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Taylor watched a pair of women with a thousand eyes. The satellites in orbit gave blurry images. The camera-laden spheres floating in the air gave much crisper visuals, but Alexandria had spotted most of them, if her glances were any indication.
Alexandria was one of the women. The strongest cape alive, the flying brute whose name the Alexandria Package referred to, and a great Thinker to top it all off. Not to mention the hero of countless battles. She stood straight, looking around. Her expression, though mostly clear and calm, looked a little grim from what Taylor could tell.
The other woman was Taylor herself. Taylor’s artificial body stared out across the bay. She didn’t bother watching the dangerous woman next to her with her eyes. She had all her cameras pointed their way, after all.
“It’s done,” Alexandria said. “It’s all done.”
Her voice was wondering, full of aw. Taylor smiled slightly.
“Is it?” Taylor asked without turning her head.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Alexandria asked, eyeing Taylor.
“There is still life to live,” Taylor looked to the mouth of the bay, where there was no longer a sunken ship blocking the way. “Life without Scion is just the beginning. And there’s no telling what will happen next.”
“I think I can guess what you’ll do next,” Alexandria said.
“Oh?” Taylor asked.
“I imagine you might return to your family,” Alexandria said. “Try to apologize for faking your death.”
Taylor turned her head to look Alexandria in the eyes. Cameras didn’t replace eye-contact for communication.
“I know who you are,” Alexandria said.
Taylor thought there was some smugness in the words.
“I am Titania,” Taylor reminded her.
“You are also Annette.”
Taylor stiffened. She turned to face Alexandria fully.
“Your daughter started acting out in school, after your ‘death’,” Alexandria said. “Taylor’s dropped out entirely, after she triggered. But then, you probably knew that. Is that what brought you back to Brockton Bay?”
Taylor didn’t know what to say. She was being mistaken for her own mother. She missed her mom so badly. Mom would have known what to say.
“Of course the English teacher knows when silence is more impactful,” Alexandria chuckled. “Though I would have expected you to find the words to tell your husband you’ve survived. It’s clear to me you haven’t; he still mourns you. Mind telling me why you didn’t tell him before he had to identify your corpse?”
If Taylor wasn’t the one being accused of being Annette, she would have believed it, if only for the chance to see her mother again. But Alexandria was accusing her, and she knew that she wasn’t her own mother, no matter how much she wished her mother was alive.
“What is this about?” Taylor asked flatly.
Alexandria smiled.
“You did suggest I could live my life, now that Scion’s dead. I don’t need to hold this information on you in reserve. I can do what I want with it.”
Taylor snorted derisively. Alexandria apparently could only imagine living by hurting others.
“If you become a villain, Titania will return,” Taylor warned.
Taylor stepped forward, towards Alexandria, but a precisely-calculated portal swallowed her up. At the same time, she vanished the camera-spheres watching Alexandria. Seconds later, her vanishing complete, she watched Alexandria looking around from her satellites. She watched until Alexandria had flown away from Brockton Bay, frowning.
Then, Taylor set about the next stage of her plan: earning her GED.
Living her life, in other words.