Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Danny Hebert stared at his daughter, tears running down his face as she scribbled on the note pad. His rage mostly drowned out by his sorrow. It was bad enough that she had been trapped in her school locker for most of a day, but for her to be so permanently scarred was more than he could handle.

-Its okay Dad. I'll survive.-

Her beautiful voice, permanently gone. Some kind of infection from the biohazard she had been shoved into had eaten away her vocal cords.

"Taylor, I'll be here for you. We'll get through this some way or another."

-Thanks-

 Madison had a panic attack. She had gone along with all the bullying to stay in the good graces of Emma and Sophia. But she had to admit she enjoyed some of it. It made her feel powerful.

Until the locker.

She had thought the idea of trapping Hebert in the locker for a few minutes would be hilarious. She did not plan on the tampons, but she went along with it. 'Pussying out' as Sophia would have called it would have done no good. They would go ahead without her and she didn't want to lose her 'friends'. She didn't know Taylor would be stuck in there, in that dark filthy space, for hours.

She hadn't really felt guilty for the pranks before, but catching a glimpse of the crazed filthy girl, obviously broken had cracked through the barrier of casual cruelty she had hid behind for over a year. Then she found out what happen to Taylor after they dragged her kicking and screaming out of the pungent mess. Three weeks in the hospital was too far. The barrier was strong though, and so it just barely held together.

Taylor came back to school, mute because of what they did. The barrier crumbled.

Hannah looked at the report in front of her. She had oscillated between horrified shock and furious anger several times since she had started reading it. Shadow Stalker had finally gone off the deep end. She looked up at the director and started to speak when she was cut off.

"I know what you are going to say, but this will remain quiet. The PR disaster this news would bring is something we can't afford." Emily Piggot had a scowl on her face, she didn't like this anymore than Miss Militia, but it had to be done. "Sophia will get all that is coming to her, but you are not to mention anything about this to the Hebert family."

"But its our failure. We owe it to the girl to make up for it somehow."

"No, Winslow holds responsibility in this case. They failed to notify us of any of the issues that had been reported to them. I suppose in some sort of effort to retain a Ward on site."

"Can we get Panacea to heal her up at least?"

"She's still in Canberra, patching up survivors and injured capes. That remains a priority. I'll put in a request that she does this as soon as she gets back though."

"Very well." Miss Milita sighed, "I can't say that I'm happy though."

"Either am I, but at least she didn't kill someone."

"She might nearly have." Mumbled Hannah as she left the Director's office.

Emily typed out the request to New Wave for Panacea's assistance, stating it as a fairly high urgency when she returned. The e-mail sent, the matter was considered dealt with by Director Piggot.

A seemingly random software glitch sent the request into a junk mail box, the screening software no recognising the authority codes from the PRT office. And so, the e-mail languished out of sight for a week before it was automatically deleted.

The first few days back at school had been like a return to hell. Communication was awkward as I tried to write out responses quick enough. The teachers barely even tried. Sophia and Emma had picked up where they left off with their little pranks. Things went missing, and other subtle evils were performed. They were sneaky bitches like that.

I had lost the ability to speak, and they were still allowed to continue with this. My earlier complaints had been ignored, and once again the administration did nothing. I found myself getting angry though, rather than despondent. I had gained powers sometime during my ordeal, and it angered me that I couldn't use them on my bullies. I was angry at the school for letting this go on, I was angry at them for their pointless abuse, I was angry at myself for reigning in my vengeance, but mostly I was angry at the general system that would make me the villain if I lashed out at my tormentors.

And so, I seethed, keeping a calm, neutral expression on my face the entire time. Maybe if I looked calm, I could make myself believe I was calm.

I was surprised to find that Sophia hadn't come to school in a few days. No one said anything to me, but being a social nobody, I managed to overhead things about her transferring as I was ignored by the popular kids. Well thank God for small fucking mercies. It was a relief, and even Emma backed of on her abuse, but I hadn't though much more about it till I had computer class. Assignment finished I had trawled Parahumans Online, doing a bit more research, trying to figure out what sort of things my strange telekinesis could do.

That's when I stumbled across a news article from a few days back. Shadow Stalker had been transferred to another branch of the Wards. Huh. I hadn't heard about that and wasn't really familiar with the cape other than the name. I was prepared to write it off as unimportant till I scrolled down and got a picture. In it was Shadow Stalker, next to the rest of the Wards. I hadn't realised she was so short...

My mind made some connections but they weren't ready to be believed. I started tracking down more on Shadow Stalker, every picture I could get. A close up showed Her eyes. A snippet of camera phone footage showed a bit of dark skin through a torn costume. Every where was Her confident, intimidating posture.

A placid smile was on my face as inside, my faith in the PRT slowly shrivelled and died.

Chapter Text

I hadn't told my Dad about my powers. While I knew he loved me, he couldn't really do anything to help me and frankly, with what I had learned about Sophia disappearing, I had little reason to join the Wards.

Still, I felt I had to do something, make the city a little better, balance out the shitty hand that had been dealt to me. As such, I found myself in the Docks, late on a Sunday night. My costume was something I had put together on a whim, and on the cheap, but still it would do its job of concealing my identity and that was enough for tonight.

I could hear movement up ahead as a congregation of figures crowded around a warehouse door, barely lit by the street lights further away and a sliver of moonlight. The little illumination available pick out the greens and red of the Azn Bad Boys, one of the more powerful gangs in the city, despite their tragic name. At the centre of the pack stood a taller man, bare chest, with an ornate steel mask covering his face. Lung was famous enough to pick out with just those details.

I was about to turn away, figuring this was too much of a fight for my first night out, but I heard something that turned my blood cold.

“…the children, just shoot. Doesn’t matter your aim, just shoot. You see one lying on the ground? Shoot the little bitch twice more to be sure. We give them no chances to be clever or lucky, understand?”

Well, that changed things. I couldn't just let that happen. Hell I'd likely die a horrible ignoble death, but I wouldn't let him kill some kids. With a surprising amount of resolve I marched towards my likely doom.

I had only got a dozen yards from them before Lung twisted his head my way.

"What the fuck do you want?" he snarled through the grill like opening of his mask.

I just smiled and waved at him. It wasn't like I could attempt witty one liners with him. Even if I could talk, I probably would have screwed it up anyway. Instead, I turned away from him and his gang and started struggling to move away from them. I heard shouts of surprise, most of the gang thrown flying through the air, barely visible in my peripheral vision. Lung however was barely knocked down, and he seemed to be growing in size already.

I stopped abruptly and turned back to him and his efforts to get back up were made easier. He stared at me, a mix of anger and confusion showing in his body language.

"What the fuck?" he asked in his slightly muffled, broken English.

As if to answer I leaned forward and grabbed something that wasn't there, first with one hand, then the other. More confusion evident as he tilted his head slightly, while approaching. It was then that I pulled back quickly and rotated to the right.

A surprised yelp sounded out as Lung flew through the air then abruptly swerved into the side of the warehouse, grinding against the brickwork and giving him a nasty rash before bouncing off again and flying past me and impacting the building behind me with a loud crunch.

I tilted my head, waiting for him to get back up. I jumped a little when his barely moving form was pounced on by a trio of gigantic beasts, some kind of horrify cross between hounds, rhinos and something out of a John Carpenter movie. It kind of looked like there was someone riding one of them.

"Impressive work there. Really got to thank you for saving us the trouble."

I flinched and turned to find three people standing behind me. The one in the lead, who I assumed was the one who addressed me was wearing what was effectively a motorcycle outfit, with a stylised skull visor. He reached his hand out, but I was wary about shaking with someone who had surprised me so effectively. Instead I just tilted my head a bit with and lifted an eyebrow.

I wasn't sure if he was disappointed but he continued talking in his slightly echoing voice, "We head Lung was coming after us and were justifiably freaked, but figured we'd try to take some advantage by not being where he thought and surprise him."

"We scared off Oni Lee and some other flunkies, but didn't see Lung anywhere so we were wondering what happened. Looks like you happened." He chuckled, an oddly friendly sounding chuckle. He looked over at where the creatures had stopped clawing their new rag doll.

"That was surprisingly easy, what the fuck did you do to him?"

"Some kinda telekinesis flung him into that building before he could get up to full steam." The blond girl in the black and purple bodysuit said, a grin underneath her domino mask. "He got knocked unconscious when he hit the wall head first."

The man in black turned back to me. "Introduction, I'm Grue, that's Tattletale, the gril with the dogs." He pointed at the approaching rider with the cheap dog mask, flanked by her other two 'dogs', "Is Bitch, and the ren fair reject is Regent"

"Fuck you Grue", the third of the trio said, clearly amused despite his words. He did in fact look like a ren fair reject, either that or some drama student, with his Venetian looking mask and puffy shirt. "We're the Undersiders."

Grue looked at me for a few moments, probably waiting for me to say something, "Hey, you okay? You Hurt?" I would have thought the costume would tip him off.

"The reason she hasn't introduced herself isn't because she's hurt," Tattletale said from the side, leaning up against a broken street light. "She can't talk. She's also kind of shy."

Regent face palms, a glove rubbing against the mask. "Uh Duh, Mime."

I nod my head slightly, before pulling out a note pad and pen.

-You can call me Marceau-

Tattletale looked at it, looked back at me in my stark grease paint covered face, my striped shirt and beret and then cracked up laughing. The grin spread in a more mirthful way then before. Her grin then faded as a loud rumbling noise was approaching.

"I like your style, and wouldn't want you taken in by the PRT. Wanna come back to ours?"

I considered what that implied, these were likely villains, with all that entailed. But they seemed friendly and grateful. That and I couldn't help but believe the rumours about Sophia, it just made too much sense. So fuck the PRT and their corrupt bullshit. Fuck the government that allowed that sort of stuff to happen. Fuck the school for concealing it. I still kinda wanted to help people, but Super Villains didn't need to be monsters.

I nodded and accepted a lift up onto one of the dog creatures as we rode away into the night. I flicked out my wrist towards the comatose form of Lung and a fluttering piece of paper slowly wafted its way on to his chest.

Armsmaster looked around, noting the distinct lack of fire. He was almost ready to write the call about Lung off as a prank, until he saw the huge scrape along the warehouse wall. This led him to the brutalized still form of Lung, several large bite marks and mangled limbs clearly visible. But strangely prominent was the index card sitting on his chest, only slightly stained with blood.

-Ready for pick up, one Lung, partially mauled, no refunds-
-Care of Marceau and special guests The Undersiders-

He checked Lung's pulse, strangely relieved that it was present, before loading him up with tranquillisers. 'This does not bode well' he thought, considering the fact that a new cape was in town, and apparently good enough to take out Lung. That and the Undersiders were getting bolder. He phone into HQ for a containment crew and stared at the note as he waited.

Chapter Text

The trip back to the Undersider's hide out was fairly short, but rather quiet. It was too bumpy for me to write legibly and I wasn't able to really hold up a conversation otherwise, so I guessed they felt a bit awkward. I was rather surprised at their laxity in precautions. They didn't even give me a blindfold or anything. This either meant they had a surprising amount of trust for someone they just meant, or figured they were good enough to end me if things got hairy. Given what little I'd seen of Tattletale's weird thinker abilities, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew I had no intention of getting into a fight with them.

We finally stopped at a door down a narrow alley between two warehouses elsewhere in the Docks, not too far from the Board Walk. The dog creatures already shrinking as we dismounted and I was lead through the door into a sparse large room, a loft visible above the empty space. The stairs lead up to what was nominally a lounge room. A fairly nice couch and a few chairs clustered around a large TV, a few doors leading off the open plan area. Obvious signs of living, in particular, pizza boxes, suggested that this was more than just a meeting area.

"Giving the dogs a walk." Bitch mumbled as she walked back out the door, the three dogs trailing behind. She certainly didn't seem happy I was here.

"So what to you think of our humble abode?" Asked Tattletale, gesturing around as if she were a real estate agent. I retrieved my notepad and scribbled my reply.

-Seems comfy-
-Not as Bond villain lair as expected-

That elicited another chuckle from the blond villainess. "Sorry, we're still on a waiting list for the pool filled with sharks and don't have a tinker for the 'frikin laser beams'."

"Help yourself to a coffee or tea." Grue said, pointing at the kitchenette in the corner, "I've just got to discuss some things with Tattletale. Make your self comfortable."

Ah, plotting, I guess it had to happen at some point, given the limited opportunities earlier. I figured I was safe enough, they probably didn't want to provoke me and it would have been silly to invite me in if they wanted to fight. Might as well make myself some tea.

"So what's up with the mute thing?" Asked Regent as he plopped down on the couch with all the poise of a lazy cat. I held up a finger, indicating he should wait, while I poured the boiling water into a teabag laden mug. Placing the mug on the coffee table, I sank into the cushion beside him and wrote out my reply.

-Vocal cords wrecked during trigger-

"Huh, guess that makes sense and leads to your terrifying costume." I would have bet money on him grinning like an idiot under that mask of his.

-What's wrong with Mimes?-

"Well they are creepy silent, and your wrecking of Lung sure didn't help matters". The mirth in his voice suggested a certain amount of mocking. "It could only be worse if you were a French Mime."

-What if I was?- I replied with an amused grin spreading across my face.

"Then I would have to shit my pants in terror and flee." He started laughing, to a joke I really didn't understand, but mimed laughing along with. Careful not to make the horrible wheezing noise that my laugh would come out as. That was the thing I missed more than being able to speak, I couldn't laugh properly any more and that was just depressing.

Tattletale and Grue returned from one of the side rooms and sat down on the chairs either side of the couch.

"We've been trying to recruit a new member for a while, but there haven't been any suitable matches around." Grue started. I forced my face to remain placid as he talked. I hadn't expected a recruitment pitch, but I didn't need to let them see my surprise. Though the smirk on Tattletale's face probably meant she new anyway. "You seem capable, but we'd like to ask a few questions before we offer you a place."

I nodded, I wasn't exactly sure if I wanted to join them but I'd hear them out anyway.

"I get the feeling you aren't exactly a villain." Said Tattletale, "And yet here you are accepting invite from dastardly strangers back to their lair."

She was a perceptive one alright, dangerously so, and smug about it. I pondered wording for a moment before jotting down my response.

-Yeah, not really into hurting people.-
-I have a bit of a thing against Authority.-
-Pretty sure PRT corruption resulted in my getting powers.-

"Oh, if you don't mind elaborating, I'd love to hear this." I was pretty sure she was only saying this for her team member's benefit. That devious grin had grown larger and it made me think she knew way to much already.

-I'm fairly sure Shadow Stalker's civilian ID did this to me- I pointed to my throat as I held the notepad out with my other hand.

"Why does it not surprise me she's a psycho bitch out of costume too." Grue snarled. That caught me by surprise. I tilted my head with the 'raised eyebrow of curiosity' as I liked to think of it. It seemed my face was a bit more expressive than it had been before the loss of my voice. I wasn't sure if it was just my body compensating, or something to do with my power. Either was it was useful.

"She used a lethal bolt on Grue when we last encountered her. Seems she has some unexplained grudge against him, probably due to how their powers interact." explained Tattletale.

"Yeah, and he bled all over my new white couch. I loved that couch." Added Regent. "Fucking Shadow Stalker."

-That sounds like the vindictive bitch I know and loath.-
-I heard rumours that Shadow Stalker had transferred away.
-Same day she got transferred out of school.-
-Tracked back, first appearances matched when I first met her.-
-Figure, voice, skin, eyes match video/photos of SS-
-Still not sure why me, but explains way too much.-

"Well I can see why you wouldn't want to be in the Wards then, but why the switch to villainy?" Grue asked.

-Need some money.-
-Won't work with PRT if they let in people like her.-
-Too dangerous solo.-
-You guys seem cool.-
-Just no killing people.-

"That wouldn't be a problem. We avoid that anyway as it keeps a lot of heat off our heads." Tattletale explained. "Think of it as a game of cops and robbers. As long as its only a bit of property and money, we get off lightly. Like Uber and Leet, how they only get held in low security and basically walk out of prison."

"If we started seriously hurting or killing people, it stops being a game and we get sent to the Bird Cage, or a kill order on our heads." Grue finished.

"Given that we don't run a gang and have kept a low profile, we can get away with a lot of things and earn some decent cash while doing it. You'd get a share of that if you joined us." Tattletale continued, ramping up the sales pitch. "You'd get a retainer of two thousand a month. Our boss pays us to be available for jobs. You'd also get an equal share of pay for any jobs we do."

She had some fairly good points, or at least they made sense in my head, given what I had observed of Brockton Bay capes and general news on Parahumans Online. The money sounded great too, that was way more than Dad brought in, with the economy like it was. I'd have to find a way to disguise where the money was coming from if I wanted to use it at home. That was however a problem for later.

"So what do you think?" Asked Grue.

-Okay. Count me in.-

"Bitch is probably going to be annoyed the money gets split, but she's always grumpy so whatever." Regent added.

"She'll get over it, we'll make more money in the long run." Tattletale said, before removing her domino mask. "Anyway, my name is Lisa, welcome to the Undersiders."

"I'm Brian." Said Grue, helmet now in the crook of his elbow. Showing a handsome face with smooth dark skin and neat cornrows running his scalp.

"Alec." Regent had slid his mask to the top of his head. His face was kind of feminine with slightly European features.

I couldn't exactly take of a mask, and the face paint would take too long to clean off, so instead I just smiled and held up the piece of paper.

-Taylor-
-Nice to meet you-

Chapter Text

School had been dull and eventful, especially when compared to the night before. There was some serious mood whiplash between bored student to amateur super villain. The day couldn't end quick enough so I could get out of there and meet up with my new 'partners in crime'. I knocked, opened and had just walked through the door to their, no, our Lair, when I was bombarded with babbling from the loft.

"So, first of all, we're going to get you a mask. The grease paint won't quite cut it for keeping your identity secret." Said Lisa. I was a little thrown by her sudden comment. My confusion might not have been obvious, but with Lisa it didn't matter.

"Sorry, was just thinking of several things that would be a good idea for a more professional level costume. Primarily a mask." She clarified as I climbed up the stairs to the loft. "If we get you a full face mask, your features would be hidden, with less mess and trouble than grease paint. We can still give it the classic Marcel Marceau colouring if you like."

I pondered that for a moment. As was quickly becoming typical, she had some good ideas. It was probably a good thing it was so dark last night, otherwise it might have been a simple matter for the ABB to recognise me out of costume. So I nodded my agreement.

"I'll put an order in with the boss, and he should have it to us soon. Other than a fancy new phone, any other gear you'd like, weapons, other equipment?"

A few seconds of thought brought up something rather important. I had really been to blasé about the danger the gang members had posed. I wasn't exactly any tougher after my trigger, my powers only having external applications, and it was quite possible to get caught by surprise. With that in mind my pen scratched across paper.

-bullet proof vest?-

"Your telekinesis can't do that? I thought you could have created walls or something like that."

-better safe then dead-

"That is a fair point. I'll see what he can get in your size. It will cost a fair chunk of your initial payment though, or more." I just nodded, figuring that it would be pricey, especially if there were tinker tech based options available.

"Also, I didn't mention it early, but I don't think you make as much sound as you should."

That definitely got my attention, I hadn't noticed anything like that. The look on my face prompted her to continue.

"Its likely that it only effects outside observers, and you still make some noise, just something like a tenth as much as you should. I hadn't really noticed it till you were leaving last night with how subtle it was."

Well that was some food for thought. A few seconds later I mimed a laugh as I realised just how strangely appropriate that was. Lisa joined me a second later, obviously picking up on the connection I had made. So it was a bit of a sight for Brian and Alec as they walked in with an order of hot drinks and doughnuts.

"What did we miss?" Asked Brian, a bemused look on his face.

"Oh, just noting that the universe has conspired to make mimes more terrifying to the world by making a super powered one." She responded. I just rolled my eyes with melodramatic exasperation at the statement. I never really understood what was wrong with mimes, or clowns. People were weird.

"Oh no, the horror." Brian dead-panned, matching my opinion of the statement.

"But don't you see, the end is nigh? The world is not ready for the End Mimes!" Alec said, mock horror tinging his voice. He received a slap upside the head from Brian, to my amusement.

"That was a horrible pun."

We sat down to drink and snack, sprawled around the lounge. After sipping some tea and taking a large bit out of a chocolate doughnut, I started writing out a question. The advantage of not being able to talk, is never having to worry about talking with your mouth full.

-So, power discussion time?-
-I think I know what Lisa and Rachel do-

They took in what I wrote, and Brian took the lead.

"I have darkness powers. More specifically I can black out an area, making it impossible to see and hear, as well as dampening radio and some powers. Part of the reason Shadow Stalker had a hate on for me." He looked at Lisa with a chuckle, "Or at least that's what she tells me."

-Could you demonstrate?-

"Sure." And with that, I was enveloped in darkness. When I moved my arm through the air, it had a weird oily texture to it there and there was a strange resistance, as if I were in some kind of liquid. I experimentally clapped my hands, and heard nothing, only the muted vibration through my hands indicating anything had happened. I gave a thumbs up, hoping he could see it, and the darkness receded.

-Felt weird-

They nodded in agreement and he continued, "As you guessed, I can see and hear through it just fine, so it makes for a good advantage in a fight."

I nodded in agreement, I wouldn't want to get stuck in that with Grue not on my side. I would be hard pressed to fight in those conditions.

My hand pointed towards Alec, indicating his turn.

"I mess with people's nervous system, like this." He said, snapping his fingers. Brian's hand, holding an éclair, jerked up to smeared cream on his face and prompting a surprised yelp.

"Alec, don't mess with the food." He growled, which only earned him a laugh.

"Its not the most dramatic power, but with timing its been rather useful. Tripping people up, throwing off aim, dropping things and so on." Lisa added.

I nodded once again. It had potential, but overall seemed a bit limited compared to most powers I'd heard of.

Some excited barking from downstairs heralded the return of Rachel. Going off an earlier suggestion by Lisa, I prepared to get her attention. Waving as she came into view, I quickly pointed to me then to her dogs and made a vague patting gesture then held up a piece of paper

-?-

The grumpy look she had on her face as she realised I was here turned to slight confusion as I played charades. Then she brought up Judas and mumbled, "Okay, be careful."

I gently patted the big dog on the head and scratched behind his ears, which he seemed to appreciate. Rachel looked at me and nodded with tacit approval before moving away again and off to her room to feed the dogs.

Lisa smiled at me while Alec and Brian looked surprised.

-What?-

"Usually Rachel would be more aggressive around new people." Brian answered.

"I guess even she is afraid of mimes." Joked Alec.

I just put my face in my hand and shook it side to side.

Chapter Text

I couldn't see a clock anywhere in the room, and noticing that the light from outside was starting to dim, I held up my left wrist and tapped on it.

"Almost five." Lisa said without looking anywhere. Her power must have supplied her with the answer. I tapped my chin in a pondering gesture.

"Somewhere to be?" Asked Brian.

-Home-
-Dad will worry-

"I can call him if you wanted to stick around and hang out. We have a spare cot." Lisa offered.

"We could get some pizza. Or judging by your looks, Chinese?" Alec suggested. The other three had looked unimpressed at his first idea. Not surprising with the pizza boxes everywhere.

"You wanna stick around?" Brain asked.

I felt pretty safe around them, and frankly I had been a bit deprived of friendly human contact over the last year and a half, even with the near cessation of bullying. So I thought fuck it, why not. The only problem was communicating this to Dad. I was going to need to convince him to get a mobile for texting as this sort of situation made communication... difficult. As much as they reminded me of Mum, I'd have to get over it sooner than later.

I nodded, wrote out my home number for Lisa, handed a slip with a request for lemon chicken to Brian and prepared to write out some responses for Dad's inevitable questions. Lisa dialled and put it on speaker phone.

"Hi is this Taylor's Dad?" She asked as soon as the phone picked up.

"...Yes, has something happened?" A slight ting of worry already evident.

"No, no, nothing like that, my name's Lisa, I'm a friend of Taylor's. She's asked me to call you to see if she can stay the night. We're on speaker phone if you'd like to say hello."

"You there Taylor?"

I snapped my fingers twice near the speaker, a gesture I had been using to catch his attention since I lost my voice.

"I'd feel safer if you came home, you sure its alright to be out?" His concern was somewhat understandable, but he didn't exactly make it easy. I scribbled a suitable response for Lisa.

"She's written, 'I'll drop by on my way to school in the morning for a change of clothes, it will count as my morning run.' "

"Oh, ok, that sounds alright. Be careful, I'll see you in the morning." He obviously didn't think it sounded alright, but couldn't really do anything about it, and my verbally challenged nature made any further discussion tedious.

"He sounded nervous." She said as she hung up, in a leading way. I sighed, or my best approximation of one.

-Had a bullying problem.-
-With Sophia gone, less so.-

"Ah. That would explain things. Though probably shouldn't mention to anyone else Shadow Stalker's name. Bit of a violation of the unwritten rules and may get you in some trouble."

I blinked and slapped myself upside the head. That was kind of stupid of me. As much as I hated that bitch, her family probably didn't deserve any backlash of her being exposed. I made a mental note to be extra careful about that in the future.

We walked back over to the lounge area, where Brian had just finished ordering dinner from Lucky Chen's over on the Board Walk. He looked up as we approached.

"How about we take a walk to pick up the food? We can grab a few other items while the food is cooking."

Several affirmatives as we stood to leave, while Rachel just grumbled and stayed seated, playing with the dogs. I guessed she didn't like shopping much.

We wove our way though the alleys and streets of the Docks on our way to the shops, not really chatting much. The silence was reasonably comfortable though.

"So school huh?" Said Alec, breaking the silence. It might have been a bit less comfortable to people who weren't me. I simply nodded, then pointed at him quizzically.

"Nah, dropped out when I left home. Learned what I needed and I don't see myself doing anything legit." He shrugged as a weird sort of punctuation.

"I take online courses." Said Brian.

"I've already taken my G.E.D." Said Lisa, jumping on the bandwagon.

"And you didn't use your powers at all." The sarcasm positively dripped from Alec's tongue.

"I would have gone insane with boredom if I stayed in school." She added, a fair excuse if I ever heard one.

We walked a bit further in silence till we hit the Board Walk. Brian led us to an electronics store that had yet to close for the day and Lisa picked out a large touch screen with a slide out keyboard. I had thought that slightly defeated the point of having a touch screen but the keys would be a lot easier to type with at speed.

"This should make things a bit quicker than the pad once you get used to it. As well as you know, communicating." She smiled as she explained her choice, confirming my earlier thoughts. I mouthed the words 'thank you' and smiled.

"That's what friends are for." She smiled and hugged me, which surprised me a little. I had grown unused to contact since Mum died. While Dad would give me hugs he had grown somewhat distant since and Emma, well Emma stopped with the hugs when she became a traitorous bitch. Still, my tension eased out as she continued the hug a bit longer. I was starting to wonder if she had known I needed one when she finally let go and we proceeded to the restaurant.

The trip back was mostly spent with Brian and Alec arguing over the finer points of some game I hadn't played, while Lisa added a bunch of numbers to my new phone/writing pad.

Dinner was fairly quiet, as we were all to busy stuffing our faces with delicious food that probably only vaguely matched actual Chinese recipes. Soon we had devoured most of the available cuisine and moved on to the slow process of overfilling our bellies with prawn crackers.

"So other than the voice thing, any reason for the mime theme?" Asked Brian, sounding genuinely interested.

I held up a finger as I pulled out the phone and stumbled through opening up a text box. I figured I had best get practising.

-The voice was one.-
-I like mimes, unlike some.-
-When I use powers, usually see invisible shapes.-
-Need to interact with to use.-
-So mime made sense to me.-

"Wow, that is interesting. Rarely get to hear how other perceive their powers." He said.

"I'd say that was way too much of a coincidence, but powers are strange like that. Hell look at Glaistig Uaine, she for all appearance collects ghost of parahumans, that have their powers." Said Lisa. I wasn't sure I liked being compared to the Faerie Queen, but she did have a point. "Also I note you used the word 'usually'."

-Few more things I can do-
-Still need to make gestures-

"Like?" She asked. I was kind of surprised she couldn't tell, but I guess their were limits to even her power. Either that or felt like letting me explain.

-Volunteer? May hurt-

"As long as it isn't permanent, sure." Brian offered.

I coughed into my left hand before making rasping breathing noises and held up my right in a claw. Brian made a choked gargling noise as some pressure was applied to his throat. I quickly released the pressure, having gotten the point across. Lisa started clapping, apparently amused at the connotations, and I did a quick little bow as Regent cracked up laughing.

"Fucking Vader?" Said Brian incredulously. I couldn't say I really blamed him. I was rather surprised when I found that out as I was haphazardly practising last month. I quickly tapped out something on my phone.

-I find your lack of faith disturbing-

That started another bout of laughter, even from Brian. I was more and more feeling this team thing could work out well.

Chapter Text

I awoke at 6:28 as usual. Even with out the usual sound cues from home, it was so ingrained. Initially I had a bout of panic as I stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling, before last night's decision came to me and realised I was in a camp bed in the spare room of the Undersider lair. My new phone decided it was 7 and started beeping insistantly. Reaching over, bleary eye I tried to shut up the unfamiliar device, taking several attempts to quiet its ear splitting noise.

I dragged myself out of bed and put my jacket and shoes back on, having left everything else on, not quite comfortable enough yet to sleep in less around my new team mates. Stumbling out of the room I waved sleepily at Brian, who had crashed on the couch for the night. He smiled and poured hot water into a mug and took a sip.

"Would you like some tea?" He asked gesturing at the stack of mugs. I nodded, thinking nothing would be better right at that moment. He grabbed a mug and dropped in a bag of Earl Grey. Not exactly perfect, but it would do. A quick pour and he held out the steaming drink for me to take.

I slowly drank down the tea, gradually feeling more aware than I had shortly before. Placing the mug down, I retrieved the phone from my pocked and started typing.

-I'll head home.-
-Want a shower before school.-
-Thanks for tea.-

"A good idea, and no problem. If you drop by this afternoon I'll have a spare key for you. You can come by and hang out whenever."

-Sweet.-
-Tell them I said hi.-

"Will do."

I waved goodbye as I headed out the door for a strange inverse of my morning run. The air was crisp, the sun only just starting to peek in between the various warehouses around the lair. I slowly ramped up my pace as I hit the Board Walk, getting my blood pumping, my breathing regular and my feet thumping along the streets towards home. It was a little thing really, but last night had improved my mood considerably compared to just a few days back. So long with out any friendship and suddenly I had 3 and a half. After all, I wasn't sure Bitch was my friend, so much as someone I had mutual tolerance of. But it was a good start, even if I was possibly deluding myself.

I arrived back home, having worked up quite a sweat, pushing myself a bit harder that usual. If I was going to be a cape, I should really try to be at peak fitness, and I'd only really be exhausted till I got some breakfast into my belly. As I opened up the front door, Dad came out from the kitchen.

"Hi Taylor, did you have fun?" He asked, trying to be supportive, but still clearly worried. I nodded and pulled out my note pad to 'talk'. I didn't want to freak him out about the phone so soon.

"I didn't realise you had made some new friends." He commented. I felt slightly insulted at the implications, even if they were entirely valid.

-I met them on one of my jogs.-
-Chatted a few times.-
-Thought we'd hang out.-

It wasn't entirely a lie, I had after all met them when I went jogging, just at night, in costume, after a cape fight.

"So what are they like?"

-They're nice.-
-Funny too.-

Well, to me anyway, I couldn't really tell them they were villains and had helped me wreak Lung.

"I'll get to meet them at some point?" He asked, almost pleadingly. He was obviously concerned that I might be involved with people I probably shouldn't. I would have to organise for Lisa at least to drop by some time. Not sure how he'd react to the rest.

-I'll see if they want to drop by some time-
-Need to shower & get ready.-

It was a slightly cruel trick to short cut the conversation like that, but I was starting to run a little late and didn't really know what else to tell him about my new crew. Especially when I still had lingering doubts about whether this was such a good idea.

"Oh, of course, don't want to be late. We can talk later."

I nodded and head upstairs to clean up.

Dad was able to drop me off at school on his way to work, which suited me just fine with my extra effort I had put in this morning. I had found myself dressing in a bit more color than usual, running off the advice Lisa gave me about the civilian/cape identity division. The less similarities between clothing and general appearance, the harder it would be to match up the two 'different' people. My hair was down as usual, unlike when I was in costume and I tucked it into a bun under my beret.

The main issue I had would be the identifying feature of not being able to talk. While it worked with the Mime theme, it was still atypical. As much as it pained me, I had to consider limiting my phone typing to cape/lair use and stick with the pad for when I was Taylor. That, was depressing. But at least for today, I would stick with the pad. Maybe I could get a less cool phone for every day use. Damn, I had forgot to mention phones to Dad.

I found myself struggling to pay attention in class, I hadn't even done much cape work, and already school seemed so mundane. Luckily, the teachers continued to play to type and ignored me. It was too much of a hassle for them to really engage me in questions when one of us had to approach the other to get my answer across. I should have been annoyed by yet another sign of an uncaring system, but it finally proved useful for once.

Third period was computer class with Ms Knott, and after finishing of the fairly simple assignment I dove into Parahumans Online to see if any gossip had spread about my exploits versus Lung. To say I was disappointed by the complete lack of news would be a vast understatement. Seriously, what the hell? I would have thought taking down one of the most powerful capes in the Bay would be enough to warrant a little attention. I could understand the ABB wanting to keep it quiet, but surely the PRT would be shouting it to the heavens that the guy who fought most of the local Protectorate to a stand still was captured?

My sour mood was not at all helped by Emma. I had walked out of class only to pass by her on the way to math with Mr Quinlan. She had been a bit quiet since Sophia disappeared and hardly tried anything after I came back from the hospital. Probably a bit shocked that there were repercussions for her actions. So it was somewhat surprising when she decided to return to her usual bitchy self.

"Don't even know why she bothers to come anyway?" She faux whispered as I walked by.

"Yeah, its not like she can talk to people or anything." said one of the random hangers on. I was slightly confused that I didn't see Madison around, maybe she had learned some common sense. More likely got bored.

"Its creepy how silent she is."

I thought about just walking on. They really weren't worth it. I should really move on. Fuck it. I stopped, pulled out my pad and started writing as I turned and walked back their way. It wasn't wise, it probably wouldn't achieve much, but it might just be fun.

-Sorry-
-Does the injury your lover gave me offend you?-
-Or are you cranky with no Sophia to cuddle?-

If this all went to hell, at least the look of shock on her face as she read the note would stick in my memory for some time to come. I started scribbling a response even as she blushed and sputtered, hoping I guessed right.

"What, no, you pervert. I'm not a dyke like you."

-Was she that better in bed than me?-

The girl next to her snorted, drawing an angry look from Emma. It didn't match quite right, but the speed gave the desired effect. I had asked Lisa the night before for some tips on embarrassing prissy bitch faced divas. For no reason in particular. Honest.

"Eeew no, its not like that."

-I'm sorry, but I have someone else now.-

I gave my best attempt at a pitying expression and then walked off to the next class, leaving her to defend herself to her new hangers on. Its not like I really had a reputation to maintain and being thought of as a lesbian wasn't really much of a change from the rumours that got spread around anyway. Not like any of the guys at school were worth a damn either. Otherwise they would have interfered in the bullying, or let me out of the locker, or not laughed along with the jokes at my expense. Still,that little pick me up managed to lift my spirits enough to stick around for the rest of the school day.

Chapter Text

-Hi Dad,-
-I've gone to go hang out with Lisa and Co.-
-Should be back after dinner, otherwise I'll ask Lisa to call you.-
-I know its been an issue since Mum died, and I don't really like it,-
-but given my problem, we should get mobile phones.-
-The texting thing could let us communicate without me needing others.-
-Please consider it.-

I stared at the note for Dad before sticking it to the fridge and heading to the lair. It was another cowardly use of my speech issue, but I really didn't want to try and have the talk without giving him some time to think on it. Let him calm down before deciding, I hoped.

A short bus trip later, I was within walking distance of my new home away from home. I don't know what it said about me that I was more comfortable in a villain lair than I was in my own home. The strange detachment between Dad and I that had been their since the crash, and hadn't receded much even after the locker, with him trying harder to connect.

I heard an invitation at my knocking on the door and entered. Every one was already upstairs in the loft, which was a nice surprise.

"Taylor, perfect timing, we've just got a job request from the boss." said Brian. I tilted my head in question and Lisa answered.

"He wants us to do a bank job this Thursday."

That surprised me, would have thought that that would be a bit too ambitious for us, but I was intrigued. I pulled my phone out and tapped away.

-Isn't that risky?-

"Yes, very." said Brian, clearly unimpressed at the whole idea.

Lisa stood near the TV, a phone in hand. I could only guess that it was our mysterious employer on the other end. The rest were lounging on the couch and seats.

"But its like an initiation into a life of villainy. Can't be a villain without a bank robbery." She said, obviously wanting us to go along with the idea.

"Still a bad idea. What's the average haul for a bank heist?"

"Maybe twenty kay?" She replied after a little thought.

"Yeah, not really that much considering that a bank in Brocton Bay will have even less cash on hand with all the villains around. So knock off another five thou and we end up with maybe three grand each. That's less than our other jobs."

"Three thousand in spending money could always help." Piped in Alec, the mention of money grabbing his attention.

"What is worth buying that we'd try to rob a bank with the hero presence in this city?" he asked, and Alec just shrugged.

"We've won plenty of fights, even before we got her." Said Rachel, finally joining the conversation, and nodded in my direction in a dismissive manner.

"Fights where we picked out battles, where we could move about, not trapped in a bank full of hostages."

General nods from the group, while I sat and took in the discussion.

"It will be harder to slip away, and if we want anything worth a damn we'll have to fight. Even with your power Lisa, it will take time to get through all the security and the capes will arrive in no time flat."

Alec grinned and said "But think of the rep we'd gain for getting away with it."

"He's right." said Bitch.

"And yet, not getting caught is better for our reputation long term."

"What do you think?" asked Lisa looking my way. I had gotten carried away observing. On the one hand it sounded like it could be fun, but I didn't really want to get arrested on my second outing as a cape.

-Rep would be good.-
-Doesn't sound worth the risk though.-

Alec rolled his eyes, while Rachel looked at the phone blankly. I looked at her for a moment, awaiting a snide comment, before something clicked. I face palmed and typed. I don't know why I didn't think of it before when I had researched her history.

-Can Rachel read?-

"Shit." Said Brian, aptly summing up everyone's opinion on the matter.

"What?" Asked Rachel.

"You can't read?" Alec sounded disbelieving. I was kind of surprised this hadn't come up earlier.

"Only some words."

"Well as inconvenient as that is, I have some reasons to take this job." Said Lisa, quickly regaining out attention. "The boss wants a job done at a particular time, so I managed to wrangle some extra funding from him if we do the job."

"The bank is actually my idea and he liked it. The Protectorate have an event outside town on Thursday so they won't be able to respond in time. We hit Bay Central in downtown, Ward jurisdiction stops New Wave from coming in."

"So we are just attacking the bank with the heaviest security in the city with Arcadia nearby." Brian said, trying to wrap his head around the crazy.

"Yes, and the entire team can't all pop out of school without attracting the wrong sort of attention. So we'd be fighting a partial team of junior heroes, and they are down one Shadow Stalker. With me so far?"

"Well that sounds a lot more doable. Still not really worth the money." He said, with less disagreement in his body language than earlier.

"Ah, but I got the boss to give us twice what we haul in. We take fifteen, we get payed an extra thirty. Or he brings us up to a minimum twenty five thou, whichever is more. So we all walk away with a minimum five kay each as long as we get away."

"Why the hell would he do that, it makes no sense." I had to agree with Brian on that point, tasty amounts of cash aside, that did seem suspicious.

"And hell cover costs for this job." She added, her mouth a huge grin.

I mimed out a confused Why? gesture. I hadn't even seen that much in a bank account, let alone in cash.

"One, he wants a team with a reputation on call. Two he must want this job done real bad."

-Distraction?-

"Probably, but with the money we'd be getting that really isn't our concern."

"Thats some nice incentive, but attacking one of the most secure buildings in the city and certain conflict with the Wards..."

"And Thursday afternoon will have the highest amount of cash, as the armoured cars will have made several drop offs by then. So we'd be looking at, at least thirty though, so we'd get ninety."

Brian just whistled. It looked like she'd hit the magic number. It was a very pretty number.

"Alright, I'm in."

"Finally, of course I'm in." said Alec.

Rachel just grunted in agreement.

They all looked at me. I was a bit nervous about the idea, but it would net me a bunch of cash and stick it to the PRT hard if we were successful. I should have been worried that one of my major motivations as a person lately has been vindictive spite. Just a shame I couldn't take it out on Sophia.

-So, what's the plan?-

Chapter Text

-Still not convinced-

"Would you rather take a hit to your pride, or have your identity revealed?" Asked Lisa.

-Neither-
-You get away with a domino mask-

"Yes, but I take steps to change my appearance and body language, and we need to work twice as hard with your silence."

-But do we really need to do this?-

"Yes, trust me. You'll thank me in the long run. Besides, the vest already flattens out your chest."

I sighed and caved into the un-winnable argument. As much as it hurt my pride, it worked surprisingly well. With the baggy pants, sensible running shoes the bullet proof vest underneath the roomy black and white striped shirt and my hair hidden under the red beret, I looked like a boy. My height and the concealment of my meagre feminine traits added together to give the completely wrong impression for my gender and the mask just made it all the more convincing. That stupid male mime face. But really, what did I expect when I named myself after the most famous of mimes. At least I could take small comfort in knowing it was an extra layer of disguise that most wouldn't notice.

In addition to getting my costume sorted, I had obtained a stun gun and stashed it in a belt pouch. A 'just in case' option, even though my power would likely work much more effectively. I had the boss send me a bicycle horn, to use as a quick way to grab attention. While I could have found something less obnoxious, it fit the theme too well.

-Well, let's get going then.-

We made out way to the side door of the bank, rain drizzling down on us as we walked through the alley. Bitch's dogs were already pretty large, like small mutant flesh ponies. Not as large as they were when they were mauling Lung though, lest they not fit through the door.

I kept an eye on the alley entrance, while Tattletale blathered on about security codes and special procedures behind me. I probably could have been paying more attention to what she said, but I was too amped up and paranoid about ambush. The door made a little chime noise and opened, letting us make a quiet entry inside. Once through the door, the dogs started growing more while the rest of us systematically checked the rooms we passed.

Grue held up a hand then flooded one of the rooms with darkness, returning shortly after with a man in a suit, steered via twisted arm. Right about now, the security guards would be calling in a villain attack, which should be directed to the Wards if all went according to plan. Regent came out of another pushing an older employee ahead of him. Both looking fearful. Probably ten minutes tops before the heroes arrived to 'save the day'.

As we entered the main lobby, Grue filled the outskirts of the room with darkness, sealing off the view from the outside and isolating everyone in the bank while Angelica Judas and Brutus grew extra large in a moment, charging into the room, spraying bloody chunks everywhere and they increased to the size of cars.

"Down on the ground!" Shouted Grue, his voice a booming echo through the darkness around his mask. "Fifteen minutes of your cooperation, we'll be done and you can all go home safe. If you don't cooperate, the dogs will have new chew toys. Be quiet and still. Do not attempt to run or call for help, you'll only get someone hurt."

Tattletale, Grue and Bitch went over to the vault with Angelica, while Regent and I started zip cuffing the crowd. A girl with brown curly hair and freckles was glaring at us. I caught her eye and wagged my finger at her in case she was going to try something. She had the eyes of someone that needed watching. The vault was opened and Tattletale went over to the manager's office to monitor the security situation.

People were behaving fairly well, obviously terrified of the dogs. I was kind of feeling bad for helping scare the hell out of these people, but we hadn't harmed anyone and I wasn't planning on it. Angelica came out, laden with gym bags full of loot, and Brutus was called in. I just stood there, leaning on nothing, keeping my eyes on people I thought might be a threat. That girl had stopped staring directly at me at lest.

Bored, I was tempted to start playing with an invisible bouncy ball, but was snapped out of it by Tattletale at the vault door.

"The white hats are here, and it doesn't look good."

We moved to the doors and peered out through gaps in the swirling darkness. outside stood a spread out line of six capes. I recognised five from their costumes after researching the wards. The sixth however was new to me. I tapped on Tattletale's shoulder and pointed at the muscled teen.

"Browbeat, a point blank telekinetic, don't let him hit you. He can also heal pretty fast." She explained quickly.

"So, why are there six out there when there were only supposed to be three or four?" Grue asked, quite pointedly.

"I'm guessing he just joined the Wards, probably to replace Shadow Stalker. Also there is a seventh on the roof." She replied.

"You really screwed the pooch here. If we get out of this, we're having a long chat."

"I can take them. Just let my dogs do their thing." Said Bitch, seemingly unconcerned.

"Nope, not risking killing anyone. We take the money, run for it like planned."

"Thats what they want." Said Tattletale shaking her head. "The way they're lined up, spread just enough to tempt us. The one on the roof would get in the way of the back. With Vista and outnumbering us, we'll have even more trouble fleeing."

"Fuck." Groaned Regent.

"Well we can't stay here, the Protectorate will eventually appear and we aren't likely to force them inside." Said Grue, pointing out the obvious.

"We have hostages." Bitch said, as if we had forgotten.

Honk

They all turned to look at me, bicycle horn in one hand, phone in the other.

-Expect us to run-
-Surprise attack them-

The doors slammed open and half of our hostages ran out of the bank

Aegis yelled out "Get down!" at the fleeing civilians just as another billowing cloud of pitch black enveloped them.

"Brutus, hurt!" Bitch told the dog at her side, pointing at Aegis past the darkness, and it leaped in to action, bounding toward the Wards leader.

Nestled behind a pillar and some residual darkness, Regent snapped out his arm, causing Kid Win to throw his aim and scatter shots meant for Brutus at Clockblocker's feet, causing him to dodge to the side. The dog's jaws missed Aegis by a few feet as the space warped around him. I had found my target.

Whirling my right arm around before making a skyward throwing gesture, I waited for a few seconds, following a non existant object into the air and down onto Vista. I could hear her surprised yelp as her arms snapped to her sides and I started hauling her up into the air. Grue assisted by creating a sphere around her, so she couldn't see anything.

The space warping around Aegis dropped, allowing the dogs teeth to snap around his arm and start shaking its massive head, tossing the hero around like a rag doll. I winced a bit as I saw blood flying around the place, but knew, at least intellectually, that he could take it. Tying off the invisible rope I had lassoed Vista with on one of the pillars. I took in the scene. Kid Win was taking erratic turns as Regent continued to troll him.

Gallant was throwing his emotion blasts around the place, trying to hit one of us in between all the barriers of darkness that had sprung up. He eventually manage to clip Bitch, who apparently got very angry, screaming and pointing at him. Judas took this as an order and pounced, knocking the silver armoured ward against a nearby wall, where he stopped movie. I had hoped he was only unconscious.

"Be right back, Marceau." said Tattletale with a grin before running back to the office. She turned before I could attempt to complain. So instead I turned back to the fight.

Kid win opened up with a spray of fire, clipping Bitch and flooring her, before he took a nose dive into the ground, courtesy of Regent. Angelica stood over her master and growled at the approaching Browbeat. Before I could do anything, he punched the dog, sending in flying back several yards. He had a few seconds to look down at the groaning Bitch, before he found one of his legs pulled out from under him as I pulled, then sent him flying of to the side and skidding a few times across the road.

Stepping back to the pillar, I mimed checking on the 'rope' I had 'tied' earlier. I didn't want Vista coming loose anytime soon. The fight out front was rather distracting, so much so that I almost missed the movement behind me. That girl with the dagger eyes had wrangled her phone out of her pocket, despite the zip ties and had pressed a few buttons. As I moved over to sort it out, a crash came from further down the room as a familiar white and gold dressed figure slammed into the lobby. Glory Girl. Fuck.

"Hey Sis," She said, looking at the girl at my feet, "You okay?"

Well that explained a lot. Well, not one to take the safe option apparently, I pushed her back down to the floor with one foot and squeezed my horn.

Honk Honk

Her face quickly turned into a snarl as she flew at me. I had just enough time to drop the horn and put my hands up, shoulder width apart. The look on Glory Girl's face when she slammed into an invisible wall was well worth waking up this morning. My hands shook a little with the imaginary shockwave. As she dropped back, a little stunned. I moved my hands over my shoulder, took a grip and swung hard, expecting it to bounce off her. Instead, it sent her flying into the wall behind her, screaming in pain before hitting the wall with a dull thump.

"Vicky? What did you do to her?" The girl who I realised was Panacea asked, sounding both very surprised a worried. She had her head to the side so she could look at her sister, and catch me in her peripheral vision. I tapped at my phone.

-I thought she was invincible?-

"Not exactly invincible." said Tattletale as she walked back into the lobby with a vulpine grin on her face. "Some kind of shield effect that has to regenerate. Looks like it was taken out when she crashed into your wall. Ah Panacea, didn't recognise you, did you do something with your hair?"

"Fucking psychos, let me heal her, she could be dying." Panacea pleaded.

"Oh don't worry, she's still breathing, she just got knocked out. Not used to pain I would guess. Anyway, time for us to head out. The Wards have been dealt with."

I stepped, off the healer, and kneeled down beside her as I typed out another message.

-Sorry.-
-She probably would have killed me.-
-Please wait a minute to heal her.-
-No hard feelings?-

My fingers made scissoring motions and the cuffs came apart as my other hand picked up my horn. As we left through the front door, I turned back towards the slowly rising girl.

Honk Honk

Shrouded in darkness, we rode away from the pile of unconscious and or mauled heroes with around 40 grand in various denominations and bonds. All in all, a pretty fucking good haul. Bitch was still wincing in pain as we rode, Gallant's blast, and the laser pistol having bruised her good, and Grue had been clipped by a stray punch from Aegis before two of the dogs ganged up to play tug of war. Otherwise, we got away pretty much unscathed.

I still didn't know how to feel about Glory Girl. On the one hand I had hurt her pretty bad, which I didn't think was even possible. On the other, she had seemed like an arrogant bitch much like Sophia. My perspective may have been a bit skewed though, seeing as I was holding her sister hostage at the time.

We split up as planned. Dismounting and changing out of costume while still under cover of darkness, then pretending to be confused civilians when eh darkness passed by. Lisa and I along with Judas, just a couple of teenage girls walking a dog. No villains around, no sir.

Chapter Text

Wards

The bruised and battered wards had staggered into the common room, having been chewed out by a disgruntled Director Piggot in the lobby. Aegis had gone to patch himself up, leaving the rest to debrief.

“So, not exactly the best start to your new career, huh?” Clockblocker turned to Browbeat.

“Fuck, I wouldn’t mind so much if I knew what happened,” Browbeat stretched, and his muscles began to dwindle in size, “At least then I could figure out what to do better next time. All I know is that I was suddenly blind and deaf, and when I tried to move, everything bent the wrong way. I get clear long enough to punch one of Hellhound's dogs, she's at my feet and then I feel a yank on my leg and I'm suddenly flying down the road. Going to need to replace half my costume with the gravel rash."

“Hold that thought,” Gallant told their newest member, “Hey Clock, you don’t mind if I take point?”

“Go for it." he said, rubbing the lump on the back of his head where something had clobbered him in Grue's darkness, before he got tased.

"Thank you." he said as he moved over to the whiteboards. "First off, today was not a complete failure, as we now have some intel on the otherwise elusive Undersiders. Until now, hardly anyone has managed to even inconvenience them."

He turned and wrote the names Grue, Tattletale and Hellhound on one board and Regent on the second before pausing. "Do we know who the new cape was? The Mime?"

"I didn't hear him speak," Said Clockblocker, "and none of the hostages heard him either. He just stood there watching them silently, all creepy like while leaning on an invisible bench."

"Really? Damn, sounds like we've got a real character." said Kid Win. "I didn't get a good look at him, too busy having my aim or flight messed with."

"Lets call him Mime for now." He said, writing the name next to Regent's with a large question mark next to it.

“Grue’s power isn’t just darkness. The sound is gone and it feels strange too, like you’re moving though water,” Clockblocker spoke. "I reckon he isn't effected as I got whacked up side the head."

“Good,” Gallant wrote that in Grue’s column, “Next?”

“The mutant dog things Hellhound makes? They’re trained,” Browbeat offered, “She tells them what to do with whistles, gestures. They tore Aegis apart, but only threw us around. Damn tough too. I punched at near full strength and it only flew a few feet back.”

"I thought that was the case, good to get confirmation." Gallant replied, writing more notes.

"Regent. He was snapping his arm around and each time he did it, my aim was thrown off." Said Kid Win.

"Yeah, you almost shot me." Clockblocker grumbled.

"Sorry about that. Then when I tried to charge into him, he made me crash into the ground. Barely had time to react before he stuck me with that sceptre. The thing had a taser in it." he sighed.

