“God that movie was so dumb,” Lisa said, tossing her popcorn in the trash.
“We knew it would be,” Taylor said with a chuckle, grabbing a quick refill on her soda. “It was a cape rom com, what were you expecting?”
“Something that wasn’t just a Lifetime movie copy paste?” Lisa tried, then her shoulders slumped. “I’ll admit, the movie options weren’t the greatest, but it was the best of the rest which is saying something.”
“Your expectations were too high,” Taylor said, rolling her eyes. “There’s a reason we spent the entire movie heckling it.”
“I mean there were other things we could have been doing,” Lisa muttered. At Taylor’s quizzical look Lisa just waved her off. “So, what now? Feel like grabbing something more substantial than popcorn and skittles?”
“I could go for some Fugly’s,” Taylor said. “You probably could too, given what we’re doing tonight.”
“It’s normal to be nervous, right?” Lisa asked. “Like, you keep insisting that it will be safe, but we are talking about a bunch of Tinkers taking out my brain and poking it with lots of pointy things.”
“Hey, it worked for me, and you aren’t the second or even third person we’ve done this with now,” Taylor said confidently. “It’s okay, and if things don’t work out, we can put you back exactly the way you were. The risk is almost zero.”
“I know,” Lisa said with a weak smile. “I just wish I knew more about who will be working on me.”
“You know I can’t tell you beforehand, and I appreciate you not trying to figure it out,” Taylor said, pulling Lisa into a quick hug. “Come on, we’ve got a few hours to kill.”
The Boardwalk wasn’t heavily populated given the late February weather was still leaning towards too cold for casual ventures, but the school crowd still came out since it was one of the few areas parents felt safe letting their kids roam. There was always the risk of running into the Trio, but Taylor was well past worrying about them.
Alan attempted to sue her for assault, but Calle shut it down almost immediately, it was almost comical really. The PRT was still fighting their side of the lawsuit, but it was clear they were just trying to settle for less than Calle was demanding. She didn’t need the money anymore, but it was the principle of the thing.
She grinned as Lisa pulled her over to a small stall that was selling trinkets for exorbitant pricing, typical tourist trap fare, but Taylor wasn’t exactly hurting for money and there was a rather cute set of fox earrings that would be perfect for Lisa, so, eighty dollars later, she was handing them to her stunned friend.
“Tay, what?”
“Hush Lise,” Taylor said, helping her put them in. “You literally dropped two grand on me last month, bribe or no. I’m allowed to buy you stuff too.”
“You’re already footing the bill for this whole procedure,” Lisa said with a pout, the fox earrings dangling from her ears blunting the expression. “I don’t like owing people.”
“You owe me nothing,” Taylor said sharply. “Lisa, you’re my friend, one of the few I can honestly say that about, and the only one that isn’t a current associate of Toybox. I trust you, and I want what’s best for you, so I’m going to do everything I can to keep you safe.”
Lisa’s eyes shimmered in the dimming light, a smile tugged at her lips as she wiped the forming tears away with her sleeve. “We better get to Fugly’s before it’s time.”
“No promises if I see more cute fox merch,” Taylor said. “It matches your smile after all.”
“You’re a dork, you know that?” Lisa said fondly.
“Proud of it, too,” Taylor said.
Fugly’s came into view, the outdoor seating still closed off. Pushing the door open, Tay looked across the visible customers and saw someone she hadn’t expected. Victoria Dallon was seated beside the usual pretty boy, as expected. Across from them in the booth was Amy, looking supremely uncomfortable beside some boy that Taylor thought was on the football team.
“Oh hell, Glory Hole is here,” Lisa said softly. “Can we go somewhere else?”
“We could,” Taylor said. “Or we could rescue Amy from what looks like a really shitty double date.”
“Why would you want to—” Lisa’s eyes widened as she looked between Taylor and Amy. “Since when did Panacea join Toybox?”
Taylor pinched the bridge of her nose, because she had been doing so well at keeping that particular tidbit from her friend. Then again, she had probably given it away by telling Lisa that she was her only friend not in the Tinker collective and Amy was begrudgingly becoming a friend, even with how acerbic she could be.
“A few weeks ago,” Taylor said with a sigh. “That was supposed to be a surprise.”
“Consider me surprised,” Lisa said, regarding Amy with an appraising eye. “She’s not interested in the guy at all, in fact, she’s more interested in her sister than either boy at the table.” A slow blink followed. “Oh shit. She’s actually interested in her sister.”
