Author's Note: This story takes place in an AU where Vlad Masters married Maddie Walker, and many other things have changed. It is now 9 years AFTER when the show was set. A quick primer of the characters and setting can be found at: bit*dot*ly/1lNo7gq .

Amity Park - Night

Samantha Manson— Sam for short— clung to the outside of the Masters Tower. A thin ledge ran around the back half of the 55th floor, the side without the panoramic view.

"I've never seen you jump out a window to avoid someone before," her friend Tucker Foley said in her ear. The earpiece was disguised as one of her earrings; Tucker himself was a block away.

"You mean the McSwains?" Sam asked. "They're worse than my parents!" She shook her head, tried not to look down. A gentle breeze ruffled the hem of her evening gown. The ledge was only wide enough for her to stand and hang on.

"Oh, right, your I-only-want-true-friends thing," Tucker said over the link. "How's that been workin' out for you?"
"Hey!" said Sam. "Focus! 23-year-old-not-a-socialite on the side of a building up here!"
"Oh, right," said Tucker. "Okay. You want to work your way towards and behind the MASTERS sign. There's a catwalk behind the sign, so once you've got there you won't have to worry about falling for a little while." After a second, he added, "Nice view up there, by the way."

Tucker was right; it was a nice view. Amity Park's skyline stretched out through the urban core, skyscrapers slowly stepping down and merging into shops and apartments. The Masters Building towered over it all, a pillar of light in an ocean of flitting stars.

Sam couldn't enjoy the view. Slowly, taking every step deliberately, she sidled to her left. The skyscraper's corner was coming up; edging further, she felt only air under her left hand. She'd have to make her way around the turn, without overcompensating and falling into the night.
Only now did Sam realize she didn't have a good way to see her footing.

Sam took a deep breath, bringing her left arm in until she could grab the tower's corner itself. She could feel the darkened glass against her back, smooth, daring her to slide just that bit too far. Bracing herself as best she could, she inched her left boot until she felt it slide back.
Now, it was just a matter of turning the corner.

Sam shifted her arm, switching from grabbing the angle to bending her arm around it. She'd examined the route a week ago. There was a gap between panes of glass on this side. If she could get her fingers in, she'd be safe.

The corner now pressed against her back. Carefully, Sam reached out for the gap. Once she was on the other side of the corner, the catwalk would be just a few feet away.
Her hands brushed glass. The gap was too far for her to grab. Sam shifted her weight, leaning into the corner that last bit more. She just—

She'd leaned too far. Her right foot slipped. In a panic, she grabbed for the gap— found it— her right arm flailed, felt air— she couldn't breathe— she was falling— she was falling—

After a split second of freakout, Sam managed to recover. Drawing her leg in, she stomped down, hoping to find the ledge. She found it; a last-minute grab on the corner stopped her from pitching forward.
Breathing hard, feeling her adrenaline drain, Sam held on and watched the city lights as her pulse slowed.

"Uh, are you OK?" Tucker called over the link. "You sound a little out of breath."
"Tucker..." Sam said back, between gasps, "shut up."
"If you say so," Tucker said cheerily; then, he did.

Once she was calm again, Sam looked to her left. The catwalk was just a few feet away, blocked at this end by a waist-height railing to prevent an incautious worker from falling. After sidling over the distance, Sam wrapped her arm around the railing, pulling herself over it and onto the thin bridge. The glow from the MASTERS sign lit the path ahead of her; her first hurdle was done.

"I'm on the catwalk," Sam called. "Where now?"
"Juuuust a moment," said Tucker. The sound of a computer keyboard came through her earpiece. "If I'm reading this blueprint right, you want to go to the other end of the catwalk. Then, the signal's coming from the lab, two floors down."

"There's a ladder, or something there... right?" she asked.
"Nope!" Tucker said proudly. "I'll tell you when you get there."
Sam grimaced, then walked to the other end of the sign, behind the giant letter S.
"Well?"

"Okay," Tucker said. "Have a look down the side of the building."
Sam looked. A wave of smooth glass came into view, reflecting the neon ocean.
One pane stuck out. A window, angled outwards to give the room inside some air. If someone fell down the side of the building, the window could conceivably act like a funnel.
"Oh no. No way. You cannot possibly want me to drop down into that thing."

"Hey," said Tucker. "You could always turn around and head back to the party. Which would you say is worse? The McSwains, or a 20-foot drop down the side of a skyscraper?"
There was a long silence. Finally, Sam said, "All right. You're sure about this?"
"One hundred percent," Tucker replied. "You just need to fall straight down, then the window'll do the rest. There's nothing that can possibly go wrong."

It was this or nothing. Sam mentally consigned Tucker's head to oblivion, levered herself over the tower-side catwalk railing, and fell.

It was like flying, for about a second. Then, Sam crashed into the window— and the bar holding the pane up gave way. Sam shrieked, grabbing onto the upper edge of the window pane as it swung outwards. Everything was a blur of gravity... then she stopped.

Sam looked up. She was hanging onto the window frame with her arms. Only its bottom hinge kept the window attached to the building. Some metallic groaning noises hinted that wouldn't be for long.

She looked down next.
It's beautiful, she thought. Below was the glowing void, as Amity Park's inhabitants went about their nightly business. Here was the actual Amity Park, a dark spot in the lightscape; there was the old Axion building, before the Masters Corporation had bought them out. If she squinted, Sam could even see her old high school, its lights dimmed as its teachers went home.
The wind had gotten stronger. The hinge creaked a little as metal gave way. It would have been poignant, if her life wasn't at stake.

"Sam! Are you OK?" Tucker called. "What happened?" He'd heard the shriek too.
"What happened?! I— the nothing-can-possibly-go-wrong window broke! If I..."
She stopped. Above her, in the room she'd been trying to enter, the room lights had come on.
"Someone's here," she said, looking up at the square of light. Footsteps drifted through the open window. They were getting closer, perhaps attracted by the sudden breeze. Then... whoever-it-was looked out the window.

"Ah, Ms. Manson! What a pleasant surprise!" said the man, gazing benevolently down at Sam. She groaned.
There, above her, was the smiling, grey-framed face of Vlad Masters.