"What happened to you Vista? One moment we had the space warping, next I couldn't see you." Asked Gallant, the concern on his face giving Vista a few flutters in her stomach.

"I'm not even sure, I had stretched the space in front of Aegis, to stop him getting eaten, then my arms were locked around my waist. Felt like I was tied up or something. Then I got pulled into the air in a few rough jerks before everything was blocked out by that darkness till the fight was over."

"Damn, I think the mime is a telekinetic." Said, Dennis, frustration in his voice.

"That would explain my unexpected flight time." grumbled Browbeat.

Carlos returned from the shower, wearing a new set of cloths and haphazardly stitched up, looked at the board and sighed. He didn't really have anything to add, having spend most of the fight being a chew toy.

The visitor alarm went off and everyone scrambled to get their faces covered before the entrance to the common room opened, revealing Armsmaster and Miss Militia.

“Armsmaster,” Gallant stood up, “Good to see you, Sir. Miss Militia, always a pleasure.”

“Ever the gentleman,” Miss Militia’s eyes hinted at the smile behind her scarf, “We brought a guest.”

Behind them was Panacea with a Guest ID pin to her white costume.

“She was kind enough to volunteer to come here and patch you guys up,” Miss Militia told the young heroes, “Can’t send you home with horrible injuries, can we? That would give away the show.”

“I wanted to thank you guys for coming to my rescue,” Panacea spoke, shyly, “And for letting Glory Girl come with you.”

Gallant smiled, then in a more concerned tone, he asked, “You two are okay?”

"No, not really." she sighed. "I wasn't hurt and I would have been here sooner, but she was pretty beat up. I healed her up, but she's sulking. Hasn't been seriously hurt before, so I think she's taking it harder. Marceau found some way past her invincibility."

"Wait, did you say Marceau?" asked Armsmaster, suddenly rather concerned.

"That's what Tattletale called the crazy mime guy that clobbered Glory Girl."

"Damn, looks like the new cape is a villain after all." He grumbled.

Gallant had crossed out 'Mime' and replaced it with 'Marceau' on the board, before he asked, "Name makes sense, famous French Mime. Care to explain sir?"

"It was kept fairly quite to avoid widespread gang conflict, but Lung was taken into custody Sunday night. He was mauled and unconscious when I arrived. A calling card was left, claiming 'Marceau' had left him as a 'gift' and claimed the Undersiders as 'special guests'.

"Shit, we just faced the guy who took down Lung? Why are we not broken and bleeding in the hospital right now?" asked Clockblocker with obvious concern, a shiver ran down his back, "I'm never going to look at mimes the same."

"I don't think he likes hurting people." spoke Panacea, "He apologised for hurting my Sis as they were leaving, apparently he was surprised as I was that he managed to hurt her."

"Wait, he spoke to you?" Asked Dennis.

"No, he used his phone and typed out messages. Seems to hardly make a noise at all. When he hit Vicky it didn't make a noise till she hit the wall." She shuddered as she remembered the crunching noise and her screams. "The only sound he ever made was with a little squeaky horn."

"Ok, I'm adding sound based stranger powers for now, possibly involuntary." said Gallant, amending the list. Then tapping the blank area under Tattletale's name, "Do we know anything about her? I don't think any of us ran into her."

"Hostages didn't have much to say other that she opened the vault." added Dennis.

"She seemed to know what happened with Vicky's invulnerability. So I guess she might be a thinker." said Panacea. "Other than that, I don't know."

Panacea was about to leave, having patched up the Wards, good as new, when Miss Militia caught her attention.

"Can I have a moment of you time?" she asked. Amy nodded.

"Thank you for your help today, but on another matter, I was wondering how healing Ms Hebert went."

"Who?" asked Amy a bewildered look on her face.

Hannah frowned behind her scarf. "We sent through a request a few months back to heal a girl that had a rather unfortunate thing happen to her. I had hoped it was sorted."

"I'll have to check with Brandish, but I don't recall anything like that. The name isn't familiar, what happened?"

"She had a severe infection due to the actions of malicious bullying, was hospitalised for weeks, lost her larynx and almost her life."

"Damn, I hope whoever was responsible was punished."

"Oh they were." The angry tone to her voice surprised Amy, she hadn't heard that much venom from Miss Milita before. "I'd consider it a favour if you could heal her."

"Okay. If you can give me her details I'll organise a time with her, assuming she wants it."

"Why wouldn't she?

"Some people are weird like that, and I can only heal them with their permission." She sighed. "There was one guy who refused to have a leg regrown, rambling about the Devil's work, or something equally insane."

"Well that's all I can ask. Thank you. I'm going to go see what happened to the request." She said, and left the young healer to head back home. 

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♦ Topic: Bay Central Bank Heist
In: Boards ► News ► Events ►America

Tattletale's_Throw_Away (Original Poster) ( Unverified Cape )
Posted on April 14th, 2011 :

For your viewing pleasure.

A highlight reel.

Love,
The Undersiders

(Showing page 35 of 42)

► Goldline
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
What the hell happened to Vista ?

► HotterLass
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
Was that an invisible lasso?

► GoodGoo
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
Wow, look at Browbeat fly.

► Nyrus
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
I am now officially terrified of Mimes.

► Grapejoint
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
That guy took out GG in one hit? How crazy is that? I wonder what other crazy powers he has.

► Volan
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
Its kinda creepy how that mime was leaning on nothing and just staring at Panacea. I wonder if he's got a thing for her.

► Day_Hunter
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
@ Nyrus: We should all be, I heard he's the reason Lung hasn't been seen in days. A friend in the ABB said a mime took out the boss and a good 20 gang members.

► SpecificProtagonist
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
@Day_Hunter: Oh God! Just what we need, super powered mimes of DEATH!

► Marceau (Unverified Cape )
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
*Honk* *Honk*

► Palshife
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
OMG the mime is here! Run, run for your life.

End of Page. 1 --> 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 --> 42

♦ Topic: Undersiders In: Boards ► Places ► America ►Brockton Bay ► Teams ► Villains

BFG1104
(Original Poster) (Veteran Member)
Posted on March 29th, 2011 :

The Undersiders are a new villain gang in the city consiting of:

Grue
· Motorcycle suit and skull faced helmet.
· Darkness powers.

Tattletale
· Domino mask, dark tight bodysuit, blond.
· Powers unknown, possibly thinker.

Regent
· Renaissance Fair Puffy shirt, tight pants, theatre mask and crown.
· Some kind of body control. *new info* Carries taser in sceptre.

Hellhound
· Cheap Dog mask, fur collar jacket.
· Big monster dog mutants.
· AKA Rachel Lindt, Bitch



Marceau-
· He's a fucking sterotype Mime.
· Crazy telekinesis or reality warping. Extent unknown.
· Doesn't talk, just honks his horn.

(Showing page 9 of 9)

► Palshife
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
They've gotten a lot bolder in the last few weeks. Looks like they are trying to make a name for themselves finally.

► KnowMe
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
I must say, the Undersiders seem to have a bunch of hunks. Lucky Tattletale and Hellhound.

► Felony_Bath
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
Wow, with Grue's darkness and Marceau's invisible ropes. All the things that you could do with that. *Wink*

► Browbeat ( Verified Cape )
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
@Felony_Bath: You know that darkness is plain creepy. Just No. Not fun at all.

► SpecificProtagonist
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
I have a thing for mimes, so I might just let him tie me up.

► Marceau (Unverified Cape )
Replied on April 14th, 2011 :
*Honk*

► SpecificProtagonist
Replied on April 14th, 2011 ::
How about we move to PM quiet boy?

End of Page. 1, --> 7, 8, 9

Chapter Text

Another dull school day, classes uninteresting, time flowed like molasses. I was bored. I had no friends in school to make things tolerable. As I had thought, the rumour mill was already shipping me with Emma as ex-lovers, which at least amused me a little. I may be a bit vindictive. The down side was, I was getting more strange looks than usual. Even Greg had stopped attempting his awkward flirting. That was actually more of an upside, come to think of it.

During computer class I once again trawled the relevant threads. Chatter related to us and our exploits had sky-rocketed. I still wasn't sure it was the best idea to taunt the Wards by posting that video, cut for maximum trolling, but it sure was satisfying. It was kind of creepy to see people on the internet lusting after my male alter ego. It was creepier when one of them wanted to cyber with me. Eeeew. Still I guess that's what happens when I try to troll them with a disposable prepaid. On the bright side, it was firmly entrenched that Marceau was a guy, even though it was slightly depressing how convincing I was.

When school was finally over, a short bus ride and a walk later and I was home. Rather I was at the lair. It had only been a few days and I was already thinking of it as home. I felt a twinge of guilt at that. Dad had been trying, but we had a bit of an argument over the issue of mobile phones. He had insisted a electro-larynx would be better. It would let me talk, albeit in a creepy robotic monotone, devoid of any inflection. Frankly I'd rather remain silent than sound like that.

My keys jingled in the lock as I made my way inside, only to find myself face to face with Lisa, who was looking cheerful.

"You are coming with us." she said. "We are going shopping."

I was about to protest when she cut me off, "No complaints."

"Yeah, you should probably dress more girly." Snarked Alec, drawing attention to him and Brian standing a few feet away. I eyed him with my most withering stare, which only drew more laughs from him.

"Shush now Alec, its a bad idea to taunt someone who can wreck you with ease." Brian chuckled, before I was dragged out the door by Lisa and we made out way to the Board Walk.

-No Rachel?-

"Alas, her face is publicly known, so her coming along would draw the wrong kind of attention on us." Lisa explained.

-That sucks-

"Indeed it does, but she'd probably go ballistic if she saw that tormented lap dog." Brian said, pointing at an intense looking lady with Chihuahua with a hat strapped to its head.

-She does seem protective of her dogs-

"Yep, more so than people. I think her powers messed with her head a bit. Doesn't seem to get along with people well." said Lisa.

"What do you think?" I turned to see Alec, holding a Kid Win shirt up to his chest. I snorted.

"I like it. Ironic." said Lisa, clearly amused.

-Here I was thinking Lisa was the Troll.-

"Anyway, I'm stealing you." Lisa said as she grabbed my arm leading me towards some boutique clothing store. She paused and turned to Brian and Alec "We'll meet you two at Fugly Bob's for dinner? Unless you want to come along and hold our bags?

"No, no, just go and hog the new girl to yourself." Brian sighed melodramatically "We'll just have to cope with being abandoned."

"Why did you want to stop in here?" Lisa asked, her curiosity getting the better of her as I made my way to a florist. I held up my phone to her.

-Kind of feel a little guilty over GG-

"Please," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "she would have left you with most of your bones broken if you hadn't taken her out."

-Still it did more damage that I was intending.-
-Also not a complete monster-

"Ha!", she mock laughed, "You do realise of course this will probably be misinterpreted as some kind of courtship. It would be a guy sending the flowers after all."

I pondered that for a moment, a slight blush on my face as the implications hit me. I really hadn't thought of that aspect. Though really, I still wanted to send them, and it might well reinforce the disguise. My mouth spread into a mischievous grin, not quite big enough to rival Lisa's.

-I have an idea.-

After about an hour of being dragged form shop to shop, trying on all sorts of dresses and other things I wouldn't normally wear, I realised two things. Shopping was tiring and I really wasn't a typical girly girl. Emma, Madison and their crew probably would have been all over this sort of thing. Huh, it occurred to me that I really hadn't seen Madison around for quite sometime. Not sure why I would care though. Any further progress down that chain of thought was broken as we arrived in the food hall. More importantly, in front of Fugly Bob's, the purveyor of all things tasty and artery hardening.

"Wow" said Brian, shortly echoed by Alec as they stared at me. I felt a little self conscious, the red dress I was wearing a huge departure from my usual style. It also felt a little too breezy compared to my typical jeans and t-shirt.

"So she does have some curves after all." Noted Alec, causing me to blush. I knew logically he was bullshitting me, but it still felt strangely nice to be complimented anyway.

"That dress does look good on you." Brain commented, doing a quick once over, "Lisa knows her stuff apparently."

"I'm glad someone appreciates my talents," she said wryly, "I had to force Taylor to try on so many things, but she capitulated in the end."

-Takes too long to argue via text-

"Nonsense, you just realised I was right." She grinned. I held up my finger for a second then dropped it, shaking my head as I realised it wasn't worth it.

-Lets just eat.-

We arrived back at the lair after a slow dawdle back, the delicious food making us a little sluggish. I was the last up the stairs, content to saunter along.

“Where’s Rachel?” Brian asked, as he returned from the other end of the loft, Brutus and Angelica trotting behind him, tails wagging. “Only two of her dogs are here.”

"We are a little late, maybe she went ahead?" Said Lisa.

"Well we should costume up," Brian said, "We're supposed to hand over the cash tonight. I'll call Rachel and see what's up."

I had just finished getting my mime on, when I noticed a box on my dresser. Under the box was a note.

-Saw this, seemed right for a belated welcome gift.-
-Brian-

Intrigued I opened the box, revealing a silver pendant. A stylised pair of comedy/tragedy masks, about an inch across. Thalia enamelled white and Melpomene enamelled black. It was very likely the nicest gift I had ever received.

I stepped out of my room, mask in hand and found Brian nearby. Typing would be too awkward, but this probably wasn't much better. I walked up to him and gave him a brief hug.

"I take it you liked your gift." he said, over my shoulder.

“Hey!” a voice from behind me startling me out of the hug, “No office romances!”

I blushed heavily as I turned to see Alec and Lisa grinning. In Lisa’s case, grinning more than usual.

"So any word from Rachel?" Asked Lisa, before I could embarrass myself further.

Brian frowned, “No. Her phone is out of service, which it shouldn’t be, since I was the one who turned it on, activated it and gave it to her earlier today."

That was worrying, and from the expressions on everyone else's faces, they thought the same.

"We should check on the money." Brian said, "Now."

Chapter Text

We descended into the maze of storage lockers, a twisty windy path of ten by ten boxes, all alike.

"We want thirteen-oh-six", said Grue, cutting through the quiet contemplative silence, but doing nothing to ease the tension that we had all been wearing, bearing down on us like a weight. He lead the way through the confusingly ordered lockers and eventually stopped in front of a door indistinguishable from the others, the tiny number to the side, mostly obscured by dirt, being the only identifying feature. The door was opened to reveal the complete absence of our money.

"Fuck." Regent grunted.

"I wouldn't have expected Bitch to do this," Grue started, "I mean she is a grumpy reckless idiot at times, but I don't think we've done anything to piss her off lately."

"Not her," said Tattletale, "The door wasn't forced, she would have used the dogs."

"Who then?" Asked Regent, clearly wanting someone to pay.

"A villain." Tattletale replied, as she looked around, "Villains. They're still here."

"Villains. They're still here." Said someone as they came around the corner, dressed in bright, predominantly, yellow clothes, a strange backwards bird mask on their head, a turtleneck covering the lower half of their face. From the corner of another storage locker came an atrocious parody, that I felt offended by to the core of my being. He was wearing an absurdly rounded pink and white, thing, overing his torso, white gloves and blue curl toed shoes, limbs covered in a white bodystocking. Weird blue hair sprouted either side of his head.

"Mister Mime." Said the atrocity against mimes.

"Oh, I was worried, but its only Über and Leet" Tattletale said as she took in the strange duo.

"Oh, I was worried, but its only Über and Leet" Mimicked the one in yellow.

"Oh that is going to get old quick." Regent sighed.

"Oh that is going to get old quick."

"Über and Leet are hopeless and fuck everything up." Said Tattletale, her vulpine grin returned.

"..."

"Mr Mime!" The abomination said, clearly angry.

"Take em down quick." Growled Grue. "Keep one conscious."

"Take em down quick." Growled the one in yellow. "Keep one conscious."

"Leet is the pink and white one," Tattletale, continued, mirth in her voice, "Easier to contain."

Darkness bloomed between Über the yellow and Grue as he charged in. I stared at the hideous parody that was Leet pointed at him and...

honk

I returned my horn and held my hands up to my face, right on left, middle and ring finger together, the rest splayed out. I swung my right arm back as I charged forwards then stopped suddenly arm shooting forwards. Leet put his hands forward, palms towards me and a shimmering field sprung into view before it flickered as my invisible bowling ball hit it. That made me very angry. Not only was he a gross mirror of my style, he was mocking my gimmick.

I shook my finger at him, before I had both hands grip the air in front of me and pulled. Leet was pressed up against his own force field like a bug against a windshield, before it flickered out and he tumbled to the ground. I marched towards him, letting my displeasure at his antics infuse every movement. About three yards away he looked up at me and raised a hand in the air and I was startled as I raised up from the ground at a worrying speed.

"Mime!" Leet cheered. This would just not do. Grabbing at an invisible rope anchored to the ground with my left hand, I found myself hanging upside down in the air. I caught a glimpse of Uber flying out of a cloud of darkness, tripping as he tried to get back up, then get engulfed again. Regent and Grue seemed to be taking care of things over there. I refocused on Leet thinking of a way around this. Ah ha! I grabbed another rope with my right hand and let go with my left. The look on Leet's... face?... was priceless as we both started flying into the sky.

He panicked and turned off whatever he was using, causing him to fall badly on his ankle with a cry of pain. I made two fists on top of each other and slid the top one up before opening it and returning it to my side, holding and invisible bag. My fall slowed as large umbrella only I could see billowed open, gently dropping me on Leet's chest. Sick of his shenanigans, I pulled off his gloves in the hope that they controlled his tinker gained powers, before rolling him over roughly and zip cuffing his hands behind his back as he moaned in pain from his possibly broken ankle.

I looked up in time to see the darkness dissipate, leaving the unconscious yellow form of Über still on the ground.

"Well, it looks like our publicity will jump again." Tattletale said as she arrived at my side and pointed at a floating camera, hovering to the side of a locker. "They were recording the whole thing."

I looked at it and by impulse pulled out my horn, waved at the camera and...

honk

"Now to find out where Bitch and the money is." Grue said as he dragged Über over to us, flanked by Regent.

"They should be stashed around here somewhere." Regent said, as he gave a Leet a light kick to the side, "So, where are they?"

"Well that was disappointing." A mechanically distorted voice boomed out from the top of one of the storage lockers. A woman stood there in ABB colours with a weird gasmask, goggles with lenses of red covered the other half of her face. "I was hoping they'd take at least one of you out. Get what you pay for I guess."

She snapped her fingers and the doors on storage lockers all around opened up, between one and three people in red and green behind each, all armed.

"Since I'm in charge now, might as well take out the ones who got me my promotion." She chuckled. "Get them!"

Chapter Text

"Grab hold." Grue growled as he snatched my hand. I reached towards Tattletale as darkness billowed around us. My hand was in oily limbo for a panicked second before her hand wrapped around mine. I felt pulling in the direction of Grue, so went with the flow. I could only hope that the darkness kept us from random weapon swings.

We had barely gone anywhere at all, or maybe yards, it was hard to tell, before the darkness was cast aside, sound returning, bringing with it pain, ringing ears and knocking us to the ground. I felt points of agony, where bits of metal stuck out of left my shoulder and leg. The darkness seemed to have muffled the blast, as I couldn't imagine I would have been so lightly injured otherwise.

The shreds of darkness remaining did little to hide the mutilated bodies of several gang members. Not all of them were in gang colours. I barely contained my dinner as I realised they looked like civilians. I heard cackling up where Bakuda had been standing. Turning to look, her grenade launcher was held with both hands, a slight wisp of smoke venting from the barrel.

The psycho had just bombed her own people to get to us. I believed the comment 'shit just got real' aptly covered the situation. Über and Leet didn't seem bloodied, but weren't moving and I couldn't spare the time to check on them without getting myself blown up.

She pointed the barrel down at us, cackling like a, well, clearly she was a mad woman. We started scrambling to our feet to get clear, Regent snapping out his hand and throwing her aim off. Another grenade went flying over head, imploding with a strange sucking noise as it tore the roof off a nearby locker. She must have a brought a bunch of her tinker tech bombs for the fight and I had no idea what to expect from her creations. And so the chase started.

We weaved between the lockers trying to keep out of the line of fire. We made it about 20 yards before a locker near us burst open, narrowly missing us as the area was filled with giant shards of ice.

"Shit, she's mined the area." Yelled Tattletale, trying to be heard over the sounds of explosions elsewhere in the storage yard. In response, Grue summoned up a cloud of darkness further to our right, to draw her off, hoping for the best. I had another idea though. Tapping Tattletale on the shoulder as we ran, I pointed to my self, then up then pointed my thumb back toward Bakuda. She seemed to disapprove, but nodded anyway.

"Marceau is going to try something, we'll keep moving." She said, filling in the others.

With that done, I ran off down a side row, put my right arm up and started climbing up a non existent staircase, the metal in my leg making my nerves scream. I hit the roof running at an angle to my team, with a slight limp, and spotted the psycho as she aimed at me. Fuck. A grenade came flying towards me and I wasn't sure if my wall could take it. So I improvised. My hands gripped nothing, spread apart as I focused on a shape in my mind, hoping I wasn't killing myself with stupidity.

I stepped to the side and spun around, twisting my arms as I turned, the grenade turning with me a few feet from my leading hand, running off vague memories of a PE lesson on lacrosse. I completed my turn after a 180 and the grenade was sent back towards Bakuda, who seemed rather surprised, before the grenade exploded half way between us.

A black void, filled with pinpricks of light formed in the space between us before winking out. Shit, she must have another way of detonating them. There was no way she'd let me catch another. Time for plan B. I spun my arm around twice before making a throwing gesture her way as she loaded the next grenade. I could barely spare the second I needed as she lined up another shot. I pulled to my left and the launcher was yanked from her hands, flying over the edge of the second storage locker over. With that opening I ran towards her, ignoring the gaps as my arms were held out to the sides.

The locker to my left made a dull thumping noise and I tried to make a wall, but at least some of the invisible shockwave got through and I dropped to my knees in agony. I must have looked like I was having a fit as I twitched and collapsed onto my face. My world consisted of pain and Bakuda's laughter for what seemed like eternity. More explosions rang out around me as the pain subsided enough to get control of my body and lifted myself off the roof, turning my head towards the mad bomber.

I panicked somewhat when she started pulling a grenade from her belt and then sighed with relief as her arm twitched and threw it behind her. Glancing to the side I saw Regent give me a mock salute. Needing to disable her before she blew anything else up, I decided to pull out an old trick for my audience. Still on my knees and a locker's distance away, I thrust my right hand forward in a gesture recognised by film goers everywhere and lifted.

Bakuda's hands went to her throat as she was lifted off the ground, choking and gasping, the sounds magnified by her voice distorter. A sphere of inky black formed around her face.

Tattletale called up from the path to my right, "She has a dead man switch and can control the bombs with toe rings, right foot. Needs to look at them". I nodded, details clicking slowly clicking into place around the haze. Tattletale was so very handy like that. I pointed at her boot and made some shaky motions with my left hand, and she moved to comply. Regent gave her a lift up and she hopped onto the roof, pulling the boot off and removing the rings. She waved and the Darkness dropped as dragged the arms of the struggling Tinker behind her back and cuffed them, letting me finally stop choking the bitch and instead wallow in glory and pain.

"Parahuman Response Team. What is your emergency?" said the voice on the phone.

Honk-Honk

"Fuck! Right in my ear!" the man on the line said. "Is this that mime? It is, isn't it? Why the hell do you even have a cell phone, anyway!?"

"Sorry, had to get your attention." Said Tattletale, completely unrepentant. In the background Regent was laughing his ass off.

"Can't! Breathe! Hahhaha! Laughing! Toohard! Hahahaaha!"

"Anyway," continued Tattletale, "Bakuda has been secured at the storage lockers down near the train yard, where all those explosions happened. She implanted explosives in a bunch of civilians, so I suggest a bomb squad and ambulances.

"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I said to call the PRT." Grue mumbled at Regent, when the laughing still hadn't stopped.

"She's been trussed up near the entrance and is ready for pick up, Ciao". Tattletale hung up the phone as we limped away, dragging the two other capes with us.

By the time the PRT vans and Protectorate capes had arrived, we were well out of there. When Über and Leet were awake and realised Bakuda almost killed them, they were rather willing to show us where our money and team mate were stashed. The fact that we had them at our mercy and tonight's episode of their live had already far exceeded previous ratings probably helped too.

So it was that by the end of the night, we had passed to money off to our bosses minions, which would net us a tidy sum of about one hundred and twenty thousand. It definitely felt like we earned it. Rachel was roughed up a bit and blindfolded when we found her, and the rest of us were battered bruised from the shock waves and occasional shrapnel. The buzzing pain from the weird bomb had mostly gone, but there was still enough to make me miserable. A trip to the underground doctor's office let us stitch up our wounds and got me a bottle of some good pain killers.

With all the wounds and bruising, we decided it would be best for me to crash at the lair for the night. I had given Dad the hint I might be staying over, so hopefully it wouldn't create too much drama. It was well past one when we stumbled up the stairs to the loft, exhausted by triumphant. Shutting the door to my room behind me, I stripped of my costume, downed some pills,crawled onto camp bed and became dead to the world.

Chapter Text

Panacea

Amy was just sitting down to dinner with her family when the doorbell rang. She thought it odd that people would visit this late at night, but didn't pay it much thought as Carol went to the door, stopping by the security monitor on the way. She returned with a bemused look on her face carrying a slightly excessive bouquet, a mixture of roses and violets along with a card.

"Apparently you have an admirer Victoria." She said as she handed over the card and went to retrieve a vase to place them in.

"Oh Gallant must be all guilty again or something like that." Said Victoria as she opened up the sealed envelope. She removed the note inside, handwritten on beautiful parchment like cardstock.

-Dearest Glory Girl-
-I must apologise for our unfortunate encounter.-
-Never did I intend to mar your beauty or cause you pain.-
-I trust your sweet sister corrected my indelicate touch.-
-Please find it in your heart to forgive a clumsy fool.-
-Yours,-
-Marceau-

"..." Victoria failed to say, her mouth agape in shock and confusion, a slight twitch in her left eye.

"What is it Vicky?" Amy asked, concerned at this break in her beloved sister's unflappable demeanour. Victoria for her part just handed the note over, mouth still open, staring into the middle distance. Amy read the note, before passing it on, thus the look of confusion spread like a miniature epidemic around the Dallon residence.

After a short while, Victoria simply asked, "What the fuck?"

"Ames." Victoria cried out to her sister, "You've got to see this."

Amy wandered over to her sister's room, slightly annoyed at the distraction from her bedtime routine.

"What is it sis?" She asked, "I was just heading to bed."

"The Undersiders are on Über and Leet's web show." Victoria replied, a hint of excitement in her voice. 'Well that was interesting', Amy thought and stood over her sister's shoulder and looked at the computer monitor.

"Wow, he seems really angry at Leet." Victoria commented as Marceau challenged the other villain with a horn honk.

"Well, Mr Mime would be pretty offensive to a mime, I guess." Amy replied. She then gasped at the antics of the two villains. "That is some bullshit right there. Its like watching a cartoon."

"Heh, next we'll have a Bugs Bunny burrowing around town." Victoria giggled at the absurd idea. "Wait what, did he just mime Mary fucking Poppins?"

Amy, equally shocked, could only mutter a simple "Yes."

"Well that was over quick, but I guess it was Über and Leet, those two couldn't fight their way out of a... who's that?"

"Never seen her before." Amy answered. The cape on the building was obviously a member of the ABB and wasn't Oni Lee. She vaguely remembered a name starting with B. Her thoughts were derailed by the explosion that shook the camera, and the aftermath left them both speechless.

"What the fuck, she's crazy!" Victoria said, her eyes wide and disbelieving the scene in front of her. The camera view didn't show much other than the crazy bomb lady firing grenades and the Undersiders running though between the storage lockers, flashes and sounds coming from off panel for a minute or two. Then it paned and zoomed out slightly to capture movement from the right of the screen as Marceau came in to view in time to be shot at.

"Oh god." cried Amy as the grenade flew through the air at the mime, followed shortly by "How the?" as the grenade was thrown back, the camera flickering for a moment from the explosions effect, static between frames showing a starry void. Then the grenade launcher went flying from her hands.

A gasp came from Victoria as Marceau was caught in the blast of something and fell down spasming. More explosions came off panel for a while. Marceau began struggling to his knees, patches of red showing on the black and white stripes of his shirt, before the female cape for some reason threw a grenade behind her. Marceau seem to pause for a moment as if needing to gather his strength before he thrust his hand out and the woman was lifted to the air and grasping at her throat, before her head was concealed.

"Did he just go Vader on her?" Amy asked her sister, blinking at the absurdity of it all, "Wait, did she just say deadman switch?"

They watched in silence as the mad woman was disarmed and restrained and Marceau finally collapsed again on the roof of the storage locker. The feed then cut out in darkness.

"Wow. Just wow." Vicky said, her mind trying to process her new found admiration for the sheer determination of that bloody mime.

"Shit, I'm getting the feeling he was really holding back on you. Did I tell you he took out Lung?" Amy muttered.

"Oh that's what she meant when she was talking about promotion. The ABB have been wrecked by that guy."

"I find myself not really sympathising with the woman who just exploded her own gang."

"Yeah." Victoria said in perfect agreement.

Amy woke up late after a slightly fitful night, the images from last night replaying in her mind. The fact that she hadn't been called in meant they had likely either died, or were recovering well enough on their own. She checked her schedule for the day and, seeing it was fairly clear decided to get on with that favour for Miss Militia. While she would have happily taken a break from all the healing, Miss Militia was always kind to her, and she seemed rather concerned about this Taylor person. She brought up the details that were forwarded to her and rang the number.

"Hello Hebert residence, Danny speaking." A voice on the other end answered.

"Ah hi, Mr Hebert this is Panacea from New Wave, I've been asked to look in on your daughter. Something about a damaged larynx?"

"Wow, uh yes Taylor got a nasty infection a while back. I'm kind of surprised to hear from you frankly, the money from the school barely covered expenses. And well this is better than I could have hoped for."

"When would be a good time to drop by? Today is mostly free."

"Um, Taylor is off at a friend's place at the moment, can I get a number to call you on once I know when she'll be back?"

"Sure, though if it isn't today I may have more trouble with scheduling." She said and gave him a phone number to be directed through.

"Thank you, Ms Panacea."

Amy hung up the phone and went to find her sister, to see if there was something fun to do today. Maybe a day where she wasn't needed to heal people, where she could just relax.

Her phone rang. Looking at the number, she silently cursed her luck.

Chapter Text

"Taylor."

Huh? What was that?

"Taylor?"

Who, what?

"Taylor!"

My eyes slowly peeled open to reveal a blurry pink and gold blob hovering over me. Why was a blob hovering over me?

'Go away blob', my lips said, with no sound.

"Whoa, how many of those did you take?" The blob asked. Staring at it, it was starting to look a bit more familiar but I couldn't say why, probably the noises it was making. I felt something touch my face and the blob resolved into a face I could recognise as my glasses settled into place. Lisa. I tried to lift myself out of bed and stopped when I felt stabbing in my shoulder and leg. That helped clear the fog from my mind somewhat. Oh yes, the bombs. I gestured a typing motion with a hand, and true to form, Lisa understood and passed me my phone, letting me type out a reply.

-Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww-

My thumb hadn't wanted to move for a bit there.

"Taylor, how many pills did you take?"

-2?-

"That can't be right, you shouldn't be this out of it from so little. Oh shit, those bombs must have worked you over harder than we thought."

I was confused for a bit, before I took in a small detail, the time in the top right corner of the phone. 12:53. Shit I had been asleep for half a day, a small mercy that is was a Saturday.

-Shit-

"So, we have some good news and some bad news, little miss coma. If you are awake enough?" Tattletale said, holding a newspaper in hand. I had a feeling I was not going to like this, but I nodded anyway. "Which would you like first?"

-Bad-

"Well, while we were off dealing with missing money and the mad bomber, Oni- Lee bust Lung out of his prison transport." She told me, a slight frown creeping in, trying to steal ground from the perpetual grin. That was all sorts of bad. Lung was probably going to want payback for my victory against him, and since we'd taken out one of his minions, megalomaniacal as she had been, that probably wouldn't help matters.

-Yay.-
-I have to deal Mr Rage Dragon again.-

"You mean we." Lisa snorted, before she continued on. "Good news is, with our little interrogation and the PRT actually doing their job, it looks like Bakuda's follow up surprises have been dealt with. Given what isn't said in the article, I'm going to guess they offered to not put her in the Bird Cage in exchange with assistance in finding and disarming a bunch of bombs."

-Well that's a relief.-

"I kind of lied though," she added, drawing a stern look from me, "there's a third bit of news, that is kind of good and bad." I just rotated my wrist to indicate she should get on with it.

"Well Über and Leet's stream became very popular due to our exploits last night and a couple key points have come from that." She paused for a moment for presumably dramatic effect. And I though I was bad for that.

"One, Uber and Leet apologised on their stream for attacking us, saying they didn't know Bakuda was a psycho, and let it be known that we informed the PRT about the bomb situation. That means we have a bit more reputation as being villains with a conscience." Well that was good. I wasn't a monster, so having people realise that was useful.

"Two, that we are bad asses, you in particular, who can and will put down psychos who don't play by the rules." Also a handy thing, helps with our reputation. If we played by the unwritten rules, they were more likely to apply to us.

"Three, your Vader trick got people speculating that you can bypass the Manton Effect. I don't think you can strictly, but people are going to stop underestimating you real quick once that idea spreads."

I let that sink in for a moment. The implications that I was going to get priority target status was one of the first things that popped into my head. The second being that it was going to get harder to surprise people with my powers when they were expecting me to be around. That... complicated matters. I decided to respond in a simple manner that managed to encapsulate many of the thoughts running through my head.

-Damn-

"Yeah." Lisa agreed.

"Taylor" Lisa said, grabbing my attention as I came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a bathrobe and towelling my hair. I looked over at her and tilted my head.

"I called your Dad to say you'd be hanging around a bit longer, using you being in the shower as an excuse to cut down on the awkward." She sighed. "We may have a problem."

My eyebrow raised at that. What else could go wrong?

"Panacea called. Apparently someone asked her to heal you. I've got her contact details." My eyes went wide at that. Implications hammered my mind as those words were processed. Did the PRT finally have the balls to admit its fault? Did they somehow find out who I was. Was this just Panacea being self sacrificing as usual? My lips moved through the shapes of several obscenities as these questions looped around.

"Yeah, if what you told me is true, which I'm about ninety percent sure of, I wouldn't put it past them to get you healed to cover their own asses." Lisa said, latching on to one of my ideas. "I'm pretty sure they don't know who you are yet, or they probably would have gotten your Dad in on bringing you in. Still, can't have you getting healed with all those wounds still fresh. We'll have to delay things somehow."

I held up a finger then moved to my room to get dressed and retrieve my phone, gestures weren't quite good enough for this conversation. I concentrated on the clothes, trying my hardest to suppress the panicked thoughts. Methodically putting on one of the new dresses we'd picked up I looked at myself in the mirror and concentrated on setting my face into a serene mask of calmness. Calm on the outside, calm on the inside. I was getting better at lying to myself.

Returning to the lounge, I pulled out my phone and tapped out a question.

-Game plan?-

"Well I see two options. Plan A, delay. Plan B, go to the hospital with extra wounds, claiming you got jumped by thugs on the way back home, help disguise the shrapnel wounds. Get Panacea to do a combo healing on you."

-Plan B sounds like a horrible plan-

"True, but it does have the advantage of getting Panacea to heal your voice while keeping suspicion low."

-Additional injuries is still a bad plan.-
-Dad would freak too.-

"It would only hurt till you got healed." Her vulpine grin had returned, clearly mocking me at this point. I chose to ignore it.

-How would we delay?-
-Dad will get suspicious.-

"Fine, if you want to delay, you could try telling him you don't want to take up time that could be used to heal terminal patients. Swing it as you being compassionate rather than afraid of discovery. I don't think it will work and plan B would be more straightforward." I glared at her.

-Enough with the planned stabbings-

"How about tripping down some stairs?" Lisa chuckled.

Today was not going very well, and the headache was starting to return.

Chapter Text

-I'll be at the Brockton Memorial Hospital till 4pm-
-Panacea-

-Ok, I'll see you there.-
-Thank you-
-Taylor-

I still couldn't believe I had agreed to this crazy ass plan. Note to future self, please don't listen to Lisa when possibly concussed and hopped up on pain killers. It had taken us a while to come up with a plan that I was even remotely willing to follow. The way Alec had perked up at that idea of stabbing was just a little disturbing. We had gone with a 'hit and run' instead the 'mugging' as I could claim I didn't see the car properly, rather than having to convince the police of the details of my 'assailant'. At least the shrapnel wounds had only been closed with butterfly sutures.

We had found a fairly quiet street, half way to the hospital, close enough that an ambulance wouldn't take long, but little enough traffic to avoid actual witnesses. Once in place, wearing a spare set of clothes, now ruined by dirt and fresh blood, I messaged Panacea again with my cheap brick phone.

-Car hit me-
-Cnr George & 4th-
-please send help-

It didn't take long for a reply.

-Ambulance on the way.-
-See you soon.-

And so, with a mix of relief, regret, and not a little pain, I found myself on a stretcher being loaded up on an ambulance. My wounds had been reopened and some broken bits of headlight and glass poking out of the holes to sell the story. I would have thought they'd hurt more than they did, but I guess with the residual opiates and all the other aches, they seemed less in comparison. Then the paramedics gave me a strange green whistle device to breath from and all the pain just floated away.

After giggling like a loon, or at least looking like I was, for who knows how long, I found myself in a place with white ceilings. My lips were moving but no sound came out. The lights are so bright, silly lights. I feel like I'm flying. Who are you? Oooh wow, you're really shiny in white. Can I have more green whistles? Oooh curtains!

"Taylor is it? I'm Panacea." The pretty lady in the white said as she looked down at my face. Oooh, Panacea! I know you. your dress is pretty. Cute freckles. I silently giggled and a grin spread on my lips."Do I have your permission to heal you?".

My head was too floppy to nod so my right hand popped up in the air, wobbling as I stuck my thumb up.

"Methoxyflurane?" She asked as she poked her head out of the curtains.

"Yes." I heard from behind them.

"Well that explains that." A small smirk on her face as she returned to my side. "Okay, if you can hold my hand, well get you sorted." She took my hand in hers, and I squeezed it a bit. Hee hee, pretty lady in white. She looked at me funny before closing her eyes and frowning in concentration.

My body felt warm and tingly. The wounds in my shoulder and thigh as well as my throat felt uncomfortable and much warmer. Unpleasant but not painful. Then the cheerful fog I was in lifted away, leaving me fully aware and cognisant of the fact that I had just gotten healed by Panacea, aka Amy Dallon, aka the girl I held hostage, aka the sister of Glory Girl, and she was holding my hand in a warm, tender grip. I found myself squeezing her hand again before I realised what I was doing and what I had been trying to say in my drug addled state.

I diverted my face away from her partially in embarrassment but mostly in guilt. Totally guilt, yes.

"Wow, you were pretty beat up, but you're all patched up now." She said. "Voice should work too." I looked back up to her, I had almost forgotten why I was here with all the other things going on in my head.

"Thank you." I said. I blinked a few times, surprised at how quiet that came out. She also looked a bit surprised. Was there still some damage, or some kind of mental block thingy? Oh, my sound dampening must be effecting it. I tried speaking a bit louder.

"Thank you." I said again, this time a bit more audibly, before continuing, trying to judge the effort I needed. "Sorry. Its been a few months, I must have forgot how to get the right volume."

"That's alright. Brains do funny things like that." she said with a weary smile. It was then that I noticed just how exhausted she looked. Shit, now I felt even more guilty, making her heal me when she looked like she hadn't had a decent night's rest in weeks. Did my actions at the bank cause that?

"Are you okay?" I asked nervously, "You look exhausted. Damn I'm sorry. Here I was, selfishly coming to get you to heal me when you need a good long rest."

"Huh. You're one of the few people to actually notice that." She said in a whisper. She squeezed my hand, reflexively squeezing back and drawing my attention to the fact that we hadn't let go. "Thank you." I glanced at our intertwined hands and blushed.

"No, I should be thanking you. You've let me talk again and you did it when you really didn't have to." I rambled, not quite meeting her eyes. "Thank you.

"Its alright." she said, with a small chuckle, trying to calm me down. "I wouldn't have even known you needed healing if Miss Militia didn't ask me." I looked up at her, stunned confusion spreading through my face. Surely I didn't hear that. I need to make sure.

"Huh?" I asked, my vocabulary failing me.

"Yeah I don't know why. She just seemed very angry at whoever did that to you." The concerned look on her face showed she had some idea. "Never seen her like that before."

I curled in on myself as I pondered the implications. My eyes, the traitorous bastards that they were, started glistening with tears. Damn it. I basically had confirmation that Sophia was Shadow Stalker from one of the most well know capes in the city. That should reaffirm my beliefs and yet it sounded like at least someone there was sympathetic. Damn, shit, fuck. Not what I needed to hear. I needed to remain calm. Needed to bottle it up and survive. Needed to -

"Are you okay?" She asked. "Did you want to talk about it?"

The question, asked so quietly and with obvious concern was the last straw. The mixture of grief, guilt, happiness and fear was too overwhelming. Tears flowing and sobbing, I started telling a stranger that I knew better than she thought, how three girls had made my life hell since the start of high school.

She stood there listening, comforting and still holding my hand.

Chapter Text

"Sorry." I said, as I dried up my tears with some tissues. "Didn't mean to vent on you like that."

"Its alight." Amy said, a tired smile on her face. "I, well... I help people. You needed to vent and I was here. No harm done."

I could tell that she was feeling awkward about the whole thing, but she did seem to be trying to be supportive, so I guess that's what mattered.

"Well I owe you one. If you ever need to vent, let me know." I said, knowing it was probably a bad idea to continue associating with her. She just seemed so miserable, and I couldn't help but sympathize. She looked at me and sighed.

"I may just take you up on that one day." She looked at her watch before sighing again. "I better get back to it, they're probably starting to wonder where I am. Catch you around maybe?"

"Yeah," I answered, surprised that I meant it, "I'd like that."

The talk with the police didn't take very long. They apparently had more important things to deal with than a non-fatal hit and run, where the victim had no details. As such, when Lisa had arrived with a spare set of clothes, we left as soon as I changed.

"So, not quite what you expected eh?" Lisa said with a grin as we walked to the nearest bus stop.

"No, not really." I replied. Lisa's ability was damn annoying at times. Picking up on my mood, she just grinned harder, drawing a stare from me. I sighed. "Its good to talk again, but I have to put so much effort into it just to get the right fucking volume."

"And how was meeting Ms Dallon outside of business context?" She asked cryptically, in full fox grin mode.

"She's nice." I said, mumbling a bit. "And I feel even more guilty now. She helped me despite being exhausted."

"There's something else too, isn't there?" I looked at her, she seemed rather cheeky about it. I didn't like what she was implying.

"Get your mind out of the gutter." I said turning my gaze away. "Miss Militia told her about me, apparently all angry at the injustice of it or some such."

"And now you are wondering if you made the wrong choice?" Lisa asked, her tone shifting a little.

"Not exactly." I said. "I still think if the PRT weren't a bunch of corrupt bastards I would have got an apology from them, or even better, it never would have happened because they would have kept a better watch on the psycho bitch."

We walked on in silence for a bit longer and took a seat on the empty bus stop bench.

"I just don't know if I should be cynically suspecting Miss Militia of trying to hush things up, or whether I should be relieved there might actually be a decent human being in their ranks."

"Well we're villains with hearts of gold, so I guess its possible even heroes can be good people occasionally" She said with a small chuckle, and I couldn't help but smile with her.

"I should probably let Dad know." I said after a short while. "Do me the favor of coming along?"

"Well, I do kind of owe you for saving us last night." She replied.

"Dad? I'm home" I said, as loud as I could, which wasn't very. I guess I couldn't complain too hard that the crazy telekinesis came with some drawbacks. His head popped into the doorway to the kitchen, eyes wide as things fell into place.

"Taylor! You can talk!" He cried out as he came to me and pulled me into a hug. "I need to buy that girl some flowers or something."

"Can't... breath!" I squeaked, enveloped in a crushing embrace. He realized how hard he was hugging me and relaxed a bit. "Thanks"

"Hi, Mr Hebert" Lisa said, greeting from just outside the door.

"Come in, come in. Lisa was it?" He said, waving her inside.

"Correct." She confirmed as stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "Nice to finally meet you. Things have been a bit busy, or I would have tried sooner."

"Nice to meet you too, would you like something to drink?" He asked as he gestured to the couch and walked back into the kitchen.

"A coffee would be wonderful if I could?" She said, as we both took a seat on the couch.

"Tea please, Dad." I added.

"So Lisa, Taylor told me you had already finished high school." Dad said from the kitchen as he rummaged through the shelves.

"That's right. I do some free lance consultant work with various firms." She told him, using her cover identity. It was true, she did do a bit of work here and there. It just wasn't her primary source of income. She continued on with something we had discussed on the way over. "I've actually been wanting to get Taylor to assist me a little, in exchange for some spending money. If that's fine with you?"

"As long as it doesn't impact on her studies." He said, as he finished preparing our drinks. "What sort of things?"

"Oh, mostly just goffering and help with paperwork." She explained. "The occasional IT problem and so on."

"That sounds good." He said, a slightly suspicious look crossing his face. "As long as you aren't taking advantage of my daughter."

"Oh no, nothing like that." She said with a grin, just as I was taking a sip of my tea. "We're just good friends."

"Did you really have to embarrass me like that?" I asked, as we made our way back to the lair.

"It wasn't that bad." Lisa commented with a chuckle. "The tea washed out just fine."

I glared at her and we traveled in silence for a while longer.

"He's quite protective of you, you know?"

"Yeah, he is." I mumbled as I unlocked the door to the warehouse. "Occasionally hard to talk to though."

Which probably won't be helped by your comments, I added mentally.

"Heh, that's what parents are for." She grinned, but there was a slight bitterness to her voice. I was about to ask about it when I was distracted by the confetti flying into my face.

"Congratulations" Brian said as he threw more at me.

"So, speak." Alec said, also scattering colorful paper my way. "I want to hear how silly you sound."

"Oh hardy har har." I replied as I gave him a punch in the shoulder. "It wasn't enough that you get to shove glass in my wounds, you have to mock me too?"

"Well I do have to have see how well you snark back when you don't get to write." He replied, an amused smirk lifting the side of his mouth.

"I'll forgive you for now," I said, glaring at him, "because I am in a good mood. Even if I am shouting to talk at this level."

"Ouch, sound dampening power?" Asked Brian.

"Yes. First thing I said after I was healed came out as barely a whisper." I explained as we proceeded up stairs.

"So, pizza to celebrate?" Asked Alec, drawing groans.

"Thai." I suggested to more approval, though Alec huffed.

"I'll order." Said Brian, heading to the phone. I found Rachel off in the corner, giving Brutus a brush down.

"Hi Rachel." I said as I approached. She looked up at me and nodded, before returning her focus to the dog. She was still quiet as ever, but at least now I could communicate with her with more than gestures. A thought occurred to me. "Would he like a belly rub?"

She looked back up at me and stared for a moment and said. "Okay. Be careful. He likes it between his front legs." I kneeled down and started rubbing gently where she indicated, which earned me an appreciative whine from the dog and a nod from her.

"You like dogs?" She asked, a kind of wary cast to her brow.

"Yep. They're loyal." I said before voicing a darker thought that got be slight nod form Rachel. "They don't stab you in the back."

"Woah, someone's being melodramatic." Said Alec, apparently having overheard me from the couch.

"Yeah, been dwelling on the past a bit much today. We have a movie to watch or something to distract me?"

Alec suggested Heathers, but Lisa slapped him down and made us watch some brainless comedy instead. In hindsight, that was probably a good decision.

Chapter Text

A weekend of relaxing and just hanging around with the gang did a lot to improve my mood. I could talk, but I still found myself falling back on non verbal communication a lot. I just really didn't feel like having to shout all the time. It left me drained, and a little frustrated, but I was coping. If only I could get a better handle on the strange passive sound dampening that had effected me since I got my powers. I guess if I ever had to change up my style, I could always be a ninja or something.

So it was that I found myself relatively happy when I returned to school on Monday. Not that school itself was responsible for my mood, just it didn't seem so daunting anymore. Getting partially blown up and saving perhaps hundreds of people apparently gives one new perspective on the importance of things. It barely even registered that I had a slight smile on my face until someone pointed it out.

"Fuck me sideways." A voice whispered from my left, drawing my attention to the girl sitting there. "First time I've seen you smile"

Apparently I had spaced out a bit while eating lunch and hadn't noticed her sitting down next to me. She looked a bit younger than me and so was probably in a lower grade, which could also explain why she didn't look particularly familiar. She was rather pretty and, well, curvier than me. Beautiful dark skin and hair was contrasted by the kind of trashy clothing she wore. I considered talking to her, but found myself not caring enough. I hadn't spoken to anyone at school today. No one expected me to, and I didn't really think any of them worth the effort. Instead, I flipped out my notepad and wrote a simple question.

-Do I know you?-

"Don't think so," she said with a smile, "but I've seen you moping around the place. So when I saw you looking happy, it caught my attention. You get laid or something?"

I snorted at the idea, rather startled at the abruptness of the question and the complete lack of tact. It was like I was talking to a gender flipped Alec, only even more crass, as unlikely as that seemed. I was about to write a response when I thought, fuck it. At least she seems interesting.

"Or something. My weekend was pretty good is all." I said in a whisper. I didn't really know her, so no point going all out.

"Shit, you can talk?" Her eyes bulged a bit. I couldn't blame her really.

"I can now. Part of the cheeriness." I whispered.

"Well no fucking wonder." She laughed, "Praise the lord, its a miracle"

"Don't go spreading it around." I said, as a smirk formed. "I might actually have to talk people."

She laughed a bit drawing a stare from someone walking by, before she gave him the finger and he stopped looking.

"So why haven't I seen you before?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed such a boisterous girl around.

"Eh, hardly come to school, boring as shit." She said. "Had nothing better to do today is all."

"Yeah, I can relate to that." I looked at her for a moment, before adding, "I'm Taylor."

"Aisha." She replied with a cheeky grin.

Aside from the strange new person I found myself sharing my lunch times with, the next few days passed in a blur of mediocrity. Dad had been wanting us to spend a little more time together, so I only had an hour or two to hang out with the rest of the Undersiders. Instead, we shared awkward family dinners and the occasional TV show, when I wasn't avoiding him with 'homework'. I didn't have to heart to tell him I was bored out of my skull. The rest of the team were still recovering, having to heal the old fashioned way, so no jobs had been planned either.

By Thursday I was getting to the end of my rope and had left a note for him after school and headed to the lair. It was deserted apart from Rachel and her dogs. I wasn't expecting much in the way of conversation, so I was surprised when she came up to talk to me after our perfunctory greetings.

"So, you like dogs right?" She asked warily.

"Yes, dogs are good." I responded, somewhat bluntly, not that she seemed to notice.

"Want to help me save some?" That made me pay more attention. Rachel asking for help was something I don't think I had experienced before.

"What do I need to do?" I asked, curious as to what she planned.

"Skin heads have a dog fighting ring. Sick fuckers make the dogs fight and die for fun." Rachel explained. "Can do it myself, but you'd be handy."

"Sounds good." I said, pondering for a moment. "But with the rest of the team, we could do it better. Safer for the dogs and screw the Empire more."

She looked at me for a while, considering my points. I think what swayed her most was the safety of the dogs.

"Fine." She said finally.

"So, the idea is we free the dogs, trash the building and run off with their cash." I told the rest of the team. "Rachel is happy, dogs are happy, our rep increases and we make money."

"So where is this place?" Asked Brian.

"Edge of the Docks and the Graveyard. Old car factory." Rachel said.

"So well in Empire territory." Lisa added before grinning. "They aren't likely to expect an attack there. If we attack during the day, less people and the dogs should all be locked up right?"

"Yeah, they keep most on site." Rachel said, "About twenty."

"We'd get the most cash a night though, right?" Alec asked, clearly not that fussed about the dogs.

"Yeah, but we're more likely to have to deal with Hookwolf or one of his minions." Lisa pointed out.

"You'd do this with out our help any way, wouldn't you?" Brian asked, staring at Rachel.

"Yeah." She replied.

"I've already agreed to help." I added. I guess I still had a weakness for 'moral' actions, and getting to bloody the noses of a bunch of racist douche bags while doing it appealed to me.

"Still not sold on the idea." Alec said.

"Think of it this way, we get to flip the bird to the entire Empire with this. Why stop with the ABB?" I said with a smile.

"Tempting, but no."

"Fine, you three can have my share of the cash." Rachel said, surprising all but me. I had let her know earlier that that might be necessary.

"Ok, sold." Alec said after a moment. "But don't expect me to clean up after the dogs or anything."

Brian and Lisa both pondered for a bit, before nodding in agreement.

