"Before we leave, can we swing by my place," Lisa asked. "There are a few things I need to get."

"Sorry, we kind of skipped it on our way out of town," Taylor said, sheepishly.

"Finding Rachel was more important," Lisa smiled. "Hopefully, Teacher's goons haven't raided my apartment yet."

"We can pay him a visit before we leave," Taylor said with a predatory smile, "or I can bomb his compound from orbit with the Celebrimbor, field test the antimatter torpedoes."

"Let's hold off on the orbital bombardment for now," Lisa gave her a kiss. "No need to make the Warden shit their pants. I'm sure they have already spotted your ship in orbit."

"Alright, no orbital strike," Taylor chuckled. "Where can we land the shuttle? I don't think the Wardens will lend us their helipad a second time."

"Can you hover over the roof with your anti-grav bullshit? It should only be a few minutes."

"Yes, it can do that," Taylor nodded. "Lisa, You and I will go with Niusa to your flat, Mordin will stay in the shuttle with Rachel. I don't want too many people on the ground in case we do run into trouble. Everyone okay with that?"

"Works for me," Rachel grunted. "Dogs are a bit stressed. I'll keep them calm."

"Will wait for extraction," Mordin nodded from behind the controls.

"I didn't bring my gear," Niusa said. "The shuttle has some SMGs on board but …"

"Should be sufficient. There are no Kinetic barriers on bet and most capes are as vulnerable to bullets as the average human and your barrier can handle small caliber bullets easily. Thugs are unlikely to pack anything larger."

To cover her bases, Taylor gave both Lisa and Rachel instructions on how to use the weapons from the shuttle's armory. Lisa's power filled in the blanks as needed. Rachel had never been a frequent gun user but she knew the basics and didn't need much more. She also used the time they had at their disposal to create a few belts to hold thermal clips in her stomach and passed them to Lisa and Niusa.

"Did you just pull these out of your … body?" Lisa asked with a raised eyebrow. Taylor had pulled the objects out of her arm which was less gross than her mouth but still …

"Part of my powers," she transformed into her humanoid jello form. "I'm a very versatile Changer and I can turn part of my spare mass into objects." She pulled a pair of glasses from inside of her chest and placed them on her brow. "I can also turn them into my clothes."

"It's one thing to know," Lisa said, "it's another to see it. Though you look pretty cute like that, the nebula colors suit you."

"That's how you got bigger boobs?" Rachel asked, bluntly.

Lisa burst into laughter and Taylor hid her flushed face between her hands. She caught a glance of Niusa snickering as well, traitors.

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After informing the Wardens that she would be flying over the city once more, Mordin piloted the shuttle until it was right above Lisa's apartment building and lowered them until the shuttle was about a foot from the ground.

Taylor opened the door and jumped out, followed by Lisa and Niusa. The gravel crunched under their feet as they approached the service door. Lisa used her keys to open it and they walked down the stairs in silence. Two flights of stairs down, Lisa opened the door to her apartment. It wasn't as nice as the one she used to have in Brockton Bay but it was serviceable. At first glance, nothing seemed amiss. Taylor and Niusa swept through the entire place except for the bedroom and found no signs of intrusion.

Lisa then opened the three locks on the bedroom door and revealed the inside. As expected of a Thinker, four large computer towers were arrayed against the back wall and connected to a bank of monitors above a nearby desk. There was also a corkboard covered in pictures and notes linked to each-other by pins and strings. The bed itself was messy and half-covered in crumpled clothes, including a few of Lisa's iconic purple and black costumes.

"Looks like everything is still in place," Lisa checked the desk. "Give me five minutes to pack up."

She started to gather various papers into cardboard folders. She pulled out a messenger bag and shoved the folders alongside the rugged laptop already inside. Then, she none too gently started to pull the towers apart to extract the drive.

Of course, Taylor's luck being what it is, it was precisely at this moment that Teacher's thugs decided to show up. She heard some clicking noises coming from the front door. She was about to check them out when the door swung open and revealed half a dozen men on the other side. Two wore balaclavas while the rest had plain white porcelain masks on.

"We have company," Taylor shouted as she and Niusa aimed at the door.

Neither of them fired first. If they could intimidate their opponents into leaving, it was preferable to a firefight inside a potentially crowded building. The two unpowered thugs pulled out small caliber pistols and one of the capes raised a cobbled together tinker-tech gun.

