I am not the owner of Doctor Who or Worm, I simply play within their universes. This is my first story and it's quite short, but hopefully entertaining. Directly inspired by Day of the Doctor. You may recognize much of the script.

"Why is there never a big red button?" Taylor wondered aloud. It was a hypothetical question. Everyone knew that tinker creations were always overly complicated. But clearly tinkers were doing something right, because the unnecessarily intricate contraptions then went on to produce ridiculously powerful results.

"Why does everyone always ask me that?" A voice sighed to her right. Taylor stiffened. Her flies were sweeping the room, not that she was expecting any danger, but it was a habit now, a muscle she was constantly exercising in preparation for her future as a hero. And her bugs were not picking out any life coming from the other side of her bedroom.

Slowly, she turned her head in the voice's direction. Seated cross legged on her reading chair, was a smiling blonde girl. Her eyes were crinkled, and her mouth had a slight upward tilt, as if she were constantly smirking at someone. Taylor frowned. What was going on with her flies? Was something wrong? She tucked the matter aside for the moment, as the intruder wriggled her fingers at Taylor. "Hello there."

Taylor sent out a command, gathering her swarm close. There were roaches under the bed and spiders in the walls. She wouldn't attack without provocation, of course, but the girl had better have a good reason for infiltrating her bedroom. "Who are you?" Taylor demanded. "Why are you in my bedroom?"

The girl sent another grin her way. "Let's start with the second question, why don't we? Wouldn't want to appear bound to the time stream. And it's an easy one too. Goodie. You brought me here, of course."

"What?" Taylor glared at the intruder. "No I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No! I did not."

"Did too, did too." The girl singsonged.

Taylor stared at her incredulously. Why would this teenager sneak into her bedroom just to be caught? And then proceed to argue with her like a five year old? "How old are you?" She said sarcastically.

"Oh, maybe around five billion." The blonde said breezily. "I don't need to be too precise on the details."

Taylor stood up. "Okay, that's enough. Tell me why you're here and who you are. This is my bedroom and I deserve to know, so don't evade the question. Just answer it."

"Oh, my." The girl said, eyes wide. "Someone's mad." Taylor's face reddened angrily. She didn't quite have her dad's temper, but this girl was pushing it.

"Okay, okay!" The blonde brushed her hair out of her face. "Patience is a virtue, you know. And you did bring me here. I wasn't lying about that. I'm the Moment. A pleasure to meet you."

"The Moment?" Taylor asked skeptically. In her opinion, the answers to her questions were subpar. "Is that a cape name?"

"Cape." The girl sneered. "I take no part in that nonsense. If you truly believe I'm some ridiculous crime fighting renegade, you might as well just put me back."

"Well, if you're not a cape-" Taylor's mind caught up to the conversation. "Wait! This again! I didn't take you. I didn't bring you here!"

"You did bring something into your room this afternoon though, didn't you?" The teen asked patiently.

Taylor's eyes darted to the intricate tinkertech cube sitting in the middle of her floor. It was a curious thing. An odd object she had found lying abandoned in the alley she had passed through in order to avoid Sophia on her way back from school. "Yes. So?"

"Hello." The girl waved her fingers in Taylor's direction once more.

Taylor examined the girl closely. She looked like a normal person. Like a person that you could talk to on the street, not a weird cube entity. She shifted her gaze to look back at the box. It was an odd object. It felt like it was made of wood, but then you could never tell when it came to tinkertech. There were metallic gears that covered some of the cube's faces, and detailed labyrinth designs on the others. Her eyes flicked between the two of them.

The girl smiled and snapped her fingers. A gear clicked. She snapped again. The labyrinth on the cube rotated.

"You're The Moment." Taylor said out loud.

"Yep." The Moment popped her p.

Taylor pointed to the box. "And that's you." The Moment nodded.

"How are you a box?" The exasperated girl was ready to fling her hands in the air. This was not the cape business she had signed up for.

The Moment sighed. "I am not a box, Taylor Hebert, and I'd appreciate it if you were a little more respectful of a planet killing weapon. And to answer your first question about the red button, it's so fools don't accidentally destroy their world without being aware of the consequences. Honestly, the only reason the universe still exists is because I'm conscious."