"Well, we better start planning then." Said Brian as he pulled up a map of the area on a laptop. "We want this to be as clean as possible."

Chapter Text

Friday afternoon found us loaded up in a pair nondescript white delivery vans, a block away from the factory where the dogs were held. Tattletale was in the driver's seat chatting on a phone and Bitch was in the back with her partially enlarged dogs, repeating the trick from the bank job to lessen the stress on them. Grue and Regent were with the other empty one, space enough for the dogs we were expecting.

I was wearing the new costume I ordered through the boss a week ago. It made a sizeable dent in my funds, but I still didn't have a good way use the money for my civilian life with out attracting attention, so I didn't mind. The mask was plain white with a neutral expression on it, but waving my new gloves over it would change it between neutral (left), happy (up), sad (down) and, at significant additional cost, troll face (right). The gloves were made of Kevlar, armoured plated on the back and had limited stun gun functionality. Underneath it all was an armoured body suit to help absorb a few extra hits. I had learned my lesson from Bakuda and intended to avoid injuries of that level again.

"Okay, we're clear to go." Tattletale said as she hung up her phone. While we weren't getting any bonus cash, the Boss had agreed to provide a little surveillance assistance free of charge. Apparently it suited his plans for us to embarrass the E88, or perhaps it would work as a distraction for something else. Either way it seemed Hookwolf had left the site an hour earlier after making a short stop by, so that was one less thing to potentially deal with. Tattletale adjusted the new addition to her costume, a fancy looking hair clip, nearly unidentifiable for what it was, a miniature camera. The plan being to allow for some extra humiliation for the E88 and good PR for us if all went well.

"Move out." Grue said over the radio and we drove up to the back of the office section of the factory before jumping out and running the last few feet to the entry. As I ran, I reached out and gripped my hands shoulder width apart, before spinning, extending my arms out and sliding my hands together. The front door splintered and flew off its hinges as an imaginary, cartoon-ish sledge hammer impacted with it at full spin.

The door collided with a very surprised skinhead before carrying them both to the ground. The other three inside were to shocked to react as three shoulder height dogs leapt through the doorway, knocking them to the ground. Regent strolled in, taking down the three with his sceptre as they were pinned by the slobbering beasts, gnashing teeth a few scant inches from their faces.

"Dog cages are this way" Tattletale said, directing us through a door to our left into what was once a staff cafeteria. Cages lined the walls of the large room, easily enough to store a hundred canine champions. Though most were empty, there were still a few more than the twenty odd we had expected and many not in great condition. I waved my hand down my face for sadness while Tattletale glanced around before adding, "Fuck, there are forty two of them."

"That complicates things" Grue growled, the plan having been derailed in under 3 minutes.

"I'll run my dogs, fit more in my van." Bitch said bluntly, not even considering leaving any behind. She moved up to the first set of cages, unlatching them and the rest of us soon joined her Regent kept watch. About half of the dogs were loaded up before things went awry. With all the barking, whimpering and occasional grown from the swarm of dogs, some of them only puppies, we didn't hear the approach of reinforcements till they came through one of the side doors. With the door slammed open, we could clearly see that we had a bit more trouble on our hands. Five more mooks as well as Cricket and Stormtiger made this cake walk into more of a challenge.

"Take em out, no one messes with the Empire." Shouted Stormtiger as he and Cricket literally leaped into action, fucking acrobatic villains. The rest of the skin heads were more sedate about it, instead pulling out weapons and pressing forward, only to be engulfed by darkness. Stormtiger's landing was less than graceful, as Regent twitched his leg. A clanging noise echoed through the room as he face planted, his metal mask hitting concrete. It didn't take long for him to recover, launching himself to his feet with a gust of wind, before a whistle sounded and one of the monster dogs tackled him from the side, sending them tumbling to the floor in a tangle of flesh.

Cricket had landed right in front of me. She paused for a second looking confused before swinging one of her blades at me. I had no idea why, but it gave me enough time to make a wall, causing the blade to glance off thin air. My hands still pressed palms towards her, I pushed. She stumbled back, slightly started before she recovered and bounced to the side to avoid be squished against the empty cages. I dropped the wall, reaching out with my right hand and pulling, spinning Cricket end over end as I pulled on a leg.

The agile bitch landed gracefully on the wall before jumping towards Tattletale instead. The blond dived out of the way, but still caught the tip of one of Cricket's blades across her side, causing her to yelp in pain as she rolled along the floor landing face up. Cricket had followed up, dodging leaping dog monsters as she chased her new prey. Every thing I knew of Cricket said she had amazing reflexes, and her motions backed that up. Which is why it surprised me that she hadn't dodged my fairly clumsy attempt at distracting her from my team mate. What I felt should have been a sickening crunch didn't sound out, as Cricket went flying to the side, my invisible baseball bat having connected with some ribs. I leaned over Tattletale, my mask still a frown as I helped her up with my right hand.

"She can't hear you." Tattletale laughed before grimacing at the pain that caused. "She uses sonar."

Well that explained some things, and with a quick wave to my right, my face matched my thoughts as she regained her feet. Turning I saw Grue step out of the dissipating darkness as it slowly revealed a quintet of battered thugs. He marched towards us before a big dog went flying though the space between us, a strange growling Doppler effect adding a bit more to the surreal scene. A bellowing Stormtiger stomped into view pointing our way with one of his aero- kinetic claws.

"You'll pay for th-urk" He started to say before convulsing and dropping to the floor, revealing a jaunty looking Regent behind him, twirling his sceptre.

"I would have thought he'd have better spatial awareness." Regent said as he leaned down and gave him another prod to be sure. "I guess he was to hopped up on Eye of the Tiger."

A chorus of groans ensued.

I was sitting in the passenger seat of the van as we pulled into the building we had found to store all the rescued dogs, a cute little Staffordshire terrier puppy in my lap. I had picked him up when I noticed him taking a leak on one of the unconscious thugs while we were loading up the second van, instantly gaining my admiration. Rachel had agreed with my choice, even if it did possibly speak of poor house training. We had zip tied the E88 thugs as well as the two capes before we called in the PRT. I wondered how they would react to the almost PETA like anti animal abuse graffiti we had left on the scene.

Rachel had made her way separately and would be meeting up with us later, in the mean time, we had very clear and simple instructions from her to lead the dogs into the makeshift kennel and pour out some more food for them, the previous amount being inadequate.

The cash on site was a bit less than we had hoped, probably because of Hookwolf's earlier visit. We came away with a bit over six grand, but given how 'happy' Rachel had looked as we finished loading up the dogs, I didn't mind and Brian had been happy enough at taking the racist bastards down a few pegs. Lisa still needed a bit more attention to her wound, so she and Brian were off to see our doctor friend while I started seeing to the dogs and Alec wandered off to do his own thing, somewhat grumpy at the shoddy pay off.

Alone bar a cluster of canines, I had a lot of time to think on things. Namely that I had royally pissed off some of the more powerful capes in the city, and once the footage was suitably edited and posted online, we were probably going to earn even more fame, in a very dangerous way. I found myself relishing the idea though. A shrink would probably call it an unhealthy attention seeking compulsion or something. They would probably be right, but here I was, fighting back against people who were basically bullies, just on a larger scale. As such, it felt right and almost just, even if I was doing it in a... less than legal manner.

So it was that Rachel found me, a mirthful grin plastered on my face, playing with a couple of puppies and quietly laughing. A small nod from her head suggested she approved.

Chapter Text

Another night spent at the loft and the new bed I had put in was a fair bit more comfortable than the inflatable camp bed I had been using earlier. Dragging myself out of bed to go for my morning run had been a bit more difficult. I hadn't thought I'd exerted myself that badly yesterday, but I guess hauling dogs around, as well as big bags of dry food for a good chunk of the evening could do that. Still, no sense in getting soft, so I forced myself out of the door and ran a loop through the Board Walk.

When I returned about a half hour later, I was displeased to discover that the hot water had been depleted by my team mates in a most villainous manner, so rather than a relaxing hot soak, I was startled into hyper awake mode by ice water. So it was that, mostly dry and slightly shivering in my bath robe, I passed through the lounge room.

"So, I need a hand with assembling some furniture in my apartment." Brian said, clearly fishing for volunteers. Rachel was off at our makeshift dog shelter, leaving Lisa, Alec and myself as targets.

"Nope, busy." Alec said as he continued to play some kind of military game on the lounge room TV. I was not at all surprised by his lack of effort in making a convincing alibi.

"Sorry Brian," Lisa said, "I've got to see to a couple of things for my civilian job that I've let pile up. TPS reports and such. Also, the wound is limiting my movement somewhat."

As she was walking off to her room/office she gave me a wink. Was she letting me in on a joke or something? If so I couldn't see it.

"I guess I can give you a hand." I offered, in a barely audible whisper. "I have nothing better to do, and I'll finally get to see this fancy apartment of yours."

"Thanks. I need to have it all ready for an inspection early next week." He said. "Luckily things have been quiet enough to let me do it early."

"Hey!" Shouted Alec from the couch, "No Jinxing us."

"He has a point." I said with a chuckle, "Let me just get dressed and we can go."

Scanning through the small wardrobe I had available, I needed clothes a bit more suitable for manual labour than a sundress like I had been wear a lot of lately, so chose a pair of jeans, a short sleeve top in red and a white hoodie. Not as fancy as some of my other clothes, but still colourful and a lot more practical. With both of us ready we left the lair to catch a bus towards Brian's abode. As the bus rolled on towards Downtown, I noticed something I wasn't quite expecting, E88 gang signs. I turned to him, seated next to me.

"We're heading toward Empire territory?" I whispered into his ear.

"Yeah, its near the border." He replied, somewhat resigned. "Only place I could get that was affordable and decent. Haven't had much trouble though."

I looked at him and yeah, with his height, his muscles, those abs. I shook my head. I could see that he wouldn't be considered an 'easy' target. Still, it kind of worried me that our fearless leader may get jumped on his way to the supermarket or something similarly mundane. But he had been doing this for a few years now, he probably knew what he was doing. So instead of worrying I sat in comfortable silence along side him... and stared out of the window to hide my blush, somewhat flustered by the closeness.

A few stops later and we were in front of an apartment building. Relatively swanky looking, considering the area, about ten stories tall and made of stone, glass fronted balconies on the upper levels. He lead the way through the front giving me quite the view along the way. Damn it, without other people around to distract me, I found my eyes wandering, downwards. The close proximity as we took the lift to the fourth floor didn't help much either. I made a conscious decision to avoid staring as we went to his door, which I didn't quite succeed at.

With the door open, I could see an open space, with a loft style bedroom above and open plan design with kitchen and living room only really divided by a counter. A few doors lead off from the main area. Soft colours were everywhere, something I wouldn't have linked with what I knew of Brian. But I guess I had mostly seen him through the lens of 'Grue' and hadn't really seen much of him outside of that. It was, pleasant, if a bit muted, and I couldn't really fault his taste. I was starting to get envious, this apartment was impressive.

Footwear was discarded at the door on his cue and we made our way to a large stack of cardboard boxes. One had been partially opened, a few pieces scattered around and an instruction guide on top of the pile.

"Would you like some tea or a bite to eat before we get started?" He asked as he moved over to the kitchen.

"Some tea would be great, thank you." I answered, not quite hungry as yet, though looking at the stack of furniture, that would soon change.

Aisha pulled the key out of her pocket and checked the number against the apartment in front of her to make sure she was in the right place. She still felt a little flush of happiness every time she looked at the key--her brother might be a bit of a fuddy-duddy, but it was cool that he trusted her with something like this. Not that she would ever say as much to him, of course.

She slid the key into the lock but then hesitated when she heard voices through the door.

"Stop! It isn't going to fit."

A woman's voice. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She leaned closer, ear against the door to more effectively eavesdrop.

"Don't worry, it will be fine."

That was definitely Brian. He sounded frustrated.

"Are you kidding? Look at the size of that thing! If you just force it in you're going to break something."

Aisha flinched back, then caught herself. A wicked grin spread across her face as she realized the opportunity she was facing. She'd have material for the next year with situation like this. She was already imaging the hilariously flustered expression he'd make at the mention of 'ruining her innocence'.

"It just looks that way from your angle. Once we get the tip in, the rest of it will just slide into place."

Aisha shook her head. Smooth, Brian, real smooth.

"Really?"

"Trust me, I've done this before."

Aisha decided she wouldn't get a better moment and in one motion she unlocked the door and flung it open, throwing her arms up dramatically as she spoke.

"Oh, my virgin eyes! I'll never-"

She stopped as she took in the scene before her. Brian was holding a table leg in his hand. Crouched on the floor with her back to Aisha, a girl was holding a tabletop steady. Both of them were fully clothed.

"Huh," she said, scratching the back of her head. "This is a lot more G-rated than I expected."

We were startled from our assembly of a particularly stubborn coffee table by the arrival of an unexpected, but familiar sounding guest. I adjusted my position to get a better view. The door had opened to reveal someone I hadn't expected, but in hindsight really should have.

"So Big Bro, who's the gi.... Taylor?" Said the now slightly confused girl.

"Aisha? Bro? Wait what?" I said as my brain caught up to what she had said.

"Hello sis. You know each other I take it?" Brian asked, a bemused grin on his face.

"School." I said simply, still trying to process this new information. I had heard Brian mention a sister, but a name hadn't been used so it hadn't occurred to me that the girl from school had anything to do with my partner in crime. It was then that what Aisha had said clicked, and it occurred to me what our conversation must have sounded like. I tried and apparently failed to hide the blush of embarrassment that formed on my cheeks. She looked at me with a smirk and latched on to a new source of 'comedy'.

"You know, it totally sounded like you were banging from outside." She said, reinforcing my guess, and clearly amused at my discomfort. "So imagine my surprise when my brother is making in-your-end-o with my jailbait lesbian school friend."

"Its innuendo Aisha, and no, its not like that." Brian said with a stern voice, trying to calm her down, which from what little I knew of her, probably wouldn't work. "We're just friends and your mind is in the gutter."

While that was true and I hadn't expressed any feelings towards him, hell, I had hardly even though about it myself, it still felt a bit painful hearing that. The tone he used suggested that the idea wasn't even on the table. A little, bitter part of me thought of course not, you're not exactly a looker. I tried to block that out and take a more active role in the conversation. I didn't really get a chance.

He looked back at me with a knowing grin, "Though that would explain Lisa's teasing after your visit to the hospital."

Oh, and now he thought I was gay too. Yay, for backfiring plans. Another reason to slap Lisa upside the head. I was about to correct him, but once again Aisha got in ahead of me.

"Well its a relief my brother isn't going after the young ones like some cradle snatching dirty old man." She said with a chuckle. "Can't be my guardian if you're in jail."

Brian groaned. It was after all the only logical response to anything Aisha said, and he had to be used to it. Suddenly, Aisha's grin dropped and she looked over at me, her intense staring further derailed my train of thought.

"Wait, 'work' friends?" She asked with quotation finger movements, drawing a surprised look from me. She switched her glance between us a few more times, before fixing her gaze on me, with a confused tilt to her head. "No, that can't be right."

"Aisha." Brian growled. Shit had Brian told his sister about his powers?

"Holeeeee Shit. You're the Mime?" She said, eyes wide with the sudden Eureka moment. Brian just smacked his face into his hand and groaned. "That makes so much sense."

"Brian?" I asked, slightly panicked at the idea she had guessed and hurriedly tried to get out of it. "What's she going on about?"

"No need to play dumb, HAH, get it?" She said before continuing, "I know you must be on the team. Brian doesn't have any other friends."

"Damn it Aisha." Brian said, clearly having to restrain himself from yelling. "What did I fucking tell you?"

"Not to discuss cape stuff with people... Which obviously doesn't apply when they are obviously your fucking team mates." Aisha replied, full of her usual irreverent tone.

I, for my part, decided to say nothing more and moved to the fridge. Tuning out the argument behind me I opened the door, pulled out a soda and proceeded to take a seat on the counter, slowly sipping it to calm my nerves. Is this how my identity was going to be revealed, because of a silly sibling spat? Looking back over at them, I pondered a course of action. I sighed in exasperation put down the can and walked back over to them. A hand clasped on a shoulder each, my fingers digging in a bit harder than I had intended, I said a single word.

"Silence!" It was not very loud, much to my disappointment. Also to my slight disappointment I hadn't magically silenced them when I held them, but at least they had stopped their yammering and looked at me. My face wasn't quite the serene mask of calm I was originally trying for, instead quite a bit of my anger over this debacle was leaking through.

"Brian. I am disappointed that your indiscretion has led to someone else knowing. But, She is your sister. So, I, can, forgive, that." I said through my teeth at a level only barely audible, efforts to keep myself calm and force out the words were restraining my voice to a furious whisper. "Aisha, you will not speak a word of this to anyone. You were insanely lucky that you were right. If you weren't you could have got him and yourself killed. Think about that."

I continued to glare at her for what felt like hours before adding "Understood?"

"Yes." She replied, looking almost timid. A look I had never expected to see on her.

"Good." I said, releasing them both and went to retrieve my drink. "So... furniture."

"Yes, furniture." Brian concurred and went back to work on the wardrobe.

"Shit," Aisha mumbled, as she moved to help, "I thought you were scary when you were silent."

In blessed quiet, the wardrobe and a bookshelf were finished. The awkwardness had mostly seemed to pass. Perhaps this could all be left behind as something never mentioned again.

"So Taylor," Aisha spoke, breaking the golden silence, "do you pack when you cross dress?

Or not.

Chapter Text

It wasn't until I had returned home that night that I realized I hadn't cleared up the misunderstanding with Brian and Aisha. It didn't really matter what they thought at school and Aisha didn't seem to care one way or the other. Brian was a different matter. I wasn't sure if I had any romantic feelings as such, but at the very least, I found him attractive. Him thinking I was batting for the other team probably didn't help my chances if I wanted to pursue a relationship with him. Though from his earlier comments, I had a feeling he probably only thought of me as a team mate, or maybe another little sister to protect.

I'd hardly even given much thought to romance before now, so I wasn't even sure why it was bothering me so much. Maybe I was afraid I couldn't manage a serious relationship outside of the gang. The stress of maintaining a secret identity, the excuses and lies to explain away absences. It was bad enough having to do that with Dad, let alone someone I was supposed to be intimate with.

If I was stuck with an 'office romance', the other three members of the gang were, for various reasons, not good options.

Alec, while not that bad looking, wasn't my cup of tea. The sadistic streak he showed when 'assisting me' for the Panacea trip was a definite turn off . Lisa, while nice and friendly had that thing going on with her powers. Getting too much information being a turn off or something like that. Oh, and of course she was a girl. Maybe I was getting more desperate than I thought. Apparently two years of social isolation will do that. Then there was Rachel...No, just no.

"-alt?" Said my Dad.

"Sorry, what was that Dad?" I asked, I must have completely tuned him out.

"Could you pass the salt?" He repeated, a concerned look on his face. "Are you alright Taylor?"

"Yeah, just thinking about stuff." I said, trying to deflect the question.

"School hasn't been a problem has it?" He asked, leaping to the most obvious source of trouble.

"No, things have calmed down a lot lately. Just some rumours getting spread around." I sighed. I thought it better to try and reassure him, than have it fester and get him worried. " I did make a... I guess you could call her a friend."

I wasn't really sure what to make of Aisha, she was friendly enough, in a crude slightly obnoxious way, and she was the only one at school who actually seemed to give a damn that I was there. Her being Brian's sister still felt really odd, and I had a feeling Monday's lunch break was going to be awkward, assuming she didn't skip classes again. Glancing up, I noticed Dad had an odd expression on his face.

"So a, different sort of friend to Lisa?" He asked, slightly hesitantly. What was up with him? Was he surprised I actually had to capacity to make friends? I guess the past two years would indicate that befriending Lisa and the others was a fluke. That was a depressing thought.

"Lisa and I have a lot of shared interests." I said, trying to get the point across with out revealing anything. "Aisha, she's... different."

Shit, how was I supposed to actually describe her to Dad without making her sound like some horrible bad influence. I needed to make sure they never met, Dad would be mortified by her behaviour.

"Oh." Dad said, sounding slightly embarrassed. "Well, that's, ok."

I looked up at my now flustered Father with confusion.

"You know I love you, and... I support your choices." He said, fumbling out the words. Oh for fuck's sake not him too.

"God damn it." I failed to yell, slamming my head into the table as I turned red. "One joke and now everyone thinks I'm gay."

"Joke? What?" He said, clearly confused. "Oh, so you aren't dating this Aisha girl?"

"God no! I was just trying to say she's weird. Friendly but weird." I said, my forehead bouncing off the table again as I mumbled. "Damn it, do I jam people's gaydar or something?"

Dad, diplomatically treated my question as a rhetorical one and chose to stay silent for the rest of dinner. Damn, could this get any more awkward?

As if the universe was mocking me, my phone rang, drawing a sad look from Dad. While he knew I had one for 'work with Lisa', he still wasn't very happy to see them. I excused myself, happy to find a distraction from the conversation, and pressed the receive call button as I went out to the lounge.

"Hello?" I answered, raising my voice a little.

"Taylor? Its Amy. Panacea." Said the voice on the other end. Even through the phone she sounded obviously upset. "Sorry to call you so late, but is that offer still available?"

Chapter Text

Amy

Amy lay on her bed, failing to tune out the yelling of her sister. The bedroom door did little to reduce the volume.

"Damn it Dean!" Victoria shouted. "No! And you wonder why I get angry with you? Gah!"

Even in her room with her head under a pillow, she heard the crunch of another phone being wrecked as Glory Girl's anger exceeded her self control. A knock on her door was followed by a voice that always gave her heart a tug.

"Ames?" Victoria called out through the door.

"Come in." Amy invited, a slight sigh passing her lips. She put on a caring smile for her sister's sake.

Victoria usually radiated confidence. Instead she looked fragile, silently weeping. Amy felt a wave of pity and love as Vicky sat down next to her and started sobbing.

"It'll be alright sis." She said as she wrapped her arms around Victoria and brought the crying girl's head to her shoulder. "I'm here for you."

Amy hugged her, concerned with how distraught she seemed. Lately things had been particularly vitriolic between Vicky and Dean, though she wasn't sure why.

"What did he do this time?" Amy asked. She barely manage to suppress her growing anger at Gallant. Be angry later. She thought.Vicky needs me to be calm and supportive right now.

"H-he doesn't even care." She started, before her words dissolved into more sobs.

"Then he's a fool who doesn't know how luck he was to have you." Amy said, barely holding back a spiteful tone.

Damn him, she thought. Where does he get off making her miserable? Amy hugged Victoria tighter as her shoulder became damp. I don't think I can forgive him.

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♦ Topic: Dog Rescue
In: Boards ► News ► Events ►America

***Tattletale's_Throw_Away ***
(Original Poster) (UnverifiedCape)
Posted on April 21st, 2011:

We objected to the E88 abusing dogs by making them fight.

We did something about it.

FOR GREAT JUSTICE!

Love,

The Undersiders

P.S.
We have a bunch of unfortunate doggies looking for a caring home.
If you think you have what it takes to provide a caring home for an abused dog and not piss off Bitch, PM me. :)

(Showing page 18 of 18)

► Marceau (Unverified Cape)Replied on April 21st, 2011:

Honk

*Pets rescued puppy*

Honk

► Nyrus
Replied on April 21st, 2011:
Yo Marceau, is that the one that pissed on Stormtiger?

► HotterLass
Replied on April 21st, 2011:
That little guy is adorable.

► Marceau (Unverified Cape)Replied on April 21st, 2011:
@Nyrus

Honk

*Nods & Pets brave puppy*

*Names puppy Chips*

► GoodGoo
Replied on April 21st, 2011:
Hah! Cricket got knocked for a six.

► Nyrus
Replied on April 21st, 2011:
Oh wow, a dog that fought Nazis, nice!

► GrapejointReplied on April 21st, 2011:
@GoodGoo
Is that some kind of British joke?

► Volan
Replied on April 21st, 2011:
Oh, I hope Tattletale is ok. That looked painful.

► Day_Hunter
Replied on April 21st, 2011:
@Volan
Dude, she's a villain.

@Nyrus
Italian Fascists, not Nazis. Did you even read the article?

► Volan
Replied on April 21st, 2011:
@Day_Hunter
But they are rescuing puppies!

Surely that makes them heroes?

End of Page. 1 --> 16, 17, 18

 ♦ Private message from Marceau:

Marceau:
We rescued a puppy,
It reminds me of you.
It humiliates Nazis,
'Tis adorable too.

Glory_Girl: 

Amy looked over her sister's shoulder with an expression of utter bafflement. The contents of the screen clashed with her world view in a stunning display of cognitive dissonance. Her sister appeared to have the same problem.

"I really don't know how to respond to this." Victoria told Amy, hands above the keyboard, cursor flashing in the private message field.

"So let me get this straight, Gallant, the hero is being a jerk and Marceau the villain, rescues puppies and is sending you romantic notes." Amy said, repeating the obvious to herself, hoping it might make more sense that way.

"That... seems to be the case." Victoria replied.

Another Saturday, another shift at the hospital. Amy was drained, emotionally and physically from the past few days. Vicky and Dean still weren't speaking to each other, Marceau was being Marceau and there seemed to be no end to the sick and injured.

"There you go little guy." She said, releasing the child's hand.

"Thank you," Said the child's mother, "this means so much to us."

She left the child with his parents, having just cured him of leukaemia. They were happy and sure they thanked Amy for her help, but it seemed only empty platitudes, as if they expected nothing less, as if they were entitled to the healing. Amy thought that maybe she was just tired and being cynical, but a small part of her couldn't help but resent them.

She had just ensured their happy family continued on being happy, while her home life was pretty miserable. Carol was being distant as usual, Mark tried, but there was only so much he could do when he wasn't much better off in the happiness department. Vicky was, not as cheerful as usual. The one shining beacon in the fog of depression and obligation that was her life wasn't shining so bright lately. She knew the reason why. Dean.

Amy washed her hands. While she could kill any bacteria with her power, it helped with everyone's peace of mind and it was a habit that she took a small amount of comfort in. A small little routine that helped her feel clean. Helped her feel like she was doing the right thing. That she was, paradoxically, not just going through the motions. Her phone chirped, she answered.

"Panacea," Said the voice on the other end, it sounded like Aegis "we have an emergency, several injured. We need you the Protectorate HQ as soon as possible."

"Ok, but Glory Girl is off doing patrols, can I get a lift from Brockton Memorial?" Amy replied.

"Shit. I'll come pick you up. Be there soon." Aegis said, hanging up.

Amy stared at her phone with a growing sense of dread. Aegis had sounded rattled, and he swore, which was never a good sign. In the time she'd known the current leader of the Wards, she'd heard him sound like that only once. The time she'd had to heal a critically injured Triumph.

A few minutes later and she was picked up from the front of the hospital, Aegis holding her in a slightly embarrassing bridal carry.

"What's the situation?" She asked him as they flew towards HQ.

"The Empire attacked the convoy transporting Stormtiger and Cricket. Kaiser, Hookwolf, Fenja and Menja were there, probably as some kind of statement." Aegis explained, sighing before he continued. "Gallant's armor had blades grown inside it by Kaiser, Clockblocker has him on stasis now, but its a close thing. Battery took a nasty hit from Menja's spear and Assault has some wounds from Hookwolf's blades."

Amy took in the news. It had been a while since things had gone that bad. The bank job had left the wards a bit bruised, but no one had been seriously injured, Aegis' mauling aside.

"Why would Kaiser take out Gallant like that?" She asked. The Leader of the E88 was a racist bastard, but he always seemed... civil about it.

"I think Gallant hit him with some anger." Aegis said. "Given how pissed off they were to begin with, I can only guess that tipped him over the edge."

Amy contemplated the idea. From what she had heard of the bank debrief, something similar had happened when he had blasted Hellhound and he'd taken a battering then.

After a few more minutes of silence, they arrived at the HQ and rushed to the infirmary where a grim scene was waiting for them.

Gallant lay perfectly still, Clockblocker's hand placed on his exposed face, ready to freeze him the instant the stasis dropped. Blood caked the once shining armour, having leaked through both tears and seams. Battery was on a gurney on the other side of the young time stopper, a dark stain spread from a large gash in her side. Amy guessed her condition had deteriorated during the flight over. Assault stood at her side, holding her currently immobile hand, blood soaked bandages wrapped around him as a stop gap measure.

"How long since they were frozen?" Panacea asked, already into the rhythm of triage.

"I had just had to refreeze Gallant a moment ago," Said Clockblocker, all of his usual joking manner gone. "So Battery should be popping out before he does."

"Ok, Assault, give me your hand, I'll treat your wounds while we wait." She said.

"I'm fine, you need to be ready for Puppy." He said looking down at the woman by his side. Concerned enough that he was slipping into his pet name for her.

"She'll be fine, she's still frozen and you're bleeding," Panacea told him sternly, "just give me your damn hand."

"Fine." He said and stuck out his hand which was soon grabbed by Panacea. While she would usually ask for permission, her frustration and the history of healing the snarky cape made her bypass that.

She closed her eyes and focused. Lacerations over torso, left arm and leg. Heavy bleeding, some internal. Minor ligament damage. Narrowly missed femoral artery. She set his wounds to regenerate, sealing flesh, rebuilding muscle and ramping up blood production to replace the significant loss.

Amy opened her eyes. One down two to go. Neither of her other patients had dropped out of stasis, so she positioned herself between them and waited. A gasp followed by a wet cough to her side drew her attention to the now unfrozen Battery. Panacea quickly moved a hand to the nearest bit of exposed flesh she could see, the wound. Broken rib, massive blood loss, torn kidney and lung. Liver damage. Intestinal tract intact. Not enough material to work with safely.

"I need some blood here." She yelled. A nurse rushed to comply.

Concentrating, she numbed the pain and worked on the lung and ruptured vessels first, getting the tissues of the lungs to absorb the blood that had filled the lower right side. Assault could see the flesh knitting together as she worked. The nurse returned with an IV stand and dark red bag trailing a tube, which she immediately connected to Battery's arm. Amy continued the regeneration, moving on the less life threatening damage, the blood helping replenish that which was lost and letting her use fat reserves to rebuild the kidney and flesh. The another nurse took initiative and wheeled up a few more IV stands next to Gallant in preparation.

Four minutes after she started healing, Battery was almost as good as new. Her energy stores were at an almost unsafe level, cannibalised to repair the damage to her thoracic musculature. She would probably look malnourished for a few days till she could replace the body fat.

Amy had just enough time to breath a sigh of relief before Gallant dropped out of stasis, a disturbing gurgling noise resonating though his armour's voice amplifier. She rushed over and placed a hand on his face. Major damage to lungs, both kidneys, liver, large intestine. Foreign objects still in place. Blood loss approaching critical levels. She deadened the nerves around the wounds and started sealing off the ruptured blood vessels and regenerating what she could.

"He needs lots of blood and I can only do so much while this armour is on. There are four blades in the way." She shouted.

Feeling him this close to death was startling. He'd been around for what felt like years, the dates with her sister, the fights, the break ups, the make ups, repeat. It would be a lot of work to fix him up and she felt so exhausted.

It would be so easy to just let him drift away. Victoria would get over it and would be happier in the long run. No. She suppressed that vicious little part of her that wanted to punish him. He had hurt Vicky so many times. No, I can't do that. It would be so easy, and then maybe they'd expect less of her. Lessen the weight of responsibility that was constantly grinding her down.

She stood there in a bit of a daze, barely keeping him alive as technicians came in to remove the armour. I can't do that. A hand shielded her face as a friction cutter went to work on a piece that couldn't be shifted, a blade protruding from it. I need to rest. Another piece was removed, trailing blood from the four inch spike grown from its inner surface. Vicky would hate me. IV feeds were inserted into his arm. I would be a monster. The last piece of metal impaling Gallant was removed. I can't be a villain.

Tears running down her face, she started regenerating his organs, no longer impeded by the sharp metal. Tissues were repaired, gaping wounds closed as cells divided to replace the dead. Intestines were resealed, immune system over charged to clean up the sepsis. Skin sealed over, leaving him healthy and restored.

Job done, Panacea turned and walked away, mumbling replies to the thanks that she was given. She stopped long enough to wash the blood off her hands, a simple thing, routine even, before continuing on her way.

"Are you ok?" Asked Aegis as he caught up to her.

"I'm fine." She lied. "Just tired. I need some time alone."

"You need a lift anywhere?" He offered.

"If you could drop me home. That would be good." She said hoarsely.

Amy half heartedly waved goodbye to Aegis as he flew off before ducking inside. Carol hadn't really acknowledged her presence and Mark was in his own little world, blankly staring at the TV. She quickly changed out of her costume and into some street clothes and head back outside.

She needed to get away from everyone for a while. They wouldn't understand why she was upset and she couldn't tell them what she had almost done. She walked to a nearby cafe, open in the evenings for the local businessmen and later for the night scene. Taking a seat in a corner booth, face partially hidden in a hoodie, she sipped at a cappuccino and played with her phone, trying to find something to distract her. She came across a number and a memory came to the forefront of her mind.

Well I owe you one. If you ever need to vent, let me know.

It probably wasn't the best idea, but Amy was fresh out of better ones. It was risky, but a small callous part of her mind thought I can always claim she is a psycho fan girl if she tells anyone. She dialled the number listed under Taylor Hebert.

"Hello?" Answered a quiet voice on the other end.

"Taylor?" Amy asked. "Its Amy. Panacea. Sorry to call you so late, but is that offer still available?"

Chapter Text

"Dad, I'll be heading out for a bit." I said as I walked towards the door.

"Where are you going at this time of night?" He asked.

"Panacea asked to talk," I told him, "and well I do owe her a lot."

I hoped the combination of name drop and guilt would convince him.

"Well." He said as he thought about it. "Try not to stay out late."

He didn't seem terribly happy with the idea of me going out late, but I guessed the guilt won out.

"Don't worry, I shouldn't be long and I've got my pepper spray just in case." I said as I left the house and headed towards the cafe.

"So, umm. Vent away." I said nervously.

I sat across the table from one of the more famous capes in the county, wondering how my life had gotten this complicated. We were nestled into a corner booth, mostly screened from the rest of the cafe. It looked like she had gone through a few coffees in the time it took me to get here.

"I'm not even sure where to start." Amy sighed. "But I need you to not tell a single soul what I tell you."

I looked at her face. The serious but slightly sad expression she wore told me this was a big deal for her. My paranoia kicked in and I let my gaze dart around the booth and what I could see of the cafe.

"Would it be better to talk elsewhere?" I asked, concerned about eavesdroppers.

She noted my twitching and seemed to ponder for a moment.

"Yeah." She said. "We should probably take a walk."

We left the cafe and headed down the street, Amy leading the way.

"There's a park up this way, should be pretty quiet at this time of night." She told me. "It's in one of the safer parts of town."

I just nodded and let her guide us. My mind bounced between all sorts of unlikely scenarios including her knowing that I was a cape. But given the lack of other heroes, I figured she just needed someone to bitch about work too. I could imagine that doing all the healing she did must be tiring.

It wasn't long before I found myself on a path through pleasant greenery, trees spread far and wide, with the occasional flower bed to break up the fields of well maintained grass. I realised belatedly that I hadn't been to this park since I was a kid. A few memories flashed through the back of my mind, reminding me of happier times. I shunted them aside to concentrate on the girl at my side. Amy looked around and found us a bench in a well lit part of the park, a few hundred feet from the fence line. We sat down and I waited somewhat impatiently for her to start.

"I really need you to not tell anyone." She repeated.

"You gave me my voice back." I said. "I'm not going to use it to betray your trust."

She looked at me for a moment as she seemed to consider my words. She let out a resigned sigh and dropped her gaze to the path at our feet.

"I'm not sure I can do this anymore." She said, just barely audible.

My mind froze in panic at that statement. What did she mean? Healing? Being a cape? Living? I had on my worst days contemplated ending it all, but hearing something like that from a celebrity cape was jarring. I reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, grabbing her attention.

"Pana- Amy, what's wrong?" I asked her.

Her eyes widened at the worried tone of my voice. She must have realised where my mind jumped to.

"No, not suicidal." She said

The tension that had built up in my shoulders released a bit at that. I was not equipped to deal with a suicidal hero, as guilty as that thought made me.

"It's just I, I'm so tired." She continued. "I spend more time at the hospital that most of the staff. When I can't sleep, I head over there and heal a few more people. But it never ends."

I sat there, hand still on her shoulder as I absorbed what she was saying.

"There is so much pressure on me, to heal more people." She told me. "Even if I never slept, I still couldn't heal everyone."

Amy paused for a moment, another sigh breaking the silence before she continued.

"I sometimes think that maybe if I made a mistake, maybe they wouldn't expect so much of me." She said as she looked at me. I just nodded slightly for her go on, my expression neutral. "Maybe then I could get some rest. I feel so selfish."

"You need to take a break." I said. "Otherwise you'll burn out."

It never occurred to me that she would be this stressed. Tired sure, but this was a whole other level. She looked away from me, as if ashamed and stared into her lap for a while. I couldn't think of anything to say, so just rubbed her shoulder in a hopefully supportive manner. After a minute or two she whispered something that I almost missed.

"I almost let someone die."

I wasn't sure I heard it right. It clashed with everything I thought I knew of her. I almost screamed out 'why?' before I heard her sniffle. Instead I took a deep breath and calmly asked.

"What happened?"

She looked up at me and in the light from the lamps along the path glittered off the tears starting the well in her eyes. It was obvious that this was tearing her up inside. The only experience I had with this sort of thing was from the other point of view and so long ago. So with a bit of hesitation, I tried to do my best impersonation of my mother. I pulled the crying girl at my side into a loose hug.

"It's alright." I said. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

We sat like that for some time. To my over active mind it felt like it was an hour. The miracle healer of Brockton Bay was crying on my shoulder and I had no idea what was going on. I had trouble reconciling the fact that the girl that had seemed so defiant when I took her hostage was now a sobbing mess in my arms. A fair amount of guilt had built up over the bank incident and it made sure to slap my conscience upside the head.

"It'll be ok." I told her, though it rang hollow to my ears.

Eventually the sobbing subsided and her breathing slowed as she took in some deep breaths. I loosened the hug and she brought herself back to her previous spot on the bench.

"Gallant and Glory Girl have been dating." She told me, almost mumbling. I thought I might have heard a rumour along those lines, or read something on PHO, but having confirmation was surreal.

"They had another fight and broke up for the hundredth time." She said, taking another deep breath and moment to compose herself.

"I was angry at him for making my sister cry again." She explained. "Then tonight I had to heal him and a couple others the Empire had hurt."

I could already see where this would lead, but let her tell me in her own time.

"Gallant. He." She started, but was interrupted by another sob. A few seconds later she continued. "He was almost dead when I got there. Frozen by Clockblocker to keep him stable." The tears were still running down her face. "I healed the others while he was frozen then moved on to him. I was so tired and he was so close to slipping away and.. And... And I almost let him."

She started crying again and so going with what had worked, dragged her back into my arms. My mind reeled at the implications of this. I guessed that he was alive by the words she used, but damn, the guilt that she must have felt. The girl in my arms seemed more human then than I had ever thought before. When she was Panacea, she had that separation that celebrity brings. Sobbing in my arms, drenching my hoodie, she was just a hurt teenage girl.

"But you healed him right?" I asked.

She nodded against my shoulder, shifting the wet fabric around.

"Then you did the right thing." I told her. "Even if you hated him, you still healed him. Because you are a good person."

It seemed the right thing to say. I was noting some eerie parallels to my train of thought when I first got my powers. I had been so tempted to hurt my bullies, make them pay. Make them suffer like I did. I guessed I wasn't the only one who had thoughts like that.

"I don't know if I can keep being good" She whispered between sobs. "It's so hard."

"Yes it is." I said quietly in agreement. She looked up at me, a little confused. Shit, I thought as I realised I had slipped up and said that out loud. After a few moments I thought of a way out.

"I almost did some bad things to the bullies." I said, trying to be as vague as possible. "I could have hurt them. Got some revenge."

"Why didn't you?" She asked, curiosity visible through the sorrow on her face.

"I wanted to be better than them." I said. "I needed to not stoop to their level."

I hadn't really achieved quite what I wanted in that regard, but I at least tried. I still considered myself a good person, even if technically I had broken several laws.

"I'm not sure I'm strong enough." She mumbled.

"Then find something worth being good for. A person, a goal." I said, before quietly chuckling. "Hell I only did it out of a strange sense of pride."

I though about it for a little longer as she looked at me curiously.

"Having friends helps." I added. "I probably would still be in a bad place if not for my friends."

"I... I only have my sister." She told me quietly.

"Surely a nice girl like you should have more friends?" I asked. I was frankly surprised. She seemed rather popular from what little I had seen.

"No. Everyone else just sees me as the healer" She said. "Only want me around when they are hurt. Only Vicky seems to care."

It was kind of shocking to realise that Amy was almost as socially isolated as I had been. It just didn't make any sense to me. My guilty conscience decided it was the perfect time to remind me I had beat up her sister and only friend. I was apparently very bad at being villainous. A stupid idea came to mind. It was a very bad idea but I would feel like scum if I didn't follow through.

"I can't promise that I'll be around all the time," I said, "but if you want another friend, we could hang out sometime. Do some stuff."

She stared at me for a moment like I had grown another head or something. She nodded and a smile started to shine through the sadness.

"That." She said. "That would be nice."

I smiled back and wondered how to explain this to Lisa and the gang. As we got up to leave, the tight hug Amy gave me caught me a bit by surprise.

"Thank you." She whispered in my ear.

Chapter Text

The walk back toward the cafe was fairly quiet. We both seemed to enjoy the silence as a respite from the heavy conversation just a moment earlier. Still it wasn't too awkward.

"Well goodnight Amy." I said as we parted ways. "Be strong."

"I'll try." She replied. "Catch you later."

It was an innocent comment. The other meaning still sent a slight shiver down my spine. So it was that my unexpected liaison with Panacea came to a close, leaving me with a dull bus ride home to think about everything.

"Dad, I'm home." I called out as I made my way inside, locking the kitchen door behind me.

"Welcome back Taylor," He said, his words coming from upstairs. "How was it?""

I went upstairs, figuring he must have been getting ready for bed. I found him stepping out of his bedroom, clad in pyjamas.

"It was..." I started, before pausing to consider. "Well, she needed someone to talk to about stuff."

He looked at me, obviously curious. I had said I wouldn't tell anyone, so what was one more secret from Dad.

"Private stuff." I said. "But I think I've made a new friend."

"Hmm, well that's good." He said, faintly surprised. It was a fairly unlikely prospect, so I couldn't really blame him for his reaction. Before I met her, I never thought I would ever be friends with someone as famous as Amy.

"Anyway, I'm heading to bed." My Dad told me. "We can talk more in the morning if you like. You should probably get some sleep too kiddo."

"Good idea." I replied.

A quick shower later and I found myself staring at my ceiling, contemplating the events of the night. I had a new friend and she was a hero. I would need to be even more careful with my identities, lest I slip up around her. That would likely end poorly.

One last thought stuck with me as I drifted off. Perhaps I should stop trolling her sister.

The next day I travelled to the lair, figuring some more time with the gang would be fun. That and I probably should give them a heads up about last nights complication. How strange had my life become that it would have been more convenient to not have been healed?

Unlocking the door to the lair, I made my way up the stairs to the loft and found the gang all there. Rachel was just relaxing on a bean bag in the far corner, Angelica's head resting on her lap. She looked fairly tired, so I guessed she must have just came back from the shelter. Hopefully we would find homes for more of the dogs, the amount of care required for so many was phenomenal, but at least Rachel seemed content.

Alec and Brian were busy playing some kind of video game. Wasn't sure but it appeared to be one of those Medal of Warfare games, or whatever they were called. Lots of shooting at people in the desert. I didn't really see the appeal.

Lisa had just returned from her room and our eyes met and we stared at each other for a moment, her left eye twitched slightly. I was about to open my mouth to speak when she promptly started laughing like a madwoman. This of course caught everyone's attention.

"Wow, now you just need Laserdream to complete the set." She said after a moment to catch her breath. She looked at my face again as I blinked in confusion before what she was saying dawned on me. This set her off again. I had never seen anyone actually roll on the floor while laughing before this.

"Is someone going to let us in on the joke?" Alec asked, clearly amused at the proceedings. Brian joined Alec in slightly baffled amusement while Rachel had disregarded us as obviously insane, her attention returning to her dog. Looking between the two curious boys and the delirious thinker, I figured I should just break the news.

"Apparently Taylor Hebert is now friends with Amy Dallon." I said, scratching the back of my head in a nervous manner.

The looks on their faces were like very confused puppies for a few seconds. Eventually what I said trickled past their utter disbelief.

"Oh this is rich." Alec said, chuckling. "So teasing Glory Girl wasn't enough. Wanted some three-way sister action?"

Brian for his part slapped him up side the head before turning back to me.

"Care to explain?" He asked.

"She asked to talk about stuff and well I couldn't really refuse without looking suspicious and she really needed a friend and I felt kind of guilty about the bank and she's like a hurt puppy that needed some attention." I said before realising I needed to breath. The last part caught Rachel's attention and an odd look from her before she shrugged and gave Angelica a scratch behind her ears.

"Taylor," He began, ignoring Alec and Lisa's continued tittering. "I really need you to not get all romantic with members of New Wave."

"What, no! Why does everyone think I'm a lesbian?" I asked. "It was just a joke. Lisa back me up here?"

She looked up at me from the floor, looked at me serious for all of three seconds before bursting out in another bout of uncontrollable laughter. Feeling slightly betrayed I stomped off to my room in a huff.

"Fine, be that way." I not quite yelled before slamming the door. So much for clearing up the misconception.

"I'm sorry Taylor." Lisa said, sounding almost contrite. Almost. "It's just that from a certain point of view, your life is turning into a love tesseract."

I just stared up at her from my bed, my gaze meeting hers over the book in my hands as she stood in my doorway.

"Love... Tesseract." I said, unimpressed.

"Or love Klein surface if you prefer." She said, that smug grin plastered on her face. "Either way we're getting into non-Euclidean romance geometry here."

"Can you at least explain to Brian that the whole lesbian rumour was a joke that you advised?" I asked.

"Nope." She said, clearly enjoying my suffering. "I'm staying out of that mess, don't want to get tangled up in your relationship kudzu."

There were moments I wished I had laser eye beams, this was one of them. My stare was trying its best to emulate it though.

"Fine, fine. I'll help you clear it up." She relented. "You're no fun."

I got up to follow her out to the lounge when she reached into her pocket and answered her phone after the first ring.

"Hello Boss." She said before her grin slipped into a confused frown. She waved for me to follow her out. "Alec switch to channel twelve. The Boss wants us to see something."

Chapter Text

Coil

"Chance that Marceau is responsible for my death?" Coil asked.

"Ninety-seven point five one percent." Said the girl in the room.

That did not fill him with confidence. He considered whether she was making up the numbers for a moment, but no her powers didn't work like that. Scenario one was a write off unless he could remove the mime from the picture. It would make things easier if he could get Dinah on a drug dependency leash, so the mime had to go.

"Scenario two, chance of success?" He asked

"Eighty-nine point seven three five nine." The girl said shortly after.

Well those numbers sounded much better. He could be rid of the mime. It would be a shame to lose such a powerful cape, but he couldn't leave threats alive.

"Scenario two, chance I survive the next month?"

"Zero point zero zero zero one." She answered.

"What? How?"

"Please don't make me look for a picture." She asked timidly.

"I need to know, tell me." He said sternly.

"I. You are screaming and die painfully, but I can't see anyone else nearby." She croaks out before curling up in a ball of pain.

He considered this for a moment before deciding, perhaps he needed to find another way around the problem. The idea of a painful and untimely death did not fit with his plans.

Coil paced back and forth in a sparse room underground. The only other occupant was the young girl. In another version of the room, he was asking questions of her.

"Scenario five, chance of success?" He asked

"Forty-three point three one percent " The girl said shortly after.

"Scenario five, chance of my death in the next month?" He asked, a worried tone in his voice.

"Eighty-seven point nine seven percent " She answered.

His face covering mask disguised his expression, but the cast of his shoulders showed growing frustration.

"Scenario six, chance of success?"

"Seventy-one point four five" She said before adding. "I'm getting a headache."

"Ok one more question my pet." He said, the higher numbers grabbing his full attention. "Scenario six, chance of my death in the next month?"

"Twelve point five one. Oww." She said cradling her head and grabbing some pills from a bottle on her side table.

Coil looked at Dinah, the young precog he had acquired. Those were the best numbers he had so far, with every other plan leading to greater than sixty percent chance of death. He sighed. Scenario six was fairly low on the desired outcome list, but he could work with that. He would have to work with that if he wanted continued living.

In the other timeline, Coil stopped pacing and turned to Dinah. He figured he should check his last scenario before continuing.

"Dinah." He said, grabbing the girl's attention. "Scenario seven, chance of success?"

"Zero point zero two." She told him.

He looked at her for a moment. He really didn't think that the plan was that bad, but he had to trust Dinah's power. He sighed once again before forcing the next question out.

"Scenario seven, chance of my death in the next month?"

"Ninety-nine point three six."

Coil was silent for a moment. He made a mental note to stay well away from that plan. But it did confirm that his least favourite plan was his best chance of getting what he wanted, just not quite the way he wanted. Still, power was power and some was better than none. He collapsed the split, keeping the one with a less taxed Dinah and leaving the mostly quiet girl in the room he provided. Without the drug addiction he had to be more miserly with his questioning.

He arrived at his office and sat down in front of his computer. Emails were sent to agents around the city. Moles in all sorts of government and commercial organisations started working towards this new goal. Calls were made, bribes were paid and evidence planted without him even needing to leave his seat. Phone in hand, he made a particularly important and costly call.

"Number Man?" He said when the other end picked up. "I need you to create some data trails."

Everything needed had been put into place. His sources informed him that 'Scenario Six' would reach stage five today. Some of the ground work had been surprisingly easy, as if the universe conspired towards this goal. Other things had cost him quite a sum with all of the work Number Man had to do to make it look convincing, especially as a rush job. But he could always make more money provided he continued to breathe.

He looked at the clock on his computer screen. It was almost time. He picked up his phone and called his operative.

"Tattletale. You will want to watch the news on channel twelve." He told her. "This has been planned out for the best chance of succeeding with my plans. Make sure to play along."

Chapter Text

We were all a bit curious as to why the Boss would want us to watch something, but it was an easy enough job. The game was paused and the TV flicked through channels on the way to Twelve. We caught a snip of some soap opera and a couple of strange advertisements before we settled on the right one.

I blinked, watching as the “Breaking News” logo for Brockton Bay's local station flashed across the screen with a visual shot of the bank we'd robbed. Of course, we'd all seen the fairly high-profile news coverage that came with the boost in our reputation, though it had been more than a week ago that we'd pulled the heist, so I wondered exactly why it was 'breaking news'...

“...so, as we all know, Brockton Bay Central Bank was robbed by the now- notorious parahuman criminal gang known as the Undersiders. However, the ongoing investigation into the crime itself has led to an interesting and surprising series of revelations regarding how exactly the city's largest bank conducted it's business until recently,” the female anchor explained.

I blinked and traded a confused glance with Brian.

“Too right Diane,” the male anchor nodded. “This morning Bay Central Bank's president was taken into custody regarding charges of tax evasion, money laundering, misuse of company property and customer funds, and a slew of other crimes he is alleged to have committed during his tenure as the head of the bank.”

“You're leaving out the best part Mark,” Diane said jokingly. “In addition to the bank president himself, several Brockton Bay notables were taken into custody as well on similar charges. According to our sources, a fair number of the city's wealthiest have been allegedly using Brockton Bay Central Bank and it's president to avoid paying taxes on numerous local and international properties for years, if not decades.”

“And you might be surprised who we have to thank for discovering this corruption,” Mark took over as a series of five photographs rolled across the screen.

Five very familiar photographs. I felt my jaw hang loose.

“That's right, the Undersiders,” Mark continued. “While our newest local parahuman criminals did rob the local bank, the ensuing investigation and audit of the funds and accounts led authorities straight to another group of villains who have never bothered to wear masks or costumes.”

Diane grinned slightly as she took up the conversation. “We here at Brockton Bay Studio Six have uncovered some interesting evidence of our own that casts doubt on whether or not the Undersiders are as they appear. To report on this startling case, we have special reporter April Gonzales. April?”

The screen shifted even as my friends exchanged confused and worried looks. Lisa's expression was particularly curious, bearing all the hallmarks of strangled laughter, incredulous disbelief, and stunned awe at a particularly amazing example of stupidity.

“Thanks Diane, Mark,” the third correspondent nodded from where she stood outside a local flower shop...my stomach sank into a pit of despair as I recognised it. “Now, we've all seen our fair share of villains, here in Brockton Bay, so many in fact that we've almost forgotten to ask the most important question: Why?”

