Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Taylor's eyes fluttered open, but she couldn't see anything except darkness.

What happened? Things were slowly coming back to her. Spring break had started two days ago and each person had a project they had to do. They had to go to some historical sites and take notes. She had picked a small abandoned mine because it was isolated and she was the only one that picked it.

She felt different like nothing could bother her. She didn't feel in danger so she laid there and kept trying to remember.

She had gotten to the location alright, she took the bus and walked. Taylor had told her dad, Danny, where she was going and he made her promise to not go inside because it could be very dangerous. He said that parts of it might have collapsed or be ready to do so. There was also the danger that not everything had been collected, like explosives. Taylor asked what was the danger with something that had been sitting there for over a century, apparently, explosives got more dangerous and volatile with time, not less.

She stretched and wiggled side to side in the darkness. There was something solid around her but it was pushed aside with minimal effort.

Taylor had spent around five minutes taking some notes from the mine entrance when she heard someone running to her from behind. She had turned around just in time for Emma and Sophia to tackle her to the ground.

She froze her movement as the memories started coming faster.

The physical bullying had increased after she avoided their prank at the start of the semester. Maybe they were training to repeat their prank and this time successfully shove her in a locker full of gross shit.

She couldn't breathe. Not that she was panicking. She realized that she wasn't breathing, and she didn't feel the need to.

Both of her bullies had beat her a bit before dragging her to the mine entrance. They had looked around and spotted a pit. While being dragged she tried fighting back and asking why but they just hit her some more and questioned if she really thought she was strong. She couldn't get a word in before they tossed her into the pit.

The ever-present darkness gave no answers when she thought of questions about said pit. It had only looked a few feet deep. Then she had hit the bottom and broken through the wood. Some box at the bottom fell in alongside her. She tried grabbing for something along the walls but there was nothing but slippery rock from the humid spring climate.

She was pretty sure she fell over a dozen feet before she hit the bottom. She screamed when she felt the crunch in her arm and leg that hit the rock first.

She used her other arm to feel where she remembered the pain. She had seen a glimpse of exposed bone before something happened. She felt nothing but unblemished skin.

Taylor had only a few moments of unbearable pain until the box that had fallen with her hit the ground as well. The split second of light, as the box exploded, showed the words 'DYNAMITE' on the lid. She had been thrown against the wall. Somehow, she wasn't dead from the injuries or pain. She wished she was. Over her pain, she had barely heard the sound of rock breaking and the tunnel collapsing.

She had been trapped and in pain. No light and the only sound was her own panicked breathing. She remembered that after a few seconds, she felt something else. Something long with many legs had begun crawling on her. It didn't do anything but crawl.

She had been trapped with no air and was quickly dying. Her only company being some bug. She wanted to see her dad again. She had been out of her mind because she started thinking about quitting school, which didn't matter because she wasn't going to be anywhere else but this collapsed mine for the rest of her life. She kept focusing on the past and future while ignoring the present.

Why wasn't she dead? She remembered blacking out pretty quickly after that. She took a breath in. It didn't fill her but the movements were familiar. She breathed out and asked, "Is anyone there?"

Her voice was small and didn't echo. Was she still trapped? How long has it been?

She started to roll over but she knew that would cause the tunnel to collapse more. How did she know that? She relaxed and a raised hand tapped against the stone. She felt the vibration through the Earth and understood her environment. There was still rock over her but she knew how to move.

Taylor was amazed. Did she have powers? What else could she do? She focused inward and felt two different things. The first was a well of energy inside her. Could she shoot something? The second felt like a capacity to do something. The ability to become something different. Something that wasn't weak gangly Taylor.

That could come later, as long as it helped her escape. The confined space didn't bother her but she at least wanted to be out of here. She wanted to see her dad again.

She pulled herself to a place so she could get on her hands and knees. Her sense of the ground let her navigate in the darkness. There wasn't much space and she found herself in front of a wall. She brought a hand up to the wall and felt something start to secrete from the tips of her fingers. She didn't question it and clawed into the rock. The fluid bit and dissolved the stone where it made contact. There was no effort in shoveling pounds of rock around her.

Did she get strong as well? All the better to dig her way out with. The roof above her did slouch from the missing support but she used her back to support all the tons of weight. She crawled and crawled. She felt her body changing as her tunnel started to curve upwards. Her body was getting longer. Her legs changed and multiplied. More legs for a better grip and push more sediment behind her.

While digging upwards, some small stones fell from above and into her mouth when she had it open. Taylor had been about to spit them out when she suddenly tasted them. It was delicious. She surprised herself when she started chewing, rock breaking between her teeth. A metamorphic rock that had previously been igneous, there were small hints of iron and zinc.

Did she eat rocks now? That had given her energy, unlike breathing. What else could she eat? Now that she thought about it, she was hungry. Oh well, just another tool to allow for her escape.

As she ate and climbed, she kept changing. She got bigger. Her limbs became jointed and her body was long and segmented. She was losing her human features but she was going faster. Two long and thick whip-like appendages had sprouted from her forehead at some point, but they gave her better reception from her ability to sense vibrations.

Her size increased and increased. She began making the tunnel ahead of her bigger so she could fit through without squeezing or collapsing it. Shouldn't she have been out by now? Was she heading in the wrong direction?

She stopped digging. She prodded the stone wall in front of her with her... antennae. She shifted her body and felt for vibrations. She didn't have hands anymore; they had become jointed and came to points. She could still use them to dig and the fluid was helpful in dissolving rock. Examining the movements she was pretty sure she was a centipede. Weren't centipedes small? She felt like she was getting bigger, not smaller. She wasn't sure how big she was at this point.

She wasn't trapped in this form. She knew she could change back at any time. In fact, this form was quite comfortable.

The vibrations returned and she could feel something empty above her. That must be the surface. Just a little farther and she would be out.

All it took was a single shove and she broke the surface and beheld the night sky. She could see roads below and small lights traveling them in the darkness. There weren't any clouds in the sky which allowed her to see the glory of the stars and moon. A breeze brushed her antennae and she pulled her body further out of the mountain.

She carefully crawled around the mountain. She was larger than she thought she was. Taylor made sure to destroy as few trees as possible, which was difficult considering they carpeted the ground and were smaller than one of her legs.

She kept getting bigger. She could feel a... limit on her size? No, not a limit, that was just how big she was. She wouldn't get bigger through her power but by reaching adulthood. That would stop any growing. She could still go back to human form.

The mountain she was on was the largest one in the area. Taylor knew some people hiked here. Hopefully, she didn't scare them. She flexed her jaws, which had a vertical opening, each part moving to the sides and back in. Taylor knew she looked scary but couldn't find it in herself to care.

Finally, she got to the side of the mountain and peaked around it. The wind behind her was blowing out to sea where she could see Brockton Bay. There were the shining lights of downtown, with small houses still glowing in the residential neighborhoods from people staying up late. She could see the Protectorate headquarters with the energy dome, protecting it from harm. There was moving lights between the buildings, cars and buses.

It was calm. Taylor guessed that it was around the middle of the night. There would be few people up at this hour. She could stay like this for a while. Just stay and watch the lights of the city go by. She was tired.

She eventually hit her maximum size and pulled her entire body from the mountain. There was a lot of her. She worried about crushing people if she went into the city. She would have to stay on the mountain for now.

