Alfred’s behavior was beginning to really worry Taylor. Like everyone else, he was busy preparing for Leviathan. Lisa had been spending a lot of time speaking with the PRT when she wasn’t working in front of her computer. Brian was making arrangements for his family to leave the city temporarily. Rachel has been relocating her dog shelter to an estate outside of city limits. And Alec… well, Alec has been playing video games.

  To be fair, it wasn’t like there was much he could really do against an Endbringer. Right now, the plan is to assign the Undersiders to search and rescue.

  Taylor’s in the same boat, as well. It was pretty much the only reason Danny was allowing her to participate in the upcoming battle in the first place. With her new abilities, the whole city was now within the range of her power.

  Granted, there were limitations. The wider the area she has to monitor and the higher the number of windows she has to open at once, the less specific the information she can collect. Smell and touch were about as far as she’s been able to push it over the short amount of time she’s been practicing.

  Speaking of her father, he has been talking to the other dock workers to get their families ready for an evacuation. It was the same with other authority figures all over the city, of course, with private organizations working with the city government, and by extension, the PRT, to make sure that everything goes smoothly when the time comes.

  This is actually where Taylor can really help, since coordination was a huge aspect of her power.

  As for their resident Trump, aside from keeping track of Leviathan, he has also recently introduced the PRT to a powerful precog. A precog whom he enhanced as part of the small-scale testing of his power-boosting ability.

  When he first discussed the idea with them, Taylor’s first reaction was fear and concern. She thought that he would use the same method that boosted her powers. A thoroughly unpleasant experience that came with some terrifying side effects. Fortunately, he cleared up the misunderstanding, saying that he would go with the Lisa route.

  According to the blonde, her experience included relief from the chronic headache caused by her power, along with a temporary enhancement of her inference abilities. Since then, she’s been able to use her powers without issues, though it now requires actual intent on her part to activate. This was a huge departure from before, when her power seemed to almost have a mind of its own.

  Taylor and Alfred were still blind spots, but apparently, the precog was not.

  So, whatever gave Taylor immunity to Thinker powers can be tied specifically to what he called Astral Drain. At least, this was their conclusion with the test cases they have so far. Alfred has since promised never to use the ability again, unless there is absolutely no other choice.

  With that said, even though he has been working with everyone, it hasn’t escaped her notice how much his attitude has changed. He seemed colder, more distant.

  Alfred wasn’t rude. He answered questions after just a day of brooding, which, according to Lisa and her dad, was actually normal teenage boy behavior. But that subconscious, almost instinctive feeling she got that he would cater to her every whim wasn’t there anymore.

  It might sound petty and shallow… and even desperate, but she actually enjoyed the amount of attention he lavished. And, honestly, who wouldn’t? He was like a more emotionally available Brian, with the looks and body to match, based on the few conversations she’s had with the Shaker.

  This was no longer the case, and she couldn’t help but wonder why that was. What did she do that made him distance himself? Her mistake at the PRT meeting wasn’t that egregious, was it?

  “Hey,” Lisa called out as she sat on the other end of the U-shaped sofa arrangement.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  They were in the Undersiders’ lair today, deeming the situation safe enough to finally leave the warehouse hideout. With Taylor’s enhanced range, her surveillance network was enough to spot trouble from miles away. All she really had to do was open two windows at certain points, and she’d have a two-block web of spies.

  She’s been doing that every few minutes for a day and hasn’t spotted any of Accord’s Ambassadors. When she reported this to Lisa, the blonde concluded that they might have already left the city.

  Taylor didn’t stop popping windows all over the place, though. It was good practice.

  “Something you need?” she asked Lisa.

  “I wanted to talk to you while we have the time,” the Thinker said. “I’m not interrupting you, am I?”

  Taylor shook her head. “No, we can talk.”

  “Good.” Lisa gave a relieved smile. Since they were in the loft, neither was wearing masks, though they were in costume. Leviathan could attack at any moment, and they needed to be ready to move. “I just wanted to apologize for being such a bitch all those times.” Taylor had to quirk a brow at this. “I know it’s not an excuse, but I don’t respond well to stress. For the longest time, my first instinct is to go on the attack without considering the consequences.”

