14

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Part Twelve: The Perfect Alibi

I woke up on Monday morning with the urge to skip school strong in my mind. Part of it was due to the fact that I really, truly, desperately wanted to get to Über and L33t's base so that I could finish building the projects I had running. The other part was that, even without Sophia there, Emma and Madison were still quite able to make my life a misery, if they should put their minds to it.

I thought it over while I was out on my morning jog; having picked up athletic skills from Über, it only made sense to maintain them, and I was pleasantly surprised by how far and fast I could run now. Friday night had been a real eye-opener for me; parkour was no longer a thing that people did on Youtube. It was something that had saved my bacon, personally.

When it came down to it, what did I really have to fear from Emma and Madison? They couldn't shut me in the locker again. They couldn't out me as a cape without facing PRT retribution. I didn't think they would get physical with me, not without Sophia there to initiate it and back them up. And whatever verbal abuse they threw at me, I could take.

And if they really wanted to go that step farther, to escalate, to take my stuff and destroy it again, I could deal. I could escalate harder than they ever could.

I'm not scared of them any more.

Holy shit, I'm not scared of them.

The realisation lightened my steps and gave me a burst of energy; before I quite knew it, I was on the home stretch. I sprinted down the street, crossed the road, and hurdled the fence without slowing down.

Dad looked up as I entered the back door, panting and sweating, but grinning widely.

"Hey, kiddo," he greeted me. "You're looking happy."

"Just some stuff I've figured out," I told him.

He nodded. "That's good, then. Breakfast'll be ready in a moment."

I inhaled the cooking smells, and suddenly felt ravenous; my stomach growled sharply. "Smells great, Dad," I told him, quite honestly. Leaning up, I kissed him on the cheek. "'Scuse, gotta take a shower. All sweaty."

I was still in high spirits as I trotted up the stairs; it was looking to be a good day.

I don't often sing in the shower, but I did that morning. As I dried myself, I made a mental note to use Über's power to acquire the ability to actually sing well. The thought made me chuckle; I was still grinning about it when I came downstairs, doubled back through the front hall, and joined Dad in the kitchen.

"So, what was it that you worked out on your run?" he asked me as we sat down for our meal.

I slid my fork under some egg. "Oh, that I don't need to worry about Emma and Madison any more. Sophia's gone for good, and without her, they're a lot less likely to bother me."

He frowned. "I can't guarantee that they'll leave you totally alone," he pointed out. "If it was all her, then Emma and Madison wouldn't have taken to it so thoroughly. So watch your back, and if anything happens, please consider telling a teacher."

I shook my head. "Popular kids win out over unpopular ones. We both know that, Dad. I'll just keep my head down. It'll be okay."

He frowned. "If I know Alan Barnes, he'll have prepped Emma to watch for you using cape powers, so she can report you."

"Good luck to her, then," I responded with a grin. "I don't get powers unless there's another cape nearby."

He nodded understandingly. "So, do you think you'll have much trouble catching up after your week off?"

"I shouldn't think so," I assured him. "But I'm gonna insist on being assigned another locker. I don't care how much they scrub that one out, I'm not going near it again."

"Good," he told me. "If they give you any trouble, tell them to call me."

I gave him a smile. "Thanks, Dad," I told him. "I appreciate that." I glanced at the wall clock. "Whoops, gotta run."

"Me too," he agreed. "Give me a hand to clear the table?"

I grinned. "Sure thing."

Moving quickly, we got the table cleared and the plates into the sink to soak, then I dashed out of the house. I leaped from the top step of the front porch, landing three or four yards down the front path. The turn on to the pavement slowed me a little, then I gained speed once more, once I had a straight run.

Running, even with my pack full of books, was easier now; I couldn't keep up the pace that I maintained on my morning run, but it was definitely faster than I could have managed before. I covered the two blocks to the bus stop in good time; good enough that I had a few minutes to sit and catch my breath before the bus arrived.

I had fully intended to do as I had told Dad, to keep my head down once I got to school. No need to make myself a target, after all. All I had to do was get through the day; after today, everything would be different.

But when I walked in through the front doors of Winslow, I found myself striding along, head high. I was no longer unsure, uncertain, a victim. I had taken on Aegis and won. I was not the same person who had gone into the locker. I was something more.

I noted in passing that my locker didn't have a smell coming from it; they had obviously exerted themselves to ensure that the incident was forgotten as soon as possible. But, as I had told Dad, I turned my steps toward the principal's office.

There was no way in hell I would use that locker, ever again.