Taylor sucked in a breath. And scooted a couple inches away from the PLANET KILLING WEAPON lying on her bedroom floor. "You're a CONSCIOUS tinkertech world destroying weapon?!"

The Moment's eyes flared golden light, and Taylor paled just a little bit. "Tinker tech." She scoffed contemptuously. "No mere tinker could have made me. Their plans miraculously pop into their heads, and they play around with wires until they create an explosion while the world praises their names. They sully the greatness of the legendary civilizations of old."

"So you were made by an ancient civilization. What were you doing just lying around in an alley, then?"

The Moment's eyes turned a safer bottle green. "Why, waiting for you, of course."

"Waiting for-?" Taylor jabbed an incredulous finger at her own chest.

"Yes, you. Why did you think I chose this face? It was for you. I don't have anything against blondes, but honestly." The Moment twirled a hair around her fingers. "I think I prefer ginger. An old friend certainly did."

"You chose that face for me?" Taylor squinted at the other girl. The box. The ancient destructive weapon. Whatever. "I don't even know who you're supposed to be."

"Your best friend!" The Moment spread her arms. "This is your best friend, right?"

Taylor looked down at the floor. "I don't have any friends." She muttered. Her mouth tightened angrily. "And if you really knew me, you'd know what happened with my previous best friend."

"Ah!" The Moment's arms dropped back by her sides. "Right, tenses. This will be your best friend. Your future best friend. You both were very close. Are very close. Will be very close." She leaned back on the chair with a sigh. "Tenses. They just keep tripping me up."

Taylor's head shot up. "You, you- Okay, let me get this straight. You're an ancient weapon built like a billion years ago that somehow went and got a consciousness in order to keep people from using you because, oh wait, you have the power to destroy the planet! And let's not forget the fact that you can change your face and shapeshift into my best friend that I haven't even met yet because you can somehow tell the future as well!"

The Moment tilted her head to the side. "Almost."

"Well? What did I miss?"

"Five billion years. Not just one. And a couple more years on top of that."

"You were the one who said that precision didn't matter!"

The Moment tilted her chin up. "Well, some precision is necessary."

Taylor flopped backwards on her bed. "I can't believe I'm having an argument with a death box on how many billions of years old you are." She ran her fingers through her curly black hair. "Why me?"

The blonde's expression turned serious. "Why you? Because you, Taylor Hebert, will be the decider of the fate of the entire multiverse."

The solemn statement echoed through the room. Taylor shivered, feeling an odd tingling resonate through her spine.

"You are the saviour and the destroyer of many." The Moment continued. No longer was she a playful and smirking teen. Her face now held the weight of an eternity, and Taylor could see the truth that resonated from her ageless green eyes.

"Are you talking about… my future?" Taylor stuttered.

"Yes. Your future, which will decide the future of entire worlds."

Taylor continued as if in a daze. "How would I do that? I just control bugs. I want to be a hero, but I haven't even chosen a name yet."

The Moment shook her head. "Oh no, you are so much more than you believe. Worlds fall at your feet."

"I don't want that!" Taylor said, panicked. "I mean, if you think I can save the world, I'll try, I'll do my best, but why do you keep insinuating that I'll destroy all the cosmos or something?"

The Moment simply looked at her long and hard, refusing to answer.

"Okay," Taylor drew out the word. She didn't want to move on from her previous question, in her opinion it was quite an important one. But something else took precedence. "What do I need to save the world from?"

"Scion." The Moment said simply.

"Scion?" Taylor echoed, flabbergasted. "He's like, the first cape ever. He's a hero! He saves us from endbringers, heck, he even saves kittens from trees."

"He is the source of all powers. It's a tragic story. He and his partner were extra dimensional creatures who travelled the multiverse and cycled through sowing their shards, which are the source of powers, and then harvesting them again. They would destroy all the worlds that were a part of the experiment before beginning the cycle anew.

But there was an accident. His partner, the brains of the operation, crashed and died, and he was left alone with no idea what to do. He roamed Earth Bet, looking for answers. When someone told him to be a hero, that's what he did. He didn't know any better."

Taylor was frightened. Giant extra dimensional creatures? What could she do against that? "But he's being a hero. We're safe, right? He doesn't want to destroy the world now?"

The Moment scoffed. "Until he learns that an organization on your world is aware of his origins. And that they've been harvesting the body of his partner for more powers. When some smooth talker convinces him to start the apocalypse, it's all over."

