On the screen at the front of the room, a girl shrieked as she fell to earth, another crouched on top like she was a surfboard. They impacted, and the taller of the two sprang off the girl she’d landed on. That girl rose a moment later, then was grabbed around the throat and dragged backwards while a hero bellowed for her captor. The taller girl used her as a springboard, then vanished out of view over the fence. The video paused and Director Tagg turned around in his seat.

  “Any explanation for this utter circus would be appreciated,” he said, voice low, eyes locked on me.

  “I was on the roof,” I said evenly. “Got annoyed with all the calls and...well, she just sort of showed up, I really wasn’t expecting it.” Truth, mostly. “I want to know why the fuck we were trying to arrest Skitter in civvies at school. That wasn’t in my syllabus, sir.”

  “We were informed there was a ninety-one-point-eight percent chance of capturing Skitter without violence or injury to civilians,” Defiant replied flatly. “Given those odds, Director Tagg ordered we back up the heroes and assist with her capture.”

  “Wow, guess Skitter should play the lottery,” I said sarcastically. “And now we have a warlord with nothing to lose, so that was a great plan.”

  Even though the courtyard had been relatively empty, the classrooms flanking it hadn’t. More than a dozen videos had been posted, some with okay audio, of Skitter throwing herself off the roof with me in tow, then escaping the heroes. The media had pounced before the PRT could, and now Taylor Hebert was a celebrity. Then of course, there was the blowback.

  “You’re in a poor position to make quips, Amaranth,” Miss Militia said sternly. “Had you responded to calls from your superiors, this may not have happened.”

  “I don’t believe that for a second, ma’am,” I replied, meeting her eyes. “And is everyone ignoring the fact that we just outed a sixteen-year-old nationally? Clock, Win, what if that had been us?”

  “We’d have deserved it,” Clockblocker said firmly, though he didn’t meet my eyes. “You know what she’s done Amaranth, we had to take her down no matter what.” I stared at him for a moment, then sighed and shook my head.

  “No way I’m the only one feeling like this.” I looked around the table, to Kid Win, to Miss Militia, Defiant and Dragon. No mercy. “I don’t believe it.” I hated how my voice shook.

  “It was the best available option,” Miss Militia said, glancing at Tagg. “As unfortunate as it was.”

  “The only ‘unfortunate’ thing is that you failed to capture Skitter,” Tagg barked. “Amaranth, given your conduct and probationary status, there will be a disciplinary hearing.”

  “Whatever,” I muttered, crossing my arms.

  The meeting continued as I kept my head down, discussions of further attacks, potential retaliation, and more filled the air around me. I fumed silently, grinding my teeth. I was pissed, beyond pissed, about how today had gone.

  I knew I’d been risking a lot when I’d warned Skitter, and like with Amy I’d been ready to take the consequences on the chin. Now, with her ignoring me and the PRT full of fuck-faces like Tagg, I was just bitter. A fucking waste because Skitter couldn’t be bothered to give me five minutes, and because the heroes had apparently got a prediction that jerked them off.

  With a number like that, it could only be the little bitch Dinah. I almost regretted that Taylor freed her, which was pretty fucked up admittedly. I didn’t actually want a tween drugged and held hostage by Coil, but I was royally pissed and she was partly to blame. Mostly to blame, actually, since without her bullshit the heroes probably wouldn’t have pounced to begin with.

  Could I have done something differently and changed things? Maybe, but not if everyone including me was being played by her. Fucking precogs. The sole bright spot here was maybe, maybe things had gone slightly better because it was just me involved instead of half the student body. This way, the PRT at least didn’t start a genuine hostage situation.

  Not that I could tell them that, of course. That would invite questions like ‘why didn’t you tell us first’ and ‘what the fuck were you doing at Skitter’s place last night’. With Defiant and his lie detector, I’d be screwed in a heartbeat. No, better that I keep my mouth shut on that front. They hadn’t even asked me if I remembered anything about this, so I was probably safe.

  “Amaranth.” I perked up at my name, looking across the table at Miss Militia. “Considering the circumstance, I must ask if you remember anything over the next several days.” I stared at her, considering it carefully.

  “No,” I said at last. “God’s honest truth, I have no clue what’s coming.”

  There wasn’t one iota of a lie there. I had no clue how Skitter was going to respond to being outed. I knew she turned herself in in the story, but I’d changed so much now that that was probably a bust. Knowing her, there was bound to be some kind of response, and the heroes were thinking as much anyway.

  “Wards, you’re dismissed,” Tagg said after another few minutes. “Refer to tonight’s patrol schedule, please.”

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  I rose with the rest of my team and headed out. We walked to the elevator and took it down in uncomfortable silence. At least I didn’t have to go out tonight, small blessings of being the token nutcase. Probably the only reason they bought me being on top of the roof just to get away from them.

  I wasn’t totally sure how I’d gotten away with that. When I’d been dragged in here with the other Wards, the director, and everyone else, I was pretty sure it would have ended with an arrest. Yet here I was, getting away scot-free. That was the only bright spot here, that despite the tremendous failure today had been it didn’t blow up in my face. Not yet anyway.

  “Hey guys,” Vista greeted us brightly as we entered the quarters. “What uh...hey, did something happen?”

  “See the news?” Clockblocker drawled. “Turns out our local warlord isn’t much older than you, Vista.”

  “What what?!” she exclaimed. Clock beckoned and we all followed into the common room. He turned on the TV and gestured to the news on screen. “Holy shit, is that you Lia?”

  “Yeah,” I growled, glaring at the looping clip of me falling off the roof. “Why the fuck isn’t the PRT squelching this?”

