Some part of Taylor knew that she had messed up by losing control with the Undersiders and then blurting out the truth about her use of her new powers. This then resulted in 24 hours being wasted making sure that she hadn’t accidentally let in new microscopic organisms or exotic particles to contaminate their local dimension.

  At least, that’s what the PRT said about the necessity of their quarantine. A quarantine that would’ve gone on longer if Leviathan weren’t literally heading towards Brockton Bay.

  By the time everyone was released and gathered in a much bigger conference hall that was typically used for press announcements, more people were in attendance. Most notable among them were Alexandria and Eidolon, who rounded out the Triumvirate's presence in the city..

  The little girl in Taylor would have been ecstatic at seeing the world’s top heroes in person. After everything Alfred shared with her about Cauldron, however, the Master only felt fear and trepidation at their presence.

  Speaking of Alfred, while still looking immaculate in his White-Silver form, as he called it, the boy was slumped in his chair. The same went for Lisa, who didn’t look like she slept much at all. And the two of them were far from the only ones to exhibit signs of exhaustion, as most of their quarantine fellows were in the same state.

  Pretty much the only ones who seemed rested were Alec and Rachel.

  Everyone seemed intent on ignoring her, however – even the one who pledged himself to her service. He didn’t even return her greeting when she sat beside him, preferring to stare at the floor.

  “All right, everyone,” Legend called out to the room while standing behind a podium. “Please take your seats, so we can finally tackle our most pressing agenda.”

  The expected scraping of chairs, along with mumblings and grumblings, sounded out. Once everyone was settled, the Blaster continued.

  “First of all, we apologize for the quarantine we all had to suffer,” he said with a wry smile. “Initial examinations and screenings have declared that there are no extradimensional contaminations in effect. So, let’s be thankful for that.”

  There was a smattering of applause and cheers at the declaration, which only made Taylor more sheepish.

  “With that being the case, let’s move on to discussing our strategy for dealing with Leviathan. Seraph, I assume that you’re still willing to play bait and draw him to a location where we can trap him?”

  “Yes,” he responded dully, not looking up.

  The lifeless tone caught many people’s attention, including Lisa, who snapped her head in Alfred’s direction with her body going rigid. Taylor knew that the blonde still had reservations about the boy’s mental stability, but she was acting like he was about to set the world on fire at any moment.

  “Are you all right, Seraph?” Legend asked in concern.

  “I just want this to be over with,” the Trump responded in the same dead tone. “I’ll do my part and kill the fucker, but I’m done. Just do what you have to do.”

  Even Taylor had to straighten up at this point. This was the same person who went toe-to-toe with two Endbringer-class threats without blinking, one of which was caused by her. For him to sound so tired and defeated, something was definitely going on.

  “Seraph, if there’s something troubling you, we can –”

  “Legend.”

  With just that single spoken word, Alfred caused the whole room to go still. Sometimes, it can be so easy to forget just how dangerous the boy can be.

  “We have an Endbringer to deal with,” he continued. “My issues can wait. We’ve spent too long just talking at this point. I’m tired of it. So, let’s just get this over with…Please?”

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  He said the last part almost as if he was begging. It was disconcerting to hear it directed at anyone other than her, and this is what pricked Taylor’s conscience. She really has been taking his deference to her for granted, hasn’t she?

  “I – all right,” Legend conceded, but Taylor saw him give a quick glance toward Alexandria and Eidolon, who were both looking their way. “So, the plan, as it currently stands, involves having Seraph fly out about fifty miles off the coast of Brockton Bay. Accompanying him will be myself, Alexandria, and Eidolon.”

  Taylor expected Alfred to object, seeing as he would be surrounded by Cauldron’s agents. However, he remained silent. She considered objecting on his behalf, but just as she opened her mouth, Lisa reached over across the boy to grab her arm before giving an almost imperceptible shake of her head.

  Save for Alexandria and Eidolon, no one else appeared to have noticed the small exchange. But now, Taylor was on the verge of panicking.

  Before she knew it, Alfred had become an immovable rock that she and their small group could depend on. Sure, he messed up quite a few times, but he also fixed many of the things that he broke. In her case, what started as a terrifying experience has clearly given her more options to defend herself and others.

  The unresponsiveness was giving her unpleasant flashbacks of yet another male figure who was supposed to be there for her in her time of need, but crumpled under grief and depression. She couldn’t go through that again.