“Seriously,” Taylor hissed, pulling Lisa aside. “Explain.”
“Amy is gay, but because Glory Hole is like a ten and she’s afraid to come out of the closet, she’s latched onto her,” Lisa said, worry coloring her words. “Okay, operation ‘get Amy a girlfriend’ needs to happen sooner than later.”
“Well, we can start by getting her away from the disaster in progress,” Taylor suggested. “Not sure what else we could do though.”
Lisa looked like she was going to say something but bit her lip instead. “Yeah, that’s a good first step.”
Taylor nodded and started walking over to their table. Amy looked dead to the world, which was worrying if she was supposed to be working on Lisa later, even with the support of three others. The boy seemed more interested in Victoria, who was commanding the conversation with her usual ease.
Taylor hadn’t interacted with the Alexandria package aside from some run-ins around school, she was simply too much like Emma on the few occasions that Taylor had observed her in the cafeteria. It was part of why she had allowed Amy into her space, the girl was as far from a social butterfly as one could get.
She sent Amy a text, telling her to look up. It took a moment, but she finally checked her phone and frowned before she caught sight of Taylor. Her eyes immediately lit up in recognition and something that could almost be called a smile pulled at her lips just as Taylor stepped up to the table, a grin plastered on her face.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Amy! I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Taylor said.
Victoria frowned as she looked Taylor over. “Who are you? Ames, you know this girl?”
“I’ve only been sitting at her lunch table for the last month, Vicky,” Amy said with a huff. “She’s friends with Chris and Dennis too.”
“Oh,” Vicky said, her expression shifting in an instant. “You don’t talk about her though, you’re always going on about Taylor, which is why I invited him today.”
“Wrong Taylor,” Lisa said with a smirk. “It is a unisex name after all, so it’s an honest mistake to make.”
Victoria blinked, looking to Amy for confirmation.
The healer nodded bashfully before waving a hand. “This is my friend, Taylor.”
“Your friend, whom you’ve not once shut up about for almost a month,” Victoria asked. “This is that Taylor?”
Amy nodded.
“Oh,” Victoria said, smacking her face. “Well now I feel like an ass for dragging you out here with Taylor… Er, well, that’s going to be confusing.”
Guy Taylor looked completely lost, which would have been amusing, but Victoria’s expression shifted in a way that made her uncomfortable. She began to look between Taylor and Lisa, then back to Amy as if she was trying to solve a puzzle. To make matters worse, Lisa started to shake with suppressed laughter.
“Hey Lise, let’s get our order real quick.” Taylor pulled her friend over to the admittedly short line and affixed her with a sharp glare. “What’s so funny?”
“Glory Hole thinks Amy is interested in you, but I’m throwing off her calculations.”
Lisa chuckled harder and all Taylor could do was frown. She had only learned that Amy liked girls a few minutes prior, but why would she be so interested in Taylor? Granted, her cyber brain made it to where Amy couldn’t get a clear read on her, which might have been appealing she supposed, but what did Lisa have to do with it?
Getting to the counter, they both ordered Fugly doubles with bacon and decided to split a large fry. Taylor was skeptical that a single fry would be enough, but Lisa had insisted. After getting their drinks, Lisa led them over to the booth directly behind Victoria, and made sure Taylor could look directly at Amy.
She was confused at first, but Taylor quickly had Amy’s full attention. When their order was called, Lisa hopped up before Taylor could react and hurried off. Amy watched her go with a frown before pushing her way out of the booth, food in hand and took a seat across from Taylor, setting her half-eaten burger and fries down as she did.
“Um,” Taylor started, but Lisa came back with their food and a massive grin.
“Scoot over Tay,” she said, setting the food down. She obliged, but only grew more confused. “So, you’re Amy. Tay’s said a lot about you. I’m Lisa, by the way.”
Amy’s frown turned to confusion, then her eyes grew wide. “Wait, she’s the one—”
“Yes,” Lisa said with a grin. “Best to leave it at that though since your sister is doing her best to pretend she isn’t listening in.”
“Hey!” Victoria exclaimed, spinning up and around, in midair, and leveled a glare upon Lisa. “I’m sorry if I’m interested in the person my sister won’t shut up about, who she just ditched on what was supposed to be a double date to sit with. That you brought another girl with… Are you just stringing my sister along or something?”
“No, Taylor isn’t stringing me along,” Amy said, exasperation clear. “Besides, I don’t think anyone at this table is gay.”
