroom sent a spike of electricity through Taylor's stomach. But it would have been silly to make an extra room for herself, when Sarah obviously wanted her to stay here.

This room was actually big enough for her to have her own bedside table and everything. Plus, she'd made new clothes for herself. The idea of stealing Sarah's was still… appealing, though.

Taylor didn't know how to bring up the kiss. It wasn't exactly easy to say 'so, future-you kissed me and told me to tell current-you to do it again. I'm definitely not lying and just making this up because I want to kiss you. Absolutely not'.

So, instead, Taylor curled up at the head of the bed and tried to read, like she wasn't a barely-contained bundle of nerves.

Everything was fine.

She was just… alone with Sarah. In their insulated, virtually unassailable underground bunker. Wearing new-old sweatpants and a T-shirt, her hair still damp from the shower.

Totally normal.

Taylor did her best to breathe evenly and focus on her book. She had to get used to being around Sarah at some point, and the quiet was nice. Soothing.

She'd technically been awake since, what? Monday morning? Time travel was weird.

Every once in a while, Sarah would spin her chair just enough to glance over at her and smile. Taylor didn't know what to make of that, but she wasn't complaining.

Maybe she'd just finish this chapter and then…

Taylor opened her eyes.

The lights were out? When did that happen?

Also, someone had removed her glasses.

The bed dipped next to her.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up," Sarah said quietly.

Lucidity always returned quickly.

"That's okay," Taylor said. She shifted to make sure Sarah had space to slide under the covers next to her. "I'm a light sleeper. Comes with the territory, when dreams can be… bad."

Sarah settled down on her side, facing away, then inched her way backwards until she was in what was, apparently, her usual spot in Taylor's arms. Not that Taylor was complaining.

"I was lying, anyway," Sarah said, in the dark. Taylor could hear her smiling. "I wasn't going to go to sleep without this. You might have gotten to skip the last few days, but I've been deprived."

And just like that, Taylor's heart was hammering in her chest, again.

Tell past-me to get off her ass and do that, already.

Taylor wanted to. She really, really did. She just didn't know how.

For now, at least, she just held Sarah tighter. Sarah hummed appreciatively, which did absolutely nothing for Taylor's self control.

Fuck. How did normal people do this? Was anything about this normal?

Okay. Still. This was Sarah. Even if this whole thing backfired somehow, they'd figure it out. Sarah wasn't running away, and she'd just chosen Taylor over her own team this afternoon.

Taylor's stomach felt like it was going to claw its way up her throat.

She couldn't tell Sarah about the kiss in the future. That felt like cheating, or something. Not cheating, like, in a relationship, but cheating at the uncertainty of asking. If Taylor told Sarah how she felt in the future, how could Sarah ever be sure of her own feelings in the present?

Paradoxes. Always more paradoxes. This was why Taylor didn't bother to track her wanderings. It always raised more questions than answers.

But for now, there was really only one question. And she had to be the one to ask it.

"Sarah…" Taylor's voice sounded strangely hollow, even to her own ears. No idea what was up with that.

"Hmmm?" Sarah hummed questioningly, leaning her head back into Taylor's shoulder.

Right. She could do this.

"Would you roll over, please?" Taylor said.

Sarah froze for a split second, and Taylor's insides froze with her.

Then Sarah turned to face her, and she was right there.

Taylor couldn't make out all the details, in the dark, but she knew Sarah was there. Their legs tangled together, and Taylor's arm wrapped automatically around Sarah's lower back.

"Hey," Sarah breathed from just a few inches away.

Taylor idly wondered if it were possible for her to spontaneously combust. Maybe she shouldn't think about that, right now. Just in case.

"Hey," Taylor said.

Her arm moved up, almost of its own accord, to touch Sarah's cheek. Light, and soft. Like Sarah had earlier, when they talked.

"Is this okay?" Taylor asked quietly. It never hurt to check.

Sarah nodded silently. Taylor's fingertips glided over her skin as she moved.

Okay. Now or never. This was Sarah. There was nothing to be embarrassed about. Nothing to dread. Turn that debilitating, all-encompassing fear into excitement.

"I… I'd really like to kiss you," Taylor almost choked on her totally not rehearsed words, but she managed. "If that's okay."

Sarah's eyes glittered, even in the dark.

"Yes, please," Sarah said.

Before she could second guess herself any further, Taylor leaned forward and closed the last of the distance between them.

She almost forgot to close her eyes. Then, when she remembered that part, she almost missed. Luckily, Taylor didn't need her eyes to see.

Her lips pressed lightly against Sarah's.

Somehow, her nervousness only escalated further. She knew her heartbeat had to be flying, but she couldn't feel it.

Sarah's lips were soft.

There wasn't any fire, the way some of her books described. No mind-melting euphoria, or rapture.

That wasn't a bad thing, though. Sarah was real. And Taylor was actually kissing her.

After a few seconds of calm, just basking in the new kind of touch, Sarah began to move her lips. Slowly. Gently. Sliding over and around and across her own. It was easy for Taylor to follow along, to complement her movements.

Everything was easy with Sarah.

Taylor felt cool fingertips on her jawline, guiding her. It was wonderful. Comforting. Her touch. Her lips. Everything. Like finally getting to lie down and stretch after the longest day of her life. A relief, from an intangible absence she hadn't even realized she was missing.

Not lightning, or wildfire, but just… the last piece slotting perfectly into a puzzle, the beautiful picture finally whole again.

Sarah sucked Taylor's upper lip in slightly just as she pulled back, and Taylor groaned instinctually at both the sensation and the sudden absence. She couldn't even find the space in her brain to be embarrassed. Her mind wasn't exactly working very well, right this second.

Sarah didn't go far, though. Just far enough to lean her forehead against Taylor's and sigh contentedly.

"I liked that more than I thought I would," Sarah said softly. "That's a pleasant surprise."

Taylor couldn't help but laugh. She felt kind of jittery, actually.

"Me, too. Well, not more than I thought I would, but I don't know what I thought I would think," Taylor said.

That was kinda nonsense, but Taylor didn't care.

Sarah smiled, and leaned in for another quick kiss. Easy. Natural. Like she could do it every day and never get bored. Taylor felt like she was floating.

Then Sarah leaned back and propped herself up on one elbow to look down at her.

"I'm not… I don't feel the same kind of attraction, that everyone else describes," Sarah said slowly. Deliberately. "It's different, for me. It always has been. I kept waiting for the desire, the excitement, and it just… never showed up."

Taylor tried to focus, through the happy soup that was her brain, currently. This sounded important.

"I guess, what I'm trying to say is, I liked kissing you. I like kissing you. I want to do it again. But it's… only because it's you. And it's… different, for me, than it probably is for you. I like it on a conceptual level. I like touching you. I like knowing you're here, and that you're happy," Sarah said. "I like making you happy. I like taking care of you. I just don't want to make any promises that I can't keep."

Taylor nodded, digesting the words.

That definitely wasn't a rejection, and the future was never set in stone. She should know.

"Okay," Taylor said. "I trust you, Sarah. This is all new to me, too, you know? We'll figure it out, together?"

Sarah's answering smile took her breath away.

"I think I'd like that," Sarah whispered. "I think I'd like that a lot."

Perfect. She was perfect.

"Me, too," Taylor grinned. The future could wait a little while longer. "Can I kiss you again?"

"Obviously," Sarah's eyes sparkled. "Practice makes perfect."

In some ways, Taylor had all the time in the world. In others, she never had enough.

Sarah leaned down and captured her lips again. Taylor fell into the easy movements with her, letting Sarah take the lead and show her what she liked. What she wanted.

Sarah might be worried about making promises she couldn't keep, but she didn't know that Taylor had already promised her anything she wanted.

And that was never going to change.

Maybe she should tell Sarah that, later. When her mouth wasn't quite so busy. She certainly wasn't going to stop to say it now.

For once, they had time. Maybe not forever, but… enough.

For now.

…

Chapter Text

Lazuli 3.3

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011.

Taylor woke up slowly, for once. She did her usual checks to make sure her metaphorical walls were still up almost lazily, without opening her eyes.

No new thorns or crystals to deal with. No bad dreams.

A warm, reassuring weight pressed against her side, across her thighs, and up onto her shoulder.

Sarah hadn't moved all night?

Then again, Taylor hadn't, either. Sleeping wrapped up in Sarah felt like a dream.

Even in her sleep, Sarah still clutched her hand tightly against her chest. A pleasant ember of contentment settled deep in the pit of Taylor's stomach.

None of this felt real. It seemed too good to be true, like she was going to disappear at any moment. Whisked away to another time when she was alone, again.

Taylor didn't move for a long time, basking in her little peaceful, impossible bubble. Listening to Sarah's slow, even breaths. Feeling the subtle air movements over her collarbone.

Sarah said she was magic, but to Taylor… This was magic. Too perfect to be mundane. Maybe she should set up an Echo field, so they could just exist like this forever.

Taylor finally got around to opening her eyes. There was no natural light, in their insulated bunker, but the low Tinkertech lighting inlaid into the walls gave off just enough residual glow to see without dipping into her power.

Sarah was half-flopped on top of her, one leg casually thrown over both of hers, stretched out and relaxed. A decent amount of Sarah's hair had escaped her nightly braid, flying loose around her face. Freckles, and pink, slightly swollen lips.

Taylor already wanted to kiss her again. It was a bit ridiculous, but she'd never get enough, now that she knew it was okay.

Maybe she should go make coffee, first? Or start on breakfast? And brush her teeth? What would Sarah want, when she woke up?

I like knowing you're here.

Taylor looked down at Sarah's hand, still clamped around her own.

She'd considered all the times she'd visited Sarah while she wandered before, of course. The memories were burned into her brain. She knew, objectively, that it had to suck for Sarah to be stuck with a friend who couldn't stay.

But now, lying here with her… Taylor couldn't help but picture Sarah after she left, every time. Sitting alone in the forest. Alone on the patio of that random ice cream parlor. Alone in the rain.

Suddenly, and unexpectedly alone, hands and arms empty, over and over and over.

No wonder Sarah wanted to stay with her, hold her, touch her. Taylor was always the one leaving, and never the one being left behind. It made her want to cry.

Taylor decided that she'd never make Sarah wake up alone, again. Not while she was still here, in this present, at least. It might not be ideal, but Taylor was reasonably sure that Sarah would rather be woken up early than alone. If that wasn't the case, she'd let Sarah tell her that directly, rather than assuming.

Sarah shifted slightly in her sleep and released a quiet, involuntary sigh. Taylor couldn't help but smile.

She pulled the hand not currently locked in Sarah's vice grip up to run her fingertips over Sarah's spine, tracing aimless patterns across her T-shirt.

It took a few seconds, but Sarah wasn't a particularly heavy sleeper, either. She stretched against Taylor's side, her leg straightening and extending as she hummed appreciatively. Then she craned her head back, eyes still closed, and kissed the edge of Taylor's jaw.

Easy, and natural. Taylor's whole body felt kind of tingly.

"Morning, honey," Sarah mumbled into her neck.

I love her.

That wasn't really surprising. Hadn't she just been ruminating on how easy it would be to fall in love with Sarah, yesterday? Before she'd even really kissed her? Well, current-her, at least.

How could she not?

She'd wait, to tell her, though. Taylor didn't want to put any pressure on her so soon.

But it was nice, really nice, to think to herself, regardless.

"Hey," Taylor said. Her fingers continued their dance across Sarah's shoulder blades.

I love her.

Sarah hummed again and pressed her face back into Taylor's collarbone, repositioning slightly to snuggle back down into the mattress.

"That feels nice," Sarah said.

Taylor could just barely see her smiling into her chest.

I love her.

"Yeah, it really does," Taylor agreed.

…

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011.

Taylor tried her best to focus on the active burners in front of her. It was difficult to mess up eggs and breakfast potatoes, but you never know.

Cooking definitely wasn't her strong suit. She didn't exactly do much of it at the PRT. But she could handle breakfast.

Well. She could make eggs. And potatoes. And put cheese on them. Usually she would wrap them in a tortilla. Okay, she could make breakfast burritos. Or, in this case, deconstructed breakfast burritos. Burrito minus the tortilla. Maybe she should make toast instead? That couldn't be too hard, right?

Sarah just sipped her coffee and watched from her perch on the edge of the counter. An indulgent grin danced across her face. It was only a little bit crooked. Taylor didn't let herself look for too long, or she'd burn something for sure. Possibly herself. Maybe the eggs. It was a toss up.

Sometimes, Taylor thought that Sarah might be lying about her power not working on her. She always seemed to know.

Clearly, Sarah was just too smart for Taylor's own good. Not that she would ever actually complain about that.

"What's on the to-do list for today?" Taylor asked. Mainly because feeling Sarah's eyes following her in silence was going to make her spontaneously discorporate soon, and then the potatoes would burn.

"I want to see if you can intentionally mimic Tinkertech with your constructs without triggering a full reality shift," Sarah said. She took another sip of her coffee. "I still can't believe Armsmaster or Dragon didn't think of it."

Taylor shrugged.

"The fine control is a pretty recent development. Until a couple months ago, I was lucky to do much besides grow thorns and crystals where they don't belong. Just making my clothes the other night was a novelty. I mean, I could implement a Domain Intrusion, but that feels different. It's like overlaying one of my worlds onto this one, rather than changing this world directly, if that makes sense."

"But you're feeling better about those kinds of direct changes, now?" Sarah asked.

Taylor transferred their totally-not-breakfast-burritos onto two plates, and handed one to Sarah.

"A bit, yeah. Necessity is the mother of invention or whatever. There's still a risk every time I let my power through, but small things seem kind of instinctual. Like, I don't know the chemical composition of polyester, but I can make a T-shirt. I don't know organic chemistry, but I still turned Shadow Stalker's crossbow into a chicken."

"You-" Sarah snorted and inhaled some eggs.

Taylor internally debated whether it was worth it to try to delete the obstruction in Sarah's windpipe. Probably not. She was still coughing, which meant she wasn't actually choking.

"Hey. Don't die, please," Taylor said.

Sarah flipped her off. It was kind of funny.

Existing around Sarah was getting easier every day.

"Anyway, yeah, I feel pretty confident with making small things and then reeling my power back in without going crazy. I created like fifty grand to bribe Faultline, and nothing-"

"You what?" Sarah spluttered.

"Did I not mention that?" Taylor frowned. She couldn't remember. "Yeah. I didn't know how to find you, after the whole PHQ incident, but I knew Faultline operated out of the Palanquin, so I wandered in there and basically blackmailed her into telling me where Bitch's shelter was. I technically owe her a favor, too, actually. I should probably check on that."

Sarah just stared at her for a long moment.

"What?" Taylor asked defensively when the silence started to drag on.

"Nothing," Sarah grinned and shook her head. "I could always shoot her a text, if you want."

"You have Faultline's number? Why didn't she just say that in the first place?" Taylor blinked. She'd spent half the night wandering around the Trainyards and gotten into a fight with Bitch for no reason?

"I have Faultline's number. Faultline does not have my number," Sarah's smile sharpened.

Ah. Maybe that's why Faultline didn't seem to like Sarah.

"That's okay. Phones are probably still shot anyway," Taylor said.

"Is it weird that I already forgot about that? This place is like its own little world."

"Our own fortunate isle," Taylor grinned.

"Yeah," Sarah agreed in a weirdly pensive tone.

They ate in silence for a while.

"It's been a long time since I felt safe," Sarah said suddenly.

Taylor blinked.

"I'm… sorry? I guess?" Taylor didn't know what else to say.

"No apologizing," Sarah reminded her.

Right.

"In that case, I'm totally not sorry at all," Taylor said.

Sarah laughed. Taylor lost her train of thought.

"Thank you," Sarah's voice suddenly sounded unusually heavy.

"For what?" Taylor asked. She hadn't done anything. Besides breakfast and coffee. And not apologizing.

Sarah's eyes dissected her over the rim of her coffee cup. Taylor could feel her picking her apart from within, figuring out what made her tick. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation.

"Don't worry about it," Sarah said eventually.

"Okay."

They finished their breakfast in what Taylor hoped was comfortable silence. That's how it felt to her, anyway.

"Ready for some good old-fashioned power testing?" Sarah said as she put their plates in the sink.

"It's my favorite hobby," Taylor deadpanned.

It would probably be a lot more enjoyable with Sarah, though.

Everything was.

…

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011.

Taylor bounced on her toes restlessly in the gray tile room while Sarah tapped away on her tablet.

"Okay. How much information about something do you normally need to recreate it?" Sarah asked.

"It has to be subconscious, right? Like, I know what something is, what it's supposed to do. I can picture it. But I don't need to know how it does that. My power fills in the gaps. I mean, I created books I've never read when I made this safehouse," Taylor said.

Sarah blinked.

"I hadn't even considered that. How the hell did you do that?"

Taylor laughed.

"Out of everything I've done, that's what throws you for a loop?" Taylor said.

"It's just so… It feels extra impossible, even compared to making computers and clothes out of nothing. How could your power possibly know what words to print in the books?"

Sarah ran a hand over her face like Taylor's enigmatic power physically pained her.

"Magic," Taylor grinned.

"Right. How could I forget," Sarah muttered. "Okay. This is an old report about one of Hero's power sources. Here's the description, and you can swipe to see an image."

Taylor took the tablet and did as she was told.

It looked like a dull gold triangle about three inches across. It generated electricity. Cool.

Taylor held out a hand, and let a whisper of power leak through the walls. An identical gold triangle appeared on her palm. Not really any different than making stacks of cash, at the end of the day.

Sarah's mouth fell open slightly.

"What?" Taylor asked again.

And again, Sarah just snapped her mouth closed and shook her head.

"That is not even remotely fair," Sarah complained.

Taylor almost apologized before she remembered the rule.

"Okay!" Sarah said. Again. She clapped her hands once and snatched the tablet back. "Let's talk mechanical, electromagnetic, and matter waves."