She paused here, smiling.

“Why do criminals commit crimes? Is it greed? Is it sociopathy? Are they sick or just 'bad to the bone?'” She smirked slightly at the song reference. “The Undersiders are an interesting case. Even a quick look through their police records shows that they aren't your normal criminals. They've gone to great pains to avoid injuring bystanders, conducted themselves with admirable restraint, and exposed a number of other criminal operations here in the city.”

I blinked, turning to Brian with a raised eyebrow. He frowned and shook his head.

April continued, “For those of you who haven't been following our expose on the Undersiders, they've led quite the profitable and successful career in what little time they've been active. The Undersider's modus operandi is a quick, quiet, and competent heist. During the year they've been in operation they've hit five software companies, an illegal casino, and numerous holdings of local gangs, namely the Asian Bad Boys, the Empire Eighty-Eight, and the Merchants. Now, many of us were ready to discard these activities as those of normal in-fighting between gangs, but recent going-on have cast doubt on the accuracy of those assumptions.”

An image appeared on the screen. Another familiar one, though for different reasons.

“The recent apprehension of wanted parahuman gang-lord Lung was originally credited to the head of the local Protectorate Armsmaster. While it is true, the actual 'take-down' of the infamous criminal was actually the work of another familiar group. As an unidentified source in the PRT has informed us, a calling card was left at the scene of the crime, crediting the capture to Marceau and Special Guests the Undersiders.”

“But of course, it would be remiss of us to not address the other crimes the Undersiders have committed. Of the software companies they stole from, three have been implicated in funnelling money to criminal interests in Boston, another was discovered to have been housing a hidden meth lab in the basement, and the last was running a range of internet-based scams in their off hours. Currently, the owners and staff of all these businesses are in police custody and have either been formally charged or are awaiting trial.” Here she paused again, even as I developed a slight twitch in my left eye.

“It's a fascinating trend to note: that the Undersiders have only 'hit' business or organisations which, themselves, have been fronts for criminal activity. This trend forces us to question whether or not the Undersiders truly are 'villains' in any real sense of the word. Are these teens merely heroes of another breed? Perhaps they've been misunderstood by society, perhaps they've lost faith in authority, perhaps they feel that the crimes they've committed have been necessary to reveal the larger corruption they've discovered. Regardless, it is clearly evident that there is much we don't understand about these teens...and that's what brings us to this flower shop, to speak with it's owner: Mr. Gunn. Mr. Gunn, I believe you had a strange order come in recently?”

The slightly potbellied man who owned the store smiled weakly as he stepped into the shot. “Ah, yes, well...whoever it was left me a note and paid in cash...I never saw them, you understand, but when I placed the card onto the flower arrangement they ordered, well...”

April smiled tolerantly, “Yes Mr. Gunn, what did the card say?”

“Well, it was addressed to 'My Dearest Glory Girl,'” He explained, an embarrassed flush on his face. “I wouldn't have read it, you understand, but whoever left the note forgot to tell me where to send the flowers and I hoped it would give me a hint in the note.”

I applied palm to face with violent force. The sound was loud in the near- silent Undersider's lair. I glanced over at Lisa, noticing the side of her grin twitching, her phone still clenched in her hand.

“And who sent the arrangement?” April asked intently.

“Ah, it was...it was addressed from Marceau, the uh...the new mime cape with those Undersiders, saying how sorry he was for being so...'indelicate,' I think he wrote, with Glory Girl at the bank,” Mr. Gunn explained finally.

My face was hot as my friends stared at me.

“What kind of villain would include so heartfelt a note of apology?” April asked the viewers, pressing her advantage. “That's what we at Studio Six wanted to know. Glory Girl was unavailable while the PRT and Protectorate have declined to comment, stating that the investigation into the Undersiders is ongoing and assuring us that all avenues will be explored. Now, as we go back to Diane and Mark, I believe they're ready for a much more in-depth look at the known backgrounds of these 'villains' and their accomplishments to date. I believe we're going to start with Hellhound, Mark?”

The picture shifted to a bisected view of the anchors at their desk and the on-the-spot reporter.

“Just so, April,” Mark nodded, his face grim. “Now, this is a story that would bring tears to even the hardest heart among us. Hellhound's original crime which put her on the run was the murder of her former caretaker and guardian, yes, but a second look shows us that the young girl once known as Rachel may not have been wholly or even partly to blame. Join us for a series of interviews concerning her past and the abuse she suffered as a child next, after this short break.”

Alec clicked the TV off.

There was silence.

Rachel's body was stiff, tense, as she scratched Angelica behind the ears. Brian's face was a twisted mix of incomprehension and disbelief. Lisa was glaring at the black television screen as if someone or something was behind a cosmic joke, with her as the punch line. Alec's face was a rictus of contained amusement, seemingly looking at the irreverent and humorous side of the problem...like always.

“So...” Brian broke the tableau, rubbing at his jaw. “What the hell?”

I couldn't help myself. “And here I was, thinking I'd joined a vicious and brutal gang of super villains? Where, oh where, did I go so right?”

"Apparently the boss wants us to be heroes now." Lisa said, face cradled in her hands. A small resigned chuckle followed. "He... somehow planned this. This..."

She threw her hands up in the air, clearly unable to thing of a sufficient description for the weirdness we had just been subjected to.

Alec cracked up, almost falling of the couch with laughter before he managed to choke out, “Oh, who the hell is going to believe this bullshit? I mean, come on! How could they actually think we're heroes?! Ha!”

Lisa massaged her temples. “Oh, I'm sure there are plenty of idiots who are willing to believe we're 'undercover heroes' or something stupid like that...Skidmark, Squeeler, Lung, Uber and Leet, a good third of the E88 parahumans, even if Kaiser doesn't buy it...”

Brian facepalmed as Alec's laughter died down.

I think I summed up everyone's thoughts nicely, “Well, shit.”

Who would have thought you could accidentally become a hero by doing your best to be a villain?

Chapter Text

"Well the boss wants to pay us to be heroes." Alec said with a laugh. "So lets play the big damn heroes. Hell, we did just rescue a bunch of puppies."

"I really have no idea how we are supposed to swing that. I mean we did maul the Wards pretty bad." Brian added.

"Good point." I said, nodding. "Surely the PRT are unlikely to buy the bullshit being fed to them by the media."

"Yeah, they are likely to have a neutral stance towards us." Lisa said. "Actively hunting us down would be bad PR right now, but there is no way they are going to announce any support for us."

"So what are we going to do?" I asked my team mates. "I guess we're now stuck attacking gangs and other obviously 'evil' targets?"

There was a slightly exasperated sigh from Lisa at my use of air quotes.

"Leaving aside that I don't know how much of that was legitimate and not frame jobs, we're going to have to be a lot more careful." She said with a slight frown. "All of the other factions in town now have an extra reason to take us out and we'll want to avoid antagonising the PRT any further."

Damn, how many innocent people had been framed up for this? I had trouble believing our boss had the power to arrange for that much. A lot of them had to be legitimate criminals right? It was something I would have to contemplate later.

"So we continue our hit and run style, just with less hitting of the Wards and Protectorate?" Brian asked.

"Pretty much. I reckon if we do another job soon, it should be something against the Merchants." Lisa said. "It will help reinforce our vigilante rep and if we don't poke the Empire or the ABB for a bit, they might calm down a little."

"Merchants will be low profit though." Brian said. "I mean, I assume we want to stay away from captured drugs as an income source?"

"Ah shit." Alec grumbled. "Being a hero already sucks."

I pondered that for a moment. Selling stolen drugs hadn't even occurred to me. I guess I was kind of a lousy villain.

"Well we can't make a profit, but can we destroy the drugs in such a way as to be obvious on camera?" I asked. "If we can swing a little more PR from it, maybe we can wrangle a little bonus cash out of our oh so considerate Boss?"

My sarcasm seemed to match the overall opinion of our employer. I can't say I was that unhappy with the prospect of being a hero. But it definitely made things more complicated, just when I was starting to get used to things.

"I'll give him a call later to ask about it." Lisa said with another frustrated sigh. "Are we all good to do this crazy ass plan?"

"As long as I keep getting money and support for my sister it's just another pay check." Brian said with a shrug. "I guess so."

"He's paying us to be heroes? Fine, but it doesn't mean I'm going to be all Gallant about it." Alec said, laughing at his own joke. No one joined him.

"Its money, whatever." Rachel said, clearly unhappy at the paradigm shift. She got up and Angelica joined her. "I'm taking her for a walk. I'll check on the other dogs."

Lisa, Brian and Alec all looked at me after I hadn't said anything for a while. I looked back and them and chuckled.

"Another way of rubbing the PRT's nose in its own incompetence?" I said with what was likely a malicious grin. "That sounds... fun!"

Damn it, I thought as I woke up the next morning. In all the confusion from our media coverage I had completely forgotten to get Lisa to clear up the misconception that had been haunting me lately. I considered dropping by on my morning run, but realised it would take a bit too long. Things would be so much more convenient if I didn't have to go to school. Perhaps I could test out or something.

Thinking over my options, I got ready for my morning routine.

I hated Mondays. It was such an obvious thing, but it only really made itself know when I returned to school. Emma seemed to be actively avoiding me of late, but that didn't make the experience any less dull. I tried to pay more attention in classes and get my grades back up, but it all felt so pointless. As it was I had good enough marks to pass and that was... sufficient.

Lunch time came around and it was time for some likely very awkward conversations with Aisha. Sitting in my usual spot, munching on a sandwich, I wondered how to broach the topic. My thoughts were quickly derailed.

"Yo Taylor." Aisha said from just behind my shoulder, causing me to jump a little.

"Damn it, don't do that." I said, trying to get my heart rate under control.

"So, with you guys going legit, you going after Glory Girl?" She said, wearing a cheeky grin.

Any hopes of a serious conversation had just nose dived as the realisation that she had seen the news and jumped to yet more conclusions dawned on me.

"About that." I said. "Not actually a lesbian."

"Serious?" She asked, mock shocked expression. "You like the dudes?"

"Serious." I confirmed in a deadpan tone as I stared at her.

"Well that would explain the looks you were giving my brother." She nodded sagely.

"What?" I said. My eye twitched a little in a way I was starting to think of as a symptom of Aisha.

"Saw you checking out Brian when we were putting furniture together." She explained. "I thought I was just seeing things."

My response was to just continue starting at her, my eye still twitching. I took a drink from my water bottle.

"Soooooo, you want into his pants or what?" She asked before she shifted to the side to avoid the water that flew from my mouth as I coughed. It took a few moments before I recovered enough to talk.

"Well he's good looking and nice." I said sheepishly. "I guess I'd be interested in pursuing a relationship."

"When he hits eighteen, you'd be officially jail bait." She said mockingly.

"I cared about the law when?" I asked. The look on her face was priceless.

"Point." She said after a while. "I can ask him all subtle like if you want?"

"You, subtle?" I asked, getting me a faux pained look from her. "Ok if you can test the waters, maybe actually explain I'm not gay? That would be good."

"No promises. He might like the older ladies." Aisha said. She stared at me for a bit before adding. "Are you sure you don't want Glory Girl? She's damn fit."

The only adequate response was to bury my face in a hand, using the other to give her the finger.

A few hours after school and I was surrounded by my team mates. We were clustered around the coffee table in the loft as we went to work planning.

"So the idea is to hit this warehouse." Brian said as he pointed to a structure on the map rolled out in front of us. "Merchants keep a lot of their stock here."

"Its likely that a large amount of money will also be kept on site." Lisa added. "However, we're likely to encounter at least two capes and a bunch of druggies with guns.

"Don't the Merchants only have three capes?" I asked.

"From our most recent intel, yes." She answered. "But as this is one of their bigger holdings, its likely to have most of them present."

"We talking handguns or machine guns?" Alec asked, beating me to my next question.

"Mostly hand guns, maybe a few with AKs and uzis." Lisa said.

"What do we know about the capes?" Brian asked.

"Skidmark can make zones that propel things in a particular direction. He can stack the effects over time to increase the push." Lisa explained. "Squealer is a Tinker, makes big, loud vehicles mostly. Mush can create a kind of armour around him by using whatever junk is lying around. Mud, trash, dirt and such."

"So if we can catch them off guard they shouldn't pose too much of threat?" Brian Asked.

"The only reasons they are still around is they haven't pushed to hard and they have a lot of the drug traffic covered." She said. "Otherwise one of the other gangs would have crushed them by now."

"So, we hit them Wednesday night?" He asked looking around.

A series of nods answered him.

Chapter Text

The warehouse sat before us, the light glimmering through broken windows strangely menacing in the darkness. We had agreed to attack late in the evening. Though this would likely lead to more people present, they had a higher likelihood of being less than lucid from their own products. Not being silhouetted while attacking a building full of guns was also a selling point. Any streetlights that would have illuminated us were broken the night before.

I found myself nervous about this raid. While the Merchants had few capes with arguably weak powers compared to the other factions, a bunch of drugged up loonies with automatic weapons seemed much more likely to get us killed if we slipped up.

And yet, I was excited. Thrilled by the challenge set before me. Something I could do and do well, despite the risk. Cape work made me feel alive after so much time spent just enduring.

"Ok, lets go." Grue said, breaking me out of my reverie.

We moved in towards the western side of the warehouse, hidden with a combination of the darkness of night and many small bursts of Grue's power. As Grue and I took up our positions either side of an open loading bay I readied our little surprise. It had taken a day for the boss to deliver the parts, but I hoped it would work as planned.

Inside the warehouse, I caught a glimpse of four Merchants with rifles lazily 'guarding' the area while about a dozen were lounging around a cluster of couches in front of a likely stolen wide-screen. From our intel, there should have been at least another ten, so I guessed they were in the office section past the door at the back of the large room. I glanced at Grue for a 'go ahead' and he nodded.

Holding the bundle of canisters in my hands, I lifted them up, pushed my hands forwards then dropped them down a little as I stepped to the side. I had to make this quick, hoping I didn't stand out too much in the doorway. I stepped back a few paces and let go of the bundle, a small cord still attached to my wrist. There was a very faint series of popping sounds as several pins came free and the package arced through the air towards the clustered Merchants.

I quickly stepped over to Grue's side, placing up a barrier between us and the building and facing away as his power shrouded us and the doorway in darkness. Inside the swirling oily void I waited. After what seemed minutes but must have been seconds, I felt a tap on my shoulder. A sign that the combined bundle of flash bangs and stinger grenades had gone off, pelting them with rubber balls, light and sound. The darkness swirled away from us but still covered the doorway, providing a target.

A harsh staccato of automatic weapon fire filled the air as a few lucky guards emptied their weapons into the shadows to our left, while cries of pain and panic came from the others. The gunfire soon died down.

On cue, three car sized dogs leaped through the windows on the northern side of the building. Shattered glass littered the floor as the monstrous beasts landed next to the blind and deaf druggies. Bitch, Regent and Tattletale came through the door on that side and we moved in.

The two guards that hadn't been close enough or facing the bundle were busy trying to reload when their hands suddenly twitched, forcing them to drop the guns. I lassoed the rifles, flinging them off into a corner while a shadow clad Grue moved to deal with the confused sentries. The other three waded into the seething mass of stunned and drugged up Merchants, applying the tender mercy of stun guns to those who were still lively enough to resist.

"That's this lot down." Regent said as he pulled a zip lock tight around the wrists of a moaning meth head.

"Rest are probably through there." Tattletale said. "Though the lack of gaudy vehicle would suggest Squealer isn't here."

"Marceau," Grue said, "with me."

We moved up to the door and I set up a wall just a fraction smaller than the doorway. Familiar darkness shrouded us and I felt a push on my shoulder a moment later as he steered us through the door. I was mildly surprised by my vision returning only a short moment later.

"Huh, no one else is here." Grue said, surprised audible through the eerie echo of his voice.

"Well then, let us make the most of this opportunity." Tattletale said as she joined us.

I nodded in agreement, though I was slightly paranoid at how easy this was. But I figured we might as well get started while we waited for the other shoe to drop.

The office was fairly open plan, a few trashed cubicles with mattresses lining the floors and a separate office that had been reinforced with a haphazard covering of sheet metal. The door was locked with a chunky padlock. Tattletale started digging through a pouch for I assumed some lock picks when I held up my hand, she looked at me and nodded.

I moved toward the padlock arms bent and spread out in front of me, mostly closed fists rotated at an angle from each other. While I was testing my powers, I had tried something similar, but I wasn't totally sure I could apply enough force. Figuring it was worth a shot, I strained a little as I moved my fists together above the padlock. With an almost inaudible clink, the loop was sheared apart by a non existent pair of bolt cutters. Underneath my mask I smiled a smug smile. With a wave of my hand my mask smiled too as I turned back to my team mates.

The armoured room was more full than I had been expecting. Numerous blocks of white powder wrapped in plastic covered a table. Baggies of crystals filled a 44 gallon drum in a corner. Another was filed with baggies of what I assumed was weed. A bench to the side had some residue of a 'product test' and some Tupperware containers filled with pills. A safe stood against a wall next to a re-purposed bookshelf lined with bottles of rot gut whiskey.

"This is more than I was expecting" Tattletale said, her grin wide in delight as she moved to the safe. "This is going to hit them hard. Probably several hundred thousand worth."

As she started messing around with the keypad, Grue and I set out our other surprise for the night. While the money from the drugs would have been nice, I was happier to have it destroyed. I'd seen a few of the people the Merchants had hooked and I'd be glad to know they'd struggle to do the same to others for a while. With a clank, the door to the safe swung open and Tattletale started loading the stacks of bills into a duffel bag.

Simple incendiary devices, set to a remote detonator, were spread around the room to burn up the stock pile. We'd want to be out of the office when it went up to avoid the fumes, but a call to the fire department and PRT should see to it that the fire wouldn't spread.

As we walked out of the office section, Grue pressed a button and a low woof noise and a brief flash informed us that the stockpile was cooking.

"That'll keep the streets clean for a while." Grue said as he face Tattletale, clearly trying to get into the swing of heroic one liners. She just grinned and let her camera record the ham.

"We're done." Tattletale announced to Regent and Bitch, who had since finished restraining the Merchants. A few small fire extinguishers were placed near them, just in case. While they were depraved drug addicted assholes, we didn't want them to burn to death or anything. She pulled her phone out of a pouch, hit speed dial and held it to her head.

"PRT? Undersiders here." She said to the person on the other line.

Honk! I added.

"Warehouse near the Graveyard, Johnson Street. Sixteen restrained Merchants and the burning remains of around six hundred thou of drugs. Might want a fire truck just in case." She hung up before the person could respond. "Ok lets get out of here."

Mounting up on the dogs, we rode out through the western loading bay and found ourselves staring at the unholy offspring of a carnival and a road train. Gaudy lights flashing and neon glow from the undercarriage back lit some very unimpressed and dishevelled gang lords.

"What the fuck were you cunt-biscuits doing in there?" Skidmark asked with the eloquence of a jack hammer.

It appeared that the other shoe had finally decided to drop.

Chapter Text

Rather than answering with words, Grue's reply was with a wave of cloying darkness. Inky black clouds engulfed Skidmark and someone I assumed was Mush before billowing out to cover the tinker vehicle.

"South!" Grue yelled and with a whistle from Bitch we turned to our left and the dogs started their strange loping gait.

We had only got halfway to the end of the building when a bright flash threw harsh shadows in front of us. A glance over my shoulder showed a startling absence of Grue's darkness and road train mounted floodlights slowly dimming. I felt Grue turn to look as well.

"How the hell?" Asked Grue, even more surprised than I was.

"Fucking Tinkers." He mumbled as he turned back to guide Judas onwards while I noticed bits of trash had gathered around Mush as his armour began to coalesce. I turned back in time to see a strange purple-blue band appear on the ground before us. The previous speed we had bled off near instantly as we passed over it, causing the dogs to stumble a little when they landed. Another glance back showed Mush advancing toward us, his amorphous cladding of garbage complete and a large turret emerging from the roof of Squealer's ride.

Honk!

I caught the attention of my team before quickly raising my left hand up, making a barrier to protect us. Being on the back of a monster dog made things tricky for positioning and it took a lot of my focus to create and maintain the wide sloped barrier while my right hand held on to one of Judas' spines.

"Oh Fuck!"

The surprised cursing from Regent was only barely heard over the hellish barking of a machine gun as the turret fired upon us. Dozens of impacts vibrated my wall, tingling the hand against it. Bullets squashed against thin air or ricocheted upwards as the Squealer strafed us. The force of the impacts increased as Skidmark created another band of purple to blue gradient between the tinker tank-train and us, blue side facing our way. A small part of my mind considered that it must be speeding up the bullets while the rest focused on keeping us lead free. I felt heavier vibrations through my arm and the beginnings of a headache as he overlayed several more applications of his power in quick succession, boosting the speed of the bullets further.

Another cloud of darkness manifested between us, engulfing Mush and blocking sight through the alley. The dogs shifted to the side in an attempt to move out of the gunfire. Concentrating as I was, I was shocked by the sudden lurch as Judas leaped up to the roof of the building across from the warehouse. That combined with the jolt of landing made me drop the barrier. A glance down at the street showed our original path had a much more intense band of force blocking our way. Given the trouble we had going through the first one, I guessed it would have been impassable.

The darkness once again was washed away by the powerful lights on the Merchant vehicle, the glare only slightly blocked by the material of my mask and leaving spots in my eyes. The turret panned towards us again and I threw up another wall in panic. I needn't have bothered as the dogs quickly bounded over the other side of the building. Even on the other side of the building, the roaring of the engine of that abomination against automobiles could be heard. The Doof Doof 'music' that followed vibrated my chest and made me cringe in disgust. The whining from our rides showed they were similarly distressed.

In a not-quite-gallop, our canine steeds carried us down the side streets as the all too audible Merchants gave chase. The echoing of the noise pollution through abandoned factories and warehouses made it difficult to tell just where it was in relation to us. Grue said something, but I couldn't make it out despite him being right in front of me. When he gestured to the right, creating a swirl of inky dark before guiding Judas to our left I figured it must have been something about a distraction.

I was starting to think we were free and clear as the thumping beats faded behind us. That hope was shot down as I noticed the growl of a different vehicle. A large tinker made motorcycle rounded the corner ahead of us. The sight of its power armoured rider and camouflage wearing passenger sent a chill of worry down my spine. Armsmaster and Miss Militia had either responded quicker than expected or we were weathering the barrage from the turret longer than I had thought. I glanced around to see if any other Protectorate members were with them but didn't see any. Our forward movement halted and we were about to turn down another street when a voice boomed out from the bike.

"Stop." Said Armsmaster.

"Sorry, but we'd rather not get shot at by Squealer's tank again." Grue said.

"You will come with us for questioning." He said in response, his tone full of arrogance. It was almost as if he expected us to obey him. I almost laughed, but bit down the urge in case his fancy helmet had enhance hearing or some other tinker bullshit.

"Don't think so. We can't really trust you to not lock us up for our independent activity against criminals." Tattletale replied before her grin reached full fox mode. "Not that your track record for keeping hold of the villains we've delivered to you is intimidating."

"And I suppose you want us to deal with the Merchants now that you've stirred them up?" Miss Militia asked, talking over Armsmaster's indignant growl.

"Oh they'll calm down soon enough." Tattletale said. "But you might want to make sure the incinerated drugs don't cause any further issues."

"That is already being dealt with." Armsmaster said.

I guessed that the PRT or some other Protectorate capes must have gone ahead to the warehouse. That meant we probably wanted to be away from the two in front of us before reinforcements arrived. I figured I should probably interrupt Tattletale's stream of talking lest we get bogged down.

Honk!

Everyone looked at me. I looked at Tattletale and made a zipped lips gesture followed by pointing my thumb over my shoulder. She nodded in response.

"Well, we should get going. Ciao." She told the heroes and we turned the dogs to head off.

We were interrupted by the sound of screeching brakes and squealing tyres. The crossroad behind us was filled with a now music-free Merchant vehicle, sandwiching us between them and the Protectorate capes. Its turret moved to target us.

As yet another shoe dropped, it appeared that Murphy had quite the selection of footwear for us tonight.

Chapter Text

I didn't have much time to act, so I did the first thing that had come to my mind when I worked out how they were counteracting Grue's darkness. Dropping off the side of the dog, I held my left hand up as if holding something and my right hand gripped near it before pulling down and letting go. My left arm leveled out with my shoulder as my right hand gripped something else. My index finger pulled while I prayed it would work.

One by one the floodlights shattered as I imagined bullets firing from some kind of automatic rifle from that game Brian and Alec played. I jostled my body, as a proper machine gun should have recoil. I made a few quick sweeps as I stepped towards the vehicle, glass shattering in silence.

With a loud hammering from behind me, several tires burst. A quick glance over my shoulder showed that my team mates and the heroes were roughly behind me. Miss Militia had her weapon levelled at the now destroyed tires, strangely matching the imaginary one in my hands.

I 'dropped' the gun and thrust my hands forward as the turret finished its turn towards us.

"Grue, darkness!" I heard Tattletale yell.

The street between the Merchant vehicle and I was filled with a swirling cloud a second before I felt the first impacts on my wall. Not twisting to get the correct angle or bouncing around on Judas helped with my focus and the impacts didn't vibrate my hands nearly as much as they had. Though if this went on too long and Skidmark did his thing, that would soon change. That the darkness hadn't been banished gave me a bit of hope, even as the lead piled up at my feet.

Realising that my wall was of course invisible to the others, I jerked my head right twice in the hopes that that would get the point across. The sound of Tattletale talking was mostly obscured by the muffled clacking of the turreted gun. I found myself wondering why Grue hadn't fully enveloped the vehicle too, also why the Merchants would waste ammo rather than change tactics. I didn't get far before I had to refocus as the impacts began feeling more and more powerful by the second.

Three large shapes passed through my peripheral vision and into the darkness. The dogs had been sent to play. Suddenly, not shrouding the vehicle made a bit more sense.

I heard a dull thump and felt the series of impacts rise along my wall then cease, before a screeching crash reverberated through the street. The sound barely dampened by the partially intervening cloud of darkness. The inky barrier swirled away into nothingness, revealing the underside of the mutant road train, one of the dogs chewing on a tyre. Grue stood to the side, while Bitch was still on Brutus and the other two were dismounting from Angelica.

Dropping my wall, I glanced back at the heroes and waved a 'come along' gesture at them before I jogged towards the flipped vehicle while keeping an eye out for surprises. I didn't notice said surprise till a dumpster went flying across my vision, narrowly missing Brutus and Bitch. You wouldn't think a twelve foot tall garbage monster could be stealthy.

Mush rounded the corner, having apparently been dropped off earlier. The extra bulk he had gathered must have been most of the trash in the area. I had to give the Merchants credit, maybe they did have some modicum of tactical planning after all. Angelica and Judas pounced and latched onto the garbage man, followed shortly after by Brutus once Bitch jumped off.

I caught up to them just as Regent shoved his sceptre through a broken window. I thought I heard some swearing, but wasn't sure over the sounds of battle. The sound of more gunfire filled the air as Miss Militia added a few precise shots from her now-a-sniper-rifle, taking out the knees of Mush's construct. A few moments of mauling later and the armour of debris fell apart, a now unconscious Mush riding a wave of filth to the street.

Not bad for a single night. I thought. The entirety of the merchants leadership taken out. A quick wave of my hand and my mask matched my mood as I saw Skidmark and Squealer dragged from the upturned tinker vehicle.

"Well here are the Merchants for you." Grue said as he turned towards the approaching heroes.

"Try to keep hold of these." Tattletale said with her trademark grin. "You keep losing all our other presents."

"There's still the matter of you coming in for questioning." Armsmaster said. I was kind of surprised just how stubborn he was about that.

"Are you really going to make the horrible mistake of trying to bring in the helpful vigilantes?" Tattletale asked as she stared at him, grin still on her face. "Is your ego so important that you'd risk your reputation over it?"

"You assaulted our Wards while robbing a bank, that's hardly vigilante behaviour." He replied.

"None of them were seriously injured and we even freed Panacea to help you as soon as we were done exposing their corruption." She explained.

"That's beside the point." He said.

I had a feeling this was going to go for a while, so I pulled out my phone, a pen, a notepad and my horn.

"Oh come on. Miss Militia, back me up here." Tattletale pleaded ever so mockingly. "You know this is a bad PR move even if you don't believe we're dashing roguish heroes. We've just prevented the Merchants from gunning you down and delivered them to you on a silver platter."

Typing out a message, I walked towards the heroes.

"Need I point out that they were only going to shoot at us because of your actions?" Miss Militia said calmly. I swear she would have a sarcastic smirk if I could see past that scarf.

"That's beside the point." Tattletale said in a gruff impersonation of Armsmaster. "And now we've stopped the crazy drugged up capes with guns from hurting people. Isn't that more important."

Honk

It was only a little squeeze given my proximity, but it got their attention. I held up my phone to Miss Militia.

-Can I have your Autograph?-
-I'm a big fan.-

I then held out the pen and pad, my mask still on Happy mode. A few seconds of surprised look from her was followed by a brief chuckle. Armsmaster let out a disapproving growl, but she took the pad, somewhat diffusing the tension. She quickly scribbled something down before returning me the closed notepad and pen.

"Lets deal with the Merchants." She said to Armsmaster. He looked like he was going to protest, but she just shook her head slightly before turning back to us. "You have a zero tolerance policy with us. Any more attacks on civilian targets and you will be dealt with harshly. In the mean time, be good."

They moved over to where the Merchants were lined up and cuffed, while we remounted and trotted off. Our trail was masked with darkness till we were well away. After a while, Grue turned back tom.

"Really, a signature?" He asked. I nodded and opened up the note pad to where she had written.

-Marceau,-
-You would be safer in the Ward program. -
-I think you could do a lot of good there.-
-Miss Militia-
-P.S. Stop stealing my gimmick.-

I looked at the note and couldn't restrain myself from laughing.

Chapter Text

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♦ Topic: Merchants - Closed for Business
In: Boards ► News ► Events ►America

Tattletale's_Throw_Away(Original Poster) ( Unverified Cape )
Posted on April 27th, 2011 :

The Merchants have been a plague on the City for too long.

Not Anymore!

Includes a guest appearance from some of Brockton Bay 's finest.

Love,

The Undersiders

(Showing page 6 of 8)

► Nalta
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
Damn, did Marceau just hit on MM?

► Sakin
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@Nalta:
I know, what a player. GG has got to be feeling jilted.

► Marceau (Verified Cape )Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
*Honk*
*Admires Autograph*

► SeaGatherer
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@Marceau:
So you didn't get her number?
Oh and grats on getting verified.

► HotterLass (Veteran Member)
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@SeaGatherer:
Don't you know? A gentlemime never speaks of his romantic conquests.

*USER HAS RECEIVED A WARNING FOR THIS POST*

► Grapejoint (Veteran Member)Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@HotterLass:
Dude, imply Miss Militia is a cougar is offensive. Besides, Marceau X GG OTP.

► RoboLincoln
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
But dude, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. He did an invisible gun version of her power. He totally likes MM.

► FelonyBath
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@ RoboLincoln:
Dude, what's more important is he CAN MIME GUNS! What sort of limit does he have? Oh god invisible bazooka?

► Sunerva
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@FelonyBath: Fucking Trumps!
With no one to break them out (unlike Lung, Cricket and Stormtiger), it looks like the Merchants are done for good.

► Tin_Mother (Moderator)Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
Suggesting a prominent Hero has had illicit activities with a minor is uncalled for. Please avoid any further comments like that.

End of Page. 1 --> 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

♦ Topic: Undersiders

In: Boards ► Places ► America ►Brockton_ Bay ► Teams ► Villains

BFG1104
(Original Poster) (Veteran Member)
Posted on March 29th, 2011 :

The Undersiders are a new villain Hero? gang in the city consisting of:

Grue
· Motorcycle suit and skull faced helmet.
· Darkness powers.

Tattletale
· Domino mask, dark tight bodysuit, blond.
· Powers unknown, possibly thinker.

Regent
· Renaissance Fair Puffy shirt, tight pants, theatre mask and crown.
· Some kind of body control. *new info* Carries taser in sceptre.

Hellhound
· Cheap Dog mask, fur collar jacket.
· Big monster dog mutants.
· AKA Rachel Lindt, Bitch

*EDIT - New Member as of April 14th*

Marceau-
· He's a fucking stereotype Mime.
· Crazy telekinesis or reality warping. Extent unknown.
· Doesn't talk, just honks his horn.
· CAN MIME GUNS! *Added 27th April- see link.

*EDIT - Possible status change as of April 24th*

Recent news reports suggest that this group may be performing vigilante acts against corrupt organisations. Evidence suggest all of their targets have been linked with criminal activities.

*EDIT - Undersiders and Protectorate team up vs Merchants April 27th*

Recent Undersider video shows them teaming up to capture all three of the Merchant's cape leaders. This lends further credence to their Hero status. Marceau appears to ask Miss Militia for an autograph. *Edit* 'confirmed' by Marceau.

(Showing page 53 of 54)

► EspressoBotReplied on April 27th, 2011 :
So is it just me, or is Regent a bit femmy?

► Beauty_Five
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@EspressoBot
Oh, Regent is totally a cross dressing girl, I mean look at the way 'he' flounces about. Oh and that luxurious hair? You can't tell me any guy takes care of it that well.

► Cute_Frog
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
True he does look a bit girly. But if he's cross dressing, what about Grue and Marceau?

► Cloudtree
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@Cute_Frog
Well Grue does have some very concealing bulky clothes, but he's pretty tall so I wouldn't think so. Marceau is such a damn playa, there's no way he isn't 100 Proof testosterone.

► SpecificProtagonist
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
Oh Marceau is a man alright, just look at the way he holds himself.

►Stalking_Tanuki
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
He is such a bad man, leading on all those poor ladies.

► Diamondegg
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@Cloudtree
Its a shame that. It would be great if we could have a all girl team in BB.

► Killer_Smith
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@Diamondegg
Yeah that would rock. I guess we'll just have to dream.

► CavalryLord2
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@Cute_Frog
Eh, if we didn't know better I'd say Hellhound was butch enough to be a dude.
Still, I think you have something with Grue.

End of Page. 1, --> 52, 53, 54

(Showing page 54 of 54)

► Day_HunterReplied on April 27th, 2011 :
So the point was brought up earlier in the latest video thread. What do you reckon the biggest gun he can mime would be?

► KnowMe
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@Day_Hunter
I'm afraid that he doesn't have a limit. What if he's like a scary silent Eidolon, with nothing he can't do?

► Felony_Bath
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
Well he cut through those chains, so I imagine it would be easy for him to cut up anything else.

► Celebratory_Cheer
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@Felony_Bath:
Oh God, Jack Slash vs Marceau - Invisible Ranged Knife fight!

► SpecificProtagonist
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@Celebratory_Cheer
That is terrifying. I don't want my favourite mime cut up.

► Kraken
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@SpecificProtagonist
Yes, we know about your lust for tall dark and silent.

Moving on, was it just me or was he holding on a bit too tightly to Grue?

► SpecificProtagonist
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@Kraken:
Don't be ridiculous, he obviously likes the ladies.
*Silently hopes to be his*

► Wrath
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
I wonder why he didn't ask Armsmaster for an autograph too?

Has anyone else noticed that most of this thread is about Marceau shipping?

► HotterLass
Replied on April 27th, 2011 :
@Wrath
He's obviously hitting on her.

That and from what I've heard, Armsmaster is a bit socially inept. I mean, did you hear him when he did that charity gig last year?

End of Page. 1, --> 52, 53, 54

♦ Private messages from Tin_Mother (Moderator):
24th April 2011

Tin_Mother:
Marceau
If you would like to verify cape status, please follow these instructions:

1. Take a photo of yourself in costume near a Brockton Bay landmark with a current newspaper.
2. Upload photo and send to [email protected]

27th April 2011

Marceau:
*Honk*
*Sends Link*

Tin_Mother:
Thank you for your cooperation, status upgraded.
Please continue to follow PHO posting guidelines.
P.S. Clever usage of your powers in the photo. I must admit it got a laugh from me.

♦ Private messages from Glory_Girl (VerifiedCape):
21st April 2011

Marceau:
We rescued a puppy,
It reminds me of you.
It humiliates Nazis,
'Tis adorable too.

Glory_Girl:
Umm, thanks I guess.

I'm still mad at you for holding my sister hostage.

Marceau:
I deeply regret that.

She seems like such a nice girl and I never wanted to cause the two of you distress.

 23rd April 2011

Glory_Girl:
Heroes? Seriously? What?

Marceau:
Well the cat is out of the bag now.
Alas we couldn't trust a corrupted system to clean up the hidden crime of the city, so had to take justice into our own hands.
If you see the wards, can you pass on our apologies?
We would have preferred to avoid clashing with those hard working, if ill informed, heroes.

Glory_Girl:
I'll let them know.

Chapter Text

Miss Militia

Hannah was unimpressed, to put it lightly. A Ward in her city being responsible for such a travesty was unforgivable. Sophia hadn't even shown any remorse for the girl she had tortured for the last two years. While in the grand scheme of things Hannah herself had been subjected to worse, she still felt a pang of sympathy for the victim and righteous anger at the so called hero. Abusing power was one of the things she could not abide.

Still, Sophia had been carted off to juvenile detention since the discussion with Director Piggot. Hannah was damn certain she wouldn't have her in her city when she was out in another two years, even if she did join the Protectorate.

She hoped that Panacea could help the young Ms Hebert when she got back from Canberra. The girl shouldn't have to suffer because of a failure on the PRT's part.

"Director?"

Emily Piggot looked up from her desk at the waiting Miss Militia.

 "Yes?"

"I've just had an interesting discussion with Panacea. Apparently she hadn't heard anything about the Hebert case we requested she help with."

Director Piggot sighed as she went through her e-mails. Hannah got the distinct impression that the Director thought this was a waste of her time. She avoiding making a comment to that regard.

"Well the request was sent on my end. It must have gotten screened out by New Wave's junk screening or something."

"Hmm, very well. I've asked her in person if she can deal with the matter. I don't like leaving loose ends like this, when we're partially to blame."

"If that is all?" The Director was clearly dismissing her.

"Yes Director." Hannah said as she left the office. There are days where I really wish we had a more caring boss. She thought, before quickly disregarding the idea. Director Piggot was generally effective at her job, despite her personal lack of empathy and this recent lapse.

-I've patched up Taylor. Poor girl got hit by a car on the way to see me.-
-Not sure what your investment was, but those bullies really did a number on her.-
-I hope they got their deserved punishment.-
-Panacea-

Hannah looked at the text she had just received and a sad but relieved smile came to her lips. Her scarf of course hid it from the others in the room.

"So Bakuda. You are going to tell us where all your bombs are and how to diffuse them." Armsmaster stood over the bomb-tinker, arms folded. "Unless you feel like a trip to the Bird Cage of course."

"It would be in your best interest to cooperate." Miss Militia added, taking up the good cop role. "Lung isn't going to help you after what you did to his gang."

She trained her gun on Stormtiger and put a .308 round through his left knee. Othala could heal him up later, but it slowed him and the rest of the Empire down. With the extra caution they would need to take with his destroyed knee and Cricket's broken arm it would free up her team mates to extract the wounded.

She longed to put an armour piercing round through Kaiser's skull, but that wouldn't help Gallant now. His only hope was that they could get him back to Clockblocker while they waited on Panacea.

Her rifle morphed into a LAW and she fired off a rocket at Fenja. The giant took it on her shield, knocking her back into her sister. Not soon enough to save Battery from Menja's spear though. Miss Militia swore under her breath. This was becoming an A grade clusterfuck, like her father's stories of 'Nam.

Another flash of green and she was holding an M60, shooting a hail of bullets at the twins to pin them down and giving Assault a chance to extract his partner. The call came through to withdraw. The wounded had been recovered and they were in no condition to pursue the villains.

The Empire was getting way too cocky of late, and the Undersider's raid had shown them how vulnerable they were. It was to be expected that they'd lash out, but Miss Militia was still shocked that they would go this far. Something had to be done about them and soon.

"Heroes? You've got to be shitting me." Dennis' disbelief echoed the feelings of the other Wards.

"I don't believe it myself, but alas we are slaves to PR." Hannah let out a resigned sigh. "We are to ask them to come in for questioning. but not 'initiate hostilities'."

 "So they tear us a new one and get away with it? That's bullshit." He said.

"I have to agree with you on that." Carlos was clearly unimpressed. "Even if I'm all healed up now, being a chew toy sucked hard."

"I don't like it any more than you do. But we are outnumbered by villains, even with Bakuda locked up. The think tank is saying that the Undersiders are likely to play ball with avoiding further conflict if we don't start it."

"I still say this is crazy." Chris added. "I mean look at Hellhound, she's got a murder charge."

"And that Marceau guy is a menace."

The Wards looked at Dean, his arms crossed and slouching on the couch.

"Just because he's trying to woo Glory Girl." Dennis snarked. He held his hands up in a placating gesture as Dean threw him an angry stare. "I kid, I kid. But in all serious that Mime is terrifying. I'm already dreading the prospect of getting force choked. Shit, remind me not to 'doubt his power'."

"But, it looks like that murder charge might get dropped." Missy said, which drew everyone's attention. "I heard on the news that there were 'extenuating circumstances'. Triggered while being abused or some such."

"I feel like the world has just flipped upside down." Dennis added as he grabbed a soda from the fridge. "What kind of bizzaro world lets Villains become heroes?"

"Probably the same one where our heroes bully school girls." Mumbled Missy, but not quiet enough.

"Thanks, I had almost stopped thinking of that." Moaned Chris as he flicked through some posts on PHO.

The contemplative silence was broken when Chris started cackling like a madman drawing everyone's attention. Hannah in particular was curious what had made the tinker react so.

"What is it?"

"Can't... breath." Was the reply she received.

They moved up to look over his shoulder at the page on the screen. A mixture of stunned looks and giggles followed shortly after.

"Ok. The world has officially gone insane." Dennis' voice was robbed of most of his typical jovial tone. "I never even met Tattletale and I'm being shipped with her. What the hell?"

"What, Hellhound is hot for me?" Carlos asked. "Ta-sun-der? What does that even mean? "

Hannah stood there, wondering when her life became so strange. It wasn't like this when she was a Ward. She longed for the days when things made sense.

Miss Militia's eyes widened as the floodlights exploded from what seemed to be about 5.56 rounds.

That cheeky bastard. I'll show him shooting.

A flash of green and she was holding a SCAR-L. A few short bursts and the tyres on the vehicle were gone. The young mime stepped in front of them and put up his hands as the turret fired.

He has no real reason to but he's still shielding us. Interesting.

Miss Milita found herself rather surprised by the sudden turn of events. She had been asked for her autograph on countless occasions, but never by someone she had thought of as a villain. Well he did protect us and they have just handed us the Merchants. Why not?

She took the offered notepad and pen. I wonder if I could get them to join up with us? Armsmaster's approach sure as hell won't work.

She scribbled down a message and paused before adding an extra comment and handing the pad back.
"Lets deal with the Merchants." She said to Armsmaster.

She gave him a quick shake of her head, cutting off his objection. He wouldn't like it, but it was for the best. She turned back to the Undersiders.

"You have a zero tolerance policy with us. Any more attacks on civilian targets and you will be dealt with harshly. In the mean time, be good."

She and Armsmaster walked over to the unconscious Merchants to ensure they were properly restrained.

"I know you wanted to take them in." She whispered through the subvocal microphone at her neck. "But all it would do is get us in a pointless fight and alienate some kids that might eventually join us."

"I don't like this, but I'm willing to go along for now." Armsmaster replied quietly. "I'll be there to take them in as soon as they show their true colours."

"I hope it won't be necessary, but that is sensible."

"Hah! Get a load of this."

Hannah turned to see what the commotion was. The Wards were once again clustered around a computer terminal and viewing the PHO forums.

"Ok. What is it this time?"

"They're discussing the idea that Marceau got himself a harem of female capes, with the Undersiders all being girls." Dennis was having trouble controlling his laugher.

"What?" Hannah's mind was derailed by the concept.

"Yeah, I know right. They're speculating that Grue and Regent are cross dressed girls." Added Chris.

"But. They have male voices." She pointed out the obvious flaw in the idea. "And I'm pretty sure with that loose shirt Regent wears you would notice if he was a she."

"Yep, and yet they're arguing about binding and other silly stuff and..." Missy started before going quiet.

"What?"

"Umm, never mind." Missy said, now blushing.

"Tell me." Hannah was not impressed by the haphazard efforts towards secrecy.

Missy just pointed to a highlighted section of text. Hannah read it. Then reread it. A third time to make sure her perfect memory wasn't failing.

"What?"

Once more she wondered what she had done to warrant the strangeness that had filled her life of late. She was starting to regret that autograph.

She thought about the earlier silliness and had a strange thought. Why hadn't anyone suggested Marceau might be a girl? It made about as much sense as the other random theories, he didn't even talk.

Wait, no talking... Taylor Hebert?

She pondered the idea for a moment before disregarding it. First, the dates didn't really match up. Second, he seemed too masculine and confident to be a shy bullied girl. Thirdly, Panacea would have noticed if the girl was Marceau after their encounter at the bank. Finally, with how capable Marceau was, it was unlikely he'd get hit by a car. She smiled and shook her head, wondering how she'd even thought it possible.

I swear, PHO rots the brain.

Chapter Text

Saturday morning, I arrived at the lair after my morning run. The lounge was empty so I guessed everyone else was still asleep. I made my way to the shower to clean off the sweat I had worked up on the way over. By the time I had finished and got changed into some fresh clothes, Lisa had dragged herself out of bed and was nursing a mug of coffee

"I was heading out to the mall to pick up some things soon." She said sleepily. "Wanna come with?"

"Sure." I said. "There are a few things I was wanting anyway."

"Finally going to spend some of your ill gotten gains?" Lisa asked, to which I nodded. "Good. Once I've got this caffeine in my system, I'll get dressed and we can go."

"Sounds good."

"So, where to first?" I asked as we passed through the sliding doors into the mall. It was a fairly large complex, multistorey with a selection of special interest stores as well as the big name chains.

"I need to get myself another laptop. Last one fizzled out when Judas knocked my coffee mug over and soaked it." She explained. "While I can get one through 'work' connections cheaper, I like to check out the feel in person."

"Actually, I have been meaning to get one as well." I said with smirk. "Then I don't have to keep borrowing yours."

"That would be good, yes." She said, eyes rolling.

Fifteen minutes later we had decided on laptop models for the Boss to order for us. I had gone for a fairly small and simple design for net browsing while Lisa had gone for something more extravagant, with all the bells and whistles.

"I need a few more clothes with summer coming." I told her, a wry smile on my face. "And I know how much you like picking them for me."

"Of course. Otherwise you'd make horrible decisions."

Her playful mocking would have bugged me not that long ago, but I had to admit she did have pretty good taste. I was starting to like dresses a lot more. That of course was to make the separation between Taylor and Marceau more solid, and not at all because they were pretty. Honest.

"Yo Taylor." Said a familiar voice behind me.

When I turned around my suspicions were confirmed and Aisha was walking towards us.

"Hi Aisha."

"Who's the leggy blonde?" She asked. "New girlfriend?"

"Hah hah no." I deadpanned. "This is my friend Lisa. Lisa, Aisha from school."

"Oh, pleasure to meet you at last."

I noticed that Lisa was grinning widely. Aisha stared at Lisa for a moment, looked back at me then back to Lisa.

"Likewise." She said with a smile of her own.

The way they were staring at each other gave me a bad feeling.

"Yes." Lisa said to Aisha.

Aisha just nodded and smiled wider.

"So much for secrets." I muttered.

"So, why don't you join us and help me make up for Taylor's lack of fashion sense."

"Sounds fun."

I wasn't sure Aisha was a particularly good judge of that, but I didn't mind her hanging out with us. I realised that other than that one time at Brian's, I hadn't really hung out with the girl outside of school.

"As long as I don't have to wear a micro skirt like Ms Laborn here." I snarked.

"Nah girl, you gotta have a figure to pull this off."

"Touché" I grumbled.

At least an hour passed going through various outlets and trying on all sorts of things. I found my wallet lighter but my arms several dresses heavier.

"Still reckon you should have grabbed the pink one." Aisha said.

"I told you, no frilly prissy stuff." I said. While I was enjoying dresses, I had to put my foot down on the really girly lacy things.

"It would have looked good on you." Lisa said with undisguised mirth.

"If I wanted to look like a Disney princess, sure." I replied before changing the topic. "Anyway, I'm getting hungry."

"Yeah, I could down a burger." Aisha said. Lisa just nodded and we made out way to the food court.

A good chunk of the day had passed in a haze of shopping. We were loaded up with bags of clothes and other items and about to head home.

"Just a moment." Aisha said. "Little girl's room."

"Fine." I said as we followed her off to the nearest restroom.

While she found a stall and Lisa was rummaging through one of her bags, I checked myself in the mirror. It was still kind of strange seeing a smile on my face. I guess having friends again helped with that. Despite all the complications of my life as a cape, think I could say that I was happy again.

The door swung open and I heard a voice I hadn't heard in quite a while.

"Taylor, is that you?" Asked Madison.

Good things never last. I thought as I turned to look at one of my former tormentors.

A certain amount of confusion flicked through my mind as I tried to match the girl in front of me with the cutesy bitch from months back. She, well she wasn't as neatly dressed as usual for one thing. Not filthy or anything, just a bit wrinkled like when the clean laundry was thrown on a pile rather than hung. She frankly looked like she hadn't had much sleep lately, with bags visible under her eyes. Compared to the always perfect looking princess I was used to, something had clearly happened to her.

"Can. Can we talk?"

Chapter Text

Madison

"I'm all for the pranks and stuff, but that's just gross." Madison said to her friends. "I mean a locker sure, that's kind of funny but tampons? Eeww."

"Don't be such a pussy, this'll be hilarious." Sophia laughed as she heaped another gloved handful into the bag.

Madison thought of objecting further but the way Emma was glaring at her stopped her in her tracks. She didn't really understand why her friends had such an obsession over Taylor. I means she's an easy target sure, but this is crazy.

Still, these were her only friends and it wouldn't do to lose them. She was afraid of what would happen if they turned on her like they did Taylor. Would I end up just as pathetic? Best to go along with things and never have to find out.

Madison stood off to the side as Taylor opened up her locker. The look on the girl's face before she bent over retching struck a nerve, but Madison couldn't do anything. Rather she wouldn't do anything, lest the next target be her.

She flinched when Sophia pushed Taylor inside and locked the door. It's not me, it's fine. She'll be fine, its only some filth. She thought trying to not show her distress lest the other two catch on.

"Help! Let me out. Please Emma. Don't do this."

She tried to block out the cries as the other two laughed and forced out a laugh of her own to fit in.

"We'll let her out soon right?" She asked Emma as they walked away from the locker.

"Sure, I'll come back in a moment. We'll just let her stew for a moment."

Well, that shouldn't be too bad. Madison told herself. A couple minutes is nasty but she'll live, right?

Shortly after her second class for the day began, Madison noticed that Taylor wasn't in it. They shared this double period for Math with Mr Quinlan, so her absence was conspicuous.

I wonder if Emma let her out. Shit, what if she's still in there? No she wouldn't be that cruel. Taylor's probably just gone home or to the nurses office to change some clothes.

Sophia sitting to her left, looked completely calm. That reassured her somewhat. After all, no one could look that calm if they'd left someone in a locker full of rotting tampons for an hour. She tried to focus on Mr Quinlan talking about algebra.

As she made her way out of the room with the rest of the class, she heard a bit of a commotion from down the hall. The hallway was crowded with students that had finished lessons in nearby rooms. Oh they must have found the tampons.

She tried to get a better view, her shortish stature working against her. Finally she managed to squeeze in and get a view, just in time to see the janitor with a pair of bolt cutters shear through the lock.

The locker door swung open. An avalanche of filth fell to the floor and Taylor fell on the janitor, clawing and screaming like some feral beast. Madison's jaw dropped at the sight. Oh god, what have we done?

It was dark and tight and reeked of death. She could barely move, trapped with no light to see by. Her fingers were bleeding from trying to claw her way out, but she couldn't tell if she was making any progress. She couldn't even tell if she was facing the right way. All she could hear were the maniacal giggling of demons. They tormented her through their inaction, their passive presence. Nothing but endless gleeful laughter at her suffering.

"Let me out. Please?" She cried. "I don't want to be in here any more."

The voices continue their tittering, clearly amused by her pleading.

"Help! Anyone?"

Light filled her vision and her prison was washed away.

"Madison sweetie? Are you alright."

She sat bolt upright in her bed, covered in sweat and blinking against the glare of the light. She turned towards the voice to find her mother standing there.

"Another nightmare?" Her mother asked as she sat on the bed next to her, dragging Madison into a hug.

"Yeah."

"Poor dear. Don't worry you're safe. No one would want to hurt such a sweet girl."

If only you knew, Mom.

"Hey Mads what's up? You don't look well."

