8.3 Wheel
15th of September, 2017
Contrary to what one might expect from a college situated in what used to be one of the most crime-riddled cities of the US, BBU isn't actually that bad. In truth, it's actually pretty decent by Earth Bet's standards.
I wager some very high placed people were extremely relieved once they learned that the duo of potentially radioactive diplomatic persona had opted to remain contained in their previous hometown for the foreseeable future when not thumbing their noses at them in international waters.
Anyway, since we both still had the American nationality, it meant that we were elegible to its education system – as long as we forked the bill, but that was never an issue. Most of our friends had also chosen to go to BBU for their own degree, so the choice had been an easy one; the commute was a non-factor when you can casually hop around the world via teleportation.
But again, since it is Brockton Bay, and Louise and I aren't exactly unknown, no one really bats an eye when reality gets torn in twain by a rift of frozen, screaming souls, and the two of us step hand in hand onto the campus proper.
"There they are," a familiar voice calls, "Hey, lovebirds! Over there!"
The portal quickly snaps shut behind our backs as I gently tug my lover along to reunite with our friends.
"Morning, girls," Louise greets with a casual wave of her free hand once we stand closer to Adelaide and Caroline.
A flurry of exchanged greetings and quick hugs promptly follows.
It's odd. Even after all this time, the scene surprises me that the four of us managed to remain as close as we are today. Oh, we all grew up quite differently and all have our own path charted in life, yet our little quartet managed to survive through High School and junior year of College quite easily.
…Well, there had been those few months were my presence was starting to get really overbearing for normal people back in High School due to my slight slowly-getting-closer-to-turn-into-a-goddess issue, but it had been the only hiccup, and I honestly can't blame them for how they started to react to that.
Back in Middle School, what managed to nip in the bud the distance that had started to creep in between us had been the fact that Louise and I started dating. I don't know exactly why or for what reasons – and honestly never asked – but it stopped the hero worship cold the very next day. And made Adelaide insufferably smug for two months after that, but that is a story for another day.
Speaking of the often potty-mouthed brunette, she has grown into an energetic young woman with a fluffy bob cut and a smile sharp enough that it doesn't surprise me in the least that she chose to go for a Bachelor of Business.
In contrast, Caroline…
Well, that one's on me, I reckon.
Turns out, when you're a budding fashionista, growing up next to someone with an interest in alt-fashion tends to leave some marks. Now, pastel goth certainly wasn't what I imagined the petite blonde to start casually wearing, but to her defense it suits her perfectly with her blonde curls. Like me, she's currently working at a Bachelor of Fine Arts, though with a focus on fashion – shockers – as opposed to painting for me.
If you're wondering, her mother did throw a tantrum the first time she caught on Caroline's updated wardrobe, to the point I had to play peacemaker between the two of them later that week. While all swallowed up in frills and petticoats. Fun times.
Sadly for our gang, Missy had elected to dodge college altogether to fully focus on her Protectorate career, which, yeah, not surprising at all. Probably helps a lot that her Shard and her are like two peas in a pod, in a 'concerned alien mother figure will do anything to protect her latest spawn' kind of way.
Doesn't mean that we don't regularly see each other, since she tends to spend her weekend in the Bay, and her power makes it trivial for her to take a five-minute stroll across the US.
As for Louise? She's currently breezing through a Bachelor of Science in Physics, with a minor in Math, the little overachiever.
With our greetings exchanged, I of course focus on what is truly important.
"Is that the piece you were working on at home?" I ask while giving Caroline's dress an appreciative look.
Soft blue tones, only a moderate amount of ruffles, with a flared up ankle-length silhouette and a tight-hugging bodice.
"It is!" the blonde brightens up, promptly making a show of her latest production with a little spin, "Do you like it?"
"The cut is very nice," I smile, before adding, "Maybe I'll steal it for Clothy."
"Still can't believe you gave your set of living clothes such a stupid name," Adelaide snorts, "Or that you even wear living clothes, for that matter."
"She named her personal assistant–" a very roundabout way to call an AI here, Louise, "–after a computer brand. Names were never her forte."
"I was twelve. Laugh it up," I grumble as the trio shares a laugh at my expense.
"And you still haven't improved. Don't worry, poor naming scheme notwithstanding, we still like you," my lover chirps with a grin.
"Merely like?" I arch an eyebrow her way.
She rolls her eyes, before stepping on the tip of her toes.
I smile, and give her a quick peck before letting go of her hand.
"See you later," I say before stepping closer to Caroline, since we share most of our general classes in the morning.
"Have fun in math," Louise waggles her eyebrow my way, and I can't help but pull a face at the total bore I'm heading toward, "Cafeteria for lunch?"
