Taylor stopped the Celebrimbor around the Moon. She hadn't spotted the Simurgh in orbit around Earth but she wouldn't put it past the Endbringer to hide behind the planet while they were approaching. Her ship wasn't exactly stealthy after all.

"There are a few things to finish before we can explore," Taylor said. "I've finished working on the improved version of flight bracelets I told you about. Since we are headed somewhere potentially dangerous, I think it's good to be prepared."

She pulled three jewelry boxes out of her subspace storage. Niusa had given her the design she liked, a gold colored metallic choker made of dozens of interlocked segments each with silver design engraved. From what Taylor had found in the extranet, it was a piece of traditional asari formal wear. Mordin had asked for something simple and she had designed another bracelet with subtle designs inspired by old salarian architecture. Lela had designed hers, it was made of six brass rings about a fifth of an inch thick interlocked with each-other to form a single circle.

Overall, she was very satisfied with the results.

"It's perfect," Niusa smiled. "I love it," she grinned as she put it on.

"Indeed, attention to detail welcome," Mordin examined his.

"The build quality is impressive," Lela said. "From your new fabricator I assume?"

"Not quite," Taylor shook her head, "I fabricated the raw materials but the rest I shaped with my powers."

Once everyone had finished putting their interface on, she walked them through the basics again. Since she had built more powers into each, there was a system to select which ones were active. In addition to the flight power, she had also built a personal force-field, and a storage space like hers.

As they moved towards the shuttle bay, Taylor sent several of her drones throughout the ship to connect all the pieces for the proxy before they left. The main component was a fairly large and complex crystal core that was housed near the central computer system, since it was one of the most protected areas of the ship aside from the bridge, and dozens of smaller anchors distributed throughout the ship. It functioned on a principle similar to the components that allowed her to control the drones with Hephaestus which essentially made the ship into a massive minion.

When everything was connected, she began the startup sequence and the Celebrimbor progressively appeared in her mental landscape as more and more sub-systems connected and, after ten minutes, the ship was fully under her control. She had used the same type of connection that her body did, a direct tunnel to Asteria, and no matter the distance, even if it was at the other end of the universe or in another dimension, there would be no loss of signal.

In the hangar, they pulled one of the shuttles from storage and hopped in. Taylor opened the doors and Lela piloted the small craft away from the Celebrimbor and towards Earth Bet.

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Thankfully, the Simurgh didn't appear out of nowhere but the massive field of space debris still in orbit around earth impacted the shuttle's shields as they went through. The Endbringer had destroyed the International Space Station, put in orbit only a few years before her appearance, and the cascade of high velocity debris had pulverized hundreds of other satellites. The rest of the reentry was quiet and, soon, they were flying above the Atlantic ocean and on their way to Brockton Bay, or what remained of it at least.

They reached the coast close to Boston. Half of the city was razed to the ground, buildings had toppled and taken their neighbors with them, several impact craters were dotted throughout, but the rest was still standing and decaying slowly. In the evening light, they couldn't spot any signs of life.

Lela continued to follow the coastline headed north.

After a few minutes, Taylor finally recognized her hometown, or what was left of it. She recognized the shape of Captain's Hill in the distance but everything else was destroyed. No building taller than two stories remained standing and dozens of areas had been completely obliterated, deleted from existence by Scion's golden beams. Entire new lakes had formed in the destroyed areas from the last two years of rainfall.

Ironically, the boat graveyard still stood.

At the center of the city, the portal to Earth Gimmel that Labyrinth had opened still stood. The area around the portal itself had been cleared of most debris and she could see something through the portal itself. Lela brought the shuttle right above the area and Taylor sent one of her smaller drones down and through the tear in space.

The other side of the portal was surrounded by high walls made of concrete. What looked to be gun turrets stood at regular interval at the top of the wall. Her small construct, built for stealth, discreetly phased through the wall and continued to explore. Beyond the wall was … a city whose skyline was oddly familiar in some parts. Taylor took a few minutes to explore in a spiral around the area.

"Good news, there's a city on the other side," Taylor said. "The portal itself is surrounded by a wall with what looks like lethal defenses on top."

"Why? The area looks completely dead," Niusa asked.