Taylor decided that Sarah and Colin would either get along great or hate each other with a burning passion, with very little in between.

…

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011.

Taylor turned the page of her current book, once again trying to focus on the words rather than the Sarah show. It was extremely difficult.

Sarah was sitting at her workstation in the living room. It was much more robust than her tablet or laptop, with multiple screens and a keyboard that made very satisfying clicking sounds. She spun halfway around in one direction in her desk chair, then let herself swing back the other way. Back and forth, like a metronome, while she worked on whatever multitude of ongoing projects she had in progress. It was cute.

She had her headphones in. Taylor idly wondered what kind of music she was listening to. She'd have to remember to ask, later.

Taylor knew she should also probably ask Sarah about her projects at some point, but… that was Sarah's business. It didn't seem right to butt in. Tattletale was still a villain, even if Sarah was happy with Taylor.

Maybe she should be more bothered by that, but it just didn't seem important. As long as Sarah wasn't actively hurting innocent people, Taylor found it difficult to care whether her actions were technically illegal or not. Fighting villains was all well and good, but there was a clear distinction in Taylor's mind between villains like the Nine and villains like the Undersiders.

As demeaning as it sounded, villains like Tattletale weren't important, in the grand scheme of things. Sarah was important, because Taylor loved her, but that was different.

Taylor decided that she was content to be Sarah's weapon, but not Tattletale's. That seemed like a workable compromise.

Sarah met her gaze on her next half-revolution, and paused.

Taylor couldn't bring herself to look away. Sarah's eyes were like magnets.

Then Sarah smiled, took out her headphones, and stood up. Taylor watched with mild interest as she pushed the coffee table to the side with one foot, leaving a wide open space on the rug.

"Come here," Sarah said. She even did the little gesture with one finger.

Taylor raised an eyebrow, but put her book down and did as she was told anyway.

Sarah leaned over and hit a button on her keyboard. The music that had previously been playing through her headphones filtered through the speakers instead, filling the corners of the room with some kind of jazz Taylor didn't recognize.

"Dance with me," Sarah said.

Taylor's stomach clenched. She snorted lightly to cover the sudden, unexpected nervousness.

"I've never danced to anything in my whole life," Taylor said. "Not exactly high on the list of PRT training activities."

"Not even before that?" Sarah asked.

"Not the same."

Sarah smirked and wandered over, reaching up to run her hand lightly down the center of Taylor's chest, over her shirt. Taylor swallowed reflexively.

"I'm sure you have applicable experience," Sarah said. "You know how to fight, right?"

"I mean, yeah, um…" Taylor wasn't sure how to describe her somewhat obsessive fixation on training any time she wasn't displaced. It wasn't like there was anything better to do.

"It's not all that different," Sarah said. "Here…"

Sarah grabbed Taylor's hand and put it on her shoulder, then wrapped her arm around Taylor's waist. She caught Taylor's right hand in her left.

Before Taylor knew what was happening, she was swaying gently to the music in Sarah's arms.

Okay. So maybe dancing was pretty alright, after all.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Sarah grinned at her.

"Sure."

Taylor wasn't sure what secrets Sarah had left, but it didn't really matter.

They were almost the same height. Just inches away. Taylor could close the distance and kiss her anytime she wanted.

She almost did.

Sarah must have read her mind, because her smile widened and she leaned in to press a quick kiss to Taylor's lips before she continued.

"I have no fucking clue how to dance, either," Sarah said. "My mother tried to force me into lessons when I was a kid, but I always found a way to escape."

Taylor laughed. That actually made her feel better, although even just the mention of Sarah's mother made her blood simmer.

"I guess we're a good match, then," Taylor said.

In a weird burst of motivation, Taylor lifted her arm so Sarah could spin under it. It kind of worked, and it made Sarah laugh, so Taylor counted that as a win.

"I like to think so," Sarah smiled widely as she landed back in Taylor's arms with only a little bit of awkward repositioning.

Then Sarah leaned her head forward to rest her chin on Taylor's shoulder. She buried her face in Taylor's mess of wild curls, holding her tightly as they swayed slowly in place.

Taylor wasn't sure they were actually following the beat at all anymore. That wasn't important.

"What were you like, before?" Sarah asked eventually. "You got to know me, sort of, even though we never had enough time. I never got to meet the other you."

Taylor frowned while she considered her answer.

"I was… lighter. Carefree, and careless," Taylor said. "I don't need to know the details, but I know your family wasn't… kind… to you."

Taylor took a deep breath. Talking about this kind of stuff wasn't usually so hard, but it felt different, with Sarah. Deeper. Important.

Taylor wanted Sarah to know her. All of her. Everyone else just got to step in shallow puddles, but Sarah was already floating in her endless sea.

"My family might have had their issues, but I never saw the cracks. Mom and Dad were perfect, to me. Mom was so smart, and beautiful, and so good at everything. Dad worked hard, always working on something, but he always had time for me. Always smiled at me. He always listened. He said I was a chatterbox," Taylor smiled sadly.

"I think I can see that," Sarah said. "It still comes through, every once in a while."

"Yeah. I guess I was… normal, as crazy as it sounds. I liked school. Liked my friends. I had a best friend, Emma. Her family was like my family, always around each other's houses. She could be a bit stuck up, sometimes, but she was great."

"What happened to her?" Sarah asked.

Taylor shrugged.

"I had to leave, after I got my powers. Never saw her again. Don't know what story the PRT told her. My parents were dead, and I had an unpredictable power that may or may not cause the collapse of our current reality as we know it. The PRT was nervous, to say the least. I know I mentioned the Asylum, but I'm probably legitimately lucky they didn't try to send me there. They probably would've, if they thought they could've gotten away with it. But, for whatever reason, the Director agreed to keep me on site, despite the thorns growing out of the walls and the elevator occasionally turning into a goat."

Taylor smirked at a memory.

"Then, of course, I finally got pissed at being stuck inside all the time, so I talked Missy into helping me sneak out and kill Nilbog. The Director was a bit more flexible, after that, even if she would never admit it," Taylor said.

"Missy?"

"Oh. Whoops. Vista. Forget I said that, please," Taylor frowned. "Although, I guess I should tell you that I actually like Vista. She's my friend, although she's probably pissed at me right now. I'd appreciate it if you didn't hurt her, not that she's easy to hurt. She's one of the good ones."

"She was mad when you left?" Sarah asked.

Taylor sighed.

"Yeah. She's… We were a team, you know? The freaky reality warpers. The others knew we were playing in a whole different league, and it showed. They didn't officially know about any of my off-the-books activities, but Missy did. I think the others probably suspected something, though. Dean, at least. He was always wary around me. Nervous."

"You have to stop with the names, Wanderer," Sarah shook her head.

It took a moment for Taylor to realize she'd said Dean and not Gallant. Whoops.

"That's okay. Leviathan's going to kill him anyway," Taylor said. "Missy has a crush on him. She's gonna be sad."

Sarah just looked at her with a strange expression.

"What?" Taylor asked.

"I just forget, sometimes," Sarah said. "It's really hard, being you, isn't it?"

Taylor wasn't sure what she meant by that.

"It's not so bad," Taylor shrugged again, then smiled. "Right now, it's not even a little bit bad."

"Not at all?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.

Taylor held her tighter.

"Nope. Because you're here, and I can do this-"

Taylor leaned forward and kissed her. Sarah grinned into her lips.

"-and, by definition, that means being me is amazing," Taylor finished.

"You really are," Sarah said quietly.

Taylor wasn't sure how to take the compliment. It wasn't like she got very many.

"For the record, I like the chatterbox," Sarah continued. "Feel free to chatter about anything you want. Maybe not while I'm trying to sleep, but any other time is fair game."

"You don't know what you're asking for," Taylor warned seriously.

Sarah just laughed.

God, Taylor loved making her laugh.

Loved her. All of her.

Part of her wanted to ask Sarah about her other self, too. Taylor knew Sarah, but she didn't really know Lisa very well. She'd missed the last year and a half, and she only had the most bare-bones explanation.

But it didn't feel like the right time, right now. Terrible dancing and tragic backstory aside, this was… warm. And happy.

Lisa's life didn't really sound like it had been either of those things.

So Taylor didn't ask. They had time.

"I just started this book, and it's good so far, but it's super weird," Taylor said, instead. Sarah said she liked listening. "It's written in, like, journal entries, and I don't actually know what's going on because it kind of starts in the middle and the protagonist seems a bit out of his mind, but it's really interesting because…"

…

Sunday, April 24th, 2011.

The gray tile room seemed darker without Sarah.

At least she wasn't far.

"Ready whenever you are, honey," Sarah's voice filtered through the intercom system.

Taylor didn't want to leave. She knew Sarah didn't want her to, either. But they needed to keep trying, and they were still on a time limit. T-minus three weeks until splashdown.

Plus, Taylor's wanderings had other benefits. Eventually she needed to pop back and deal with Coil. And make Sarah a new coat.

It didn't mean she had to like it, though. Maybe a future version of her would come back to keep Sarah company while she was gone.

"Alright," Taylor said, mostly to herself. She took a deep breath. "See you later. Or maybe earlier. You know how it goes."

It wasn't really a joke, anymore, but she couldn't help herself.

"And… Release."

Taylor let the walls fall, and went wandering. The gray tiles dropped away, and the world shifted out of focus. Paint ran on the canvas in the rain.

Then, she stood in the center of a flat, lilac lake. Perfectly round and impossibly wide, with sheer obsidian cliffs lining the edges. The water beneath her feet was solid.

Neat. She hadn't been here before. New worlds were always interesting.

Taylor wasn't really in the mood to walk, and this was her world. The rules were different.

The wind picked up, although it didn't cause any ripples to form, and Taylor drifted away through the pale orange sky.

This world looked even more alien from above.

The lilac lake was only one of many. Wide, perfect circles of light purple not-water dotted the landscape. The areas in between were defined by jagged, irregular crags of opaque black glass.

Interesting. That could be useful. It was always good to have a stockpile of heavy matter to pull from. Lots of problems could be solved by just chucking a giant obsidian mountain at them.

Angry, wordless roars reached her ears.

Taylor turned to follow the new trail.

She landed on the surface of a different lake. The sound of crashing masonry echoed around her. The air was uncomfortably hot, and…

It was nighttime. The sky wasn't orange anymore. Instead of the lilac lake, she now stood on a barely stable patch of asphalt between piles of burning rubble.

Colin landed in a heap next to her. His armor was scorched, bent, and more than a little bit melted. That was weird. He should take better care of his things.

"Kinda looks like you're losing," Taylor observed dryly.

A building down the street collapsed as Lung ripped his way free. His skin was already covered in a thick layer of shifting metal. White-hot flames flickered between the scales.

Ah. So that's when she was. That made sense.

Colin hadn't mentioned her involvement in his debrief. Wonder why?

"Wanderer," Colin groaned between his teeth. "Report."

Hilarious.

"Yeah, no. How about, 'fuck off'," Taylor said.

He glanced up at her in confusion through a crack in his visor.

Oh. Right. This version of him hadn't tried to toss her in the brig yet. Whoops.

Maybe that's why he'd been so prickly after the bank.

Whatever. Spilled milk.

Taylor snapped her fingers.

Spatial shift: Domain Intrusion.

The world of thorns invaded the Bay.

Lung screamed. Long, crimson barbs drove through his burning metal flesh from all sides, pinning him to the street by his arms and legs.

Heat warped the air around him, but his fire did nothing to Taylor's thorns. He squirmed ineffectively as he tried to rip his way free, but his regeneration was no use against the invaders actively embedded in his bones. They weren't even real, anyway.

The neurotoxin that flooded his system definitely was, though.

His regeneration tried its best, but this wasn't an enemy he could burn away. There wasn't anyone to fight. Just the otherworldly constructs, and his own useless strength tearing him apart.

Taylor just stared blankly as his struggles grew weaker and weaker.

The clouds of unnatural darkness down the street behind him faded.

Huh. Grue was nearby. Was Sarah here somewhere, too?

Part of Taylor wanted to go find her, but she didn't. She'd see her soon. The bank robbery was in, what? A week? She hadn't been paying attention at the time.

Lung finally returned to the form of an unconscious, unfortunately naked man. Taylor sighed and yanked the thorns back into the dark recesses of her soul.

"You may want to get him to Panacea before he bleeds out," Taylor said. "I've heard that the PRT frowns on heroes resorting to homicide. Not that I'd know."

Before Colin could reply, Taylor snapped her fingers again, and let herself fall through the burning street and back into the amethyst sea.

…

Sunday, May 15th, 2011.

Taylor landed on the churning surface of the water, right smack in the middle of the Bay. At least she had the wherewithal to adjust the surface tension under her feet to avoid going for a swim.

What was it with her power and setting her down in water, today?

Thunder boomed overhead.

Time for round three, then.

Taylor's power flowed freely into the world.

Her amethyst armor coalesced onto her body, hardening into the familiar plates from her overdramatic showdown with Myrddin.

The old wizard had to be around here somewhere. She should find him on one of the loops.

Unlike last time, Taylor made sure to include Sarah's suggestions. Glowing fissures of power formed within the heart of the crystals.

Everyone knew Tinkertech was bullshit. Was there even a difference between technology and magic, at this point?

Taylor borrowed Hero's power, and integrated it into her own crystal armor. Hopefully he wouldn't mind. It was for a good cause, after all. Besides, he was dead. He couldn't exactly mind anything, anymore.

Her new costume shone with inner light, a beacon on the dark water. Her cloak flared in the wind, and Taylor pulled her hood up against the torrential downpour.

She also made herself an armband, this time around. Not like there was anyone to borrow one from out here.

"Hard Override: Wanderer, CF-3, third loop. Four, twenty-four, twenty-eleven."

A new voice cut in as soon as she finished her announcement.

"All active combatants, disengage immediately."

Taylor didn't know her personally, but even she recognized Alexandria's voice from the press recordings.

Huh. It probably should have occurred to her sooner that Alexandria was here. Alexandria had heard Lisa, last time, and-

"Express delivery incoming," Lisa's cheery voice chimed through a split second later. "Knock 'em dead, honey!"

Taylor idly wondered whether or not she should be embarrassed, and then decided not.

Space warped in front of her, and suddenly Leviathan was right there.

At least he also seemed confused by this development.

Thanks for that, Missy.

Well, straight into the deep end, then. Literally.

Temporal shift: Relative Acceleration.

Taylor tied the acceleration field to her armor, and pulled it tightly around herself like a second cloak. She needed it to move with her. Leviathan would turn her to paste in a heartbeat if she let it fall.

The rain slowed to a crawl around her.

Leviathan didn't.

Even compared to her personal bubble of accelerated time, Leviathan was fast.

Localized reversal.

Taylor fell towards the sky. Deadly claws passed just inches beneath her toes. Or above her toes, depending on the perspective. In her own relative time, she fell at 9.8 meters per second per second. Compared to the rest of the world, she took off like a rocket. Quite a bit faster than a rocket, actually.

Leviathan drew his water echo around his scaly, disproportionate body, and flew after her.

Apparently, he was done playing games. Or at least, he was matching her. Bullshit.

Spatial shift: Domain Intrusion.

Taylor brought the world of stars back for an encore.

Unnatural sunlight flooded the sky, highlighting the blanket of clouds overhead in strange patterns. Clouds weren't normally lit from underneath. It was uncanny, especially with the frozen rain.

Water began to rise from the Bay, far below.

The gravity of the stars did weird things while her localized reversal was still active. She should have been getting pulled into their center mass, so instead she was thrown away in a wide arc, back down... up? Towards the Bay.

And back towards her target.

Gravitational shift: Magnitude.

Her personal gravity multiplied substantially. What had previously been a gentle push away from the stars overhead became an unstoppable battering ram.

Taylor plunged to meet her target midair.

Leviathan tried to use his water echo to throw himself out of the way, but he was heavy, and he couldn't quite manage to change course quickly enough.

Instead, he formed a curved shield of water over his head.

Taylor hit the wall of water feet first. Between her temporal acceleration and increased gravity, she had no idea how fast she was going. Definitely fast enough to turn her body into a red smear. At this speed, the surface tension of the water would be as hard as concrete, without even taking into account Leviathan's control.

But she always had more tricks up her crystalized sleeves.

Energy shift: Kinetic Redirection.

The force of her impact was converted into electromagnetic waves by Hero's power, flowing through the channels built into her armor. For a brief moment, the light within her amethyst crystals dwarfed the stars overhead. Taylor harnessed the power before it could escape, and aimed it where and how she wanted.

Energy. Gravity. Matter. Time. It was all part of the canvas. Pigments she could blend until they served her purposes.

Localized dissolution.

A blinding blast of golden light exploded from her gauntlets. Leviathan twisted with unnatural fluidity to avoid the worst of the deadly light, but he still lost everything from the waist down.

Damn. She'd been aiming for his head.

Leviathan's torso continued towards her, claws descending to rip her apart. That was... less than ideal.

Release.

Taylor's gravity returned to normal, pulling her back upwards towards the stars.

Not quickly enough, though.

She raised one arm to block the enormous incoming claws, even though she knew it would do exactly jack shit. Her armor wasn't that tough, and Leviathan was cheating with his dimensional control or whatever.

The world twisted around her. Suddenly she was behind Leviathan, facing him from below, and his claws hit nothing but air.

Taylor smiled.

Missy was always on top of things.

Unfortunately, that also meant that Taylor must have released her temporal acceleration when she released her localized reversal. Too many concurrent shifts. It was hard to keep track.

Leviathan's tail regenerated in the blink of an eye, spearing Taylor's body straight through her stomach and exiting through her spine. Her legs went limp.

Son of a bitch.

Luckily, there were some benefits to having Leviathan inside her. Also, on an unrelated note, Dennis was never allowed to know about this.

Localized stasis.