"We'll meet you there." I easily agree.
Her smile brightens, and she promptly about-face toward the science building with a bounce in her step.
"...You two are disgustingly cute together, and I'm going to be late too if I don't get a move on," Adelaide comments with only a moderate amount of fond exasperation in her tone, "Later."
Caroline and I do not waste time echoing her words, before starting to make our own way toward the general study building while idly chattering.
***
{She's here,} Hera's voice echoes in Taylor's head, the tone as always intense.
{I noticed.} she replies in her mind while moving through the BBU crowd, part of her attention focused on a certain redhead.
She had thought that going for a Bachelor in English Literature would be a nice way to spend her time productively outside of the Protectorate, and for a while, it had worked. Studying the same subject matter her mother had taught had been both nostalgic and interesting.
Besides, the Bay was one of the safest towns in the US nowadays, so it's not like spending her mornings at the local college was irresponsible, or so Lisa had managed to convince her in any case.
Taylor had been dubious at first, then slowly came around that her roommate may have been right on the money sometime during junior year. And a degree was never wasted, it'll give her something to do if she ever decides to retire from the field one day.
Then, at the beginning of her fourth year, the most famous Tinker in the world decided to meddle with the masses, and Taylor's mood had never fully bounced back up since.
She still likes studying for her Bachelor in her off-time – and possibly even go for a PhD the long way, she still hasn't made up her mind – but regularly crossing paths with the corpse grey redhead currently doing her best Morticia Adams impression in a form-fitting black dress never quite stopped making her a little upset.
Her roomie had managed to make her see reason about how Jacqueline Barnes lived her life, but Taylor still isn't over the fact that the girl can casually handcraft powers and just had to turn Emma of all people into Eidolon-with-tits.
The vast majority of Shards of the Coral Compact didn't interact with their host.
Hera and Anansi certainly did, and they had promptly tattled to their respective partner that the suspiciously well-endowed redheaded heroine with a hastily put-together mask screaming to the world 'it's my first night and I barely have a clue of what I'm doing' didn't have a Shard of her own on that fateful evening. Something which of course had made Lisa curious. A very quick investigation later had proven that this wasn't a fluke, and another empowered human that wasn't a parahuman was currently traipsing around; Louise Johnson, famous the world over for being Nictimène's sweetheart, and according to what the PRT had managed to ferret out, one of the most dangerous Thinker alive.
That revelation had sent Lisa in an absolutely awful mood for the better part of an entire week, while Taylor had only felt numb at the confirmation.
The Tinker: Yes could indeed empower other people besides herself, and the old childhood friend she thought she had finally managed to leave behind was one of the lucky few. Worse even, New Order regularly cited Arachne in the same breath as Nictimène, Vista, and Insight as her inspiration in her interviews.
Taylor didn't know if she should laugh or cry about the absurdity of the situation. Doubly so because, apparently, Emma still had zero clues who was under the mask of the local bug manipulator.
So, yes, Taylor still isn't over this. And the only reason she isn't trying to burn a hole into Jacqueline Barnes' head with her eyes alone is because she currently has twelve thousand seven hundred fifty-nine insects failing to provoke a spontaneous combustion in the target of her ire in her stead.
Though if some might say that she's still seething about the younger girl's antics–
{–prancing around, gushing about her [Host], so high and mighty–} Hera's hissed rant goes on uninterrupted in the back of her mind, and this time, Taylor does ostensibly roll her eyes.
–it has nothing on how peeved the [Queen Administrator] still is over being thoroughly upstaged by an allegedly 'cascading malfunction of a half-finished experiment'.
It has been six years already, yet things have still to fully cool down on that front.
Lisa one day told her that her Shard didn't take well not being the only one in charge post-ascension, now having to share her authority with [Multiversal Oculus], [Negotiator], [Queen Shaper], and [The Eye] in recognition for their own part in forming the Compact.
Despite Hera's profuse negation to this assessment, Taylor cannot help but agree with it. Bossy is too mild of a qualifier for her bound Shard.
But then again, Hera apparently gets that from her.
{Just let it go already,} Taylor inwardly sighs as she makes her way to her ethics class, {I know this isn't the result you would've wanted, but everything ended up being fine in the end, right?}
{...I suppose,} the Coraline Shard begrudgingly answers after a beat, giving her the mental impression of a stern woman with her lips pinched, {Yet, it still rankles.}
Taylor's steps halt.
She watches at a remote through her bug sense as Jacqueline Barnes and her friend trades a laugh while taking a seat in their own classroom.
She purses her lips, before slowly nodding to herself as she resumes her walk.
{Yeah,} she admits, {Yeah, it does.}