31

Exposure 1

Dragon kindly provided us one of her automated planes to take us back to Brockton Bay – apparently Strider was too busy or tired to ferry everyone back, and the world-famous Tinker needed to bring a lot of equipment back to North America anyway. This plane was far more comfortable than the armoured troop transport that had brought everyone over from Seville, though it was also slower. Dragon did provide in-flight entertainment, food, and faux leather seats. Honestly, she could put other airlines out of business if she wanted to, but she officially stated that these flights were purely for Endbringer and other Truce-related issues. What a shame.

Lisa and Amy were actually getting used to each others' company at this point. I was still monitoring what they said, but it was mostly innocuous things. I think they had moved on to favourite books at this point. Seemed like Amy had a thing for cheesy romance novels, while Lisa enjoyed reading the first half of mystery novels. Vicky barely read and preferred watching TV shoes, but I think even she was starting to forget that Lisa was a villain. Or maybe she just valued her sister's welfare that much more.

I was just sitting on the other side of Lisa, relaxing on my own. Abyssal had "disappeared" into the airplane, where I used his bots to keep an eye on the other capes. I had my headphones in to watch a movie.

"Hello, Eunoia. Sorry to interrupt, but this is the closest we can get to a private conversation."

Dragon interrupted my movie. She appeared on screen in front of me, and spoke to me through my headphones. "Uh, hello Dragon."

"So, from one Tinker to another, I'd like to do an analysis of the nanobots you use. I've got a nanobot project going on at the moment as well, and I think there may be a great benefit to all of humanity for mass-producible medical nanites. Would you like to collaborate?"

I was surprised to get that offer, even though I probably shouldn't have. Dragon was known as the world's greatest Tinker for a reason – the fact that she was capable of reverse-engineering almost any other Tinker's creation and mass-manufacture it. She sold her inventions to the PRT, including the containment foam, and it was well-known that she collaborated very frequently with Armsmaster.

Even if she wasn't officially a member of the PRT, she worked closely enough with them that people often forgot that she wasn't.

Of course she wanted to analyze my bots. She wanted to incorporate practically every form of Tinkertech on the planet into her arsenal.

"Ummm... maybe. I guess?"

"Excellent. Now, before we begin this partnership, I feel that it would also be dishonest of me if I didn't let you know... I know about Abyssal. That the two of you are one and the same. I've encountered and analyzed the technology both of you share."

My mouth dropped open. I shut it again before anyone else saw me.

Dragon continued. "Don't worry, I respect the anonymity of capes, including ones who have already been outed. I do have partners worldwide. The reason I'm contacting you is because I noticed something after the battle that Abyssal was using. You see, Armsmaster and I have been working together on a new form of anti-Endbringer weaponry. I think you managed to leapfrog ahead of us and develop something very close to our goal."

"The sword he used for cutting concrete?" I asked. It was really the only new thing I had created. I had no time for development and design while I was here, I was too busy saving lives with a limited number of bots. On top of that, the blade itself still had room for improvement, since it had been something I literally cobbled together in hours. I didn't realize it had been anything special at all.

"Exactly. Incorporating fragments of the Endbringers could be the way to turn their own defenses against them. I think this can be mutually beneficial. We can exchange technology and designs."

"I'll… think about it," I said. In fact, all ten or so of my brains started thinking about it. The fact that she was working with Armsmaster wasn't exactly good news. Even if Dragon was true to her word and kept my secret, Armsmaster might figure out who Abyssal was simply through the technology. And if he figured it out, he would be obligated to report it to the PRT, even if Dragon wasn't. Then they'd start finding out about... the entire city.

Was I actually doing anything illegal though? Trash was trash, and most of my bots were now made from litter. And I usually didn't invade private and restricted areas. If I got my bots out of the PRT building, there would be nothing for them to complain about.

"Well, if you do, please leave behind a few samples of your nanobots on the airplane, if you will. Is it alright for me to contact you by email?"

"I'll leave a few," I said. If she had managed to pick up a few nanobots from the battlefield without me noticing it, surely she already had enough info on them. She probably grabbed the ones that I lost outside my range. Even if I left a few active ones with her now, they would become inactive by the time they reached Vancouver – nothing she wouldn't already have. At least she was polite and up-front about asking for it. She flipped my movie back on and tried to focus on the movie again, but I was a little too distracted now.

I kept an ear out for the conversation going on between Lisa and Amy, as well. They had moved on to family now. Amy was talking about how she felt about being adopted. Vicky was reassuring her, while Lisa told her about her own brother.