  “Why would they?” Clockblocker asked. “Villains are getting bad press for taking a student hostage.”

  “That ‘hostage’ has a name and a fucking mask. You think people aren’t gonna notice I got up after being landed on?”

  “They’ll spin that, don’t sweat,” Chris said, fiddling with his helmet. “Besides, you can’t really see your face, and they didn’t say your name; I think you’re okay.”

  “Probably something like…” Vista hummed thoughtfully for a moment. “’Student injured after villain throws her from the roof, healed by local hero’. Doubt you’re the first Ward to be caught maskless.”

  “I guess,” I muttered. “This is so fucked up.”

  “Kind of agree,” Vista said, looking at Clockblocker. “Why at school?” Dennis sighed as he took off his mask.

  “You remember that precog that got kidnapped by Coil, the one Skitter apparently rescued?” Dennis grimaced. “Dinah predicted a ninety-percent chance we get her without a fight.”

  “No shit,” she breathed, eyes wide. “You’re telling me she beat those odds?”

  “Her and her team fought the Nine and beat them,” I said. “I’d buy it.” I’d also pointedly leave out my involvement in that ten-percent chance. “I guess that means you’re okay with unmasking Skitter, Vista?” Her head snapped to me, eyes wide.

  “I…” She glanced at Clockblocker, then Win, then back at me. “I don’t like it, it feels...off, but Skitter’s broken the rules more than once. I don’t know, I don’t think this is anything but karma.”

  “Fucking hell,” I groaned, massaging one of my temples. “This is what heroes do?”

  I didn’t get an answer by the time I stalked away to my room. Whatever, fuck them if they thought this was okay. I tore off my mask and hood, throwing them viciously into my closet before sitting down heavily on my bed. I pressed my face into my pillow and screamed until my throat was raw.

  Despite everything I’d done, this train seemed to be hurtling towards disaster at a breakneck pace. The good guys were being stupid, the bad guys even worse, and I was just being dragged along. And it was worse because I was trying so fucking hard to avert it, but everyone seemed to be acting against me.

  Well, whatever, I’d done everything I could to stop this and it wasn’t enough; what the fuck else was new? Couldn’t stop Echidna, couldn’t stop Coil, the Nine… I’d managed one good thing though. It wasn’t enough considering how often I failed, but it had encouraged me to keep trying til now. Now...fuck Taylor, she was on her own. Fuck the PRT too for pulling this shit, I was finding it harder and harder to dislike the capes who left.

  I wouldn’t, not...not like that. The city still needed heroes, and I had to be one, was one. Shitty politics and tactics aside, the Protectorate was still my best bet at doing good. Tagg was a fucking bastard for pulling this shit, but at least I could trust him to actually fight the bad guys. I’d stay on side, but I wasn’t going to keep my mouth shut if he wanted to pull some garbage like this again. I was a hero, after all.

  God, fuck this. I wanted to hang out with someone who wasn’t going to get up my ass about how Taylor ‘deserved it’. The only person I could think who’d fall into that category was Dean. Amy...yeah, no absolutely not, but he might not think I’m crazy. I found my phone in my hand before I could think twice, but paused. He probably didn’t want to hear from me after...everything, but I was at my wits end with this shit. Before I could think better of it, I punched in his number and pressed the phone to my ear.

  “Hello?” Dean answered on the third ring. “This is Dean Stansfield, may I ask who’s calling?”

  “Hey Dean,” I said, my tongue suddenly dry. “It’s Lia. Uhh, do you have a minute?”

  “Lia?” He sounded confused. “It’s...good to hear from you. Are you doing okay?”

  “Fine,” I replied quickly. “I won’t bother you too much I just...did you see the news today?” He sighed.

  “Yeah I…” There was a pause long enough I had to check he hadn’t hung up. “Can you tell me what happened? I’m not sure how much I believe the news reports.”

  “They’re mostly accurate,” I said. “Skitter went to school, heroes tried to arrest her and...well, you’ve seen the video.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m invincible,” I snapped. “Anyway, that’s not why I called. Dean, what the fuck is going on in this city that we’re okay outing people our age? It’s completely fucked. I feel like I’m the only sane person left and I’m me.”

  “I don’t agree with it,” he said after a moment. “We have to stop villains, that goes without saying but...there are rules to that kind of thing, rules to keep people safe. It was definitely a bad idea to pull that at school, Victoria got swarmed by people looking for protection.”

  “Christ,” I growled. “That was it Dean, thanks for...that. Won’t bug you again.”

  “Lia wait.” I paused, finger above the ‘end call’ button. “I’m glad to hear you’re alright. Did you and Doctor Yamada…”

  “I’m sane again.” Mostly. “Feeling better, I guess. Thanks for that too, I know you were the one that put in the request.”

  “You needed it,” Dean replied simply. “I’m really glad to hear it worked out, Lia. See you at school?”

  “You don’t have to,” I said, shrugging. “Really it’s fine don’t...I don’t want to be a pain.”

  “You’re not a pain,” he offered gently.

  “Only because I’m not your problem anymore.” Another sigh. “Seriously Dean, it’s fine. Hope you and Vicky are doing okay and enjoying your...vacation.” There was a long, long pause. I checked if he'd hung up twice.

  “I appreciate that, Lia,” Dean replied at last. “We’re...doing fine. Let’s talk again soon, okay?”

  “Sure,” I lied, just a little one. “Later Dean.” I hung up the phone and dropped it on the mattress next to me, feeling at least a little better.

  At least someone in this city had their head screwed on half-right.