Chapter 15: Coming home

Snoodle - Then that'd expose those forms to people that weren't allies yet.

TheClowningPrince - Thanks, I'm something of a whiny bitch myself.

Spectrum - Yes, they ARE screwed.

Bow Burn1 - I explain why in another ch.

[Taylor's POV]

Walking out of The Guild, I had to take a few moments to just internally squeal that this was real. We were officially Heroes! I was a bonafide Hero that worked with Dragon! It may not have been the Protectorate, but this was arguably the better alternative. (Well, if what Phoenix said is right, and it probably is, then 'Arguably' doesn't really cut it.)

Dragon was a good person that we could trust, though I wouldn't just accept what my boyfriend's 'Future Self' said, because wrapping my head around the fact he figured out some form of time travel and used it to annoy himself, led to insanity. The Tinker had a reputation that no one could really talk bad about, except the Dragonslayers, though they didn't count for obvious reasons. Plus, she was someone I could see myself going too to talk about issues and actually being listened too. We'd ended up talking for an hour, ironing out details and just getting some time to get to know each other, and talking to her gave my already good opinion of her a boost.

Really, today was looking to be a great day. The Amusement from my Other Half brought my attention back to reality, and I turned to him. I couldn't see the look on his face, but he was probably raising a brow at me. [I am.] And I wanted to know if he was going to tell me why... [Nah, if you remember then you remember. If you don't, then I'll bring it back up during our therapy session.]

I blinked, not expecting that, but accepting it either way. |Now, what should we...| I trailed off, remembering what I was going to do after this, and bit my lip. I wanted to reconnect with my dad, and now that we were sort of free for the rest of the day, I had the chance... I just had to go through with it. Taking a breath, I calmed myself, the normal way, and nodded at my boyfriend, who was just watching me. |Brockton Bay?|

He nodded at me, holding his arm out. Linking our arms together, I felt a bit of Affection for that, and smiled. [Off to the shit hole we go.] I barely had any time to roll my eyes before the familiar feeling of teleporting washed over me.

In the blink of an eye, and with a small headache, I'd been getting more and more accustomed to losing and reconnecting to a new Swarm, we found ourselves in the park we normally used to go too and from Brockton Bay. After checking the area, and seeing that we were alone, I changed out of my suit, and looked over to my boyfriend.

He was still in his Anubis set, though it retracted a moment later, showing me the grin on his face. I didn't need to feel his Mischievousness to know he was up to something. Damn right I am. I blinked when his arms wrapped around my waist, and got the idea. My arms found their way to his neck, and we leaned in, our lips coming together again like so many times before.

The world fell away, the two of us being the only thing that mattered at the moment. I didn't think I'd ever get tired of this, and I never wanted too either. This, the two of us together, just felt so right that I couldn't see myself without my Other Half.

Eventually, we broke off, both of us feeling Content and Happy, but also a little Longing. We wanted more, but both understood we had plans. "Correction, YOU have plans. I'm just going to fuck around and run across New York, and the Bronx." I rolled my eyes, he knew what I meant. "Yeah, but that didn't mean I can't have a little fun with it."

I ignored the cheeky idiot, unlatching our arms from each other as we moved back, and smiled at each other. "See you later goof, and try not to get into trouble."

He raised a brow at that. "Do you have no faith in me?" The question would've sounded serious to anyone else, but his grin and Mischievous emotions weren't doing him any favors. "Tsk, no promises Mi Reina."

Flicking his nose, I felt my grin widen. "Be good you menace."

The eye roll and Amusement told me he was going to do something just because. That thought made him gasp and hold his chest like it hurt. "Me? Do something just to aggravate," Oh, a big word from him, his eye twitched, then he sighed. "That ruined it." My laugh rang out at that, Worth it for that, I stopped and felt my cheeks heat up. My Other Half chuckled before shaking his head. Anubis, his suit appeared, and I watched as he popped the dial of the Ultimatrix.

Pressing down on it, the flash went off, I'd already looked away, but I knew he was Wildmutt. Then the second flash went off, and was enough for me to know he changed again. Looking back towards him, I saw the familiar form of XLR8 grinning at me before the visor closed. "Love you, bye bye!" And then he was gone.

I blinked for a second, then felt my smile grow a bit. |Love you too goof.|

I left the park with a smile on my face.

Making my way to my house was a weird experience. I'd been back 'Home' for a while now, patrolling the rooftops and taking out goons and Capes... But I hadn't really been on the streets... Aside from my date... I felt myself smile at that, the memory of us just having a good time together, being childish and playing footsie of all things while we ate, yeah... It was going to be something that made me happy for a long time.