With that thought, she moved her mass with great care, trying not to disturb others. She wrapped herself around the mountain once and then again and again. With her head near the mountain's peak, Taylor was able to wrap her entire body around the mountain just over seven times.

She was large enough that her underside didn't even brush the canopy of trees. She mentally apologized to the forest and life in it before settling down. She held her wince when she heard the cacophonous noise of thousands of trees snapping as one.

Taylor laid down and waited a few moments for any sign that someone was going to suddenly hit her. There wasn't. She decided to rest and watch the night go by. Over the course of an hour, she watched the world move by. Clouds formed and slowly rolled towards the ocean's horizon. The blinking lights of a commercial plane glided through the night sky. A waxing gibbous moon shining brightly overhead. The light pollution made it hard to see the stars but the brightest were just barely visible.

The forest around her was quiet, she had probably scared every animal within a mile of the mountain. Pretty easy when she was pretty sure her new length could be measured in miles. Was she bigger than an Endbringer? Giant monsters sound scary but then she heard reports that said monsters were less than four stories tall. She could eat the two smaller monsters in one bite.

Taylor had never heard of any parahuman or power-created thing that got as big as she was right now. Could she go out and save people?

...

Did she want to?

She mentally shook her head. She had spent enough time thinking about the past and future. She would devote herself to the present. She would rest here and, in the morning, she would go see her dad. He was probably worried sick, but she didn't think he would be out looking for her right now.

Emma and Sophia? They didn't matter right now. They couldn't hurt her now. Taylor wasn't sure if anything could feasibly hurt her anymore.

She cut off her thoughts and watched the world pass by. It only took a few minutes before her whole body was relaxed and she began drifting off.

Her rest was calm and dreamless, cut off from thoughts of the future and past.

A few hours later...

Her dreamless sleep was interrupted by wailing alarms. Her vision focused back; she didn't have eyelids to blink. It was morning and she was gazing into the sunrise on the horizon. The ocean was glinting with reflecting light.

Taylor was still a bit tired so she blearily raised her head off the ground and shook it to get her bearings. The repeating storm sirens were annoying. She glanced upwards, the sky was relatively clear, a few clouds here and there rolling back in from the ocean. Why were they doing that?

Oh, right. She was a gigantic insect monster that could crush a city with a casual stroll. Taylor wondered if they thought she was a new Endbringer. They were likely gathering capes from across the United States to potentially fight her, maybe including capes from other countries.

Why the sirens now? Did it take them this long to notice her? She had made a lot of noise last night. She pondered for a bit before deciding that they wanted to get people to safety first and someone caused enough of a panic before activating the sirens. She hoped that was the reason, for the sake of her belief in the heroes.

Should she turn back to human form? She had been up for a few minutes now and nothing had changed. Would someone come talk to her? She waited a few more minutes for something to happen.

She passed the time turning her head to examine the area and take everything in. Taylor stretched her appendages while keeping her body in place, just a few at a time.

Seriously? It had been ten minutes now and no one had approached her. Might as well start things off herself.

She lowered her head and Taylor took her first steps towards Brockton Bay. Like the previous night, Taylor tried to be mindful of where she stepped and kept away from roads.

In the daylight, as she crawled over her own coils, she could appreciate her own body better. She was definitely a centipede, long segmented body with armor and many legs. One pair of legs per segment and she seemed to have around one hundred segments. Her armor was a dull gray-blue color like rocky dust. There was some dust and soil still on it but she imagined she might shine with a bath. Her legs were a deep dark orange near their base that transitioned into shining gold as they reached the tips. The gaps of flesh between her armor plates were a midnight black.

She also noticed the devastation of the forest where she had slept last night. She internally winced and pretended to ignore it. Hopefully, they would forgive her.

She was around half way to the city when she saw the forcefield around the floating base drop. Taylor stopped moving forward to watch small dots rise from the base and fly her way. Seemed that she was finally going to meet the heroes.

She drew in a large breath. Wait, could she talk in this form?

She could hardly get out the beginning of a hiss before a tiny glowing green dot suddenly appeared above her head and she was hit with a force that sent her face slamming into the ground. The impact sent chunks of earth shooting in every direction. Through the earth her face had been drilled into she felt the vibrations carry and cause buildings hundreds of feet away to collapse.

Taylor expected more pain from that, but all she got was a dull ache.

She backed up and removed her face from the ground and looked to find the green dot still hovering there. It was minuscule, smaller than one of her eyes. If they thought she was an Endbringer they would bring out the big guns. There was a very real possibility that this insignificant speck was Eidolon. The second strongest parahuman in the world had just shoved her face into the mud.

That would also mean the tiny black dot coming towards her was Alexandria. One of her childhood idols flew up and threw herself into Taylor's side. She managed to move Taylor's upper body a few dozen yards before Taylor put in effort to hold herself there.

Weren't these the most powerful people in the world? Should she be in trouble? She hadn't fought back.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the same force flinging her raised upper body back. The ground beneath her was torn up from her claws trying to get a grip. Nearly a half mile of her body was thrown back but the other ninety percent of her kept its hold of the ground. Taylor brought her head around when Alexandria and two other flying dots hit her over the head and forced her to bow.

Barely even a tingle. She expected more. Actually, she was feeling something. She glanced back to find other flying dots hitting her body with lasers and other projectiles. She guessed they had just started because some of those hits were biting into her. She was pretty sure she saw Purity glowing brightly and firing helical beams. Taylor had forgotten that villains also participated in Endbringer fights.

One of the lights glowed and zipped over by her face. Taylor flinched away when the light launched an absurd number of lasers into her eyes and antennae. That was uncomfortable and starting to hurt. Should she go back to human form? Could she? She didn't know if she had the same durability as this form. She might die. Even if she did have the same durability, she knew that some powers were extremely strong but were limited by area of effect. She would get to human size and it would take one strike to kill her.

Taylor caught a flash of light from Eidolon before her entire body became wracked with terrible pain. It felt like her insides were melting and being violently thrown around. She started throwing her body around for release from the pain. She writhed and whipped her body into the air. She wasn't sure how long it lasted before it stopped. She looked for the glowing green dot and found a shadow over her.

Taylor paused to examine what she was seeing. A parahuman had lifted a mile-wide piece of land. Said giant pile of rock and stone was about to come down on her head. It stopped floating and dropped. She put the front of her body into an S shape before striking forward to meet the rock. She was secreting venom from her claws and gouged into the bottom of the rock. More and more of Taylor's body came with her to coil around the bottom and support its weight. She had managed to catch the massive projectile and she quickly felt for its vibrations so she could get the information she needed.

It took a few seconds but she found it. Finding the correct fault lines, she leveraged her titanic strength, and with a massive twist the rock broke apart into many smaller pieces. The floating island of land came apart around her to reveal the city and sun. Taylor was slightly glad she hadn't accidentally launched herself into the city with her thrashing.

She twisted around and found capes flying all around her. She couldn't get out of this without fighting back, could she? She needed to either drive off her bullies or distract them in some way so she could escape. Unless an Endbringer showed up, that distraction wouldn't be happening.

Well, there was one part of her power she hadn't used yet. She brought her body together and slightly coiled herself, taking a defensive posture. She dug into that well of energy inside her and brought it in front of her. All the flying capes immediately scattered or put up shields when she manifested a red circle floating in front of her face.