This wasn't even a story she had told me before. I decided to listen in more closely. She talked about how her brother had becoming more withdrawn, seemingly only spending time with her out of obligation. He had grown distant with her parents. All this time, she thought he was doing fine, and was only spending time with her out of pity, while he was the popular one both at school and with his parents.

And then he'd committed suicide. It was in the wake of his death that Lisa had triggered. Her parents blamed her for it, refusing to see the truth or take responsibility for their own role in their son's welfare.

That threw me off. If that was her real story, then maybe her concern for Amy was more than just some mutually-beneficial egotism. I never expected Lisa to bare her heart like that, certainly not so quickly. Amy herself had gone quiet. I didn't know what I could add; it was hard not to see some parallels with how the Dallons favoured Vicky. Maybe it was her aura, or maybe they really did just prefer their real daughter than their adopted one.

We spent the rest of the flight back trying to sleep.

Dad was waiting for us at the airport. He rushed up to me and hugged me tight. "Oh, Taylor... I was so afraid! Thank goodness you're back!"

"It's okay dad," I said, trying to push him away a bit. I don't really know why I was feeling embarrassed... it seemed like every other group in the airport was full of hugs, especially everyone coming off our flight. Even the Empire 88 members were being all happy and huggy, instead of their usual hateful racist selves.

As for the Dallons, Mark was there, since he hadn't participated in the battle itself. He gave the rest of his family a hug, though it seemed more like an obligatory hug than an excited one. He didn't seem to have much emotion behind it. Then again, I didn't remember ever seeing him show much emotion at all. The rest of the teens were too tired from the flight to do much but smile.

I noticed Tattletale didn't have anybody to greet her. I guess she really was alone in this town. I moved over and pulled her in beside my dad. The good thing was he didn't ask any questions. In a place like Brockton Bay, orphans weren't exactly unusual, but from what I gathered, she was originally from out of town.

"Nice to meet you," he said. "You're Taylor's friend?"

"Hi Mr. Hebert. I'm Lisa," she said.

Dad chuckled. "Just call me Danny. Is anyone coming to get you, or...?"

"Um..." Lisa gave me a pleading look.

I shook my head. The whole reason I pulled Lisa along with me to Spain was that Brockton Bay wasn't safe for her any more. "Lisa, you're coming home with us," I said. "It's okay if she stays in the guest room, right dad?"

"Sure. We can have a celebratory dinner together. After everyone showers. And changes clothes. No offense, but you all stink. I'll happily provide a bed, showers, and hot food for anyone who helped protect my precious daughter." He ruffled my hair as he talked to Lisa.

Lisa gave him a sly grin. "Well, they put me to work trying to predict Behemoth's movements and weak spots. I managed to get a warning out just before his final retreating attack."

"I figured that was you," I said with a smile. "Why didn't Dragon announce it?"

"Still arguing over whether I was right or if the evacuation would have actually done any good. Some say they were safer inside the vehicles even if they fell. I got fed up and hit the override button," Lisa said.

"Well I'm glad you did," I said. Amy and I may have gotten a few injuries in our evacuation attempt, but I felt we were still better off than some people I ended up rescuing later.

"Does the rest of your team want to join us?" Dad asked, seeing the rest of New Wave still standing around and chatting.

"I'll go ask," Lisa said quickly, before I could. She practically ran over to the other group and dropped an arm on Amy's shoulder. "Hey! Do you want to join us for-"

"Absolutely not!" Carol said sternly, cutting Lisa off. Her abruptness seemed to take everyone by surprise. "Amy, I forbid you from spending time with... with the likes of her." She didn't say it outright, but I think she was trying to out Lisa as a villain, but stopped short only because it would be breaching the unwritten rules.

Amy didn't even protest. Her head just sunk lower as she avoided her mother's gaze.

"Aww, c'mon, mom. Let her hang out with her new friend," Glory Girl said, trying to come to her sister's defense.

"You're friends now?" she said, voice filled with disapproval.

Dad walked forward, hoping to defuse the situation. "Look, she can just come over for dinner at my house if she wants, maybe a sleepover or something. The girls just finished a tough job, let them have some R&R time."

"No, she-"

"Why not?" Lisa challenged the older woman. "Amy just saved a couple thousand lives. Why are you acting like she needs to be punished or something?"

Mrs. Dallon looked like she was ready to beat down and arrest Lisa then and there. "Don't you talk back to me, girl. You have no right butting into a family matter."

