Cherish hated the clammy feeling of sweat-soaked clothes against her skin, but that was the least of her worries right now. She was miles away from the little doomsayer Jack had decided was worth his attention. After that conversation, Cherish couldn't help but agree. The little shit had passed her test, but there was no way she'd survive the trials.

  Except she would, eventually, one way or another. Fucking precogs. The kid had read like she was lying when she explained how, but with everything she'd said...well, the Ward believed it all anyway. Cherish did too, for better or worse; and that fucking terrified her because it meant she was fucked no matter what.

  Jack Slash would end the world.

  The confidence no, the surety was unlike anything Cherish had heard before. Faith like that didn't exists in the houses of God, let alone in the heads of fucked up people like that kid. She was certain, as certain as the girl anyway. She was doubly sure that she could not afford to tell Jack.

  When that little tidbit had come to light, Cherish had demanded every detail. The Ward had been happy to share, well 'happy'; she'd been willing after another hostage got killed. A little bit of grease in the gears, so to speak. Unwilling as the kid was to share her knowledge with the heroes, she definitely wanted to be one. At least she wanted to salve the guilt that was her constant companion.

  A shame she'd managed to save a few of the civilians, keep that spark alive. Watching that renewed energy get snuffed out would be...satisfying at least. Her eyes still burned from the pepper spray, maybe not quite as bad as normal thanks to Bonesaw's 'improvements'. Little bitch would get what was coming to her soon.

  Cherish took a deep breath as she turned towards the Docks. Had to get her story straight, couldn't let things...slip. It was probably safe to let him know about how the girl knew, insane as it sounded. Hell, maybe it would encourage him to fail her outright for cheating or something. Although, she'd said that this hadn't happened in the book...

  What an idiots tale. Cherish knew about Earth Aleph, hell she'd grown up watching their movies; television shut the Vasil children up usually, so it was the only thing Father had really invested in. But the idea that there was another Earth out there, entirely disconnected, that somehow had a story about...everything? Ridiculous.

  Still, the details she knew... She had a better profile of the worm than Cherish had managed to gather over a week of working. The kid had known she'd joined the Slaughterhouse Nine by killing Hatchet Face, though hadn't said a word about the trials. Claimed she had a bad memory which was...well, it sounded true anyway.

  Hearing what was in store for Brockton Bay made her glad the Nine wouldn't be sticking around. The kid had said a bunch of them died, but shrugged when asked who. That hadn't been a lie, but hearing the sheer indifference about the fates of the people torturing her was...bizarre. Besides Bonesaw, Jack, and her, she just didn't care.

  Freak. The first word that came to mind, one the little Ward had used frequently for herself. Not that she was wrong, just the opposite. Jack couldn't have picked a better candidate and it made Cherish sick. The girl was smart enough, at least, to have warned against telling Jack about the little prophecy. Of course Cherish hadn't agreed then and there, but she had agreed. She paused outside the new building they'd found to hide in and paused licking her lips. Time to face the music...

  “Cherish,” Shatterbird said in a clipped tone as she entered the door to their shared apartment. “Productive night?”

  “You could say that,” Cherish replied sweetly, adding a brief note of pleasure to Shatterbird's song. “The Ward is getting ahead of the other candidates.”

  “She passed her test then?” The woman raised an eyebrow, judgy bitch.

  “I'm as shocked as you.” Not really, Cherish had made sure the test was easy enough; she wanted the Ward to talk after all. “Still, a productive night overall. Bonesaw's candidate passed her first.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “She was in earlier,” Shatterbird said, a note of distaste in her voice and sound. “Took an entire apartment for...repairs.”

  “Ah.” Gross. “Jack is...”

  “With her.” Cherish sighed. “Something you need to tell him?”

  “He'll want to know how his pick did,” she replied with a shrug. “Where'd they go?”

  She headed out and down the hall with directions from Shatterbird. The woman was difficult at the best of times, and with Jack delaying her 'debut' it was that much worse. It was fine, once Cherish had her hooks in everything would be alright. She took a deep breath and pushed into the apartment.

  “You're back late,” Jack drawled from his seat on the couch. “I take it you have a good reason.” He smiled and she mirrored it, playing up his affection a smidge.