Leviathan froze, locked in time and space relative to the planet. Taylor was suspended from his tail like a worm on a hook. She didn't include his water echo in the stasis field, so the floating blob of liquid continued its upward trajectory towards the stars.

She and Leviathan hung still and alone in the empty air.

Taylor hit the left button on her armband.

"Hard Override: Railgun. Straight down," Taylor coughed a concerning amount of blood all over her communicator. That was fine.

Release.

Taylor dropped all of her active shifts, including the stars overhead and the stasis holding Leviathan in place.

Temporal shift: Relative Acceleration.

This time, she made the acceleration field as large as she could, encompassing both herself and Leviathan.

Gravitational shift: Magnitude.

Without his water echo to hold him aloft, she and Leviathan both plummeted like meteors towards the Bay far below.

Leviathan ripped his tail out of her as they fell. Taylor was past the point of feeling anything, anymore.

Spatial shift: Splinter.

The water of the Bay split into six even pieces, folding outwards like a hexagonal flower. Taylor could feel Leviathan trying to pull the water back to him, but it just moved straight from one segment of the split sea to the next, without physically passing in between. The water surged upwards, but it couldn't change the shape of its container.

They both hit the edge of the temporal acceleration field at the same time. They both passed through Missy's hyper-condensed layer of space.

The combination of the temporal shift, the gravitational shift, and the condensed physical space multiplied their momentum exponentially.

In less than the blink of an eye, Taylor and Leviathan both slammed into the rocky floor of the Bay with enough force to buckle the earth and send a sonic boom echoing across the water.

Energy shift: Kinetic Redirection.

Gotcha, asshole.

Blinding light flowed through what was left of her armor.

Localized dissolution.

The blast of golden light was too wide for Leviathan to avoid this time. Especially considering he was still halfway embedded in the seafloor, with no water around to help.

His body disintegrated.

All that remained was a scar in the canvas, floating where leviathan's chest used to be. A hole in the world that was already rapidly regenerating his physical body from somewhere else.

Well. Her current body was pretty much done for, anyway. No point sticking around. This was a much more productive test than they'd expected. Hopefully Sarah would be happy.

Taylor saw her opportunity, and took it without hesitation.

Full reality shift: Absolute Isolation.

This time, instead of taking Leviathan with her into one of her worlds… Taylor threw herself into his.

…

Thursday, August 9th, 2007.

Taylor wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't this.

Fog extended in every direction. The sky overhead was a strange, flat gray. There was no sun or moon or stars to be seen. She swore she could see vague shapes moving in the fog, but they always melted away when she looked closer.

Weird. Was this Leviathan's world, or had she wandered somewhere else, by accident?

Taylor looked down at herself.

Purple T-shirt. Jeans. Glasses. No cool costume or Tinkertech armor.

It felt like she was back in one of her memories, but she would definitely remember this place, and she didn't. This wasn't one of her worlds.

Taylor stood in the fog for a minute while the adrenaline from fighting Leviathan and her subsequent demise wore off.

Then, with nothing else to do, she began to wander through the mist. Keep moving forward.

It felt like someone was watching her. Or something.

"I don't suppose you could tell me where to go?" Taylor asked the empty fog.

The fog didn't answer.

Taylor turned, looked around again.

There was a splash of purple in the fog behind her. That definitely hadn't been there before.

Very weird.

Taylor turned and wandered closer.

It was… a statue?

A life-sized statue of a woman, carved in amethyst crystal. The woman was featureless, and somehow not indecent, despite not wearing any clothes. The pose was odd, too. Bent over, but not on hands and knees, or bowing. The statue's arms hung limp at her sides, knees flexed awkwardly. Her hair was long, pooling in the fog on the ground.

The only notable feature was the knife lodged deep in the back of her neck, at the base of her skull.

Taylor circled the statue carefully.

The knife wasn't made of the same purple crystal as the rest of the woman. It was old-fashioned, and small. A hilt barely big enough for her hand, wrapped in leather. Taylor couldn't tell how long the blade was.

This was very strange, even by her standards.

Part of her wanted to take the knife out. It seemed like the thing to do. Weird, crystal statue. Knife stuck into it like King Arthur's sword or something.

That also seemed like a monumentally stupid idea.

Taylor was curious, though.

She wandered closer.

She reached up without thinking. She wanted to see if the amethyst surface of the woman's skin was as smooth as it looked.

The moment Taylor touched the statue, the world around them changed.

Taylor was standing alone in a familiar glass forest. No creepy stabbed statue lady in sight. She couldn't tell if this was real or not. Also, what was she doing here? Why was her glass forest inside Leviathan? Or had she accidentally wandered away without doing anything useful?

She could just barely hear someone crying, in the distance.

This was starting to feel a bit too familiar.

"Hello? Are you still here?" a voice called from somewhere between the trees.

Taylor blinked.

She'd never gotten to visit this memory before. She'd never visited any memories with Sarah. Her power wasn't that kind to her.

Taylor wandered forward towards the voices.

"Why not?" She heard Sarah ask.

"Bad, bad, bad things happen," another voice answered.

Taylor froze.

This wasn't a memory. She never heard herself in her memories. Never saw what she'd done.

This was real.

Taylor quickly folded herself into a pocket of space and deadened the vibrations exiting her area, just in case.

She crept forwards, silent and invisible, towards her own past.

The trees thinned, and there they were. Sitting by the stream. Rocks, and thorns.

Sarah, and…

"I'm Sarah. What's your name?" Sarah asked.

Sarah was so kind, even as a kid. It would have warmed her heart if she wasn't busy freaking the fuck out.

"Taylor," the girl on the ground with dark hair and white eyes said.

Why?

Why am I here?

What's the point of all this?

Taylor didn't know what else she was supposed to do, so she just watched, and remembered.

"I miss them. Why did they have to leave? Mom and Dad are gone. Emma's gone. Everyone's gone. It isn't fair," Taylor's past said.

Taylor watched Sarah nudge her past's shoulder. It was sweet, in hindsight. Anything to coax a smile out of her when she was obviously having a hard time.

"I'm here, for now," Sarah said.

That made Taylor smile. Wherever she was, whenever she was, Sarah would always be waiting for her.

"Well, it's not like Dad listens to anyone, anyway. Me, least of all," Sarah grumbled.

Taylor never actually talked to Sarah's father. Maybe he deserved what he got. Maybe not. She'd never know.

Or maybe she would. She had no idea why she was here, again. She'd never travelled to anywhere at the same time as another iteration of herself before. She didn't know what it meant.

"I like listening to you," her past whispered.

Taylor knew what would happen next. The golden butterfly. An anomaly, even in her first world. A sign, that everything would be okay.

Except, it didn't come.

A rock formed in the pit of Taylor's stomach.

Oh no.

She suddenly knew exactly why she was here.

Taylor let a whisper of her own power free, sliding gently through her past's world.

A golden butterfly appeared out of thin air.

It flitted over the river before alighting gently on her past's knee, just like it had before.

I can only ever do what I've already done. Say what I've already said.

"All that is gold does not glitter," her past whispered.

Taylor's blood ran cold as the implications began to sink in.

What have I done?

…

Chapter Text

Interlude 3

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011.

The weirdest part of their new status quo was just how easy it was to get used to.

Lisa knew that this newfound domesticity with Taylor should be novel, and it was, but it also kind of felt like they'd been doing it forever. It was just so unexpectedly easy.

Taylor made all the little, mundane things brighter.

The shower shut off in the en suite bathroom. Lisa could hear Taylor fumbling with the contents of the medicine cabinet, then brushing her teeth. Twice. She was so adorable without even trying.

Lisa's laptop wasn't as convenient as her workstation in the living room, but it felt nice to retreat to the bedroom to wind down. Their bedroom.

And wasn't that weird, too.

A year and a half of being alone, even with her now former team, pretending to be independent and responsible and whatever. Fending for herself, solving her own problems, and now…

Taylor could give her everything she'd ever need with a snap of her fingers. Little things like 'food' and 'money' didn't even register as relevant to Wanderer. She made fifty thousand dollars appear out of thin air just to get one step closer to seeing Lisa again.

Absurd.

What did that even mean for her? For them? Lisa had spent so long navigating Coil's games, finding jobs for the team, organizing and coordinating and surviving…

And, like she'd told Brian yesterday, it was all for nothing. Grains of sand beneath Wanderer's feet. It felt a little bit hollow, even though this new reality was definitely an improvement.

Lisa felt safe, as long as Taylor was here.

She wouldn't always be here, though.

Lisa pushed those feelings back behind the walls as the bathroom door opened. She sensed Taylor's brief moment of indecision, leftover nervousness and insecurity, before she pushed past it and wandered over to wrap her arms around Lisa's shoulders from behind.

"Hey, honey," Lisa leaned her head back into Taylor's collarbone.

The 'honey' thing might be a bit cliché, especially on top of the kissing and the dancing and everything, but Lisa liked it. It was reassurance, and familiarity, all at once. For both of them. A reminder that she would take care of Taylor, no matter what, even when she didn't need it.

Especially because she didn't need it.

"Hey," Taylor kissed the top of Lisa's head, and something in her chest glowed with satisfaction.

She hadn't expected to feel like this. Hadn't expected to enjoy Taylor's affection this much.

It still wasn't what the stories described, for her. Researching online felt silly, but at least it helped quantify things. Made it easier to put into words. Not everyone experienced romantic attraction the same way.

And for Lisa…

She loved Taylor. She had ever since the night she asked Taylor to find her, to be her escape from her life of empty shelves and white walls. Getting twisted up and broken down over Reggie and her parents and her powers had changed a lot of things, but it hadn't changed that.

Was there really a difference? Between loving someone like a friend, a companion, and loving them like this? There were supposedly different levels of commitment, and exclusivity, but that clearly didn't apply to her and Taylor. Was it even worth worrying about?

Lisa tilted her head all the way back and grinned up at Taylor. Long, damp curls fell around her face like a curtain, separating them from the rest of the world.

Taylor took the invitation and leaned down to kiss her, upside down. It was awkward, and funny, and Lisa smiled widely into their kiss. Taylor's chin bumped against her nose.

Kissing Taylor was satisfying and enjoyable in a way that was hard to describe. The actual sensation wasn't unpleasant, even if only in an objective kind of way, but…

This was Taylor. That was what made it wonderful, just knowing it was her. That Taylor wanted her that way. That she cared so much. Lisa could feel Taylor's happiness and adoration in every movement of their lips, and that was what made it satisfying.

Would that be enough, for Taylor? Would she care that Lisa would never share the blazing, overwhelming euphoria her books described?

[ERROR]

Oh, shut up.

Lisa also wasn't sure whether she was happy that Taylor was a blind spot for her power or not. She felt like she was stumbling in the dark, but at the same time… maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Maybe being blind enhanced her other senses, when it came to Taylor. She couldn't use her power as a crutch, could never know.

She just had to trust Taylor, and that was as scary as it was enticing.

Taylor broke their kiss and straightened. Lisa found herself chasing her lips upwards automatically. She quashed the self-depreciating urge to blush as she dropped back into her desk chair. There was nothing embarrassing about enjoying her connection with Taylor.

Besides, Taylor clearly noticed, and looked unapologetically pleased with herself. Lisa's stomach flipped.

"I'll be right there," Lisa grinned. "Just have a couple more things to finish up."

"Don't rush on my account," Taylor said.

Lisa couldn't help but watch as Taylor folded her long limbs onto their bed, sliding under the covers and snagging her book from the nightstand.

Sometimes, Taylor moved with such careful deliberation, like she was worried that one wrong touch could cause everything to shatter. Others, she seemed to stumble her way through the world, barely hanging on for the ride. Lisa hadn't figured out what triggered the switch yet, but it was interesting to observe.

Taylor was special, and Lisa wanted to spend forever figuring her out.

First, though, she had a message to answer.

Lisa turned back to her laptop and tabbed over to her anonymous digital text program.

T: Heard you took advantage of a sheltered Ward's lack of negotiating skills. For shame, Mel

F: What do you want.

T: I'm helping! You swindled her out of a favor, right? Well, I happen to know exactly what you should spend it on.

T: Also, I want to hire you. Does 50k sound fair?

F: Go to hell Tattletale.

T: Grumpy. Keep it up and I might start to think you don't like me

T: Tomorrow night at eleven. You can choose the place. Cuz I'm nice like that

Lisa grinned at the lack of response. Faultline would cave. She'd be too curious not to. And she knew just how beneficial or destructive Taylor's power could be in the right hands. Lisa did, too.

And, for now, those hands were hers.

Lisa closed the laptop with a soft click. She spun in her chair and took a moment to enjoy the view.

Taylor's mouth was pinched slightly, focused on the words in front of her. Her hair was a wild mess of curls that she never really took care of the way she should, but it worked for her. Maybe she'd let Lisa help her with that, someday. Her eyes were dark and too large for her face behind her glasses, her fingers long and thin without being delicate as she carefully turned another page.

Part of Lisa still had trouble believing she was here. The last week felt like a fever dream.

Some days, Lisa still wondered if Taylor was actually real, or whether she'd just snapped all the way back in 2007 and imagined herself a magic time-traveling best friend. Girlfriend. Partner. Whatever they were.

Lisa crawled under the covers with her and smiled when Taylor put her book down without hesitation. Taylor's reactions to her touch were always so much fun to watch.

Feeling a bit adventurous, Lisa kicked one leg over Taylor's waist and pulled herself on top of her. She couldn't help but chuckle at Taylor's flabbergasted expression as she straddled her and sat upright. The comforter pooled around their waists.

"How are you feeling about tomorrow?" Lisa asked.

It took Taylor a moment to put her thoughts back together. Lisa got to watch it happen in real time.

Taylor shifted underneath her so she was lying more comfortably on her back, with just her head propped up slightly by her pillow. That felt… interesting.

"Pretty good, all things considered," Taylor said. She didn't seem to know what to do with her hands. After a moment of deliberation, she settled for resting them tentatively on Lisa's thighs. Lisa wasn't complaining. "You know I don't want to leave, but it would be too easy to tell myself 'one more day' over and over. I have too many excuses to stay."

"Really? Like what?" Lisa smirked down at her.

"Oh, I don't know, I guess the food's pretty good. And we get more channels here than the Ward's bunkhouse ever did," Taylor said.

"That's all?"

Lisa leaned forward and braced herself on her arms, caging Taylor between them. Her braid fell over her shoulder, and Taylor's eyes were suddenly much closer, and much wider.

Taylor licked her lips, but she seemed determined to keep her composure. It was cute.

"Can't think of anything else," Taylor breathed. Her bravado fell a bit flat, given her tone.

Lisa lowered herself further, hovering just over Taylor on one elbow. She reached up and carefully took Taylor's glasses off with her other hand, pausing to put them on the bedside table.

"I'll have to jog your memory, then," Lisa said.

Then she closed the last of the distance between them, and kissed her properly. She let her full weight fall on her; it wasn't like Taylor was fragile. She could handle it. Lisa reveled in the low groan that slipped between Taylor's teeth when she tangled her fingers in her wild hair.

Lisa felt like she might be too present, too calculating in her actions, but Taylor obviously wasn't complaining. Lisa moved her lips deliberately, experimenting to see which movements elicited the most interesting reactions from her captive audience.

Kissing Taylor wasn't something she would ever lose herself in, but it was addicting in its own unique way. She loved taking care of Taylor. This was just a new, interesting method of doing so.

For the first time since… Well, since the graveyard, if she was being honest, the future didn't seem like a bleak, endless spiral. She and Taylor would find a way to kill the Endbringers (and wasn't that an absurd thought all on its own) and then they could spend as long as they wanted figuring out how to take care of each other.

Taylor trusted her. Taylor thought she was a better person than she was.

But, maybe, if she kept working on it, she could become some fraction of the person Taylor saw in her. Taylor deserved someone better, but Lisa was way too selfish to let her go. So Lisa would just have to figure out how to be better, herself. It couldn't be that hard.

Tonight, though, Lisa decided not to think about the future, or about Taylor wandering off to another time tomorrow. Their plans and their strategies and their worries could wait. For tonight, Taylor was hers, and she wasn't going to waste any of the time she got.

…

Sunday, April 24th, 2011.

"And… Release."

Lisa watched with a detached sort of fascination as the insulated Tinkertech walls of the testing chamber rippled like water. Strange, obsidian and amethyst crystals grew from both the floor and the ceiling like teeth. For a moment, the air hummed with something similar to an electric current. Taylor's body collapsed in on itself like a dying star.

Then, as quickly as it began, the gray tile room went still, and silent.

No matter how many times she saw Taylor's power at work, it never ceased to be as amazing as it was terrifying. Normal people, even parahumans, couldn't survive their body's complete destruction. Even Breakers had a body, of a sort, somewhere. Taylor was just… gone.

But she'd be back. She would always come back.

Lisa just had to keep reminding herself in the meantime.

The bunker was so quiet without her.

Lisa wandered out to the main living area. She stood in the middle of the room. The coffee table was still shoved to one side from last night.

This felt entirely too familiar.

It was different. It was. Taylor had to leave. They needed more information. They needed to find a way to kill the Endbringers if they were ever going to be happy long-term. Taylor was a hero. She'd settle for nothing less.

So what if Lisa's motives were a little more on the selfish side? The outcome was the same.

She wanted to feel like she'd done something important. She wanted to ensure her own safety and security. And she wanted to do all of it with Taylor.

Which meant that she couldn't dissolve into a pathetic puddle of wistful goo the moment Taylor went on vacation.

Lisa shook off the encroaching loneliness and strode into their bedroom. She'd been alone before. She could do it again.

As she walked, Lisa pulled her hair out of her braid and let it fall in gentle waves around her face.

She opened the secondary closet. The one she hadn't opened since the bunker's creation.

Her new costume was similar to her original, but she'd asked Taylor to make some adjustments. Instead of being mostly lilac, the bodysuit hanging in front of her was primarily black.

And, instead of lilac, she'd opted for deeper amethyst highlights instead.

No reason.