I knew it was a bad idea to jump in now. The situation looked like it was ripe to explode, but I couldn't stand by when my friends were being attacked. "Why doesn't anyone ask what Amy wants?" I said loudly as I stepped up to flank her on the opposite side. "Hey, Amy. Do you feel like going for dinner with us?"

Amy looked unsure, her eyes darting to her mother for confirmation. Mrs. Dallon looked as stern as ever.

"Sure, actual food might be nice," Amy replied.

"Not to mention actual relaxation!" Lisa added.

I think Vicky was catching on. Amy needed cheering up and her mother certainly wasn't going to provide it. "And maybe ice cream?" she said.

"Come on, they'll be fine," Dad said. "I'll keep an eye on them. You don't have to worry."

Mrs. Pelham joined in. "Come on, Carol. Let the kids have some fun. They deserve a treat, and a break."

"Fine," Mrs. Dallon said with a strained smile.

"Yay! Sleepover!" Lisa shouted. "Vicky, do you mind grabbing pyjamas after dinner?"

"What?" Mrs. Dallon seemed to be caught off guard with that statement, but it was too late. Everyone else seemed to be onboard with the idea already, and she didn't exactly have a good reason to deny her. It wasn't even a school day tomorrow.

Lisa and I marched Amy away along with Vicky, making sure she wouldn't second-guess herself.

Dad drove me and Lisa back to Brockton Bay while Vicky flew Amy back herself – apparently she could go faster than highway speeds, especially when accounting for traffic. It gave them more time to shower and change before dinner.

Meanwhile, I was attempting to reconnect to my bots. I hadn't quite managed to reach the airport originally, which was closer to Boston than Brockton. As dad drove us back home, I tried to reconnect with the bots that got within range, but we were moving too quickly for me to safely re-activate a brain. I didn't want to take one out of stasis only for it to collapse into a useless pile of bots two seconds later. I had to wait until we slowed down and got into Brockton Bay itself before I started to reconnect and reactivate everything.

"Are you able to keep a good watch on things again?" Lisa asked.

"Hold on, testing things out."

Wakey wakey, I said to my bots. My range began to rapidly expand, essentially moving outwards at a rate of two city blocks every minute with every brain I reconnected to.

Hm. What happened? One of my brains thought.

Oh, right, deactivation and stasis. Looks like it mostly worked...

Didn't you leave with more of us than you came back with?

Yeah, tough story. Apparently Behemoth is dangerous. Who knew?

Looks like long-term memory is mostly intact.

A few of us got damaged. Stupid rats actually tried nibbling on a few of us. Not too hard for me to fix.

I think we've all lost short-term memories from before, but I guess that was to be expected.

I'm pretty sure we lost our intermediate and working memory, too. That was expected. How much of our long-term memory did we lose?

I think I remember everything.

Or are you just updating your memories from my memories?

Crap. Hard to tell.

Well, suffering a little bit of amnesia is a pretty small price to pay, all things considered.

"I think I should be back to normal within a few hours. A few patchy bits here and there, but not hard to fix," I told Lisa. "And I'll have access to the landfill, and I can start pumping out more very soon."

"Good. Because I think, for now, I won't be able to go anywhere without you or Abyssal's full vision," Lisa whispered with a shudder. "I'm honestly surprised Coil didn't try to snipe me at the airport."

"Well, you won't have to live like a hermit for long. We already know where Coil's bases are, and I'll keep watch on them round the clock. We'll take him down before you know it."

"Oh thank goodness. You have no idea what it's like living with someone like that on your back," Lisa said.

"Have you thought about what you'll do after? When you go legit?" I asked.

"I don't know yet. I wouldn't mind joining the Protectorate, if I'm sure Coil and all his subordinates were flushed out. But not before that. Maybe the Guild could use me." She gave me a sly grin. "Maybe even New Wave."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I think Brandish is never going to allow that. She almost rejected me just because I talked to you."

"That woman's wound tighter than a Victorian corset. That whole family's got issues," Lisa said. "I'm gonna have to talk with Amy about that..."

It wasn't fancy, but hey, after a week in Spain eating mostly army rations, good old greasy American comfort food was what we needed. And Brockton Bay didn't get much greasier than Fugly Bob's.

"Okay, seriously, what is up with your mother? She actually was treating you like you did something wrong," Lisa said as we ate.

"She's just really strict," Vicky said. "She has high expectations. Come on, half the Asian kids at school talk about their parents like that. It doesn't mean she doesn't love Ames. It's just tough love."

"She doesn't treat you like that," I pointed out.

