Cheshire wasn’t very good at taking punishment. That much was more than obvious to Taylor. The girl was sitting with both hands on her knees, lips sticking way out in a pout that might have lessened her anger if the story Cheshire had weaved wasn’t so... so Cheshire-like.

“To recap,” Taylor said with what felt like all the patience in the world. “You went out for a run at half past nine to stretch your legs. Alone. Without telling anyone. Then you saw some Wards, and instead of minding your business you ran after them.”

Cheshire made a little grunt.

“And then,” Taylor said, her voice growing cold. “Then you got into a fight with some nazis and a bunch of gangsters just because you could.” Her fists clenched and she felt herself on the edge of screaming but held back. Cheshire was making herself as small as she could, hood dipping down to hide her blushing face. “And then you got into a fight with Shadow Stalker and had to run away. You, you absolute... gah!”

Standing up fast enough that her chair wobbled back and forth, she stomped over to Cheshire, grabbed the girl by both shoulders, then threw her into her chest before wrapping her up as tight as she could.

She might only have known Cheshire for a few days, but she cared for her, dammit. “Don’t you ever, ever do that again,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” Cheshire mumbled into Taylor’s neck.

“You’d better be,” Taylor said. She squeezed harder, as if to make sure that the girl was safe and sound.

“Big sis? Cheshire?” a soft voice said from the door leading into the living room.

Taylor pulled away from Cheshire--who made a tiny unhappy sound at losing the contact-- and turned to the doorway to find Crochet wrapped up in a big fluffy blanket. She was blinking around with bleary eyes and brought a hand up to cover her mouth when a yawn escaped her. “Did I wake you up?” Taylor asked.

“Mmm,” was Crochet’s response. “Cheshire came back? That’s nice. Are you okay, big sis?”

“I was just worried,” Taylor said. “Cheshire, you need a shower, then it’s off to bed with you.”

The girl looked ready to protest, but one look at the firm expression on Taylor’s face had her giving up. “Okay, Big Sis.” She dropped off the chair and padded off towards the stairs.

Crochet watched her go, then walked deeper into the kitchen. She lifted a chair and brought it next to the stove, then found the kettle and got on her tippy toes to fill it with water. “I think, Big Sis, that we’re going to have to talk,” Crochet said.

“Oh really?” Taylor asked. She couldn’t help the amusement in her voice as she took the kettle from Crochet and set it on the stove for her. She didn’t need the girl to spill boiling water all over.

Crochet nodded quite firmly. “Oh yes. Big sis, I think you need to help Cheshire become a good hero.”

“A... hero?” Taylor asked. She was getting a faint sense of trepidation.

“Yes,” Crochet said as she got out a box of tea bags. “Cheshire wants to go out at night and stop crime, it’s what she dreams of doing. And Big Sis, of course, wants to help people because she’s Big Sis and is the best.”

“You think too highly of me,” Taylor said. “I’m not up for the whole hero thing. I wish I was, I really do, but I don’t think it’s something I could do.”

Crochet huffed. “Of course you could. You just need to put your mind to it. There’s nothing Big Sis can’t do. Look, I even designed a costume for you.” Reaching into her blankets, Crochet pulled out a tiny plushie of a girl in a superhero costume. She had long black hair and a big cape all around her that covered a suit that looked just a little bit like Alexandria’s, only with a big ‘BS’ on her chest.

“Is that me?” Taylor asked. She grabbed the plushie and inspected it closer. It even had her wide mouth--turned up in a smile--and her rather narrow hips and bust, but in the costume the plushie looked heroic and strong. “Why BS?”

“For Big Sis, of course,” Crochet said.

“Ah,” Taylor replied. “I think, um, something else might be better.”

“It’s a work in progress,” Crochet said before taking the plushie back and tucking it under her arm. “But I think that I could make a costume that looks really good, then everyone will think that Big Sis is cool, just like I know she is.”

Taylor felt a smile tugging at her lips. She placed a hand on Crochet’s head and patted it before she started to arrange her bed hair a little. The girl sighed. “Thanks Crochet. We’ll have to table the idea for later though, okay?”

“Mmm okay,” Crochet said as she leaned into Taylor’s hand.

“By the way,” Taylor asked as she stopped the patting. “Were you sleeping with a plushie of me?”

Crochet’s face instantly reddened and she turned away. “No,” she said, even as she hugged the plushie tighter.

Taylor grinned despite herself. “It’s okay if you do. It’s cute, even.”

“A lady does not need a plushie to sleep well. Let alone one of her Big Sis,” Crochet denied.

“Of course not,” Taylor said. The water was nearly boiling, so she took it off the stove and found two mugs to pour it in. “Were you serious about the hero thing?” she asked as they retreated to the table.

“A little. Cheshire won’t be able to sit back and do nothing. She’s too hyper. And if we get more sisters and maybe brothers, then they might want to be heroes too.”

Taylor blew across the top of her mug. “I’ll give it some thought.”