Taylor decided to have some fun with this power. She formed two concentric red rings, one slightly smaller one inside the other, and put some random scratches and shapes between them. Along with that she formed a pentagram across the space inside the inner circle.

Taylor felt the ability to make patterns and decide beforehand where every single projectile would go. She chose a fan pattern. Three expanding cones that were made of thousands of swarming energy bullets. The two outer cones were green while the center one was yellow.

They swarmed and expanded, growing monstrously in size. New bullets would appear out of thin air before exploding into blades of their respective color.

The majority of the bullets hit nothing and the powered shields held up to her barrage. A few of the quicker capes that hadn't made it behind a forcefield were skilled enough to dodge between shots. Not everyone was so lucky.

She watched a slow-flying cape get out of the way of a shot, just to slam into another shot. This performance repeated itself with another cape and another. More were dying. Taylor saw some shields begin to crack. She was killing people. Why was she doing this? She just wanted to get back to her dad-.

Again, her raised head was shoved into the dirt and the burning pain reappeared. She thrashed and flailed. She brought up her back end and swiped it through the air. She could hear the roar of air from the terrible winds in the wake of a single swipe. This caused the pain to stop. She brought her face out and began whipping around. Did she smack him?

She spotted the green glow hovering in the air. There were fewer dots in the sky. She took a glance at the opposite end of her body and saw pockmarks and stains from capes and shields. She focused back on Eidolon. She drew in some air and hissed at him. He didn't seem to react. Alexandria came down and pounded on her head. Taylor thought she might have a headache after this.

There was one other way she felt she could use the energy inside her. Her earlier performance hadn't put a dent in the well. She gathered it up and spread it throughout her body as she swatted Alexandria with a single antenna. It was time to show she wouldn't be shoved down. She wouldn't back down to people pushing her around.

Taylor let herself feel the power flowing through her. She noticed a purple miasma began to seep from her skin and rise into the air before quickly dissipating. It outlined her form as she crawled forward and let go of the ground. She kept her gaze set on Eidolon as she rose from the ground.

She launched herself at him. Taylor's lunge was quick but he was gone just before she would have hit him. Teleportation? That must have been how he avoided her swipe. That did not matter, he wasn't her goal. She just needed to get above everyone.

She shot past everyone and rose higher. She twisted and hung over the battlefield. It was exhilarating to be in a fight. Taylor thought that she should have fought back against her bullies sooner if it was this fun. She coiled into a spiral with her head at the center. Taylor lowered her head to gaze at those below her. They couldn't make her eat dirt now...

Actually, she liked eating rocks, how does dirt taste? No matter, she had a plan now and the plan did involve eating dirt at one point.

She formed her neat magic circle again and formed a different pattern. All around her slow, slithering, blue lasers rained from above and fell towards the capes below her. She took the chance to also fire tight groupings of yellow energy bullets toward any flying dots that tried to approach her.

She saw capes began retreating under the assault of lasers and energy bullets. Hellfire raining down on her opponents.

After nearly a minute of firing, she began enacting her escape strategy. She cut off this pattern and made a new one. She fired larger yellow bullets in a wider area. She didn't bother aiming anywhere other than straight down, she didn't need to aim.

The fat bullets were slow and predictable enough to dodge but that didn't matter. All of them struck the ground and stuck there. Each bullet flashed three times after landing.

Internally, Taylor grinned.

They exploded like dynamite. Gigantic explosions that threw up debris and smaller spherical energy bullets. She saw a number of capes disappear in the flashes or be vaporized by a released energy bullet. They began scattering and flying away as she fired straight down again and again. She kept a ring of explosions along the perimeter but began concentrating fire on the center, creating a deep hole.

She kept doing so and waited for her opportunity. There was something she was waiting on; she could expect it because it was what she would have done in Eidolon's situation. She had her antennae fully out when she felt a slight displacement of air above her. Right on cue.

With her body coiled up the entirety of Eidolon's, possibly, telekinesis could grab her and rocket her towards the ground and the explosions that just went off.

She shrank as she dived, and added her own flight to the force propelling her down. She dived into the flash of one of her blasts and hit the ground. She was only slightly bigger than a person at this point and she didn't have a lot of time. She clawed the ground and dug as fast as she could.

She needed to put distance between herself and all the other capes. She kept digging and decided to turn to her human form, maybe if someone found her, they would assume she was a friendly cape that was trying to escape the fight. She idly noticed that she still had her clothes, lucky. They were still dirty but that didn't matter. She kept digging and didn't stop for a long time.

She made sure that any tunnel behind her collapsed and kept digging. She leveled out and stopped in her path. There wasn't any noise. She punched the earth and felt for vibrations. There were different structures and vibrations in the direction she was heading. She guessed that was the city.

She continued at a slower pace and continuously felt for any sign that she had been found out. She kept digging and digging. Offhandedly she would grab a rock or mineral from the wall and eat it. She savored the different tastes. The digging kept us for nearly an hour and she found out a few things about herself. Such as that physical activity didn't really tire her or she recovered quickly, and the fact that she preferred crystalline igneous rock over new sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks crumbled unsatisfyingly and had too many conflicting flavors. Still pretty tasty but not her style.

Taylor paused and felt for vibrations. She could feel vehicles moving around the city. Good, they likely gave up looking for her but they were probably still weary. She had avoided anything that looked like an Endbringer shelter while crawling through the earth. She could feel the distorted vibrations from the aquifer below the city, but she was aiming higher.

She went the last few feet and plunged her fist through the wall and felt cool damp air on the other side. Taylor made the hole a little bigger and squeezed through. She found herself standing in a sewer tunnel. The smell was atrocious but she could stand it for now.

She wandered in a general northern direction where she knew her house was. Occasionally, she would put her back to the wall and feel for a difference in vibrations and use it to navigate.

She was pretty sure she found a general location for her neighborhood and found a manhole. She flew up and checked for vibrations around it. Taylor waited a few moments for some people to walk away from the entrance of the alley.

She lifts the lid with a single finger and peeks out. No one around. She lifts the rest of the cover with one hand and slides out of the sewer. Taylor looks down at herself. Her clothes are still intact with only some minor tears here and there. Some dust from the ground still remains and she smells horrible but she doesn't look like someone who fought the triumvirate and an army of parahumans.

She smirks and walks to the end of the alley before peeking out. She recognizes the area; her house is only a few blocks away. She manually breathes in and out to get a grip on herself. Most people don't smile after a giant monster attacks their city. She gets out of the alley and makes her way to her house.

The air smells smoky, was something burning?

She walks a bit faster, taking care to hunch her shoulders and put her hoody up.

She turns the corner to her street. There's where her house should be. The smashed building with long burned rubble.

In a daze, she gets closer and stands across the street from what was once her house. What happened? Did she do this? This looks like it happened a day ago, it couldn't have been her. All the fire is out at this point and has been for hours.

With her eyes drifting over the scene, something catches her attention. Something burned into the pavement in front of the house. She blankly walks across the street and looks down.

They look like footprints. Put into the pavement from heavy weight and high temperatures. The footprints themselves didn't look human. Somewhere between a man and a lizard. Wasn't there a local cape that could turn into some dragon thing? There were rumors but the cape was strong. They were the leader of one of the local gangs, the Azn Bad Boys. The cape's name was Lung.