"Probably her aura," Lisa said. "It makes everyone nicer to her."

"Hey! It's not like I can just turn it off completely," Vicky said defensively.

"I'm not blaming you, I'm just saying, it's kind of tough for Amy when she works just as hard but never gets the same recognition," Lisa said. "I mean, her mom didn't even give her a hug after surviving Behemoth."

"Wait, what?" Vicky dropped her burger with a splat. "Come on, you've got to be exaggerating... She must have."

I shook my head. "No, I was watching. Your mom didn't even give her as much as a pat on the back."

Amy, who had been picking at her food until now, said, "I don't know, maybe if I saved all of humanity from certain extinction, she might find it acceptable," she muttered.

I knew that look. It was how I used to act at school. When the trio had messed up my day again and the teachers would never do a thing about it. It was the same way I held myself when I had completely given up and I just knew there was nothing anybody could do about it. Amy had been the one who had let me rise above that, given me skills that let me rise above petty theft from drug dealers, let me come out and be proud of my own skills. There was no way I'd let her fall into that hole.

"No, it's not okay," I said. "Amy, you're the most amazing person I've ever met. You deserve better. Dad, back me up here."

Dad was looking sheepish, not wanting to get into an argument between teenage girls. "I... er..."

I decided to play the big cards. "What would mom have done if Amy was her daughter?"

"Annette would be so proud of you, that's for sure. I mean, she'd be proud of you no matter what you chose to do. But risking yourself for others, working yourself that hard to help, she would be the proudest mom on the planet. She'd still worry and fuss over you, of course, making sure you were getting enough sleep and tucking you in at night..."

"Dad, she's older than me."

"She would still have done it. The same for you, too, Taylor," Dad said with a forlorn smile. He turned away to wipe his eyes a little. "Sorry, just... give me a minute."

"You know, that's what mom should be doing. I'm sorry I didn't even notice. I'm gonna have to chat with mom when I get home tonight," Vicky huffed.

"I think your mom stresses you out more than Behemoth does," Lisa said to Amy, looking at her like she was analyzing her. "You really need a girls' night out. Or girls' night in. We're going to have so much fun tonight."

"What? What are you planning?"

"We're having a sleepover, right? C'mon, pick a movie, grab a few pints of your favourite flavours… don't tell me you haven't ever had a sleepover before," Lisa said with a grin. I was just looking at her. What on earth was she thinking? I mean, she already told me she was planning on staying holed up at my house until Coil was gone, but I thought she would have been a bit more focused on the job.

Amy shied away, but Vicky answered for her. "Amy's a bit of a wallflower, if you haven't noticed. I try to drag her out to some parties, but she's never done a sleepover. Never too late though!" She grinned while wrapping her arm around her sister.

Amy just blushed harder.

Lisa gave a knowing smile, and said, "Oh, since Eric isn't joining, it'll be an all-girls' sleepover! We'll go easy on you; we won't invite any boys over until you've had a few practice rounds, huh?"

Vicky laughed. Amy meekly said, "That's not... I don't..."

Just when I thought Lisa was putting too much pressure on Amy, she turned to me with the same devious look on her face. "Oh, Taylor. You've done sleepovers before. But not for such a long time. You're going to need a few practice rounds too, right?"

I choked. Yeah, Emma and I had slept over at each others' houses frequently when we were best friends. I'd pushed it out of my mind after... well, she decided I was her best punching bag instead of best friend. I forgot I missed those days. But... I had new friends now. I needed to make some new memories with them, too. "Yeah, don't worry, Amy. It'll be fun," I assured her.

"And I'm sure Vicky knows a few guys..."

"Ahem." My dad cleared his throat loudly, with an amused but exasperated expression on his face. I suppose he was glad I was having fun with girls my age again, but he certainly wasn't looking forward to, well, having to give the talk or anything like that.

"Sorry, Mr. Hebert. We'll be good, I promise!" Lisa said, grinning like a fox.

I hadn't intended Lisa to replace Emma in my life. It just happened, though I could never be sure if that was part of Lisa's scheming or not. They were just more similar than I really wanted to admit. Superficially, they were both pretty, outgoing, and confident. Underneath that, though, Lisa was supportive, like Emma used to be. But she was also much more devious and crafty, something that reminded me too much of the current Emma, even though I wasn't the current target of her ire. Made me wonder how I would have turned out if Emma had decided to randomly bully someone else, and dragged me along with it. Would I have been part of the Bitch Trio?