She turned to face Emma as she grabbed some books from her locker.

"Had trouble sleeping." She mumbled before turning back to her task.

"You should get some pills for that. You're looking a bit haggard."

"Yeah, I'll ask Dad to get some on the way home." She closed the locker and started heading towards home room, Emma walking alongside.

"Did you hear? Taylor's finally back from her stay at the funny farm."

The amused tone Emma had twisted the knife of guilt in her gut just a little more.

"Oh." Madison said in a flat tone. It's been what three weeks?

"What's the matter? I thought you'd be thrilled."

Thrilled? She thought. Why the hell would I be thrilled?

"Yeah, just. Feeling a bit ill." She said instead of what was running through her mind.

"Maybe you should head off to the nurse then."

"Good idea."

Fuck, I can't keep doing this. She thought as she wandered off to the nurse's office. On the way she picked up slivers of conversation and rumour mongering. She had a lot of practice picking up those little details. After all, she needed to if she wanted to stay at the top of the school like she had.

"...Totally mute."

"Infection.."

"...she anorexic or something?"

With each piece of information she picked up along the way, the picture became more grim. Then she caught a glimpse of the victim of her weakness. Taylor stood there with a pad writing out messages to a teacher. She looked haggard and even thinner than usual, like she hadn't eaten anything in her time away.

Madison ducked into the nurses office before Taylor could notice her. What have I done?

"Ms Blackwell?"

The principal looked over at Madison, standing on the other side of the desk.

"Yes? Ms Clements was it?" She asked, sounding somewhat disinterested.

"I know who put Taylor in the locker." She said, tears already welling in her eyes.

The principal's earlier disinterest vanished as the incident that had drained a chuck of the year's discretionary budget was mentioned.

"Who?" Asked the principal, her tone gaining a cold edge.

"Sophia Hess." Madison told her. "But, I'm scared of what she'll do when she finds out."

"Why is that?"

Madison noticed a very curious tone in Ms Blackwell's voice. Kind of like when people were trying to hide things, but she figured she was being paranoid. Just the sleep deprivation.

"I think she's, well." She paused for a moment, trying to think of the right word. "Twisted"

The principal sat there looking at Madison for a little while, before picking up the phone.

"Please wait a moment." She told the girl, before dialling a number. She seemed to be reading it off of her computer screen.

"Hello? This is Principal Blackwell from Winslow. Yes, it is about Sophia. I believe we have a problem."

Sophia was gone. It had been quiet, but something had happened and Madison was glad. However, it didn't stop the restless nights. Every time she saw Taylor having to 'talk' with a notepad, the way Emma was flat out ignoring her, everything was a reminder of what she had done. She hadn't been punished for the locker and she wasn't sure why. Sophia was dealt with quickly and nothing seem to have happened to Emma other than her friend disappearing.

Why do I still feel so damn guilty? She wondered. She had got the responsible party punished, or so it seemed. She had lost the only friends she had, surely that was enough? No, I've been torturing her for over a year with my 'friends', and I've hardly been punished.

She found herself dwelling more and more on what she could have done differently. If I'd noticed the signs earlier, I could have stopped it and let her out. If I hadn't been such a clueless bitch I would have stopped with the pranks. I was too much of a weakling to stop them. Weak like Taylor and still too much of a coward to tell them everything.

She contemplated apologising to Taylor, but dismissed it as impossible. There's no way she want me even talking to her.

That incessant giggling filled her ears. It wasn't dark or confined, instead she was in a crowd. Surrounded by hundreds, all passing this way and that. The people weren't giggling, but it sounded like hundreds were laughing at her. She looked down at her hands, stained red. Madison panicked, not knowing if it was her blood or another's. She tried to yell for help but no sound came out. She waved her bloody hands, to no avail. Everyone of the hundreds of people passing by ignored her like she wasn't there.

Her eyes snapped open to reveal the glowing numbers of her alarm clock.

-2:13-

Another nightmare, another restless night.

"Get well soon sweetie."

Madison croaked an affirmative to her mother from beneath the bed covers. When she heard the front door closing she crawled out of bed and turned on her computer. She couldn't bring herself to go to school today. I'll need to go later in the week. Running out of sick days.

She checked the social media sites that all the popular kids at school used. Status updates popped up frequently despite school hours. It didn't take long before she saw something that caught her attention. A lesbian, really? Her ex? That could explain Emma's behaviour a bit. Sophia a crazy jealous lover? That can't be right... On second thought. Fuck, this was all over a lover's tiff? I helped torment Emma's ex? Damn it.

She just stared at the screen, wondering what the hell to do.

"Madison dear. You need to get out of the house, it's not healthy spending all your time at that computer." Said her father. "Here, have some spending money and head to the mall. Buy yourself something nice."

She couldn't tell them she kept inside because she had no friends. Didn't want to go to school because she couldn't face Taylor. Couldn't tell them their sweet daughter was a monster. It would break their hearts.

"Thanks Dad." She said, faking a cheerful smile for him. She didn't want to go outside, but her parents were getting worried. Might as well get some fresh air and maybe some ice cream or something.

Madison was about to head home. She'd sat around after grabbing some lunch and checked the status updates on her phone. Nothing new, other then some commentary on the recent cape fights. The Undersiders had apparently made another splash in the news, and people were still talking about it.

She glanced up while she was waiting for one last page to load and caught sight of a person she'd been avoiding too long as she slipped into the ladies room. At least she was fairly sure, but she couldn't remember Taylor ever wearing a dress like that. She considered just walking away and heading home. No. I need to do this. If it's her, I need to apologise. I need to not be weak. I need to say this to her, even if she can't talk back. Even though she must hate me. She'll blame me, probably slap me and then maybe I can stop feeling so god damn guilty.

She got up and jogged over to the restroom, opening up the door. She saw the brunette standing at the sink, smiling at the mirror. She was a little stunned at that, but quickly recovered.

"Taylor, is that you?"

The smile faded as the girl turned to face her. It was definitely Taylor, the wary expression she'd seen so many times.

"Can. Can we talk?"

Taylor gestured to get on with it, an impatient look on her face. The blond behind her had a disconcerting grin as she turned towards Madison. Is this her girlfriend? Not important, focus.

"I. I'm sorry Taylor." She squeaked out as her thumb rubbed nervously on the side of her phone.

She blinked a few times before an incredulous expression settled on her face.

"I... I was a bitch to you and well." She started saying before she paused. "The locker thing was. Sick. I realised Sophia was... twisted. I was to afraid to stop them."

She continued to stare at her, an eyebrow raised at the awkwardly stuttering Madison.

"I told the principal what happened." She cast her gaze back to the ground. "I don't expect forgiveness, but I thought I should tell you. I should have done something sooner."

She glanced back up as she heard the blonde step up and whisper into Taylor's ear. Taylor turned to the girl with a surprised look on her face before turning back to face Madison.

"Well thanks for finally growing a conscience, I guess." She chuckled.

Madison's eyes went wide. What? She can talk? When? What? She's fine and has a friend. I've been feeling guilty all this time over, what?

"You, you..."

I have no friends. I'm an outcast. A shut in. I've... become Taylor.

Two vast shapes moved though a glimmering void.

A pair, alike but different. Mates?

Fractal crystals, organic curves, size beyond reckoning. All these things and more.

Destination

Agreement

Chapter Text

"Can. Can we talk?"

I just twirled my hand a bit for her to hurry up, wondering why she'd talk to me after all this time. I guess the only reason I was putting up with it was she had caught me in a good mood.

"I. I'm sorry Taylor." She said quietly.

I blinked a few times in surprise. I honestly had never expected those words to come from her lips. She was fidgeting a bit, a phone held tightly in her hand.

"I... I was a bitch to you and well." She started saying before she paused. "The locker thing was. Sick. I realised Sophia was... twisted. I was to afraid to stop them."

I continued to stare at her, an eyebrow raised at the awkwardly stuttering girl before me. It was hard to believe that this was Madison and not some body snatched double. Though I guess I hadn't really seen her much lately. She hadn't done anything since the locker and I barely noticed her in class.

"I told the principal what happened." She cast her gaze back to the ground. "I don't expect forgiveness, but I thought I should tell you. I should have done something sooner."

While I stood there in shock at this Twilight Zone Madison, Lisa leaned closer.

"I'm kind of surprised. She actually means that." She whispered in my ear "Ooh, she must be the reason Sophia disappeared."

I turned to look at my cheerful friend for confirmation, my eyes wide and she just nodded and grinned. She was right, I didn't forgive her. She had a hand in making my life hell for over a year. But it was a step in the right direction and well, I guess I had her to thank for the end of my bullying problems. Still, she didn't really give me much reason to be civil. Frankly the entire situation felt absurd to me

"Well thanks for finally growing a conscience, I guess." A dismissive chuckle left my lips. For her part, her eyes widened in shock. Oh right, the talking.

"You, you..."She stuttered.

"Yo Taylor. You okay?"

I opened my eyes and found Aisha hovering over me. What happened? I feel like I've forgotten something. There was something cold and hard against my back and something warm and heavy was on my belly. Bathroom floor. I tilted my head up to find an unconscious Lisa draped over me.

"What?" I asked, trying to work out why I was on the floor and why she was using me as a pillow.

A groan came from the Lisa as she brought her gaze up to mine.

"What was that?" She moaned.

"Don't know, but you Taylor and the other girl all fell to the floor. Heard the thump from the stall."

I turned over to see Madison picking herself up from the floor, a panicked expression already showing on her face. She looked up and saw us in a tangle with Aisha standing over us.

"What happened?" She nervously asked. "I saw something weird and then I was on the floor."

Lisa stared up at Aisha.

"You weren't affected?"

"Nope."

She pondered the answer for a moment, flicking her gaze between Aisha, Madison and I while she dragged herself to her feet.

"Well shit."

She grabbed my hand and helped me up. When I was up on my feet she leaned in close.

"The girl just triggered." She whispered in my ear.

"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding." I said through clenched teeth.

I get powers after getting locked in with biological waste. She gets them from apologising? That's just unfair.

"What do we do with Madison?" I asked her, keeping my voice low. This was frankly outside my expertise so I hoped Lisa had a plan.

"Recruit her."

I moved back a bit, my brows furrowed in confusion. She looked at me with a grin on my face.

"Say that again?" Surely I didn't hear that right. I noticed the other two staring at me. I must have spoken up a bit louder than I thought.

"What's wrong?" Madison asked, she was clearly uncomfortable with the whole scenario. A little part of me enjoyed that.

"Shush now." Aisha told her wagging her finger. "The big girls are talking."

Madison just stared at her with incomprehension. Lisa leaned back to my ear.

"She's fragile." She continued. "Kind of like you when we met. Likely to fall apart without help. She could be useful and if all else fails we know who she is."

I took a bit of offence at being compared to Madison. I didn't want anything more to do with her, but thinking back to the state of mind I was in when we met... Shit. The night I would have committed suicide by cape if I hadn't got lucky.

"What do you mean useful?"

I looked over at where Madison stood, wary and frightened. She had heard that? With a sigh, I came to a decision that I felt I would probably regret.

"If you would do the honors." I said to Lisa and buried my face in my hand. Just when I was getting used to things.

"Madison was it?" Lisa asked as she moved toward the girl, grin spreading ear to ear. "There's a time in one's life when you undergo some changes."

Madison just stared at her.

"Why are you talking about puberty?"

Lisa blinked and chuckled.

"That was the joke, yes. But what I'm trying to tell you is you have super powers."

"You're kidding right?"

"Well you heard us whispering from over there right?"

"You were whispering?" The surprised look on her face said it all.

"I'm guessing you have super hearing of some sort, maybe other senses." Lisa explained to the stunned girl. "You might have more, but I'm not sure what else."

"So what happens now?"

"Well, we'll go for a walk to somewhere less public and discuss options. But how would you like to be a hero?"

"So how long have you been able to talk?"

"About a two weeks." Madison looked at me confusion clear on her face. "Panacea."

"Oh." She returned to her previous contemplative silence.

I couldn't really blame her, she did just find out she had powers. If my experience was anything to go by, she would probably be like that for a while. We continued to walk through the mall, saving further parahuman discussion till we were somewhere safer.

Madison stopped suddenly as we passed an electronics store. I turned to look and she just stood there staring blankly for a second before a smile bloomed on her face and she marched in with renewed purpose. We had to hustle to keep up with her.

She flitted between the shelves of computer gadgets, portable devices and components before she finally settled on her purchase. A cheap webcam, a remote control helicopter and a prepaid mobile phone. Lisa looked at the basket of goodies and with a vulpine grin offered to pay for some of the items.

While I didn't have Lisa's intuition, I wasn't stupid and jumped to the obvious conclusion. We finally had a 'fucking tinker' of our own.

Chapter Text

Madison sat on the picnic table bench opposite Lisa and I. Aisha perched on the table itself, legs swinging idly.

"So...you want me to join the Wards?"

Her incredulous tone suggested she didn't think this was the case.

"Hah hah no." Lisa's laughter echoed around the gazebo. "You've already worked out we aren't Wards. What you didn't know is that Sophia is."

Her expression confirmed Lisa's guess and told a tale of disgust. While I was surprised Lisa would mention it given the unwritten rules, I couldn't argue with its effect.

"I. I think Principal Blackwell must have known."

I looked at her and nodded. It made sense.

"Probably why the three of you got away with it for so long."

She winced at that, but didn't object.

"Wait. Do you think Emma knew? She always seemed crazy obsessed with..."

She left the rest unsaid, but I knew what she meant. If Emma knew as I had suspected.

"It could explain why she dropped me for Sophia so suddenly."

Madison had one of those smug looks on her face that practically screamed 'I knew it.'

"So you were a couple."

Aisha and Lisa started giggling maniacally at what was becoming a frequent in joke.

"What? No. That was a joke to get her to back off."

"Oh? Oh." A flustered look with matching blush, soon found its way to her cheeks. "I only read it on MyFace. I. I haven't talked to Emma since you came back to school."

That caught my attention and my gaze settled on her eyes as I tilted my head questioningly.

"I didn't really want to hang around her anymore and she shunned me anyway, after she found out." Her eyes dropped from mine. "I don't have any friends anymore and Emma's made sure no one else at school will even talk to me."

Part of me wanted to laugh in her face and ask her how it felt to be like me. It took more effort than I was comfortable with to suppress that urge. I breathed in deeply to calm myself and focus on the fact that she had basically killed her social life. All to try and make up for what she had a part in. Despite my feelings towards her and the sense of schadenfreude that our reversal of fortunes brought, I had to admire that kind of dedication.

"Anyway." Lisa interrupted, finally controlling her laughter. "We'll need to take a vote on the matter, but we might have a place for someone who wants to redeem themselves."

I glanced over at Lisa. Really subtle. But it did seem to fit the information we had.

"So, you aren't the wards and you said heroes. While you're blonde, you definitely aren't Victoria Dallon."

Lisa just smiled as she waited for Madison to finish her deductions.

"That must make you the Undersiders. So you must be Tattletale." Lisa's smile morphed into a grin. "And that must make you... Regent."

I blinked a few times in confusion as the other two resumed their laughter. My mouth moved a few times but no word came as I stared at her in utter bafflement.

"Well Regent is so femmy in the vids you posted, and you both have curly darkish hair and well." Madison made vague gestures with her hands in the shape furthest from hourglass possible. My head connected with wood, creating a dull thump as I grumbled into the picnic table.

"I swear I have a power to make people have misconceptions or something."

"You're not Regent? But you aren't tall or buff enough to be Grue and you aren't Rachel Lindt..." She stared at me then, eyes growing wide. "No."

Lisa suddenly stopped laughing as she looked at Madison.

"Really? Oh wow, that is too rich." Her cackling resumed and as I stared up, a blush came to the girls face.

"Let me guess, you have a crush on Marceau too?"

Her silence was damning.

"Damn Taylor, you sure this wasn't all a plan to get yourself a honey?"

I poked Aisha's shoulder and glared at her. It seemed unlikely that she would ever let that joke go.

"But Marceau seemed so masculine and nice and so strong and sile..." Madison smacked herself upside the head. "I'm an idiot."

"Yes. But I won't hold that against you." Lisa chuckled. "With the way the PHO forums have been lately, you aren't the only one. Wait? Really? Specific Protagonist?"

The blush on Madison's face deepened as I tried to work out why that name sounded familiar. It finally clicked and so I thumped my forehead against the table again in exasperation.

"Yep, superpower." My voice reverberated from the table that was still against my forehead. "Can we get back to the matter at hand? Let's do a conference call or something a get a vote happening before this gets any more awkward."

"So, we have a prospective member that triggered in front of us." Lisa explained over the phone. "She looks to be a tinker with a surveillance specialisation. Plus some enhanced senses."

"A tinker? You have my vote." The excitement in Brian's voice was palpable. It was no secret he had wanted to get one for quite some time. That desire had only increased since Squealer's display of bullshit tinker powers.

"Yeah whatever. It'll help us get jobs done easier." Alec was a blasé as usual.

"Don't like it." Rachel's hesitance was expected. It would effect the pay split and well new people tended to put her on edge. Lisa and I had planned accordingly.

"She's like a battered dog. Needs a good home. She also put Stalker away." I had gotten used to talking 'Rachelese' to a certain extent since I'd gotten to know her. Sure I felt a little bad pushing her buttons, but sadly it was the only way to get through to her. There was a long pause from Rachel, though I could hear appreciative noises from the others.

"As long as she knows her place and doesn't try anything."

And with that, we had the closest thing to approval we'd get from her.

"Ok, so we good to meet at the loft right?" Lisa urged. The weather was starting to look suspicious, so I could understand her hurry. I couldn't well use my power to stay dry while not in costume. That would be just a little too obvious.

"Sure, I'll be there in thirty or forty. Just need to finish off something at my apartment."

"Yeah I'll just be chillin'."

"Fine."

The call came to an end and it looked like we had a new member. Lisa and I walked back to where Aisha was occupying Madison. She turned as we approached.

"You do realise I could hear that entire conversation."

"Yeah, I guessed that would be the case. But it served as a useful test of your abilities and honesty." Lisa's grin had returned to it standard fox setting. "So we'll be heading to our secret base."

I pulled Madison aside as we walked out of the park and towards the nearest bus stop.

"Madison. You've tried to make up for things, so I'm giving you a chance here." I paused for a moment to make sure I was calm before continuing. "You may have realised by now that I could have gone all Carrie at school. I didn't because I didn't want to sink to the level of a bully. I'm happy these days because of my friends. If you do anything to fuck that up, I will not be happy. Do we have an understanding?"

She looked suitably ashamed and contrite. Especially at my none too subtle jab.

"Yes." The earnest expression on her face as she said that put my heart at ease, if only a little.

"Then welcome to the Undersiders. Maybe one day we can be friends."

Chapter Text

Aisha had gone off to do her own thing and so we had parted ways at the second bus transfer. While I was fine with her seeing the lair, she figured Brian would be in protective brother mode and 'spaz out'. I turned to Madison, seated between Lisa and I.

"Do you like dogs?"

"Um yeah, they're fine."

"Good. That'll help with Rachel. It would probably help to not show your teeth when you smile."

She looked at me with no small amount of confusion before Lisa elaborated.

"She has some issues with body language. Try to be straightforward but not threatening."

"Oh and ask if you can pet her dogs. That helped when I did it. Don't do it without permission though."

Uncertainty still showed on her face, but she nodded at our advice. I imagined there might be some friction between the formerly popular girl and our resident asocial. Hopefully our advice would help smooth things over.

"Welcome to our lair."

I swept my arm across the loft as if I were a real estate agent while Lisa walked off to her room to grab something.

"That sounds a little villainous."

I gave Madison a look.

"Nonsense, lair is a morally neutral term. Besides, headquarters sounds too official."

"It looks rather. Normal."

Alec stood up from his seat on the couch as he paused the game he was playing and turned towards our new member.

"Geez dork. What, did you expect? A helicopter pad? Supercomputers?"

"Kinda."

"Heh, though supercomputers would rock."

I just shook my head with a slight chuckle and started the introductions.

"Madison Alec. Alec Madison. Rachel around?"

"Nice to meet you and no she went to take the dogs for a walk."

A sigh left my lips, I was hoping to get everyone together at once to make things a bit quicker. As it was Brian hadn't arrived yet so it was just the four of us. Lisa returned with mobile phone, which she handed to Madison.

"This is for you so we can keep in touch. I've already loaded up team numbers under initials. Don't use it for civilian calls if you can help it."

She looked a bit surprised but grateful at the offering. I guessed it was a repurposed back up.

"Wow, thanks."

"Oh and Regent, you owe me a hundred."

"What? Why?"

"Our bet. Madison here thought Taylor was you."

"Hah hah hah what the fuck? No way." Amused laughter filled the room as he turned to our new recruit. "Seriously?"

Madison just turned beet red and muttered.

"The hair."

"But mine isn't even that curly. Or brown." He continued to laugh until he was interrupted by a voice from the stairs.

"What did I miss?"

Brian stood there, shopping bag in hand, a bemused smirk on his lips. Lisa turned towards him.

"Oh just Madison here dying from embarrassment. Madison, this is Brian."

"Oh, you must be Grue then." She smiled at our de facto leader, possibly a little too eagerly and stuck out her hand. "So PHO was completely wrong then."

"Nice to meet you, and yes. They are hilariously wrong." His smirk and turned into a good natured smile as he shook her hand, before presenting the bag. "Oh and I picked up some tools on the way. Hope this will help."

"Ooh thank you." She immediately dove into the bag with an excited grin. "Yes this will work nicely. Is there somewhere I can do stuff?"

"The rooms are all taken at the moment, but we can set up a work bench downstairs. We'll need to work out how to set up some space for you if you need to crash. In the meantime make yourself at home."

She smiled and took a seat on the couch, emptying out the bag and her own earlier purchases on the coffee table. A squee escaped her lips as she unboxed a soldering iron and plugged it into a power board. The rest of the items were soon unwrapped and she was tearing apart the helicopter chassis like a hyperactive five year old. I could only stare with wonder.

"Well I guess she got inspired."

Brian nodded in agreement.

"I had heard tinkers could get into creative mode. But seeing it is something else completely."

I turned to Lisa as I remembered something.

"So, you had a bet about me?"

"Oh yeah. Remember all that speculation about female Undersiders? I said if you were revealed as one of us, they'd guess you were Regent before Marceau. He thought otherwise."

I blinked at that. There wasn't really much to say.

"Yeah, yeah. I should stop betting against you." Alec sounded more amused than disappointed. "Anyway I'm hungry. I'll order some pizza?"

It had been a while since the last time so there was general agreement. Madison did so with a quick thumbs up before unspooling some wire and stripping off the insulation with some kind of tool.

The boys returned with a greasy, cheese laden bounty, Rachel following soon after. Her dogs growled a bit at Madison before she put out her hand for them to sniff. Rachel nodded in approval but still eyed off the new girl warily before wandering off into the corner with a plate full of pizza slices.

"So, what you making there?" Alec asked between mouthfuls. Madison had paused her construction to eat with the rest of us and so it was probably to best time to get a non distracted answer.

"I had the idea of a remote control spy drone with real time video and audio feed so I needed to grease up the rotors a bit more and I'll want to add some more baffling to reduce noise and I need to bump up the capabilities of the microphone that came with the webcam but I think I can get it to a range of a couple hundred feet with a control radius of about five miles."

We all just stared at her for a bit, surprised she had managed to say all that with nary a breath taken. Brian was the first to speak, clearly impressed.

"Nice. How many do you think you could control?"

"I have a feeling that I could monitor a fair few with no problem. Not sure what my limit would be though." She seemed to ponder something for a moment. "I was originally going to run them through a mobile phone but I'll need a laptop for more that three feeds."

"We'll see about getting some more components once you finish that one and test it out. Real time reconnaissance would be damn handy."

I had to agree on that. We could have avoided a lot of trouble if we had better situational awareness when out doing cape stuff. The thing with the Merchants being a perfect example. Come to think of it, the Empire had also caught us by surprise.

"Oh damn." Madison looked like she had just remembered something important. "I haven't called my Parents to tell them I'd be late."

Lisa shared a look with Brian before she turned to Madison.

"You can crash here for the night if you like."

"If. If that wouldn't be a problem?"

She had turned to look at me when she asked that. I sighed. I had planned to stay the night anyway and figured there were things we should discuss if I we were going to be working together. Try to clear the air and all that.

"No, that'll be fine. We should probably have a chat about things anyway."

"Oh ok. I'll see if I can stay then."

She pulled out her phone to make the call.

Chapter Text

"Um yeah they said it was fine. They were... rather happy that I was staying over." She sighed before continuing. "I guess I have been a bit of a shut in lately."

Brian, who had a contemplative look during the phone call finally decided to speak.

"So you already knew Taylor then?"

Madison's eyes darted to Brian then to the floor before timidly answering.

"Yes."

This got a raised eyebrow from Brian while Alec and Rachel seemed rather disinterested and continued to munch on their pizza. Eventually a look of understanding came to his face and he just nodded and smiled.

"Oh, right."

His tone confused me somewhat, surely he should have been less amused that our new team members was one of the bullies from school. Lisa was wearing an amused grin, but that was normal so I paid it no mind.

"So other than the spy drone, any other ideas popped up?"

She looked back up at me before answering.

"Well I have some ideas for interfering with other cameras to avoid detection and I've got plans to make a stealth suit but I'm not sure if I can get the materials. Oh and an integrated communications system so everyone can talk to each other with sub-vocal microphones. Quieter that way"

Alex perked up at the conversation and decided to take part.

"Anything offensive?"

"Umm, not really. I mean I might be able to put a stun gun on a remote control car and run it into people. Maybe a handgun on a drone but I'm not sure how to prevent it from being knocked off course by the recoil, nothing is really popping to mind for that." She tapped her chin for a moment. "I could make flying flash bangs, or something like that. Turn smaller helicopters into steerable magnesium flares and noise makers."

"So a swarm of drones buzzing around annoying people? I can dig that. Maybe put one of Marceau's horns on a couple to mess with people."

"Oh great, so then we can have people ignoring the horn when I need to grab attention." I rolled my eyes. It was actually a pretty funny idea, but I really didn't want Madison stealing my gimmick.

Alec just chuckled at my complaints.

"We could get you an air horn for when you really need to get attention. Then you can be the loudest mime in the world."

I had to laugh a little at that. It was an absurd mental image after all.

Madison continued soldering wires into her spy drone thing after we were done eating while Brian and Alec played one of their shooter games. Rachel was brushing down her dogs and checking them for pests. Lisa was off in her room doing who knows what while I started shifting aside some of the defunct equipment downstairs with my powers.

A few gentle lassos later and I had freed up a sizeable area that with some furniture would make a suitable work area. The sweeping I would leave to Madison of course. It would do her good to actually do some hard work and I sure as hell didn't feel like getting any more dirty. I wandered back up stairs.

"Space is cleared. But you'll want to clean it up and get some benches or something."

She looked up at me from the mostly assembled drone a smile on her face.

"Thank you Taylor. I really appreciated it."

She sounded sincere, so I nodded and head off to the bathroom to wash off the little bit of dust that had I had got on myself. As I finished drying off my hands I heard a phone ringing. I walked out of the bathroom into a worrying scene. Brian's smile had melted away to be replaced by a fearful grimace.

"Aisha's in trouble."

We moved quickly, grabbing one of the vans we had used earlier and stored in a building down the street. Lisa drove while the rest of us got changed into costumes. From what little Brian had heard from his sister before the connection cut out, she was being chased by some skin heads from the Empire and was holed up in a building. As such we were going to come down like the fist of an angry god on those Neo-Nazi bastards.

The drive was stressful as we couldn't do anything to make it pass quicker. None of us talked, too wrapped up in our own imaginations. Regent seemed his usual non-plussed self though and I envied him his calm. Madison sat next to me, a balaclava over her head and the mostly functional drone on her lap as she finished messing with the control interface on her phone. Grue was hunched over, his smoke already wisping from him.

Bitch had grown the dogs only a small amount due to the cramped space and she had a faint air of worry. She didn't know Aisha but was aware of her connection to Grue, so I guessed she might have included her as a de facto pack member. The dogs seemed to be agitated, picking up on their master's mood.

We arrived at the building and poured out of the van, spreading out to find her. With a faint buzz the drone took to the air and Madison followed close behind me. As we came round the corner of the building we found a group of skin head kicking at a figure on the ground and I think we all kind of snapped.
   Please don't hurt me.
With a pull, one of the thugs went flying through the air before skidding along the road. The three dogs increased in size and pounced with a whistle from Bitch. The remaining thugs were swallowed by darkness as Grue charged in, with a feral yell. I moved up to support him and check on the woman curled up on the ground while Madison stood there, stunned and looking at her phone. I wasn't surprised she panicked.
   Just ignore me.  
One of the thugs stumbled out of the cloud of darkness only take an invisible bat to the stomach and crumple to the ground. Another tripped up and knocked himself out on the curb.
  Please don't hurt me.
I reached the curled up lady, I didn't recognize her. Why were we even here and why did I feel so angry? Guess I was just sick of the Empire bastards beating people up.
  Just ignore me.
The darkness dissipated and Grue stalked up to me.
  Please don't hurt me.  
"Not that I mind beating up this scum, but what were we doing here?"
  Just ignore me.  
I shrugged. It did seem a bit odd for us to go patrolling, but we were heroes now after all.
  Please don't hurt me.  
Bitch walked up to us with her dogs, satisfied that she had incapacitated her share of thugs.
  Just ignore me.  
"Its good to hurt the Empire."
  Please don't hurt me.  
Grue nodded, his helmet bobbing slightly. He looked down at the woman on the ground.
  Just ignore me.   
"Hmm, good thing we were wandering by. Are you okay miss?"
  Please don't hurt me.  
The lady uncurled from the fetal position and looked up at us before glancing around at the unconscious skin heads. Bruises were already forming on her face.
  Just ignore me.   
"I'm sore all over, but I'll live. Should see a doctor just in case. Thank you."
  Please don't hurt me. 
"We can give you a lift if you like. Or we can call in the police if you would prefer."
  Just ignore me.   
I turned to see Tattletale join us. She must have quickly slipped into her costume while we fought. She moved over to one of the battered goons and zip locked his hands together and we were soon following suit.
  Please don't hurt me. 
"I can wait for the police, I should be fine and I'll need to make a report anyway. I probably would have be hospitalised by these racist fucks if it weren't for you."
  Just ignore me.   
Tattletale nodded, and I was somewhat relieved. We'd have a bit of trouble fitting someone else in the van, though I guess there was a passenger seat if we wanted to stay cramped in the back.
  Please don't hurt me. 
"Um guys?" We turned to look at Madison and she waved us over. Despite her balaclava, she still managed to look puzzled. When we came closer, she pointed over to where her drone was hovering and whispered to us.
  Just ignore me.   
"Why is Aisha curled up over there and why can't I see her with my eyes?"
 Please don't hurt me.

Chapter Text

Aisha

Aisha found herself actually enjoying school for the first time in ages. Sure the classes were still pretty dull and she barely paid attention, instead quietly chatting with her friends. But Taylor was fun to tease during lunchtimes. Hell, she was even good for the occasional conversation about random things and getting the cape gossip from her on the down low. All in all things were kind of fun.

***

"Outta the way bitch."

Aisha ducked to the side a group of students pushed through the hallway. The bastards seemed to be normal teenagers but the signs were there if you knew where to look. A few items in red and black, surreptitious figure eights or a repeated letter E stitched in to cloth. The signs of wannabe skinheads. Unblooded Empire gang members.

"Nazi fucks." She grumbled after they passed by.

There was of course a downside to being at school more. Winslow was full of idiots from the E88 or the ABB, so she had to keep more of an eye out and watch her back. But she could handle it, she was used to dealing with her Mom's boyfriends after all.

She walked past a few teenagers as she entered the mall. She carefully avoided staring at them. They were obviously newbie Nazis, so best not to attract their attention.

"Fucking niggers." One of the muttered as she passed by, but she just ignored it, pretending she hadn't heard.

She saw a familiar face up ahead walking with a pretty blonde girl. Ah Taylor, you make this too easy. She picked up her pace to catch up with the girl, a smile already on her face as she thought up a suitable joke.

"Yo Taylor."

Aisha had been listening in to the drama laden conversation with a certain amount of voyeuristic glee, especially at Taylor's back handed comment. As such, she was startled by the thumping sounds from the other side of the stall door. Hiking up her panties she opened the door to find her two shopping companions and a somewhat familiar brown haired girl on the bathroom floor. She snickered a bit at the compromising position Taylor and Lisa were in and took a quick snapshot on her phone before checking on them.

"Yo Taylor. You okay?"

The trip back home had been quiet, bereft of the company of Taylor and her cape buddies. Still, she had an amused grin on her face the entire journey as she went over the awkward hilarity of their discussions. She made a note to see if she could meet this Regent character at some point to see the look on his face when told about the mistake. Hell, she knew three out of five members of the Undersiders already and it looked like it was soon to be four of six.

"Mom. I'm back."

As she came through the door, her amusement faded. Her mother was passed out on the couch again. A bottle of bourbon and some white residue on the coffee table told her she'd be that way for a while. She looked around the apartment and noted that at least her latest boyfriend wasn't around.

She sat around bored for a while before deciding that it was a Saturday night and there was no point spending it at home with a drugged out mother. She grabbed a bit of spare cash from her mom's purse and dialled one of the contacts on her phone.

"Yo Steph. Wanna hang out?"

"Sorry Aisha. Dad grounded me over that thing with Ben."

"Ooh that sucks. Guess I'll find something else to do then."

"Catch you Monday?"

"Sure. See you then."

Damn, she thought. What the hell am I gonna do now?

So it was that she found herself sitting through a crappy movie at the local cinema complex. She really didn't get the hype over these emotionless, sparkly pretty boys but she did at least find some of it funny. I mean sitting and watching people sleep, what the hell? These Earth Aleph films were strange.

Aisha left the complex and head home. The area she was in should be fairly safe as it was outside of the Empire's territory and the Merchants weren't going to be out in force after what the Undersiders did. She smiled a bit at the thought. Her brother and her friend were pretty awesome and Lisa didn't seem too bad either, if a little too smug.

"You know it's probably not safe to walk alone at night."

Aisha jumped a little as she turned to find the source of the voice. She breathed a sigh of relief as her eyes met those of a kindly Slavic woman. She looked a bit familiar. Oh she's from Brian's apartment. What was her name again? Brendski?, Bobski?. Ah Brodsky.

"Hey there Ms Brodsky. How's it going?"

"Not bad. I was just walking home. If you'd like, we could head back together."

"Yeah, that would be cool. I can say hi to my bro when he gets back."

The pair chatted about this and that, not realising that the Empire were eyeing off this area for expansion.

"Oh if it isn't the nigger dyke. Looks like she's got a filthy slav friend too."

Aisha turned to find another, less welcome, familiar face. It was one of the rookie Empire thugs from school.

"What the fuck do you want James?"

"Oh I was thinking my friends and I could teach an uppity coon a lesson."

At that point Aisha realised her mistake as seven more skin heads materialised from a nearby alley. She looked at Ms Brodsky and told her of her plans.

"Run."

They turned to flee from the thugs and ran towards the apartment block. Aisha knocked over a garbage can as they ran past, hoping to delay their pursuers. A crashing sound told her she was at least partially successful but couldn't risk looking back. Another few bins were tipped to impede the skin heads but it sounded like they had wised up and took their time.

As they came round another corner, Aisha and Ms Bordsky ducked into a corner shop and bent low behind one of the aisles. Aisha pulled out her phone and picked out her brother's number. A few rings and it was answered.

"Aisha?"

"Need help. Skin heads are chasing us. Near your place. Hiding in the corner deli."

She was going to say more but she heard some noise from nearby and hung up so the sound wouldn't alert them. A few moments passed in tension before it appeared they goons had moved on. She turned to the older woman.

"We should probably wait here for a moment."

"Yes. I hope it will be safe here with security cameras."

Aisha took in her surroundings, noticing all the drinks in the fridge nearby. She became aware of the thirst that she had been ignoring since back in the cinema. Glancing over the aisle, she couldn't see anyone other than the confused looking clerk.

Sighing with relief she grabbed a cola and wandered over to the counter to pay for it.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just some racist bastards looking for an easy target."

"Oh my. You weren't hurt were you."

She shook her head and wiped a bit of sweat from her brow, before handing over some cash.

"Nah, just ran a block though. Could do with a drink and place to lay low for a bit."

He took the money and rang up the sale, handing over a few coins in change.

"No problem."

I hope I didn't panic Brian over nothing. She took a swig of her drink and sat down on one of the seats usually used by the lottery junkies, just out of sight of the doorway.

Her pulse had just returned to its normal sedate pace when the door chime went off. She glanced around the wall support and saw several of the thugs from earlier coming through the door. Well fuck, I jinxed that didn't I?

She cast her gaze around for a way out, or something useful. Just about everything was out of reach except for the mostly full Coke in her hands. She started shaking the bottle as she once again turned to Ms Brodsky and whispered to her.

"We're going to have to make a break for it."

The lady nodded and eased herself of her stool, Aisha doing like wise as she got ready to do something risky. I hope those lessons with Dad make a difference. Holding the bottle with both hands she ducked past one of the Aisles and stalked towards one of the lone thugs.

His eyes caught her movement just in time to get a face full of acidic sugary goodness before a follow up kick to the groin. Take that James you Nazi fuck.

With all hopes of stealth dashed to the wind they ran from the store, and right into an ambush of the remaining skinheads. Aisha ducked under a swinging bat but caught another on her shoulder knocking her spinning to the ground. The other two thugs intercepted Ms Brodsky before she could get much further.

Fuck, I always wanted attention and now I've got too much. It was an odd thing to go through her mind, but it was there none the less. Aisha backed up against the wall of the store as the skinheads surrounded her. If only they would ignore me like Mom. Please don't hurt me. Just ignore me.

"Please don't hurt me."

She curled up into a ball awaiting the inevitable.

There were sounds. Cries of pain.

She felt like she had forgotten something. But she knew she wasn't getting hurt. She hoped they'd keep ignoring her.

There were more noises but she paid them no mind. She wasn't being beaten

Please don't hurt me...

Just ignore me...

"... Aisha curled up over there and why can't I see her with my eyes?"

The voice sounded familiar. That other girl she met today. She peeked through the arms guarding her head and saw the Undersiders crowded around a girl in a balaclava, holding a smart phone. She glanced around and saw the unmoving forms of the skinheads and a battered Ms Brodsky. A strange toy thing buzzed above her head, with a camera facing her. They came.

She uncurled herself and shakily walked over to her brother and his team.

"Thanks for the rescue."

No one but the balaclava girl Madison reacted.

"I think she's trying to talk to us, but I didn't get the microphone finished before we left."

"Who are you talking about?"

Aisha looked at Grue and then to the rest of them. No one was looking at her, even Madison seemed engrossed in her phone. Tattletale's gaze darted around the place.

"I think we have a Stranger nearby. Something is off."

"Guys, its Aisha."

Grue looked at the girl, a confused tilt to his helmet.

"What about Aisha?"

They can't see me or hear me? She looked up a the helicopter thing then back to Madison. Except tinker girl. She pondered this for a moment and then proceeded to slap her brother upside his helmeted head.

"What the hell was that?"

As amusing as this all was, once again she was being ignored when she didn't want to. People stopped paying attention when I wanted to be ignored, maybe I need to think happy thoughts or something? She concentrated on being seen and heard, focusing all the frustration she had felt when Mom ignored her.

The Undersiders suddenly reacted to her presence.

"Well whoopdey fucking doo. I guess I'm a cape."

Chapter Text

" What the hell are you doing here?"

I looked up from my lunch to see Emma standing there, an incredulous look on her face. She mostly seemed to be staring at Madison who was seated to my left. Oddly enough she didn't have her usual hangers on.

"Eating lunch with my friends obviously."

To say Emma was surprised would be an understatement. She blinked several times, her gaze flickering over Madison, Aisha and I as if trying to comprehend something much more complex. While I wasn't totally sold on Madison being a friend yet, I figured I might as well run with it. She had latched on to Aisha and I as people to hang around with at school, so that's what we appeared to be.

"Friends? You can talk? Madison? What?"

I put on a placid smile and summoned all the condescension I could muster.

"Its really quite simple Emma. I have friends, and I am eating lunch with them. I would have thought you were familiar with the concept." I savoured the look on her face for a moment. "Oh that's right, you do have some difficulty with the concept of friendship."

She seemed to reel a bit from that comment, and so she should. I still had little idea what had caused her to betray me and join up with Sophia. Was she really so shallow just to drop a friendship of several years just to be buddies with a Ward? It wasn't really important any more. She finally recovered.

"Since when could you talk?"

I considered teasing her and pretend she was just going crazy. I was sure my two team mates would back me up on it, but it seemed pointless. Instead I stuck with the friendship angle that seemed to be bothering her. I told myself I wasn't just being petty by rubbing it in her face.

"My friend Amy was a dear and patched me up." At her continued looks of confusion, I elaborated. "What, you don't know Panacea?"

I felt a little bad at using my connection with Amy for something like this. The rapidly changing expressions on Emma's face made it feel justified though. At this point my lunchtime companions decided to get in on the game rather than just snickering.

"So Red, did you need something? Or are you gonna just stand there staring like a love sick puppy?"

She looked at Aisha before she quickly shook her head. It seemed I could rely on the girl to run with any jokes about my overblown yet non existent love life.

"What no. Just wondering why the Dork suddenly has groupies."

"Oh that's because she's much cooler than you Ems."

Her gaze snapped back to Madison who was smiling her cutesy smile. Those were words I had never expected to hear in my life. Apparently Emma thought likewise.

"Whatever. I'll leave you losers to your lunch. I don't have time to waste on you."

She stalked off, apparently having regained enough presence of mind to realise her usual tricks wouldn't work today.

"Well that was fun. You want me to mess with her? I could totally get her freaking out by the end of the day?"

"I appreciate the thought Aisha, but she's not worth the risk of getting caught."

Still, I did let my imagination play out several scenarios of 'haunting' that Emma could be plagued with. Having a little back up made all the difference it seemed.

"You seem to be in a good mood."

Brian was looking at us from the kitchenette of the Loft as Madison and I came up the stairs. He had a steaming mug in hand and a friendly smile upon his face, which I returned.

"It was a pretty good day."

"Nice to hear. We're just waiting on Alec and Lisa to return from the shops and Aisha to get here, then we can start planning our next target."

I nodded and moved to make myself a cup of tea while Madison took a seat on the sofa.

"Way to make a girl feel wanted Bro. Its like I'm invisible or something."

I looked back and Aisha was sitting next to her. I blinked for a moment before realising she must have slipped into using her powers for a bit there. That was going to take a while to get used to, though at least her tone indicated she was finding this more amusing than hurtful. It had only been a day and a half and she was coping with it a lot better than I had.

Madison too seemed to be dealing well with things. I could pass off Aisha as one of those second generation capes with their easy triggers. But Madison's trigger event still seemed too easy, even after she'd explained how she'd been feeling the last couple of months. I wondered if one of her parents was secretly a cape.

Lost in my thoughts, the time passed quickly and the remaining team members returned triumphantly carrying dinner. The Chinese food was distributed and was devoured quickly. I wasn't sure how I managed to eat so much so fast, but the food seemed to just vanish from my plate. I must have been distractedly shovelling it in as I thought about things. Strange that I didn't feel that full.

When we were finished Lisa grabbed our attention with a small cough.

"Given Saturday's events, it seems the Empire are moving into former Merchant and current ABB territory."

"Well I'm all for taking them down a peg."

Aisha's comment was understandable and backed with nods of agreement from the rest of the team. I found the idea appealing, as I was still incensed at them trying to hurt one of my friends. The fact that they were scum also helped. I was curious as to what Lisa had planned.

"Do we have a particular target in mind?"

"Well patrolling isn't really our thing. So instead of trying to stop them taking territory directly, we distract them by hitting existing holdings. We have some info about one of their store houses. From what I've been able to piece together, they have a stockpile of cash, weapons and some drugs stored there."

I cupped my chin as I pondered. That did sound like a priority target. Which of course would mean priority defence by the Empire. Brian got to the question before me.

"How much security? Try not to underestimate this time."

While his tone had a ring of levity, I still don't think he had quite forgiven Tattletale for the mistake at the bank.

"Probably several capes and quite a few thugs. If not on site, very nearby. I'd expect reinforcements to be quick to arrive given the importance of the building, so we'd want to be in and out quickly." She looked over to Madison. "If you can finish off a few more drones and that surveillance jamming device you mentioned, we can have you and Aisha do some reconnaissance to ensure it runs smoother."

"I can probably have the jammer done by the end of tonight and now that I have the design finalised I reckon I can make a drone a day with little trouble given the right supplies."

"As long as we beat up some Empire and get some money." Rachel grumbled. She did always prefer the direct approach over the cloak and dagger that the team seemed to be leaning towards. Brian cut in, his voice stern.

"Yes Rachel, we will hurt some Empire. But Aisha, you will be careful. Don't take any risks."

"Don't worry so much. No one will even know I was there."

The rest of the conversation was derailed by Brian and Aisha arguing but we finally decided to hit the storehouse on Thursday night. Plans settled, I started the journey home.

The plan left me with a fairly open schedule for the rest of the week. Thinking back on my earlier encounter with Emma, I realised I hadn't spoken with Panacea for a while. The poor girl was probably running herself ragged again. As I waited for a bus to arrive, I pulled out my civilian phone and dialled.

"Hey Amy. You wanna hang out tomorrow?"

Chapter Text

Emma had avoided us all of Tuesday, which was fine by me. Having someone I at least marginally trusted in class was also nice, if kind of strange. Another fairly uneventful school day passed by and I had gone home, promising to drop by the lair later if time permitted.

So it was that I found myself getting ready to go out. The weather had been unseasonably warm lately, so I decided to wear one of the items I'd picked up on Saturday. A red short sleeved, knee length shift dress that Lisa had practically forced me to buy. While I still was under no delusions of beauty, I had to admit the dress looked good. The way the skirt flared out made it look like I actually had a figure. I guess if the style worked for Twiggy, it worked for me. My pendant sat nicely in the neck line.

"You're looking particularly pretty today kiddo. Do you have a date or something?"

To my surprise, Dad was standing in the kitchen doorway, an amused smirk on his face. I had kind of hoped to head out before he came home and hadn't heard the door opening.

"No, just going to hang out with Amy. Haven't seen her in a while and figured she needed a bit of a break."

"Oh, that's sweet of you. Pass on my thanks if you hadn't already. She has to be at least partially responsible for the return of my happy daughter."

A smile formed on my face, mostly for his benefit. I couldn't really tell him the full reasons for my general cheeriness. So somewhat guiltily, I let him believe he was on the right track.

"Will do. I shouldn't be out too late, school night and all."

"Have fun."

A short bus trip later and I had arrived at the Boardwalk. We had agreed to grab some dinner at a local Italian restaurant that Amy had recommended. A quick internet search after the call last night showed near unanimous positive reviews of the place, so I figured it had to be good.

I found the place easily enough and walked through the door. My attention was quickly grabbed by Amy waving me over to an unexpectedly occupied table for four. Amy, a boy and another girl I recognised all to well sat there as I approached nervously. I didn't recognise the blonde boy sitting next to Victoria Dallon, but he gave me a slightly surprised look. Maybe I had met him somewhere before and had forgotten. Come to think of it, Victoria looked a little surprised too. How odd. Having dinner with Glory Girl at the table was going to be awkward. I tried my best to hide my discomfort behind a cheery smile as I took the empty seat.

"Hi Amy, I didn't realise we'd have company."

"Taylor. You probably recognise my sister Victoria and this is her boyfriend Dean. They kind of invited themselves."

I was worried for a second before realising she must have been referring to her popularity rather than the bank. There was a slight hint of resignation at her introduction though, so I figured she wasn't particularly happy to have them along. Wait a minute, Boyfriend. I looked at her and my eyebrow raised before I could stop it. Is that Gallant or a new boyfriend? Did she just accidentally out Gallant to me? Shit, he has emotion sense doesn't he? Need an excuse for my worry.

"Nice to meet you. I must admit, it's a little intimidating to meet such a famous cape." I paused as I realised what I had just implied. "Not to say that Amy isn't famous, so much as, well. Please ignore what I just said."

My face felt warm as I blushed with embarrassment. How absurd is my life that social situations are more difficult than cape fights? Victoria just giggled at my discomfort.

"Don't worry about it, I have that effect on people. You've managed to get my sister to take some time off so I felt I needed to meet and thank you."

Glory Girl, the one I had hurt pretty badly and had trolled for a while was thanking me. This was getting surreal.

"Umm, you're welcome."

"So how'd you two meet anyway?"

I glanced over at Maybe-Gallant. Would he be able to pick up deceit? Does he know about the locker? I decided to go with something vague but correct just to be safe.

"Amy patched me up after some things happened and we started talking."

"If by things you mean a car, then yes."

Amy had an amused grin as she shook her head. It was possible that the Wards knew who I was after what Sophia did, but I was glad she hadn't mentioned the voice thing. The less said about that, the better. In turn, I thought it best not to mention our venting arrangement. Especially with how it was possibly related the boy in front of me.

"Anyway, she looked like she needed a bit of a rest, so I decided to pester her into relaxing a little more."

"You'll have to tell me your secret. I've been trying for ages."

Damn. If every other sentence was going to sound like it was related to my cape life, this night was going to suck. I shrugged and gave her a smile.

"Not really sure myself. Guess I was just lucky."

Amy came to my rescue with a handy topic change.

"We should probably order our food."

After a quick flick through the menu, I had settled on Tortellini alla Panna. While was tempted by the Puttanesca, I figured garlic and anchovy breath probably wasn't polite. The waiter came by to take our orders and we were soon back to awkward conversation time.

My resentment towards Victoria and Dean for making this awkward was probably getting picked up, but I didn't really care. If they were going to invite themselves, he could feel just as uncomfortable as I.

"So Amy. Have you been taking breaks like I said, or is the first one?"

"It was only like a week ago."

She had glanced downwards and spoke quietly. I didn't really want to put her on the spot, but I wasn't sure what else to talk about. It did however look like I'd have to more proactive at getting her to relax. I chuckled lightly and patted her on the shoulder, a smile on my face.

"Well it's a start anyway."

"So I don't think I've seen you at school. You don't go to Arcadia do you?"

I turned to Victoria. It was a fairly sensible question, but I thought I heard a faint hint of disapproval. I may have snorted in my amusement.

"I wish. No, instead I'm stuck at the wretched hive of scum and villainy known as Winslow."

"Surely its not that bad?"

Victoria seemed incredulous at my description of the place. I noted Dean's look at my and Victoria's comments. Was that a bit of discomfort, or guilt? I must have been feeling a little vindictive as I pressed home my point.

"Well, its full of gang members and the faculty are either incompetent or corrupt. They tend to turn a blind eye to bullying if the person doing it is popular or important."

Victoria looked surprised while Dean had paled a bit. Bingo. I decided to relent.

"But enough about that place. How's the hero biz?"

Victoria seemed to light up a little at the topic change.

"Oh yeah, Empire Eighty Eight have been more actively lately so we've been getting into some fights with their goons lately. The Undersiders really shook things up when they took out the Merchants."

I nodded. Yeah we had messed with the status quo a bit. Curiosity got the better of me.

"What do you think of the Undersiders anyway?"

"I'm not sure what to think. I mean they did rob the bank and Marceau hurt me and held Amy hostage. But then he immediately apologised and they've been only targeting villains since. They seem to be doing good and have gotten some good press, but I'm still suspicious of them."

I had figured that might be the case. My head dipped in 'agreement' of her views.

"Understandable."

"They seem like a menace."

I turned towards Dean with an eyebrow raised. Oh really? I wonder why you think that? Taking my cue, he continued.

"If they were really heroes, they wouldn't have fought the Wards. Even if the bank had links to criminal activities it's still a crime to rob one."

I laughed a little inside at that. Yes, because Shadow Stalker was totally a hero.

"So not a fan of the fighting against corruption theory?"

I took a sip of my drink. He looked like he was about to reply when Amy interrupted.

"I think he's just jealous of Marceau."

I barely avoided a spit take, having just swallowed some lemonade. Still I managed to sputter some what at the comment.

"Sorry what?"

"Ames."

Victoria seemed unimpressed at her sister's theory. I was probably responsible for that. Amy seemed unconcerned. I guessed she was still kind of angry at Gallant. The tag along probably didn't help matters.

"All those rumours of him courting Glory Girl. Bound to be threatened."

I blinked a few times as I looked at Amy. My trolling must have been a bit too effective.

"I thought that flower thing was just an overly florid apology or something." I turned to Victoria. "He's really hitting on you?"

"I don't even know. He might be."

The slight smirk on her face gave me a horrible sense of dread. Luckily a waiter had returned with our dishes, giving us a perfect excuse not to talk for a while. After all, talking with your mouth full would be rude.