Lisa and Victoria both snorted at that while the somewhat familiar pretty boy cupped his face in his hands. A quick check of her software listed him as Gallant. She made it as far as his first name on the file but she didn’t pay it much attention given the other Taylor’s now thunderous expression. He stood up, slamming his hands on the table as he did.
“You set me up with a fucking dyke,” the other Taylor yelled.
The entire restaurant fell silent.
“I’m going to give him cancer,” Amy said, her voice completely flat. “Vicky, grab him.”
His eyes widened and he scrambled to get out of the booth, but Vicky was far more mobile than some random kid from Arcadia. She had him pinned in the booth staring down at him like an avenging goddess.
“Let him go,” Taylor said. “Using powers to break him will just get you in trouble instead. His reputation is shot anyway, given all the witnesses.”
“And the video,” Lisa said, holding up her phone.
Taylor frowned, but didn’t argue. Most wouldn’t remember that she hadn’t been recording, but it would bolster the story if she decided to release the footage her cyber brain had captured. Others in the restaurant had their phones out by that point but had missed the initial exchange that sparked it. Victoria looked like she wanted to argue, but one look to her sister had her backing off and into the air. Other Taylor wasted no time rushing off and out the door.
It took a moment, but people eventually returned to their own business. Victoria huffed, floating around to sit beside Amy, leaving Gallant sighing, he stepped over, grabbed a chair from the nearest table and pulled it over before bringing their food with.
Amy was pinching her nose as the pretty boy looked around the table awkwardly, his gaze pausing on Taylor for a moment each time he passed over her. Sighing, she resumed eating, because it promised to be a long night and she would forget to eat if a proper fugue kicked in.
Taylor located a thread that had already sprung up about the incident, and videos were being posted. Grimacing at how the thread was quickly spiraling to be sympathetic to the man, Taylor edited the footage of him yelling the slur and tossed it onto Lisa’s phone before using one of her less obvious PHO accounts to upload it and head that all off.
Lisa frowned when she got a notice from the thread, then turned a narrowed eye glare upon Taylor. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”
“What’s bullshit?” Victoria asked.
Taylor shrugged. “That I already edited and uploaded his little outburst and made sure the Empire couldn’t play your reaction for sympathy.”
“You don’t have a phone out,” Pretty boy noted with a frown.
“Don’t need one,” Taylor said simply, taking a bite of her burger. “Always recording if need be.”
“You’re a cape?” Victoria asked. “Is that why you’re always sitting with—”
Taylor sighed. “Don’t worry, you didn’t out them to anyone who doesn’t know. Lisa here doesn’t know their names, just that I am friends with some of the Wards out of costume.”
“Besides, it took you long enough,” Amy said with a huff. “Figured after you got that tip from Gallant that you would have looked at her closer.”
“What tip?” Lisa asked, glancing at the pretty boy an instant later.
“Probably something about my brain interfering with powers,” Taylor said. “Tends to happen when it’s more tech than flesh at this point.”
“You’re the Tinker that Armsmaster warned us about,” Victoria said with a frown. “Ames, she’s a villain. Why are you friends with a villain?”
Taylor shrugged. “I’m only a villain because I refused to join the Protectorate. I’ve broken no laws regardless. Armsbastard is just pissed that I told him off when he tried to blackmail me into his little club.”
“Blackmail?” the pretty boy asked, but even Taylor could tell there wasn’t enough confusion to his tone. He already knew.
Amy grimaced. “She was injured badly enough that I couldn’t fully heal her. Apparently Armsmaster suppressed the investigation into how it happened unless she joined the Wards.”
“Basically,” Taylor said. “He’s a prick, so I went independent contractor through Toybox for security. Pays way better than the Wards, that’s for sure. Speaking of, I have an appointment in about an hour, I would hate to be late.”
Lisa slid aside without a word and Taylor got up with her. A pointed glance at Amy served as a reminder that she needed to meet up with them as well.
“That was mean,” Lisa said as they departed. “You basically broke Glory Hole.”
Taylor chuckled. “It’s good for her to ask questions. Maybe she’ll learn to ask the right ones.”
“Asking for a minor miracle there,” Lisa said with a chuckle. “Now, let’s see about getting my brain dissected.”
Taylor grimaced at the description, but she wasn’t quite wrong. There would be a fair bit of trial and error involved before they hopefully isolated what caused her headaches and figured out a way to neutralize them without causing her brain to hemorrhage out her eyes and ears.
It was time to see if she could help her friend or not.