Things have been incredibly awkward at home since Taylor came back two days prior. Walking up to the house in borrowed clothes and looking like she’d been taken to the cleaners was the final stretch on a journey of dread.

  Even knowing that she wasn’t technically at fault for everything that happened, there was no convincing Taylor’s heart to stop beating a mile a minute.

  She was so preoccupied that she forgot about the rickety step, which promptly announced her arrival. Stomping then thudded inside the house, before the door was swung open with considerable force.

  Frame by the entryway was Danny Hebert, disheveled as all hell and with wild eyes flitting about before they finally landed on her. When it finally registered that, yes, he really was looking at his daughter, the balding man moved to engulf her in a fierce hug.

  “Taylor, oh thank God, Taylor,” he cried. “I thought I lost you! I thought – Jesus, I didn’t know what to think!”

  “It’s okay, Dad,” she said in a quiet voice, returning his embrace with equal fervor. “I’m okay, I promise. Things just got a little out of hand.”

  “Out of hand?” Slowly releasing Taylor, Danny held his daughter far enough to look her in the eyes. “Kiddo, you’ve been gone for nearly three days! I’m gonna need more than that.”

  Sighing in defeat, Taylor wordlessly took his hand and pulled them both inside. Once seated on the sofa, she laid everything safe to divulge. Some of the things she learned would definitely put her father in danger.

  This proved to be the wiser course of action, as the freak-out that followed would’ve been a lot worse if she had added details like global conspiracies into the mix. Naturally, Taylor was grounded, and Danny even called the school to inform them that she wouldn’t be attending for a few days due to a family emergency.

  She was so exhausted by that point that she didn’t even argue.

  It’s been two days since then, and while Taylor understood her father’s reaction, she couldn’t help but feel resentful. Making matters worse is the state of her power.

  After her first encounter with Seraph, the boost to her range went dormant. The same went for the enhancement of her minions. With practice, she was able to gain finer control over the insects under her thrall, allowing her to do things better than she did before.

  Seeing and hearing through insects became second-nature, and she was even able to overcome a few weaknesses to some extent, like the rain, cold temperatures, and even bug repellents. Since waking up after her episode over the ocean, though, it was like her power was muted.

  It’s still there, as far as she can tell. She just can’t use it.

  Unfortunately, Taylor only realized this after sending Alfred off. Lisa was there to help her calm down, as well as put things into perspective, but it was still incredibly disconcerting.

  True to the blonde Thinker’s prediction, it has been getting better. She’s already started feeling the bugs in her immediate surroundings. No control, still, but an encouraging sign.

  Another point that completely skipped her mind was the wound she sustained from the bullet ricochet while trying to escape with Lisa. It had completely skipped her mind because of so much going on at the time, but even back when she woke up in her cell, there was no pain or feeling of blood loss.

  When she brought it up with Lisa, the other girl went eerily quiet and still for a few seconds.

  Then, after coming out of it, she got really evasive and insisted that Taylor should go home. She promised to get in touch once everything settled down. But since they parted, there’s been no word.

  She’d since spent her time looking things up on the clunky home computer. At Lisa’s advice, she avoided all mentions of the Atlantic incident. That was fine. There were other topics to browse, such as Glory Girl’s apparent miraculous recovery.

  Good.

  No word about Shadow Stalker getting the same treatment, though.

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  Even better.

  This was the one aspect of Taylor’s current powerless state to be thankful for. Otherwise, she would’ve sent a biblical plague to the hospital where that bitch was being kept.

  She was already in enough hot water, as it is. There’s no need to add attacking a Ward to her rap sheet. It was damn tempting, though. Especially consider her apparent influence over Seraph: a topic that she’s done everything she could to avoid thinking about since they split.

  Right now, she just needed to wait until she heard from either of her two new… acquaintances? Co-conspirators? Certainly not friends.

  Taylor was in the middle of preparing dinner, a few hours after ending her net surfing session, when the landline rang. Wiping her hands on her apron, she picked up the receiver.

  “Hebert Reside –” she started.

  “Taylor!” Danny didn’t even let her finish, voice loud and frantic. “I’m coming home. Do not leave the house, do you understand? Do not leave the house.”

  “Leave the – what’s going on?”

  “No time! I gotta go. Be home in a bit. Stay there!”

  The other line went dead, leaving Taylor staring incredulously at the phone.

  “What the fuck?”

  Just then, her burner went off. Blowing out an air of exasperation, she flipped it open to see Lisa’s name. Brow furrowed in consternation, she pressed answer.

  “Lis –” Once again, she was interrupted.