"Good question, I wouldn't be surprised if there are some wandering tinker creations around. The good thing is, we don't need to cross the portal. I have a drone on the other side I can target to open my own portal."

Taylor wondered if she could find Lisa, provided she had survived, through her shard.

Asteria, did you manage to connect to the network?

Do you remember Lisa's shard? I think Glaistig called it Negotiator or something.

She's alive, Taylor felt a tear roll down her cheek.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"I know where we need to go," Taylor said. "We can cross over with the shuttle at high altitude, land somewhere out of view, and walk the rest of the way."

"Won't people ask questions?" Lela asked. "We aren't exactly … inconspicuous."

"They'll think you are Case 53s, parahumans whose appearance was altered by their powers. They are rare but their existence is well known. I don't know if the culture has changed significantly but, if anything, don't be surprised if people take pictures with their phones instead."

"From earlier retelling," Mordin chimed in, "parahumans akin to minor celebrities. However, other problem might appear: language."

"The translator in the omni-tool includes English and, from what I've seen on the extranet, it's not different from the one I know and should be spoken here."

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Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy. As soon as they had crossed over to Gimmel, alerts in the shuttle went off. She had opened the portal at ten thousand feet of altitude but it hadn't been enough to get out of radar range.

"Active radar station present," Mordin informed her. "Shuttle detected."

"Shit," Taylor grimaced, "are they trying to hail us?"

The sensors in the shuttle quickly identified the source of the radar pulses and she used one of the onboard telescopes to look at who had spotted them. It was a bulky building, built like a miniature fortress, near the coastline. The architecture was reminiscent of the Boston Protectorate headquarters.

"I'm searching for the right frequencies," Lela tapped on her console.

They were several thousand feet from the city, as long as they didn't fire missiles they were likely safe. Even then, the kinetic barriers would likely be able to stop them.

"Found it," Lela exclaimed.

"Unidentified aircraft," a feminine voice said through the radio in English, "this is Miss Militia of the New Brockton Wardens, you are flying in controlled airspace. I repeat, you are flying in controlled airspace. Identify yourselves and state your flight plan."

"Didn't expect that …" Taylor chuckled. She pressed the button to reply. "Miss Militia, this is Weaver of the Chicago Wards aboard the Narya, identification code Whiskey Victor Seven-One-Six-Three Foxtrot Kilo Eight-Five Papa Bravo, master stranger verification Charlie Six-Six-Two Yankee Five-Three-Nine."

"Weaver died during the Gold Morning," Miss Militia replied.

"Curious because I feel very alive right now," Taylor replied cheekily. "Can't you check my authorization codes?"

"The Protectorate security archives were lost during Gold Morning."

"That's awkward … Maybe a face-to-face meeting can convince you? I can see you have a helipad on that fortress of yours. We can reminisce about that time you shoved a gun in my girlfriend's mouth or when …"

"This is an open channel," Miss Militia cut her off. "You can land, I will contact Legend and Chevalier."

"Understood, Weaver out." She closed the channel. "I didn't expect to meet old friends like that," Taylor sighed. "Let's go meet my old boss, hopefully they can get me up to speed." Then, she would go fetch girlfriend number one.

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As Lela piloted the shuttle down towards the Wardens headquarters, Taylor took on her old appearance. She kept the quarian suit but adjusted it to function with human legs and changed the colors to match her old Weaver costume. It felt strange. She had become so accustomed to her new, non-human, form that her flesh felt constraining.

"So that's how you used to look," Niusa smiled and examined her from every angle. "I assume the new colors mean something?"

"They're the colors of my hero costume," Taylor explained. "I thought it was better than to use the ones from my villain days. Might send the wrong message."

"Does it really matter? With your power?"

"I don't want them to think I came back to take over the earth of some crap like that," Taylor sighed, "first impressions are everything after all."

"I guess you're right."

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Hannah watched as the tinker-tech craft stopped to hover a dozen feet above them and lowered itself to land on the helipad of the Wardens headquarters. It looked like something straight out of the imagination of a science-fiction artist. The craft was around twice the size of the average minivan, and had an angular cabin at the front which was embedded inside a more curved body near the back. Devices at the bottom and back were surrounded by a blue-violet field, presumably the propulsion system.