Her house was gone. The place her family loved. Where was her father? Was he alive?

She turned and walked away. She would have to find out. If she could face the triumvirate, she could take a lizard.

Chapter Text

Taylor wasn't sure where to go at first so she wandered around the neighborhood. Simply walking and letting her thoughts roll in her head.

She must have lost her shoes at one point while digging through the earth, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Should she go to the police? No, they might find out she has powers and if they found out she was that giant centipede they would try to kill her. Not that they could do anything to her. Taylor didn't think joining the heroes would be helpful. No one with authority had done anything for her.

Was there any point in joining a group? She didn't need protection from anything. Taylor didn't need money for food because she could eat rocks. The only things she needed now were clothes and maybe entertainment. Taylor thought about where she would live now. She didn't have money for an apartment. What she did have was the ability to dig and an intuitive understanding of structures. She could carve out a home inside the mountain. Spend her days digging and eating.

She idly checked her person. Her wallet was gone, so was her glasses. She could still see, better than she had before powers, but her vision didn't feel super-human. In fact, she was decently sure that her vision was still below average. There was something in the back pocket of her jeans. She took it out and raised her eyebrows. She was surprised she still had her library card.

Library...

She could go to the library and use the computers there. She stopped walking and looked around to get her bearings. There were fewer people out. Everyone was nervous after an Endbringer attack. Taylor guessed that the people of Brockton Bay were used to bad things happening and were waiting for the other shoe to drop, even if the attack hadn't hit the city.

Luckily, she recognized the area and knew the route to the library. She began her way and thought back to her fight against everyone. They hadn't given her a choice and hadn't bothered even attempting to communicate. In hindsight, Taylor supposed that made sense after the disaster with the Simurgh's first appearance. Still, she hadn't been threatening.

She remembered how small they were in comparison to her. They were intimidated by her size. Didn't some parahumans have powers that made them smart or observant? Could they not tell her intentions? Alexandria had one of those powers along with her strength and flight. Eidolon could have any power he wanted. She knew Legend had enhanced sight from one of his interviews she heard.

There's no way they had no inkling that she was a person. Did they bother looking? Someone must have noticed, and they didn't care. They decided that she couldn't be allowed to live because of her power. She had to fight back or one of the capes could have gotten a lucky shot and killed her. She was pretty sure she still had organs and a brain.

No choice. She had been surprised by how disorganized the response was to her. It was a random swarm of flying capes with some bricks hitting her head and artillery hitting her back. Eidolon did most of the work against her.

They had been so fragile. It only took a single projectile to take someone out and she fired so many of them. How many had she killed for no reason? How many deaths that served no purpose? How many humans had died?

She turned the last corner and spotted the library. Now that she thought about it, who cares? It happened and it can't be taken back. That was their own fault for doing something stupid. She just had to keep moving forward.

Walking by someone she saw them look at her and wrinkle their nose. Right, she still smelled horrible because she put her back against the dirty wall of a sewer multiple times.

Taylor decided to not be an asshole to the librarians and ditched her stinking hoodie in a nearby alley.

The library was open. Taylor guessed that people like a feeling of normalcy. She saw a librarian eye her, but she ignored her after she showed her library card. Through the ground, she could feel three other people in the public part of the library besides the librarian and herself.

She went to the back with the computers and booted one up. After two minutes she was finally in and searched for recent news. Taylor was immediately bombarded with articles about her appearance and fight with the capes.

Apparently, she was officially the fourth Endbringer. There was both calm and panic. She got curious and started reading some of the articles. Some pictures and videos had been captured of her before she woke up. She almost looked like a prop. As if someone grabbed a centipede and enlarged it and placed it on a mountain.

She giggled when she saw an article titled 'FLYING CENTIPEDE FROM HELL'. They had given her a name.

Ōmukade.

People initially had no idea what to call her. So far, all the Endbringers resembled something from religion or mythology. Behemoth was a volcano that decided it wanted to be a cyclops with horns like the devil. Leviathan was a speedy sea serpent that brought storms and tidal waves. The Simurgh was an angel that could see the future and break people's minds.

Taylor was a giant centipede that could fly and shoot lasers. People tried to come up with names. Some proposed Nidhogg, a dragon underground that ate at the roots of the world tree. She felt vaguely offended for some reason at that. A few French people brought up Lou Carcolh, a snail mixed with a snake that lived in caves and had a beard of tentacles. Some Australians gave the Whowie, some big frog lizard with six legs that lived in a cave. Some tin-hats called her the Mongolian Death Worm.

Most people chose serpents or dragons, but they did find a mythological monster that fit her. The Japanese Ōmukade fit her well. It was a giant centipede that ate everything in the area, not even the mightiest dragons were safe. Just like her, it could coil around a mountain over seven times. Described her perfectly with the exception of her flight and lasers, but the Endbringers never perfectly fit one monster's description. Even the Simurgh fucked up the angel look by having a bunch of asymmetrical wings.

She managed to find a Wikipedia page about the Ōmukade. It held domain over a mountain and ate everything near it. Some powerful serpents had to get the help of a warrior to kill it. The monster was shot with arrows, but it took an arrow covered in saliva to kill it. Was she allergic to saliva now? She didn't think so. Now that she thought about it, the best way to kill her would be with some sort of disease.

She went back and found an article about her fight against the defenders. The turnout to the fight was lower than usual and so were the deaths. She remembered only seeing flying capes during the fight. Any ground-bound parahuman couldn't get up to her body so they were held in reserve. They were lucky, if they had tried fighting her, they would have been caught in the explosions.

No one from Brockton Bay had died. She felt some relief that she hadn't killed someone she knew. Then Taylor remembered that she saw Purity and wished that she had died. Some local parahumans didn't bother showing up. The ABB being one such group.

Lung...

Right, she was here to find information about what happened. It took some searching and digging, it seemed everyone had an opinion about Ōmukade, but she found what she was looking for.

'HEAD OF HIRING FOR DOCKWORKERS KILLED IN CAPE RAMPAGE!'

Taylor stared blankly at the words before clicking on the article. Her dad was dead. Her deductions had been correct, Lung had gone on a rampage in response to some inane thing and had smashed through her house with her dad still inside. There wasn't much. It was a small article.

It had happened within an hour of her leaving for that abandoned mine. The news had been buried beneath her showing off. No one was going to care. No one would remember. The day he died wouldn't matter because a bunch of 'heroes' threw their lives away the next day.

It was official, there was nothing left for her. She wasn't sure if anyone would bother looking for her. If they couldn't find her, they would assume she died. There were deaths aside from the capes that died fighting her. Some people had stayed in their houses. When Eidolon smashed her face into the ground, it caused an earthquake that buried those people.

She sat there for a while before a librarian came over and told her that her time on the computer was up. She just nodded, stood up, and walked out of the library. She walked and walked aimlessly, letting her feet decide where to take her. She didn't think. She moved forward with no thought.

She was going through an alley when she bumped into someone. She focused back on the present. There was a filthy man with a knife in front of her, "I said give me your money, bitch!"

Taylor blinked. That gave her an idea. She grinned and lunged at the man before he could do anything. She grabbed the knife arm with one hand and his mouth with the other, "No, give me your money."