Meals finished, Victoria and Dean had made excuses and headed off somewhere. Amy and I were finally free from the awkwardness of their company. We went for a stroll down the Boardwalk, the warm weather not quite balancing out the cool wind from the sea. Finally she spoke, breaking the comfortable silence.

"I'm sorry about that. She wouldn't take no for an answer."

"It's alright, but I'm kind of glad they're gone. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable there. Though a lot of that might be my fault."

"Oh?"

I really needed to watch what I said around Amy.

"Well I did bring up the worst topics possible, especially with how annoyed you seemed with Dean."

She nodded and then her eyes went wide. I guessed she had realised her earlier mistake.

"Oh shit."

"Yeah, don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Not that it's hard to work out anyway. Especially with how he was reacting."

"What?"

I might have said a bit too much there. Amy was a nice girl and would likely keep things quiet, so I debated explaining further. On the one hand it was approaching the borders of the unwritten rules. On the other hand, it was Sophia.

"Oh just how guilty he looked when I was talking about Winslow."

"He did look a bit pale, what was that about?"

I checked that no one was nearby and leaned in to whisper.

"I didn't tell you earlier because I'd only just met you. I know the reason Miss Militia asked you to heal me."

She looked stunned.

"You know how Shadow Stalker got transferred a little while ago?"

"Yeah?"

"Sometime before an angry Miss Militia requested your aid in healing some random teenager of no importance?"

She was silent for a moment as she considered that. Her long drawn out curse was the first time I had heard her swear.

"Fuck."

"Yep. It looks like he's aware of what happened. At least he seems to be suitably guilty about it."

"You didn't press charges?"

I chuckled a sad laugh.

"Didn't have any proof and we aren't exactly swimming in money. So it looks like the PRT hushed it up. For all I know, if it wasn't for someone else stepping up and reporting her, she might have still been tormenting me."

"Miss Militia did say something about the person responsible being punished."

I thought back to meeting her the other week.

"Well she at least seems to be a reasonable person. Shame no one told me about it."

Amy just nodded in agreement.

"It's probably better if you don't mention this to anyone. Don't know what the PRT would do if they knew."

"You've kept my secrets, I'll keep yours. What are friends for?"

She smiled. It was good to see her smiling. She gave me a hug, hooking her arm under mine. It was a warm and comforting thing, which is just what I needed right now.

"Thanks Amy."

Chapter Text

"If you're not in a hurry, we could probably catch a movie. My treat, to make up for my sister tagging along."

I glanced down at the girl walking beside me. It would give us a bit more time together without the awkwardness. While I had originally been planning to drop by the lair on the way home, I'd see the gang tomorrow anyway.

"Ok, I'll just let Dad know."

We arrived at the cinema complex, a few blocks along the Boardwalk from the restaurant. It was a fairly small one in the scheme of things, only six theatres. The marquee showed a variety of films, most of them already started. Only one film was ready. I turned to Amy.

"Well, looks like we don't have much choice without waiting an hour or so."

"Paranormal Activity 3? I wonder if we'd be missing something by not seeing the others."

"From what I've heard its some series of silly horror movies from Earth Aleph. It shouldn't make much of a difference."

"Well I guess I'm game if you are."

Amy paid for the tickets, but I insisted on buying the drinks and a tub of popcorn for us to share. I had done my part in making the night awkward after all. We found some seats in the fairly sparsely populated theatre just as the lights went down and the previews started.

"Michelle Thomas is a strong and daring navigator from Ireland. Her life was going nowhere until she met Rachel Wilson, a shy woman with a passion for cooking."

A bunch of scenes flashed by for some inane romantic comedy.

"But Michelle, how am I going to go on without you?"

My time with the Undersiders had warped my view somewhat and I found myself overlaying Bitch onto the character. I grinned as the silly image came to mind of Rachel being shy or that curvey, let alone cooking. Movement in my peripheral vision made me turn my head to see Amy looking at me, a curious expression on her face.

"Oh, just a funny thought. Nevermind."

She just nodded and turned back to the screen

"Along came Rachel. Coming soon."

The film was pretty dull so far. I took a few sips of my soda and reached into the tub. Instead I encountered a warm hand. I turned with an amused smile on my face, thinking I probably should have gotten a larger tub. Amy gave me an embarrassed smile as she retrieved some popcorn. She timidly ate some and turned back to the screen.

"Eeep."

Amy jumped at the sudden flash of ghostly images and orchestral sting, burying her face in my shoulder. Apparently it was a bad idea to pick a horror movie after all. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder as she blocked out the movie. Amy was a lot jumpier than I expected. Then again, maybe I had overdosed on bad horror movies as I grew up. While Mom preferred books or films with an actual plot, Dad had insisted on educating me in classic horror movies. Amy probably wasn't able to see jump scares coming a mile off. I leaned close and whispered.

"Don't worry it's over. I'll point out the scary bits if you like."

She nodded against my shoulder and then peered back up to the screen. She didn't leave my arm. She did seem to be very huggy, having given her sister a big hug when we'd parted earlier. That and the time at the park.

"Another jump scare's coming."

I could feel her tense up a bit in preparation. A crash, some static and a woman was pulled through a door.

"Eeep."

Apparently not prepared enough.

The movie had ended rather disappointingly. They just didn't make horror movies quite like the old days. As we left the cinema I turned to Amy.

"So, no more horror movies then?"

She looked at me sheepishly.

"It, wasn't that bad. I just startle easily."

"Then I think I need to educate you on horror movies. The jump scares become predictable pretty quick."

She gave me a friendly smile.

"That could be fun."

We walked a back along the Boardwalk, heading towards the bus. I stopped for a moment and turned my head to look at a interesting item in a shop window. When I turned back to Amy, I found her looking at my chest. I followed her gaze down to the pendant hanging around my neck.

"Do you like it?"

She looked up a bit startled.

"Uh, yes its quite pretty. Where did you get it?"

"It was a present from a while back. Thought it matched the outfit so decided to wear it."

"What is it? looks like some faces."

I looped it around my hand and brought it up for her to get a better look.

"The white one is Thalia the Muse of comedy. The black is Melpomene, Muse of tragedy."

"I see you know your mythology."

"I was taught a lot by... Mom."

Thoughts of Mom brought with them a flash of sadness. It must have shown on my face as Amy gathered me into hug as few tears rolled from my eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't know."

She held me for moment longer before letting go.

"Thanks. Sometime I still get a bit upset."

I caught a glimpse of movement and red hair in the corner of my eye, but when I turned I didn't see anyone.

"What is it?"

"Thought I saw something, but must be imagining things."

We continued down the street for a while before the sound of a phone broke the silence. Amy pulled a fancy smart phone from her pocket.

"Hello Sis. Do I want a pick up?"

She turned to me.

"I should be heading home anyway."

She nodded and turned to look at the shop next to us.

"Yeah, a pick up should be fine. On the Boardwalk. In front of that ice cream parlour. You know the one? Okay, see you soon."

She hung up the phone and turned back to me, a cheerful smile on her face..

"Well I had fun. Thanks for dragging me out."

"You're welcome. I had fun too, even if it was a little strange to start with."

We both chuckled a little at that. Hopefully Victoria didn't invite herself to further outings.

"You'll be fine getting home?"

"Yeah, the bus route practically runs past my house."

"Well good night Taylor."

"Night Amy."

She stepped forward, hesitated for a moment and then gave me a big hug which I returned. I wasn't really surprised given how touchy feely she had been the last couple times we'd met. I hadn't really had many hugs since Mom passed away. The team were fairly stand offish about that sort of thing and Dad had been distant, so it felt nice. It possibly went on a little long, but oh well.

We finally separated and I waved goodbye as I walked the last block to the bus stop. The streets were fairly empty, just a few people coming out of restaurants and someone walking a dog on the other side of the street.

The bus ride seemed to pass quickly with so little traffic on the road. I was a bit later getting home than I was expecting at the start of the night, but it was nice to hang out with another friend.

Chapter Text

Glory Girl & Gallant

Victoria saw her sister heading towards the door, dressed a little nicer than usual. Sure she was still in a pants and shirt, but at least they were nice dress pants and a flattering blue blouse shirt. This of course piqued her curiosity. What is she up to?

"Where you going Ames?"

Amy turned sheepishly towards her.

"Um, just going to go have dinner with my friend Taylor."

Victoria smiled. Ah, she's got a date finally.

"Oh, someone's convinced you to relax. I'll grab Dean and we can have dinner together."

She looked a little disappointed at the offer.

"Um, I'd rather just hang out-"

"Nonsense, I want to meet and thank your new friend."

Her sister sighed.

"Fine, but please don't make things weird, ok?"

Victoria was a little confused by the comment, but she assumed it was Amy just being grumpy from too much hospital work. Her sister really needed to relax.

Victoria's eyes were drawn to the person Amy was waving at. A slim young girl, with dark brown curls running past her shoulders and wearing a quite nice little red dress. Otherwise, she seemed a little plain. Wait, is this Taylor? I thought she meant a boy. Oh, is this what she meant by weird. She watched the girl's approach slow as she noticed herself and Dean. With a cautious looking smile, the girl spoke.

"Hi Amy, I didn't realise we'd have company."

She and Dean were about to depart. She turned back to her sister and her... girlfriend?

"Well we have to get going. Nice to meet you Taylor. I'll see you later Sis."

Her sister still looked a little annoyed.

"Sure Vicky. Bye for now."

"Bye."

The girl, Taylor waved at them as they left. Victoria wasn't really happy with how the night turned out. The girl seemed a bit odd, and didn't really have much tact, but what could she really expect from a Winslow student. Especially with what the girl had been saying. It sounded pretty bad and Victoria was glad she could go to Arcadia.

"Well that was, uncomfortable."

She looked at Dean, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I really didn't expect her to bring a girl. Oh and sorry for her bringing up the Marceau thing again."

"Its fine. Though it would be nice if you weren't so smug about the fact that you have another admirer. I do wonder if Taylor has a bit of, appreciation for Marceau though."

That got her attention.

"Oh, why do you say that?"

"Well she seemed to be, I guess concerned at the idea of Marceau chasing after you. I didn't quite get a clear read on it though so it might be something else. Though that mask pendant she was wearing suggests she's a fan girl."

Victoria thought about this for a moment, she hadn't really paid attention to the pendant hanging down the neckline of the girl's dress.

"Wait, why were you staring down there?"

"What? It was shiny and caught my attention. Besides, its not like she had anything to ogle."

"So you did look."

While she was mostly teasing him, she wasn't sure if he realised that as he buried his face in his hand.

"Victoria my dear, I'm not ogling at other girls. They don't hold a candle to you."

She preened at the compliment and figured he'd suffered enough for now.

"Don't worry, just teasing you Dean."

A faint buzzing noise could be heard before he pulled a phone from his pants.

"Damn, almost time for my shift to start. I should head over to the HQ."

She was disappointed that the night had to end so early, especially after the uncomfortable dinner, but that was the trouble with dating a ward.

"I can give you a lift if you like."

"That would be lovely."

Dean walked through one of the secret entrances and made his way through security on his way to his quarters to change. It wasn't long till he was in his costume and through the door to the common room.

Arrayed before him were several of the Wards in costume, but without masks for comfort's sake. Dennis turned his head towards him as he entered.

"So, how was the date?"

Dean took a seat on the couch opposite Dennis. He sighed and rested his chin in one hand, elbow propped up on a knee.

"It was incredibly awkward."

A chuckle came from Dennis at that. The amusement obvious by his laughter and the emotions pouring off of him. Dean frowned a little.

"No, not like that. I met Taylor Hebert."

Dean had decided earlier that this was something that they needed to know.

"Wait what?"

Missy whipped her head around at the mention of Sophia's victim. She hopped off the seat where she was doing some homework and joined them, sitting next to Dean. He could feel the waves of concern, mixed with a bit of appreciation at being near.

"I gotta go with Missy here, how did that happen?"

"Well Vicky dragged us out to a double date with Amy."

Before he could continue Dennis jumped to the obvious conclusion.

"Oh, huh. Didn't realise she swung that way."

"Was a bit of a surprise to me as well. But she did seem to have a bit of affection for the girl, as well as being frustrated that Vicky had brought me along."

"So you got all flustered because of some real life yuri?"

The space between the couches warped as Missy slapped Dennis upside the head before it returned to normal in an instant.

"Quit being a perv." She huffed.

"No, something bigger than that. I think she knows Sophia was Shadow Stalker."

There were a few choice words said as the implications were pondered.

"What's all the swearing about?"

Dean turned his head towards the doorway where Carlos stood, a curious look on his face.

"Ah, glad you're here chief, we may have a problem. I was just saying I think Taylor knows about Sophia being a Ward."

More profanity came as the leader of the Wards caught up. After a moment he looked at Dean.

"Are you sure?"

"When we met, she was emotionally conflicted about meeting a hero, then later settled into resentment at our presence. I dismissed it at the time as an influence of Vicky's aura coupled with how we'd kind of invited ourselves along. More directed at Vicky than me. But then certain subjects of conversation came up that gave things away, starting with Vicky asking what school Taylor went to."

"Winslow right?"

"Or as she described it, a wretched hive of scum and villainy. She did also mention the faculty turning a blind eye to bullying by important people. I could feel her disdain and anger as she spoke."

Dennis whistled. He felt conflicted impressions of admiration and anger.

"Props for the Star Wars reference, but damn."

Carlos nodded. Resignation and disappointment shrouded him.

"I told the Director we should have come clean."

Dean tilted his head in agreement.

"It gets even better though."

Dennis laughed

"Oh I can't wait."

"When the topic of cape life came up, the Undersiders were mentioned. I. Well I did express my ill opinion of them, in particular their fight with us as a reason."

He sighed a little, prompting Missy to speak.

"Wait, she doesn't blame us, does she?"

"While she didn't smile or laugh, I was basically drowning in amused contempt."

There was a moment of silence as they considered this. Dennis finally broke the silence.
"This can't get any wors- I've just jinxed us haven't I?"

Dean nodded.

"Yep. I probably reacted visibly when she was talking about Winslow as I felt a bit of satisfaction from her. She was confused when Amy mentioned that I was Vicky's boyfriend, and throughout the double date she was guarded with her emotions. I'm not sure how strong it would have felt if she wasn't."

"Damn. Sophia is still screwing things up."

Missy curled up into the couch a bit more, a glum expression matching the emotions emanating from her.

"Also, I think she's a fan of Marceau."

Everyone stared at him for a moment, not speaking.

"I could see that happening with everything going on, but what gave you that idea?"

"Well she seemed amused by the bank fight where Marceau took several of us out and she had a pendant with theatre masks on it. She also seemed somewhat concerned about the idea of Him hitting on Glory Girl."

There was more silence as they thought on this. Carlos spoke up.

"So wait, was she jealous? I thought she was on a date with Amy."

He shook his head.

"It didn't feel like jealousy. I mean I didn't really feel tonnes of affection from her towards Amy, but it was buried under a lot of discomfort at our presence and the general contempt towards the Wards. So it could just be I didn't get a good read on her. She might have a crush on him. But it could just as easily be that she care's for Amy and doesn't want her sister getting wrapped up in it."

He paused for a moment.

"Teenage girls are confusing."

And for that he got a poke in the ribs from Missy.

"So, the girl who knows our dirty laundry and your civilian identity is not only dating Amy but seems happy for us to get our arse handed to us. This can't possibly go wrong."

The sarcasm dripping from Dennis' words made emotion reading redundant. Carlos nodded.

"Well, we need to do something about this. As much of a bitch as Sophia was, we're still partially responsible for this. God knows how to fix this though."

The Wards sat there, somewhat depressed as they tried to think of something to address the situation.

Victoria swooped down to her sister, standing there with a contented smile on her face. She soon had a grin to match Amy's. Apparently things went well.

"So, you had a good night then?"

"Yeah it was fun."

Victoria thought that sounded a bit non committal. She picked up her sister to fly back home like normal.

"So, you like girls?"

Amy was a little quiet as she responded.

"Yeah."

"Like-like?"

Amy just glared at her and they flew in awkward silence for a block or two.

"So you like Taylor then?"

"She's been a good friend."

Victoria picked up something in her tone. Ah hah!

"You like-like her."

Amy continued to glare at her and Vicky matched it with a smug look. Amy finally broke eye contact.

"Yeah."

Something about the way she said that caught Victoria's attention.

"Why am I waiting for a but?"

"She didn't seem to pick up my signals."

Victoria smiled a knowing smile.

"What sort of signals did you send?"

"Well, there was a bit of hand touching and smiles and hugs."

It sounded like Taylor had a case of Nervousness or perhaps the much more serious condition of Obliviousness.

"Well did she seem uncomfortable when they happened?"

"Well, no. She hugged me back just as strong and smiled when our hands met in the popcorn tub. She hugged me when I got scared in the movie. Umm, she was also grinning when they had a preview for a lesbian romantic comedy."

"Ah, she must just be waiting for you to take the initiative. You do come across as rather shy my dear sister."

Amy was quiet for a moment, a slight smile on her lips before she turned to look Victoria in the face.

"You seem to be handling this well."

Victoria laughed, making the smile on her sister's face grow.

"I was a bit surprised, but it would explain why I had trouble setting you up with boys. So I take it you didn't kiss?"

"Vicky!"

Amy looked indignant for a moment before finally answering quietly.

"No. I kinda chickened out."

"Well that'll give you a definite answer. Though you might want to ask her if she has a crush on Marceau first."

Amy blinked a few times.

"What, why?"

"Dean seemed to think she was concerned when the topic of him hitting on me came up. That and the pendant. She's probably just worried about her girlfriend's sister though."

Amy seemed to think about something for a while. Eventually she broke the silence.

"That makes sense, but I'll ask her when I see her next."

"And teach her some French."

Her eyebrows waggled a little.

"Vicky!"

She smiled at Amy's continued embarrassment.

"What? Just trying to help my dear sister with her love life."

Chapter Text

Amy

"I can't promise that I'll be around all the time, but if you want another friend, we could hang out sometime. Do some stuff."
Amy stared at Taylor for a moment. She had not really expected the sudden offer of friendship. She wondered if she was just doing what was expected. No, she understood me, comforted me. I think she means it. Eventually she nodded, a smile coming to her face

"That. That would be nice."

Taylor smiled back at her and they both got up from the bench to leave the park. Amy looked at the girl next to her and made a decision. She gave her another tight hug. Taylor jumped a little but quickly returned it. Amy whispered to her.

"Thank you."

As they walked back toward the cafe Amy was lost in thought. This girl was one of the few people to actually give her a hug, or listen to her worries in a long time. Carol was always distant. Mark tried to be a good father when he wasn't in one of his phases, but even then he rarely initiated any contact. Victoria still shared hugs, but they'd been less frequent of late and mostly given by Amy when Vicky was crying over Dean.

Really, she didn't seem to have much in the way of social interaction. While she got along fairly well with the doctors and nurses, it was more of a work colleague arrangement, where one might bitch over some patient's manner. Or perhaps share quiet laughs at something bizarre in the ER room. That one time with the guy and desk lamp was burnt into her memory.

Basically, what it all boiled down to was the only person she had that she was close to for years was her sister. It was hardly any wonder she had feelings for her. Perverted feelings, she reminded herself. Maybe an actual friend might lessen that dependence. Make her less lustful towards her own sister.

It wasn't too long before they arrived back at the cafe, not a word having passed between them. She was beginning to wonder if Taylor had been weirded out by the silence. The smile on her face quickly banished that idea.

"Well goodnight Amy. Be strong."

Amy smiled at her new friend.

"I'll try. Catch you later."

Amy was bored one night, several days later. It was known that boredom in teenagers often resulted in internet browsing. This was one of those cases as Amy scrolled through a few pages on the PHO forums, noting the latest escapades of the Undersiders. A new link had been posted with a video.

Amy sighed as she watched them show boating as they raided a Merchant base. It was a fairly well executed raid from what little she knew of that sort of thing. Then the gunfire started.

Her eyes went wide as the Merchants tried to gun them down. Thousands of bullets impacting against nothing as Marceau had put himself in front of his team mates. She gave a little sigh of relief as they escaped. She wasn't sure she had forgiven them for the bank incident, but that didn't mean she wanted them gunned down. Marceau had at least seemed apologetic over the whole thing. She wasn't particularly impressed by the flowers and his apparent affections towards Her sister. No! Need to stop thinking like that.

She was a little surprised by the meeting with Armsmaster and Miss Militia. It was fairly obvious a bit of footage had been cut, but she was quickly distracted by the return of the Merchants. Once again Marceau seemed to be selflessly putting himself in front of everyone, including the two Protectorate capes. Huh, interesting. He does seem to be acting heroic at least.

Given their previous record, she wasn't surprised at the quick victory, but Marceau getting an autograph threw her preconceptions for a spin. What is up with that mime?

The video ended, she was at a bit of a loss and in a odd moment of curiosity thought she'd see if Taylor had a MyFace account. That way they could keep in contact a bit easier. While she hadn't found an account per say, she did come across something just as interesting. Several students at Winslow had public accounts. She'd scoff at their lack a sense for security, but it ended up to her benefit here. It seemed that Taylor was mentioned here and there. Talk of her 'falling out' with her ex-girlfriend, Emma. That name sounds familiar. She gasped as she realised where the name was last used. She's been bullied by her ex.

Wrapped up in feelings of sympathy and growing ideas, Amy didn't consider that she really shouldn't trust things she read on the internet.

Her phone rang. She excused herself from a conversation with some nurses and brought the phone up to her ear.

"Hey Amy. You wanna hang out tomorrow?"

She smiled as she hear the friendly voice. She hadn't had a chance to ring her with all the stuff going on at the hospital and so was glad that Taylor had called.

"Sure, what did you have in mind?"

"I thought we could perhaps grab dinner, maybe do something afterward. Do you know any good restaurants?"

She pondered this for a moment, there were several good restaurants that she could think of. Fugly Bob's, Riccardo's, The Bay Gril- Did she just ask me out to dinner? She panicked a little.

"Um, just give me a moment."

"Okay."

Did Taylor just ask me out on a date? Would I want it to be a date? She decided to just go with it and see what happened.

"San Giorgio, it's a really good Italian restaurant on the Boardwalk. I can make bookings if you like."

"That sounds great. See you there at six?"

"Sure. See you then."

She ended the call and leaned against the wall behind her. She's interested in girls. Is she interested in me? Does she just wants to be friends? Do I actually like her that way? I should give it a chance. Then I might stop pining after Victoria.

Amy let the ideas bounce around her head as she went back to healing people. There were still a lot suffering from withdrawal with the Merchants falling apart. While she could clean up their systems, she couldn't do much for the addiction. She wouldn't, couldn't do brains.

She sat there a the table, annoyed at her sister and her boyfriend. They were going to make this awkward by their very presence. Dean was probably picking up her grumpy mood, well screw him. She had hoped to get some time alone with Taylor to see how things developed, but this just made things difficult. I hope she doesn't freak out. What if she likes my sister more than me. I mean Vicky's so pretty and strong and- Stop that.

She saw Taylor walk through the door. She wasn't as shapely as Victoria but she had a very fit physique, that of a runner or maybe a catwalk model. The red dress looked good on her and her hair caught the light from the setting sun. Amy stood up and waved her over.

Amy had never liked Shadow Stalker, and what she had just heard reinforced that opinion several times over. That she was one of the bullies made all to much sense in hindsight. The way Miss Militia had acted and the request to heal her. Shadow Stalker's general bitchiness. Her mind briefly flashed back to the MyFace page she had read. That she and Taylor's ex had done so much to the poor girl was unforgivable. I wonder if she'd even want to be in a relationship again.

"It's probably better if you don't mention this to anyone. Don't know what the PRT would do if they knew."

"You've kept my secrets, I'll keep yours. What are friends for?"

She did wonder if Dean had worked it out though. Amy had little doubt the emotions had been pouring off Taylor during the dinner.

"Eeep."

She buried her face in Taylor's shoulder. While she was startled, it was also a good excuse to test the waters. She wasn't sure if she was imagining things with the popcorn. An arm wrapped around her and she relaxed a bit. This is a good sign.

I shouldn't be staring. She's not as big as Victoria. I should stop comparing her to my sister. I should stop staring.

"Do you like it?"

Damn I've been caught, wait, she meant the pendant.

"Uh, yes its quite pretty. Where did you get it?"

"Night Amy."

Amy stepped forward to give her a kiss. No wait, that's too forward, what if I'm mistaken and scare her off? She instead went for a hug, seeing as Taylor had seemed to be into those at least. She felt Taylor squeeze her just as tightly and she felt warm and tingly. This is nice.

"You seem to be handling this well."

She had never really hinted to her sister that she might like girls. Admittedly, until recently she didn't have anyone else to really compare to Victoria. As such it was kind of a surprise to herself.

Victoria laughed, and the melodious sound brought a smile to Amy's lips without her even thinking about it.

"I was a bit surprised, but it would explain why I had trouble setting you up with boys. So I take it you didn't kiss?"

"Vicky!"

Well mostly its because I was too focused on you, but yeah. She contemplated the question though and the answer was clear in her mind.

"No. I kinda chickened out."

"Well that'll give you a definite answer. Though you might want to ask her if she has a crush on Marceau first."

Amy blinked a few times.

"What, why?"

"Dean seemed to think she was concerned when the topic of him hitting on me came up. That and the pendant. She's probably just worried about her girlfriend's sister though."

Amy considered what she had found out that night. It wouldn't surprise her that Taylor appreciated the mime's work. He had after all beat up the Wards who had seemingly stood by while she was bullied. Marceau had rescued puppies and fought bravely against the so many villains. For someone who hadn't been held hostage by him, what wasn't to like? Wait, if she has a crush on Marceau, does that mean she's Bi? Or does she just admire him. She cleared her mind and answered her sister.

"That makes sense, but I'll ask her when I see her next."

"And teach her some French."

"Vicky!"

Victoria kept smiling while Amy blushed in embarrassment and started having thoughts along those very lines.

"What? Just trying to help my dear sister with her love life."

As she lay in bed that night a strange thought came to her tired mind.

Am I in a love triangle, with my own sister and Marceau? Hmm, not enough sides.

She didn't get much further in her pondering before she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

We crouched behind a parked car, just a little bit down the street from our target. The storehouse was a much more upscale building than the previous two locations we had hit. Apparently we were moving up in the world. Instead of hitting warehouse dives, we'd upgraded to raiding crack den apartment buildings. Imp had done a quick scout the day before, carefully avoiding any of the cameras.

"Approach is clear, free to proceed."

Intel's masked voice came in clearly over the new ear buds she had provided us. Already they were proving useful.

"Guards are taking a nap."

Imp's commentary threw me for a moment. That's right, she was taking the front door guards. That was going to take a while to get used to. At least I hoped I could get used to it. While I couldn't argue the effectiveness of her power, it was occasionally inconvenient.

Tattletale, Regent and I moved up to the lobby entrance. Just past the double doors were four unconscious guards, already zip cuffed in a... compromising position. It had to be Imp's work. A flicker of movement passed through my limited peripheral vision and I looked up to find one of Intel's drones hovering there. I waved to its mounted camera.

"Team A is inside. Team B, clear to go."

We were joined shortly after by Grue and Bitch. The dogs were only the size of small ponies at this point. While I would have loved to be backed up by car sized beasties, the narrow hallways of the building would have made that untenable. Another drone hovered in behind them.

Grue moved towards the left side staircase with Bitch and the dogs while Tattletale, Regent and I moved to the right. I just hoped Imp was somewhere nearby. Unfortunately, while it would have been nice to move in one group, the stash had been sub divided into several rooms in some annoying attempt at reducing risk. So while we could have sent Imp in to grab things, the risk was too high and she didn't have the expertise to crack the mechanical keypad locks that had been installed. Or at least bypass them in any reasonable time frame.

As such, the plan involved me escorting Tattletale around to the locked rooms, with Regent and maybe Imp as back up and loot mules. Grue and Bitch were on their way to one of the larger populated areas to hit some of the other targets and cause a distraction with their dog assisted 'unlocking'. Intel's drone would give us a heads up for when back up would almost inevitably arrive.

One of the drones flew ahead a bit before I lost sight of it around a corner. She had done well in making her little spies silent, as I only barely heard it as it zoomed past my head. A few more turns and we were at the first door. A drone was hovering next to a security camera.

"The feed has been looped, safe to approach."

We moved up to the door, keeping guard while Tattletale looked at the keypad for a moment. She tried a combination, tested the door and failed to open it. A small sound of annoyance passed her lips and she unlocked it on the second go. With a push, the door swung open as she stepped to the side and I pulled up a wall in case of gunfire.

Inside were a few skin heads gathered around a table playing cards, another watched a security screen that showed an empty hallway. They all turned their heads at the sound of the door opening, surprise showing on their faces at the sudden company. They started to stand, intent on teaching us a lesson for intruding.

The one by the monitor started twitching, slumping to the floor. Imp. I rushed forwards, dropping my wall to thump one of the thugs with an invisible bat. He curled up around the impact to his belly, the wind and the fight knocked out of him. Another tried pulling a gun, only for him to shoot his own leg as his finger twitched involuntarily. He dropped spasming shortly after. I pulled as I stepped to the right, hurling the last gang member over the table and into a stack of crates.

Tattletale moved into the room and looked at the incapacitated thugs. Regent had already moved to cuff one and when I looked back, cuffs had appeared on another. I moved to the doorway to stand guard.

"First room cleared. Proceeding to loot."

She soon had the nearby safe unlocked and she and Regent began shovelling the stacks of cash into an unfolded duffel bag.

"Well that was easy. We've got a room of thugs down and a fat stack of cash here."

Grue's voice carried surprise even with the echo of his power and the slight static of the comm system. I had to agree with him though, we had lucked out so far. I hope he didn't just jinx us.

"We're done in storeroom one, moving to next."

Tattletale tapped me on the shoulder to get me to take point again, while the spy drone went on its way ahead of us. Tattletale strode a few steps behind me while Regent brought up the rear, the bag of cash slung over his shoulder.

We soon came to another door and Tattletale bypassed this one on the first attempt. She chuckled a little.

"Why have separate rooms with keypads if the codes are all the same?"

I almost laughed at how silly that was. We had expected a bit better from the E88 when we were planning, but I wasn't about to complain about their insufficient paranoia.

This room was devoid of guards, but had another safe and a wall full of weapons. I was starting to get a bit anxious. So far this had been way too easy and I didn't want a repeat of the Merchant raid.

I pointed to the guns and Tattletale shrugged.

"I'll let you handle that with that invisible Swiss army knife of yours."

I made a gesture of mock indignation and moved to the stockpile of assault rifles and other nasty things. I stroked the chin of my mask for a moment then waved my hand over the mask to get the appropriate expression for what I was about to attempt. I turned back to my team and the drone, troll-face on and a thumb up before turning back to the task at hand. I'll show you a Swiss army knife.

I pulled nothing out of my pocket and held it up in the air before proceeded to unfold it in numerous and arcane ways. Eventually I placed my left hand, gripping the air. My right hand moved to take hold of something near the other before pulling back. I shook my left hand around a bit before repeating the action another two times. My right hand gripped perpendicular to the left and I got to work. It might not have been the best tool for the job, but damn if it wasn't the coolest.

I pressed toward the rack mounted weapons, which jittered as I started cutting through them. I had kind of expected sparks, but I guess I wasn't using a metal chainsaw. Still, it was kind of disappointing. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to deal with having an invisible, weightless and silent fold-out chainsaw. Behind the mask, a gleeful grin had spread across my face as the guns came apart with ease.

My arms shook with feedback as I cut through them. I wasn't sure exactly how I managed some of these things, but the clearer the image in my head, the better things worked.

The weapon stockpile quickly became a pile of stocks and other gun parts. Finally finished with my task I turned to find my team mates staring at me. Regent just shook his head.

"You know, your power is pretty bullshit."

My mask was set to 'happy' mode as my hand passed over it in an exaggerated shrug, head tilted to the side. As we were moving to the doorway, another bag of cash heavier, Intel called out over the comms.

"Hate to interrupt the comedy, but we have three incoming capes. Hookwolf, Stormtiger and Cricket."

Tattletale shared an annoyed look with me. She was about to say something when Grue's voice pre-empted her.

"How were they alerted? I thought communications were jammed?"

"I didn't pick up any transmissions from the building, there must be a timed check in or an outside observer."

"Damn. Outside, now."

We didn't have time to get to the roof, and the building was a bit too much taller than its neighbours to make even monster dog leaping a good idea. So we moved towards the lobby and prepared to fight our way out if need be. But I didn't see much of an issue dealing with those three. We'd taken two out easily before and I figured I had ways to deal with Hookwolf.

We exited the lobby in time to see a few more red and black clothed villains emerge from the shuttered up store across from us. The cloaked girl had to be Rune, the stereotype Nazi was Krieg and judging by the paper white skin the other one was Alabaster.

I realised then why things had been too easy, we had walked right into a trap.

Chapter Text

Three spheres of metal emerged form Rune's cloak and began spinning around her. The other two capes started to move towards us. We couldn't afford to be delayed here while the other villains arrived.

I pulled another handful of nothing from behind me, my right hand curled around nothing spherical. My left moved up to it, a finger curled around and I pulled. The panic evident in the Empire capes despite their masks as I made a throwing motion was immensely satisfying. They dove back into the store in an attempt to avoid the explosion.

A grin spread across my lips. I didn't have to make things I mimed, but they didn't know that.

The store front was immediately covered in darkness as we started mounting up on the now much larger dogs. A crash came from the side of the store and a flash of metal whizzed by my head. A dull *thunk* from behind when it hit the building behind me. Apparently they didn't feel like messing around.

I could see Rune leaning around the corner of the building, two sphere still orbiting her. Tattletale and Grue were up on Brutus, Bitch on Angelica and Regent had just finished clipping on the duffel bag to Judas. I prepared to set up a wall if more projectiles came my way.

Rune was suddenly silhouetted by a bright flash and masculine yet girly screams echoed around the corner. A drone buzzed back towards us from behind the building. It appeared Intel's flare idea had worked a treat. Rune lobbed another projectile at the drone, narrowly missing it while the other would have caved in my chest if it weren't for my barrier. While I had the idea of hitting them back to her, I figured it would only end up with me getting hit instead given how fast they moved.

Suddenly agony blossomed in my back and I stumbled forwards, dropping my wall.

"Shit, she's still got control of the balls."

Tattletales's voice lanced through my disorientation. If I wasn't in a lot of pain I would have smacked myself for underestimating Rune. The telekinetic fell to the ground as her legs buckled and was immediately covered in darkness. I felt hands pull me up from the ground. The pain redoubled as I moved, but I bit down on a whimper. An echoing voice called out to me.

"Don't worry, I've got you."

Grue dragged me up onto one of the dogs, I wasn't sure which. Slumped over its back, I caught a glimpse of pure white flesh moving around the darkness. I tried to reach out to pull at him, but the gun he was aiming swung skywards as he fired, filling the street with a harsh chattering. Then he started twitching and fell to the ground. I sighed in relief then winced at the pain it brought. My relief was short lived though as Alabaster got up a couple seconds later. It was surreal watching as he tried to bring up his gun only to go down twitching again. I heard Tattletale speak over the comms.

"You'll need to restrain him, his body resets every 4.3 seconds."

I blinked a few times and when I could see again I saw he was struggling to move, his limbs in a tangle.

"Ok, the party's gathered, get going."

What? Oh, Intel must see Imp with us, I thought. I felt a hand grab my arm firmly, then my world was pain as the dogs started galloping.

"Flashed them... delayed... No pursuit."

My eyes fluttered open, seeing the road flicker by a few feet from my face. What was happening? Did I black out?

The lurching stopped and the pain subsided, at least until I was lifted off the dog and laid out in the van with Intel.

"Shit, you okay?"

Her voice lacked the distortion that was present on the comms and I could hear the obvious concern. One of my hands raised shakily up to my maks and slid down to set it to 'frown' mode. I wasn't sure how badly I had been hurt, but the fact that I could feel my legs was a good sign. Still, if I had blacked out for a moment there and it hurt to breath, it was probably serious. Tattletale joined us in the back of the van.

"We'll get you to the doctor we saw after Bakuda, he can check you out."

I nodded at her, and immediately regretted it.

"You just keep still. It looks like we'll have to use some of our haul to patch you up. Luckily it looks like we have enough to spare. They may have laid a trap, but they went overboard in baiting it."

Another voice cackled in my ear, carrying Regent's mocking tone.

"Yeah, you should stop being all heroic and self sacrificing dork. You're wasting money."

I smiled a little at that, making a note to be a bit more careful. I had been overconfident and suffered for it.

A couple hours later, we were back at the lair. I was a few thousand dollars richer, minus medical expenses, and my system was flooded with those lovely painkillers from last time. The vest had absorbed a lot of the impact but I still had a cracked rib and my back was already an abstract painting of blues and purples. I was laying back in a recliner, a mug of hot tea in my hands and trying to be a still as possible to avoid aggravating things.

The rest of the gang were lounging about, discussing how things could have gone better and such, but it mostly just faded into background noise for me.

"Why don't you just get your girlfriend to heal you?"

Rachel's confused voice cut through my daze and completely matched my mind set.

"What?" I croaked.

"You know, Panacea. Girl you were hugging on your date Wednesday? I saw you while I was walking Brutus."

My mind lurched, wondering what the hell was she talking about? It wasn't a date. Was it?

"It was totally a date."

I looked at the grinning blond standing over me. My brain was too fuzzy for this kind of thing.

"Et tu Lisa?"

"What's this about a date?"

I groaned as Alec joined in. The rest of the team were soon huddled around me, a mixture of curiosity and amusement on their faces.

"Taylor went out on a date with Amy Wednesday night."

"It was just hanging out."

"And pray tell, what did you do that night as you hung out?"

I didn't like the smug tone she had, but it was basically standard issue for her.

"We had dinner at San Giorgio, but it was weird because Victoria and her boyfriend came along to thank me for getting her to relax."

She nodded knowingly.

"So you had a double date dinner at a fancy restaurant, check."

"What no. It wa-"

"And you went out after. Movies right? Yes, and oh. How are you this oblivious?"

"What?"

A chorus of query from my 'friends' as they tried to work out what Lisa was talking about.

"She nestled in your shoulder right, oh and hugs. Lots of hugs."

"Wow Taylor, you are so in denial."

I looked at Aisha, unimpressed.

"Not gay."

"Come on Taylor, we all know you were with Emma."

Oh great, now Madison was in on it.

"We. Were. Never. Together."

"I know you're trying to move past her betrayal, but you can't just pretend it never happened."

Groaning in frustration my gaze flicked back to Lisa.

"But you know that was a joke. Just to get back at Emma. You suggested it."

"So you keep saying."

Alec just smirked as I tried to incinerate him with a glare.

"But, but, Aisha?"

Aisha leaned in a whispered in my ear.

"Hate to break it to ya, but Brian's not interested. So you should totally go play doctor."

I just slumped at that, that one fucking joke ruined everything. Not that I had really expected anything to happen with Brian. Lisa chuckled at my misery, drawing a lot of confused stares from the others, particularly Brian.

"What was that?"

Lisa waved him off.

"Never mind, not important. What is important is that Amy seems to have the hots for you. Also important is that in your denial, you've led her on. So you better decide what to do very soon."

Rachel poked me to get my attention.

"Don't see what the big deal is. Just sleep with her. I mean we're heroes now right?"

I stared blankly at her for quite some time. My words failed to form and my mouth just opened and closed a few times. Eventually I could articulate a response.

"Everyone just shut up and let me think." I snapped out, before continuing in a grumble, "Unfair ganging up on me when I'm injured."

Lisa just patted me gently on the shoulder

"We just want what's best for you."

"That and it's hilarious."

Nope, still couldn't make Alec burst into flames.

Chapter Text

"My brain is too fuzzy and I'm in too much pain to deal with this right now. I'll be in my room. I need some time alone."

I carefully got out of the recliner and made my way to my room.

"Alone time eh?"

"Shut up Aisha."

My voice was a bit snappier than it should have been, but to say I was in a bad mood didn't quite cover it. The pain certainly wasn't helping things, but the sheer bloody minded refusal of my friends to believe me was grating.

As I entered my room, I may have shut the door a bit harder than I should have. Slowly and cautiously I lowered myself to the bed, curled up on my left side to minimize contact with the bruising.

I would have to basically do nothing for a couple of days while I healed up and I wasn't sure how to avoid letting Dad know. He'd just worry for no good reason. Okay, maybe he has a good reason. This was the second time I'd been seriously injured on the job, so his fears wouldn't be unfounded. At first I had kept my cape activities a secret because of villainy, then it became a combination of momentum and trying not to have him worry. That and he'd try to ground me and prevent me from doing cape work.

I sighed a little as I realised how much easier things would be if I could get Amy to heal me. That of course brought other issues up. Now that we were friends. Or more? I shook my head a little at the thought. No, if I were to go to her for healing, I'd have just as much trouble explaining things as with Dad. What was I supposed to say? That I had fallen down some stairs onto something? Hit by a cyclist? Random gang violence? Slipped on a banana?

I snorted at the absurd ideas bouncing through my head before they settled on another topic I didn't know how to deal with. Amy. As much as I wanted to believe they were teasing me, or rather that it was only teasing, Lisa was likely right about it. While I had just assumed she was a bit huggy, looking back on the so called date shone a new light on her actions. How much was her just being supportive or scared? I refused to believe she was doing it purely out of some strange lust, she just didn't seem capable of it.

She was a sweet but damaged girl who just needed a friend to support her. Just like me. Was that why I just assumed the entire thing was platonic? Why I was trying so hard to be her friend? Lisa had been wrong before, it was entirely possible that Amy just wanted to be friends and nothing more. Damn it Lisa, now I'm getting paranoid.

I kept running through that night in my drug addled head. The painkillers were probably not conducive to logical thinking, but they were better than the agony I'd be in without them. She had dressed fairly nice, but so had I. She hadn't invited Victoria and Dean, so it could be they just assumed. Oh great, now Glory Girl and Gallant probably think I'm gay. I sighed in frustration.

It was a fancy restaurant, but that didn't mean much. She did seem rather eager to go to the movies though. The movie was a bit harder to rationalise away. She'd immediately cowered into me and hadn't let up till the movie was over. I couldn't be sure my view wasn't tainted by implications from my oh so helpful team mates, but in hindsight that did seem a bit devious.

Pondering the rest of the night made things worse, there was basically a lot of touching. It all seemed natural at the time, but now I was suspicious. A particularly salient point came to mind. I had assumed she was looking at my pendant with that slightly entranced look on her face Had she in fact been staring at my boobs? I really wasn't sure how to feel about that. If she was ogling my chest, should I be offended or pleased?

I felt conflicted about the whole thing. I wasn't sure what I felt about the idea of her being attracted to me, other than the hugs were nice.

My eyes were having trouble staying open. That was to be expected from a busy day and painkillers. I'll just rest them for a moment, then I'll get changed for bed.

Mmmm, warm. Hugs are nice. Wait, you're squeezing a bit hard. My back is hurting.

My eyes opened slowly as I became aware of my surroundings. I wasn't being hugged. Instead, I was staring at the ceiling and there was a dull ache all down my back. A blanket was covering me, which seemed normal until I realised I still had my clothes on. I didn't remember getting a blanket last night.

I turned my head to look at the alarm clock. It read 11:23 and it was a school day. Shit. Did I sleep through it? It didn't really matter as I really didn't feel up to going anyway. Slowly I dragged myself from bed, grabbing my glasses from the side table that I hadn't placed them on. I ponderously made my way to the kitchen where an all too cheerful Lisa stood, frying up something that smelt suspiciously of bacon.

"Morning, barely. When you didn't come back out last night, I came in to check on you. You really shouldn't have slept in your clothes. Oh, and I turned off your alarm so you could rest."

That explained things.

"Mrrmr." I agreed.

"I'll have this ready for you in a moment. I figured you'd be up shortly and you need to recover your strength."

"Thanks."

"So, pleasant dreams?"

I glared at her before moving past to make some tea. There were days that her grin was infuriating, this was one of them. So was yesterday come to think of it. She was blissfully silent as I prepared my drink. I hobbled over to the table and took a seat, hunched over to avoid the chair back from rubbing against the bruises.

She placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me, followed shortly after with some toast. Given how crap I felt, this almost made up for last night.

"Thank you."

She sat down opposite me, staring at me with a grin as she watched me eat. It was kind of unnerving. She occasionally took sips from her coffee but otherwise remained silent. I tried to ignore it as I dug into my brunch. About halfway through, I couldn't take it anymore.

"What?"

"Did you think about what I said?"

I sighed and ate a few more mouthfuls before I answered.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure I decided anything. I was pretty doped up on painkillers."

"Annnnnnd?"

The cheerful way she dragged that out and her smug face did not help at all.

"Yeah, it was probably a date."

She just nodded in confirmation and took another sip.

"How do you feel about that?"

"I. I'm not sure. Kind of flattered that someone finds me attractive. Weirded out that it's Panacea of all people. It's all a bit too much for me at the moment, like everything has been turned upside down."

I ate a few more mouthfuls.

"So, what would you do if she kissed you?"

It was a close call, but I managed to avoid choking to death on some bacon. Once I had settled down, I pondered the question.

"I don't really know."

She gave me a knowing smile.

"Ah, you haven't had anything to compare it too."

I glared at her. She was right of course. I hadn't had a proper kiss. The closest thing was when Emma and I... My face met my hand. Was it any wonder that rumour had spread so easily? Not that I had a clear memory of what it felt like, besides that was something silly we did when we were kids to see what all the fuss was about.

Lisa quietly chuckled at my misfortune. Apparently I was a rich vein of schadenfreude for her.

"I know you're tired and in pain, but you shouldn't put off coming to a decision for long. I really wouldn't be surprised if she's waiting for you to call her up for another date."

Today seemed a day that would be full of me sighing, I'd already lost count.

"How the hell am I supposed to explain my back? That sort of thing is going to draw attention. Hell, even if I want to get into a relationship, what am I supposed to do about my cape identity? I doubt I could keep it secret for long."

"Does she seem like the kind of person to keep secrets? I thought I got a little bit of that when I saw her in the bank."

I thought back to the date and the time we met before that. She seemed to be able to hide from the world that she had almost broken down.

"Yeah, I just don't know how she'd react, after all I did hold her hostage and hurt Victoria pretty bad." My face dropped even further as another memory came to the forefront of my thoughts. "Oh god, she thinks Marceau is hitting on her sister."

She chuckled lightly at the frankly quite obvious in hindsight consequences of those flowers.

"Given how oblivious you've been, you could always explain it away as a misguided attempt to apologise and cheer her up."

"You do realise most of this is your fault right? The joke at Emma was your idea, the wording of the note was your idea."

"Yep, but snagging Amy as a girlfriend is all your work."

I moaned as she continued grinning like a loon. She was probably right but I was still sure I should be blaming her for some part of that. I just didn't know how it was her fault.

"Are you seriously suggesting I tell Panacea that I'm a cape before my Dad?"

"Why not? You've already told six other people before him. Though you might want to get around to that soon." She paused for a moment before continuing.

"Admittedly I'm the last person to talk to about healthy parental relationships."

I raised my eyebrow at that, she hadn't ever discussed her past in detail.

"Oh?"

"Lets just say there's a reason I never talked about them and leave it at that."

"Seems unfair that everyone gets to pry into my life but I don't get the same privilege."

She sighed, her grin evaporating. We remained silent for a little while before she spoke.

"I ran away from home after they starting using me to further their business aims. It's like they stopped seeing me as a daughter and more of a tool. I'd rather not talk about it further because it still hurts to think about."

I felt a little guilty for that, but I basically knew nothing of her past. I probably should have guess it was painful.

"Oh, well I'm sorry for bringing it up then."

"It's alright, you had a point. Just don't talk about it with the others please. It kind of ruins my mystique."

I snorted at that and she matched my smirk with a sad smile of her own.

"Anyway, I need to head out for a bit. Think on what we discussed."

I nodded and continued on what was left of the plate in front of me while she got up and left. It wasn't until I heard the door close downstairs that I realised she didn't answer my earlier question. How the hell would I would I explain my injury without revealing my identity.

"Damn it Lisa."

Chapter Text

I sat alone at the table for a while longer, trying to come to some kind of decision on how to proceed. The Lair was eerily quiet without any of my team mates around. Madison and Aisha must be at school, Rachel was probably over at the shelter while Alec and Brian were doing who knows what.

I couldn't really do much till after school hours, Amy would be at Arcadia after all and it would be suspicious dropping by unannounced. Better to call her afterwards. I was a little worried how easily I was considering taking advantage of her powers. She would probably be spending a couple hours healing people who hadn't gotten themselves injured with their own stupidity. What right did I have to get in the way of that just because it was inconvenient?

No, I should contact her to discuss our potential crossed wires. If she happens to notice I'm in a tonne of pain and feels like healing me, that would be a bonus. And with that bit of self justification sorted and having a couple of hours to kill I went to have a shower and then maybe get on the internet.

So it turns out that crack ribs take several weeks to heal, who knew? A lot of my reluctance to ask for help had evaporated by the time I was done with my research. The doctor had be vague about how long it would take to recover. Either that or I had been vague from the pain and drugs when he had explained.

The internet was also handy for all sort of other information, like what frequent causes of cracked ribs were. I'd already discarded the idea of faking another car accident, that would be suspicious. So I was left with gang violence or clumsiness. An accident won out if only because I wouldn't need to involve the cops. While I could tell Amy the truth, I wasn't quite ready to trust her with that just yet.

Another hour or so was killed checking the PHO forums and alternatively laughing, and thus causing myself pain, or weeping at the comments related to our actions as the Undersiders.

It was kind of reassuring to see so many people willing to believe we were doing good work. Even if I thought they were perhaps a little gullible and trusting of the media. I had considered logging in as Marceau and clearing things up with Glory Girl, but it would be unwise to do so from the Lair and I had no idea how to go about that.

Eventually the time came for me to ring Amy. I stared at my phone trying to muster up the courage, going over my cover story in my head. I continued to stare at my phone. Still staring at my ph-

I was startled by said phone ringing. A second of confusion passed before I reached out and answered it.

"Hi Taylor."

The universe seemed to have a sense of humour.

"Hi Amy, how are you?"

"Pretty good, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out? There aren't any critical patients at the moment and both you and Vicky have been nagging me to take a break..."

And sometimes the universe cut you a break.

"Um sure, when did you want to meet?"

"I'm free now if you like. I'm guessing you just got off school too?"

"Yeah, I'm free. I was thinking of heading over to the Boardwalk to grab some things. Did you want to meet there?"

"Sure, I can be there in about twenty minutes."

I did some mental math about travel times with my current condition and getting changed. It wouldn't be too hard to get there in time.

"Sounds good. How about that cafe next to the ice cream place?"

"Okay, catch you there."

The call ended and I stared at my phone for a moment. That was remarkably easy. I immediately started waiting for the other shoe to drop as I got ready to go out. She had sounded fairly eager after all.

I had popped a few more pills to make the journey more manageable, but it still hurt like a bitch to walk that far at a reasonable pace. I had been careful to check that the bruising wasn't visible, as that sort of thing would attract the wrong sort of attention. The black dress helped, even if it was perhaps a little too light to block out the chill sea breeze.

After ordering a hot chocolate to warm myself up, I took a seat at one of the booths. Just the right sort of seclusion to talk in comfortably. Assuming one was quiet of course. A few minutes later I heard another chime from the front door and leaned out carefully to check. Amy stood just past the doorway, scanning the room till her eyes fell on me. She smiled and walked over.

"Hello again, did you want me to order you something?"

She shook her head as she took the opposite seat.

"No thanks, trying to cut back on the caffeine."

I briefly wondered just how much coffee she had been drinking to need to cut back. All those late nights at the hospital must have required a fair amount. She must have been mainlining the stuff to do the hours she had. The guilt about getting her to heal me had returned.

"Taylor?"

I must have spaced out a bit while I was on that mental tangent. Those drugs didn't really help my focus. I shook my head and chuckled a little.

"Sorry, was just thinking and got caught in a loop. Things haven't been awkward with Victoria and Dean because of the other night have they?"

"Not really, no. I haven't seen Dean since, but Vicky apologised for butting in."

I smiled, mostly at the idea of Glory Girl apologising.

"That's good. Didn't want to cause any drama for you."

"Yeah, it turned out pretty well really."

The way she smiled made me slightly suspicious of what she was talking about. I had my guesses.

"Since I've finished my drink and you weren't having one. Shall we go for a walk?"

"Sure."

I eased myself out of the booth, hardly wincing at all. Amy didn't seem to notice though and I felt irrationally annoyed by that. I quickly dismissed the thought and we slowly walked out of the cafe and up towards some of the specialty stores. We didn't get very far though as Amy stopped at the next store along.

"Did you want some ice cream?"

A quick glance over their flavour selection gave me my answer.