She'd also scrapped the vague 'T' design, keeping only the eye on the center of her chest in purple.

The bodysuit fit perfectly. Of course it did. Taylor was magic.

Lisa slid her domino mask into place, strapped her nine millimeter to her belt, and smiled.

The Undersiders might be gone, but Tattletale still had work to do.

…

Sunday, April 24th, 2011.

Lisa arrived fashionably late for her first appointment. It wouldn't do to let Coil's mercenaries think she owed them anything.

She stepped out of the freight elevator and strode confidently towards the two men waiting at the other end of the factory floor. They were far enough out into the Docks that no one would be reporting anything suspicious, but it never hurt to be careful. It wasn't paranoia if they were actually out to get you.

"Ivan. Dimitri," Lisa greeted with false familiarity as she approached.

Officially, Ivan was in charge of the independent mercenary company Coil employed. That 'officially' did more heavy lifting than Ivan realized.

Lisa already knew what to expect, but she dropped the walls around her power anyway.

Unhappy with unexpected change in management. Distrusting. Angry. Dislikes Lisa Wilbourn.

"Took your sweet fucking time," Ivan grunted. He already had his hand resting on his rifle. Classy.

"My time is more valuable than yours," Lisa replied.

Unwilling to be perceived as subservient to a woman. Unwilling to be perceived as subservient to a child.

She could see him chewing the inside of his cheek. It was kind of funny.

"You've wasted enough of it as it is. You will pay out the remainder of our monthly compensation along with the negotiated severance payment, and we will leave this god-forsaken city. This is non-negotiable," Ivan said.

Apparently, even when compared to active war zones, Brockton Bay was still intolerable. Who'da thunk.

"You're right," Lisa sighed. "I suppose it isn't."

Then she snapped her fingers.

Dimitri raised his Tinkertech sidearm and shot Ivan in the head.

Lisa stepped back quickly to avoid the splash zone.

The best part about Tinkertech firearms was how quiet they were. Standard ballistic gunshots were fucking loud, and earplugs were annoying. She'd have to ask Taylor to make her a new pistol when she got back. She hadn't thought of it while they were doing power testing yesterday.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Dimitri," Lisa said.

"Thank you, ma'am."

So polite.

"You know, I was about to say the 'ma'am' thing isn't necessary, but I kinda like it," Lisa said. "Civility is always appreciated."

"Yes, ma'am," Dimitri said.

Lisa had already double-checked his loyalty, but it didn't hurt to triple check.

Controlled. Pragmatic. Sociopathic tendencies. Prefers operating under competent but uninvolved leadership. Dissatisfied with Coil and Ivan's leadership. Ruthless. Willing to betray Lisa Wilbourn. Will not betray Lisa Wilbourn. Is afraid of Lisa Wilbourn.

Flattering, but why?

[ERROR]

Huh. Well. That was new. Still, any good lieutenant should have a healthy fear of the boss. Or, in this case, the boss' time-traveling roommate. Best friend. Girlfriend. Partner. Whatever. They should probably nail down the distinction, for brevity's sake if nothing else.

"We've got another appointment. I hope you don't mind being my escort for the evening," Lisa said.

Dimitri just raised a single eyebrow.

Hopefully he wouldn't take that as an invitation to hit on her. Attraction was just another lever to be utilized to control people, but it was still irritating.

Is not attracted to Lisa Wilbourn. Prefers women his own age or older. Prefers-

That's quite enough of that, thanks.

Probably a good thing, overall, though.

Lisa glanced down at the headless corpse between them.

"Clean that up first, though, if you would. I don't want him leaking on anything important," Lisa said.

"Of course, ma'am," Dimitri replied.

If she weren't careful, she might actually start to like him.

…

Sunday, April 24th, 2011.

Lisa and Dimitri arrived at Faultline's chosen meeting place. The facade of the abandoned warehouse loomed overhead.

It was risky, allowing her rival to choose the location, but Lisa was reasonably sure that Faultline wouldn't betray her without at least hearing her out first. If only because she knew that Taylor could and would erase her from existence if she caused too much trouble.

Lisa didn't necessarily like relying on Taylor's reputation to prop herself up, but it would be worth it. Taylor probably wouldn't mind.

Faultline and Labyrinth stood in Gregor the Snail's protective shadow. Newter and Spitfire were nowhere to be seen, but they were here.

Utilizing catwalk and rafters to flank without endangering teammates if necessary.

Could've figured that one out for myself, thanks.

"You broke the rules, Tattletale," Faultline accused coldly.

"Rules are made to be broken. Besides, I hear they're more like guidelines, anyway," Lisa grinned. Pissing off Melanie was just too much fun.

"Talk, and we'll decide if you get to leave or not," Faultline said.

"Letting the Thinker talk? Risky," Lisa grinned.

Faultline just glared at her. No sense of humor at all.

"Oh, fine, you're no fun. I have access to information available to no one else. Information that could save the lives of everyone in this city, including you and your friends," Lisa said. "I think that's a pretty solid favor, don't you?"

"Why don't you tell me, and I'll decide for myself?" Faultline challenged.

If it were anything else, Lisa would have haggled. But she was actually trying to be better, here, albeit in her own way.

"Leviathan will attack the city three weeks from today, on May 15th, and Wanderer will fight him. Wanderer has confirmed that this event will occur, regardless of what actions are taken in the meantime," Lisa said.

"Pull the other one," Faultline scoffed.

Everyone knew that the Endbringers couldn't be predicted that far in advance. Many had tried, and all had failed.

But Taylor was special. She was magic. She created her own future, and set it in stone.

"Wanderer doesn't just control our current reality. She wanders through the past, present, and future. What she experiences will come to pass. She can only ever do what she's already done. Isn't that right?" Lisa directed her last question to Labyrinth.

Faultline caught the look and turned, too.

Labyrinth blinked slowly under her hood.

"Do the ends justify the means," Labyrinth said. It didn't sound like a question, despite her words.

Well. That didn't make any sense. Damn. Lisa was hoping she'd back her up, here.

"You expect me to believe the PRT had access to a time-traveling Ward for years and managed to keep it under wraps?" Faultline said.

"Believe me, or don't. Cash in your favor on something else if you want. It doesn't matter. Leviathan will come, and it would probably be better if you weren't here when he does," Lisa shrugged.

Faultline narrowed her eyes.

"You said you wanted to hire us. Why?"

"Leviathan will attack here, because Wanderer will be here to meet him. But that doesn't mean anyone else has to be," Lisa said. "Help me and my men evacuate the city without tipping off the PRT."

"Why not get the heroes involved? Seems like their whole schtick anyway," Faultline pointed out. She seemed slightly less on edge, but only marginally.

"They'd just fuck it up. Besides, Wanderer already told them that Leviathan is coming, and they aren't acting on the information. Why do you think she destroyed the PHQ?" Lisa said.

"And where is Wanderer, anyway? Are we supposed to just take your word that she's working with you, now?" Faultline asked.

"She's fighting Leviathan as we speak," Lisa said.

"No, she isn't," Labyrinth chimed in.

"Not helpful," Lisa sighed. "She's going to fight Leviathan in the future. I don't know where she's wandered off to, at this exact second."

Silence fell in the warehouse. Lisa decided to let them stew on her proclamations.

It didn't really matter if they believed her or not. She was actually trying to do something decent, for once. Something to help her feel worthy of Taylor. It would just be easier with parahuman support.

"I'll think about it," Faultline said.

She glanced at Labyrinth again.

"Are we safe to let her leave?" Faultline asked.

"If we don't, we die," Labyrinth answered absently.

"Great," Faultline sighed sarcastically. "Goodbye, Tattletale. Don't contact me again. I'll reach out if I decide to take you up on your… offer."

"I'm still going to send you a Christmas card again this year. At this point, it's tradition," Lisa said. "I'll even place the order in advance in case Leviathan kills me."

"Please don't."

Lisa laughed. She couldn't help it.

"Goodnight, Faultline. It's been a pleasure, as always. Sleep tight, don't let the Endbringers bite," Lisa threw over her shoulder as she strode out of the warehouse.

For a brief moment, she wondered if Faultline would change her mind and try to stop her.

But she didn't.

"Thanks for your assistance," Lisa said as they returned to the car. More and more working vehicles were making their way back into the Bay every day. "And your discretion. I can appreciate a man of few words. They generally tend to live longer."

Dimitri raised his eyebrows at her but didn't comment.

Damn, he was good.

…

Monday, April 25th, 2011.

It was after midnight when Lisa finally made it back to the bunker.

Being Tattletale again was more tiring than she thought it would be. It felt even more like a mask than before.

Maybe she was right, when she'd said that Sarah would sneak back in if she let her. Only a few days alone with Taylor, and she was going soft.

Lisa pressed her lips into a thin line as she stripped out of her bodysuit. She put her hair back up into a braid.

That might not be the worst thing in the world, going soft, even though part of her rebelled against the idea automatically. She didn't have to take back all of Sarah. Just the bits and pieces she actually liked. It wasn't a zero-sum game.

Besides, Taylor obviously liked Sarah. Lisa was a little bit worried she wouldn't like Lisa, if she ever saw too much.

Taylor trusted her, though. She'd just have to trust her back.

Lisa had trouble trusting anyone, but she could make an exception for Taylor.

The bunker was quiet. It was even more oppressive at night, even though they didn't have any windows. It was the idea.

Lisa was exhausted. It'd been a long day.

She deliberated for a long moment, then pulled on Taylor's discarded purple T-shirt from the night before. No one had to know. If Taylor came back unexpectedly, it would be worth a bit of humiliation. Taylor would probably think it was cute, instead of pathetic.

It was definitely a bit pathetic.

Lisa got ready for bed methodically. She didn't have the energy to shower.

Everything was darker, without her.

She'd managed just fine on her own for over a year. Why was it so hard to go back, now?

She knew why.

Once Taylor slipped out from behind her walls, there was no putting her back. Lisa was doomed.

Lisa slid under the covers on her side of the bed.

It wasn't the same without her.

She couldn't do it.

It took Lisa a whole five minutes before she rolled over, glaring at the dimly lit ceiling.

Fine. Fine.

If she was going to be pathetic, she was doing the whole nine fucking yards.

Lisa grabbed her blanket and her pillow, and dragged them to the couch in the living room.

That was better. At least Taylor couldn't haunt her, here.

"Hey, Sarah."

Lisa came very close to falling off the couch.

She really should be used to this crap by now, but no. Taylor found new and interesting ways to fuck with her. And the worst part was, she wasn't even trying.

Taylor sat in the plush armchair next to the couch. Her white eyes gleamed in the low light.

"You're a menace," Lisa grumbled. "It's been a while since you've done that. Just like riding a bike. When is it, for you?"

"May 15th, 2011," Taylor said softly.

Lisa sat up and stared at her.

Taylor looked… old. Not, like, wrinkled, but… tired.

For a moment, Lisa felt thirteen again, opening her bedroom window for a magical, weary, jaded version of her friend. Something about seeing a version of Taylor who knew more than she did was vaguely unsettling after getting so used to interacting with her in their current time.

"Do you already know when it is, for me?" Lisa asked.

Taylor nodded.

"Can you tell me?" Lisa sighed. She already knew the answer.

"I didn't, so I won't," Taylor said.

That was… slightly different, actually. Lisa sat up straight on the couch and eyed Taylor warily. She didn't like where this was going.

"Won't? Not can't?" Lisa said.

"It was never 'can't', Sarah."

No.

"Explain. And don't give me any of your cryptic bullshit this time," Lisa said.

"The reason I can never do anything I didn't do originally is because a future version of me will inevitably return to ensure that I act as I did. I didn't become aware of this until I entered Leviathan's world the first time, on my third loop back to May 15th," Taylor said.

Fuck.

"Fuck," Lisa cursed.

Her stomach tied itself into a knot.

That was… fuck, that was a lot.

She'd worked so hard to forgive Taylor for everything, and now…

Where did that leave them?

Lisa couldn't look at her. She stared blankly at the coffee table. It was still pushed to the side from when they'd danced.

Fuck.

"Why are you here? Why are you telling me now?" Lisa whispered.

"Because the version of me who comes back tomorrow afternoon will need you. She isn't going to be in any condition to manage your feelings and her own at the same time," Taylor said.

"That's… This is all so fucked," Lisa said.

Her head was spinning.

"Yeah, it is," Taylor said.

Lisa forced herself to look at her.

"Why, then? Why keep everything the same? Why not fix…"

Reggie. Her parents. Coil. All the time she spent alone, whether at that house, or on the streets.

"Think about it," Taylor said quietly. "Why would we decide to keep everything the same?"

Lisa's thoughts weren't exactly a great place to be right now. Thinking would be bad.

"We?" Lisa demanded.

Taylor nodded.

"What do you think we're deciding, right now?" Taylor asked. Lisa wasn't sure if that was rhetorical or not.

Lisa couldn't sit still for a single second longer. She surged to her feet, the blanket falling to the floor.

She walked towards the door, then turned back and started pacing instead. She couldn't leave. She promised.

But still… fuck.

"Okay. Okay. Okay. If we changed something…" Lisa tried to force her stupid brain to work. She was supposed to be the smart one, dammit. "It would change what happened in the past, obviously. And it doesn't seem like we exist in a branching timeline, because you've only ever done what you've done, so…"

Lisa trailed off, trying to consolidate her wild ramblings.

"I don't know for sure, but…" Taylor's eyes were sad. "My theory, well, your theory that I'm now telling you, so it was actually maybe my theory originally… funny how that works, huh? Anyway, our theory is that, if I make an honest attempt to change the past, either a future version of me will do like I've always done, and stop me, or I will succeed, and we won't exist anymore."

Lisa froze.

Of course.

"Because we'd be different people. Obviously. It wouldn't just be us, with different memories. It would be a whole different consciousness. We would just… end," Lisa breathed.

"Technically, we never would've existed in the first place, but yeah," Taylor said.

"Fuck," Lisa said again.

She resumed her pacing.

"So… we're living in the timeline where you always ensure we continue as we were, because if we weren't, then we wouldn't exist at all," Lisa rambled.

"That's my thought, yeah. Or maybe yours. Who knows, anymore," Taylor said. "I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing, though."

"How is this not a bad thing?" Lisa demanded. There were still too many angry, helpless bees buzzing around in her skull.

"Because it has to be worth it, right? In the end. I wouldn't be going to all this trouble to make this version of reality exist if it wasn't the one where things turn out okay," Taylor reasoned.

That sounded a lot like wishful thinking.

"So you want to just… stay the course? Keep everything the same and see what fucking happens?" Lisa didn't mean to raise her voice, but she did anyway.

"What else can we do?" Taylor said.

"Something! Anything!" Lisa yelled. "We could fix it, somehow. Like you always wanted. What about your parents? What about…"

She couldn't say his name.

"I don't think some things can be fixed," Taylor said. "And if I did, would it be worth it? Would you be willing to end, die, cease, whatever, on the off chance that any single change we make could be worth it?"

"Fuck," Lisa yelled. Again.

She stopped to brace her arms on the back of the couch. When had she started breathing so hard?

"I don't like feeling useless," Lisa spat between her teeth.

"I know."

"Fuck you. You don't…" Lisa felt bad as soon as she said it.

Taylor didn't look hurt, though.

Right. That's why she was back, now, after all. So Lisa could get this part out of her system with a version of Taylor who had already accepted the inevitable.

But fuck if that didn't make it even worse.

"I do," Taylor said. "I went around this same spiral three weeks ago. Well, kind of. Technically in 2007. But three weeks, your time. I don't actually know how long it's been for me, I've been doing a lot of legwork… I'm not going to get into it. Suffice to say, I do know. I promise. I understand."

"It's like…" Lisa tried to find the words. Talking about it was supposed to help, right? "Like we've been starving, right? And it sucks, because there's no food. But there was nothing we could do about it, so it wasn't anyone's fault. Now, there's a fucking steak dinner or something, I don't know, right fucking there, but it's fucking poisoned. How do we…"

"I don't know," Taylor said.

You're supposed to be magic.

Lisa managed not to say that out loud, this time. It wasn't fair to Taylor. This wasn't her fault.

Except, it might be.

"Did you…" Lisa swallowed. "Did you send yourself to meet me, the first time? Have you been the one deciding when you go, the whole time?"

"I don't know," Taylor said again. "But maybe. There are still things I don't understand. I'm working on it. We're working on it."

Lisa took a deep breath.

She could do this. She'd been handling weird stuff for years, and this time she wasn't a broken child. She would do better. She wouldn't abandon Taylor again, no matter what.

"Okay. Okay," Lisa repeated. "I think I get it. I'm going to be up all night thinking in circles, though."

"That's the other reason I'm here, actually," Taylor smiled softly. Just a little bit, at the corners of her lips. "I promised myself you wouldn't have to wake up alone again. Figured it was the least I could do."

Lisa wanted to cry. She didn't know what her face was doing. How was Taylor so maddening, but so sweet, all at the same time?

"I love you," Lisa said without thinking. She'd already said it a hundred times in her head.

"No!" Taylor gasped, then choked. "I mean, fuck, I love you too, but God fucking dammit! First future-you kisses past-me first then past-you says 'I love you' to future-me first. Why are you like this? Why do you do this to me?"

"What?" Lisa blinked. Her brain was fried. It'd been a really long fucking day. "I kissed you? When? What?"

"On my second Leviathan loop, before I kissed you the first time, you kissed me the first time, and told me to tell you to get off your ass, but I didn't, because I wanted you to agree without knowing, and I wasn't going to tell you, except now, I am telling you, apparently, which means I always did, because I'm not stopping myself, so… fuck!"

Taylor was laughing by the end of her rant, and Lisa couldn't help but join in.

"And now, now, you just threw out another first, to me, the version of me that's been saying 'I love you' to you for weeks, because you said it first, back when I got back from my third loop, tomorrow!" Taylor ran a hand down her face like she was trying to pull her skin off. "Not that I hadn't already been thinking it at this point, but still! You can't tell me I told you any of this, by the way."