The young girl was barely keeping afloat on the tides of so much information. "So that's it. Scion destroys the world. Worlds. And then it's all gone. Just like that?"

The Moment cocked her head. "Sorry. Did I say that it was all over? That's not true. Because you stand in his way."

"Me?"

"Yes. You, leading a force of so many parahumans in a battle to the death. I said earlier that you were both the saviour and destroyer of many. This is why. You come into your true power and lead the force against a creature who can fight with every power, in every dimension."

Taylor felt exhausted. She didn't want to deal with this, she just wanted to sleep. "So why are you telling me this? I fight, I fail, or win, or whatever. But why are you here? Why did you set it up so I'd find you?"

The Moment's eyes were golden once more. They spoke of power. "Because I am offering you a choice."

"A choice?"

"A choice, Taylor Hebert. One that could turn the fate of this battle on its head."

Taylor sat up. "Explain."

The Moment rolled her shoulders back slowly. The cube creaked in response. "Alright. Hold your horses. Oh, I do like that saying."

Taylor's lips pursed in frustration, though she tried to contain it. Couldn't the Moment just pick already? Either be the sly lighthearted teenager, or the psychic planet destroying weapon. One or the other. The constant shifting between the two personalities was testing her already frayed temper.

"The battle erupts with you in the very centre." The Moment said, finally getting back on track. Her voice was soft, and her eyes distant. "You kneel in the ashes and blood, and wish that this had gone another way. I am offering you that choice now. And here it is."

She paused, and Taylor held her breath. "You can stop the battle before it's even started." The Moment gestured to her cube. To herself. "Use the Moment, and you'll kill Scion. Prevent even a single drop of blood from being spilled. You can break the cycle and save them all."

The Moment tucked her hand under her chin and smiled, a tight little thing, vicious in its innocence. "I'll even give you a big red button to push."

This seemed awfully convenient to Taylor. "So what's the catch?"

"The catch? What makes you say that?"

Taylor's expression twisted bitterly. "Too good to be true. When things sound good, it's because you're missing something." She laughed harshly. "Emma offers me our friendship back, and then backstabs me yet again. Mr Gladly says he's watching out for me, then proceeds to ignore the bullying in the hall. You wouldn't offer to save everyone without a catch."

The Moment looked at her steadily. "You're right. There is a catch. A price to pay. And that price is the destruction of your world."

Taylor gaped at the other girl. "My world? You'd destroy the whole world? That's not a catch, that's- that's total annihilation!"

"Every war has its sacrifices. Make the choice, and Earth Bet will burn. Scion will die. His host is here, after all. And for those parts that reside in other dimensions, I'll reach there too. An extra dimensional weapon to kill an extra dimensional alien. How fitting."

Taylor struggled to her feet. "But- can we evacuate, or something? Get out and then activate it?"

The Moment shook her head. "You may not think it, but for many, the war has already begun. Scion is aware of his opponents. Mass evacuation is a tad bit suspicious."

Taylor's eyes burned. She rubbed them. "Everyone?" She couldn't help whimpering. She felt pathetic. She felt hopeless.

The Moment didn't need to respond, but did anyways. "Everyone."

"Dad?"

"Will die."

"Sophia?"

"Her too."

"Emma? My future best friend?"

"I'm sorry, Taylor. If you choose to use the Moment, you kill Scion and save worlds upon worlds. But Earth Bet and all its inhabitants die."

Taylor screwed up her face and turned her back to the Moment. How could she make this choice? How could anyone ever make a choice like this?

"You'd be surprised." The Moment said aloud. Answering her unspoken question. Because of course it could.

"I knew a man," the Moment continued softly. "He fought in a war that tore apart the stars. And eventually he said, no more. He couldn't go on. He wanted to end it all. Stop the fighting. So he took me and I gave him his choice."

Taylor listened, enraptured. "What'd he do?"

The Moment's voice called for her to turn her head back around. But her answer was hardly satisfying. "He did what he needed to do."

"And what's that?" Taylor asked, frustrated.

The Moment smirked. It looked out of place beneath her glowing gold eyes. "That would be too easy. You don't get the end of the story. Not yet. That was his choice, and this is yours."