That aside, I noticed that it was sort of... Peaceful, for Brockton. And I knew why. Phoenix and I had been rounding up enough de-powered gang members that the PRT and BBPD could dismantle the Merchants themselves. They'd managed it, though the Empire 'Helping' them wasn't exactly what they liked. (Though to be fair, no one should like it when the Nazis help them.) Shooing the thought away, I took in how much calmer the area was.

Without the Merchants here, the ABB and E88 were expanding, sure, but without the crackheads here, the PRT would only have to focus on the Nazis and slavers. Though, we could probably deal with them after we were authenticated by The Guild. (And isn't that awesome?! Official Heroes! Me! US!) The dream was going to be a reality, and I was going to be in a relationship with the guy that made it all possible for me.

I was so happy that I almost didn't notice that I was coming up on my house.

Almost. I still noticed it anyway.

Though, when I did, I had to take a second to pause and just... Look at it. Our house always looked normal for the area we lived in, but it looked a little more... Rundown, to use a word. The windows looked like they hadn't been cleaned in weeks with all the dust clinging to them, the steps looked like they'd break if they were stepped on too hard, and that wasn't even getting into what I was feeling from my Power.

I could sense a colony of ants in the basement, atleast a dozen spiders, and what seemed like a few dozen roaches just all around the house.

The outside appearance, and amount of bugs I felt made me frown, and I had a thought. (If this is what I'm seeing outside, and feeling from my bugs... Then what the hell does the inside look like?) A part of me didn't want to know, worried about what I might find...

But the rest of me knew I couldn't let myself be held down by fear. I was terrified about alot of things, The Simurgh being a big one, but it couldn't stop me. I wouldn't let it. Phoenix had looked the feathered bitch in the eyes and burned her worse then anyone had ever seen. So if he could do that, then I could walk into my house and see what was wrong. So, taking a breath, I got ready to take a step. [Hey, you good?] XLR8's raspy voice filled my mind, catching me off guard.

I blinked. |Um, yeah. Why?| I knew he wasn't in Bond range, so the sudden question surprised me.

[I was getting some Anxiety and Fear, so I wanted to check in just in case.] My lips twitched up into a smile.

States away and checking in on me for that? |I'm fine goof. Just a little worried about something.| Though it was lessening after that.

He mentally hummed at that, and sent over Comfort and Warmth. My smile got just a bit brighter at that. [Lemme know if you need something, I'll be there if you do.]

|I will.| And I would, we were in this together after all.

After that, we went back to keeping the Bond as it was. We couldn't close it anymore, but we could compartmentalize it, so it wasn't always at the forefront of our minds.

With my mood significantly better, I fished my key out of my pants pocket, and made my way to the front door. I already noticed the sorry state the steps were in, so I didn't put too much weight onto them as I walked up to the door. There, I put the key in, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.

The first thing that happened when I walked into my house was dust smacking me in the face, making me cough. Waving it away, I managed to get enough of it for me to start looking around... Though, when I saw the state the place was in, I frowned.

There was dust pretty much everywhere, what looked like rat droppings near the fridge, and the dishes in the sink smelled like death... That, or it was the fridge, but I wasn't going to check. (Okay, I don't think I need to check the whole house to get that he hasn't been here in a while.) That idea made my frown turn into a scowl. I knew how he reacted to mom dying, practically shutting down...

But now I knew what he did when I left.

I looked at the livingroom for a bit, then walked further in. I already took everything from my room, so there was no point in going there. But I needed to see if he went into his room and took his clothes with him. If he did, then that meant he was staying somewhere else, probably the Dock Workers Union, but if he didn't, then that meant I'd need to get worried.

So, making my way through the house, I went up to my dad's room. The door was open, which was convenient, making it easy to just walk right into his room... Though, seeing it bare, save for a few frames that were face down on his desk, it was empty. I was a little worried, but I checked around for more clues as to what happened.

It didn't take long for me to figure out that there was pretty much nothing left here.

That left the frames that were face down on the nightstand.

Walking towards them, I picked up the first one, and felt nostalgic at the picture. It was my 5th birthday party, mom, dad and I were in the center, my cake being blown out as my parents stood behind me. I stared at it for a bit, then blinked when I noticed something. (Huh... I look even more like mom now.) I hadn't noticed it before, because I'd still been grieving about mom in my own way, but my hair looked almost like the exact shade and nearly the same texture. Her eyes were still brighter then mine, but my eyes were nearly as clear as hers were.