Carrie Blackwell looked up at the sharp rapping on her office door. She frowned a little; surely it was too early in the day for students to be getting sent to her for punishment?

"Come in," she called.

The door opened, and a tall, lanky figure stepped through. It took her a moment to recognise the girl, so complete was the change in posture. No longer shuffling along with her head down, she looked Carrie in the eye as she fronted up to the desk. Alert, aware, even challenging.

"Can I help you, Miss Hebert?" Blackwell enquired sharply.

The girl nodded curtly. "Yes, you can, ma'am," she replied. Her tone was a little sharp, a little hard, to be actually polite, although the words were all there. "I'd like to have another locker assigned to me, please."

Blackwell blinked, a little taken aback. "A new locker?" she repeated. "Your old one is perfectly serviceable. It has been cleaned and disinfected -"

The girl was shaking her head. "No, ma'am. That locker will never be serviceable to me, ever again. I would like a new one. Now."

Blackwell shook her head in turn. "I can't just issue a new locker on demand -"

The Hebert girl leaned forward over her desk, resting her weight on her knuckles. "Sure you can," she replied evenly. "Or I can request that you call my father over the matter. He has a friend who works in TV. How fast do you think this would make the news, and how bad would it make the school look?" She paused. "Alternatively, you can just give me a new locker. Please."

Carrie Blackwell saw the resolve, the determination, in Taylor Hebert's eyes. There was no give in the girl now, no backing down. She would carry out the threat. And there was no way Blackwell wanted Winslow's name being dragged through the muck for a second time in two weeks.

She compressed her lips. "Very well," she muttered. "I'll call the janitor."

Taylor Hebert smiled sunnily. "Thank you."

I had the janitor set the new combination on my locker, then I stashed my books inside. Without Sophia – Shadow Stalker – to defeat the lock by the simple expedient of going into her shadow form, they should be reasonably safe there.

Of course, this would not bring back the things that she had stolen from my locker in the past – my mother's flute, for one, or my backpack that one time – but they should be secure for the moment.

I finished stacking the books the way I liked them – new books all, given that the old ones would have had to be burned after the incident – and pulled out the ones I would need for first period. By this time, both Principal Blackwell and the janitor had gone, headed back to their respective duties. But when I turned around, I wasn't alone.

Emma, flanked by Madison, stared coldly at me. Half a dozen other girls backed them up; I knew the type, the ones who wanted to be part of the popular group, but couldn't quite make it on their own. The rest of the hallway was relatively deserted; everyone else had gotten their books and gone elsewhere.

It had been nearly a year and a half since Emma had inexplicably turned on me, forsaking my friendship for that of Sophia Hess. It was much less inexplicable to me now; I had used my access to Alexandria's Thinker capabilities last night to good effect. I had Sophia's motivations, and Emma's as well, pretty well figured out, presuming a shared, traumatic experience while I'd been at summer camp. Madison was a different story; she was just a follower.

All of this meant that there was a balance of power, and a certain dynamic in their little trio. Quite a lot of their energy went toward bullying me, and Sophia, specifically, had aimed her efforts toward keeping me off balance, on the back foot. Not giving me a chance to muster a response. But now Sophia was no longer a part of the equation, unbalancing the other two, and that had to be worrying Emma and Madison, especially after the events of Monday last. On the other hand, I was very much balanced. Centred, even.

I smiled.

Emma blinked. It was so obvious; she had been waiting for me to turn around, to notice her and her cronies, to step back, to be so obviously cornered. To show fear.

I wasn't about to give her the pleasure.

Without looking, I put my book in my bag, closed the locker door, and spun the combination lock. Rattled the door to ensure that it was locked. Slung my bag over my shoulder. There were two ways this was going to go; she would back off and leave me alone, or she would push hard, working to re-establish her dominance over me, even with Sophia gone.

"Let me past, Emma," I told her firmly.

Several of the girls snickered. Emma looked me up and down, and audibly sniffed. "Wow, Hebert. I'm surprised you even came back. But maybe you should have showered a little more. I can still smell you."

So, pushing it is, then. I ignored the content of her words. They couldn't hurt me any more. "Emma, last warning. Let me past, or I will go through you. Try to stop me, and someone just might get hurt."

"What are you saying, Hebert?" she asked clearly. "Are you saying you might have powers? Are you a cape, Hebert? You know it's illegal to use powers on normals."

I rolled my eyes. "No, you moron," I snapped. "I mean, I'll kick the shit out of you if you get in my way."

I stepped forward; predictably, she brought up her hand to stop me. I let it contact my chest, then grabbed it, took hold of the little finger, twisted. Brought her to her knees, her eyes opening wide.