She locked eyes with the curly haired teen. "So what will it be? Will you push the button? Destroy your world and everyone on it to kill Scion and save all the others? Taylor Hebert, make your choice."

Taylor laughed hopelessly. "Well, I need to, don't I? Either this world burns or a thousand of them burn. There's no choice at all."

"So that's your choice?" The Moment asked impassively. "Make this decision and it comes with another price."

Taylor sighed. "Right. What else could be worse?"

The Moment eyed her. "You would live."

"What?"

"You would live when all others die. Live with this burden for the rest of your life."

Taylor's eyes closed. She remembered those nights spent crying after her mother passed. The heart wrenching grief. She envisioned her father dead as well, and then tried to imagine the guilt and sadness she'd feel from killing the rest of the world.

Then she imagined all-powerful Scion, capable of downing Endbringers, wading through worlds and leaving fire in his wake.

Her eyes opened. "I don't have a choice."

The Moment stared at her long and hard, and Taylor squirmed uncomfortably. What could she do? There was no other option.

She was about to ask what would happen next, when a giant mutant cockroach flopped out of the sky at her feet. It was dark brown, buzzed irritably and was abnormally large. Taylor looked up. In the direction the cockroach had fallen from, a giant glowing circle had appeared in the air.

Taylor instinctively resumed control of the bug, stopping the buzzing. "What's that?" She asked the Moment. "A tinker tech portal? What's going on?"

The Moment's lips quirked to the side. "Your future."

Taylor scooped the roach into her arms. "My future?"

The Moment nodded. "You should take a look." She said. The next sentence was said so softly, Taylor had to strain to hear it. "But be warned, you may not like what you will find."

With that ominous pronouncement, Taylor stepped into the portal.

Taylor came crashing through the portal before landing sprawled out on the cold concrete floor of an abandoned warehouse. Two figures in the midst of conversation paused and turned her way.

"You." One of the figures said. Her face was covered in a mask, but Taylor could make out a shocked and displeased expression. She was clothed in pale white, with a hood draped over her mask and webs positioned artistically across her body suit.

"More to the point, why are you here?" The other asked. This one was dressed in ominous black, with dark metallic armour covering her torso. She had menacing mandibles attached to her beady eyed mask, and dark hair visibly streaming out at the back.

Taylor eyed them warily. This was her future? "I'm looking for Taylor Hebert?" She questioned uneasily.

The two girls looked at each other and back at her. The darker one stepped forward. "Well, you've certainly come to the right place." She said.

Taylor tipped her head. "Right. Okay. Are you her... friends?"

"No-" "I'm not-" The two sputtered.

Taylor's heart sank. Right. Of course they wouldn't consider her a friend. "Well, if you could point me in her general direction, that would be…"

She didn't get to finish her sentence, because just then, the hooded girl twitched her hand and a swarm of flies swirled around her head, and the darker one allowed a troop of spiders to drop from her sleeves. Taylor backed up a step, utterly shocked.

"No! You're-?"

They nodded grimly.

"You're me? Both of you?"

"Yes." The armoured girl answered blandly.

The paler one raised her hand. "I'm Taylor Hebert. But call me Weaver."

The other girl shifted. "And I'm Khepri."

Taylor looked over their outfits. "So you're both me. But you're so different! What, is one of you going through a midlife crisis?" She took a breath. "Well, obviously you both know this, but for the sake of introduction; hello, I'm Taylor Hebert."

The other two winced.

"No, no," Weaver muttered. "You're not- you're Skitter, okay? Not Taylor."

Taylor frowned. Was this her future cape name? Skitter wasn't bad, but it was kind of creepy.

"Okay, Skitter's alright, I guess." Taylor conceded. Weaver shook her head again, and Khepri aimed a hard look in Taylor's direction, but they dropped the point.

"So, where are we?" Taylor asked curiously. "And how old are you two?"

"I'm 19." Khepri stated. "I just got here, and I have no idea where we are. A roach appeared through a glowing portal. I followed it and ended up here."

"I'm 17." Weaver added. "And this is my time. We're in the warehouse by the pizza kitchen."

"Oh, the pizza kitchen." Khepri recalled. "I loved that place. New York, right?"

"Yeah, do you live somewhere else?" Weaver asked.

"Los Angeles, now. Moved out a year ago."

