Were updating your wardrobe, Lisa decided, after wed left the boys behind.

Whats wrong with my wardrobe? I asked, a bit defensively.

Nothing, really. Its just very you. Which is the problem.

Youre not making me feel better, here.

Youre a cautious person, Taylor. I like that about you. I think its an essential addition to the group dynamic, she led me to a collection of stalls where there was a lot of womens clothing, and quickly drew three dresses from a rack.

Brians cautious.

You and Brian are similar, but I wouldnt say hes cautious. Hes pragmatic. You both are. The difference between you two is that hes been doing what he does for three years, now. Two years of experience, before he joined the group. So a lot of what he does is automatic. He doesnt give a second thought to the little things hes done dozens of times already. He takes a lot for granted.

And I dont?

Youre observant, detail oriented and focused. More than any of the others. You watch, you interpret, and then you act with this careful, surgical precision. Thats a strength and a flaw.

What does this have to do with my clothes?

Your personality is reflected in your fashion choices. Muted colors. Brown, gray, black, white. If you are wearing something with color to it, youre wearing it under a sweatshirt, sweater or jacket. Never anything that would stand out. Never showing much skin. While most people our age are picking clothes with the intention of defining an identity for themselves, fitting into a clique, youre focused on staying out of sight and not attracting attention. Youre being too cautious, overthinking things you dont need to, always making the call to play it safe.

And you want to change that. I sighed.

Im suspicious youre capable of surprising everyone, yourself included, when you drop your guard, start being bolder and improvise. Not just when circumstances force you to. Im not just talking about clothes, you know.

I kind of got the drift.

More to the point, Im seeing you alternate between the same two pairs of jeans every day, when you got a paycheck for two grand five days ago. If I dont make you buy clothes, I dont think youre going to.

My dad will wonder where I got them, I protested, as she folded a pair of blouses over one of my arms.

You borrowed them from me. Or they dont fit me anymore and I gave them to you. Or you can keep them at our place and leave him none the wiser.

I dont like lying to my dad.

She ushered me into a curtained off area that served as a change room. Through the curtain, she told me, I envy you that. But if he hasnt figured out the reason your wardrobe has shrunk so much, chances are hes not going to notice if you have some new clothes.

I was halfway through pulling off my shirt when that sunk in, What are you talking about?

Come on, Taylor. Id suspect you had some problems going on even without, you know a little bird whispering in my ear.

I hurried to pull on the first dress in the pile, then opened the curtain, Youre going to have to be a little more specific, before I can confirm or deny anything.

Not that one, she waved at the dress, a plaid number, predominantly red and white. Annoyed, I shut the curtain.

From the other side of the curtain, she explained, At first I thought your dad was abusing you. But I dropped that line of thinking pretty quick after I heard you bring him up in conversation. It had to be a major part of your life thats sucking, though, and if its not home then its got to be school. Brian and Alec pretty much agree with my line of thinking.

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Youve talked about it with them, I dropped my hands from the buttons of the dress and let my head thunk against the shaky plywood wall of the change room.

It came up when we were talking about you joining the group, and we never hundred percent dropped the subject. Sorry. Youre new, youre interesting, we talk about you. Thats all it is.

I finished doing up the buttons of the dress and opened the curtain, Ever think I didnt want you prying?

She undid the top button. What you want and what you need are two different things. Cornflower blue is a keeper. Throw that one over the top. She pushed me back inside and shut the curtain.

What I need is to keep I struggled to find a way of wording things that wouldnt raise red flags for any eavesdroppers, these two major parts of my life separate.

The suckish part and the non-suck part.

Sure, lets go with that. I found a top and a pair of low-rise jeans in the pile of clothes.

I could help make the suckish parts suck less, she offered.

I swear my blood turned cold in my veins. I could just see her showing up at school, taunting Emma. I think the prospect of facing down Glory Girl again would spook me less. I struggled to do up the top button of the jeans, which wasnt made any easier by my agitation. It took thirty seconds to get the button done up, and I swore under my breath the entire time. Where in the world had Lisa found jeans that were this tight on me? When I had them on, I opened the curtain and confronted her face to face.

Having me try on clothes is fine, I told her, doing my level best to keep my voice calm, But you interfere directly in my problems, and Im gone.

Just like that?

Just like that, I said, Im sorry.

She looked a little hurt, Fine. Pouting a little, she waved a hand in the general direction of my clothes, What do you think?

I tried to adjust the collar. I liked the abstract design on the right side of the shirt, but the v-neck collar came to a point near where my ribcage ended and my stomach began. Top is cut too low, jeans are too tight.

You need to get used to showing some cleavage. Like I said, be bold in your fashion choices.

Id be fine with showing some cleavage if I had anything to show, I pointed out.

Youre a late bloomer? she tried.

My mom was a B-cup, and not always then, depending on the brand of bra. And that was after she went up a partial size being pregnant with me.

Thats fucking tragic.

I shrugged. Id been resigned to being broomstick thin and flat as a board pretty much from the point Id started puberty. I just had to look at the genetics on either side of my family to know what I was in for.

And my condolences about your mom. I didnt know.

Appreciated. I sighed. Im vetoing the shirt.

Fine, youre allowed, but were keeping the jeans. They show off your figure.

The figure of a thirteen year old boy, I groused.