Lisa stopped laughing.

"Wait, the 'I love you' part, or the rest of it?"

"I mean, I remember freaking out about it while you were just… amazing. Supportive. Collected, like always. Reassuring. You obviously don't have to do that… but you will, because you're wonderful. And also because I'll probably stop you if you don't," Taylor said.

Now it was Lisa's turn to groan.

"I kind of hate this," Lisa said.

"Sorry," Taylor said.

"I'm not," Lisa said quickly. "Sorry, I mean. Even with all the craziness… I'm happy I met you. And if it turns out that you sent yourself to find me in the first place… then thank you, I guess? You're my best friend. I don't know if I've ever actually said that out loud before."

Taylor's face softened.

"That's… thanks, Sarah. I think I needed to hear that," Taylor said.

Lisa took another deep breath.

Part of her wanted to keep talking in circles about all of this, but the rest of her really wanted to sleep.

"Can we go to bed, please?" Lisa asked. She meant to sound dry and commanding, but it came out as more of a whine. Whatever.

"Sure," Taylor stood and grabbed her pillow and blanket for her. "Why were you out here, anyway?"

There wasn't much point in lying.

"I couldn't sleep in the bed without you," Lisa admitted ruefully.

"Oh."

Taylor looked like she couldn't decide whether to be pleased or sad about that. Lisa understood the feeling.

"You said past-you will be back tomorrow?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah. Third-loop-me got back on Monday afternoon," Taylor said.

Lisa flopped down on her side of the bed. Taylor threw the blanket at her, then climbed over top of her to reach her side.

Everything felt right, again, now that Taylor was back. Any version of her, from any time.

"But you'll still be here in the morning? This you?" Lisa clarified.

"Yeah. At least, I think I will. I still don't pick when I arrive, but I'm pretty good at sticking around once I get there, at this point. It's a work in progress," Taylor said.

They finally got situated, with Lisa on her side and Taylor pressed against her back. Taylor wrapped one arm tightly around Lisa's ribs and slid the other under the pillow.

Lisa was still more than a bit overwhelmed, but… this helped. A lot.

"I'd still love you," Lisa said without thinking.

"Hmmm?" Taylor hummed questioningly behind her.

Fuck. This sounded stupid now that she tried to put it into words. She should just quit while she was ahead.

She didn't, though.

"Even if we changed something, and ended up as different people, or you never sent yourself to find me in the woods… I'd still end up loving you, somehow. I can't imagine a timeline where I wouldn't," Lisa said.

Taylor's grip tightened until it was almost painful, but Lisa wasn't complaining. Of course Taylor didn't think she was stupid.

"I like that idea," Taylor whispered. "In every life, in every timeline, I like to think I'd always find you. Always be yours."

Lisa's chest tightened at the words.

Hers.

This Taylor, future-Taylor was still hers.

Maybe that was the silver lining to this whole mess.

Not a silver lining. A whole fucking silver cloud, or whatever the actual saying was.

Her person. Her best friend, roommate, girlfriend, partner, whatever. Just… hers.

Her promise that she never had to be alone again.

No more white walls, and empty shelves.

Just her.

Lisa pressed herself backwards and squeezed Taylor's hand a little too tight.

"I love you," Lisa said again. A relief, and a promise, all in one.

Taylor kissed her neck. It felt nice.

"I love you," Taylor said. Lisa liked that she didn't include the 'too', this time. Not a call and response, but her own promise.

She'd make sure to tell current-Taylor, too. Tomorrow.

You'll never have to wake up alone again.

Lisa's pillow case was wet.

When did that happen?

She smiled widely, in the dark, and didn't bother to wipe away the tears that slowly ran sideways down her face.

Some things couldn't be fixed.

But maybe…

Maybe she wasn't one of them.

…

Chapter Text

Carnelian 4.1

Thursday, August 9th, 2007.

Taylor was still staring at nothing when thirteen-year-old Sarah sighed heavily and picked herself up off the rocks.

Her brain felt overfull, and empty, all at once.

She'd technically known that this was a possibility. It was the only feasible explanation for her experience at the bank.

You'll understand, someday.

But this was different. Taylor remembered the interference at the bank. The idea that a future version of herself could have been skulking around her whole fucking life, watching, influencing events…

How fucking deep of a pit had she dug for herself? How many layers of hell were down there?

Taylor knew she was spiraling, but she couldn't stop herself.

If she had to take action in order to keep things the same, where did it end? How many times had she pulled shit like this? Or was going to pull shit like this? What would happen if she didn't step in? Would another version of herself from the future come back to make her do what she'd already done, just like she was doing to the past versions of herself?

Oh God.

Could she actually change anything that had happened? Had she caused everything that had happened?

How much of her life was her own design?

Was she going to be doomed to spend her future constantly looping back to fix the past in an endless downward spiral until she finally, inevitably fucked up and broke the timeline?

Fuck.

"What do I do?" Taylor whispered to no one.

Maybe a future version of herself was already here, watching to make sure she didn't do anything she hadn't done.

If she went to try to talk to Sarah right now, to tell her where to find her, to tell her about Reggie and everything else, what would happen?

Taylor forced herself to take a deep, shuddering breath. She wasn't helping anyone, as she currently was.

She needed to talk to Sarah. Her Sarah, in the present.

Taylor's stomach twisted. Her chest felt hollow. Her heart had to be hammering, but she couldn't hear it.

Sarah was going to hate her again. And she deserved it. This was all her fault.

She'd known that it was too good to be true, but she'd gotten her hopes up anyway.

Taylor wasn't going to run away, though. Sarah deserved to know.

Also… Why the fuck was all of this happening inside Leviathan's world? That didn't make any sense, either. She must have left without realizing.

The world of fog and the strange statue didn't feel like her worlds, though. Or the real world. It was something… else. Other.

Her answers probably weren't here, though, regardless.

"I'd like to leave now," Taylor said to the empty forest.

Nothing happened. Right. Her power obviously hated her.

Taylor's forehead felt like it was going to burst. She clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms just to feel something simple, anything that wasn't so fucking twisted up and-

Taylor screamed and punched the nearest tree trunk as hard as she could.

Something in her hand cracked. Several somethings. It fucking hurt.

Good.

"I just want to go home! Is that too much to ask?" Taylor yelled.

The forest didn't answer. Hopefully past-Sarah was out of earshot. Or a future version of herself had popped back to deaden the noise.

Fuck it. Fuck this whole fucking mess.

Taylor let the walls around her power fall, and turned its fury inwards.

It wasn't all that difficult. She kind of hated herself right now. Her future-self. Her past-self, and everything in between.

Shooting herself had gotten her out of her memories, last time. Maybe it would work in real life, too.

Or, she'd just die, and it wouldn't be her fucking problem anymore.

Localized dissolution.

With a flash of golden light, Taylor erased herself.

…

Monday, April 25th, 2011.

Taylor slammed into the kitchen table hard enough to send both it and herself toppling onto the polished concrete floor of the bunker. She wrenched herself onto her hands and knees, her breath coming in sharp gasps.

Her hand wasn't broken anymore. Also, she wasn't dead. Great. Fantastic.

"Eight… no, seven point five out of ten. I would say higher, but you didn't stick the landing," Sarah said.

Taylor looked up through her mess of frazzled hair. She knew she probably looked insane right now. She felt insane.

Sarah was perched casually on the kitchen counter, sipping her coffee from one of her favorite mugs. It was plain, and white, and rounded on the bottom. Sarah insisted it was the optimal shape. Apparently mugs were the opposite of walls.

"Sarah…" Taylor didn't know how to begin. Didn't want to. What would Sarah think of her?

"Hey, honey," Sarah smiled easily. It made Taylor's chest hurt even worse. "Rough day?"

"I think I fucked up," Taylor whispered.

Sarah's smile didn't waver. She set her coffee down carefully on the counter next to her, then hopped down.

Taylor knew she should move. Should stand up. Should do something.

She didn't.

Sarah knelt down in front of her, right there on the floor beside the overturned table.

"It'll be okay," Sarah said. "Whatever it is."

Taylor shook her head.

"I…"

She still didn't know how to begin. The words stuck in her throat, and she choked on them.

"I'm not going anywhere," Sarah said.

Taylor shivered. Time to test Sarah's resolve.

"I changed the past. Except, I didn't. The butterfly, that first day? That was me. Like, me, just now. I had to change the past to make it match up with our reality," Taylor said. That was the best summary she could manage.

She couldn't look at Sarah. Would she understand?

"I liked the butterfly," Sarah said softly. "All that's gold doesn't glitter, right?"

"You don't-" Taylor let her head fall forwards. Her hair brushed the floor. Like the amethyst woman with the knife in her neck.

Would Sarah stab her like that, when she realized?

"I have no idea how much of our lives I've fucked with. Future-me, I mean. It makes too much sense. The reason I could never tell you about… about Reggie. What if it was me? What if it was all me?" Taylor said.

She waited for Sarah's judgement. The inevitable realization.

"Taylor. Look at me, please," Sarah's voice was still warm. It didn't compute; a discordant note in the expected descending scale.

Taylor didn't want to, but she looked up, anyway.

Sarah pushed Taylor's hair out of her eyes. She was still smiling. It wasn't even crooked.

"I love you," Sarah said.

Taylor's already unsteady train of thought crashed and burned spectacularly.

"You what?" Taylor said without thinking.

Sarah laughed at her, but it was still a warm sound. Taylor didn't understand.

"It's okay that you changed things. It's okay if you're the one who made our pasts happen the way they did. And if it doesn't feel okay right now, it will, someday," Sarah said. "Everything will be okay, in the end. So if it's not okay, yet, that just means it isn't the end."

Taylor understood all of the words, individually, but they didn't make sense in order.

"You don't… hate me, for what I've done to your life? Or will do, I guess?" Taylor said.

Sarah brushed her thumb lightly over Taylor's cheek.

"Of course not," Sarah said. "Everything has always been messy and complicated with us. Comes with the territory. Normal is boring, anyway. This is just another puzzle. We'll figure it out, together."

"Just another puzzle," Taylor repeated blankly.

Sarah's usual crooked grin came back, then.

"Exactly. I'll get my whiteboard and everything," Sarah said.

Taylor couldn't help but laugh at that. It came out a bit high pitched and manic, but whatever.

The other thing Sarah said suddenly slammed back into her brain. Taylor grabbed her hand before she could stand up.

"Wait, shit, I… I love you, too. A lot," Taylor said.

Sarah smirked and kissed the back of her hand. The skin under her lips tingled like pins and needles.

"I know, honey," Sarah's eyes sparkled. Green sunlight through the canopy. "You're sweet. It's Monday afternoon, by the way. You only lost one day this time."

"Oh. That's… good," Taylor's head was still spinning. "How was your night?"

"Surprisingly okay. I still missed you, though," Sarah said. "How'd things go with our least favorite sea monster?"

Right. She'd fought Leviathan again. That got a bit lost somewhere in the spiraling.

"Surprisingly okay, too. Weird, though," Taylor frowned.

Sarah stood up, keeping a hold of Taylor's hand as she went. Taylor just stared up at her for a second, then let Sarah help her to her feet.

Sarah didn't let go of her hand. Taylor didn't, either.

Maybe things would be okay, after all.

Sarah loved her, and she was still here. She wasn't even mad. Or worried.

As long as Sarah was here, Taylor felt like she could handle anything.

Taylor smiled widely as Sarah led her to the conference room and rolled the promised whiteboard out of a storage alcove.

"Okay. So," Taylor hopped up to sit on the edge of the conference room table. "Leviathan's guts are apparently filled with fog and weird statues."

Sarah snorted, but turned to start taking notes anyway. Taylor felt the tension finally start to leave her shoulders as she fell into the now familiar pattern, watching the Sarah show as she got to work on their probably vain attempt to make sense of Taylor's wanderings.

If anyone could, it would be Sarah.

Taylor smiled.

Yeah. Everything was going to be okay.

…

Monday, April 25th, 2011.

"How? How are you so bad at this?" Sarah demanded while obviously trying not to laugh. "How have you survived on your own for, what, three years?"

Taylor fumbled with the uncooperative hunk of raw chicken she was currently attempting to turn into something vaguely edible. Sarah refused to help, mainly because she was an evil, sadistic villain.

"I'm an expert at warming up frozen pizzas, what do you want from me?" Taylor grumbled.

"It's just so disingenuous! You're good at everything else."

Taylor raised an eyebrow at her. Sarah sat at the recently re-righted kitchen table, apparently enjoying her pain and suffering.

"I'm good at fighting, reading, and occasionally stumbling my way through time and space. That's a fair bit short of everything. I'm good at literally nothing else," Taylor said.

"No musical instruments?" Sarah teased.

"I play a mean triangle," Taylor deadpanned.

That got Sarah to smile, at least, so Taylor considered it a win.

"I'm sure you do. Now, you're gonna want to coat that in flour, just a bit… No, grab the sifter… The metal mesh thing… Yeah, that. Then you dredge it through the eggs, then the Parmesan-panko mix," Sarah instructed. "Is the oil hot?"

Taylor silently resolved to just make breakfast burritos from now on.

"Okay, awesome. Now you just pop it in the oil and- No, lay it down away from you, away from-" Sarah yelled.

Taylor immediately managed to splash a sizable quantity of hot oil right onto her forearm.

She just stared blankly down at her skin as it started to bubble.

"Huh," Taylor said. "That's unpleasant."

"No fucking shit, you… you…" Sarah couldn't seem to decide what she was. "Put it under the fucking tap, for fuck's sake.

Oh. Right. Probably a good idea.

The cool water did feel pretty nice.

Taylor glanced up and met Sarah's eyes, hovering halfway towards her in the middle of the kitchen. Her face looked like it couldn't decide whether to be concerned or exasperated. Her hands twitched like she either wanted to reach for Taylor or smack her. It was kind of funny.

Taylor laughed, just a bit. More of a quick exhale than anything else. But it was enough to get Sarah laughing, which made her laugh harder, and soon they were both cracking up, despite the mess on Taylor's wrist.

"You're so absurd," Sarah said.

"I'm eccentric, thanks very much," Taylor grinned. "Wizard shit, right?"

Sarah just shook her head in what Taylor hoped was fond indulgence.

"Are you going to be able to fix that?" Sarah gestured to the burns.

"It'll go away next time I discorporate. I can't seem to mess with my body directly once I reform," Taylor said.

"That's… weird. I wonder why not? You obviously aren't Manton limited, given the discorporating," Sarah mused.

Without seeming to think about it, Sarah wandered over and flipped the chicken in the pan. Without injuring herself. Very impressive.

"Oh, sure. Now you decide to help, after I've gone and deep fried my hand," Taylor said.

"What can I say? Your spectacular ineptitude swayed me."

"Glad I can still surprise you," Taylor shot back.

Sarah's smile softened. She leaned over and kissed Taylor's cheek, like it was the easiest thing in the world. Like it didn't make Taylor's heart try to escape from her ribcage.

Taylor chewed her lip and ignored the slowly building burn in her wrist.

"Are we really doing this? Committing to keeping the timeline the same, even if it means…" Taylor trailed off.

She couldn't say it.

"It's our best option," Sarah confirmed.

Sarah's lips thinned. She turned away from the bubbling oil and met Taylor's eyes.

"But, ultimately, it's your decision," Sarah continued. "I trust your judgement. If things get too bad, if it seems like there's no hope left… Don't hesitate to make the call. Better to have a future, even if we aren't in it, than no future at all."

Shit. That was… a lot to consider.

Taylor was well aware of the effect she had on people. No one who knew the truth was really comfortable around her, except maybe Missy. There was something profoundly unsettling about knowing that the weird, cranky girl with the glasses and the perpetual scowl could erase them with a thought.

Sarah was different. Sarah trusted her. Not just with their lives, but with their future. Their past. Everything in between.

"Okay. I'll keep that in mind," Taylor's mouth was dry.

The silence that followed felt heavy. Sarah finished the chicken parm. Taylor bandaged her arm.

"When are you planning to leave, again?" Sarah asked eventually. Her voice was sad, but resigned. It was encouraging and disheartening, all at once. Sarah didn't want her to leave, and Taylor didn't want to, either.

But she had to. The past wasn't going to fix itself, and she still had to figure out what the hell was going on with Leviathan. Why had entering his world led her to the amethyst woman and her own past? It didn't make sense.

"Tomorrow."

Always tomorrow. She might not want to dawdle, but she always had time for at least one more night with Sarah. Hopefully this would be another short trip. She hated the idea of Sarah curled up in their bed alone.

"Okay. But tonight, you're all mine, right?" Sarah's grin turned crooked.

Taylor's face felt weirdly warm, but she forced herself to keep her shit together. Sarah liked messing with her. Taylor liked it, too, but that didn't mean she was going to let her win every time.

"Every night. No matter when I am," Taylor said.

Sarah's answering smile was blinding.

Sarah might think she won this one, but Taylor knew who the lucky one really was, here.

…

Sunday, May 15th, 2011.

Taylor was really starting to hate rain.

The remains of the Boardwalk were a mess. The buildings had been flattened by the waves, leaving only an open plane of jagged rubble covered in waist-deep water.

Taylor quickly adjusted the surface tension so she could stand on top of it. She was already over this loop, and she'd only just gotten here. Her conflict with Leviathan seemed almost tedious now that she'd glimpsed behind the curtain.

She was clearly setting her past self up to fight him in the first place, but why? What was he?

"Now that's just cheating."

Taylor looked down sharply to see Lisa, half submerged with her arms crossed in the murky water.

Taylor's chest immediately felt lighter.

Missy still looked confused and a little paranoid beside Lisa. The water was almost up to Missy's shoulders. Taylor tried not to laugh at that, and mostly succeeded.

"Magic, remember?" Taylor grinned.