  So, while only half-listening to the plan Legend was laying out, she turned to the cape in white armor.

  “Seraph,” she whispered. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” he mumbled.

  “You're lying,” she hissed, grabbing a gauntleted hand. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing, I’m fine,” he insisted.

  “Stop doing that.” The more he refused to answer truthfully, the more agitated Taylor became. She didn’t even notice her voice getting louder.

  “Leave it for later,” Lisa cut in, voice just audible enough for the Master to hear.

  “But –”

  “For all our sakes, Imago.” The Thinker gave her a pleading stare with her bottle-green eyes, “Leave it. Wait until we’re out of here.”

  Reluctantly, Taylor backed off. However, she kept her fingers wrapped around Alfred’s limp hand. Somehow, the lack of reciprocity bothered her in ways she couldn’t articulate in her mind.

  The rest of the meeting went on in this vein, with Legend outlining their defensive plans, questions coming from other heroes and agents, and Taylor trying to push down her rising anxiety. When it finally ended, Lisa did most of the talking with the PRT about coordination and communications when Alfred proved intractable in his silence.

  Once they were released, the winged Parahuman flew off, leaving Taylor and the Undersiders to ride Rachel’s dogs. It wasn’t until they reached their hideout after a roundabout approach that they could finally speak.

  “Where is he?” Taylor asked her dad after he released her from a relieved hug. Danny was waiting behind the door to greet them with a worried smile.

  “On the roof,” he told her, sounding disturbed. “He went up there without saying anything to me. What happened at the meeting? You were gone an entire day longer than you said you would. The only reason I didn’t go to the PRT office was the lack of explosions.”

  “Taylor used her new powers on PRT premises and spilled the beans with absolutely no prompting from anyone,” Lisa revealed without so much as a by-your-leave, earning her a venomous glare from Taylor.

  “Ah…” Danny made a sound of comprehension.

  “Look, we can talk about how much I messed up later,” the girl insisted with a blush. “Right now, I’m more worried about Alfred. Do you know what’s going on with him?” she asked the Thinker.

  “Considering that I can’t use my power on him, I can only guess.” The admittance made Lisa, who had taken off her mask, look melancholic. “Best I can tell, he’s reaching his limit.”

  “Sounds about right,” Danny said.

  “Dad?” Taylor asked.

  “The young man’s been dealing with quite a lot, kiddo.” From the way he spoke, Danny Hebert understood what Alfred may be going through. “Just your kidnapping and rescue alone would have broken most people, considering what it involved. But he kept on going, jumping from one crisis to another in a short period of time.”

  “He did them with minimal support, too,” Lisa pointed out, going over to sit on the sofa, before fixing Taylor with a stare. “He saved you on his own, ended the threat of Echidna on his own, and now, he’s about to fight Leviathan effectively on his own.”

  “Uh,” Alec cut in, “we helped him with the Coil stuff, though. And there were other heroes during the monster cape stuff, right? Didn’t Legend say that he and the other two Triumvirate members would be with him, too?”

  “That’s not a good thing, Alec,” Brian admonished, having returned from getting a soda from a cooler in the corner. “All of them are under Cauldron’s payroll.”

  “You think they’ll break the Endbringer truce?” Alec scoffed.

  “I wouldn’t put it past a world-spanning secret cabal,” Brian retorted.

  “We’re getting off topic!” Taylor interjected before turning to Danny. “Are you saying he’s buckling under the pressure?”

  “Everyone has limits, kiddo,” her Dad said sadly. “None of you should be dealing with these kinds of threats, to begin with. It’s a miracle Alfred held on as long as he has.”

  “So, what do we do?” she asked anxiously.

  “We’ll be there for him,” Lisa answered firmly.

  “‘We’?” Taylor’s question was dripping with skepticism.

  “Yes, we.” There was a lot of intensity in those green eyes. “I might have reservations about his mental state, but that doesn’t mean I’ll abandon him. We just need to know more so we know exactly how we can help him.”

  “You could just ask, you know,” Danny pointed out.

  “We can’t, remember?” Taylor answered. “He has a geas or something similar.”

  The Undersiders gave murmurs of agreement and consternation. Instead of being discouraged, however, Danny gave them all a pitying stare.

  “I meant asking him exactly how you can help,” he clarified. “He doesn’t need to tell you everything for you to know how you can contribute the most.”

  The dumbstruck looks on the teens said everything about how this never even occurred to them. For his part, Danny could only shake his head ruefully.