She had felt like the worst trash in the world when she left Crochet to go find the Dallon sisters on little more than Dinah’s word. It had weighed on her the entire time, the thought that she might have been wasting her time, that maybe bringing Crochet to a hospital would be better, that calling the police would be a safer bet, consequences be damned. That she would, in the worst and most nightmarish scenario, return to find Crochet just gone.

Seeing her new little sister press her hand against Crochet’s arm, then seeing the wound close, was like being doused in cold water. The tension that she had been feeling like a sack of bricks on her back eased, the mounting fear loosened, and Taylor felt like she wanted to do little more than to curl up into a ball and cry.

Instead, she grabbed Crochet from the wall she was sitting against, inspected her wound with a quick look, and squeezed the girl for all she was worth.

“Big Sis, you’re squishing me,” Crochet complained into Taylor’s shoulder.

“I don’t care.” Taylor’s squeeze tightened even more and she hoped that Crochet’s hair wouldn’t get too damp from her tears. “I don’t care. You’re okay now. You’re okay.”

Crochet let herself go limp in Taylor’s grasp before giving in to the hug to slowly wrap an arm around Taylor’s waist. “This is very inappropriate,” she said. “Hugging in public like this.”

Taylor laughed, and if it sounded watery and on the verge of turning into a sob, no one commented.

“Big Sis, you cryin’ just cause this wimp got shot a bit?” Cheshire asked.

No one but Cheshire.

Taylor finally let go of Crochet after giving her another squeeze and held the girl out at arm’s length to make sure she was fine. Turning to the new girl, she gave her a winning smile. “Thank you,” she said.

The girl shrugged, dismissing Taylor with one look and a vague gesture. “It was nothing.” She said.

Taylor shook her head and reached out with one arm, pulling the girl close and into the hug she was sharing with Crochet. “It wasn’t nothing. Thank you.”

The girl squirmed a little, looking uncertain before she looked Crochet up and down. “Try not to get shot so much. I’m sure I’ve got better things to do.”

“Aww,” Cheshire said, and Taylor just knew that the next words out of her mouth were going to be an insult. “But now y’er here to heal us up, yeah?”

Taylor let go of the two girls and climbed back to her feet. She couldn’t remember falling to her knees. She started rubbing her cheeks dry. She had to be the big sister here, and crying wouldn’t help any.

The small Panacea gave her older sister a flat look. “I’m sorry, I don’t do brains.”

“The fuck does that mean?” Cheshire asked.

“It means I couldn’t heal whatever’s wrong with you.”

Cheshire smiled at her newest sister, then pulled out a knife from somewhere. “Okay,” Taylor said as she got between the two. “That’s more than enough. We can do introductions at home, later.”

She surveyed the alleyway they had ducked into for cover. Pop was on the rooftop above, crouching in the shadows of an air conditioning unit. Crochet and Cheshire were in the middle of the alleyway, the newly healed girl poking at the messy wound in her costume while hugging Miss Cottontail.

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The new girl, of course, was right next to Taylor, her white and red-trimmed robes already getting stained at the hem from all the dirt and detritus the alley was filled with.

And Dinah Alcott was off to one side, looking rather lonely despite being with an entire group of girls her own age. “Dinah?” Taylor asked.

The girl looked up, then back down again. Her hands fidgeted by her waist. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“Sorry for what?” Taylor asked. Though she had a few suspicions. She was becoming really good at reading the emotions of annoying little girls.

“All of this. It wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t interfere. And, and now it might happen again. I don’t know.” She started talking faster after peeking at Taylor. Taylor didn’t know what emotion was on her face, only that it scared the girl. “The bad man, the one that wants to hurt me. He’s going to be going after you now. And it’s my fault.”

“Then we’ll kick his ass,” Cheshire said.

Taylor allowed a bit of a grin at that. “Cheshire is right. Though maybe I’d tone down the language a bit. We’re a family. You’re on your own, I think. We’ll manage. But if you have any other hints, it probably wouldn’t hurt for you to tell us.” After having the girl tell her the location of the Dallon sisters accompanied by the odds of Taylor getting back in time to save Crochet, Taylor’s doubts about her parahumanity were fading fast.

“I will,” Dinah said. “Thank you.”

“No problem. We should all head out,” Taylor said. She was about to offer to help Dinah find her parents again when a shadow flitted past. Taylor looked up in time to see Glory Girl carrying Panacea in a bridal carry, bags in both hands, hovering above them.

The sisters came to a gentle landing between Taylor, her sisters, and the mouth of the alley. “What’s going on here?” Glory Girl asked. She was looking between Taylor and all the girls, but mostly the small Amy who was waving at her.

Taylor felt her heart sinking. She really didn’t want to be the one to deal with the capes, but technically, she was the oldest one around, and keeping her sisters safe was her responsibility. “Nothing,” she said as she stepped a little closer, placing herself between her sisters and the New Wave capes.

“Yeah, a whole lot of nothing,” Panacea said.

“Kind of like what’s in between your ears, huh?” her smaller counterpart said.

Taylor stepped back and placed a hand on her new sister’s head. “That’s enough,” she said. “Let’s try being nice, please.”

“Yeah, let’s all be real nice to each other,” Glory Girl said. “Because this isn’t the most suspicious thing I’ve ever seen, but it’s right up there.”

Taylor looked around for an escape, just in case, but it was probably a lost cause. She had managed to escape from Glory Girl once, but it was almost a fluke. She couldn’t do it with this many sisters to keep safe. “Can I help you?” she asked.

“Yeah, you can tell us what the heck is going on.”

She stood a little taller. “What happened is that you tried to stop me from saving my sister’s life,” Taylor said.

Victoria looked between Taylor, then Crochet and the still dirty patch on her shift. She had the good grace to wince a little before firming her resolve. “That’s... yeah, okay, but I still want to know what’s going on here.”