Chapter Text
I opened my eyes slowly, squinting into the noonday sun that seemed hell bent on blinding me more than my genetics already had. I didn't think hell would be so sunny, but then again, subverting things was the Devil's bag, after all. I tried sitting up, and my body responded naturally. That, more than anything, fully kicked my brain into action, and I began taking note of my surroundings in earnest. I was in a park, with bright green grass, trees full of leaves, and people lazily taking in the day as they moved around. Behind me, a man lay on his back, tall, dark hair under his balding crown, and he was breathing deeply. It was my dad, Danny. I moved then, my hands gripping the earth to pull me to his side. I looked him over, checking for injuries, trying to assure myself that he was ok. As my shadow covered his face, he stirred, then opened his eyes groggily, his gaze meeting mine. “Taylor?”
I heaved a sigh of relief. Brushing my hair out of my eyes, I leaned back, smiling at him. “Hey, Dad? You ok?”
He slowly sat up, blinking away the sleep. “I'm... Fine, I think. Are you ok?”
I nodded at him, and then paused. I understood him. I spoke with him,
and he understood me. “I-I’m fine. Better, actually. The last I remember I...”
Trailing off, I looked down at my hands. Hands. Plural. Everything came back to me in a rush. Scion. Bonesaw. Amy. Tattletale. Gru.
Rachel.
I started breathing hard, everything beginning to spin, my vision narrowing, my dad's voice seeming to come from far away. I could feel something shaking me, but I couldn't focus. I remember dying. The first bullet entering and the ground rising to catch me. The second bullet tearing my heart open. And then I was here.
I took deep breaths, trying to steady myself, closing my eyes so I could focus. It took what felt like hours, but was more than likely only a handful of minutes until I started to calm down. I opened my eyes, searching for my dad, realizing belatedly he was holding me and stroking my hair, talking softly to me.
“I'm... Sorry, dad. Didn't mean to scare you. I think I'm ok, now.”
He gave me some space, still holding my arms so I didn't collapse while he looked me in the eyes. “Taylor, what happened? To you, to us? Where are we? The last thing I remember, I was in a bunker, hiding as Scion was going berserk. He... So many people...” He trailed off, closing his eyes, the weight of knowledge settling on his mind.
I raised a hand and rubbed his arm. “I know. There was almost nothing we could do. Until...” I blinked, the shattered memories of being unable to talk coming back to me, of losing my ability to move, to think coherently. The memory of Scion looking at me. I shook off the fear the images brought upon me, and, taking another deep, shuddering breath, i continued. “Until I did something stupid and crazy and beat him. And now we're... Somewhere. Considering the cramp in my thighs from sitting in this position for so long, I'm guessing we're not dead, yet. But I have never seen this park before. The city around, too. Not like any one I've seen before.”
I felt dad start moving, and then he was on his feet, pulling me to stand next to him. He was in crisis mode, trying to be a pillar of stability for me. For us. “Well, if we don't know where we are, we can always go talk to the police. Things seem peaceful enough here. And you're a superhero now, so they should be more than willing to help us, right?”
I nodded, the logic seeming sound, but something was nagging at me.
And then I realized what I was feeling.
Worms digging in the earth. Spiders building webs in the trees and dark corners of the nearby buildings. My range was back, and, reaching out to the insects and arachnids, I could feel what they feel, control them, use them. I was back to the way I was before Amy did what she did to me.
My dad was walking then, pulling me along with him, and we started towards the nearest building, a small donut shop with a pink donut logo on it, labeling it ‘Granny’s Donuts’. We stepped into the strip mall style building, and were greeted by the scent of fresh pastries and the sight of an elderly man with an eccentric haircut in a pink shirt and white apron. He gave us a wary smile, and nodded. “Welcome to Granny's, I'm Granny. Can I get you anything?”
Stepping up to the counter, Dad asked him, “I'm sorry, sir, but we're not sure where we are? Can you help? Or point us towards the nearest police station?”
The old man's expression changed into one of considering confusion. “Not sure where you are? You're in Torrance, California.”
I started. “California? California survived?”
Granny gave me a sidelong glance. “Are you talking about that nonsense with Shroud and SDN?”
“SDN?” My dad asked, his face expressing the confusion that was consuming my thoughts.
“Yeah, the Superhero Dispatch Network? The group that offers security contracts and superhero efforts to help keep the city ‘safe’.” Granny ended his statement with finger quotes on the last word, more than a hint of derision in his tone.
“What about the Proctetorate? Or the Wards? Cauldron?” I asked, trying to grab onto anything familiar.
Granny shook his head. “Never heard of those. Are they on the East Coast?”
I gave him a half shrug. “Maybe? Where we’re from, they're kind of everywhere in the US.”
“Unless this isn't where we're from, Taylor. I'm sorry for the strange question, sure, but what Earth is this?”
Blinking rapidly, his voice rose slightly with assumed absurdity. “Which Earth? What, you one of those flat earth weirdos?”
I raised my hands in a placating fashion. “I'm starting to get the picture. Sorry to bother you, sir. Just one more question, and we'll be out of your hair. Can you point us in the direction of this SDN?”
Granny gave me a pointed look, then turned around, grabbed a napkin, and then started writing on it. “Here, I'll do you one better. Take these directions. They'll get you to the front door.”
I looked at the napkin, noting our destination was only a few blocks away. “Thank you, sir.”
My dad and I left, his face pinched into a look of consternation. “You ok, Dad?”
He started slightly, then shook his head. “‘Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.’”
I chuckled, and grabbed his hand. “Yeah, same. I think whatever happened there at the end transferred us to another reality, one that Scion either missed or skipped. Here's hoping this SDN can help us out, cuz if not, we might be in more trouble than we are able to handle, because I don't know if we have legal money here to buy food.”
My dad nodded and fell into step with me, and we made our way to what would hopefully be any sort of salvation.
Less than an hour later, we found ourselves standing in front of a rather impressive two story building. The walls, a pleasant tan color, were met with a glass entryway. and open courtyard that was visible from the outside. The parking lot was half full, and occasionally, individuals left the building, some using powers to traverse through the city quickly. I inhaled deeply, trying to calm my nerves. ‘These people don't know Skitter, or Weaver... Or Kephri. They don't even know Taylor. It's going to be ok. I need to make sure my dad is taken care of. It's the least I can do, after everything.’
I let the thoughts swirl in my mind for a bit, maybe trying to talk myself into doing this, even if it was incredibly rash. I didn't want to get on the bad side of the local capes, and robbing or burgling to survive seemed like a bad idea.
I started as I felt something grab my hand, but I settled as I realized it was just my dad holding my hand. “Taylor, it's going to be ok. We're going to be ok.”
I smiled a little. He was trying to comfort me, while I was trying to keep him safe. ‘At least, even after all this, he's still my dad, and I'm still his daughter.’
I looked up at him, and nodded. “Yeah. We will be.”
And with that, we walked up to the building.