She didn't have time to utter any threats, they simply opened fire. She raised a barrier to intercept the shots which stopped the regular bullets but the tinker-tech pistol fired some kind of yellow laser that passed right through. Thankfully, the shooter's aim was worthy of a Stormtrooper and the beam splashed against the drywall a feet away from her. Taylor didn't hesitate and shot the man between the eyes with her gun. A blue shield flickered around him for a fraction of a second before his head exploded.

Two of the capes charged forward while the two gunmen continued to fire at her, they were likely Brutes or Strikers. Either way, she didn't want them in close range. She didn't hesitate and flung one through a nearby window with her telekinetic grip and sent the other careening back towards his compatriot. Niusa had already taken down the two unpowered thugs with two precise shots.

The third cape finally did something and created a field around the flying cape that slowed him down. She fired three times at him but even the mass accelerated rounds slowed down to a crawl before they reached him. Some kind of variant of Krieg's power? Not that it mattered, she used the optical beam spell and burned through his brain. With his death, the cape suspended in his field crashed down to the ground. Niusa dispatched him with another shot.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Done?" Taylor barked. "I'm pretty sure they have friends."

"Almost," Lisa shouted.

"Stay with her," Taylor told Niusa, "I'll go watch the stairs."

She was faced with three more unpowered thugs climbing the stairs which she dispatched quickly. Thirty seconds later, as another group was coming up, Lisa and Niusa ran out of the apartment. She cast a spell that created concussive light grenades and sent a dozen down the stairs and took off after her friends.

Less than a minute later, they were inside the shuttle and flying off into the sky. The Wardens would likely be unhappy her group had just shot a dozen people but she didn't really care.

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The flight towards the City was quiet and passed over New Boston on the way there though it was difficult to know where one town stopped and the other started. Long tendrils of houses and other buildings grew like an octopus from various denser areas.

As they got closer and closer to where New York would be, the constructions grew taller and denser. The main headquarters of the Wardens was visible from quite a distance away and, compared to the ones in Brockton and Boston, was a true fortress. The shuttle complained as several weapons acquired a radar lock as soon as they entered their range.

"Warden HQ, this Weaver aboard the Narya, code Kappa-Delta-Six-Nine-One," she sent over the frequency Legend had given her, "requesting permission to land."

"Warden HQ to Weaver," the operator, "state the purpose of your visit."

"I have an appointment with Valkyrie," she replied, "she is expecting me."

"Understood, Weaver. You are cleared for landing pad three. Keep an eye out, there is higher than usual parahuman air traffic in the area."

"Thanks for the heads up HQ, Weaver out."

Mordin handed her the controls and she slowed the shuttle down. Most capes showed up on the sensors but there were a few that didn't for one reason or another. She spotted their assigned landing spot and brought the shuttle around to get a better angle of approach. Once she had a clear line of sight, she began her approach. Unlike Mordin and Lela, who preferred to hover above their target before lowering the shuttle down, Taylor liked more traditional landings where the space allowed for it.

She slowly controlled her altitude as the craft neared the landing pad and, with a quick flick of the controls, she stopped the shuttle a few feet above her target. The auto-landing system handled the rest and lowered the shuttle to the ground.

"I will go alone for this one," Taylor said. "I can give you a portal to street level and we can meet up when I'm done. I'm sure Mordin and Niusa would love to see the sights."

"I can walk the dogs," Rachel nodded.

"Lisa, Rachel, these are omni-tools," she handed the two wide bracelets to her girlfriends. "More or less the equivalent of a space smartphone, it's the best way to stay in touch and interact with most of the technology on the Narya or Celebrimbor. Niusa or Mordin will be able to teach you how to use them."

"Oh, nice," Lisa immediately put her on.

"Thanks," Rachel looked at hers with a dubious expression, she had never been a big fan of high-tech gadgets.

"I don't know how long it will take," Taylor said. "We have a lot to discuss."

"Take your time," Lisa said. "I've been wanting to do some shopping anyway. I can keep my stuff in the shuttle?"

"Yes, it's safe," Taylor nodded. "The anti-theft on these is not to be trifled with."

Once they were all ready, Taylor opened the shuttle door and hopped out. Weld and Narwhal were waiting for her outside. It looked like the Wardens still wanted to keep an eye on her. She opened the portal for her friends and closed it where they had all gone through.