Our figures were different, I was getting more toned then she was, but differences like that were fewer now that I was actually in a better place... I stared at the picture for a bit more, looking at how happy my mom looked, then gently put the picture down. (I'll need to come back and make a copy of that later.)

Looking to the next one, I paused, and stared at it. "That's... My 8th?" The setting was similar, the people too, though the Barnes' were there too... Seeing the smiles on my younger self, and on Emma, I felt a weird twist in my gut. I knew what happened to Emma, Phoenix had told me when I asked, but I didn't know how to really feel about her. She contributed the most to the 'Bullying', and made me suffer, but she was also my best friend and damn near sister for years...

A part of me wanted to set up a visit, hear her excuses from her own mouth...

But another part of me, a part that sounded like my Other Half, said 'Fuck that bitch.'

And why not? Emma broke me in ways that only she could, and my boyfriend was doing his best to put the pieces together and make me whole. Why would I go out of my way to put myself into more pain?

I stared at Emma, her childish smile beaming at the camera... And I sighed. (Fuck, I'm going to do it anyway.) Looking away from Emma, I looked at her mother. Aunt Zoe had been there when mom died, did her best to help me, listened and held me when I cried... (Maybe... Maybe I should reach out?) I didn't know if it was a good idea or not, but I'd leave the option open.

The same went for Anne. The elder Barnes sister had practically been my own older sister. She had been more focused on college, and hadn't been around as much... But she deserved as much of a chance as her mom did.

Their dad though? (Fuck him.) I knew how far he went to try to help Emma, despite all the evidence we provided, so he would never be in my life ever again.

Putting the photo down, I moved onto the last one...

And felt my face twist into a scowl as I gripped the frame. Normally, I wouldn't be mad looking at the picture, it was their wedding photo for crying out loud, but the fact he LEFT IT HERE?! Left the picture of what was meant to be one of the happiest days of his life?!

I grit my teeth and spun on my heel. I was going to find that stupid mother fucker and give him a piece of my mind!

[Phoenix's POV]

Stopping for a second, I took a moment to blink at the amount of Wrath coming from my girlfriend's side of the Bond. Normally, I'd be a little worried. It was hard to piss my girlfriend or myself off, I didn't care enough to get mad, and she had the patience of a saint.

Though this wasn't a 'Normally' situation since I knew she was going to be dealing with her dad... And as someone that didn't have a relationship with his parents, sudden waves of Anger seemed reasonable. So, I nodded, and went back to running across the Bronx. I found my favorite Bodega, and it did indeed have the good shit, though I was kinda busy running away from the living lamp at the moment.

No real reason for it, I just thought it'd be funny to just run away from the guy after he tried to talk to me.

He was a surprisingly good sport since he didn't just go faster then light and make this boring.

[Taylor's POV]

Getting to the Dock Workers Association was easy. I knew my way there, and people generally didn't bother a woman that looked pissed off unless they were dumbasses. I idly used the bugs living in an alley to Swarm the pair of Merchants shambling towards me, and ignored their shouts of fear.

Like I said, dumbasses.

Anyway, I'd made it to the DWA, and walked through. The workers knew me, so no one bothered me when they saw me come in... But then they must've started to remember I'd been 'Missing', and started to head towards me. I turned to glare at the nearest one, making the guy I knew to be a retired security guard, flinch. After holding it for a second, I turned away, stomping towards my dad's office. I knew he was there thanks to a spider in the corner of the room, so I didn't need to bother with asking anyone where he was.

I'd made it about 3/4ths of the way there when someone I knew showed up. "Taylor!" Looking at the source, I paused. I'd recognize the man anywhere.

Waiting for him I nodded at the man I'd known since I was a kid. "Hi Uncle Kurt." My honorary uncle smiled at me, and I was about to smile back, but I remembered why I was here in the first place, making my scowl come back.

Seeing the look on my face, and looking down to what I was holding, I watched as he blinked, then looked back to me with a nervous grin on his face. "Uh, I'd probably say hey and ask how you've been, but I'm going to assume you're going to be busy with your dad?" Giving him another nod, my honorary uncle calmly stepped aside. "Right... Right... Uh... Go easy on him?"

I gave the man a blank look that made him shiver. "Only if he has good answers." And with that, I walked towards my dad's office. I could reconnect with more people later.

"Fucking hell Danny, hope you're still alive by the end of that." I heard the whisper, but pretended I didn't.