Another girl tried to grab my shoulder; without looking, I straight-armed her in the chest. She went backward, lost her balance, and sat down hard.

Madison tried to grab my wrist, to make me let go of Emma's finger. I took hold of her wrist with my free hand, and twisted. She went to her knees as well, face turning white.

Five girls faced me. I looked back at them, grim-faced. "First one moves on me, I'll stop being gentle," I told them. "I will hurt someone. Anyone want a broken bone? Come right ahead."

They didn't move. I took a step forward, adjusting my grip so that I didn't break Emma's finger. "Now, step aside."

I wasn't sure what they saw in my face, or heard in my voice, but they stepped aside. It appeared that the 'talking to guys' skills I had picked up from Über's powers also worked when talking to bullies; good to know.

"Good," I told them, and let Emma and Madison go. Walking between the girls, I headed off down the corridor.

"Hebert!" yelled Emma, from behind me. "This isn't over!"

I stopped, and turned around. "You'd better hope it is," I told her bluntly. Turning on my heel, I kept on going.

I got in trouble, of course.

Emma Barnes had grown up with a lawyer for a father. From him, she had absorbed a certain attitude of entitlement. What she wanted, she got; as the younger daughter, her whims were indulged more often than not. And so, even when she had been my best friend, she had found it very hard to take when she was denied a thing she wanted very much.

I did not know how long it took her to decide to go to Principal Blackwell about me. Nor did I know whether it was her decision or Blackwell's to call Mr Barnes about the matter. But I do know that I had not quite finished first period – Computers, with Mrs Knott, which I was quite enjoying – when the call came for me to report to the office.

Mrs Knott eyed me worriedly as I pushed my books back into my bag and stood up. She was my favourite teacher, just as Computers was my favourite class.

"Is everything all right, Taylor?" she asked me as I came up to the front of the classroom.

I shrugged. "Probably in trouble," I told her. "Not sure how much. Thanks for filling me in on what you did last week."

"That's all right," she responded. "You'd better go now; no sense in being late and getting in more trouble."

I gave her a grin as I left; if what I suspected was going on, I couldn't get in much more trouble.

I entered Principal Blackwell's office, to see Emma, her father, Madison, her father, and the six girls all waiting for me. I ignored them and looked at Blackwell. "You called for me, ma'am?"

She nodded sharply. "Did you assault Emma Barnes and Madison Clements this morning?"

I raised my eyebrows in mock surprise. "Is that what they say? Is that why they're here?"

"You know what you did!" shouted Emma, then her father shushed her.

"Miss Hebert," he began, but I overrode him.

"Where's my father?" I demanded of Blackwell.

"What?" she asked.

"My father," I repeated. "You had the time to call in Mr Barnes and Mr Clements, but you didn't have the time to call in my father? Why is that, exactly? Do I not rate a parent as well?"

"He's not in his office, and we don't have a mobile number for him -" she began.

"He doesn't use a mobile," I interrupted her. "So you had me pulled out of class for this. I've got classes to catch up on, Principal Blackwell. Do I need to remind you of the reason I missed those classes?"

"That's got nothing to do with this situation -" she began.

"The hell it doesn't," I snapped. "It's got everything to do with this father isn't here? Fine. I go back to classes, or you send away Mr Barnes and Mr Clements."

"You can't - " she began.

I began to lose my temper, just a little bit. "Do you know what happened, when you and Carl left me at my locker? I had eight girls come at me. Those eight. They say I assaulted them? I say I defended myself. How is eight on one fair in any situation, ever?"

"They say they were just walking past -" began Blackwell.

"And just happened to stop me from walking away from my locker," I finished acidly. "Last Monday? That was proof positive that I'm being bullied here at school. Sophia was the ringleader, and she's been pulled out of school because of it."

"You can't know that -" Emma protested.

I grinned at her, showing my teeth. "Believe it." I turned back to Blackwell. "Sophia was bullying me. You know it, and I know it. You also know who her closest friends were." I tilted my head toward Emma and Madison. "I'm not going to point fingers, but surely you can add two and two."

"Wait a minute," Mr Barnes spoke up. "You can't just accuse -"

I turned to him. "Sir, I'm not accusing anyone of anything. I'm the one who's being accused, here. And I still don't see my father. So I'm going back to class."

"If you walk out that door, Miss Hebert," snapped Principal Blackwell, "consider yourself suspended."

I shrugged my backpack on to my shoulders. "If I'm not going to get a fair hearing, I don't see why I should stay." I opened the door.