It did not match the style of any tinker on record, as far as Hannah knew at least.

Small landing feet deployed from the bottom and the craft gently touched down. The fields around the engines shrunk but didn't disappear completely. She was certain that the pilot was ready to leave at any moment should it be necessary. Maybe it really was Weaver after all, this kind of caution fit her personality all too well.

Next to Hannah were two of the junior members of the Wardens, Vista and Cuff. She had been lucky they were stationed in New Brockton at the time. They had known Weaver as well and they'd, hopefully, be able to suss out any imposters.

The door on the side of the craft hissed, recessed back into the craft, and slid to the side. Standing right behind the door was a woman who looked very much like Weaver. She was slightly older than when Hannah had last seen her but it had been two years. She wore a grey-blue bodysuit with strips of white cloth adorned with blue motifs wrapped around her chest and waist. Most people would have thought it a simple costume but Hannah recognized the subtle signs of tinker-tech, it was anything but simple, the cloth subtly hid armored panels that protected her vitals.

"It's obviously an impostor," Missy exclaimed. "Weaver was as flat as a board."

"Miss Militia, Cuff," Weaver looked at them as she stepped out of the vehicle. "Vista … still as short I see," there was no real venom in her voice, more something akin to playful teasing. If she really was Weaver, it was a side of her Hannah had never seen.

"Taylor, is it really you?" Cuff asked. "I thought … Legend told me you were dead."

"And I think I know who told him that," Weaver sighed. "I'm glad you're alright," she smiled gently, "the final stretches of the fight, after I … ascended, are still jumbled in my mind. I … I'm sorry. It's probably too little too late but … I wish there had been a better way." The woman turned her gaze away from them, her expression wracked with guilt.

There was a long silence after this. Nobody liked to remember the Gold Morning. Hannah could still remember the terrible feeling of helplessness as Weaver had controlled her body like a puppet.

"You did what you thought was right," Cuff broke the silence. "I still wake up in the middle of the night, the terrible sensation of you controlling my body still fresh in my mind, I think everyone who fought then still remembers, but we won in the end."

"Then Contessa gave me the nine millimeter special," Taylor said, "and dumped my comatose body on another earth." Hannah winced. From what Legend had said about his former … colleague from Cauldron, it didn’t surprise her one bit. "But that's between her and me," Taylor shrugged. "Are you a bit more convinced I am who I say I am?"

"Still not fully convinced," Cuff said. "Mind answering a few more questions? In a bit more of a quiet place?"

Weaver nodded and followed Cuff away from their group and towards the edge of the helipad. With the wind coming from the bay, it would be almost impossible to hear them.

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Taylor answered every question Ava asked. She asked for many small facts about their time in the Chicago wards, things most people wouldn't have bothered to memorize if they were trying to impersonate her. She also mixed in a good amount of trick questions, ones that would have probably led most Thinkers in the wrong direction.

When it was all over, Ava took her in an embrace.

"I'm glad you're back," she whispered.

"I'm sorry Ava," Taylor hesitantly hugged her back.

"Stop apologizing," Ava pinched her waist. "Where's the hard-ass ready to face the end of the world and spit on its face?"

"She had some time to reflect on things," Taylor said.

They turned around and faced Miss Militia and Vista, the latter had a complicated expression under her visor.

"As far as I can tell," Ava announced, "this is Taylor."

"Legend and Chevalier will probably want to verify it as well," Miss Militia said, "but I trust you."

"Well, maybe I can introduce my new friends in the meantime," Taylor said with a smile. "I bet a lot of things happened while I was away and you wouldn't believe the things that happened to me."

"New fiends?" Vista asked.

Taylor sent a quick message with her omni-tool. All three parahumans present looked at her shiny new tinker-tech with curiosity. Questions about it were quickly forgotten when Mordin, Niusa, and Lela stepped into view.

"What the …" Miss Militia exclaimed.

"Allow me to introduce Doctor Mordin Solus, salarian expert in biological engineering, Niusa T'Saro, asari maiden and former mercenary, and Lela'Zorah vas Rozal, quarian pilot and engineer."

"Taylor …" Cuff whispered to her, "did you come back with honest to god aliens?"

"You haven't seen my spaceship yet," she answered with a massive grin.