She wasn’t, and she hadn’t really ‘caught’ anything. A mundane scratch on her leg had become red and inflamed, and a use of her power hadn’t scoured away whatever was going on. In a fit of frantic energy, she had taken one of the scraps of matter that had been left after a use of her power and cut into the scratch. She had wanted to open it up enough that she could try to get her power inside and clear away the infection, but it hadn’t worked. The infection had persisted and the leg wound had refused to heal.

Somewhere in the weeks of sweating it out and not being able to go out, the PRT had started looking for her. She’d had to scare them off when she could barely stand. Even now, grabbing food to fill her kitchen, she wasn’t at her best.

“Well,” Fappy said, “you know Stan, right?”

“Of course.”

“He got Amber pregnant. I don’t think you’ve met her? No. Stan did the stand up thing and is getting his life together. He’s got a job washing sheets and stuff in the hospital. Which is great because he’s close to Amber. She had to go in for a pregnancy related hip thing, and she’s not leaving until she has the kid so her leg doesn’t come off. I don’t know how that works. Am I boring you, talking about this stuff?”

She shook her head.

“The rest of us are getting around to it too, mostly. We’re eighteen, nineteen, it’s about time we figure stuff out.”

“Well,” Ashley said. She was a bit lost for words. The stoner kids had been a fixture here for most of her life. “Good for you.”

“It’s not all great. Pete, you know Pete?”

She shook her head.

“He was there for the bank. He’s been hanging out with Popcap since Stan took off. They hopped on a bus to go down and join some messed up gang, talking about endless parties. Stuff’s been pretty messed up since Leviathan hit.”

“It is. Sorry about your friend,” she said. Popcap was the most notorious meth dealer in the area. She didn’t like him and he didn’t like her, and Pete spending time with the guy didn’t bode well for Pete.

Fappy shrugged. He looked at his two relatives. “Connor, Holly, don’t ever, ever spend time with Popcap or Pete. Not even if they offer to buy you drinks or give you anything.”

“You said something about a bank?” Connor asked.

“Oh man. That. That was ages ago. We tried to rob a bank with Damsel of Distress. That did not go well.”

“You cracked under the pressure,” Ashley said.

“I guess. We tried, right?”

“Mm,” she made a noncommittal sound.

“You guys were legendary at school,” one of the other guys said.

“We had so much detention.”