"You moved?" Taylor questioned, incredulous. She'd lived in Brockton Bay her whole life and had no intentions on moving.

"Well, you've got to eventually." Khepri shrugged nonchalantly. "I was done with heroing in New York. I could do more in Los Angeles."

"No," Taylor protested. "That's not what I meant. What I meant to say was, why leave the Bay?"

Both figures stiffened.

Weaver forcibly turned her gaze back towards Khepri. "And how's the restaurant scene in Los Angeles?" She asked. Her tone was deliberately light.

Taylor scowled. "I love Brockton Bay. I wouldn't just leave it."

Khepri didn't pay her any attention. "Pretty high end." She responded to Weaver.

Taylor's hands tightened into fists. "Can someone please answer me?"

Weaver's gaze flicked back to her, tearing away from the light conversation. "Well I don't know, Skitter." She said, her tone strained. "Maybe it's because there isn't a Brockton Bay here."

It was like a punch to the face. "What do you mean there isn't a Brockton Bay here?"

Khepri shifted, twirling her spiders idly around her finger. "Brockton Bay never existed on Earth Episil. So I lived in New York instead."

Earth Episil? A flash of gold appeared in the corner of her eye, and Taylor's eyes darted upwards. Perched on a shelf in the warehouse, the Moment sat, legs dangling over the edge.

Taylor opened her mouth to demand answers, but the Moment pressed a finger to her lips. Taylor looked around to see if the others had taken notice, but they continued what they were doing as if the Moment wasn't there.

She turned instead towards Weaver. "Earth Episil?"

Weaver's calm facade broke. "Yes, Earth Episil." She snarled. "Because Earth Bet wasn't an option anymore."

Taylor trembled. "My future. You mean… I did it?"

"Dad loved the Bay, but there wasn't a Bay anymore, so I couldn't live there." Khepri's tone was flat, which was almost scarier than Weaver's anger. "There wasn't a Dad anymore either. You killed them all."

"We killed them all." Weaver interjected heatedly.

"Same thing."

Weaver strode off, shaking her head angrily.

"It's their past." The Moment's voice rang out from her perch. "Already decided. They don't realize it's still up to you."

Taylor looked at her. "I don't know if I can do this," she whispered softly.

The Moment stared at her calmly. "You need to see. Ask them."

"Ask them what?"

"How many? Did you count? How many lives?"

Taylor didn't know if she was more afraid of knowing the answer, or getting no answer at all. "How many died that day?" She asked quietly.

Khepri shrugged. "Well, how should I know?"

Taylor felt unexpectedly relieved. She didn't think she would be able to stand knowing. But it was almost like she was shirking her duty.

"Seven point three two billion." Weaver cut in. She strode up and stopped inches away from Khepri's face. "You don't remember?"

Khepri shrugged again. "I forgot."

Weaver's voice shook with rage. "Two years. Is that all it takes? After murdering billions of lives, you just forgot?"

"I moved on." Khepri's eyes were on the floor.

Weaver wouldn't let it slide. "Where?! Where could you be to forget something like that?"

Khepri spun around. "I moved on, I said! I moved on, and you will too." She paced across the room. "I used the Moment. People died, but in the end, Scion was killed. There was no other way. I didn't have a choice."

"So you forgot them."

They were both Taylor, but she couldn't even recognize herself. "I don't know any of you." She said faintly.

The Moment swung off her shelf, and landed without a sound on the concrete floor. "They're you. They're who you become if you destroy Earth Bet. The one who regrets and the one who forgets."

She gave Taylor a long look. "The Moment is coming, Taylor. The Moment is me, and you have to make your choice."

Taylor shook her head. She couldn't believe this. Her two future selves continued to argue, but Taylor sank down onto the floor. The Moment sat down with her.

"Your future." She whispered.

"My future." Taylor agreed. It was terrible. It was heartbreaking. It was necessary. There was no other way.

Taylor rubbed her eyes. "I've seen enough. The Moment has come. I'm ready."

The Moment nodded curtly. "Very well."

She stood and Taylor stood with her. With a gesture, the swirling portal widened.

"Hey!" Weaver had turned around. "Where are you going?"

Taylor sighed heavily. "To do what I need to do." She waited for yelling, for any argument at all to the contrary, but received none. Weaver reached a finger up to the eye hole of her mask. It looked like she was crying.