"Last warning," Blackwell told me.

I looked over my shoulder. "I'll be in tomorrow, with my father."

I walked out the door.

I was still seething slightly as I walked along the corridor, on the way out of the school. There was no way that I could have won, there. The deck had been stacked; Blackwell had decided – or chosen to believe – that I was at fault, before I ever walked into the room.

Not that I'd done much for my cause earlier, I belatedly realised. Railroading her into getting me a new locker before this incident occurred had simply set her against me at a really bad time.

Thinking it over, I also realised that I had underestimated Emma and Madison. They may not have planned for it, specifically, but once I had retaliated, they had used that against me. If I had stayed to argue my case, I would have had ten people arguing against me, and one biased judge; I wasn't foolish enough to believe that reasoned statements could sway Blackwell, not when Mr Barnes had his courtroom tricks to play on Emma's behalf.

The bell went for end of period; moments later, the hallways were full of kids, going from one class to another. I kept walking, but I paid attention to my power; I was vaguely curious about whether there were any more parahumans at Winslow.

None had presented themselves by the time I got to my locker, which also meant that Director Piggot probably hadn't sent any Wards over to Winslow to keep an eye on me. Not that I thought she would, not at such short notice. Later on, I suspected, she might. Of course, if she did that, I would know that she was having me watched, and she knew that. She might send someone unpowered; a PRT employee. Maybe a substitute teacher or something. I'll have to keep an eye out.

She wouldn't do anything blatant, of course; Alexandria's visit had ensured that. I wouldn't be harassed or followed; any school surveillance would be more for my benefit than otherwise, I suspected. Neither Piggot nor Alexandria wanted me to have any more motive to go villain.

I walked out through the doors, down the steps, and across the parking lot to the bus stop. At the forefront of my brain, I was deciding where I wanted to go; home, the library, somewhere else. But deep down, I already knew.

I had work to do.

Über looked up as I pushed the door open, and entered the building that he and L33t optimistically called their 'base'.

"Hey, Hax," he called out, barely puffing as he performed a flawless round on the Dance Dance Revolution machine they had installed on one wall. "Thought you had school?"

"'Had' is the operative word," I replied. "Had to explain to a couple of people why they didn't put their hands on me, and now I'm suspended."

"Damn," he replied. "Sucks."

I shrugged. "Gives me more time to kick on with you guys, get my shit sorted." My power noted L33t's presence, and I put my light-spot on to him. "So is he still geeking out over the stuff we boosted?"

Über rolled his eyes as he stepped off the machine. "Hasn't stopped. Last I saw, he was trying to decide what he wanted to build next. But hey, I wanted to talk to you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

He nodded. "Yeah. When you joined this team, it was on the understanding that you'd participate in our video blog posts. So far, we've done one robbery, and that was on the down-low. We did well by that, really well, but we need to keep putting our name out there. So we need to do something, soon, and you need to participate. So are you ready to do that?"

"That's why I'm here, now," I told him with a grin. "I've got three things to finish up, and then I'll be ready."

"Only three?" he joked. "L33t's usually got half a dozen things on the go."

"Oh, there's more than just three inventions," I assured him. "But I'm making three things."

"So what are they?" he asked, obviously more than a little curious.

My grin widened. "You'll see. It'll knock your socks off."

He shook his head ruefully. "It's easy to see you're just borrowing his power. I've never met a Tinker before who doesn't like to talk about what he's making."

I shrugged. "I guess if I'm not obsessing over it twenty-four hours a day, it makes a difference." I nodded to him. "And by the way, in case I didn't say it before, parkour rocks."

He nodded, a grin of his own spreading across his face. "I know, right?"

We shared a high-five, then he returned to playing his video games. I stashed my lunch in the fridge, then headed into the area we had designated as 'my' work room. I'd done some work here over the weekend, getting my projects up and running, but they were still mostly unfinished. I decided to get the first one done.

As I had told Über, I had to build machines to finish the project. One was a device to produce a flexible bio-plastic, designed to mimic human flesh and skin, based on the DNA sample that was fed into it. The outer layer would even grow a layer of what looked like fine hair and mimic dead skin cells, as well as fingernails and toenails where needed.

The other device would take a human hair and then replicate it ad infinitum, cutting off lengths roughly the same as the original sample.

After an hour or so of work, I had both the skin maker and the hair replicator up and running, so I could turn my attention to the main part of the project. Some of the more specialised devices that I had liberated from North Side went into it; if I hadn't had them, I would have had to build them. And while I could undoubtedly do just that – I could already figure out how to make those same devices at two-thirds the size and twice the efficiency – that would just be more time before completion. It made sense to acquire what I could, make what I couldn't.