He just kept trying to yell at her. She guessed that he was on drugs because there was no fear. Now she didn't know what to do. How did she get the knife out of his hands? Just grab it? That felt wrong letting go of the weapon. He was hitting her with his other arm and kicking her now.

Wait, other arm. There was an idea. She didn't have to fully change to get more appendages. She focused on her changing power and felt her shoulder blades shift. There was a tearing noise. The back of her shirt had torn some, but she now had an extra set of arms coming over her original pair.

The guy in her grip stopped moving and looked over her new arms. While he was shocked, she let the new upper arms take over the duty of grabbing his knife and mouth. Her arms were now free to go for his pockets and take everything out.

He started thrashing now in a panic. She found his wallet. She let him keep his phone. Now, what to do with him?

She looked around and spotted a dumpster. Perfect. She carried him over when he started panicking more. She opened it up and tossed him in before closing the lid and speed-walking away. She ignored his yelling while retracting her arms back into her body. She dug through the wallet and found some cash and a few dollar coins. Not much but she could buy some new clothes.

Taylor listened to the vibrations in the ground to find a concentration of people moving around. That way should be the mall.

It was a quick trip and she didn't stick around long. Only taking the time to get some comfier, stain-resistant, clothes. While changing and trying on the clothes, she noticed something.

Did she have muscles now?

She took off her shirt. Yep, the belly fat was gone and replaced with abs like a Greek statue. She flexed her arms and saw her biceps move up. That was nice. She could show off a bit, right? It didn't feel like her old body.

She decided to get a t-shirt that showed a bit of her mid-section. Along with that, she got a short skirt and some bicycle shorts. All in black, it would be harder for stains to show up. She got a few spare changes for what she needed and used most of her money to pay before leaving.

Her next stop would be the beach. She sometimes forgot that Brockton Bay had a beach. It was cold so hardly anyone was there. Still in torn clothes, she went to the stalls near the entrance to the beach. The stalls had showers so people could wash off the sand. She used it to wash away the grime and let herself dry off from the air. Took a while but she was dry enough that she changed into clean clothes and felt refreshed.

Well, that was nearly all of her necessities done. Now what? There were still a few hours of daylight left. She stood and looked out to the ocean. The Protectorate base stood across from her on the water's surface, its shield shifting colors like a soap bubble in the light. There wasn't anything for her there.

She turned around. The sun was in her face and she could see the city to her left and the docks to her right. Beyond them were the mountains and hills that encircled the city. That had promise. She could become a small-time vigilante that targeted muggers. Use the money to get some nice things for herself. She would need to avoid other parahumans, lest she draw attention to herself.

She could make that mountain her home. Taylor Hebert died there and Ōmukade would live there. She put on a small smile and started walking. What would her costume be? She would need a mask. She could make one out of stone or metal. Her venom could dissolve solid things and she was very strong. A small amount of venom and turning her fingers into claws would allow her to carve things to shape.

As a plus, if she messed up in making something, she could eat the failed project.

Taylor didn't like the idea of going through the sewers and the purple aura around her when she flew was pretty distinctive. She would make her own tunnels then. While she walked through the city she focused on the vibrations in the ground, mapping out everything unseen. She would need to watch for underground cables and plumbing.

She noticed a few people glance at her, but they turned away when she smiled at them. Did she have something in her teeth?

It took Taylor two hours to walk from one side of the city to the other and to a place that was isolated enough that she could start digging. It felt weird crouching down and digging with her hands. A tool would make this feel more natural, but anything would wear away or break after a short amount of time. It would require something made by a tinker and that was expensive. Her claws would have to do for now.

Digging deeper, she began taking on her centipede form. Now that she was aware of it, she could see her clothes merge into her and vanish. She made sure to collapse the tunnel behind her and start exploring.

It was only a few minutes in when she felt a big thump. She stopped and listened. After a moment, it came again. She started digging towards it to investigate. Taylor was finally able to determine its location after a few more thumps. It seemed to be coming from one of the Endbringer shelters. She stopped and used the vibrations of the city to get a map.

When did Brockton Bay get a fourth Endbringer shelter?

There was only supposed to be three. Everyone at school had it drilled into their heads where the shelters were, and this was not one of those locations. She would need to be careful. Something was wrong.

Taylor resumed her digging towards the source of vibrations and picked up more as she got closer.

It was a giant complex. It resembled the shelters but had been heavily modified. There were people moving and patrolling around it. It wasn't the PRT base in the city, she had made sure to remember where that was and avoided it. She wasn't sure who made this. She brought up a mental map of territories and tried to remember details about the gangs.

It couldn't be the ABB; it was too far south. She thought it could possibly belong to the Empire 88, they seemed to have a lot of resources, but it was too far west. It took a few moments, but the answer came to her. Coil, he was smaller than the other two but was still prominent in the Bay. He had never been seen himself, but he employed mercenaries to fight the other gangs. She guessed his crimes were more white-collar than the Empire's lynching or the ABB's forced prostitution.

Taylor was surprised that he had the money for something like this. She couldn't imagine how something like this could slip by the heroes. This would be where his territory is.

The thump came again, and she mentally berated herself for getting distracted. The thumps were coming from a large room that was separate from any of the others. The walls around it were thick and made of metal. The solid structures allowed vibrations to carry through much easier.

Something big was moving around. Whatever it was didn't stay in one place and would shamble around the room and shove its bulk against one of the walls. This created the thump she was hearing. Was something in there? Someone?

She slowly tunneled to one of the walls of the room. Taylor curved the tunnel upwards, she did this so she could enter from a higher part of the wall and out of reach of whoever was in there. Better safe than sorry. She started on a wall that was on the opposite side of the room from the source of the vibrations.

She finally got to the structure itself, made of metal and concrete. She didn't dig into the side yet. Taylor moved all the dirt she could out of the way and pressed her face, antennae, and upper body against the cool surface. She focused on the living thing inside and listened.

Whatever it was, was moving around. She could feel it breathing in and out. Large and heavy breaths. The footsteps were uneven. Too many limbs of different shapes and sizes. There was another noise Taylor could hear. Just barely. It was being drowned out by everything else. She focused more. She realized what it was. Whoever was in there, was crying.

She retreated backward a few steps. Taylor began changing her upper body back into human form. She kept her lower half as a centipede to keep a good grip. She began digging her way into the transformed Endbringer shelter with care. She used her venom to melt the rock and metal while clawing it away.

Taylor was silent as she did her work. No breathing just slow, careful, excavation. She stopped when she got to the final layer of metal and made room. She could now hear the quietest of sobs. She could also hear the heavy breathing of other, larger, mouths.

She began creating finger-sized holes in the metal and she heard the noise a little better. She made an outline of a rectangle. She put a finger through a hole on one side and slid it downward, connecting that hole to a line of other holes. This became a place where she could hold the metal without it falling and making noise. She held on with one hand and cut through the rest of the holes. The last connection was cut, and the metal was free.

She silently turned the panel and pulled it under her. She used her legs to move it behind her.

Now, she could have a real look at who was in there.

The main body was a mass of assorted flesh the size of a bull elephant. A mix of different animal hides and angry red flesh. There were two unidentifiable mammalian heads coming out the front and breathing heavily, large enough to swallow a person whole. On either side of the heads were large muscular forelegs that ended with a mix of hooves and claws. The rear end had two different sets of limbs. One side had something like a human hand with fingers and thumb along with a smaller limb emerging from the palm. Each digit was thicker around than a person. The other side was composed of a mass of large, and long, tentacles. Some of which were armored while others weren't.