Fuck it, no point in wasting time with what-ifs. Emma was out of my life. I'd missed having friends. I was still wavering on the line with the rest of New Wave between "friendly co-workers" and "actual personal friends", but I ended up hanging around Amy and Vicky often enough that they fell into the latter category. I wasn't too sure about the Pelhams at this point, but at least we were good co-workers.

Lisa had picked our movies for us. After Behemoth, none of us were in the mood for anything with action, explosions, or disasters. She'd chosen a cheesy romance movie and a creepy thriller. The first movie had us sharing ice cream, the second had us sharing blankets.

I suppose that Lisa picked the movies with great precision, all of us were tired out just as the second one ended, and we all basically fell asleep together. The Dallon sisters were hugging each other as they fell asleep; Amy looked a little uncomfortable but content in Vicky's arms. Lisa was sprawled out; I suppose she was used to living on her own, but for once she didn't seem to be closely guarding herself.

I, of course, didn't really fall asleep. My body did, but my powers let me keep watch over the house, and the city, while my friends slept. After nearly losing everyone to Behemoth, I couldn't afford to let them get hurt by anyone.

Including Lisa herself.

When everyone had fallen asleep, I woke my own body up with a nudge from my nanobots. Then I quietly poked Lisa awake while the sisters were asleep. "Lisa. Tell me what the hell you're planning. Right now."

Lisa sighed again. "Coil! It's always about Coil. He's not gone yet, and I need all the help I can get. Abyssal's cool and all, but it helps to have a girl who can out-punch a locomotive on my side, alright?"

"You're planning on throwing Vicky against Coil?"

"You know her even better than I do. Don't tell me she wouldn't enjoy the hell out of being able to punch a villain out of a secret base."

Okay, that she would. But Coil was dangerous. I remember seeing mercenaries, with Tinkertech rifles. There was no guarantee her invulnerability would hold up against weird stuff like that.

"Yeah, and it's also easy to convince her to do something stupid, whether she enjoys it or not," I said.

"Then it's our job to make it less stupid," Lisa said. "Abyssal is expendable. Glory Girl can be a distraction or support, I don't care. But having her there means less opportunities for Coil to slip away, plain and simple. You scout things out, I'll make a plan, we make sure everything's ready before diving in."

"Fine, but you tell her exactly what you're planning. Let her make a properly informed choice."

"Alright, now let me get my beauty sleep," Lisa said before turning over and snuggling deeper into her pillow.

"Hey. Wake up." This time, it was Lisa's turn to wake me up.

"I'm awake," I muttered as my body got my blood flowing again. The sun was just barely rising.

"Did you do much overnight?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, I have full control over the public areas of the city, filled in the gaps, making a few extra tons of bots from the landfill," I whispered. "Most of the bots got cleaned out of Coil's bases while we were gone, but I'll sneak them back in within a few hours."

"Good. Have you checked your email yet? Dragon wanted to get into contact with you, didn't she?" Lisa reminded me.

"Please tell me you aren't trying to recruit her too," I said.

"Maaaaaaybe? Haha, not really. She's a bit out of my league, you could say."

"Besides, she lives on the west coast. She's probably still asleep. I can wait a bit before I reply to her."

"Actually, she doesn't sleep. Probably a Noctis cape of some sort, or she automates a lot of her stuff. Or maybe she just has a massive caffeine and drug regimen like Armsmaster," Lisa said nonchalantly.

"You got that from chatting with her over Behemoth?"

"And the week-long recovery effort after. Publicly-known Birdcage data. The Guild's operations major operations. Not hard to piece together even if you don't have a Thinker power. Dragon barely sleeps, if at all. Just thought you should know who you're dealing with," she offered.

"Well. Thanks. Anything else you can tell me about her? How likely is she gonna out Abyssal to the PRT?"

"Can't say for sure. I get the sense that she's big on duty and legality. Like, you know the Canary case? She was very vocal in her protests. Tried to stand up for the poor girl. And she was right. But when it came right down to it, she got orders to put the girl in the Birdcage, so she put the girl in the Birdcage. Strong morals but almost stupidly obedient – she'd never stand up for her own values if it required breaking the law. Very much a Lawful Good white-knight type. Heh, and she calls herself Dragon," Lisa laughed to herself. "Just keep me out of the conversation. I think she'll understand my situation, but like Canary..."

"Should I even ask her hypothetically?"

Lisa scrunched her face up. "Hm… if you keep it vague enough. I mean it when I said she's big on legality. Like, she will follow the letter of the law, even if she disagrees with it. But she can play the plausible deniability card if she wants to. That's all the wiggle room you get with her. Be careful."