"Yes, that's a wonderful idea."

I figured the sugar might help a little and 'Mocha Almond Fudge' sounded too tasty to pass up. And so, cones in hands, we continued along the Boardwalk. I was getting used to the rhythm of dull pain that walking produced, but I was hardly doing anything strenuous. The ice cream was also helping distract me. Just hanging out like this was nice, even with the uncertainty hanging over my head.

"...Marceau."

My brain screeched to a halt. I tried to calm my face before I turned to Amy.

"Sorry what?"
"I was wondering what you thought of Marceau?"

I relaxed a bit as I realised she hadn't called me by my cape name.

"Why do you ask?"

"Something Vicky said. She thinks you've got a crush on him."

I blinked a few times and then cracked up laughing. That was certainly better than the other possibilities.

"No, no, no. Not my type."

She smiled, and I tried to kept my face placid as I realised what I'd just implied.

"But you admire him?"

I sighed a little. This was getting into a minefield of half truths.

"Well, I like what he and the Undersiders are doing against the gangs. That they roughed up the Wards felt justified to me, but my perception may be skewed on that point."

She nodded grimly.

"I don't like what he did to you and Vicky though. So I kind of feel guilty liking the other stuff when you were on the receiving end of some of it."

I tried to console myself that it wasn't technically a lie, so much as the pronouns were wrong. Figuring the topic was already in the open, I asked an important question.

"What do you think of him?"

"I'm not sure. I was angry for a while. While Vicky didn't get hurt all that bad in the grand scheme of things, she's still my sister. That he let me go to heal her and the concern he showed after has dulled the anger. Now he seems to rescue puppies and fights villains. Helped put the Merchants out of business. Did I tell you about all the addicts I cleaned up? So many people got a second chance because of the Undersiders."

It was about the best I could expect really. I would have been incredulous if she was fawning over my alter ego. Hearing that we had done more good did lift my spirits. It was about that point that we arrived at the shoe store I was looking for.

"Just need to grab something from in here."

"Looking for some heels?"

I turned to Amy, an amused smile on my face.

"Wouldn't even know how to walk in them. I need to replace my running shoes, I've been wearing through them a bit lately."

"With legs like that I'm not surprised you're a runner. But I reckon you'd look good in heels."

I blushed slightly at the compliment. Damn it. I was procrastinating on addressing the attraction issue, but it was nice to be appreciated. I picked out a style of shoe I liked the look of and approached a clerk.

"Can I try these in a nine?"

"Ooh and these too."

I turned to see Amy standing beside me with a sample shoe. A red pump with a two inch heel. An eyebrow raised at the idea that I'd be able to walk in a pair of them.

"Back in a moment."

And with that the clerk went to retrieve the shoes before I could argue.

"I'm likely to break an ankle with those."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine."

I was suspicious about her motivations for seeing me in heels. That they matched the dress I wore on our 'date' did not escape my notice. The clerk returned with the two boxes. I tried on the sneakers first to test their fit. With a short walk around the shop floor, I didn't notice any pinching. Admittedly I couldn't test them as thoroughly as I'd like given my condition, but they seemed fine.

Then came the stilettos. With an encouraging grin from Amy, my resistance broke and I tried them on. Even sitting down, with my legs stretched out it felt like I was standing on my tip toes. I lifted myself up and managed to stand.

"Wow."

I had to agree with her, though probably for different reasons. I kind of liked towering over people. The heels brought me up to around six foot and the clerk was probably only about five eight. I was almost a head above Amy, who I guessed was around five five. Now if only I actually felt stable.

"So going to take a walk?"

I looked down at Amy, who I felt was smiling way too eagerly. Was she trying to get me to try things that suited me like Lisa or just trying to perv on me?

"I'm not particularly confident that I won't face plant."

"I'll catch you if you fall."

I sighed. I've faced down several of the biggest villains in the city, what was a little walking in heels by comparison? I placed a foot forwards tentatively before shifting my weight to it. It felt unnatural moving around like this and my next step was closer to my usual gait.

Suddenly I lurched to the side as the shoe tilted over and I fell.

Into a waiting pair of arms.

While Amy was surprisingly strong and halted my fall, it jarred my back and I hissed in pain. I turned my head to face her, only to see her eyes wide in surprise. Her expression a mixture of anger and worry.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me you had a cracked rib?"

Chapter Text

I stared up at her face, surprised at the outburst of emotion.

"Umm, I didn't think it was that bad and didn't want to bother you. You're supposed to be taking a break and I didn't want you thinking I was only your friend to take advantage of you."

She looked bemused by my answer for a moment, standing there holding me before her expression shifted to a smile.

"Taylor. You are an idiot, and that quite is possibly the dumbest and sweetest thing I've had said to me."

She chuckled a little as she helped me back onto the seat, sitting next to me. She sighed a little.

"Is that why you've been so distant this whole time?"

I blinked in surprise. Oh damn. I must have been unconsciously avoiding her because of what Lisa had said and made Amy worry. That just made me feel worse. I noticed that the clerk was obviously eavesdropping, having been intrigued by Amy's outburst.

"Perhaps we should talk about this in private?"

She followed my gaze to the clerk and nodded.

"Ok, but first you need some healing. Then you are going to tell me how the hell you got that injury."

I sighed and nodded. A warm flush and a tingling sensation swept over me as she took my hand. She whispered in my ear.

"You should really cut back on the codeine, or you'll develop an addiction."

She was probably right about that. I was too easily falling back on the pills when things got rough. A few more seconds of warmth and the pain was wiped away, leaving me feeling as good as new.

"Thank you. I'll just pay for the sneakers and we can find somewhere to talk."

She nodded as I slipped out of the heels and back into my flats. Money was exchanged and we left the store. Amy seemed disappointed that I hadn't bought the heels, but I was hesitant to go near those things again. I led her towards the beach, where the open space and wind would make it easier to avoid people listening in.

"So?"

I glanced over at Amy as we strolled along and took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. It was pleasantly painless, which was the opposite of what I was expecting this conversation to be.

"Things have been brought to my attention, namely that you seem to have a thing for me."

She suddenly looked rather worried. Oh good move Taylor.

"Um yes? Is? Are you?"

I held up my hand to stop and allow be to finish.

"I'm frankly confused as hell. I had thought we were just being friends until someone pointed out that we had gone on a date rather than just hanging out. I'm not sure how I actually feel about that."

"So that's why you were avoiding contact."

She looked rather sad, which in turn made me a little sad and a lot guilty.

"Sorry about that, a combination of not wanting to take advantage of you and well... I've never really had umm, admirers before so I'm having trouble coping with the sudden attention. Not to mention uncertainty whether I'm even in to girls."

She looked surprised at that.

"But, you and Emma..."

I blinked, what?

"Where did you hear? You know what, never mind. I swear the entire world's probably heard by now."

I sighed heavily. At least I had confirmation that Lisa was responsible for this.

"So, you don't like me like that?"

The sad tone in her voice made me feel like I'd kicked a puppy.

"I don't know. I like hanging out with you and, well the hugs have been nice. It's just that I was under the impression that I'm straight so I really don't know how to feel about this whole thing. I haven't really had any intimate relationships to compare with."

"So the movies and the hugging and..."

"I just thought you were a bit touchy feely, and well it was nice getting hugged. Looking back on it I really should have picked up on the clues."

We walked in silence for a while

"So where do we go from here?"

"I want to keep being your friend if you'll have me. I enjoy spending time with you and want to help you."

"Oh."

There was that kicked puppy tone again. A sigh left my lips. I'd been contemplating the idea since last night and it was time to bite the bullet.

"As for more, I guess I'm willing to try. I can't guarantee it'll work out given my bundle of issues. But the touching wasn't unpleasant or anything and as I think I've mentioned, the hugs were nice. It's just a lot to think about in less than a day."

We didn't speak for a bit as she mulled over what I had said. I wished it didn't have to happen like this. But it happened and I had to deal with that.

"So take it slow then?"

I nodded.

"Can I hug you?"

She wasn't doing the puppy dog eyes, but it still felt like it.

"I could probably do with one right about now."

She hooked her arm under mine, giving me a one armed hug as we walked. My arm wrapped around her shoulder and squeezed a little. I had kind of expected it to be awkward, but it still felt nice. Comforting even, especially with her warmth counteracting the chill of the sea breeze. We walked like that for a while down the beach.

"So, how did you get a whopping injury like that?"

Her tone made her concern obvious. I had hoped she would forget that.

"I slipped over while I was running through a park, landed on a stone when I fell."

She was silent for a moment

"Taylor, I've seen a lot of injuries over the years and that one was a doozy. I know we've had a bit of misunderstanding over the whole affection thing, but I'd like to think you'd trust me enough to tell me the truth. Are you being abused?"

The concept threw me.

"What, no! Why would you think that?"

She sighed and squeezed me tight.

"I didn't say anything earlier, because I thought I might have been mistaken, but I'm pretty sure you didn't get hit by a car. The injuries didn't really make sense. The bruising wasn't localised and the fragments didn't fit the wounds. This time you had some severe trauma but the bruising was spread out weirdly. If the bullying is still going on or if your Dad's abusing you or whatever is going on, I can help. Just talk to me, please. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Damn it. She was being all caring and reasonable at me. How the hell was I supposed to get out of this without ruining the already fragile friendship. I slipped out of her grasp and sat down on a nearby bench, hunched up with my elbows resting on my knees, my face in my hands. She sat next to me but gave me a little space.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm scared of what you'll think of me.

My voice barely came out above a whisper. Why did life have to suddenly turn so complicated.

"Even with how awkward everything is, I don't want to lose you as a friend. I'm afraid you might hate me if you knew."

She didn't say anything for a while. Eventually she wrapped an arm around me an whispered in my ear.

"Unless you're some kind of mass murdering psycho, I still think I out rank you as a horrible person."

"What, no you're a fucking saint. You've almost burnt yourself out trying to heal everyone, how the hell are you horrible?"

"Gallant."

One name was all it took to remind me of her crisis. The incident that started this whole friendship thing. She had trusted me with her darkest moment, well aware that it could ruin her life if it got out, that it could have made me hate her. I really didn't know how to handle this whole trust thing.

The Undersiders and I had trust, but it had started off with the stabilising element of mutually assured destruction. If they betrayed my trust, they would suffer and vice versa. Sure it had moved past that into trusting them with my life, but it had a foundation to build off.

This, this was a completely different thing. Someone reaching out for help with nothing but hope that it wouldn't blow up in their face. The last person I had done that with was Emma and look where that ended up. Now I was basically in the position Emma was in before the bullying began, holding all the cards while Amy's hope and secrets dangled there.

As much as I was afraid, I couldn't be like Emma. I wouldn't be like her and Amy deserved something better than that. And so I cast out my hope and secrets to balance out Amy's trust in me.

"I'm a cape."

Chapter Text

Amy

What?

That wasn't what she was expecting. To be fair, Amy wasn't sure what she was expecting. The entire afternoon had been one set of revelations after another and she was having trouble keeping up with them. Especially with her mix of disappointment and hopeful optimism.

She was still reeling from Taylor's sexuality confusion. She had been so sure Taylor was interested in girls. After all, all the evidence had fit. Of course it couldn't go smooth, but at least she's willing to try.

If she was a cape, who could she possibly be? Why would Taylor fear her hating her? She wasn't Asian and well Bakuda was in prison, so that eliminated the ABB. The Merchants were in prison so not one of them. Was she part of the E88? The only female cape of around the right age was Rune, but that seemed unlikely. If she was willing to at least try a relationship, that would clash with their Neo-Nazi ideals.

She had a sinking feeling as she realised where Taylor probably got her powers. Poor Taylor. That meant she was a fairly new cape and that cut down the options.

Faultline had a new member for her crew, something to do with fire. That was a possibility, but didn't do much to explain her fear. They hadn't really done anything of note lately.

She obviously wasn't a new Ward, or the Dean thing wouldn't have happened and she wouldn't have enjoyed their thrashing at the hands of the Undersiders...

Of course, it made so much sense. The way she spoke of the new vigilantes and her guilt over what happened at the bank. She wasn't Tattletale though, that girl was blonde and the voice was wrong. As well as her figure. She obviously wasn't Rachel Lindt. That would leave the rumours about Regent. The hair was kind of right, but she had heard him speak...

It suddenly dawned on her how much of an idiot she had been to go through every other cape she knew of when the answer had been staring her in the face since she met Taylor in the hospital. The vocal cords, the damage that was similar to what you'd expect of a bomb, her guilt and fear of being hated. The questions about Marceau. The concern at Victoria thinking there was flirting. I'll have to ask about that. The height and figure worked.

"Ah."

Now she just needed to decide what she felt about that.

Chapter Text

Amy just sat there, not really moving for some time. Her arm was still wrapped around me and I could hear her slow breathing, feel her chest expand and contract against my arm. There was a slight hitch in her breathing before it returned to its former rhythm. Eventually she spoke.

"Ah."

So much information seemed to be conveyed in that single syllable. Understanding. Realisation. I hoped it might also mean acceptance.

"Yeah."

"So. I'm a little confused. Why were you hitting on my sister if you thought you were straight?"

It was immediately clear that she had guessed right, and of course that was the first thing she asked. Apparently awkwardness was my arch nemesis or something.

"That. Well, that was supposed to be an apology for the bank thing. I really didn't mean to hurt her but I was, well scared out of my mind. I thought I'd just knock her back a bit, I mean Glory Girl is supposed to be invincible and then that happened. And then, just like everything else it was misunderstood. I swear, it's like I have a master power to make things complicated and confusing."

I let out a sigh.

"Sorry for taking you hostage by the way."

She chuckled a little at that, surprising me somewhat. She seemed to be taking this in stride pretty well.

"Well at least it explains why you're always so quiet. I'm not sure why I didn't notice it before. But I guess the cross dressing threw me off a bit. Really quite a clever idea."

I nodded. Lisa's ideas weren't always bad.

"Before my voice got fixed, we decided it would probably help to distance my cape ID a bit further from the mute girl that I was."

She nodded and was silent for a little longer.

"So what was with the fake car accident?"

I sighed. It was something I had hoped to avoid explaining.

"Well after Bakuda almost exploded me, I was pretty beat up and then I get a call from Dad saying you were going to fix up my larynx and I kinda panicked. I was feeling guilty over the bank thing and scared that my secret identity would be revealed a few days into my career. Then some bright spark suggested making it look like I got hit by a car to explain the damage andI was too dosed up on painkillers to effectively argue how bad an idea it was."

I took a deep breath before continuing my story.

"Then I'm lying there noticing you look all exhausted. Of course then I felt doubly guilty about you having to heal me while being angry at the PRT for being sneaky bastards about fixing their fuck up. Then I go and spill my sob story on you and well you know the rest."

While I probably needed to breathe more, it was kind of a relief to get some of this off my chest.

"So I guess what I told you was the reason you asked Miss Milita for that autograph?"

"Partially that, partially to stop Armsmaster being a jerk and trying to arrest us."

I heard Amy snort at that comment. There was probably a story behind that.

"He's never really come across as friendly."

I nodded, that made a certain amount of sense.

"Huh, almost forgot to ask about your back."

"Ah, yeah. I got tagged by Rune last night when we hit an Empire storehouse. Turns out it was a trap."

"Damn it Taylor, you need to be more careful."

"Yep, I got too confident and was made to regret it. I fully intend to be a lot more cautious."

"Good. So no more being reckless and no more hitting on my sister."

I groaned at being reminded of that, but she had a point. I never should have made the puppy joke.

"Of course if the PHO is anything to go by, I'm not sure it will matter what I do."

"Good point. I'm assuming then that they aren't your harem."

I turned to look at her face, a huge grin spread across it. My mouth opened and closed a few times.

"I take it back, my power is to make everyone tease me over my imaginary love life."

"So, are any of the other Undersider's cross dressing?"

I chuckled a little and smiled.

"Ah, but that would be telling."

She made a joking tone of disappointment.

"But seriously Amy, I can't betray their trust by telling you anything about my team mates. As it is, I'm going to have to tell them you know my identity."

A second later the implications hit me like a sledgehammer. My face returned to my hands.

"Oh damn. I'm never going to hear the end of this."

"Huh?"

"They've been teasing me about stuff like this for a while, and now they'll have proof. Oh god they've probably made bets on it."

At that point, she started laughing. I felt a little hurt by that until I realised just how absurd it all must be from an outsider. Then I started laughing too. We sat there for who knows how long, laughing on that bench by the beach with our arms around each other.

Eventually the laughter died down and I had to ask the question.

"So, you don't hate me?"

"No. As long as you don't go beating up my sister any more or holding me hostage... well maybe that last one's fine."

She flashed me a shy grin and I couldn't help but giggle.

"I think if I did that, I'd have trouble avoiding the other. Though at least that's one way to get you to relax."

I had an absurd idea.

"Imagine the headlines. Undersiders kidnap Panacea. Treat her to a spa and massage."

And so the giggling continued.

"We'll catch up again soon?"

"I don't currently have any daring escapades planned, so that should be doable."

"I'll give you a call then."

I waved her goodbye as I headed off back to the lair. I figured I'd have to drop by and let the team know and suffer through the resulting jokes. Still, all told that had gone fairly well, if not quite as planned. I still wasn't sure what was going to happen between Amy and I, but it was in the open now and we could see where things went.

Chapter Text

Our eyes met across the room. So much was said without a word as we gazed into each other's souls. All questions asked and answered in an instant.

"So it went well then."

Lisa had a way of being smug that bordered on the limits of possibility. Her grin spread wide across her face as she made the statement.

"Pretty well all considered. Oh, and it was entirely your fault. That one joke spawned everything."

"You're welcome."

My eyes narrowed at her continued amusement at the complications she created.

"What's all this about?"

It was then that I noticed Alec was lounging on the couch, previously out of sight. I had kind of hoped to avoid this part as long as possible. Turned out I didn't get the chance.

"Oh Taylor here is dating Panacea now."

"I thought that was already established."

My gaze drifted to Alec. He had his own cheeky smirk aimed at me.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. Just a heads up, she knows I'm Marceau."

Instead of shock, all this provoked was laughter.

"Just as long as you don't reveal our identities or start using the Lair as a love nest. I'd rather not have the couch smelling of New Wave."

A gentle invisible slap was delivered, which only served to get him laughing harder.

"So what, no bets this time?"

"Nah I've given up on betting against Lisa on the obvious."

"Well thanks."

The sarcasm dripping off that statement could have filled a bucket.

"Mads owes her fifty though. She thought you'd keep your identity secret for longer."

I turned to face Lisa.

"Ah yes, taking advantage of someone's naivety. How like her."

She just grinned at me.

"Now Taylor, come and tell me everything. Its much more fun that way."

"Huh, would have expected her to kiss you. Though I guess you didn't get the heels. You should totally get the heels."

I sighed. Lisa was trying to be 'helpful' again.

"Enough relationship advice already. I think I've already had more than I can handle."

"Awww, spoilsport."

I paused for a moment.

"Why are you so invested in this anyway?"

"You obviously need someone and so did Amy, so I figured why not try to make both of you happy. Much better for my peace of mind if the Magical Mime and Ms Biokinetic don't get all mopey."

An eyebrow raised at that.

"What, don't look at me like that. You're basically my closest friend, so you being happy is important, even if I need to force you to be happy."

My stare rested on her for a while, but she seemed just immune to mind immolation as Alec.

"Well thanks for that. Would have liked some choice in the matter though."

"Oh you had a choice, I just provided the opportunity."

"I dread to think what would happen if you tried to take over the world."

She laughed at that.

"Nonsense, I would be a completely fair Tyrant. All would be happy in my domain."

She wrapped an arm around my shoulder, the other gesturing off into the distance.

"Imagine it. Tattletopia. Where happiness is mandatory."

I let that sink in for a moment.

"Still having feelings of dread."

Her cheerful laughter continued.

An hour or so later I was back home. The other Undersider's hadn't returned before I left, so I was unfortunately relying on Lisa to give them a run down if I didn't see them before she did.

I came in through the kitchen door, the sounds of sizzling and the smell of onions filled the air.

"Hi Dad."

He stood there in front of the stove, spatula in hand and stirring a pan.

"Hey Kiddo. How was your day?"

That was a very good question. While I could probably just not tell him anything, I figured it would probably get around quicker than I wanted so I decided to get a head start.

"Umm, weird."

He turned towards me, a curious expression on his face.

"Weird how?"

There was a short stretch of silence as I thought how best to word this.

"You know how you asked me if I was going out on a date?"

An eyebrow raised and his tone shifted to something slightly hesitant.

"Yeah?"

"Well, turns out it kinda was."

He didn't speak for a bit, instead tending to whatever he was cooking for dinner.

"With Amy?"

"Yeah. Not sure how that happened, but I'm. Well I'm kind of seeing how it goes. Given your earlier supportive comments I figure you aren't that bothered either way, but I'm still unsure if I am or not."

My shoulders hunched up in a shrug.

"Hmm. Well you should invite her over for dinner some time. I'd like to meet her." He chuckled a little. "Even if you aren't sure if she's your girlfriend or not, you seem a lot happier these days."

I walked up to him and gave him a hug. While it was still kind of weird between us, he did tend to be supportive even if he was perhaps out of his depth.

"Thanks for understanding. Though I have no idea how I missed all the signs."

He coughed lightly and looked just a little sheepish.

"You may get that from me. Your mother basically had to hit me with a clue bat before I realised she was interested."

I blinked at him a few times. That made so much sense. I loved my Dad, but he was a bit clueless about things. Apparently I had inherited more than just his build.

Still, that was one less secret between us. Now I just needed to work out how to tell him that my part time job was as a hero for hire. You know what, maybe later.

Chapter Text

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► Topic: The Empire throw lousy parties.
In: Boards ► News ► Events ►America

Tattletale's_Throw_Away
(Original Poster) (UnverifiedCape)
Posted on May 6th, 2011 :
The E88 invited us to a party. It was so boring Marceau fell asleep, so we left early. The party favors were nice though. We thought we'd provide a handy guide.

How not to throw a party.

Love,
The Undersiders

(Showing page 14 of 14)

► Beauty_Five
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
@Nalta
Yep. I have to agree that the Empire lost a lot of face from this. Failing to set off a trap and losing that much cash and weapons. There's bound to be a response.

► Red_Panda
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
@Beauty_Five:
But how is the Empire supposed to retaliate. The Undersiders don't seem to hold any territory and they'll probably be more careful about traps in the future.

► Stalking_Tanuki
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
It's a Trap!

► Marceau ( Verified Cape )
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
*Honk*
*Revs invisible swiss army chainsaw*
Ignore this. This is just to fuck with the posters on Space Battles once again.
► Liehoarder
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
@Stalking_Tanuki:
Damn those Earth Aleph memes.

► Shelf_of_Cats
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
@Marceau:
Yeah Marceau, gotta agree with Regent, that is some A grade bullshit right there.
Did you get hurt there? Or was it really that dull for the Super Mime?

► SlowDresden
Replied on May 6th, 2011 ::
@Red_Panda
Yeah that would be a problem for them. Which is fine by me, those racist fucks can die in a fire. Undersiders Rule!

► CatgirlNurse
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
@Kraken:
Have we worked out who they were talking to yet?

► Marceau ( Verified Cape )
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
@Shelf_of_Cats
*Honk*
*Yawns*

► PsychoPoet
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
@CatgirlNurse:
I thought they were just discussing the research they did before hand. They were talking about intelligence or something.

► Schadenfreude
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@PsychoPoet
I'm more worried about that walking censor mosaic. Obviously they have a new team member, but why would they be going through so much effort to disguise them. Oh, maybe they have video jamming stranger powers. How random would that be?

► Volan
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@Schadenfreude
Obviously Glory Girl has joined them due to her love for Marceau. Thus they have to blot out the video evidence. New Wave wouldn't like that.

► Robot_Possum
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@ Volan:
Speculation to the Undersiders thread. But I doubt it anyway. The person seems to have used a taser.

► PsychoPoet
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@ Schadenfreude:
Oh, that's probably who they were talking to. Silly me.

►Cute_Frog
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@DeliberateTitle
I wonder if he actually even needed to fold that thing out? That just seems like pointless showboating. But I agree his powers are bullshit.

End of Page. 1 --> 12, 13, 14

► Topic: Ultimate Showdown Thread X
In: Boards ► Discussion ► Cape Fights

Blasé
(Original Poster)
Posted on April 1st, 2011:
You know the drill. Keep all your power wank theories to this thread to keep the rest of the board clean.

(Showing page 414 of 414)

► Goodgoo
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
@Day_Hunter
Alexandria would just walk over Glory Girl. You saw what happened at the bank vs Marceau.

► Seagatherer
Replied on May 7th, 2011:
@Goodgoo:
Speaking of Marceau. Do you think he could take the Simurgh. He has pretty over powered Telekinesis and he doesn't talk. You could have a mind powered mime off.
Ignore this. This is just a Simurgh plot to distract Space Battles once again.
► Winged_One
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@Seagather:
I have no idea why they would want to fight. Marceau is too much of a gentleman. He's more likely to melt her ivory heart.
Ignore this. That is what she wants you to do Space Battles.
► Heckyes
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@Winged_One
Well that's a new record in Crack Ship territory. *Shudders*

► Blasé
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@Seagatherer:
Well I do have the calculations for his recorded peak force load calculated based on video evidence. He should be able to throw her around. PM me for details.

► Swissrod
Replied on May 7th, 2011:
@ Blasé:
Really? You calculated it off video evidence of invisible things? This is why we can't have a sensible discussion dude.

► Celebratory_Cheer
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@ Swissrod:
I think you mean "Why we can't have nice things."

►Covert Nonchalance
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@Winged one:
I for one have little trouble imagining this...
I wonder if the other Endbringers might also be female...

►MoreNumbers
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@Winged one:
That name...
Oh god she's watching us.

►NostalgicFailure
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@MoreNumbers:
I'm less worried by that and more that she wants Marceau.
Can one of the ladies in the thread explain how a mime is in any way hot?

►JuicyBugs
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@NostalgicFailure:
Oh. Oh!
Marceau is a projection of Ziz!
It explains everything. The not talking, the uncanny valley attraction, the telekinesis.
[Screams Internally]

►TinyMonster
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@JuicyBugs:
Dude, take some pills.
Ziz wouldn't go do hero stuff.
Also, that's pretty damn offensive to Marceau to suggest he's an Endbringer puppet.
Or that he's girl? I think your crazy is confusing me.

►NotEnoughArms
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
Seriously. Everyone is way off topic.
Besides. The Simurgh can't use the internet, she doesn't have a computer.

►JuicyBugs
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@NotEnoughArms:
@TinyMonster:
That's what She wants you to think.


End of Page. 1 --> 412, 413, 414

► Topic: Undersiders In: Boards ► Places ► America►BrocktonBay ► Teams ► Villains

BFG1104
(Original Poster) (Veteran Member)
Posted on March 29th, 2011 :
The Undersiders are a new villain Hero? gang in the city consisting of:

Grue
-Motorcycle suit and skull faced helmet.
-Darkness powers.
-Dampens sound - confirmed by Wards.

Tattletale
-Domino mask, dark tight bodysuit, blond.
-Powers unknown, possibly thinker.

Regent
-Renaissance Fair Puffy shirt, tight pants, theatre mask and crown.
-Some kind of body control. *new info* Carries taser in sceptre.

Hellhound
-Cheap Dog mask, fur collar jacket.
-Big monster dog mutants.
-AKA Rachel Lindt, Bitch

*EDIT - New Member as of April 14th*

Marceau
-He's a fucking stereotype Mime.
-Crazy telekinesis or reality warping. Extent unknown.
-Doesn't talk, just honks his horn.
-CAN MIME GUNS! *Added 27th April- see link.
-CAN MIME A CHAINSAW! Also possibly grenades. *Added 6th May- see link.

*EDIT - New Member as of May 6th*

Unknown (suggested name Mosaic).
-Costume unknown - image censored with mosaic in debut video.
-Powers unknown, possibly Tinker or video jamming Stranger.
-Seems to use a taser.

*EDIT - Possible status change as of April 24th*

Recent news reports suggest that this group may be performing vigilante acts against corrupt organisations. Evidence suggest all of their targets have been linked with criminal activities.

*EDIT - Undersiders and Protectorate team up vs Merchants April 27th*

Recent Undersider video shows them teaming up to capture all three of the Merchant's cape leaders. This lends further credence to their Hero status. Marceau appears to ask Miss Militia for an autograph. *Edit* 'confirmed' by Marceau.

*EDIT - Undersiders recognised as Vigilantes May 1st*

Sources inside the PRT say they are treating them as Vigilates until they prove otherwise. Still apparently wanted for questioning over the bank job.

(Showing page 112 of 112)

► Llama_Claus
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
So do we know if the grenade thing actually worked?

► Dramean
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
@Llama_Claus
No idea. But I don't see why not given how crazy Marceau's powers are.

► Prequal
Replied on May 6th, 2011 :
@Dollar Knight
No, that's just wrong. Obviously he should be with Parian. They both wear masks and have some kind of TK. They'd make a cute couple.
Ignore this. This is just to fake the shipping that won't happen on Ship Battles.
► Kingless
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@Cute_Frog
So any more news on that Mosaic cape?

► Volan
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
Reposting from latest video thread. I reckon the new cape is Glory Girl tagging along with her Mime lover. They have to censor her so New Wave don't get angry.

► SpecificProtagonist
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
I doubt they have a Tinker. They obviously just hired some camera drones from Uber and Leet. They were just that impressed with Marceau. I mean who wouldn't be?

►Nalta
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@SpecificProtagonist
Haven't seen you in the thread lately. Everything all right?

@Kingless
Oh, my money is on them messing with the footage just to troll us. You've seen Marceau's literal Trollface right?

► King_Pleasant_IX
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@Nalta
Given all the other things they've done, I wouldn't put it past them.

@Prequel
Well from what I saw of her at a fashion show, she seems nice enough.

► CavalryLord2
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
So, Rune seemed really interested in our favorite Mime.
Can our French Resistance fighter win the heart of that Nazi girl?

@Volan
Nah, not enough property damage to be Glory Girl.

► SpecificProtagonist
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@Nalta
Yeah Just been a bit busy.

@CavalryLord2
Nope, Marceau likes non evil girls obviously. So she can't have him.

► Marceau (Verified Cape )
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
*Honk*
*Confused by people naming Imp wrong*

*Honk*
*Comforts sad Imp*

► King_Pleasant_IX
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@Marceau

Holy shit, Word of Mime.
I guess. Sort of.

BFG1104, you need to update the info post!

End of Page. 1, --> 110, 111, 112

I looked up at the girl watching over my shoulder like an angry hawk.

"There, are you happy now Aisha?"

"Yeah. Don't want them screwing with my name. Fuck that noise."

She stomped off in a huff. I couldn't really blame her for not wanting her name messed up. I'd read some horror stories about the names some people got lumped with. Like Flower Power or Chubster. At least I hoped Chubster wasn't a chosen name. Still, it would have been handy to keep her more mysterious a bit longer.

I was glad at least Madison was fine with concealing her presence on the team a bit longer. I just wished the disturbing posts by "SpecificProtagonist" would stop. Alas she couldn't change behaviour and tip someone off, especially if she was trying to spread a little bit of misinformation.

I looked back at the screen as it dinged, letting me know there was a new post.

► Wrath
Replied on May 7th, 2011 :
@Marceau

Comforting hey? *Wink*

Looks like someone's expanded their Harem.

I sighed. Even with things getting cleared up with Amy, there was still enough misunderstanding left to go around. After double checking the forums and getting my terms right, I decided it had to be a Stranger power. Nothing else would explain it.

Chapter Text

I stared at the implements of torture before me. Whoever invented them must have been a fiend, bargaining their soul to bring them into existence and profit from their unholy creation. Frankly if it weren't for the fact that Ziz was only a bit over nine years old, I would have blamed her for such a scheme.

All told, the high heels weren't particularly pricey and they were pretty in the same way a tiger or a weapon could be beautiful despite being incredibly dangerous to one's health. Come to think of it, the four inches of stiletto heel could surely be deadly if one ever got desperate enough. I guessed they were much like their namesake in that regard.

Lisa had practically nagged me non stop until I bought them Saturday morning. I had argued that I had enough trouble with a two inch heel. She claimed that my powers could stabilise me. I was somewhat dubious of course, but much to my chagrin she was in fact correct. She had an annoying habit of being right when I didn't want her to. Of course, using my powers to effectively give myself a full width area of contact could be considered cheating.

Still, after some practice I felt pretty comfortable walking in them. Being taller that Brian was kind of neat too. I also had the feeling that when Amy saw them, she would turn so red she could be mistaken for a tomato. This amused me far more that it should.

I considered putting them on, but eventually decided on some simple but elegant flats. I really didn't want to draw that kind of attention at school. Or did I? I checked my class schedule. No gym class today.

I was starting to regret my choice as I walked through the gates to Winslow.

Firstly, sitting turned out to be a slightly complicated undertaking compared to what I was used too. I was practically forced to sit demurely during the bus ride and that was a very strange feeling indeed. The extra height required the classic 'knees together with ankles crossed' pose to maintain any semblance of modesty. It made me glad I'd chosen a longer dress.

Secondly, my gait was reduced considerably. If I needed to get somewhere in a hurry, I'd probably be better off removing the shoes, or switching them with the flats in my bag.

The third and final reason was that I really wasn't used to people staring with quite that intensity. You've faced down super heroes and villains alike, a little staring is nothing. Telling myself that helped, but not as much I would have liked.

"Woah there Amazon, what have you done with Taylor?"

I turned and smirked at Aisha. Such a comment really wasn't a surprise from her and it was quite likely that I was the tallest person in the school at the moment, barring one or two basketball players. Well, two could play at that game.

"Is that you Aisha? I can't quite tell from up here."

A cheerful peal of laughter bounced across the entryway, drawing more attention. I was at this point fairly sure everyone was staring at me. Trying my best to ignore them I walked into the hallway, plastering over my face with a placid expression. A dark thought crossed my mind. Would they have paid more attention to the bullying if I was in heels? I shook away the thought as Aisha asked me something.

"So, you gave in to Lisa's nagging?"

"Even only knowing her like a week, do you think she would give up?"

She was silent in contemplation for a moment and I just nodded, secure in my grasp of the situation. As silly as it would be from an outside point of view.

"Point. Anyway, catch you at lunch."

And with that parting comment, she ducked into her homeroom, leaving me alone to deal with the staring students in the hallway. I noticed there were also whispers along with the stares. Just a few months back I probably would have curled in on myself, but not anymore. I was a bad ass super hero, kind of, and I was better than that. My power lending me stability and a little confidence, I held my head high as I made my way to Mrs Knott's classroom.

I quickly determined that is was even harder to sit at a classroom desk than it was to sit on a bus seat. Given the relative heights of the desk and my knees, my options were being uncomfortable yet demure to the left or right. A third option would have my legs straight out balancing precariously on the heels and I didn't think I could maintain concentration on my powers while trying to pay attention to class. I spent homeroom orientated rightwards but was going with left for Mr Gladly's class.

It was harder to pay attention to class that I had thought as I was constantly aware of the glances in my direction. The ones I could see anyway. These stares of course included Madison, who had a knowing smirk and Emma, who's expression was strangely unfamiliar. I'm not sure I'd seen such a look on her face before now. Maybe indigestion? I smiled a little at her possible discomfort. It was possible that I was being a little petty.

My knees were a little stiff by lunch time and I made a note to perhaps not wear heels this high to school if I wanted to be comfortable during class. I had taken a seat on a table out in the yard as it allowed me to stretch my legs a bit while remaining somewhat decent. Madison and Aisha had taken seats on the accompanying benches.
"So, did you notice the way Emma was looking at you?"

My legs stopped swinging as I turned to look at Madison.

"She did look a little... queasy perhaps?"

Madison chuckled, shaking her head.

"That would be one was of looking at it. Though I'd peg her as being somewhere between envious and stressed."

I snorted somewhat at that concept. Emma being jealous of me? She had curves in all the right places compared to my stick figure.

"Why would she be envious of me?"

"You do realise you have been strutting all day right? With no clumsy clunking? And that you effectively have the figure of a catwalk model?"

I blinked several times as a few thoughts come to mind. Most importantly that my sound dampening power was being less than subtle. I may have panicked a little at that, but luckily the other points distracted me.

"Wait what? Strutting? Model?"

Madison just patted me on the shoulder condescendingly, which was an awkward gesture when she had to reach up quite high to do so.

"Taylor, you've been strutting. The way you've been walking in those heels is unnaturally good. You haven't so much as lost balance once that I've seen."

My voice came out as a low mumble.

"My powers."

"Ah, that makes sense. Kind of. No actually, you know what? Alec was right, they are bullshit."

She glared at me for a moment while Aisha chuckled. Her smile returned.

"Anyway, Emma is pretty, curvy and fairly busty for her age. She has and will get a lot of attention from the boys. But that same figure means she's limited to small jobs if she wants to go with a modelling career."

I looked at her, waiting for her to get to a point.

"You however basically just walked in to school today like you owned the concept of heels, while being tall and thin in a way she'll never be. The kind of figure you see on super models."

It sounded like she was trying to flatter me, but it still kind of felt insulting to be compared to anorexic fashion models. Only one response came to mind.

"Huh."

"That and she's gotta be jealous of you getting all that attention."

My gaze switched to Aisha, who was wearing a smile of great amusement. I blinked a few times before I realised I was being oblivious again and the stares had in fact contained some ogling. A blush came to my face.

"When did my life become so surreal? Not that I'm complaining mind you, it's a vast improvement over what it was a couple months back."

I pondered for a moment while they just smirked.

"I blame Lisa."

They nodded sagely, as if that was some universal truth. It did seem to be getting that way.

Both of them suddenly turned to look at something behind me.

"What were you thinking Taylor?"

I turned towards a familiar voice with a certain sense of déjà vu.

Chapter Text

"That your appearance has ruined an otherwise good day. What do you want?"

There was no warmth in my voice as I addressed my former best friend's question. Her annoyed expression gave me a small bit of satisfaction before she recovered her composure. I had to admit though that I was curious as to what made her think I'd want to talk to her. She was flanked by some of the other 'popular' girls, who had similar self important and disinterested expressions.

"So? How did you do it?"

My eyebrow raised at the apparent non sequitur. The tone in her voice sounding almost scornful. Not that that was much different from normal.

"Feel free to start making sense."

"How did you go from mopey loser to... This?" She waved her hands at me in an all encompassing gesture. "You couldn't have come up with this on your own."

I stared at her for a moment, a misleadingly placid expression on my face.

"Strange how one can grow when you aren't getting ground into the dirt. When you have friends you can trust."

She reacted almost as if I had slapped her. Something that I was sorely tempted to do. Where did she get off questioning my new found happiness after all she had done to me?

"What you mean these other outcasts?"

I stared at the girl to Emma's left. Mandy? Brandy? Sandy? It didn't matter, she was interchangeable with any other hanger on as far as I was concerned.

"Must be pretty desperate for friends to accept Madison."

The girl on the right this time. It appeared Emma had trained her new clique well. I decided to ignore them. They were inconsequential. I think I saw Madison cringe a little out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh, the girl who got your psycho lover kicked out of school?"

It was a pretty weak jab, but Emma seemed more concerned with student opinions than I and the hypocrisy didn't bother me. Unfortunately she was barely fazed.

"Still going on about that? Just because you have yourself some dumpy girlfriend doesn't mean everyone else is a dyke."

I blinked for a few moments before I remembered something.

"Ah, so you were that red blur spying on us at the theatre. What? Can't get enough of me at school, so you have to stalk me? Or are you Jealous?"

She seemed a little thrown by my flippant acknowledgement. While I wasn't sure about our relationship status, she didn't need to know that.

"Why would I be jealous of her, she's just as tragic as you and obviously has bad taste if she's with a loser like you."

"Oh my god, she's wearing those to show off to her girlfriend. Like, how tragic."

I maintained my focus on Emma. The minions were effectively her mouth pieces at this point, so I treated them as such. I switched to a different approach. Popularity was the most important thing to these bitches.

"I must admit Amy does like me in heels. Since it's so easy to walk in them, I thought I'd treat her after that double date with Glory Girl and her boy toy."

She and her hangers on looked a little shocked at the name drop. While I felt a little guilty for it, I couldn't argue with its effectiveness.

"No way."

"What? I thought you knew? I did tell you she fixed up my voice. Don't tell me you didn't recognise her. I thought you knew like all the important people?"

I wasn't proud of how easily I slipped into a valley girl impression for emphasis. Something popped to the forefront of my mind. It was cruel, but I didn't particularly care at that point.

"Doesn't your Dad work at the same firm as Amy's Mom?"

It was amazing how some questions could sound like a threat. Sure it was a completely empty one that I had no intention on pursuing, especially as I hadn't even met Mrs Dallon. But Emma was probably enough of a bitch to think I'd sink to that level.

"So you think you're top shit just because a cape took pity on you?"

Snorting at her sheer gall, I locked eyes with her.

"I wouldn't be the first."

She stopped talking for just a fraction too long. As dim as her hangers on seemed, I wouldn't be surprised if they picked up on Emma's discomfort.

"What the hell are you talking about Hebert?"

Ignoring her, I turned to my friend. Madison looked a little sheepish.

"So I was thinking we could find somewhere else to be. Her obsession with me is getting pathetic."

Madison looked like she was about to say something before she closed her mouth and nodded.

I got to my feet and started to walk away. I stumbled a little as my foot caught on something and heard a crash from behind me. It didn't take that long to get myself stable with my power extended soles and the table to act as a hand hold. I glanced back to see Emma on the ground face down and groaning slightly. I guessed she catastrophically failed to trip me or something.

"Wow Emma, you really should be more careful."

I probably felt a bit too much glee by echoing one of her earlier jibes from when I was pushed down some stairs. One of the minions was trying to help her up, while the other seemed surprised I had managed to avoid falling over. I must admit I was a little surprised myself.

Madison and I walked off, leaving the tragic trio behind.

"Hah, you should have seen her face. Well, before it met the ground."

I startled slightly at the sudden appearance of Aisha as she started cackling. Something dawned on me.

"Shit, you tripped her?"

"Nah, just stopped her tripping you. Not my fault the bitch over extended. Much."

She continued laughing and after a while Madison and I joined in. I guessed I could forgive her this one prank.

Chapter Text

As I caught a bus back home after school, my good mood from earlier was replaced with dread. The realization that I may have inadvertently outed Amy as a lesbian soured the joy at having somewhat embarrassed Emma. While I was pretty sure Victoria at least knew at this point given the whole double date thing, I didn't know who else was in the know.

As I got off the bus, I pulled my civvie phone from my bag and dialed one of the few numbers in it. I impatiently waited for her to pick up.

"Hi Amy. You have a minute to talk?"

"Hi Taylor, sure I have a few moments."

She sounded fairly cheerful, but there was some odd background noise.

"Emma, you know, one of the bullies I told you about? She saw us at the theatre and guessed we were a couple. I, well I didn't do anything to deny that."

"Hmm, made a decision have we?"

She sounded a bit hesitant, but there seemed to be a bit of amusement to her voice. I guessed it did sound funny considering what I had told her the other day. I sighed, but it needed to be said.

"It kind of happened a bit fast and I lost my temper and rubbed it in her face that I was dating you. Like an idiot, it only just occurred to me that this might be a problem for you. I don't know if you've told your parents or if you were trying to keep it quiet. I'm sorry, I just got so angry when she started insulting us."

There was mostly silence on the other end, with a faint sound of fingers tapping on something.

"I... haven't quite got around to telling them yet. Oh crap. I'm going to have to introduce you to my parents, aren't I?"

She didn't sound particularly thrilled with the idea. In fact it sounded a little insulting.But given the hints about her sister being her only real support, I couldn't really blame her if she was hesitant about her parent's reaction.

"Only if you want to. Speaking of which, my Dad wants you to come around for dinner some time. If you like. He's aware of our... relationship."

Real smooth Taylor. I was not good at this whole couple thing, if that's even what we had.

"That sounds a lot less stressful frankly. Umm, when would be good?"

That was a good question. I couldn't really surprise Dad with this tonight.

"Would tomorrow night work?"

I heard a bit of chatter in the background and guessed she was talking to some hospital staff. It was hardly after school hours and it sounded like she was already hard at work.

"Umm, would eight be too late?"

"Should be fine. I can check with Dad and send you a message later to confirm."

"Okay. I'll wait to hear from you then."

She sounded a bit more hopeful as she ended the call. I realized I had forgotten to tell her about the heels, but I figured they could be a surprise for tomorrow. I found myself wondering how she'd react.

Sitting on the couch in the lounge room in ambush, I called out to my father as he came through the door.

"Hey Dad."

He nodded at me as he walked to the kitchen.

"Hi kiddo, how was your day?"

"Not too bad. Would having Amy over for dinner at eight tomorrow be fine?"

He paused mid step as his mind caught up to my hurried question. He turned to look at me with an air of amusement.

"Sure. Any preferences?"

"Well... I was thinking I might make lasagna."

He nodded as a grin spread across his face.

"Good choice. Bound to impress her."

There may have been slight blushing at his implications. I put aside those thought for the moment.

"Thanks Dad, I'll let her know."

I headed up the stairs to my room, closing the door behind me as I grabbed my phone off the bed side table. Dad still wasn't quite happy seeing them around. It wasn't too inconvenient and it made him a little happier, so I tried to keep it out of sight when possible. I sent through a quick message to Amy.

-8pm Tuesday is fine.-
-Hope you like lasagna.-

Another day of school passed by quickly. Emma seemed to have decided it wasn't worth trying to torment me and I really hoped that it would stay that way. The bitch had the minor super power of being able to push a lot of my buttons. That just made it worse, she was so damn insignificant compared to the other problems I had faced.

On the way home, I dropped by the local supermarket to grab all the supplies I would need for tonight's dinner. While a lot of recipes I had seen were pretty basic, Mom's included layers of spinach and ricotta as well as the standard Bolognese style layers. A topping of mozzarella and parmesan added that little extra dab of flavour over the cheddar that some strange people used. It was the little things that made the difference.

I blushed a little as I realised how much effort I was putting into this dinner. While I had been mostly telling myself it was to make up for my indiscretion yesterday, I found myself getting excited wondering what she'd think of it. Oh and of course over thinking things. What if she doesn't like spinach, or is lactose intolerant? Surely she would have told me, right?

Ingredients paid for, I began the not too long walk back home. It wasn't quite far enough to bother with the bus and the bags were fairly light, so I thought I'd get a little more fresh air and sun.

As I walked I suddenly realised that there was a lot of things I didn't know about Amy. What were her favourite things? What were her dislikes? What kind of music did she listen to? All the conversations we'd had primarily consisted of our major issues and cape life. Surely we had done something backwards there.

Lost in thought, I took a short cut down an alley without paying much attention. I'd used it on several of my runs when I didn't feel like looping around a couple blocks. This time there was someone else there.

"Gimme your purse, bitch."

I stopped and looked at the guy in front of me. He looked a little crazed. I hadn't thought we had much of a drug problem in our area. But with the Merchants taken down, perhaps former customers had spread out. At least I assumed he was a druggie. He appeared to be mugging me while unarmed. I sighed internally at what was basically a minor threat. Why today of all days? I couldn't really use my powers in public without a mask, so I switched the grocery bag in my right hand over to my left.

"Oh ok. Let me just get it for you."

I tried my best to sound frightened as my right hand dug into my shoulder bag and grabbed hold of something to give him.

"Here."

A face full of pepper spray was not in fact anything like a purse. It was about as far from a purse as possible while still being something kept in a bag. The mugger was unsurprisingly surprised by this substitution, as was evident by his screams.

"Ahhhh, my eyes! Arrghhh."

I continued on as he clutched at his stinging eyes. For a moment I considered calling the cops, but I didn't have anything to restrain him with. Besides, I didn't have time to wait around. After all, I had a dinner to make. Hmm, maybe I should add a little bit of pepper for some extra bite. I looked down at the can still clutched in my hand for a moment before chuckling. Probably a little too much bite.

Chapter Text

A knock on the door echoed through the house, telling me that I had run out of time.

"Dad, can you get the door?"

The sounds from downstairs indicated he was doing just that as I slipped on the heels I wore yesterday. Focusing a bit of power towards stability, I made my way downstairs to find Amy... and Victoria. Dad seemed to be chatting away with Amy and her sister. They had yet to notice me. While trying to keep my face neutral, I sighed silently. Is this going to be a regular occurrence? I put on my best smile and greeted them.

"Ah hello. How are we?"

That caught their attention and they all looked up my way. Dad had a mild look of surprise. I hadn't told him I 'knew' how to wear heels, but he had known I was dressing up a little. Amy stared at me, mouth slightly ajar. Then she realised what she was doing and seemed to be trying her best to achieve that tomato shade of red I had expected. Victoria's head switched between Amy and I, a smirk forming on her face. She was the first to answer.

"Hello Taylor, nice to see you again." She turned back to Amy. "I'll leave you to it shall I?"

Her voice conveyed just how amused she was at her sister's reaction.

"There's plenty of food if you'd like to stay for dinner."

Dad was trying to be helpful, to my hopefully concealed disapproval. While I didn't exactly have anything against Vicky as such, I didn't really want another awkward dinner. Though I supposed that I really should get used to her if I was going to be with Amy.

"Thanks for the offer Mr Hebert, but I already have dinner plans." She turned to grin at her sister. "Besides. We wouldn't want to crowd the love birds now, would we?"

This of course made Amy blush a little harder. Is it getting warmer in here? Dad just chuckled. Victoria stepped back out of the door and waved good bye.

"Give me a call if you need a pick up Ames."

"Bye Vicky."

"Nice to meet you."

"See you later."

With that, she took off as Amy waved. I was thankful that it was already fairly dark, otherwise she would have drawn a lot of attention with a stunt like that. Dating a member of New Wave would do that though. I paused in my thoughts for a moment and a small smirk played across my lips. Ok, there may have been some denial on my part.

I walked up to give the still somewhat stunned Amy a hug, which necessitated some leaning over to get the right height. She squeaked a little in surprise as my arms wrapped around her from behind, my sound dampening making me accidentally sneaky. An amused smile shaped my lips at the sound. Heh, I guess she is kinda cute. Dad discreetly made his way to the kitchen with an amused look. I could have sworn he winked at me.

"I'm glad you could make it Amy. Dinner should be just about done."

I felt her relax as soon as she heard my voice. Her head turned a little to address me, bringing her cheek a little closer to mine. Warmth radiated from her blushing face.

"So, heels?"

I nodded lightly, careful to avoid knocking heads.

"Heels."

I released my hold and stepped back to lead her to the dinner table, Amy trailing behind. Gesturing to the table I grabbed some oven mitts to check on the tray in the oven. The top layer of cheese was golden and a quick poke with a knife told me it was heated all the way through.

"Perfect timing."

I braced myself and hauled the large tray of lasagne out of the oven and placed it on the cooling rack already sitting on the table. Dad meanwhile retrieved a Greek salad from the fridge that he had put together earlier. I motioned him to sit down while I served up portions of the steaming pasta dish.

"I hope you like it. It's kind of a family recipe that I've tweaked a bit. So, it's a little different."

My voice came out a little more nervous than I would have liked, but I wanted her to like it. It would be kind of depressing if she only ate it out of politeness.

"I'm sure it's fine." She leaned in and took a whiff of the square I had placed on her plate. "Smells delicious."

I smiled as I placed another portion on my Dad's plate and then another on my own. Picking up the bowl of greens punctuated by feta, tomato and olives, I presented it to Amy first.

"Would you like some salad?"

She nodded, her eyes widening in delight.

"Yes please."

Dinner served, I took my own seat. Dad looked our way.

"No need to stand on ceremony. Dig in, I know I'm hungry."

I noticed he was a lot more cheerful today. Was it just the fact that I hadn't made lasagne for a while, or was he that happy that I had found a... girlfriend? Yes, Amy was pretty much my girlfriend. I still thought it to be an odd idea, but I found it made me smile none the less. Slicing up a small square, I placed in my mouth and felt the pasta practically melt in my mouth before I started chewing. Perfect.

I glanced over at Amy and noticed her eyes were half closed as she savoured a mouthful. Excellent. A sense of satisfaction filled me as I watched her enjoying the meal. Then she caught me looking her way, before blushing and looking down at the meal before her.

"Mmm, tastes as good as it smells."

Basking in the indirect compliment, I flashed her a smile.

"Thank you."

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a cooking tinker."

I panicked a little as I realised I hadn't told her that I hadn't told him. Oh god, need to play it off as a joke.

"Yeah if I had super powers, that would be hilarious. I could open a rogue restaurant."

My tone probably wasn't convincing.

"If? What... Oh."

Amy buried her face in her hands as she just realised what she had done. Dad was looking at me funny. I started to open my mouth to say something, anything to throw him off the trail, but Dad just sighed.