She waved her hand and brought Missy and Lisa up to her level on the surface.

"Fourth loop. Four, twenty-six, twenty-eleven," Taylor said. "How long since my last loop?"

"Like, two whole seconds," Lisa said. "I missed you terribly. How's your wrist?"

"Totally fine, thanks for asking," Taylor replied dryly.

"I know we literally have bigger fish to fry, but you are going to explain this," Missy gestured between the two of them.

"Not much to explain. I seduced her with my barely adequate cooking skills and some toothpaste flavored ice cream," Lisa quipped. "Plus, there was only one bed."

"Excuse you, I'm the one who kissed-" Taylor started indignantly.

"Wanderer."

Taylor spun to face the new arrival.

Alexandria stared down at her, expression unreadable behind her helmet. Taylor forced herself not to flinch or blush. She was the one in control, here.

Still. This was Alexandria. Taylor may have been disillusioned with the Wards by the end, but everyone wanted to be the next Alexandria when they started out. She had poster of her on her wall before, for fuck's sake.

"Oh. Um… Hey?" Taylor waved awkwardly.

Why the actual fuck did I do that?

Lisa cackled. At least someone was having fun.

Missy groaned. Taylor couldn't blame her.

Legend arrived in a streak of golden light, stopping to hover next to Alexandria in the pouring rain. Myrddin appeared on her other side a moment later, gnarled staff in hand, his beard and robe flowing dramatically in the wind.

The whole Triumvirate assembled just to intimidate her or whatever. Taylor felt almost honored.

A small crowd of capes, including Colin and Hannah, appeared out of nowhere between the crags of rubble.

Right. Movers were a thing. In her last loop, Taylor kind of forgot there were other capes here.

Alexandria's stare was still cold.

"Do not remove the knife until he arrives," Alexandria said.

Taylor blinked.

Fucking what?

She narrowed her eyes.

"Don't suppose you can tell me why? Or who 'he' is?" Taylor said warily.

"Ask the woman in black," Alexandria said.

Fantastic. Brilliant.

Taylor sighed.

"We've met before, haven't we?" Taylor asked. Mostly rhetorically. She had a feeling that she knew what Alexandria was going to say.

"I didn't tell you, so I won't," Alexandria answered.

Motherfucker.

Taylor truly hated herself, sometimes.

Something shifted within the canvas. Taylor reacted instinctively.

Localized stasis.

The tip of Leviathan's claw froze a millimeter away from her eye.

Several of the watching capes screamed. Missy cursed. Even Legend and Alexandria twitched backwards automatically.

Taylor didn't move an inch.

Her power felt… different, somehow. More… Grounded. Stabilized. Did traveling to the world of fog change something?

She couldn't feel the strain of Leviathan attempting to break her stasis, anymore. Like he was just another word on the page, instead of a barely contained puddle of ink.

Taylor turned and surveyed the monster, frozen mid-leap from the depths. His cracked, multi-eyed face loomed twenty feet overhead.

"What are you?" Taylor asked aloud.

"Um. Wanderer? Maybe you shouldn't-" Missy sounded concerned.

"Shhh. She's having a moment," Lisa stage whispered.

Taylor wasn't really listening.

She stared down at her hands.

No costume. She hadn't gotten a chance to reform it. Not Wanderer. Just Taylor, in her glasses and T-shirt, hair plastered down by the rain.

Sarah gave her shit for not utilizing her power to its full potential. Had she ever really used it? Or had it always used her? The amethyst stream, the stars, the thorns…

They label her a Shaker and stick a twelve at the end because it's easier and less scary than admitting that she can do anything.

What if Sarah was right?

Why was she limited to specific applications of her abilities? Why did she bother to make Tinkertech armor, when she could just paint her wishes directly on the canvas? Why couldn't she use her powers anyway she pleased?

Why didn't she?

She'd used her localized dissolution without any armor, in the forest. She'd used it on herself.

What if all of her arbitrary limitations were just that; arbitrary? Had she been holding herself in check because the alternative was too imposing to consider?

Or maybe she'd just never had a good enough reason to push, before. To throw caution to the wind and let herself become lost, over and over.

She'd borrowed Hero's power with barely a thought. Why not others? Why not anyone's?

What if she really could do anything?

"From the ashes, a fire shall be woken," Lisa quoted softly next to her.

Taylor let the walls fall.

Her power was part of her. There was no reason to be afraid of it. She was the one in control, not the other way around. Her worlds answered to her.

All of them.

Including this one.

She let her imagination loose, free to wander through the pages of her story.

Taylor borrowed Alexandria's power, and rose into the air to hang level with Leviathan's frozen face. Her mind sharpened. She could feel the impossible strength deep in her bones.

"A light, from the shadows shall spring," Taylor idly continued the poem. Her words echoed strangely over the rain.

She was the dream walker, the paintress, the keys of the typewriter and the ink with which the words were inscribed. This was her world. Her only true enemy was herself.

She borrowed Legend's power, too. Energy burned through her veins. Fuel, to feed the fire.

"Renewed, shall be that which was broken," Lisa said.

Taylor looked down, and met her eyes.

She remembered. Of course she did. She never forgot anything, with her. And now, with Alexandria's power, she'd never forget anything ever again.

Lisa smiled.

"The crownless, again shall be king," Taylor finished.

Localized dissolution.

Leviathan burned away under the blaze of golden light. Just ash on the breeze. Paint running in the water. The temporal stasis was part of her. Why should it impede her will?

In seconds, all that remained of the Endbringer was a tear in this world. The entrance to the realm of fog.

"Have a nice trip, see you last fall," Lisa grinned widely. "Remember, everything will be okay, in the end. If it's not, then it's not.

Taylor couldn't help but laugh. It was just so stupid. Everything was stupid.

"Love you," Taylor called down to her.

Lisa blew her a kiss. Missy's face was caught somewhere between nausea and wonder.

Taylor just chuckled. She'd explain everything at some point. Hopefully.

Full reality shift: Absolute Isolation.

Taylor's body became one with the canvas, and she returned to the mists, again.

…

Tuesday, March 23, 2010.

Taylor watched from her pocket of invisible, intangible space as Sarah easily disarmed the security system of some random suburban house.

She hated this so fucking much. Sarah's sunken cheeks. The way her eyes bounced around the room constantly, searching for threats. Her matted, greasy hair.

It was worse than staring at a ghost.

Part of Taylor was happy she got to see this, in a morbid sort of way. It put some of Sarah's comments in perspective.

It's been a long time since I felt safe.

Taylor decided, again, to keep Sarah safe forever. This was intolerable.

She followed along automatically, drifting after Sarah as she quickly pilfered the cabinets for anything that was easy to grab and fit in the backpack she'd stolen.

She watched Sarah brush her teeth like it was a precious gift.

Sarah hacked her hair off without a second thought. Wasn't she worried about forensics, or DNA? Maybe the cops didn't bother for little things like a B&E. Or maybe Sarah was just desperate and lost.

Their eyes met in the mirror. Even though it should have been impossible, it seemed like Sarah saw her. The scissors slipped from Sarah's fingers as she inhaled sharply.

Taylor double checked that her spatial distortion was sealed. Sarah shouldn't be able to sense her, and her power didn't work on her.

Sarah braced herself against the sink and breathed heavily for a long moment, then got back to work.

Taylor drifted behind her to one of the bedrooms.

She couldn't help but let the smallest whisper of her power free, just to make sure that the shoes Sarah stole would fit. Maybe it would help, maybe it wouldn't. Besides, she must have done it before, because another version of herself didn't show up to stop her.

Taylor recognized the carcass of the jacket she'd created for Sarah on Christmas, 2007. It made her chest ache.

Sarah actually kept it? All this time?

Sarah paused and stared down at the tattered purple puddle with an unreadable expression for a long moment before taking off back down the stairs.

Oh, Sarah.

Taylor had a sudden urge to take care of her. To remind her that she didn't have to be alone.

Did you leave that coat for me?

For once, Taylor was happy that she could actually do what she wanted to do without ruining the past. Hopefully this was what Sarah meant.

Another carefully controlled flex of her power, and an identical purple coat appeared in the front hall closet, just a bit bigger to fit this version of Sarah.

Sarah whipped her head around, like she knew Taylor was watching. Maybe she did.

Taylor desperately wanted to help her more. Save her.

But she hadn't, so she didn't.

She'd have to settle for doing so, in the future. The present. All of the above.

Sarah left the empty house. Taylor followed along for a while longer. Just to make sure she got somewhere dry and warm.

She didn't want to leave, but she still had more work to do.

Once Sarah made it back to the shelter, Taylor took to the sky. True flight wasn't as exhilarating as falling with style, but it was more convenient.

She never knew where her power would take her next, but she knew she'd always find her way back to Sarah.

Localized dissolution.

Taylor disappeared with a flash of golden light.

…

Friday, June 28th, 2008.

Taylor stood in an unfortunately familiar office.

Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me.

A slightly younger, slightly slimmer Emily Piggot typed away furiously at her desk.

Taylor sighed and sat down in the chair across from her former handler.

This explained… a lot of things. God dammit.

"Hello, Director," Taylor said.

To her credit, Director Piggot barely flinched. She also hit the silent alarm with surprising speed.

Not that it did anything, of course. Taylor was in control, here.

"The front door exists for a reason," the Director greeted brusquely. "Who are you and why are you here?"

"My name is Wanderer. I'm a time-travelling reality manipulator. I believe my unofficial label was a 'Class S Asset'. I was also a Ward, until recently," Taylor said.

Director Piggot's face gave away nothing. Stone cold, as always.

"Both questions," The Director snapped.

"I need you to do what you've already done, so that I can reach the present I exist in. For a lot of reasons. To destroy Leviathan, kiss Sarah, meet Alexandria. All super important stuff," Taylor said.

Maybe she was actually slowly losing her mind, like Colin always suspected.

"What possible reason could I have to believe any of that?" the Director demanded in a surprisingly reasonable tone, given the situation.

The Director's desk phone rang.

Taylor frowned. That shouldn't be possible. She'd cut this room off from the rest of the world.

She felt it, then. A barely audible whisper sliding under the walls of her power. A misplaced note in the song.

Another version of her was here. Fucking with her. Or helping her. But still.

Fuck. This was going to get even more confusing.

Director Piggot answered on speakerphone, but didn't speak.

"Emily. Please manually record and follow Wanderer's instructions to the best of your ability. Class S authorization, M/S confirmation sierra kilo juliet seven seven one," the voice on the phone sounded vaguely familiar. Even with her newfound eidetic memory, Taylor had trouble placing it for a moment. Like the speaker was subtly and intentionally changing their vocal patterns.

Alexandria. Huh.

"Yes, Chief Director," Emily said.

Well, shit. Alexandria was also Chief Director of the PRT. The more you know.

Director Piggot hung up the phone.

"You have my attention, Wanderer," Emily said.

That certainly made things easier. Maybe she'd forgive her future-self. This time.

"What day is it?" Taylor asked.

"It's 9:13 AM on June 28th, 2008."

Taylor tried not to think about another version of herself, getting ready for her mother's funeral right now.

"Okay, well, later today, around 3:00, make sure Colin is within range to identify an unknown temporal anomaly in the Docks…"

And so, Taylor told the Director what needed to happen. How the PRT needed to find her, recruit her, use her, and finally, drive her away.

The web spun ever outwards.

…

Friday, June 13th, 2008.

Taylor watched herself tackle Sarah in a running, stumbling hug at a bus stop.

"Hey, honey. Everything okay?" Sarah asked worriedly.

Taylor couldn't hear her past's muffled reply, but she remembered the relief. And the sudden horror.

She really hadn't done a very good job of following Sarah's instructions in her note. The first time she'd seen her afterwards, she'd basically knocked her over without thinking. So much for walking away.

Taylor saw the moment the realization crossed her past's face. She jumped away from Sarah like her touch burned.

"When are we?" her past asked.

She remembered dreading the idea that this Sarah remembered, while simultaneously hoping that she'd somehow changed her mind.

"June 13th, 2008. You turned thirteen, yesterday, somewhere," Sarah said.

Relief, and agony.

The dumbstruck look never quite left her past's face.

"Can you tell me?" Sarah asked.

Taylor's heart broke, just a little bit more.

Because her past wanted to tell Sarah everything. She wanted to fix what was destined to break before it could be broken.

But Taylor wouldn't let her.

Taylor flexed Hero's power, stilling the vibrations in her past's throat. She watched herself flounder for a moment.

Then her past shook her head, and came to the conclusion that she always had. She assumed that because she hadn't told Sarah the truth, before, she couldn't, now. Taylor remembered realizing that her power wouldn't let her change the past, just like when she was forced to relive her memories. That would be too easy.

It was ridiculous, in hindsight. She changed the past constantly. It was just that she could only change certain things. Things that her future self allowed her to change.

Taylor watched them leave, hand in hand, to go get ice cream.

She didn't know how many more stops she had before she got to go home. Hopefully not too many more. She missed her Sarah.

Localized dissolution.

…

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008.

Taylor landed on the cracked sidewalk that could have belonged to any one of hundreds of street corners in Brockton Bay.

She blinked and looked around in confusion. The sun was just starting to set.

Normally, she landed near something or someone from her past. Something about this place was familiar, but she couldn't immediately place it, even with Alexandria's help.

Was there something specific she was supposed to do now, or…

The traffic light the next block over turned green.

Taylor recognized the car accelerating in her direction. Her stomach dropped straight through the pavement.

"No," she said out loud to no one. "No. No, you can't do this to me. I didn't…"

But clearly, she had.

There was no one listening. Or maybe there was. Her future-self knew what she'd done.

Fuck.

Her mother's car got closer.

She couldn't…

To her right, another car blew through a stop sign and gunned it too fast between the buildings towards the intersection.

Maybe she didn't have to do anything. Maybe her punishment was just having to watch, again. She'd lived through this same scene multiple times.

Maybe this wasn't real.

The driver of the speeding car to her right saw her mother's car and moved his foot to slam on the brakes. Taylor didn't need her power to know that he'd probably be able to stop in time.

She could see the future in all too vivid detail, in her mind's eye. Her mother would curse about the near collision, then she would finish her phone call, and head home. Taylor's father wouldn't break, and everything would be perfect. She'd get to keep her whole, wonderful life, and never wander away.

And then, in three years, Leviathan would come, and they'd all die, anyway.

Taylor put the walls up, and forced the screaming, helpless fury behind them. She was cold, just like when she'd ended the Nine and so many others.

She'd do what she had to do, for her present. For her future.

Her power ran free, and the man in the approaching car's foot went straight through the brake pedal like smoke. He panicked and yanked the wheel to the left, but it wouldn't budge an inch. It was too late. His fate was sealed, too, by her past.

Taylor met her mother's eyes through the windshield. For a split second, Annette's brows narrowed with confusion. Taylor wondered what she looked like, from the outside. What her mother thought of her. An uncanny specter of her daughter, with white eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I miss you," Taylor whispered in her mother's ear. Hopefully that wouldn't hurt. Well, any more than it already did.

Taylor felt like her insides were ripping her apart.

The incoming car with the intangible brake pedal hit Annette's driver's side door at full speed.

Blood splattered the inside of the windshield.

Taylor wanted to scream.

But she didn't. Couldn't. She just watched, in silence, as the sun dipped below the horizon and the sirens got closer.

She wished she could cry. If there was ever an appropriate time, this was it.

Instead, she was just… cold.

Taylor forced herself to take one last look at the heap of crimson, shattered glass.

Poor, time-lost Wanderer. Magic, and powerful… and doomed to break everything she loves.

She hated herself.

Localized dissolution.

…

Saturday, April 30th, 2011.

Taylor landed softly, for once. She hadn't expected that. Maybe her power was trying to make up for forcing her to murder her mom.

She was kneeling on her bed. Their bed. She recognized the dim outlines of the shelves and closets lining the walls, Sarah's desk and laptop, the lamp on the bedside table.

The digital clock said it was after two in the morning.

Taylor was frozen. She didn't know how to even begin unpacking this.

Sarah shifted next to her, rolling halfway to face her and reaching for her, even half asleep.

"Everything okay?" Sarah mumbled.

Taylor's heart broke a little bit more.

"No," Taylor said.

She didn't know what else to say.

Sarah blinked, and focused.

"Your eyes are dark," Sarah said.

Taylor didn't know what to make of that, but her brain was too full to process anything else.

"I… I…" Taylor tried to explain, but the words wouldn't come out. She just knelt on the bed next to Sarah, burning alive in her own personal hell.

Sarah pushed herself into a sitting position.

"Can you tell me?" Sarah asked.

For once, Taylor could, except she still couldn't.

She swallowed thickly.

"I killed her," Taylor said. "I could've saved her, but I... No, that's not right. She wouldn't have… She would've been fine, and I killed her."

"Oh, honey…" Sarah's voice was heavy.

"It was me. It was always me. I did this to myself, to everyone… I…"

Taylor's gut tightened. It was painful, almost like a cramp, but worse. The burning tightened her throat and drove the air from her lungs.

"Come here," Sarah said. Commanding, but still gentle.

Taylor allowed herself to be pulled forward into Sarah's arms, her face pressed against her chest.

The flames raced up Taylor's throat, and some part of her really hoped she wasn't about to throw up all over Sarah. That would be embarrassing.

Instead, a hacking, choked sob forced its way between her teeth.

Thorns grew from the walls, the ceiling, but Sarah just held on tight and let her break. Salt water ran from her eyes in rivers, the dam finally crumbling, soaking Sarah's T-shirt.

Actually, this was her T-shirt. Sarah was sleeping in her T-shirt?

That just made her cry harder. Everything was so fucking twisted.

I killed Mom.

She couldn't breathe. Her nose was a mess. Her breath came in strangled gasps. Hopefully Sarah didn't mind a bit of snot.

Sarah just carefully brushed her fingers through Taylor's rat's nest while she sobbed.