  “Taylor, please tell me you’re home!” came the panicked greeting.

  “Okay, what is going on? My dad just called me to ask the same thing.”

  “Haven’t you – never mind. Don’t go anywhere. We’re coming over.”

  “What?!” she squeaked. “Lisa, no! My dad’s on his way home. You can’t be here when he does!”

  “Then, you better freakin’ give him a heads up before we get there!” she retorted with steel in her voice. “I’m not fucking around, Taylor. We’ll keep you and your dad safe, especially given your current state.”

  It hurt to admit that she was right. While not completely helpless, the temporary absence of her power does make Taylor more vulnerable. On that note, she still hasn’t gotten an answer.

  “Can you at least tell me what everyone’s freaking out about?”

  Just then, a plume of fire rose into the sky, high enough to be visible from Taylor’s living room window.

  God damn it!

  “What’s he gotten himself into now?” she groaned, having a good idea as to the culprit behind that tower of fire.

  “Funny you should mention that,” Lisa’s sharp reply caught Taylor off guard. “He’s just following orders.”

  Oh, crap.

  Vicky has never felt more alive.

  Though it was unfortunate that it took a literal S-Class emergency to get her out of the hospital, she was still grateful for the opportunity to escape the stifling confinement. She was even more grateful that she could finally take Fragile out on a test run.

  And boy, did she deliver.

  While she retained much of her original strength and durability, Vicky now had an expanded repertoire of tricks – namely, the ability to create extendable limbs that she can launch from practically any direction.

  They acted less like arms and more like sharp spikes or spears. In addition, they can move independently since they also respond to Fragile’s commands.

  In short, Vicky now has near 360-degree coverage and can turn into motherfucking hedgehog!

  Quite the upgrade, and just in time, too. The number of batshit crazy clones she’s had to dispatch in the last few minutes absolutely boggled her mind. The Brute never could have imagined being involved in shredding living, thinking beings as a hero.

  Yet, that’s exactly what’s happening.

  Surprisingly, the culprit for this newest batch of insanity isn’t Seraph. Well, he’s involved, but someone else was causing the actual problem.

  Apparently, the crazed Case-53 he’s currently fighting could produce hundreds of clones, each of which would then possess an offshoot power of a devoured parahuman. Many of the copies that Vicky had to put down, so far, had some form of projection, teleportation, or physical enhancements.

  So, it’s safe to say that only a few capes have been eaten, as of this point.

  That’s why Brutes like her were told to stay away, as well. It would be too risky to get involved.

  “Glory Girl!” someone called out.

  Looking over, Vicky saw Armsmaster briskly walking toward her, a decapitated body lying on the ground behind the Tinker.

  “Armsmaster,” she greeted. “How’re things going on your end?”

  “Well enough,” he said. “But we have updated orders. Apparently, some interlopers are taking advantage of the chaos to sow more discord. Members of the Ambassadors have been sighted in the city, and it would appear that they are involved in unleashing Echidna.”

  “Say, what?” Vicky gaped in astonishment.

  But before Armsmaster could say anything else, a loud cackling was heard in the distance. A deafening explosion then came from the ridge where the rampaging monstrous parahuman was being corralled, immediately followed by a towering pillar of fire.

  “Did Seraph finally lose his shit?” she blurted out.

  “Unlikely,” Armsmaster denied immediately. “He –”

  “This is Dragon to all channels. Bakuda is on scene. I repeat, Bakuda is on scene. She’s a Bomb Tinker, and she just launched some kind of vortex induction munition that created a high-velocity thermal updraft.”

  “Oh, for the love of –” Vicky groaned.

  “All channels, this is Director Piggot. Bakuda is unstable and extremely egotistical. Exercise caution when dealing with her. Dragon, can you locate her?”

  “Negative, director. Oni Lee delivered the payload. Seraph confirmed her presence, but we’re too preoccupied with Echinda and – look out!”

  Vicky’s heart nearly froze at the panic in the Canadian Tinker’s shout.

  “Dragon! What happened?”

  “Bakuda’s attack provided enough of a distraction for one of the clones to snatch Purity!” Dragon reported. “Echidna has just assimilated Purity. All channels, I repeat. Echidna has assimilated Purity!”

  Not hesitating for a moment, Vicky took to the skies at maximum speed. She might not be able to help with putting down the Case-53, but she could certainly hunt down clones of the nazi bitch.

  She heard Armsmaster call out, but she didn’t stop or slow down.

  Having to fight multiple versions of the Blaster 8 is a nightmare scenario. One that can be alleviated with a sensible application of controlled carnage.

  Who better to deliver that than her?