"Thanks," I said, before I got up, stretched out, and went over to my computer. What do you know, Dragon had already left me an email. I hadn't even given her my email address, but... well, it was listed on the New Wave website. That was the least of Dragon's abilities.

She had already admitted that she knew about Abyssal. All that from analyzing some bots I had lost on the battlefield. And she often worked with the PRT, especially Armsmaster. She did promise to keep a secret… and, to be honest, if she decided to tell, I couldn't really stop her. She already had the information she needed. I had no leverage on her; the only thing for me to do was take her at her word.

Then again, for one of the most secretive, yet well-informed capes in the world, her reputation may have been good enough. After all, she didn't just collaborate with Armsmaster, but with dozens of different Tinkers around the world. Not to mention all the capes that trusted her with possibly sensitive biometric information at all the Endbringer fights and her wristbands. To be honest, with all this trust placed on Dragon internationally, few people had ever complained. Aside from the Dragonslayers, who were basically nutjobs who took the whole dragon-fantasy thing too seriously.

Really, whether I decided to work with her or not, I would be trusting her to keep my secrets either way. At the very least I could at least try to get on her good side, and get all the benefits of collaboration. Partnering with the world's greatest Tinker! Me! If there was anything that would get me out of the hellhole that was Brockton Bay, this would be it. I'd just have to forge ahead.

Subject: Tinkering Collaboration

From: [Dragon]

To: [Eunoia]

Hello, Eunoia. I hope you made your way home safely. As we discussed before, I would like to do some collaborative tinkering with you, especially with regards to nanorobotics and molecular assembly. I've analyzed some of the bots you provided, and in return, I'd like to show you some designs for nanobots I've been working on myself, in the hopes that you may find some inspiration from it.

I hope we can work even more closely, and if you're interested, I'd like to discuss a direct collaboration and set up a joint workshop where I can work with you by video chat, maybe a remote drone as well.

Best wishes,

Dragon

[Reply] [Forward] [Archive] [Download Attachment (53.4 MB)]

I didn't even know what to do with the attachment. It was in a file format that I'd never seen before, probably used by a program that would make my cheap little laptop melt down if I tried. The damn thing was just second-hand salvage Dad had picked up from the Dockworkers Union office.

My guess was that it was some kind of design/engineering software. Maybe it was publicly available, but if it was professional stuff, I knew it cost thousands of dollars. Or maybe it was a custom thing that she or Armsmaster used. She knew I was a Tinker, and maybe she assumed that I used the same kind of software as other tinkers. Was there a common software among Tinkers? I didn't know, since I had never really been part of the Tinker "community," if there was one.

More importantly, what did I have to lose if I accepted her offer? If she used that kind of complex design and engineering stuff, she probably expected me to do the same. I didn't want to look like a fraud - a Tinker who barely used the computer for much more than browsing PHO and watching cat videos? Who'd heard of such a thing? I couldn't compare to her, who navigated the internet like it were her own backyard. This was Dragon after all. Then again, almost every Tinker on the planet was pathetic compared to her. She was one of the greatest celebrity Tinkers since Hero died. And she asked to work with me, not the other way around.

I'd be stupid to refuse it, but I was worried I'd be such a disappointment. I was way better at actually using my bots than trying to explain the engineering behind them. Still, Dragon was waiting. It would be rude not to answer.

"Taylor, I think you have a lot more to gain working with her than not," Lisa advised. I was so starstruck that I had forgotten she was still sitting beside me. "Really, it's better to be allies, if only for the reason that you don't want to be her enemy."

Perish the thought. The last thing I wanted to do was piss Dragon off somehow. If only I could figure out what made her tick. Dragon wasn't Emma, after all… she was consistent. Reliable. Internationally renowned.

Then again, Emma was pretty popular too. Nobody spoke up when she acted like a total bitch to me. Dragon could do that, except instead of ruling high school she could probably take over several small nations instead. Nobody wanted to suffer Emma's posse. Dragon had a literal army of combat drones.

Lisa was looking at the faces I was making, and probably figured things out from there. "You're comparing her to that bitch friend of yours, aren't you? Don't. Dragon isn't psycho. She's a bit weird, introverted, but I told you already. She's a white knight. Trust me. I can tell. If she were to betray you, it would be on someone else's orders."

Re: Tinkering Collaboration

To: [Dragon]

From: [Eunoia]

Hello, Dragon! Thanks for the invitation. I'd love to work with you. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to read the file you sent me. I don't have the right software to open it. Would it be too much trouble for me to do my work at one of your workshops? I don't have my own place right now. Sorry. I'd be glad to work on new ideas with you, though!