Emerging from the top of the mixture of flesh, was the top half of a person in a brown sweatshirt. They were covering their face and quietly crying into their hands. Based on the voice and long brown hair, Taylor could guess they were a girl.

Taylor hesitated.

...

Fuck it.

She breathed in, and spoke, "Hello."

They stopped crying, and a girl her own age looked up at Taylor from across the room. She looked sick, as if she hadn't seen the sun or eaten in a while. Despite that, Taylor's first thought was that she looked cute.

Chapter Text

They sat there and stared at each other for a few seconds. One waiting for a response and the other trying to comprehend what she was seeing.

The unknown girl finally spoke softly, "Ah, hi. Who are you? Why are you here?"

She smiled, "I'm Taylor! I was digging when I felt you over here. I was curious and made my way over. Then I found you. What's your name?"

The girl was staring at her, and so were the animal heads. She seemed just as curious as Taylor, "My name is Noelle. What do you mean by digging? Like making tunnels underground?"

Taylor nodded at the newly named Noelle, "Yep, I decided to make an underground network where no one could see me. Do you live here?" Taylor debated with herself and said the first thing to come to mind, "You didn't seem happy when I found you. Would you like a hug?"

Noelle froze. The heads beneath her breathed a little more heavily. One of the front legs took a step towards Taylor. She was struggling with herself, "Please don't. It wouldn't end well."

Taylor kept a straight face, "Got it. We can just talk. I can stay up here. Do you want to keep talking?"

The other girl didn't move, head down, for a few moments before uttering a single, "Yes."

"Okay, is there anything you want to ask me?" Taylor made sure to keep an even voice.

Noelle slowly looked up and tilted her head, "You aren't going to ask why I look like this?"

She tilted her own head, hiding her amusement when the animal heads copied her, "Do you want to talk about it?"

A few moments before a response, "What is your power? It smells strong."

Taylor thought over that question for a bit. Her power smelled strong? Could she smell parahumans? She can apparently tell that she's strong. Did she mean literal smell? She needed to answer. She could ask later. "My power can do a few things. I got a few sensory gimmicks, but my power could be split into two pieces. One is that I have a well of energy inside me. I can use this energy to do things like fly and shoot energy projectiles. I can shoot a lot, and I can put them in patterns and determine where they go when I shoot them. The other part of my power lets me change my body. I would say it's a sliding scale between two forms, but I can choose to combine aspects between forms."

The girl stared at her intently, "Two forms? What are they?"

She grinned, "Interested in powers?"

The girl retreated into herself, "Sorry, is it too personal? I won't ask."

Her smile lessened, "Hey, it's okay. I was just teasing. I'm actually between forms right now. I can come a bit further in and show you. Not fully in, but would that be alright with you?"

She relaxed and nodded. Taylor used her legs to pull an extra two yards of her body out. Noelle's eyes widened when she saw her segmented body and clicking legs. Some of her own back legs tapped the ground. She didn't seem to notice.

She breathed in, "A centipede? Can you turn into any other bugs?"

Taylor shook her head, "Nope, only centipede. Still cool. I also have venom that can dissolve rock and metal. Very helpful when digging."

Noelle got a hold of herself, "Anything else? It still doesn't seem powerful enough."

Taylor retreated till only her upper body was sticking out of the hole, "Well I never said how big I could get as a centipede." She smirked, "Guess."

She seemed nervous before a contemplative look came over her face. She tapped her chin with a finger, supporting her elbow with her other hand. She tilted her head again, "A hundred feet? Two hundred? I'm guessing there isn't a lot of mass."

Her smile got wider, "Nope. My max size is a five-mile-long centipede with one hundred segments."

Noelle froze. She looked down, she blinked, "Oh..." She focused back on Taylor, "Definitely don't come near me. Everyone would die."

She was curious, "Why? I'm pretty sure I keep the combined durability of my larger form like this."

Her voice was serious, "Wouldn't matter. You would lose your power the second you touched me."

Really? She had to ask, "Forever?"

"No, it would only be so long as you were touching me."

"Then what would happen?"

She breathed in and out, slowly, "I might lose control and try to absorb you. Then I would start making stronger, evil, versions of you. They would destroy everything and kill all that you love." She didn't make eye contact and looked to the side.

Well, she had an answer to that, "I'm lucky then. Everything I had is gone and everyone I love is dead."

Her head snapped back toward her, "What?"

Taylor turned over with her back resting on the ground, her head flopped over the edge of the wall, "Yep, Mom died two and a half years ago in a car crash. Yesterday, one of the local villains decided to go on a rampage and destroyed my house with my dad still inside. Burnt to the ground."

Noelle was taken aback. Hesitantly, "Friends?"

She shook her head, "Turned on me and started bullying me around two years ago."

She seemed to grow confused, "Really? You don't seem upset about it."

Taylor shrugged, "I probably should be. I think I might be apathetic to some things now. I can't go back and change the past. All that's left is the present."

There was silence for a minute. The words echoed around the metal chamber. Taylor let the silence fill the air and allowed her eyes to roam over the room. There were scratch marks all over the floor. Some massive dents had been put into the thick walls. How long had Noelle been here? There wasn't any grime on the floor that showed something lived here. All the scratches look new. She began tapping her legs against the walls of the tunnel to get a feeling. All these marks felt less than a week old.

"At least you know you have a future. I'm losing myself. Slowly. Bit by bit. Day by day. I'm becoming a monster. I've hurt people. I've killed people. I've EATEN people!" Her voice was getting louder and louder. Taylor's eyes snapped back, and she watched Noelle's hands come up and grip the sides of her head, "It's just me and my friends. Every day we get farther apart. They've changed. I've changed. We stick together. They hate me. I hate them. It's their fault. We're sure I'm becoming a monster... An Endbringer."

That last part was a whisper, but Taylor heard it, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Her head snapped up, "What could you possibly do? Didn't you hear me? I'm becoming a fourth Endbringer!"

...

Silence.

...

"Fifth."

Her face screwed up and she paled, "What?"

Taylor didn't bother looking her in the eyes, "If you became an Endbringer. You would officially be the fifth."

She didn't say anything, for a few moments, "There's a fourth? When? What is it?"

There was fear in Noelle's voice. Taylor looked at her. Her back limbs were tucked beneath her, ready to start moving her. Her front limbs were splayed in front of her, like a dog wanting to play. Both animal heads were looking around.

She spoke, "You probably felt the vibrations this morning, right? Felt like an earthquake hitting over and over?"

She looked up toward the ceiling, "It was here? It felt like it was raining mountains."

Taylor snorted, "Huh, they did actually drop a mountain on me."

Noelle tensed and slowly turned her focus to Taylor, "What."

Taylor turned back over onto her stomach and waved her hand, "Relax, I'm not going to do anything."

She didn't budge, "What do you mean?"

Taylor crossed her arms and rested her head, "I got my powers yesterday. I turned into a giant centipede and slept curled around a mountain. I woke up to the sirens from the city. I approached the city and the response was the Triumvirate and a bunch of flying capes trying to fight me. They kept hitting me. I fought back and killed quite a few people. I managed to escape. I have now been officially declared the fourth Endbringer and given the name 'Ōmukade'."