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Youre taller than a thirteen year old boy, dont be silly. Besides, whatever you look like, whatever your body type, theres bound to be someone out there who thinks youre the hottest fucking person theyve ever seen.

Fantastic, I mumbled, Theres a sketchy pedophile out there with my name on him.

Lisa laughed, Go, try something else on. But throw the jeans over the top. Im buying them for you, and if you never wear them, Ill have to be content with you feeling guilty about it.

Find me the same jeans one size larger, and Ill wear them, I negotiated. Then, before she could protest, I added, Theyre going to shrink in the wash.

Point. Ill go look.

Things continued in that vein for a little while, with Lisa doing a little shopping for herself, too. We stuck to talking about the clothes, and it was clear that Lisa was carefully avoiding the earlier topic. When we finished, the woman at the cash totaled it up on a notepad and passed the slip of paper to us. Four hundred and sixty dollars.

My treat, Lisa said.

Are you sure? I asked.

A bribe in exchange for your silence, Lisa winked at me.

About?

She glanced at the cashier, After.

It was only after wed left the stall well behind, the pair of us laden down with bags, that Lisa elaborated. Do me a favor and dont go telling the gang how badly I let things slip, as far as Panacea being one of the hostages. If they ask outright, you can say, I wont ask you to lie. But if they dont ask, maybe dont bring it up?

This is the silence youre buying?

Please.

Alright, I answered. I would have without the gift of clothes, but I think she knew that.

She grinned, Thanks. Between them, I dont think those guys would ever let me live it down.

Would you let them, if the tables were turned?

Hell naw, she laughed.

Thats what I thought.

But about our earlier conversation last Ill say on the subject tonight, promise. If you ever decide you do want me to directly interfere in any of your personal stuff, just say the word.

I frowned, ready to be annoyed, but I relented. It was a fair offer, not pushing anything. Okay. Thank you, but Im fine.

Then thats settled. Lets go eat.

Fugly Bobs was fast food of the most shameless kind, sold out of a part-restaurant, part-bar, part-shack at the edge of the Market, overlooking the beach. Anyone who lived in the area had probably eaten there once, at some point. Anyone with any sense then waited a year to give their hearts a chance to recuperate. It was the sort of place with burgers so greasy that if you ordered takeout, you could see through the paper bag by the time you got home. The specialty burger was the Fugly Bob Challenger: if you could finish it, you didnt have to pay for it. It probably went without saying that most people paid.

Brian and Alec were already there when we arrived, and we ordered our food right off. Lisa and I agreed to split a bacon cheeseburger, Brian ordered a portobello-beef double-decker and Alec matched him with a Hideous Bob Fugly Bobs interpretation of a Big Mac.

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None of us were hungry, brave or dumb enough to order the Challenger.

Brian and Alec had been sitting outside so they could spot us when we arrived. After a brief debate, we agreed to stick to the table theyd been sitting at. It was by the window, so we could see the TV. It was still cool enough that most people had ventured indoors. The only others outside were some college-aged guys, and they were sitting on the opposite end of the patio, occupied with beer and the game on the TV. The primary benefit was that we enough had privacy to talk.

I dont want to be a nag, Brian said, eyeing the piles of bags, But I did say you shouldnt spend so much so soon after a caper. Its the kind of thing cops and capes watch for.

Its cool, Lisa brushed him off, It only raises flags with the credit card companies or banks if its a dramatic change in a given persons spending habits. I buy close to this amount of stuff every week or two.

Brian frowned. He looked like he wanted to say something in response, but he kept his mouth shut.

So, what comes next? I asked.

Dinner, then dessert, Alec replied, his attention on the TV inside.

I meant in terms of our, I lowered my voice, Illicit activity. A quick double-check showed the college guys at the far end of the patio were still engrossed in the game. I couldnt make out anything they were saying, and they were being loud, so I was pretty sure they couldnt hear us.

Is there anything you want to do? Brian asked me.

Something less intense, I decided, Im kind of feeling like I jumped into the deep end of the pool without entirely knowing how to swim. Id prefer to get to know my powers better in the field, figure out how to deal with situations, before Im up against people like Lung and Glory Girl, who are literally capable of tearing me limb from limb.

Hah. Something easier then.

If Rachel was here, shed be calling you a wuss again, Alec commented.

Ill just have to be glad shes not here, then, I smiled.

Our food arrived, and we used extra plates to divvy up our individual side orders so we all had a little bit of each. That left each of us a mix of fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings and deep fried zucchini on an individual plate. The sides alone would have been more than enough raw foodstuff for a meal on its own, but there were also the burgers themselves, each large enough to take up nearly an entire plate. Lisa and I cut the bacon cheeseburger in half, and we each took a portion.

I guess youre not the type that gains weight, Lisa eyed me.

I have to work to put it on.

Dammit, she grumbled.

If its any consolation, I said, after taking a bite and wiping my mouth with a napkin, This is going to be hell on my skin.

That does help, she grinned.

Alec rolled his eyes, Enough with the girl talk.

What do you want to talk about, then? Lisa asked him.

He shrugged and took a bite of his burger.

I had a suggestion. I know its kind of cliche, but when people with powers get together, isnt it kind of standard to share origin stories?

Apparently, I couldnt have picked a better way to kill the conversation. Lisa turned away, for once without a smile on her face. Brian and Alec gave me strange looks, not saying anything.

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What? I asked. I double checked there was nobody in earshot. What did I say?