In any case, some of the devices needed to be applied in more than one place, which was why I had picked up spares. I wouldn't have been able to do that; although I could build things that L33t couldn't, I was still unable to build two of the same device at the same time. While swapping out his power for someone else's meant that my limits were reset, an extant device still prevented another from being made. Which was why I was building a self-destruct into everything that I invented; I didn't want someone preventing me from building a spare tool, just by locking the original away from me.

The work went well; I completed the basic work on the project, then started applying the external detail. It looked and felt really odd, even creepy. But the end result would be worth it.

Every detail had to be absolutely perfect; I had brought a mirror in, and did a lot of checking, but it seemed to look about right. Even the mole in the small of my back was correct, even though I could think of no circumstances where someone might be able to check on that. Certain details I'm going to gloss over altogether; let's just say 'anatomically correct' and leave it at that.

Finally, I fitted the control unit to the back of my neck, and sent the mental impulse to wake it up.

I/she awoke.

It was a really weird feeling; I was seeing and hearing through my eyes and ears, and also through my double's, who was leaning on a stand I had thrown together. I exerted my concentration, my control.

I/she stepped forward off the stand. My/her body worked well; flexible, smooth, no hesitation or jerkiness. Reaching up, I/she touched my/her finger to the tip of my/her nose. "Coordination good," I/she noted.

I/she smiled.

I smiled as well.

I practised for a little while, making sure that I could do one thing while my double did another. I hadn't gone for a full AI; while possible, that would have been hard to put together in the available volume. Instead, I had cheated. Motor control was supplied by the brain I had put together for it. Personality and memories, on the other hand, were supplied over the control link; the longer I stayed connected, the more impressions it picked up from me, and the more it became like me. Best, if it needed to make a decision in real time, it could use the link to pull hints on what to do from my memories, without any conscious control required.

Once I was satisfied with my double, I had her put clothes on – I had brought spares – and then I opened the work room door.

L33t lounged back, chewing on a sandwich. "So how long she been in there?" he asked.

"Six, seven hours," Über replied. "Once she gets going, she's like you. Doesn't want to let go."

L33t nodded. "It's a Tinker thing," he agreed. "She say what she's making?"

"Nope." Über shook his head and finished off his protein shake. "Wouldn't say a word about it."

"Yeah, well, that's not a Tinker thing," L33t informed him.

"Hey, I said that too," Über noted.

And then the workroom door opened. They both looked over; Hax strolled out, looking rather pleased with herself. "Guys," she greeted them, heading over to the fridge and pulling out her lunch.

Über went to greet her, but L33t tapped him on the shoulder, and pointed at the open door to the work room. Hax was emerging from the room, again. But this one was wearing different clothes, and moved a little more hesitantly. She looked around, as if seeing the room for the first time.

"Holy shit," Über marvelled. "You built a body double."

Hax grinned as she pulled out a chair and sat next to the other two; the double was wandering around the room, examining things carefully. "Yup. What do you think?" She opened the bag lunch and pulled out the fruit juice.

L33t got up and walked over to the double. He examined her; she looked back at him with a certain amount of curiosity. "Hello," she greeted him, in a curiously childlike tone.

He walked all the way around her, examining her closely. "I can't see any physical flaws," he concluded, "but she's going to need to be socialised before she can pass for you in company."

"Actually, that's not going to be a problem," Hax told him, shaking up the juice bottle.

"Why not?" asked Über curiously.

Hax grinned. "Because I'm the double."

Both men turned to stare at her, then at the 'double', still standing in front of L33t. The latter nodded cheerfully. "Yup," she confirmed. "Changed clothes with her, to see if you guys would pick up on it."

The double, still seated, tossed the juice to her; Hax caught it, twisted the top off, and took a long swallow. While she was still doing so, the double went on. "So yeah, you think I'll pass for the original?"

"Holy shit," muttered Über.

"Holy fucking hell," L33t paraphrased.

I stopped drinking from the juice bottle, and grinned at them both. "I'm gonna take that as a yes."

"Fucking hell, yes," Über praised me. He looked closely at the double. "That's insane. I still can't tell the difference, and you're both in the same room."

I shrugged modestly, and wandered over to retrieve my bag lunch. "Wouldn't be much point, otherwise."

"So what do we call her?" asked L33t.

Opening my pita wrap, I looked at him. "I'm going with 'Alibi'."

End of Part Twelve