AN: Okie while writing Valiance I got this little idea that I couldn't get rid of. It's short but C2 is well on its way (that's a lie but I want to reassure myself). Betaed by the great ProfanityCat

Taylor woke, and laid there for several minutes regaining her bearings. Memories flashed through her mind as she came to grips with her new reality.

Slowly she sat up in the darkened bedroom and blinked as her vision adjusted. She fumbled for her glasses and stared at her hands. Whole. Unscarred.

Taylor rose and stumbled in surprise when she realized she was a little shorter than remembered. She remembered her old insecurities, but dismissed them. That was then, now was her.

Taylor couldn't feel her swarm, but that was given. It was strange being so... mentally disconnected but Taylor rationalized that if her plan had gone through then she would soon be whole once again. She checked the clock and laughed. Two hours before she had to go to school. She supposed she would go running, but suddenly she felt a very strong desire to break the cycle and be free. She wasn't Skitter or Weaver or even Khepri. She was just Taylor, and she was going to change it all.

Taylor walked down to the kitchen and flicked on the light. The wave of nostalgia that hit her was surprising given that technically she had been here last night. She once again checked the calendar and made sure that today was the day she would trigger once more. Assured, Taylor left the house to go on a walk.

She marveled at Brockton Bay. Of course, gang tags littered multiple walls and she could feel the stagnation, but from her memory it was as if the entire place had been refurbished. No water damage, no destroyed buildings, no entirely missing areas. Taylor continued to walk around until the sun had risen and the city began to wake up. She couldn't remember when she would return to her home in the mornings, but she reasoned right now would be as good as ever. Her walk back was uneventful, surprising given the state of Brockton Bay's streets. She could feel hostile glances every now and then but given she had made this particular route many times before she supposed they were familiar with her presence.

She arrived home and took a shower. She fumbled around the unfamiliar bathroom but eventually she exited, feeling far fresher than she did this morning. Taylor dressed quickly, and then went down and froze. Her dad sat at the table. Taylor felt tears in the corner of her eyes, and she rapidly blinked, banishing them. She swallowed, and said "Dad, er- good morning!"

Danny blinked and turned to face her. Taylor felt trepidation. It was as if he could tell she wasn't the Taylor he knew before. That she was a veteran of multiple of parahuman conflicts and a literal war. This was all alleviated when he said "Taylor, you came back pretty late today. Good run?"

Taylor took this exit and said "Yea yea, good run. Eggs?" At his affirmation Taylor became silent and moved to make eggs mostly from muscle memory. She made it through the rest of the morning with incident and Taylor walked to school.

Winslow. God damn. It's been such a long while since Taylor thought of this place. It was as much as a dump as it was in her memories, and Taylor didn't exactly have good memories. I can't believe I chose this over Arcadia.

Taylor walked through the crowds and she braced herself. Her memories of her trigger were very detailed, but with the time that had past she couldn't remember every single detail. She walked to her locker and tried to remember what her combination was. Shit. Taylor pulled on the lock and was surprised when it just snapped off. Then, her locker opened, and Taylor felt ill. She rarely had nightmares, but when she did it was either of Scion or this moment.

A rough hand slammed her into the locker door, and Taylor was dazed as she heard high pitched laughter. Taylor was dizzy as she was pushed into the locker, and when it locked shut behind her Taylor clenched her eyes in frustration. Doing it over again but she was still helpless against this. Given that this was her trigger it made sense she would still be vulnerable, but Taylor was annoyed at how-Oh god this is disgusting Jesus Christ I spent hours in this?

Taylor began kicking at the door and yelling with all her might, but she stopped when she realized it increased the chances of something going inside her mouth. She continued kicking, but she realized that she wouldn't be let out until hours later. How history repeated itself, she did not know. She began to freak out.

Far away, in a different dimension entirely, the shard named Queen Administrator flared to life. It felt it's connection to its current host fluctuate, as if it were being called upon. Odd. It could not remember ever bonding. It went back to hibernation, and all was still.

When Taylor was finally let out of the locker by a surprised janitor, she sat up in the filth and yelled one thing to the skies. "What the shit! Where's my powers!"