Noelle didn't move but Taylor could see the tension leaving her body. "But you're not an actual Endbringer?" she questioned.

Taylor raised an eyebrow, "Does it matter? Do you think that if I'm that much of a threat and killed that many people, that everyone will leave me be? If they find out about my human form then that's just going to scare people into thinking an Endbringer can look like a person and appear anywhere. After the third Endbringer, there won't be a single person who will trust me. Besides, no one knows the origins of the Endbringers. Maybe they were people before and I'm the next step."

Noelle didn't say anything as she hunched in on herself. Her whole body slumped to the floor.

Taylor felt her face soften, "It's not your fault. It seems you've had it worse than me. I'm still me. You said that your friends are getting further from you. Would like for me to stay with you? Visit as often as I can? I can bring things you want."

...

After a few moments, she raised her head. There were tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She stuttered, "R-really?"

She looked so cute. Taylor smiled, "Of course!"

The tears began to fall, "Th-thank you."

She kept smiling, "No worries." She dug into her pocket, which reappeared for her convenience, "Actually, I do have one thing from my old life." She brought it out, "My library card. I imagine being here is boring. You could use something nice."

Noelle involuntarily snorted, "That would be agreeable."

She had a thought, "Hey, I remembered this is the base of a local villain. Are there cameras or microphones in here? There are a few things I don't want to get out."

The other girl waved off her worries, "There used to be, but I've found and destroyed them all by this point. I didn't enjoy feeling like an animal in a cage. There is a microphone, but I have to manually activate it."

She relaxed, "Thanks." She perked back up, "Do you have anything specific you want? For a book from the library, I mean."

She closed her eyes in concentration, "I can't think of anything right now. Could you wait till I have something?"

Taylor smiled, "Sure thing. I'll just rest here."

With no more words, they sat in their respective places, across the room from each other. Noelle sat upright in concentration, trying to dredge up memories of her past. Taylor lay down and resting her head on her crossed arms, watching Noelle's face move as her mind wandered, taking in the moment.

It took a few minutes, but Noelle opened her eyes again. She looked almost surprised, "I almost thought you left. I couldn't hear you breathing."

Her smile got wider, "Don't need to breathe."

Noelle's eyebrow raised, "Really? Anything else weird?"

Taylor chuckled, "I've developed a taste for rocks and minerals."

The other eyebrow came up, "Huh, do they taste good?"

She shrugged, "They do to me. I doubt anyone else would feel the same way. I also have an understanding of structures. I can tell what would cause a structure, like a tunnel, to collapse."

She got a smile, "That seems useful for someone who digs."

Taylor flashed a toothy grin, "It does! Anyway, your books?"

She jolted, "Right, sorry. Can you find any books about the protagonist returning home?" Her face morphed into a small sad smile, "I could use it right about now."

Taylor brought her arm up and saluted, "Got it chief!"

Noelle's cheeks gained the slightest tint of red, "It doesn't have to be right now. I'm pretty tired, and if you fought the Triumvirate today, I imagine you are as well." Something came to her, "Hey, if you can identify rocks, can you find precious gems or metals and sell them? I'm sure that could get you some money."

Taylor was surprised, "Huh, I hadn't thought of that. Good idea." She smirked, "How do you feel about jewelry?"

The red grew a few shades darker, she chuckled, "Just go. I hope I'll see you tomorrow."

Taylor gave a full, genuine, smile, "You will. I promise."

With one last wave, Taylor retreated back into the wall. She brought up the cover of the panel and stuck it in the side of wall in such a way that anyone near the giant vault door would have a hard time spotting something out of place.

That done, she began digging her way back toward the mountain. New plans forming and a promise to fulfill.

Chapter Text

While she couldn't see that well in general, Taylor found that low light levels didn't make it harder for her to see. A little harder but not much compared to before she got her powers.

That didn't matter when she had her ability to sense tremors through the ground.

She decided to grab a hoodie she found in the park and use that as a costume. Just for tonight. It was large enough that is consumed her form, and the hood came up over her head and covered her eyes. She could still push it back enough to see.

Taylor wondered if she could travel by rooftop after seeing claw marks in a wall while going through an alleyway. She had gone back to the library the next day, right after it opened, to do some research on the computer. She did find an online post, after a few minutes of searching, asking if someone knew what some marks on the side of a building were. It was from a few months back, and there was some discussion before a knowledgeable user gave confirmation. There was a small-time group of parahuman thieves called the Undersiders. One of their members could mutate and control dogs. The dogs became car-sized monsters said group used as mounts to escape and get around.

Apparently, Brockton Bay's buildings were sturdy enough that they could take the weight of said beasts running and jumping across them. She had noticed that the heights of building could vary wildly which made the comic classic rooftop running not viable for the majority of parahumans. Taylor was confident that her strength could let her jump between rooftops, no matter the distance of height. Even if she couldn't, her claws let her climb any surface.

A few hours later, she was looking down into an alley. There, a younger man was cornering an older one. She could hear the demand for money. Taylor couldn't see any weapons. The mugger was physically larger.

After a moment, she grew an extra set of arms, careful to take it slowly and expose them in a way that wouldn't rip her clothes. She took a step over the side and dropped.

Taylor landed behind the mugger with a loud thump. Before he could turn around, she put her arms around him and pulled him away from the old man. The thug began thrashing and yelling to get off.

She bent backwards to lift him off the ground and turned to the side. She looked at the older man, who was staring back with wide eyes, "Hey, do you think you can call the cops to come pick this guy up? I can just hold him while you talk."

She brought one of her hands down to check the guy's pockets while the man stiffly nodded and moved to the entrance of the alley. She watched him pull out his phone and quickly dial a number. While he was talking, she found a wallet and took the cash from it before returning it. She imagined that any card she took would be declined.

The guy she was holding kept telling her to put him down. He had started saying that after a minute of being held. Before that, he had been threatening her. She imagined that no normal person was this strong and there were two sets of arms grabbing him.

She decided to humor him, "You want to go down? Alright."

Taylor used her lower arms to grab his legs and bent forward. She dropped him, and he fell to the ground on his stomach. She could hear his exhalation from his chest hitting concrete. Before he could scramble on to his hands and knees, she sat on his back. Taylor made sure to not use her full weight, lest she turn him into a stain. She retracted her extra set of arms while she was at it.

It took ten more minutes before the police arrived. She could feel two cars pull onto the street and four people step out of them. Taylor saw the man wave over at them and motion towards her. The guy beneath her began his struggle with renewed vigor. He even brought his legs up and tried kicking her while she was sitting on his back. She ignored that and swatted at his hands when he tried to grab her.

She felt the people walk to the alley's entrance. The cops walked in and took everything in. She gave a little wave with one hand.

Two of the cops stayed and talked with the man while the other two approached her. With her hoodie over her head, she couldn't see them. She could only feel their footsteps and vague shape from vibrations through the ground.

They stopped a few feet away from her, "Who might you be?"

Right. She needed a name, "Haven't put much thought into a name yet. Just call me Centi for now."

She felt them shift, "Just to confirm, you are a cape? Usually, they have a better costume."

Taylor shrugged, "It's temporary. Yes, I have powers. I saw someone getting mugged and decided to help out."

There was quiet. She guessed that they nodded, "Before we get closer, what are your powers? Additionally, are you sure that man was engaging in criminal activity?"