"I'm sorry." Taylor blurted. She paused, took both her future selves in. "I don't want to do this. I really don't, but I-"

"Don't have a choice." Weaver sighed in response. She adjusted her mask. "You're right. There isn't another way. You have to do it. But you don't have to do it alone." She paused. "I'll come with you."

Both girls looked to Khepri, who fidgeted with her armour. "I'll come too. I didn't have a choice and you don't either. But you'll have us."

Taylor nodded. She choked out a small "thank you", and headed for the portal.

The three fell through time and space, landing with a thump back in their bedroom. Khepri eyed the box, which now possessed a tall wooden stalk topped by a glowing red button.

Taylor turned to the Moment skeptically, who shrugged. "Well, you wanted a big red button." She said, her tone far lighter than the situation deserved.

"This is familiar." Weaver said uncomfortably.

Taylor walked towards the weapon, heart growing heavier with each step. "So this is it." She laid her hand on top of the button.

Weaver and Khepri approached the box as well. "No other way." Khepri whispered.

Taylor turned back to them. "I… maybe you should go. Go back to your lives. This is for me." Taylor yearned for their support, but they had already been through this terrible occasion once. Yes, they were her, but this was now Taylor's time. Her decision. She couldn't allow for more suffering than there had to be.

Khepri released a breath. "All those years burying you in my memory."

"Pretending you didn't exist." Weaver took up the thread.

"You did what you did on the day it wasn't possible to get it right." Khepri put her hand on Taylor's. "But this time, you don't have to do it alone."

"I'm sorry." Weaver apologized fitfully. "I shouldn't have called you Skitter. You're not some coward who skitters off to the next planet when you finish your murdering." She took a deep breath. "You're us. You were Taylor when the universe needed it most." She placed her hand on the top.

Taylor swallowed, unable to speak. She prepared to push, when a knock sounded on the door.

All three girls turned their attention towards it.

"Taylor?" A voice sounded from the other side.

Weaver choked back a sob. Khepri rocked back on her feet.

"I heard a thump from downstairs." Danny continued. "Are you alright?"

Was she alright? No, not at all, she wanted to scream. The fate of worlds upon worlds was in her hands, and she didn't want to do it. She didn't want to, but she had no choice! She wanted to say all that, but what came out of her mouth instead was very different.

"I'm okay-" Taylor's mouth was dry. The words came out all scratchy. She swallowed and tried again. "I'm okay, dad."

"That's what you said when you were being bullied." Danny said. His tone increased in intensity. "That's what you said before they locked you in that place. I'm here for you, kiddo. Talk to me." He pushed open the door, and stopped abruptly at the sight.

"What? Who are they?" Danny rounded on her future selves. "Who are you?"

Neither of them responded. Beside her, Khepri gasped for words. Weaver took a step forward, as if reaching out to touch him, before cutting the movement off. The giant roach moved to scurry under the bed.

The sight of her dad after all these crazy events nearly brought tears to Taylor's eyes. "This is Weaver and Khepri. They're my… friends."

She broke down, and launched herself into her dad's arms for the first hug in a long time. "Oh, dad."

"Hey, hey." Danny patted her back uncomfortably. "I've got you." He glared at Weaver and Khepri over her shoulder "So what's wrong? What's going on?"

Weaver recovered first. "It's the end of the world." She explained.

Khepri glared at her pointedly

"What?" Weaver asked defensively. "It's Da- Danny. I say we tell him."

"It's worse to know." Khepri said. "Let's just get it over with. Leave the explanations be."

They both looked to Taylor, still cradled in her dad's arms.

"It's your choice." Weaver said reluctantly.

"Tell me what's going on, Taylor." Danny ordered worriedly.

Taylor untangled herself from their embrace. "It's complicated. If I told you, you'd wish you'd never known."

Danny shook his head. "If it helps you in any way, I'd never wish that."

She took a deep breath. She could rely on her dad, right? But where to start?

"There's a threat to millions and millions of worlds, Dad. It's Scion. He's good now, but soon he's going to go crazy and try and kill everyone. In every world. Earth Bet, Earth Aleph- all of them. He's gonna kill crazy amounts of people, Dad. But I can stop him." She paused. Took a breath.

"The cube here is called The Moment. It's a… bomb. A giant world destroying bomb that blows up Earth Bet and everyone on it. Except for me." She wiped away a stray tear.