  “Of course,” Cherish said lightly, ignoring the sounds of...meat further in. “You'll be happy to know your candidate passed my test.”

  “So that's why you stayed out,” he said with a huff. “Getting ahead of yourself, aren't you? Not to mention the rest of us.” She swallowed at the dangerous tone in his voice.

  “Considering what she knew, I think you'll agree it was worth it.” He leaned forward and she took a deep breath. “But if you want my opinion, she's just crazy.”

  “Elaborate.”

  “Well for starters,” she said with a giggle. “What do you know about parallel universes?” Jack frowned and she heard the pitter-patter of a little monster's feet.

  “What about parallel universes?” Bonesaw asked, demanded really.

  “Good of you to join us, Bonesaw,” Jack said with a smile.

  “What about parallel universes?” she asked again, ignoring him. Cherish sighed and rolled her eyes.

  “You were right,” she said to the little blonde psycho. “That Ward really is crazy, thinks she came from another Earth.”

  “It's possible,” Bonesaw said, like she was defending the girl. “We know Doctor Haywire was able to break the dimensional barrier; she's from Aleph then?”

  “Another one,” Cherish replied, shaking her head. “She apparently read all about us in some story native to her world, and more than that she's not her exactly. She said she had no idea who Amelia D'souza was before winding up inside her body.” Bonesaw frowned.

  “Memory transfer?” she asked, scratching her chin. “I guess it's possible, but doesn't seem likely. Probably just her power expression.”

  “Oh, that's the other thing,” Cherish said, snapping her fingers. “You should disqualify her.”

  “Hm, and why is that?” Jack asked coldly, arching a brow. “Two tests and she sounds...different, unique, interesting.”

  “She's cheating,” she said with a shrug. “She explained her precog power to me, part that isn't stupid sounding. Supposedly every time she dies, she wakes up four days ago, memory intact.” His eyes widened. “So now that you've picked her, no matter what, she's going to pass. Or we're never leaving Brockton Bay.”

  “Powers don't work like that,” Bonesaw complained. “She can't actually be dying or she couldn't come back.”

  “She seemed pretty sure,” Cherish replied. “Sure wasn't lying about how Hack Job killed her.” Bonesaw frowned.

  “I'm more interested in this 'story' she read,” Jack said, a smile growing on his face. “What did she say about it?”

  “It was practically incoherent,” she said, half-lying. “But it followed another cape living here, a villain named Skitter. Siberian nominated one of the people on her team. She was...pretty adamant that the Slaughterhouse Nine don't leave Brockton Bay intact.” Jack's eyes were practically glittering.

  “Well hell!” he exclaimed, slapping his hand on the arm of the couch. Cherish tied a little bit of his amusement and pleasure to her. “I can't disqualify her for knowing a thing or two, as long as she doesn't share too much with the class.”

  “She won't,” Cherish confirmed. “She was talking to another Ward about some of it, but wouldn't even give him the full story. Getting information out of her is like pulling teeth.”

  “That's easy,” Bonesaw commented with a giggle.

  “Anyway, I thought you'd want to know,” she said with a shrug.

  “It's appreciated, Cherish.” She suppressed a frown at the lie. She almost reached out and tugged but...no, too much. Cherish settled on playing up a little affection in his song. “I want to know the rest.”

  “Later,” Cherish said shortly. “Been out all night helping Bonesaw, then testing.”

  “Fine.” Jack shrugged indifferently. “Sweet dreams, Cherish.”

  She frowned as she left the apartment. That had been...weird. Jack had seemed almost genuine in that goodbye, but it wasn't like him. Could he be...no, definitely not. If anything, it was a good sign he was acting that way, a sign that her conditioning was slowly taking root. She let out a sigh of relief as she entered another apartment and took one of their beds.

  Jack didn't know about her plan, of that she was certain. The Ward hadn't even thought about her when thinking of the Nine's decimation, beyond the usual undercurrent of murderous intent. The girl hated Cherish, wanted her dead, but had nothing to say about that. She allowed herself a smile as she shut her eyes.

  If a precog was in the dark, there was no way Jack knew.