As soon as I made it to my dad's office, I slammed the door open, not bothering to hold back. "DAD! WHAT THE HE...-" I stopped when I saw my dad. (Well shit.)

I knew he was here, I could visibly see the spider in the far right corner of the office, but I didn't know what state he was in since I didn't use my suit to use the spider's vision. I was still mad, but seeing my dad with dark circles under his eyes like he hadn't slept in weeks, a rough beard slowly growing in, rumpled clothes that didn't seem well taken care of, and looked like he had been losing weight, my anger at him could take a backseat.

Speaking of him, the man jumped at the door slamming open, and obviously looked up to see why. When he saw me though, his eyes widened, and I was pretty sure his pupils dilated. "Annette?" I flinched. That wasn't a good sign. "N-No... Taylor? Taylor!" That was what I was expecting.

Dad got up, the chair he was in nearly being sent into the wall with how fast he stood. Though, now that I was looking at him, I could see some old coffee stains on his pants, making me narrow my eyes. (He hasn't been taking care of himself.) I watched as he started coming over, and stopped him by raising a hand. He knew better and immediately stopped, a look of hurt on his face that I put aside for now. "You look like shit, stink, and need to shave. You're going to go clean up, maybe get something to eat, then we're going to talk. Am I clear?" He looked hesitant, the want to hug me and make sure I was real was plain to see, but I wasn't having it. "Am. I. Clear?!"

He winced, and looked away. "Y-Yeah... I guess so."

I nodded, then pointed out towards where I knew the closest bathroom was. "Go." And so he went.

With him making his way out, I went over to the free chair and sat down, waiting for my dad to come back.

Though, while I did, I decided to close my eyes and check in on my boyfriend. I'd been feeling his Amusement and Mischievousness for a while now, and was interested in finding out what kind of chaos he was getting into. |Hey goof, what're you doing?|

[Why do you think I'm doing something?]

I raised a physical and mental brow at the speed of his response, and the response itself. |Want to try that again?|

There was silence for a bit, which made me more Suspicious, but then he answered. [So, hypothetically speaking,] I didn't like where this was going. [If I told you I was fucking around and playing some kind of super tag with Legend, would you be mad?]

I took a few seconds to process what I just heard, because I just wasn't ready for that, and opted to take a few breaths in and out. When I was done, I opened my eyes, and turned in the general direction of where my Other Half was. |Phoenix...| I felt his Apprehension at how Calm I sounded. |Explain.|

More silence, but he spoke up. [Well, I found the Bodega, and confirmed that yes, the bacon egg and cheese is still 10/10, so that's some good news to soften this whole thing.] While that was nice, it wasn't what I wanted to hear at the moment. [Anyway, it took me a bit to find it though since I had to run across New York for a minute or two to find White Plains Road, but I managed. The issue though was a blue and black streak running across the city kind of gets the big guns called.] I nodded, understanding that yeah, that sounded like something the PRT would get involved in. [So, there I am, eating a bacon egg and cheese on top of somewhere, and the living nightlight just pops up and says hi.] I snorted at that. [So, I look at him for a sec, nom on the rest of my sandwich, then tag the guy and book it like any other reasonable person.]

Another breath out. (Why is my boyfriend like this?) I shook my head. |Wasn't this a hypothetical?| We both knew it wasn't, I was just reminding him how this started.

I got a mental nod at my question. [I'm in too deep, and we both know you're not dumb.] He was right on both accounts. [Anyway, mad? Yes or no?]

Thinking about it, I had to question whether or not I was actually mad at him. Surprisingly, the answer was no... Well... |You haven't hurt anyone that didn't deserve it, have you?|

[Hmm? No.]

|Then no, I'm not mad at you.| And I wasn't. |I'm actually kind of a little relieved to be honest.| And I was. This was a good distraction from my eventual talk with my dad, and helped me calm down.

[Huh... Neat... Well, I'm gonna go back too... Uhoh.] That didn't fill me with confidence. [Uh, Dragon's calling me.] Confidence dropped even more. [I'm gonna just take this... Talk to you later?]

|Yeah... But Phoenix, so help me god if you got us in trouble the same day we joined The Guild, we are not sleeping together or doing anything like this morning for a month.|

[... Aren't you shooting yourself in the foot though? We both love sleeping together.] I twitched, knowing he was right. [Plus, after this morning, we both know that if you actually do go through with that, our next experience is going to probably end up with us taking the day fucking each other out of our minds after the sexual tension and hormones get the both of us.]