  That made sense. From what little Taylor has learned about Lisa, she’s been in one bad situation after another. Her time under Coil’s thumb would have ingrained some terrible habits that she’s still trying to shake off.

  “I’m sorry too, I guess,” she told the Thinker. “Recent times have been… stressful, but that doesn’t give me an excuse to be a bitch, least of all to you. Alfred said that the only reason he was able to rescue me was with your help.”

  That drew a snort from the other girl. “Yeah. You should’ve seen him when you got taken. He was like a puppy that lost its owner, complete with the panicked fidgeting and adorable growls. If I hadn’t stepped in, he would’ve just rampaged downtown to find Coil’s lair and wrung the answers from the asshole.”

  Taylor took a few moments to absorb Lisa’s words before eventually asking the question that’s been on her mind.

  “Why do you think he’s so protective of me?”

  “Huh?”

  “Alfred,” Taylor clarified. “Why do you think he’s so protective of me? I mean, he says that it’s because he feels guilty about what he did that night with Lung. But, is that really the truth?”

  Lisa sighed in despondency. “I don’t know, Taylor. Too many things about Alfred don’t make sense. Even if we ignore just how his powers defy all known Parahuman limitations, there are still his origins and motives to question. He’s clearly not from Brockton Bay, he apparently has some sort of Patron, he knows way too many things about subjects that he has no business knowing, and the way he treats you? I’m sorry, Taylor, but he borders on obsessed.”

  “I know,” Taylor replies in a small voice. She’s tried to explain away his behavior with the convenient excuse he gave, but there was no ignoring the doubts growing at the back of her mind. “So, what do you think the reason is?”

  “It could be anything,” Lisa postulated. “If he didn’t keep assuring us that he’s immune to being Mastered and is a blank spot to my own power, he would be a perfect candidate for the PRT’s Master/Stranger protocols. He could have attachment issues, I suppose, but why would you be the subject? And then there’s that geas thing.”

  Indeed, there was the geas thing. It never seemed to be the time to address that particular fly in the ointment, but it never stopped being a concern. The whole thing reeked of Master/Stranger shenanigans, but Alfred kept insisting that it wasn’t, which was suspicious all on its own.

  “After Leviathan,” Taylor declared, getting a look from Lisa. “If we’re still alive by then, we need to have it out. Where he came from, who his patron is, how he knows about us, and Cauldron, and everything else, we need to talk about all of it.”

  “We really do,” Lisa agreed.

  “I mean, after an Endbringer attack, there’s usually a lull in villain activity, right?”

  If Taylor understood it right, the truce would extend for a few days. Assuming that this was the case, and assuming that everyone came out of the ordeal alive, then they’ll finally get some answers.

  “Usually,” the blonde conceded. “But, Taylor, I know you have a functional pattern recognition. So do I. What are the chances that something else doesn’t go wrong, however Leviathan’s attack turns out?”

  Lisa had a point. In just a month, Brockton Bay had seen incidents that would have resulted in getting quarantined anywhere else. Her swarm, multiple heroes taken down, monsters out at sea, Echidna… now that she thought of it, with the exception of Echidna, most of those were caused either by her or Alfred.

  “As long as Alfred and I stay put,” Taylor said, “we should be fine, I think. We’ve already cleared things up with the PRT and the Protectorate, and both of us are on the same page now. The city will also be swarming with heroes. That should be enough to give us some breathing room.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Lisa sighed, before her phone rang, causing her to go rigid. With wide eyes, she retrieved the device and clicked on it before pressing the loudspeaker button. “Seraph?” Lisa used Alfred’s cape name since he’s out in costume.

  “Leviathan just sped up,” his voice came through the speaker like a death knell. “He’ll be here by the end of the day.”

  Taylor knew that the Endbringer was coming, but it was almost a blurry outline in her mind. Alfred’s call just made everything so much more vivid, and it left her cold.

  “Got it,” Lisa said in a trembling voice. “We’ll be ready.”

  The call dropped, and the Thinker kept sitting for a few more seconds. Taylor thought that she might have frozen in fear, but after a deep breath, bottle-green eyes met grey.

  “Time to go.”

  Both girls stood up. One picked up her phone again and started making calls. The other opened windows one after the next until the whole city became her domain.

  Whatever happens today, Taylor Hebert will be damned if she can’t at least hurt the fucking lizard.