"Good girl," Sarah said softly. "Let it all out. It'll get better, I promise."

Taylor didn't answer. Couldn't.

I killed Mom.

Good? Is that what Sarah thought of her?

She wasn't good. She was a monster. How could it possibly get better when she'd…

She ruined everything.

I killed Mom.

What kind of psycho does that?

You'll understand, someday.

She didn't understand. Didn't want to. It was too much. Too heavy for her. Too heavy for anyone.

She could do anything, and she used her power to ruin everything.

Why?

What was the point?

Taylor screamed into Sarah's chest. Her fists stretched the fabric of Sarah's shirt, her shirt, clenching it between her fingers like that would make anything better.

Sarah's nails dragged soothing patterns over her back.

"Why?" Taylor mumbled aloud.

Sarah didn't answer, this time. Her arms tightened even further, though, and her lips pressed against the top of Taylor's head.

There weren't any answers to be found, tonight. No magical explanations that would suddenly make all the pain worth it.

At least Sarah was here.

Taylor might not be sure living was worthwhile, anymore, but she let Sarah hold her while she cried herself to sleep.

Maybe everything would somehow feel worth it, again, when she woke up. Maybe existing with her memories wouldn't be so intolerable. Or, maybe, she'd never wake up, and never have to remember, again. Part of her just wanted to sleep forever.

At least she wouldn't have to wake up alone.

…

Chapter Text

Carnelian 4.2

Saturday, April 30th, 2011.

Taylor didn't want to wake up. She couldn't quite remember why, in her sleep-addled state, but some part of her knew that whatever was waiting for her in consciousness wasn't kind.

She could feel the world of thorns encroaching on her reality. The room was probably a mess.

Taylor was usually good at cleaning up her messes.

Not this time. Some things couldn't be fixed.

Taylor's eyes flew open as the memories returned.

The bedroom she'd made from nothing for her and Sarah to share was barely lit. The Tinkertech lights built into the walls were partially warped and obscured by the tangle of briars that pressed in from every side.

Taylor pushed the memories behind her walls. She could unpack all of that… later. Maybe never.

Her face felt swollen, and kind of crusty. It wasn't exactly the best way to wake up.

The pillow under her cheek was warm, though. Soft. Soothing. Breathing.

Oh. That was Sarah.

Okay, so there were worse ways to wake up. At least Sarah was here.

"Hey, honey," Sarah said.

And, apparently, she was already awake.

Taylor tried to answer, but her voice didn't work correctly. She cleared her throat and tried again.

"Morning," Taylor said thickly. "Sorry, about..."

"No apologizing, remember?" Sarah whispered. Taylor could feel her fingers moving through her hair. That was nice. Her hair was probably completely fucked right now.

Her face still felt gross, too.

Taylor blinked as more memories resurfaced.

She'd actually cried. That was probably a good thing, right? Cathartic, or whatever. It wasn't like the PRT let her see a therapist or anything during her time as a Ward. Too high risk.

Of course, that was also her own fault. She did that.

Everything was her fault. Her life was of her own making.

She did it on purpose. She could only hope it was all for a good reason.

Her arms tightened around Sarah's ribcage. She was lying on her side, tucked under Sarah's arm, for once, with her face still half-buried in Sarah's chest.

At least sleep seemed to help create a little bit of distance. Taylor still didn't want to think about it, but she remembered why. Bad things would have happened to her, regardless. She just chose the when and the how.

She needed to get her powers in the way that she did to do everything she'd done. And she'd done a lot. Ellisburg. The Machine Army. The Butcher. The Nine. That was a lot of unequivocal evil removed from the world. A lot of potential pain prevented by her actions.

Hopefully it was a net positive. Her own agony and regret was just the price to be paid.

And, even though it tore her apart, she'd chosen to pay it. She couldn't take it back now, even if she wanted to.

That was the worst part, actually. Not that she couldn't take it back, but that she didn't want to. She'd do it again.

It didn't make it hurt less.

"I know they scare you, but the thorns are kind of cool," Sarah said softly from somewhere above her head. "Feels like it should be claustrophobic in here, but it's not. It's… safe. It reminds me of the clearing you made, that one time. Like nothing can touch us in here."

The cracked fragments of Taylor's heart slowly started to piece themselves back together as Sarah's words filtered through the fissures. Of course Sarah would like the thorns. Sarah loved her, and her worlds were part of her.

Taylor honestly didn't know whether she loved or despised the world of thorns. The briars were her defense mechanism, the lethal razorblades that guarded what little there was worth salvaging in her broken, wandering mind.

Was there anything left worth saving, at this point?

Taylor decided that there was.

Sarah's fingers moved away from her scalp, tracing comforting lines down the length of her spine.

She was more than the PRT's weapon, now. More than the ghost of the Ward's quarters. More than just Sarah's tool, too, although loving her definitely made everything else easier.

She still needed to put the Endbringers down for good. Figure out what the hell was going on with the world of fog, and what Alexandria meant. She needed to continue her wanderings, so she could do what she'd already done.

This wouldn't break her. Not forever, at least.

Taylor forced herself to take a deep breath, and promptly choked on the congealed remnants of her own snot.

Right. Fuck that. That needed to go. She'd taken her night of well-deserved wallowing. It was time to stop feeling sorry for herself.

Her power leaked into the surrounding world. The dried remains of her tears melted away. The thorns retreated back enough that they wouldn't prick her or Sarah if they moved too much.

Taylor shifted up on the bed so she was level with Sarah's face, and propped her head up on one elbow. Sarah just watched her with some mix of warmth and worry and contentment. Dark, deep green eyes, almost black in the dim bunker. Sarah always seemed to see something more than everyone else, peeling back the layers with shrewd, present observation.

Sarah's power was an extension of who she already was. It fit nicely.

Taylor realized she'd been staring for a while when Sarah's smile turned crooked.

Okay. She could do this. She had to actually talk about shit. Horrifying.

"Doing what I already did was harder than I thought it would be. I knew my future had taken proactive steps to change my past, but I didn't think… I told you that my parents died, that day in the rain. Well… I did that. I killed my mom. I'm the one who pushed the first domino over, to give myself powers in the first place."

Sarah just watched, and listened. The bedroom was quiet aside from the low hum of the air circulation system that kept the bunker from suffocating them.

"I just wish I understood why," Taylor sighed after a moment. "I discorporated Leviathan, again, but I don't know what he is. His body keeps reforming from within the world of fog. Alexandria mentioned a 'he', and said I should ask the woman in black or some shit, but that doesn't make sense, either. I hate stumbling through this whole thing blind."

Sarah nodded. She let her free hand trail up Taylor's side, up her neck until she reached her jawline. Taylor leaned into her touch automatically. It helped to chase away the ever-present itch. Like her skin was two sizes too small.

"I've thought about it a lot," Sarah said slowly. She bit her lip like she wasn't sure how much to say. The gesture was distracting, and made Taylor want to kiss her, but she resisted. For now. "There's really only two possibilities that seem feasible. Your temporal displacements obviously aren't random. There's a method to the madness. Either your where's and when's are being determined by some outside force we can't see, yet, or they're being controlled by a future version of yourself."

Before the mess with Bakuda, Taylor always thought her power just hated her. But Sarah was right. These recent repeating loops were nothing like the seemingly random wanderings she'd experienced before. There was a hand moving the chess pieces, and, well…

Wasn't that how she thought of herself? The playwright, the stage, and the actress, all in one?

"So, if it is someone or something else, the only way to figure out what's really going on is to keep playing the game, and if it's you, then there has to be a good reason for all of this," Sarah concluded. "Besides, I trust you. Past, present, and future."

Taylor's chest felt a little less empty, despite herself. She sighed, and let some of the tension leave with her breath.

"I don't," Taylor muttered. "Trust me, I mean. I'm kind of an asshole, if you haven't noticed."

Sarah laughed, and pushed herself up to steal a kiss. Taylor's stomach flipped at the brief rush of something under her skin. Sarah always made it look so easy.

"It's part of your charm, don't worry," Sarah grinned. "I like German Shepard energy better than golden retriever, anyway."

Taylor snorted. If Sarah was trying to distract her, it was working.

"Are you saying I'm your guard dog?" Taylor asked sarcastically.

Sarah's smile sharpened. She leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss against the underside of Taylor's jaw. Taylor's heartbeat thudded unevenly behind her sternum.

"Aren't you, though?" Sarah murmured into her skin.

Goosebumps prickled at the back of her neck. Butterflies twisted in her stomach. The thorns around them trembled.

Taylor let out some kind of sound that might have been a laugh or a gasp. She wasn't sure which. Her brain didn't quite work correctly with Sarah's lips on her throat.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Taylor said breathlessly. She meant it to sound like a joke, but it didn't.

Sarah hummed happily into her collarbone. Taylor swore she could feel it reverberating through her ribcage and up into her skull.

Sarah pulled herself back up and claimed Taylor's lips again. Her lips molded themselves to Sarah's, following her lead like she'd been doing it her whole life. It was easy, and wonderful, and everything else fell away under Sarah's touch.

"Good girl," Sarah breathed against her lips.

A ripple of frigid heat shot down her spine and coiled in her stomach.

Okay. Wow. Um… that was… different. Good different, though. Really, really, really-

Taylor lost her train of thought again. The thorns writhed on the walls. It was all she could do to keep up with Sarah's movements, spiraling within herself under Sarah's nonverbal direction.

At some point, the last of the tension leaked from Taylor's bones. She kind of felt like she was melting. The restless thoughts were quiet, her mind fully focused on the deliberate dance of Sarah's lips on hers. Her skin felt warm, and comfortable, instead of like tissue paper.

Sarah pulled back slowly, stopping only a few inches away to hover above her. Taylor wasn't sure exactly how or when she'd ended up on her back with Sarah leaning over her instead of the other way around, but she wasn't complaining.

Okay. So. Maybe she liked being Sarah's weapon, after all. Cool. Neat. Totally fine and normal.

"Feeling any better?" Sarah asked.

A lot of things were still a tangled mess, but Taylor smiled, anyway.

"Something like that," Taylor said.

Several strands of gold had escaped from Sarah's braid at some point. They hung down towards her face like willow leaves. Taylor reached up and tucked one behind Sarah's ear, just because she could.

She should make a world of gold. Somewhere bright, and warm.

"I missed you," Taylor said. She'd been so preoccupied with her traumatic past that she'd forgotten to say that earlier. "When are we?"

"It's Saturday, the 30th. You lost four days, ish, this time," Sarah said.

"What have you been up to, anyway?" Taylor asked curiously. She had trouble picturing what Sarah did here all alone. She probably just did her own thing, but Taylor didn't really know what that was.

Sarah's mouth thinned and twisted slightly, like she was trying to decide whether to answer or not. Whether to lie or not.

"You don't have to-" Taylor started.

"I coerced Faultline's crew and Coil's remaining mercenaries into helping me evacuate the city," Sarah said.

Taylor blinked. That… wasn't what she'd been expecting.

"What? Really?" Taylor asked.

Sarah shrugged. She looked almost embarrassed.

"Well, I figured I should do something useful here while you're out slaying Endbringers in the future. And this is the first time we've had any kind of warning about an Endbringer attack, even if the PRT still have their heads up their collective asses-"

"Shit. I should've told the Director… Oh well. Too late now." Taylor interrupted without thinking.

"What?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"I made a stop at the PRT back in 2008 and told them what they needed to do to make sure our future happened, like pushing me away so I'd come find you. That's probably why nobody died when I sunk the rig, actually. Hindsight is twenty-twenty. But I didn't think to tell them to evacuate the city, so they aren't. Whoops. And now, I can't go back and tell them to, because I didn't, the first time."

Sarah groaned and flopped onto her back next to her.

"Fuck. That's so messy. I take back everything I said. You're clearly an irresponsible general manager of the universe."

"Told you. Future-me is a bitch," Taylor chuckled.

"Anyway, I've been coordinating a bunch of different approaches to avoid causing a panic," Sarah continued. "We're still in the planning stage for a lot of things, but, like, snapping up all the available rentals and hotel rooms out of the splash zone, telling people they've won free vacations, or the city is doing maintenance after the EMP and is providing them with lodging while the work is in progress, stuff like that. Hacking and forging instructions from their employers for fake work trips. Some people'll get a version of the truth, depending on their psych profiles. I mean, a lot of folks will still refuse to leave, so some of them we might just have to kidnap and hold in an off-site facility or something, but…"

A new kind of warmth bloomed in Taylor's chest as she listened to Sarah ramble.

We're heroes because we help people. Because we do as much good as we can, where we can, when we can, until we can't, anymore. That was always the point.

She'd been prepared to let herself be selfish, for once. To accept Sarah, Lisa, for who she was, villain or not, even if what Lisa needed wasn't legal or moral.

But Sarah was helping people. Even though she didn't have to. She was trying so fucking hard. For her.

Tears welled in Taylor's eyes. Apparently, now that she'd figured out how to cry again, that was going to be a thing.

"Wow, are you okay?" Sarah asked with a concerned expression.

Taylor didn't know what her face was doing.

"I just… I just love you a lot," Taylor said. It sounded stupid as soon as she said it, but she didn't care.

"Really? You're… You like what I'm doing? I did murder Dimitri's old boss and a couple of Coil's other scumbags. Well, technically Dimitri murdered them, but he is weirdly loyal and good at following instructions. I think you must have done something to him in the future-past, because my power pulls a blank when I try to figure out why he's scared of me," Sarah said.

Taylor didn't really care. She wasn't about to let a bit of necessary killing dissuade her, after everything she'd done. Maybe it was fucked up, but she was willing to accept a lot worse than some deadly office politics from Sarah. Lisa. Tattletale. Whatever.

"I'll make sure to put his priorities in order when I see him," Taylor said. "But… yeah, I'm happy you're doing that. Really happy. If you aren't careful, you'll end up a hero by accident."

"You watch your fucking mouth," Sarah said. She was still smirking contentedly, though.

"Yeah? Or what?" Taylor grinned up at her.

"Or I'll-"

Sarah didn't get to finish, because Taylor rolled them both over and kissed her, hard. She could feel Sarah smiling widely into her lips.

She wished she could echo loop this moment and live it over and over and over forever.

Unfortunately, tomorrow would always come, regardless. But it was nice to imagine.

Still, Taylor decided that their plots and plans could wait for a little while longer. Luckily, it seemed like Sarah very much agreed.

…

Sunday, May 1st, 2011.

Two more whiteboards joined the original in order to keep track of all of Sarah's notes. One of them was designated to her own ongoing evacuation projects, but the information all intermingled with Taylor's own reports from her various loops.

Sarah tapped the wooden tabletop in thought while she surveyed her web of insanity.

"I'm starting to see why you gave up on keeping track of this stuff," Sarah said. "Is it always like this?"

Taylor laughed and continued to spin in her desk chair.

"It wasn't, but it was still a mess," Taylor said. "I met Missy for the first time after already having known her for two years. Sophia barely had time to get comfortable being shitty to older, jaded-me before younger-me popped in and filled her bedroom to the ceiling with angry squirrels because she tried to fuck with my shampoo while I was out. Wild shit."

"Did you tell the Director about that part when you were catching her up on the future plans?" Sarah grinned back at her.

"Absolutely not. She needs to learn to lighten up, anyway," Taylor said.

Sarah added a note under what Taylor assumed was Shadow Stalker's psych profile.

Taylor spun another circle in her chair.

Sarah hummed and bounced her dry erase marker against the edge of her tablet.

"This might be a stupid question, but do you have to discorporate Leviathan to access the world of fog?" Sarah asked.

Taylor stopped spinning.

"I don't know," she said.

Sarah shot her a look.

"Don't give me that! I just discovered it, like, a loop and a half ago, and I've had a very eventful week. It didn't occur to me!" Taylor protested.

"I suppose it's good to be needed," Sarah muttered. "Okay, so, give it a go. No time like the present."

Taylor let her power leak through the veil, and…

"Huh. Would you look at that," Taylor said.

An empty hole in the air hung in the middle of their insulated conference room.

"That isn't going to start spewing out nightmare monsters or anything, right?" Sarah wandered around the opposite side of the table, eyeing the interdimensional anomaly warily.

"Probably not? I didn't see any the last time I was there," Taylor shrugged. "Also, I think I'll still need to discorporate to travel between worlds. It's not exactly safe for physical matter."

"It's probably better than just throwing yourself into the void, though," Sarah pointed out.

"True."

They both just stared at the tear in the canvas.

"When are you planning to leave again?" Sarah asked quietly.

"Maybe tomorrow?" Taylor said. She didn't sound sure, even to herself.

For the first time, she was actually scared of what she might find in the past.

"How about the day after?" Sarah met her eyes across the table.

There were always more reasons to stay. Deep, viridescent sunlight through the leaves.

She deserved some leeway, after what happened last time. The past could wait a little while longer.

"The day after sounds okay, too," Taylor said.

Sarah smiled that wide, genuine, not-crooked smile she reserved just for Taylor.

Maybe all of this was worth it, after all.

…

Sunday, April 24th, 2011.

Taylor blinked and glanced around the dim warehouse.

She didn't necessarily need her eyes to see, but it was helpful. The few remaining industrial lights weren't quite up to the task.

Newter clung to the wall next to her. Taylor resisted the urge to say 'hi' just to mess with him.

Faultline stood in the middle of the warehouse floor behind Gregor the Snail. The same girl from their last meeting swayed slightly in place next to her.

Taylor watched the strange girl.

Her pale eyes snapped up to Taylor's with surprising precision. The others probably thought she was just staring into space, but Taylor knew better.

She could feel a tear in the tapestry. The eerie girl wasn't entirely here. Some part of her was somewhere else.

Taylor made the split second decision to follow her.

Part of her awareness remained with her physical body, floating invisible in the shadows of the warehouse, while the rest went wandering, following the girl's trail through the endless worlds.

She found a shadow of the girl sitting on the shores of a very familiar amethyst river, watching the water pass by with a blank expression.