...

...

...

Sometimes, having a boyfriend that could think about loopholes and notice important points was a curse. |I'll figure out another way to threaten you then.|

His Amusement made my eye twitch. [Sure you will Mi Reina.] I could practically see the smug smile on that fucker's face at that. [Anyway, talk to you later, love you.]

|... Ugh, love you too you goof.| He pushed some Affection and Love at me, making me huff. Doing that was cheating.

Thankfully, I'd just remind myself that my boyfriend was a chaotic idiot when he felt like it.. Or set up an alert for the V.I to remind me. That sounded like an infinetly better idea. (Actually, I can just do that now.)

Nodding to myself, I mentally connected to the V.I, and gave it the task to remind me in a few hours to be mad at my boyfriend. The image of a 'Surprised Pikachu' filled my mind, and figured out that he must've seen that... Oh well. I sent back a mental shrug, he'd have to deal with Future Taylor eventually.

My Other Half aside, I could tell my dad was coming back thanks to my bugs, and turned to the door.

Just like I expected, he came in and I got a good look at him. The dark circles were still there, the beard stubble too, but he atleast made an effort to look more awake and here instead of some kind of zombie.

We both stared at each other for a bit, but he eventually snapped out of it and walked towards me. I narrowed my eyes at him and pointed to the desk. Again, it looked like he was going to argue or just ignore that and come hug me, but I just glared harder, making him flinch again and hang his head. He walked to the desk, moving the chair back, and sitting down in front of me.

With him seated, we looked at each other for a bit, and I nodded. "Here's how this is going to go," He perked up, but I kept going. "I'm going to talk. You are going to listen, and NOT interrupt me. When I'm done, you'll get your turn. When you're done, we're both going to have a conversation, and go from there. Do you understand?" Dad closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and after a few seconds, let it out and opened his eyes, giving me a nod. "Good." I was quiet for a bit, just now realizing I didn't actually know what I was going to say...

After thinking about it for a moment, I decided I'd probably need to start at the beginning. "I'm sorry." His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth, but I held a hand up, stopping him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the bullying. I'm sorry that I didn't try to reach out more..." I took a breath, this would be a big one. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you." It was something I realized during one of our 'Therapy' sessions. I didn't trust my dad. I didn't trust him to be capable enough to handle having my issues added onto his own. "And I'm sorry for leaving with just a note." That hadn't been my best moment, I could've left more then a note, but it was the only somewhat good option I had at the time.

Dad was still as he looked at me, and I kind of wished we had some form of Link so I could tell what he was thinking or feeling. I shook that thought off, and soldiered on. "I should've talked to you before The Locker happened," He flinched at that, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't shudder a little at mentioning it. "I'm sorry for all of that... But I'm not sorry for leaving."

And I wasn't.

Leaving had led to spending time with Phoenix, who in the two months we'd known each other, had done more for me then anyone else I'd known. He'd put me back together, stood by me, helped make my dream a reality, and helped me feel wanted and loved. Sure, the Bond and some R.O.B might have brought us together, but it was the both of us that worked on our relationship.

Though, that wasn't exactly what dad wanted to hear. He looked at me, I could see how sad he looked, but he didn't interrupt. Though, I nodded at him, putting my hand down.

He understood the cue, and sighed a deep one as he closed his eyes and rubbed them. I watched as he took his time to just think of what he wanted to say, and waited. "I'm... Yeah, I'm sorry too..." I waited for him to go on, and after he put his hand down and opened his eyes, he did. "I'm sorry for not being strong enough to finish grieving and to be there for you. I'm sorry for not noticing you were in pain... And I'm sorry for trying to force you into a situation you didn't want to be in... I'm..." His eyes looked glassy, and I felt my own eyes tear up as I looked at him. "I'm... I'm so sorry Taylor. I failed... I'm sorry I failed you. For failing Annette." The tears came out, and I watched as my dad cried.

It made me feel horrible that this was my fa...- 'Stop.' A familiar voice echoed in my ears, and I barely had time to recognize who it was before it went on. 'Shut up and hold his hand.' I blinked, a few tears coming out from that, and decided to just listen.

So, raising a hand, I brought it to one of his, and gently squeezed. Dad looked at me, tears still streaming down his face, and I gave him a smile. His tears flowed harder, mine did too, but he managed a shaky smile. This didn't go how I was expecting it to go, but that was fine.

We'd take this a step at a time, together.

I'd also think about the fact my Future Self spoke to me, later.