Sincerely,

Eunoia

I was nervous when I hit the send button, wondering if I had sounded too casual. I was still re-reading my own reply, thinking of how I could have phrased things better, when I saw that she had already replied. So apparently Dragon was awake at 7 AM… or 4 AM Pacific time.

Re: Re: Tinkering Collaboration

From: [Dragon]

To: [Eunoia]

My apologies, Eunoia. I've been working with Armsmaster and Kid Win so often that I thought you would be using similar methods for Tinkering. I really do want you to see my designs; it's only fair after I've seen yours.

Unfortunately, due to my condition, I can't meet you in person or bring you into my personal tinkering workshop. But I can send out a remote suit and one of my mobile labs to Brockton Bay if you would like to meet. Will the long-term parking lot by Captain's Hill work for you? I can have them ready in three days.

Dragon

"Hurry up and tell her you're good to meet, you know you can't wait," Lisa said. "And having Dragon be more physically present is probably a good thing. Also, there's something I need you to check out right now."

"Like what?" I asked as I typed a hasty acceptance.

"Those cars aren't from this neighbourhood," Lisa said, peering out the window.

I used my bots to look outside. She was right. Leave it to Lisa to figure out that cars didn't belong here before I did. I had noticed them, but they didn't have any gang members inside and didn't seem to be hostile, but they were suspiciously parked nearby, and the people weren't getting out. It was like they were staking out the house.

"Should I use Abyssal to scare them off?" I asked, wondering if it was worth risking more people linking Abyssal to me more closely. If they were gang members, though, I wasn't going to take any risks.

"Nah, don't want him too closely linked to you. I can guess why they're here," Lisa said as she tapped rapidly at her phone. "Check the news. Or PHO. Or whatever."

I decided to check PHO – if the news was big enough, multiple people would have posted links to multiple news websites anyway.

My hunch was right. There were multiple threads in the USA-East subforum. Aside from the usual stuff happening in New York and Florida, apparently my lawsuit had ballooned into pretty big news. It went way beyond just the school board and the local PRT, and it seemed like everyone wanted a say. The BB Herald, the Monitor, the Daily Sun, all the local and state news outlets had opinion pieces on it. It had gotten bad enough that the Youth Guard, and even the PRT itself had posted official statements on their respective websites.

Clearly something must have blown up last week, and it wasn't just Gibraltar.

Apparently the lawsuit had concluded while I was out of the country? Could they do that? I suppose they could, since Mr. Bryson was still doing his job. I didn't need to be present when it happened. But it would have been nice to know. Someone should have called me.

Now I needed to call the lawyer to figure out exactly what happened.

"So it looks like all those cars outside are probably journalists. Or paparazzi, if you prefer. Probably looking to squeeze a quote out of you," Lisa said. "My advice? Don't say anything without going through your lawyer first."

I wasn't too worried about the paparazzi. At least they couldn't physically assault me and get away with it like Sophia had. I still wasn't very prepared for this, though. The lawyer had basically come out of nowhere offering to help, and gathered a lot of information without needing my help. And now the case had ended and he didn't even tell me? What the hell?

I suppose I would be spending more than a few days hunkering down at home with Lisa to avoid them. But I needed to get the details straight from the source right now.

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Bryson isn't in the office at the moment. We would like to remind everyone that our firm respects all attorney-client confidentiality," said the lady in a tired and exasperated voice. It sounded like she had to deal with as many reporters as I did.

"But I AM the client!" I pointed out.

"Can I get your name?"

"Taylor Hebert!"

"Oh, the Hebert case. Of course. Well, apologies, but Mr. Bryson decided to take a well-earned vacation. However, we do not want to discuss details over the phone. If you would like to discuss the results of the case further, we'll need you to book an appointment."

"Ugh. Okay, fine, um… I'll have to figure that out a good time later," I said. Ugh. I wasn't going to wander outside right now, and I didn't want to waste time on the lawsuit thing right now. Not that I even needed the money, since I still had barely made a dent in the Bakuda bounty money.

"Lisa, help me out. Is it normal for a lawyer to just go on vacation right after a big case?" I asked.

"Normal? No. But not unheard of," Lisa said. "Maybe he was overdue for a vacation or something. I'd rather worry about more immediate problems. Come on, let's have breakfast. The Dallon sisters are awake."