"I don't know why teenagers think parents don't know anything. I've known for a while now. You are my daughter after all, and all the clues were there for me."

A perfect response came to my mind.

"Buh wah?"

He just chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

"Your part time job run by a blonde girl. The necklace. The way you were always over at your friend's place and stayed the night when Marceau was gallivanting around. The silence. Oh and the whole mime theme. Did you really expect me to not clue in after using your Mother's favourite performer as an alter ego? I may be pretty oblivious, but I'm not stupid."

My mind was racing as my delusions of a secret identity crashed around me. Was it just that Dad knew me too well, or would it be this easy for others to guess.

"But you never said anything."

He sighed before continuing.

"I was going to, when I first figured it out. But by then you'd been labelled as independent heroes and well, you were happy for the first time in years. I didn't want you out there risking your life, but I couldn't take that away from you. While I would have preferred you to join the Wards, you have a team backing you up and I assume there are reasons why you joined them instead."

I sat there slack jawed for a while as everything I had feared about telling Dad fell apart in the face of his surprisingly supportive understanding. I was starting to feel like an utter fool.

"With Amy here looking after you, I must say I feel a lot better about the whole thing. How long have you known anyway?"

Amy dragged her face out of her hands.

"Um, since Friday."

He turned back to me.

"I'm a little hurt that I seem to be the last to be told." He paused for a moment. "But I've been thinking on it. My temper does tend to run away on me and given my earlier thoughts, I can understand you wanting to avoid having me stop you. But please trust me a little more Taylor."

Guilt washed over me as he spoke. The pleading tone of his voice made me feel like I'd drowned a kitten.

"I'm sorry Dad. I was just afraid of what you'd think."

He just nodded. A stern look on his face.

"Fair enough. For one thing, no more robbing banks." His face shifted to a happier expression. "Other than that, I'm proud of you kiddo. You've made a difference. I know several dockworkers whose kids are safer without the Merchants around. Anyway, let's continue eating. It would be a shame for this to go cold after all the effort you put into it."

And so we ate in awkward silence as I pondered when my life had started working out while Amy seemed to draw into her self in sheer embarrassment. Dad just munched away with an amused smirk on his face.

Having finished eating, Dad did the dishes while I dragged Amy up to my room to have a chat. I closed the door behind us and turned to face Amy who looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"I'm so sorry. I thought you'd told him. I mean I'm so used to everyone knowing I'm a cape and it never occurred to me that you'd keep it secret from him and oh god I've made of mess of things."

Despite my annoyance at her loose lips, I was partially to blame for not having told her that I was keeping it a secret. My mood was probably better than it would have been, given how well it had all turned out. I stepped up and embraced her, my chin resting on the top of the head buried it in my shoulder.

"It's okay Amy. I should have told you and well, I'd be a hypocrite if I tore into you after my indiscretion yesterday. Just please be more careful in the future. It probably won't work out quite as well as that did."

Her reply was somewhat muffled.

"I haven't told anyone else and won't, not even Vicky. Not unless you want."

A small giggle escaped my lips as the thought of Victoria's reaction bounced through my head. Yeah, let's avoid that.

"As hilarious as the look on her face would be, I don't think we should tell her any time soon. I'm not sure how the rest of your family would react either. Don't think it would do wonders for my life expectancy though."

She tilted her head up to look at me, a confused look on her face. Then she started giggling. It was definitely an improvement over her earlier distraught expression. Yep, cute.

"Oh god, now I've got a mental image of Flashbang threatening to blow you up if you try to woo both of his daughters."

I blinked and then started laughing. Both at the absurd mental image and to disguise the fear that it could well happen if things went wrong. Really need to avoid that. Enjoying the warmth radiating from the girl in my arms, a thought came to my head. I returned my gaze to meet hers.

"Don't worry, totally not interested in her."

That really got her attention and her eyes widened a fraction. It looked like she was about to say something, but I interrupted.

"Just going to try something, okay?"

She looked at me with hopeful anticipation as I leaned in closer. Our lips met clumsily, the height difference making things a little awkward and I may have slightly bumped our foreheads together. The warmth was kinda nice, but the breath from her nose tickled a bit so it was an odd sensation. She started to melt in my arms as I broke contact. It seemed she liked it. She looked up at me, a smile on her face.

"That was... nice."

I nodded as I felt a smile form. It didn't seem like what all the books and movies made it out to be. But yeah, it was nice.

Chapter Text

I waved goodbye to Amy as her sister carried her off home. A smile was still spread across my face as I thought about how much Amy blushed as I gave her a quick farewell kiss. Victoria had appeared quite amused by it all, and I had a feeling she'd be teasing her sister all the way home. Closing the door, I turned to see Dad standing there with a determined look on his face.

"So seeing as it's in the open now, we should probably discuss a few things."

My smile faded. Oh, time for the Talk.

"I should have talked to you about this before, but are you using protection?"

My eyes went wide and my jaw dropped. Wait what? I've only kissed her. Dad's head tilted in confusion at my reaction.

"Well I figured given the extra bulk, you were wearing a vest."

I blinked as my brain caught up with the fact that it was a Talk about being a Cape.

"Oh, um yeah first thing I bought. While my walls are crazy tough, I thought better safe than shot."

He smiled, apparently pleased with the answer.

"That's my girl. Anything else?"

"Well I have taser gloves, but haven't needed them yet. That pepper spray you bought me came in handy. Oh and I'm thinking I'll be forking out for an armoured body glove to go under everything. Apparently there are some amazing tinker tech options out there. "

"Good to hear." He nodded and stroked his chin for a bit. "As far as spending goes, you are saving some right? I've been putting some money aside for college. But with things the way they are, I'm not sure it'll be enough."

I sighed. I wasn't sure whether I really had any interest in college, but he had a point.

"Yes Dad. I've got most of the money I've made put aside. Partially to save, but also because spending loads of money suddenly would draw too much attention. I've thought out these things. Though my team mates have helped with that."

"Ah yes, your team mates." He sounded a little concerned as he mentioned them. "Do I get to meet them? I figure Lisa is Tattletale and she seemed nice enough, but I'm a little worried about Hellhound."

I cringed a little at that. I'm not sure how Lisa react to him knowing her identity, but given the fact that she'd come to see Dad, I figured she probably wouldn't be that surprised. Rachel on the other hand.

"She prefers Bitch, but Rachel... She got a raw deal when she triggered. You've seen the news article on it right?" He nodded. I was thankful I wouldn't need to explain that. "She's a little tactless, has trouble with social interaction. But she's reliable. As long as you don't hurt dogs or her 'pack', she isn't a danger. As for meeting, I'd have to check with them. Secret identities are kind of a big deal after all, so I won't press the issue."

He stared at me for a moment before nodding.

"I guess that's understandable." He sighed a slight frown creasing his brow. "Speaking of which, I'm a little hurt you told Amy before me."

I curled in on myself a little as the guilt returned.

"I wasn't going to, but well she kind of figured something was wrong and well I couldn't not tell her at that point and I was going to tell you soon. I just didn't know how to. I've fought off some of the toughest villains in the city and frankly your disapproval was scarier."

He stepped up and pulled me into a hug.

"It's okay. Just be careful alright? Finding out you'd beat up Lung freaked me out a bit and well, I don't want to lose you kiddo."

I just nodded, realising I was a little taller than Dad with the heels on. We stood like that for quite some time.

Another school day passed in a haze and I found myself sitting on a couch in the Lair, laughing along with everyone else. Well, everyone but Brian.

"Wow, and I thought my love life was weird. How the hell did that happen?" I couldn't help myself, the sheer absurdity of Brian with a racist milf broke all my self restraint.

"Yes, because being compared to the cross dressing lesbian mime Casanova is totally fair." He groaned, talking while his face was buried in both hands.

"I'm glad you agree." My face positively radiated smugness, something I had apparently picked up from too much time near Lisa. This just prompted another groan from Brian.

"You couldn't just keep your mouth shut Alec?"

"Hell no. This is way too funny to keep secret." Alec chuckled at Brian's obvious discomfort. It was strangely satisfying being on the opposite side of the relationship teasing.

"Any way, we're just friends. We helped each other out with some custody issues. It's not like we're dating or anything." There was something about the way he said that. Like he wasn't telling us everything.

"Yet." Brian turned his head to take in Lisa's grin.

His glare did nothing to diminish her amusement. Quite the opposite, she started laughing. As if Lisa was saying that it was basically a sure thing. At least it would divert some of the teasing from me for a while. With a sigh, Brian continued.

"Anyway. Since Taylor's gotten a bit of healing hand treatment from her girlfriend, we should plan out another job."

"True." Lisa nodded, still smiling. "Though I'd suggest we switch targets for this one. We've already pissed off the E88, so it'd be better to let them cool off a bit."

"Who we going to hit then?" Alec cut in. "Even with Wonder Mime, I'd still rather avoid Lung. Our options are pretty limited."

"Why don't we hit a couple of the smaller criminals." Madison spoke up as she came up from her downstairs work area. "Surely they aren't all part of the Empire or the Bad Boys?"

I noticed she was wearing a odd headset, with a visor over one eye. A quick look around and I noticed a little crawler drone clinging to the top of the kitchen cupboards. Huh, guess it's a drone camera feed or something. I looked over at Lisa, waiting for her to chip in.

"I'd love to, but there was basically an ultimatum from the PRT that we can't hit anything that looks civilian. Which limits us to obvious super villains and their gangs. I reckon they want us to get ourselves into too much trouble to deal with and come begging for help."

"I wouldn't put it past them." I nodded. It sounded like the kinda shit they'd pull. While Miss Milita had seemed pretty reasonable, I figured she'd have to take orders just like anyone else.

"Who else can we beat up then?"

Every one but Madison jumped as Aisha spoke. I realised she must have been sitting there the entire time. I glanced over at Madison. Ah, the visor.

"Christ Aisha." Brian cried out in surprise. "Don't give me a heart attack."

"Relax Bro." Aisha laughed at him, "I'll leave that to your kay kay cougar."

Shaking my head as Brian started slamming his head against the coffee table, I turned to our tinker.

"Madison, any chance of getting one of those visor thingies?"

She looked up at me.

"I could probably make them for you, but I'm not sure it'll help you. You didn't notice her last time you saw her on camera."

"Huh." I hadn't even realised that I had done that.

"Thinker power master race." Lisa put her hand up to Madison in classic high five pose.

My eyes narrowed as they high-fived. Fucking Thinkers. Madison turned back to me.

"Still might be worth making them for everyone to allow better data sharing. I can integrate them into masks and helmets. Oh speaking of which, I was working on something for you Taylor. One sec."

She raced back downstairs, leaving the rest of us confused. Rachel took this moment to give her own opinion.

"Eh, we can take the ABB. We've beat them before and they don't have Tinker bombs anymore."

Alec shook his head.

"We were lucky against Lung. Or rather Taylor was lucky against Lung, and we were lucky that she got lucky."

"Fair point." I would have protested, but then I remembered I had thought exactly that not too long ago.

The noise of things falling off benches echoed up from below and Madison called out.

"I'm fine."

Shaking my head I continued on.

"But if we plan well, we can hit somewhere he isn't. With only him and Oni Lee, they can't cover much of their territory. I'm more scared of Oni Lee frankly. I'm not sure how we're supposed to deal with him. Especially if he starts suicide bombing with his clones."

We were silent for a while before Madison came back up holding a familiar looking mask. She presented it to me.

"Sort of an apology and thank you gift. I modded this up similar to your current mask, but with haptic feeds to read your expressions and display a caricatured version on the outer e-ink display surface. It's also got a manual mode that acts like your existing one. Try it on."

My eyes went wide as I realised just how cool that could be. I slipped on the mask and Lisa handed me a compact mirror. I ran through a range of expressions, happy, sad, neutral, angry and confused.

"How do I use troll face? It does have troll face right?"

She nodded, clearly proud of her work.

"Twitch the left side of your mouth out like this."

She made a rather odd looking expression and I mimicked it. In the mirror the iconic internet meme stared back at me, or at least off to the side. I was frankly overjoyed at this gift. I wouldn't need to have my hands free to change expression.

"This is possibly the coolest thing ever. Thank you Madison. Where the hell did you get the time to work on this?"

"Oh I've got plenty of time these days. I've been noticing I don't really need to sleep anymore."

"Wait what?" I blinked a few times in surprise.

"Have to agree there," Brian nodded. "That's pretty damn handy."

Madison shrugged.

"Mostly it's been boring, as I can't always tinker away depending where I am. If I'm at home for example, I tend to spend all night with my lap top under the covers so I don't tip off the folks."

I noticed Aisha nudge Madison and wink at her, but was distracted by a thought. I slapped my forehead.

"Speaking of which, Dad worked out I'm Marceau."

There were several hums and whistles before Brian spoke.

"Shit. I'm guessing since you're here and cheerful it didn't go too bad?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "He was remarkably understanding about the whole thing. Though it's made me kind of paranoid that others will work it out as easy as he did."

Lisa looked at me thoughtfully.

"Nah, must be a fluke along with him being you know, your Dad. Though he's of course worked out who I am."

Once again I nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah. He'd like to meet the rest of the team, but I told him it's unlikely given the secret identity thing."

The rest nodded and didn't speak for a while before Brian picked up our earlier topic.

"So, what are we going to do for the next job?"

Chapter Text

Danny

He watched over his Daughter as she dozed, veins full of antibiotics and painkillers. His face was a twisted amalgam of fury and distress as he gently cradled her limp hand. Someone had hurt his daughter, almost taken her away from him.

I can't lose her too. Someone will pay for this.

"What do you mean there's no evidence? How the hell does my daughter get shoved in that, that filth with no one noticing? This is a fucking school, where were the students, where were the teachers?"

Danny was incandescent with rage as he tore into Principal Blackwell. They hadn't done a thing to find out who did this to Taylor.

"I understand your distress Mr Hebert. It was an unfortunate incide-"

"Unfortunate? She almost died. She's still in the damn hospital!"

Ms Blackwell sighed at the interruption.

"And of course the hospital bills will be covered. But without witnesses we can't find a culprit. We will of course make sure nothing like this happens again."

"Small comfort given my daughter has been permanently scarred because of your incompetence."

Before she could say anything else, Danny turned and stormed out of the office before he could lose control and choke her. Useless bitch. I should have one of the boys break her legs. He shook off the thought. It wasn't productive, no matter how satisfying. It would also obviously link to him and he didn't need that kind of heat when Taylor needed him.

Fucking hell. I have resources, people I know. How can I be so helpless?

Taylor was so withdrawn whenever he saw her. There was this gap between them and he didn't know if it was because of her voice or if she felt that he had failed her. I have failed her. I couldn't do anything to make things better.

He just didn't know what he could do to help her. And so, he threw himself into his work. If he could get more money coming in, he could get her transferred elsewhere. A better school, without the memories and the corruption. He chuckled darkly. Like I'm one to talk. Running a Union was never clean business. The things he'd seen. The things he'd had to do to ensure there were any jobs at all. He didn't like it, but that's the way things were in Brockton Bay.

"Ya hear about them Undersiders?"

Danny tilted his head as he picked up some of his boys having a chat in the lunch room. He listened in while making a coffee to help him through the day.

"Oh yeah, took down Lung. Never thought I'd see the day."

"Yeah, they hit the Central Bank yesterday. Got some super powered mime with them now. Doesn't talk or nothin'."

That got him to pause, as a chilly feeling of dread settled in his gut.

"Ah, thought I heard something about a 'Marceau' when I heard about Lung."

No, it can't be. I would have noticed right? He turned and walked over to the dockworkers. Of course, Kenny and George. Such gossips that they'd put their wives to shame.

"What was that about a mime?" He asked. They looked up as their boss took a seat with them.

"Yeah, it's all over the news. He basically took out several of the Wards himself. Heard the Undersiders got away with a bunch of money."

He nodded, suppressing the sigh of relief that wanted to escape. This 'Marceau' was a guy, so it couldn't be his poor sweet Taylor.

Danny was sorting out some laundry, but didn't quite have a full load. As Taylor was out with her new friends, he went up to her room to see if she had any dirty clothes.

He wasn't sure he liked the way she had sprung the fact that she had friends on him in quite the manner she had, but at least she seemed a lot happier these days. Though he wasn't sure if that was just because she could talk again. Lisa seems nice at least, if a little strange.

As he gathered up some track pants and sweatshirts from the basket, he noticed light glinting off something on her dresser. A few steps closer brought him into clear view of an enamelled silver pendant. Theatre masks.

He thought back to an earlier idea, that same feeling of dread returning. It seemed so unlikely, but he had to be sure. After he got the laundry started, he looked back through a stack of newspapers that had yet to be thrown out.

The first night she stayed out with her new friends was the night after Lung was defeated by a new cape and the Undersiders. The day of the bank job, Taylor was with her friends. The night Bakuda was captured, Taylor was out with her friends.

Surely this has to be a coincidence. Taylor can't be Marceau. She's been helping out Panacea with something. Wait, is she feeling guilty over the bank. No this is silly, my daughter can't be a villain.

He sat down on the couch, turning on the television to distract himself.

"-oid paying taxes on numerous local and international properties for years, if not decades.”

He blinked at the strange fragment he heard from the news anchor, before the other took over.

“And you might be surprised who we have to thank for discovering this corruption,”

A series of images of teenage villains flashed across the screen. The Undersiders. That blonde looks a little familiar, he thought as it settled on Tattletale. His eyes widened as another piece of the puzzle snapped into place. Oh Taylor. He didn't know what to think, but the news kept coming.

Mark and Diane were saying something about them doing heroic deeds or some such. Rescuing puppies from a dog fighting ring was mentioned. He checked a more recent newspaper and noted that yes, Taylor was off with her friends that day.

She's out with them now. What new thing could she be up to? Is she fighting someone right now. Is my girl getting shot at? Wait she fought Lung?

He sighed and continued watching. If his daughter was a vigilante, he needed to find out what he could. Still, that she had taken a name that meant so much to Annette brought a tear to his eye. He shook his head a little and laughed nervously. Perhaps she's picked up her Mother's sense of social justice too.

He had spent quite some time thinking on it. To say he was unhappy would be underestimating to a hilarious degree. And yet, what would he do about it. If I talk to her about it, will she just deny it? Will she run away? She's so happy lately. Can I take that away from her, just so I can feel that she's safe? I failed to help her once. Would I be failing her if I stopped her now? When she's dealing with the corruption of the city. Maybe making things better?

He resolved to keep quiet for the moment. Hopefully she would come to him when she was ready. Besides, other than his absolute certainty that she was Marceau, he didn't have evidence beyond the circumstantial. He'd need to gather a bit more.

Pride infused his very being as he read the headline.

-Merchants: Out of business-

His daughter and her friends cleared out one of the major gangs in the city. They had done more for the city in the last month or so than he had in several years of trying to improve things. He smiled. I'll just need to do better then.

He stretched as he finished filling out contracts for another twenty people. His new found determination to make things better for the Dockworker's Union had driven him to work harder, and finally it had paid off.

Already he had managed to get a few more jobs for some of his boys. The Ship Graveyard was frankly a mess, but there was a lot of useful scrap metal there to salvage. With the Merchants gone, his boys were free to start dismantling things and trading in the scrap for more money. Sure it wasn't great pay and the work was hard, but jobs were jobs.

Danny found himself being cautiously optimistic about actually having a clear bay again. Then he could see about getting that ferry running and get more jobs coming in. He looked over the personnel records. Hmm, we could use a little more security in case the Empire or ABB start moving in.

As he head to bed, he smiled as he thought about the new couple. Amy seemed nice, and Taylor certainly liked her if the kiss and the constant blushing were anything to go by. He felt reassured that his daughter was in good hands. With her team mates to back her up and a girlfriend who could patch her up, she was as safe as she could be while still pursing her ideals. The secret no longer keeping a wall between them made him feelmore relaxed than he had since Annette passed away. So it was that he fell asleep, dreaming of a better future.

Chapter Text

We were prepared.

Or rather we were prepared for something entirely different.

When the Endbringer alarms started blaring out across the city, our plans to hit the ABB warehouse were suddenly forgotten. Grue's response as he slammed his helmeted head into the van's steering wheel mirrored my displeasure with the situation.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

"The truce is in effect as of now. So we'll need to do this later. If there is a later." Tattletale shook her head in exasperation and turned to the newer members, myself included. "We never got around to discussing this since the three of you joined, but we had already agreed that if an Endbringer hit nearby, we'd go. Are you up for tagging along?"

I had been avoiding thinking about the possibility of an Endbringer, given how terrifying they were. But as much as the prospect scared me, I couldn't well leave them to go alone. Otherwise I'd be waiting in a shelter, unable to do anything and dreading what would happen to them. This way I could try to keep them safe. Maybe my bullshit powers could come in handy and even save a few lives. I nodded to Tattletale and she smiled a sad smile.

Imp fidgeted in her seat, before shrugging.

"Don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do to an Endbringer, but maybe I'll help with the rescue stuff."

"Can't imagine I'll do much either." Alec's laughter burst from the passenger seat. "Don't think my sort of powers even work on them. So we can be useless together."

"You don't have to come along." Grue said as he turned to his sister. Something of his nervousness was noticeable even through his costume.

"Ah, shut up Bro. Can't have you bein' all heroic and shit with out me."

Grue looked like he'd argue the point but just sighed instead, the sounds echoing strangely through his power. With that sorted, it just left Intel.

"I. I'm terrified, but I guess I can help coordinate or something."

And so we did the only thing we could. Or rather, I did as I pulled out a burn phone and typed in a number I had memorised.

"Oh, hi. Kinda busy at the moment."

"Sorry Amy, but we need to know. Where do we meet up for the fight?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end. Then she sighed.

"We're meeting at PRT headquarters. Look, I gotta go."

I really should have expected that, I thought as she hung up. Of course she'd be busy. I turned to Tattletale who just nodded and spoke to Grue through the cargo cage.

"To the PRT building."

Now I just need to let Dad know. I pulled out my phone once more and entered the home number. I sat there waiting as the phone rang out. Damn, he's already left. I sighed as I realised I would need to buy him a phone and make him use it. Tattletale reached over and patted me on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. He'll have headed to the shelters like everyone else."

I nodded and hoped she was right.

We pulled up to a congregation of capes in front of the HQ. It didn't look nearly enough to fight off an Endbringer. The Empire were out in full force, and I swear Rune was trying to bore holes through me with her mind. None of the others looked pleased at our arrival, though Purity was floating a strangely large distance away from them.

Thinking it odd but not particularly important, my gaze drifted over to Lung and Oni Lee. It was strangely reassuring to see the 'Rage Dragon' himself, given his previous exploits versus Leviathan. His glance my way indicated a completely different opinion towards me.

The Protectorate and Wards of Brocton Bay were also arrayed in front of us. New Wave were mingling with them and I could see Gallant and Glory Girl already standing a bit closer than was safe for his identity. A few wary glances from the Wards, as well as Glory Girl, swept across us and I certainly didn't miss the attention towards our two newest members. Miss Militia sent a nod my way, which I returned. Panacea however seemed to be trying hard not to make any eye contact. While it was a little painful, it was certainly a sensible idea. Couldn't very well be seen together in costume.

Neither Coil nor Faultline's crew were around, not that I even knew what they looked like beyond blurry photos. Still, I would have expected them to at least make an appearance. I did notice a woman in an old fashioned dress and a doll mask off to the side. It would have been hard not to, as she was riding a stallion made of paisley cloth. I'd seen Parian on a few news articles, some kind of rogue who went into advertising and fashion design or some such.

As we approached, Tattletale twitched her head a few times as she looked around at the gathered capes.

"So, where are we going?"

Everyone turned towards our team as soon as she spoke. Armsmaster in particular glared at her before answering.

"We're waiting for transport to Boston." His voice seemed to carry a mix of approval and annoyance that we had come.

My head tilted a little in confusion. Sure we weren't that far away, but if Boston was getting hit, why were alarms going off here? Tattletale of course picked up on my confusion.

"Ah, yes. Leviathan right?" There was a nod from Armsmaster and Tattletale turned back to us. "Tidal waves are likely to hit here as well."

I felt a renewed sense of dread. It had always been known that they could do massive damage, but there was a certain emotional distance when I had thought of Newfoundland or Kyushu. That they were landmasses much larger than the distance between the two cities suddenly became clear in my head.

A few looks of surprise came my way. I was confused for a moment before realising my fallen face would have translated to the outside of my new mask. Regaining control, I set my face to placidly calm. Or at least I hoped so. Either way, my mask should have changed back to it's default neutral expression.

Feeling a little awkward amongst all these people as I couldn't really mingle with the Heroes much and I wouldn't even consider it with the Villains, I approached Parian. I typed out a message as I walked. She seemed to eye me off warily as I approached, so I held up my phone and stepped up slowly.

-Your horse is amazing.-

I thought I saw her blink through the eye holes of her mask. She started at me for a moment, making me feel slightly uncomfortable. Did I do something wrong?

"Um, thanks I guess. But..." She paused for a moment. "As much as our costumes might match, I'm... not interested. Sorry."

An eyebrow must have raised on my mask to match the one on my face as I stared at her, confused. Then it hit me. I clutched at an imaginary arrow through my heart, staggering around for a moment before shaking my head and waving her off. She had looked rather confused at that and so I typed up another message.

-Why does everyone think I'm hitting on them?-

I shook my head again.

-Was complimenting your craftsmanship-

Parian paused for a moment and managed to look embarrassed through the layers of clothing, mask and what I assumed was a wig.

"Oh, oh. Sorry. Thank you."

I just nodded and walked back to the Undersiders. So much for something less awkward. Then I noticed most of the Wards, Protectorate and New Wave were staring at me. There was a mixture of disapproval, amusement and confusion amongst the capes. I just threw my hands up as if to say What?

Before anyone could explain to my what the problem was, a loud thunder crack filled the air as a cape suddenly appeared.

"Gather around kiddies and prepare to take the Strider Express."

There were some grumbles from several capes at the newcomer's behaviour, but everyone moved in close, so I followed their lead. He seemed to be a teleporter and the name sounded familiar, so I guessed he was the transport Armsmaster had mentioned. We were squeezed up uncomfortably close to try and fit in some arbitrary area. Though the way Strider was grinning below his half mask made me think we didn't actually need to be this close.

Another thunderous noise and it felt like someone had punched me in the gut as all the air was sucked out of my lungs. A flash and I was staring out over a different skyline, gasping for breath as rain fall started to soak me. I guess this is Boston then.

I glanced about to find a lot more capes standing around, a few in particular that I recognised. It was rather humbling standingonly a few yards away from the Triumvirate. I had wanted to be like Alexandria when I was younger, and here she was, looking regal before us. It was kind of surreal. Legend turned towards our group.

"Ah excellent, the Brockton Bay contingent." Legend brought his voice to a higher volume and addressed the massed capes. "Now that we're all here, it's time to talk strategy. We have Armsmaster and Dragon to thank for their work on the early warning system, because of them we still have about ten minutes till Leviathan is due to arrive."

Armsmaster seemed to radiate smugness. But I guess an achievement like that did warrant some pride. Legend continued after gesturing to him.

"Even with our head start, don't. I repeat don't, underestimate him. I've seen too many heroes and villains die because they let their guard down. He's faster and more cunning than he looks. Behave like he's as strong as Behemoth and as tricky as Simurgh or you'll get surprised when he pulls something you wouldn't expect."

This speech wasn't exactly helping with my blooming terror, despite how majestic and confident Legend seemed.

"Boston is a soft target. Much of the coastal areas sit on an aquifer and the rivers through the city are going to make it easy for him to do massive damage. We need to end this quickly, so we'll hit him hard."

He gestured over at Miss Militia.

"The Brockton Bay Protectorate have a supply of powerful Tinker bombs that we'll be using to bombard him before he enters the city proper while our blasters will hit him as hard as possible. They'll be with me. Anyone with shielding powers or that can help against the waves will be with Narwhal to help reduce damage to the city. Anyone who can go toe to toe and fly will group up with Alexandria while other melee will be with Chevalier and Armsmaster. Everyone else help with search and rescue or healing and planning as appropriate."

A few capes were moving through the group, handing out armbands. While Legend explained their purpose, one salient point came up. How the hell was I supposed to use them without blowing my identity? Attaching it around my wrist, I stared at this device that was making my life difficult with two simple words on the display screen.

-State Name-

I turned as Tattletale leaned around me and pressed a button.

"Marceau."

I looked up at her and she grinned, but I could tell her heart wasn't fully in it. I nodded to her and hoped I wouldn't have to use the thing. My tilted head over at Narwhal, and she understood which team I was going to go with. We shared a quick hug as we parted and I hoped it wouldn't be our last.

Chapter Text

Another flash and I was once more gasping for air with several other capes. Another thunder crack and Strider was off teleporting one of the other groups. Looking around, I recognized Shielder from New Wave, Bastion from San Jose and Narwhal of course. The rest of the team were a mystery to me, having never seen them before.

Following Narwhal's lead, we moved up along what must have been the mouth of Boston's inner harbour. With the wide open spaces of an airport behind us, I felt incredibly exposed. But I guessed this would result in less collateral damage or some other good reason. It looked like the plan was to try and divert or block as much of the waves as possible in an attempt to redirect it in a less damaging path. I was sceptical at best.

Catching a glimpse of movement, my eyes were drawn to the glowing form of Eidolon floating above the mouth of the harbour. I hope he has some tricks up his sleeves.

It was excruciating just waiting. The haze off in the distance was getting closer, but it felt like it was taking an eternity. A swarm of glowing lights and dark shapes flew by on my right. Blasters. Another thunder crack and the melee group were behind us.

Sparing a glance over my shoulder I notice Chevalier's cannon blade growing rapidly as he anchored it into the ground, facing towards Leviathan estimated arrival point. Armsmaster stood to the side, wielding a pair of halberds. Well that's new. Hookwolf, Fenja, Menja, Browbeat, Assault and Battery. Other familiar faces, well masks at any rate.

Lung had moved over to the side, already plated in steel scales. Mustn't get too close when he starts burning. There was a strange girl, like some cutesy midget version of Parian, chatting with Assault. Bambina? Battery didn't look particularly comfortable with the villainess' attentions on her partner. I saw Brandish and Manpower move up into my field of vision. I made a little mental note to keep track of them and do what I could to help them out if they needed it.

More fliers passed on my left. Even with the blur caused by the rain, I could still make out Alexandria. I thought I caught sight of Aegis as well, but I didn't recognise any of the others.

"Shields up!"

I was snapped out of my observations by Narwhal's sharp, accented command. My hands went up, forming one of the largest walls I had made. I knew I could make something bigger, felt like I could cover the entire group. But I knew it wouldn't be as strong. I couldn't risk having it fail against the brutal force of the tidal waves, and so I stuck with something about twenty feet high by fourty wide. It was angled to run off into the harbour as Narwhal had suggested. I hope this is strong enough.

The rain fall impacted with my wall, creating little rivulets of water running down nothing. The others took their cues from that and adjusted their shields to cover areas I hadn't, while Narwhal and Shielder did their best to overlap the ones already in place. Between us, we had a transparent barrier some fifty by a couple hundred feet. A patch work of glowing colours and distorted air. I hoped it would be enough.

Another agonising, terrifying moment passed as I waited for the growing wave to hit. I tried to drown out the noise and focus purely on making my wall as strong as it could be. If I fail, people will die. I can't fail. I won't fail. I mustn't fail.

The wave hit.

A spike of agony lanced through my mind as my wall held against what felt like a mountain dropping on it. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I held my hands firm, leaning against my wall as the water diverted off to the side. I was saturated as jets of water sprayed out of the gaps between barriers. My arm band made faint noises, both mechanical and feminine, but I couldn't pay it any attention as I focused all my attention on maintaining the wall.

Another wave and another burst of pain from the feed back. I could feel my jaw muscles tensing as my teeth ground together. Thumping vibrations rocked my hands as the tonnes of water beat against the barrier. Another wave hit, but the pain was less, the stress reduced. I couldn't spare the thoughts as to why, but I was happy to take any break I could.

I saw another wave coming but it barely reached our barrier. As it fell, it revealed the tall, sinuous form of Leviathan as he burst from the ocean and landed on the coast before us. I barely got a look at the hunched creature, it's mismatched eyes seeming to dart to and fro, before it was enveloped in explosions. I almost jumped out of my skin when Chevalier's cannon went off behind me.

A veritable rain of lasers, energy blasts, tinker beam weapons and hard munitions buried Leviathan in a haze of steam and lights. The great beast dived out of the sudden cloud and into a wall of flying bricks as Alexandria's team intercepted him.

I could barely make out what was going on amidst the rain and bursts of colour and sound. With a feral yell, many of the close up fighters charged past, running through a gap created as Narhwal shifted some of her shields. Once again her voice cut through the noise.

"Eidolon's countering the waves. Re-establish shields to assist the melee."

With a sigh of relief, and a reduction in the throbbing in my skull, I dropped the wall and looked over at the fight. Not for the first time I cursed my inability to create the walls at range. There was no way I could get close to that thing without getting squished. I saw Lung, now at least ten feet tall rush in close, clawing at Leviathan's legs. Large wounds were torn in the Endbringer's flesh before Lung was backhanded away.

The armband squawked out something more, but I couldn't hear it over the sounds of battle. A distant part of my mind hoped my sound dampening wasn't depriving me of important information. I hesitated for a moment, at a loss as to what I could do when I saw Leviathan's tail lashing out at a group on the ground. I saw someone fall before I could do anything more than lift my arms. I reached out with each hand and pulled. Someone who looked like Manpower and another I didn't know lurched back several feet as the tail cut a gouge in the tarmac they were standing on a moment before. They stumbled a bit as I stopped pulling the invisible ropes, but at least they weren't cut in half. The one I thought was Manpower gave a quick salute before diving back into the fight.

More flashes of light from above pelted into Leviathan's face, throwing him off balance. He stumbled a few steps before stopping. Completely. I was confused for a moment before I remembered Clockblocker had been with us when we left Brockton Bay. I looked around to see his familiar white costume as he was carried through the air by Aegis.

Massive structures like hellish scaffolding grew up around the beast. Glancing over, I saw a shiny figure that must have been Kaiser standing on the back of a commandeered luggage cart. The image was surreal, but couldn't spare it much more thought as I turned back to see the progress. Where there weren't massive blades of steel, there were huge vines like something from Sleeping Beauty. Where neither of them covered, there were bands of energy wrapped around the beast. Lung paced about, shrinking slightly from his over fifteen foot height. He did not seem pleased.

This apparent plan seemed like it was pretty damn important. So I glanced down at my quietly murmuring armband and briefly wondered if there was a volume control. My troubleshooting efforts were quickly forgotten as Leviathan unfroze.

He lashed out at his cage, tail swinging in a brutal arc and sending his afterimage through a group of capes. More soft whispers issued from the device on my arm. Shields were thrown up to cover people on the ground as the blasters renewed their barrage. Then things got weird.

Amidst the flashes of beams from Legend, Purity and many others I couldn't make out, a strange explosion bloomed. Or rather, didn't. I couldn't quite tell what had happened, but what appeared to be a fire ball centred around Leviathan's left claw had frozen in mid air.

With a hellish tearing noise that sent chills down my spine, the Endbringer pulled away from the frozen explosion and breaking his bonds almost trivially. I blinked a few times in utter surprise as I realised he had left most of his forearm behind. The great beast leaped over the wreckage of the cage around his legs, clear over my head and dove into the harbour. With a roar of rage, Lung dove in after him.

I heard the sound of water rushing towards me and I turned, raising my hands to make a wall.

Chapter Text

Lung

Lung was not impressed by the little girl before him. Dressed like one of those gaijin kabuki, she hardly looked threatening. She just waved, smiled and turned to run away. Bah, weakling girl. He quickly re-evaluated his opinion as he was knocked off of his feet.

"What the fuck?" His voice had a tinny echo as it came out of his steel mask.

If this little bitch is going to mess with me, she'll pay for it. He felt his body begin to grow, a little faster than he thought was required for this opponent. She made strange gestures, much to his confusion.

Lung didn't get much more time to think on it as his head collided with brickwork.

This is humiliating. Those were Kenta's thoughts as he woke in a PRT holding cell, buried in containment foam. Memories of the night before flashing through his mind. It defied logic that he, Lung, was defeated by such a waif. How far have I fallen that I'm losing to little girls. He reminisced of the fight with Leviathan. The last time he was truly challenged. He'd since sworn off fighting the Endbringers, thinking it not worth his time given his pyrrhic victory at Kyushu. I have been slothful, and have become soft. I shouldn't have fallen for such a cheap trick.

He sighed. Excuses. Laying there and barely able to move, Kenta just had to wait for his minions to free him.

"She did WHAT?"

Lung's roar filled the building, his gang cowering in fear. Like they should. Rage barely contained, he awaited his lieutenant's answer.

"Bakuda put bombs in our members and forcibly recruited their families by doing the same." Oni Lee repeated, before he added more. "She also planted bombs at several civilian buildings."

He shook his head. While there was some amount of respect for the level of fear that would generate, she shouldn't have done it to his people. He didn't particularly care for their well being, but no one touched his things without his say so. The rest of her actions were just careless and stupid. There was very little point killing random civilians. All it did was bring more heroes to make a mess of his territory with no gain to show for it.

"We won't be retrieving her." He told his lieutenant. "Let the stupid bitch rot."

Kenta sat in his recliner, watching the television. He had been keeping a low profile after his break out. He wasn't afraid of the Protectorate, but he just didn't care enough to make much noise.

Flicking through the channels he caught a section of a news program that brought a surprised look to his face. The Undersiders. Heroes? What nonsense is this? That mime is with them? Why are they calling her a man?

He shook his head at the pure fabrication that televised news had become. That mime, 'Marceau'. Everything is her fault. My reputation is in the gutter because of her.

The Endbringer alarms went off, interrupting his soap opera. Kenta was not pleased. He considered for a short moment that it would be better to just lay back and relax. Fighting an Endbringer was pointless after all.

No. I've been lazy for too long and I won't lose what I have here. He got up as Oni Lee came through the door.

"Lee, we shall fight."

"Who?"

A simple question, asked bluntly. Lung was not one for civility with heroes. So it was appropriate that Armsmaster was the one to answer.

"Leviathan. Boston."

Lung frowned. Boston, why would I want to fight for Boston? He was about to turn and leave when the Undersiders arrived. He glared at Marceau. He could see how people could mistake her for a boy. She had no figure and was well disguised, but he had seen her without most of that and knew a girl when he saw one.

It matters not what she pretends. She humiliated me. If she is going to fight Leviathan I cannot lose face any further. He chuckled quietly and rather darkly. A sound only picked up by Oni Lee. At least I shall not have to worry about destroying my territory.

Eagerly awaiting the arrival of the great beast, he watched as Marceau stood firm against the waves. He could feel himself getting stronger as Leviathan got closer, growing scales and gaining mass. It was faster than the last time. His powers knew the threat he faced. Soon he would be engulfed in flames, hot enough to vaporize the waters.

He had to admit the little girl was brave, standing there, so close to the massed shields. Perhaps it isn't so humiliating to lose to her. He shook his head a little. Still, I shall once more test myself against Him, and restore my reputation as the strongest here.

As soon as the waves died down, he charged. His strength propelling him in bounding leaps towards the beast. His claws gouged out great rents in Leviathan's flesh before one of the massive claws knocked him flying.

He felt several ribs break and his scales crack, but they were already repairing themselves as he grew bigger, stronger, tougher. Lung charged back into the fray.

It felt like an age, waiting for Leviathan to unfreeze. He could feel himself getting a little weaker as his most powerful opponent was incapable of fighting. He paced about, impatient for the fighting to continue.

Eventually, he was rewarded for his impatience with a tail to the chest. He flew back a few yards before his flames returned stronger, his wounds rapidly healing and once again he was growing.

Then the great beast pulled away, missing part of an arm and turned to flee. Lung roared in rage that Leviathan would deny him a decent fight after all the effort he'd gone through to get here. So he did what came naturally and chased the Endbringer deeper into the city's harbour. He will not get away from me that easily.

Lung started to rethink his plan as Leviathan outpaced him, moving further into the harbour. Slow down and fight me, kaiju. He raged as he practically tried to jam his thoughts into the beast's head. Luckily something else saved him the trouble.

Further ahead the harbour flash froze, filling the space between the two halves of the city and stopping Leviathan just long enough for the now twenty foot tall and winged Lung to catch up. Despite being mostly underwater, he was still surrounded by flames and water all around him was flash boiling. A talon dug into Leviathan's back before he could move away and Lung took the opportunity to tear into him more.

Partially submerged and gripping close, Lung avoided the swipes from the remaining claw as his own started blackening the flesh he held. Soon, his fire was hot enough to break down the water. The now hydrogen fuelled fires began to take on a purplish tinge as he tore and burnt Leviathan with plasma wreathed talons.

Matching him in size, he started dragging the beast towards the shore to get better footing. As soon as they surfaced, the other side of the Endbringer was pelted with beams of light. Leviathan tried to struggle free, but missing a hand it was having difficulty. Afterimages of it's tail tore into the nearby buildings, shredding masonry and steel frames.

He was distracted as a golden glow filled the sky and Leviathan capitalised on the opening, cracking several ribs with an elbow and diving out of Lung's loosened grip.

Spears of bright golden light lanced into the beast, driving it away and back towards the ocean. Countless beams of different colours joined Scion's attacks as Leviathan fled, picking up unmatchable speed.

Lung snorted as once more the cowardly beast fled, just when he was getting an upper hand. Letting out a great roar and a suitably draconic gout of flame, he surveyed the city. The streets were flooded, and several buildings were practically demolished. The airport was a lost cause, but the city was surprisingly intact.

He felt a strange sense of satisfaction. This wasn't like Kyushu, where victory was ultimately pointless. Here, he had made the difference. Here, I have turned the tide. He snorted at his own pun.

As the rain died down with the sea monster's departure, he could hear the cheering of the other capes. With his feelings of triumph reinforced, Lung smiled a very toothy smile.

Chapter Text

Tattletale

Tattletale took in her surroundings as she stepped into the impromptu command centre. The room was filled with faces she recognised from her research of the east coast cape scene. Accord, a Boston local, stood over a map of his city. He was planning out a strategy with Kaiser, Clockblocker and Blasto. Timestop, metal growth and plant bio-tinkering? Ah, a trap. This should be interesting. She thought she might have seen someone near Kaiser glaring at her, but dismissed it as unimportant.

She looked over to her side, where Intel unfolded her laptop on a nearby table before attaching a strangely bulky wireless modem. Didn't see her working on that. Networking for drones? No. No drones brought along and rain too heavy. Access to something. Wireless traffic and security cameras. She smiled, shaking her head in amused exasperation as her team mate began to set up city wide surveillance. This is so going to ruin all of our mystique.

Looking over Intel's shoulder, she saw a massive array of video stream windows, most of them not yet active. Her eyes were drawn to the windows linked to the Undersiders. Marceau's showed the wide open space of the Airport mustering point as 'he' looked around at the nearby capes. Grue's showed a view from the top floor of the Terminal, where he waited with several other Shakers and non flying Blasters.

Regent, Bitch and Imp were all transmitting a similar picture, just from different angles. They were waiting with a group of Movers who had been assigned to search and rescue operations. While Bitch's dogs might well have been able to fight the Endbringer, they probably wouldn't achieve much and Bitch was too worried about them dying to let them anywhere near Leviathan. Instead they became car sized canine ambulances, an Undersider on each.

*Tidal wave incoming*

The armband she wore snatched her attention away from the screen for a moment before she looked back at Marceau's feed. Already the barrier of force fields was being erected to stop the assembled capes from being washed away, though the view was somewhat limited to the blurry area in front of her team mate. Another window showed the view from a commandeered airport security camera, a cluster of heroes and villains behind a giant mostly glowing patchwork wall.

As the first wave came in she winced as she saw it impact. Camera twitch. Flinch. Fear? No. Pain. Taylor's in pain. Damn it.

*Waller down, CD-8. Deflecto down, CD-8*

She looked at the view of the barrier and noticed the end sections had been chipped away. Two barrier capes. Stone walls and force fields.

*Waller recovered.*

Another wave hit the barrier and she winced as Marceau seemed once more in agony. Damn it, I can notice it but can't do anything about it.

*Deflecto deceased, ED-8. Blockhead down, ED-8. Bunker down, ED-8. Blockhead deceased ED-8.*

The barrier had shrunk along the northern edge. Tattletale's face dropped into a frown. Two capes dead and he hasn't even surfaced. She noticed that the next wave wasn't quite as large. Glancing about the video feeds she caught a glimpse of Eidolon hovering above the harbour making pushing gestures and Myrrdin pointing with his staff. Wave's decreasing. Energy drain? Hydrokinesis? Yes. Countering Leviathan. Myrrdin diverting water. Teleporting? Ah, Pocket dimension. She sighed with a little relief as Marceau seemed to catch a break.

*Bunker recovered.*

Another weak wave barely splashed against the barrier before Leviathan burst out of the ocean and leapt onto the airport field. A breath caught in her throat as she saw the size difference between the Endbringer and the assembled capes. She had of course heard the stories, but seeing it was a different matter. I'm not even near him and I'm freaking out.

She watched as the Blaster contingent unleashed their powers or weapons into the beast's face. Shallow wounds started appearing in his flesh as powerful beams lanced into him. Alexandria's group came in to flank him as he attempted to avoid the blasts.

*Sanguine deceased, CD-7. Jotun deceased, CD-7. Dauntless down, CD-7*

The wide view camera showed Lung, Chevalier and a bunch of other land bound heavy hitters charging in. A gigantic blade hacked into Leviathan and gouges were torn into legs and torso as the melee fighters did their thing. A sweep of an arm and Lung went flying. Another took someone else while his tail bisected another.

*Oaf, deceased, CD-7. Brigandine deceased, CD-7*

More wounds piled up as the blasters pelted from above while others battered from below. Odd. Amount of power to depth of damage inconsistent. A swarm of missiles from Dragon's suit covered the beast in pock marks.

A sweep of his arm and his afterimage took out several fliers.

*Lady Photon down, CD-7. Saurian deceased CD-7. Iron Falcon, deceased CD-7. Laserdream down CD-7.*

A deafeningly loud crack of thunder filled the room. Strider appeared for an instant before he disappeared, taking Kaiser, Blasto, Clockblocker and several others with him. I hope what ever Accord planned works.

Leviathan continued his rampage. A slash of a tail swept towards three capes, killing one before the other two dodged out of camera view. Not dodged, pulled. Marceau? Yes.

*Escutcheon deceased, CD-7*

More blaster fire rained down. Leviathan reacted as if hurt. No. Not Hurt. Nothing we've done is serious. Pretending? Why?

*Enacting cage plan. Watch your fire.*

And then everything stopped. The Endbringer paused mid lurch. Tattletale smiled. Nice work. Kaiser started to build a steel cage around him while huge thorny vines grew and entangled like killer kudzu. Blasto. She saw a cloud of darkness build around Leviathan's head. Ah Grue. Finally glowing bands of energy encircled the Endbringer. She didn't recognise that power.

It was a moment of eerie quiet as an uncertain clock ticked down. Rescue teams moved in to recover who they could. The feeds from her team mates bounced around as they picked up a few extra passengers, but there weren't many injured that hadn't already been accounted for.

*Lady Photon recovered. Laserdream recovered.*

She smiled a bit at that. Looks like New Wave owes us a few.

Then all hell broke loose. Leviathan's tail lashed out, sending a wall of water slicing through a cluster of capes.

*Carapacitator deceased, CD-7. Stormtiger deceased, CD-7. Battery down, CD-7. Brandish down, CD-7. Triumph deceased, CD-7. Flashbang down, CD-7. Armsmaster down, CD-7*

Shit. Why didn't they restrain him properly? Accurate despite Grue's darkness. Doesn't need eyes? Other senses? Senses water.

"Shit, he doesn't need his eyes to see." Everyone in the room looked at her. "His hydrokinesis must let him sense water in people. He targeted those capes despite Grue's darkness."

"Fuck." Said a cape she didn't quite recognise. In planning room. Thinker. Costume generic. Red and Black. E88 colours. Erudite. Ah, that would explain the glare earlier.

Another flick of his tail and another wave of water went flying at the terminal.

*Grue down, CC-5. Ballistic deceased, CC-5. Sundancer down, CC-5. Aimbot deceased, CC-5. Rune down, CC-5. Boom deceased, CC-5. Shadow Stalker down, CC-5. Bondage deceased, CC-5*

Her head snapped down to her armband. What the fuck? Oh no! She looked back at one of the camera feeds. The one that she had been looking at was replaced with static, but another showed a view of the Shaker/Blaster team. The balcony like structure was smashed up, glass everywhere and a couple of benches torn out of the floor.

Grue was on his back, but she could see he was breathing. Injured, non critical. She sighed in relief before she caught a glimpse of someone she hadn't thought she'd see again. Shadow Stalker. She's out of prison? On Probation? Leniency in exchange for Endbringer attendance?

She only belatedly realised the bands of energy had dissipated from around Leviathan. A glance back at the balcony showed the very still form of someone in a lot of leather. Ah, Bondage. In a flash, Strider appeared in the room and disappeared with the capes shortly after.

*Grue, Sundancer, Rune, Shadow Stalker, recovered.*

*Deploying special munitions. Stay clear.*

On the monitor she looked on in shock as Leviathan broke an arm free of its cage, bringing it up to block something. First an explosion was set off, then that explosion stopped as something else hit the outstretched claw. Explosion stopped? Time stasis. Tinker device. Bakuda.

Her shock turned to horror as Leviathan broke free of the cage. He almost casually tore his arm free from the effect, a slowly oozing concave wound where his forearm should have been. The Endbringer quickly leaped out of what was left of the vines and steel blades, taking several light wounds on the way. Broke free easily. Was toying with us? Blocked the tinker bomb away from his body. Knew it was a threat.

Leviathan leaped over several capes in a stunning display of agility, diving into the harbour. She watched as he was followed by Lung and his afterimage.

*Terminus down. CD-6. Hardcore deceased, CD-6. Fury deceased, CD-6. Marceau down. CD-6.*

Her eyes darted across the monitor, but she couldn't see her in any of Intel's camera feeds. All the blood fled from Tattletale's face. No, no, no. Panicking, she almost yelled as she spoke through her com-bead.

"Guys, you need to find Marceau. Near the harbour."

"Ok." Imp answered. "Arm band thingies are pointing the way."

She just hoped they could get to her before she drowned under all the water being thrown around.

"Does anyone have a read on where Leviathan is going?" Accord's calm voice brought her out of her panic. I can't do anything more for Taylor at the moment. Need to focus on the bigger picture. Before she could do much, Intel spoke up.

"I'm tracking him going north west, deeper in to the city's harbour. Lung is following. Entering zone CE-5 now."

The Bostonian crime lord nodded curtly to Intel before relaying the information to the two flying teams. Tattletale watched the monitor as various cameras tracked the bow wave of Leviathan's movement. The streets either side of the harbour were flooded with water as the Endbringer sent smaller yet still powerful waves against both halves of the city.

Her eyes were constantly drawn to the feeds from her team mates. All they showed were static for Grue and Marceau and bouncing views of the runways from the other three.

"He's approaching the Sumner Tunnel. Deploy the ice."

She glanced up to see Accord looking over Intel's shoulder, watching a video feed from a nearby wharf.

*Keep clear of CA-4. Tinker bomb inbound.*

She watched a section of choppy water suddenly expand in jagged spikes as everything in view flash froze. Bakuda, you psycho. She shuddered a little at the thought of that going off in Brockton Bay. A wave flashed over the instant iceberg, followed soon after by a billowing cloud of steam. While she had a very good idea of the cause, it didn't become visible until several minutes later when Lung dragged Leviathan into view of a traffic camera somewhere in East Boston.

The gang leader was at this point of comparable size to the Endbringer and they were tearing chunks of flesh from each other. Leviathan's claw and tail doing more but being matched by Lung's regeneration while damage from his claws were slowly adding up. But only superficially. How can that not be hurting him. Or is he an it? Not human? No gender. Humanoid appearance but impossible physiology. Layers. Just what is it? Not human. She felt the start of a headache as her powers started looping and so tried to block out some of the input.

While Lung grappled with the beast, an endless rain of energy beams and projectiles pelted into Leviathan. None of the other capes dared come any closer with Lung's fiery aura. It seemed to go on for an age while the nearby buildings were crushed by afterimages and only avoided immolation because of the omnipresent water.

The apparent stalemate was broken as Leviathan found an opening and knocked Lung aside, right before the beast was skewered by several golden beams added to the already considerable barrage. Scion.

As the golden man began to drive off the Endbringer, it lashed out as an act of spite, levelling several more buildings with it's afterimage before diving back into the harbour, swimming faster than before. Was it holding back before?

She had been tuning out the armband, too focused on analysing the Endbringer. But something finally grabbed her full attention and erased the dread that had been building up.

*Marceau Recovered*