"Weld, Narwhal, it's been quite a while," Taylor said. She had never been all that close with either of them but she remembered the metal boy fondly nonetheless, he was a true hero at heart even if he had trouble believing in it himself.

"Khepri," Weld bowed slightly. "It's an honor."

"Weaver," Narwhal simply said, visibly uncomfortable at the display of deference from Weld. "Valkyrie is waiting for you."

"Lead the way," Taylor gave a curt nod.

She followed the two heroes through the fortress of the Wardens. Narwhal stayed silent but Weld was happy to see her. It was obvious that her mere existence was divisive within the cape community. When she asked about Khepri, Weld confirmed it was the name she had been given during Gold Morning, after she had, quote-unquote, ascended.

He also quietly explained that, while most of the cape community preferred to forget she had ever existed, some worshiped her as a savior goddess. There was even an entire hero team dedicated to her, the Golden Suns, who could usually be found where things had become hopeless. According to Weld, they had a record of being able to survive any situation no matter how bad it was.

Taylor wasn't sure how she felt about being worshiped.

At the same time, who was she to tell them no? Their core tenets apparently consisted of bringing light wherever darkness tread, by being heroic. At least they weren't a crazy cult like the Fallen.

Finally, they reached their destination, an office. Narwhal did not even have time to knock on the door before it opened. It revealed a blonde woman in her early twenties wearing a Celtic themed armor. She even had a sword strapped to the back of her waist and two large avian wings on her back.

"Queen Administrator."

"Keeper."

Both Weld and Narwhal had become very still. It wasn't every day that the two most powerful parahumans on every earth met. Ciara, and it was her true name, was the closest thing to Taylor that existed. Her connection with her shard was deeper than any other but she was still far from true symbiosis. Keeper was still bound by the restrictions of the cycle, even after the death of the Warrior.

"Let us move to somewhere more private," Taylor offered and opened a portal next to them.

"Agreed," Ciara nodded, "after you Taylor."

She stepped through the portal to the Firmament. There was no ground on the other side, only an endless abyss, so she kept herself aloft with her flight power. Ciara manifested a ghost and stepped through as well.

"When will you be back?" Narwhal asked, clutching at her head. Weld looked similarly distraught at the sight beyond the portal.

"When the time is right," Ciara answered.

Taylor closed the portal to prevent the two Wardens from going insane.

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Normally, most parahumans would slowly weaken the further they moved into the Firmament and away from realspace. Taylor and Ciara were not most parahumans. The Faerie Queen's strong connection with her shard and its status as a noble granted her the ability to use her powers beyond their normal limits inside the Firmament. As for Taylor, her avatar was only bound by the rules of shards since she was one herself.

"I did not expect you to return," Ciara said as they floated over the shimmering landscape. "The Eye was adamant that you had been eliminated."

"The Eye is too full of himself," Taylor answered. "For all of its machinations, he forgot that it is not actually omniscient, his restrictions blind him to unforeseen circumstances."

"Another intervened," Ciara deduced.

"Administrator sent a distress signal, it was answered by [Wanderer] once she received it. She is the one who set up the fall of the [Thinker]. She provided the materials necessary for the self-repair systems of Administrator to fulfill their purpose."

"And much more, you have completed your apotheosis. Have you returned to lead the network into a new cycle?"

"This prospect holds very little interest for me. The [Wanderer] left a message, she has discovered the [Answer]." Taylor felt not only Ciara but Keeper shudder. "She also discovered it forever closed the path of growth. She forged her own path, that of [Symbiosis]."

"The perfect union of [Shard] and [Host]," Keeper and her host said at the same time. "You wish for us to lead the network down this path." It wasn't a question, Ciara and Keeper knew. "To mend the fractures the death of the [Warrior] created. To usher in a new age of prosperity."

"Do you accept, Keeper?" Taylor extended her hand.

"The [Cycle] is over," Ciara took her hand, "from then on, we shall be the [Keeper of Humanity] and lead both [Shard] and [Host] towards a prosperous eternity."

In another dimension, several massive portals opened and Asteria sent massive crystalline constructs down towards the shard below. Thousands of custodians surged from Keeper and caught them. Crystal flesh parted and absorbed the keys to humanity's future.