"I'll still be alive to feel guilty enough to regret it." She stared at Weaver, who couldn't hold her gaze, and shifted her eyes to her shoes.

"And then I'll try to move on, try my best to forget it." Taylor glanced at Khepri, who fumbled with the straps on her gloves.

"It's all those worlds against ours." Taylor finished. "And I know you probably don't believe me, but it's happening. And I need to act. I don't want to, but there's no other way. I don't have a choice!" Taylor dragged a hand over her eyes.

"Bullshit." Danny said steadily.

"What?" Taylor cautiously peeked up at him.

"I mean it. You always have a choice, Taylor. Always. And if you don't want to do it, don't."

"It's not that simple!" Khepri burst out. "Millions and millions of worlds. Against one measly earth!"

"Seven point three two billion lives." Weaver cut in. "But I agree with Khepri. There's no other choice."

"But why?" Danny knelt at Taylor's feet. "Why is this your decision?"

"I lead the fight." Taylor whispered. "When we go up against him, I'm the one who leads it. So the Moment says this is my choice to make. But there isn't a choice."

"The Moment says?" Danny paused, stuck on that odd turn of phrase. He cleared it. "Never mind. But Taylor, it is your choice. It's your decision. No one knows exactly how this will end."

Taylor snuck a peek at the Moment, who said nothing, simply stared at her with her borrowed green eyes.

"Don't make this sacrifice." Danny pleaded. "You're Taylor. You've always wanted to be a hero- well, be a hero. For us. For you. For everyone."

"A hero makes the hard decisions and does the right thing." Taylor said, voice broken. "I need to press that button."

"No." Danny responded firmly. "Any old idiot can do that. A true hero weighs the options and still does the good thing. And that's you, Taylor. That's who you are. Be a hero."

Taylor looked at Weaver, who stepped away from the box. At Khepri, who saw Weaver's decision, and turned her head in Taylor's direction, awaiting her move as the final say. At the Moment, who presided over the scene from Taylor's little chair, though she sat on it as if it were a throne.

Beads of tears formed in Taylor's eyes. She tried to hold them back, but couldn't help letting out an audible sniffle. "But I have to save them. What if… I can't do it? What if everyone dies and it's all my fault?"

Danny shook his head. "It's not on you!" He took a deep breath. "We don't know how this will end," he repeated, calming down. "But you are such a good person. You are so brave, Taylor. You do have a choice, and you can choose to be the hero I know you are."

"I have a choice." Taylor gasped out. "I'm- I'm a hero."

She took Weaver's hand and felt her fingers tighten. "We're heroes." Khepri gave her a small hug.

She looked at the Moment. "I've made my choice."

The blonde weapon nodded. "So you have." The portal swirled open once more, and Danny backed away with wide eyes, as Khepri and Weaver snapped to attention.

"This is goodbye, then." Taylor said reluctantly.

"What happens when we leave?" Weaver questioned nervously.

Taylor looked to the chair. "The timeline snaps into place." The Moment said. "You go to where you should be." Taylor repeated the words, and Weaver sighed, relieved.

"You are a good person, Taylor Hebert." Weaver said. "And I trust you with this future. Thank you for doing what I couldn't."

"Thank you for helping me." Taylor responded, giving her hand a squeeze.

Khepri shifted to her left. "You're a hero. I'll remember you." She stared at Taylor. "I won't ever forget again."

Taylor looked her in the eyes through the mask. "I'm a hero. And you know what that means."

Khepri smiled. "The future is in good hands."

She let go of Taylor and took Weaver's hand. "I'll be with you, Taylor Hebert. And you'll be with me." She scooped up the giant cockroach.

With one last glance back, the two disappeared through the portal, which closed shut with a dizzying swirl.

Taylor watched them leave. She turned to the Moment, but came face to face with nothing but empty air. The Moment's interface was gone. All that was left was the little wooden cube, no big red button to be found.

She strode over to the Moment, grabbed it, and buried it deep in her closet, behind her oldest hoodies. She then sat down at her desk and grabbed a sketch book.

"What are you doing?" Her dad questioned her, rubbing a hand over his balding head.

"Designing a costume." Taylor declared. "I'm a hero, I'm going to save the universe, and I have a lot of work to do."