"Are you lost?" Taylor asked the version of the girl intruding on her world.

"Aren't we all? At least a little bit," the girl answered dreamily.

Ooooookay, then.

"What's your name?" Taylor asked.

"Elle. I'm supposed to go by Labyrinth, but it's hard to care," Elle said. "What's the point, when I can visit pretty places like this?"

"I'm glad you like it," Taylor said quietly. Not everyone enjoyed her worlds.

In the real world, the warehouse doors opened. Lisa strode through confidently in her new Tattletale costume, followed closely by a mercenary that Taylor assumed was the Dimitri she mentioned.

"You broke the rules, Tattletale," Faultline greeted.

Unsurprising. Taylor idly wondered which rules Lisa had broken this time.

"Rules are made to be broken," Lisa shot back. "Besides, I hear they're more like guidelines, anyway."

Ah. So that's why Faultline hated Lisa.

"They don't like each other very much, do they?" The version of Elle on the shore observed.

"I'm not sure, actually," Taylor said. "Lisa seems to be enjoying herself."

"Melanie says she doesn't like her, but I think she actually does, deep down. Nobody else sends her Christmas cards," Elle said. "Melanie's good at lying to herself."

Taylor grinned. She hadn't known about that part.

"Lisa can be, too."

"Wanderer doesn't just control our current reality," Lisa said in the real world. "She wanders through the past, present, and future. What she experiences will come to pass. She can only ever do what she's already done. Isn't that right?"

Lisa and Melanie both looked at Labyrinth, in the real world.

"Oh. I'm supposed to answer, aren't I? Hmmm. I wasn't listening. Drat," Elle said.

Labyrinth's body blinked. She stared up at Taylor's real body when she answered.

"Do the ends justify the means?" Labyrinth asked.

"I hope so," Taylor shrugged, in the glass forest. "I won't know until I get there. To the end, I mean."

The version of Elle sitting on the rocks beside Taylor's river nodded slowly.

"I don't know what's real, sometimes," Elle pondered, almost to herself. "Is any of this real?"

"Does it matter? It's all real, if it feels real. Or it's all fake. Maybe both. It's all part of the same canvas," Taylor said.

"Who stretched the canvas, then?" Elle asked. "Who built the frame?"

I did.

That didn't make any sense. It felt true, nonetheless. Taylor didn't answer.

"And where is Wanderer, anyway?" Melanie demanded in the real world. "Are we supposed to just take your word that she's working with you, now?"

"She's fighting Leviathan as we speak," Lisa said.

Elle grinned up at her from the riverbank.

"No, she isn't," Labyrinth said.

Taylor laughed.

"Not helpful," Lisa sighed.

Taylor was sorely tempted to appear out of thin air next to her. But she hadn't, so she didn't.

"You like her a lot, don't you?" Elle said.

"Yeah," Taylor smiled at Lisa, in the real world. Even though Lisa couldn't see her. Maybe she'd feel it, somehow.

"Oh. We're supposed to use their codenames. Oops," Elle said.

"I won't tell if you don't," Taylor chuckled.

"Are we safe to let her leave?" Melanie glanced at Labyrinth's body.

Elle looked at Taylor, by the river.

"If we don't, we die," Labyrinth answered absently.

Taylor wasn't sure what to make of that. She probably wouldn't kill them if they tried to kidnap Lisa.

"Not you," Elle said.

"Who, then?" Taylor asked. "Leviathan?"

Elle just shook her head.

"All that's gold doesn't glitter," Elle said.

That didn't really make sense, but Taylor didn't pry further.

In the real world, Taylor watched Lisa and Dimitri leave.

"I hate dealing with that-" Melanie ground out.

"Don't. We aren't alone, yet," Labyrinth said.

"What?" Melanie spun.

"Let us decide for ourselves," Elle said to Taylor, by the river. "You don't realize how large your shadow looms."

That was… pretty fair, actually.

"Okay. I can do that," Taylor said. "See you around, Elle. It was nice talking to you."

"Bye, Wanderer."

Elle got up from the amethyst river, and strolled away under the glass canopy.

When Taylor tried to look for her between the trees, she was already gone.

In the real world, Labyrinth just stared at her.

Right. She was supposed to leave them to talk.

On the road again…

Localized dissolution.

…

Thursday, March 7th, 1991.

Taylor returned to corporeality in a stark white room with no doors. It was empty except for a woman in a crisp black suit and fedora. She looked young-ish, maybe early twenties, with dark hair past her shoulders and clear, pale skin.

She was also quick on the draw. The woman in black didn't hesitate to immediately pull a pistol from within her jacket, aim right between Taylor's eyes, and pull the trigger.

A little flag with the word 'Bang!' on it popped out of the barrel of the gun.

The woman in black might be fast, but this and every world were hers.

"Not a very polite way to say hello," Taylor said idly.

"What are you? Why can't I see you?" the woman demanded.

Interesting.

"I'm Wanderer, time-travelling wizard extraordinaire," Taylor said. She decided to take a chance. Identities were a double edged sword, but name dropping was a hell of a power move, and it might let her skip some of the verification steps. One of the few benefits of time travel. "You wouldn't happen to know Rebecca, would you? Tall, dark, punches really hard, makes cryptic remarks for fun?"

The woman still looked decidedly off balance.

"I might," she said.

"Awesome. She told me to ask you about an amethyst woman with a knife stuck in her neck. Ring any bells?" Taylor asked.

The woman's eyes widened, and she actually backed away. She didn't seem to even notice she was doing it.

"No. I mean, what? How would she…" the woman stammered.

That was a weird reaction. At least this strange woman clearly knew something.

"I found her in the world of fog, and-"

"You found it?" the woman exclaimed.

This was getting weirder by the minute.

"Um… yeah? Sort of statue-like, kind of hunched over, little knife stuck in the base of her skull?" Taylor's tone turned the statement into a question.

The woman in black seemed to be having an internal crisis. Taylor waited patiently while she stared blankly at the wall for a solid five seconds.

"Okay… maybe we got off on the wrong foot. What's your name?" Taylor asked.

The woman blinked and refocused on her. She still looked shell-shocked.

"Contessa. You need to talk to the Doctor," the woman… Contessa, said.

"Rebecca told me to talk to you," Taylor pointed out.

"When?" Contessa asked.

"May of 2011. When are we, now? I don't necessarily control my time-wanderings," Taylor said.

Although, future-her might, if Sarah's theory was true. Whatever.

"It's 1991," Contessa said with a strange expression.

"Twenty years. Hot damn," Taylor breathed. "I've never gone back further than three, before. I didn't think it'd work like that. Too many changes. Are we on Earth?"

"Technically," Contessa said.

"Earth Bet?"

"No."

Maybe that explained it. Not that any of this made sense.

"Why can't I see you?" Contessa asked again.

"You're going to have to clarify," Taylor said.

"I have perfect precognition, but anything involving you returns nothing," Contessa said.

"Oh, yeah. I'm immune to pretty much everything. Magic, remember? Precogs, Thinkers in general, Masters. The Butcher's inheritance couldn't jump to me, although I doubt that means anything to you. Can't even die properly," Taylor said.

Contessa just stared at her for a long moment before apparently deciding not to ask.

"You saw the crystal woman with the knife in its neck. Where? Where is this… world of fog?" Contessa asked.

"I have lots of worlds, but that one feels different. I can't really explain it. Why? What is she?" Taylor asked in return.

"It is the end of all things. One of two sources of parahuman abilities, and the only one currently disabled. I put that knife in its neck eleven years ago," Contessa said.

Okay. That was… huh.

"You're gonna have to run that one by me again," Taylor said.

"Two parasitic extradimensional entities arrived at all versions of Earth eleven years ago. They are vast beyond comprehension, spanning functionally limitless possible dimensions. One of the two miscalculated its initial approach and crashed into my home Earth. An integral piece of itself broke free and latched onto me, which allowed me to disable it before it could manifest its full awareness. However, the primary center of consciousness that I disabled disappeared, leaving behind a sizable percentage of its corpse when it escaped into interdimensional space. The Doctor and I have spent the last decade looking for it without success. It somehow blocked all forms of clairvoyance and precognition from perceiving it," Contessa explained in rapid, almost robotic words.

Taylor bit her lip. That sounded like nonsense, but then again, no one knew where parahuman abilities came from, and it wasn't like Contessa had any reason to lie.

"Powers come from aliens?" Taylor asked skeptically. That was… certainly a hell of a theory.

"Yes."

Okay then. Sure, why not. When in Rome…

"You said there were two of them. If the amethyst woman is one of them, where's the other?"

"He's also looking for her, as far as we can tell. I don't know where he is, exactly. I can't see him, either," Contessa said.

The woman in black paused. Her eyes bored into Taylor's with a weird sort of intensity.

"There is very little that can hide from me, Wanderer. The Thinker, what you call the amethyst woman, was the first. It was what blinded me to its kind. The second was the Warrior, its counterpart," Contessa said. "I can't help but wonder if I still only have two blind spots, after all."

What did she mean by…

Oh.

Huh.

"You think I'm… her?" Taylor said.

"The odds of you being an unrelated blind spot are slim. It is possible that you're connected to her the same way normal parahumans are tied to their Agents. Usually, parahumans can only access a carefully tailored fraction of an Agent's potential. You seem to have gotten… quite a lot more than that."

Taylor couldn't decide if Contessa was off her rocker or making entirely too much sense.

"Back up to that 'End of All Things' bit," Taylor said. She didn't know if these answers were true or not, but it was better than nothing. Her power obviously brought her here for a reason.

"The entities use host species as test subjects for their continued evolution. They isolate and consolidate countless different dimensions, different possible versions of the host planet, and seed them with their own cells, what we've taken to calling Agents. Once they have enough information, they destroy all possible versions of the host planet to fuel their travel to the next inhabited world," Contessa said.

"Ah. Well… shit," Taylor said.

She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Quite," Contessa agreed. It looked like she almost smiled.

But she didn't.

Taylor stewed on that revelation for a moment.

Were the Endbringers just the tip of the iceberg? A minor threat on one version of Earth, while their true enemy was… what? A multi-dimensional alien god?

Apparently, she hadn't been dreaming big enough.

Taylor sighed.

"Well, I guess I'll get right on that, then," she said.

Contessa looked confused.

"What?" she asked.

"Killing God, right? The Warrior, or whatever. If he's going to blow up the Earth, I'll get started on figuring out how to kill him. I hope Lisa has enough whiteboards," Taylor grinned.

What else was she supposed to do? Just keep swimming, and all that.

Contessa just blinked at her.

"I don't think you understand the scope of what you're suggesting…"

"I'm sure I don't, but who cares?" Taylor shrugged. "Everything ends, one way or another. Even the stars go out. It sounds like this fucker needs to die, and no one else is going to do it for us. No point in getting mopey. I already cried once this week, so I'm not scheduled for another breakdown for three more years. Might as well hop to it."

She'd have to work through all of this with Sarah, later. For now, it was going behind the walls with her mom's corpse and everything else she didn't want to think about too hard.

"I can't tell if you're being facetious or not," Contessa said.

"Good. Let's keep it that way. See you later, Tessa. Or earlier. You know how it goes," Taylor threw the woman in black a two fingered wave.

"Wait a moment, you can't just-"

But she could, and she did.

Localized dissolution.

…

Friday, April 15th, 2011.

Taylor landed in an unfamiliar office.

A tall, thin man wearing a bodysuit wrapped in a curling snake motif sat behind a sturdy wooden desk. Across from him stood Dimitri, clad in the same repurposed PRT body armor with his Tinkertech rifle and sidearm.

Right. Coil. She'd almost forgotten about him, what with all the talk of aliens and the end of the world.

She should probably double check before she killed him.

"Coil, I assume?" Taylor asked.

The snake man behind the desk jumped like she'd electrocuted him.

"How did… What…" he seemed at a loss for words.

Well, if he somehow wasn't Coil, her future self had like five seconds to stop her.

Dimitri moved quicker than probably-Coil. His long rifle was unwieldy at this range, but he had his pistol in his hand before Taylor even finished speaking. He raised it deftly towards her head, and…

Stared in surprisingly mild amusement at the rubber chicken in his hand.

Honestly. What was it with people and pulling guns on her today?

"What have you done?" Coil demanded. "You can't be here."

Taylor didn't really understand, but she also didn't really care.

"Look, I don't know you," Taylor shrugged. "So I don't actually know how much of an asshole you are. But, Lisa said you needed to die, so…"

Taylor snapped her fingers, and erased Coil from existence. He didn't even have time to scream.

Just… gone. Easy peasy.

She didn't take any pleasure from it, but she didn't chastise herself, either. It was necessary.

"Now…" Taylor eyed Dimitri.

Spatial shift: Domain Intrusion.

The world of the void surrounded them. Not darkness as much as the absence of sensory input.

Dimitri's face remained blank, but Taylor could see the hint of fear under the surface.

The void wasn't just visual. It was conceptual. It was everything, and nothing, all at once. No sight. No sound. No touch, taste, scents, balance, movement. No relief from the air in his lungs, no sense of spatial orientation. No internal signals; no thirst, hunger, or pain.

It was the embodiment of her loneliest nights. The aching, intangible need, while simultaneously being so, so empty. Her shelter, and her prison.

Dimitri tried to push back, but Taylor crushed him under the weight of her apathy.

Then she took that moment of fear and realization, and looped it back on itself.

Temporal shift: Echo.

"The concept of nothing is unsettling, isn't it, Dimitri?" Taylor whispered. He heard her, even though there was no sound in this place. "That's why erasing people feels different than killing them. Killing them is something, but deleting them is just… nothing. Nonexistence is unfathomable. Try to imagine not existing at all, never having existed in the first place. It doesn't quite compute, does it?"

He couldn't speak, trapped in the endless echo with her words and her nothing.

"I erased Coil because, a week from today, Lisa will ask me to make him disappear for her. But it had also already happened, because I'm here, now. Cause and effect aren't straightforward, for me. Sometimes they're reversed. Sometimes they're sideways. But I've found that I actually kind of like being Lisa's weapon. It's very satisfying. I hope you'll agree, eventually."

Taylor let her white eyes filter through the void, two shining rings of something within the nothing.

"Lisa, Tattletale, to you, is going to contact you and the remainder of Coil's mercenaries soon to continue your employment. Take good care of her, follow her orders, and I'll allow you the luxury of continued existence. As long as you serve her, my future will ensure your present. Stab her in the back, or run away, and I'll return to a time before you even considered the possibility, and erase you from the canvas."

Release.

Coil's office returned like it never left, although its owner didn't return with it.

Dimitri just stared at her. She couldn't parse his expression.

"If it makes you feel any better," Taylor commented, "I didn't get a choice, either."

Localized dissolution.

…

Friday, June 28th, 2008.

Taylor was getting a bit tired of appearing in random offices.

At least she vaguely recognized the woman sitting behind this particular desk.

"Morning, Rebecca," Taylor greeted.

It might not actually be morning. Taylor didn't really care.

Rebecca Costa-Brown, Chief Director of the PRT, the hero known as the Library of Alexandria, and apparently also a contact of whatever Contessa and the Doctor were, didn't even look up at her.

"Wanderer. Have a seat," Rebecca said.

That was actually a refreshing change of pace.

"Thanks. You're the first person this trip who hasn't tried to shoot me as soon as I dropped in," Taylor commented.

"Don't tempt me," Rebecca said idly.

That actually made Taylor laugh. Just a bit. She couldn't help herself.

"Have we met before?" Taylor asked. She didn't know when they were, yet.

"No. But Contessa provided a detailed description of the incident in 1991," Rebecca said.

"Of course she did," Taylor sighed. "Okay, first things first. At the conflict with Leviathan in Brockton Bay on May 15th, 2011, you need to wait until my fourth loop to make contact with me personally. At that point, you need to tell me not to remove the knife until he arrives, to ask the woman in black, and that you can't tell me anything more because you didn't. Also, you need to convince Director Piggot to listen to me in 2008. I'll need to help you with that bit, though. Are we in 2008 now?"

Rebecca looked up from her computer for the first time. Her stare was cold.

"Why are you doing this, Wanderer? Do you even know?" Rebecca asked.

"I need to kill him, right? The Warrior?" Taylor said.

"He isn't the sort of thing that can die," Rebecca pointed out.

"Well, I'm not, either," Taylor said.

Rebecca's face twisted. Taylor couldn't make heads or tails of her expression.

"Was all of this truly necessary?" Rebecca asked. She sounded almost… lost.

"I think so…" Taylor frowned. Killing her mother was horrible, but it was only horrible to her. Taylor felt like she was missing something. "What are you talking about, specifically, though?"

Rebecca's expression froze.

"You don't know," she breathed.

Oh, this was probably going to suck.

"Know what?" Taylor sighed.

What had future-her done now?

Rebecca seemed to deliberate for a moment before speaking again.

"There are currently a total of five individual blind spots in Contessa's precognition," Rebecca said. "Six, if you count you and the Thinker as two separate entities. Which I don't."

Her eyes pinned Taylor in place with heavy purpose. One real, one fake.

"The other three are the Endbringers."

It took Taylor a moment to put the pieces together.

"And you think…" Taylor didn't really need confirmation, but she didn't know what else to say.

"I think that Contessa still only has two true blind spots," Rebecca said softly.

It made too much sense. The entrance into the realm of fog, which hid the Thinker's… mind? Consciousness? Control unit? Whatever. The way the Endbringers' power adjusted based on their opponents. The way they were able to interact directly with her worlds.

Other, smaller things started to line up, too. The way Leviathan regarded her curiously, sometimes. Like he recognized her.

It had been Leviathan that spurred her to push her power's limits. Another domino, already falling before she realized it was her who stood it upright in the first place.

She'd required a worthy opponent, to ensure that what had already happened would happen.

"Fuck," Taylor cursed aloud.

Who better to create her enemy than herself?

…