I quickly went downstairs to join them. Dad had actually gone all-out, fresh waffles with fruit and whipped cream, and he was making poached eggs! "Thought you girls deserved something nice. Also, don't answer the door," he said.

"Yeah. There's a bazillion reporters out there. I'm guessing it's about the lawsuit thing. What did I miss?"

"You sure you want to discuss that at the breakfast table?" Dad asked.

"Yeah. The sooner the better," I said with a shrug. I felt fine with Amy and Vicky hearing about this stuff – in fact, it was better that they knew now, instead of learning it via the rumour mill.

"So, basically, you win some, you lost some. As expected," Dad started. "Unfortunately, since the principal and the school deliberately failed to document anything about your bullying, there wasn't much more than hearsay. Even though we proved that they failed to keep a proper record of the bullying, it was a lot harder to prove how much was deliberately destroyed by them, versus what never got reported in the first place. Your hospital records were hard evidence that you suffered a severe injury at school, which they failed to follow up properly. There were a few character witnesses both for you and against Sophia Hess, so we came out on top there. Emma more or less got off scot-free, Alan must have coached her for the testimony. The end result is that there have been fines levied, the school is getting a new principal, but apparently we won't get too much in the way of emotional damages and such because you're doing so well now. And, um… the fact that I wasn't there to help you. They did pin some of the blame on me, and… they weren't completely wrong. I really didn't have much in my own defense. I'm sorry, Taylor." Dad sighed heavily.

"Ugh. That's alright, I guess. I'd rather be not-crazy than get some money for vague damages," I said. "At least things are… better between us now. I prefer it this way."

"You know they actually tried to use the fact that you went to help against Behemoth against you? Tried to say you were into risky behavior and attention-seeking. Thankfully there were plenty of people from the hospital willing to speak for you."

"Yeah, no matter what you do, there's always someone willing to make it sound like a bad thing," Vicky nodded in agreement.

"Anyways, on the PRT side of things, they managed to absolve themselves of most issues. Basically the argument was that they weren't responsible for monitoring Sophia's civilian life, and the Youth Guard backed them up. They managed to shift almost all the blame on the school, which failed to report any wrongdoing, and her parole officer, who also failed to check in or report anything properly. The officer's been fired, of course, but that doesn't mean too much for us. They may garnish her wages for a while but it'll barely amount to anything."

"The media's not letting them get off so easily though," Lisa pointed out.

"Yeah. I mean, Miss Militia told me as such months ago, but I guess I should have taken her a bit more seriously. I can't say I shouldn't have expected it."

"Miss Militia's pretty nice, she wouldn't lie to you about those things," Vicky confirmed. "Still, kinda sucks that they aren't taking responsibility for it. Nobody's even going to get punished? Aside from that parole officer."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Dad said. "The director has chosen to 'retire early' as they put it. They won't say it's because of the lawsuit, probably to save face, but everyone's treating it like it is. In the end, a smaller payout than we expected, but the school board has been forced to establish anti-bullying programs and the PRT is shuffling around their leadership. Thank goodness Mr. Bryson worked on contingency. The lawyer's fees normally would have ended up costing us more than what we won."

Well, getting them to legally admit they were wrong, even without a payout for us, was more than I had expected. We all finished the breakfast with some more lighthearted chat, mostly at the relief of finally being home. Speaking of which…

"Alright, it's time for me and Ames to head back. Thanks for having us over! It was great, we should do this again some time!" Vicky said.

"Yeah… it was actually kind of fun. See you at the hospital, Taylor," Amy said.

"Wait, before you go… can I chat with you, Victoria?" Lisa said.

She pulled her aside. I listened in with my bots, and made sure Lisa wasn't being all tricky. Well, no less tricky than she normally was. But she made good on her promise – just an invite to "take down a really mean bad guy when the time is right," basically. Vicky couldn't resist the urge for a well-justified brawl against the baddies, as predicted.

"What are they talking about?" Amy asked.

"Oh, probably looking for recruits to capture Lisa's old boss. Oh, by the way, please don't let anyone know she's here. Her former boss has a way of, uh, finding things out. And eliminating loose ends."

"Yeah, no worries. Vicky and I are going to fly home out your back yard," Amy said. "I just hope Lisa isn't trying to drag you into her problems too much. Not sure if my family will want to join in, but I'm sure Vicky will find a way to convince them."

I waved goodbye as they rose into the air, all while my bots began to work their way into Coil's bases.

Author's Notes: I totally forgot that FFN completely edits out all websites and links... ugh. now the email sections just look silly.