She motioned with one hand, "I made sure to listen to what was happening. This guy was demanding money from the man over there. As for powers, I can grow extra limbs, and I'm really strong."

After another moment, the other cop spoke, a woman, "If that's all, could you move so we can apprehend the suspect?"

She nodded. Taylor made sure to put a hand on his back so that he wouldn't try to spring up. The cops moved in and cuffed him before hoisting him onto his feet. She kept back and followed them to the entrance to the alley. She spoke some more with the cops and answered questions. They thanked her, and she left.

That was nice. She only needed the money but figured she might as well get that guy off the street. What was even the punishment for mugging someone? A year in jail? A fine?

She was planning to use the money to make a more professional costume. Now, what would said costume look like? She could throw ideas at Noelle.

Taylor smiled at the thought. That morning, she had visited Noelle again after searching through the library and asked the librarian for help. She had been admonished for not wearing shoes, but the woman had helped her. She would buy some sandals to appease her. The novel borrowed was a decent length. Taylor figured that Noelle had a lot of time on her hands.

The brunette had been ecstatic when Taylor returned. She tried to hide it, but Taylor could tell. Taylor had used her flight to hover over Noelle and she dropped the book into her waiting hands. She flew back to the hole on the other side of the room and had talked some more.

She was able to coax Noelle more and more out of her shell. Taylor talked to distract her from thoughts. She still didn't know what happened to the other girl when she got her powers. What about her powers that was uncontrollable that caused those mutations? She didn't ask. Taylor talked about herself and what she had lost. She told stories of the memories about her mother, Annette. The kind woman who had been outspoken about women's rights and taught students as an English professor at a university. Told of her dad, Danny. The man in the Dockworker's Association that worked with strong people trying to make a living and his hope to repair the ferry.

While she knew the past couldn't be changed, it was nice to remember, sometimes.

She started digging, one of her tunnels was directly below. She really wanted something to make this feel more natural. A shovel? That wouldn't go through stone. Weren't pickaxes made to go through stone? Both of those would break quickly, and they would be loud. Her venom let her digging make less noise. Could she coat her tool in her venom? That would melt the too,l though.

The only things that would be resistant were tinker-produced gear and herself.

Herself...

She had been moving in Noelle's direction through the tunnel, but she stopped. Could she use herself? Just a tiny bit? While in her large form, she could take off just the tip of one of her legs. That would give her all the material she needed. As a plus, her tools would be gold colored. She had two hundred legs anyway; it wouldn't affect her. She started crawling again. She would ask Noelle what she thought.

Along the way, she noticed something. She felt it when she had been building the tunnel. Now, she had a bit of time before she would meet with Noelle. Might as well grab it.

She dug a few feet into the side of her tunnel and carefully carved the chunk of mineral away from its parent rock. She pried the undamaged stone out. She brought it close to her face. She licked it.

Serpentinite. Metamorphic rock. It's a magnesium iron phyllosilicate. Leans more toward antigorite. Just the right mixture of additional elements that, when polished, will show up as a nice green color. Just what she needed.

It was a large piece. The perfect find for an idea she had. She picked it up and carried the small boulder against her stomach while making her way to Noelle.

Taylor slowed her approach when she felt vibrations in Noelle's room. She was near the massive door to her room. She got closer and found that Noelle was talking to someone. She couldn't hear anything yet, but she would if she got closer. So, she stopped where she was and waited. There wasn't anyone in the room with Noelle. Taylor guessed that she was talking into a camera and microphone to Coil or one of her teammates. Taylor decided to focus on the rest of the base. There were people moving around. It was just as expansive as she remembered it the first time. She found two people facing a wall. One was tall, extremely so, and was gesturing a bit. The other wasn't as tall, normal height, and didn't have anything she could identify. They stopped gesturing, and Noelle resumed talking. That must be who Noelle was talking to.

She noticed a few people dragging multiple large things towards Noelle's room. Noelle began moving and walked to the opposite side of the room and a smaller door by the vault entrance opened. They left the things there and quickly left. Whoever Noelle was talking to also left the wall they were speaking to.

Only a moment after the smaller door closed, Noelle raced forward toward the objects. Taylor didn't know something that large could move so fast. She could see why the girl insisted that she didn't get to close. It would only take a moment of Taylor's guard dropping.

That didn't matter. She believed in Noelle. She was sure she could control herself.

Taylor advanced forward again. She got to the panel and peeked around it. The animal heads around Noelle's waist were scarfing something down. One looked like the body of a cow. She noticed how the body of the cow almost appeared to submerge itself into Noelle's flesh as it was being engulfed. The other head threw its head up and tossed an object into the air. She was just able to recognize it as a human arm before sharp-toothed jaws closed around it.

She ignored that and turned her gaze to Noelle.

The girl had her arms wrapped around herself. She was looking away from what was happening, locking her eyes on the wall opposite of Taylor.

Taylor took a few steps back and waited until around a minute after Noelle finished eating.

She removed the cover panel and knocked on the metal wall.

She startled, "Oh, hi Taylor. How do I keep losing track of you?"

Taylor shrugged, "You said you can smell parahumans, right? How far?"

Noelle tilted her head side to side, internally debating with herself, "I can smell every parahuman in the city is and know where they are at all times."

Her eyebrows raised, "Really? Can you tell the differences between them?"

She nodded, "Yes. I would say my ability feels more like tasting parahumans, but smell is better because it implies distance. Anyway, how do I keep losing track of you?"

Taylor thought over the information, "I'm not sure. If it was actual scent, then I would think it's because I dig through the ground, but it isn't. Plus, if you know where everyone is, then you would also know the location of people you haven't met. The only thing that comes to mind is that I might have some extra ability that makes me hard to track? Just a guess."

Noelle frowned, "Hmm. Well, we can always figure it out later. Is there something you have with you?"

Taylor smiled; she brought out the Serpentinite, "I brought a rock!"

She tilted her head, "So you did."

Taylor explained, "You gave me the idea to look for gems and make things out of it. When polished, this will be a shiny green gem. I was planning on carving something for myself. Could I carve this while we talk?"

She thought it over, "Hmm, I don't see why not."

With her permission, Taylor entered further into the room. She went down and twisted her body into a fishhook shape. Letting the large gem rest in what amounted to her lap while her lower body was a centipede, her legs ensuring the rock didn't fall and shatter on the ground. She gave a thumbs up, "I was thinking about making a costume so I could go out and do stuff. Mostly taking cash from muggers. I wasn't planning on fighting other capes. I was planning to bounce some ideas off you. Before that, are the rest of your team capes?"

Taylor saw Noelle grow slightly uncomfortable. She fidgeted, "Yes, we call ourselves the Travelers."

Taylor nodded as she began her carving, her claws sliding easily through the soft rock, "Do you want me to avoid them?"

She nodded furiously, "Yes, please. I don't want you hurting each other."

She wondered, "Do you think they can hurt me?"

Noelle was determined, "I'm serious. Almost all of us have strong powers, and they synergize very well."

Taylor nodded, "Okay. I'll avoid them. Can you tell me what they look like?"

She sighed in relief and closed her eyes, "Thanks. There is sev- six of us, but only four can go out or have useful powers. They originally had homemade costumes, but Accord provided us with custom-made ones. I don't remember all the details, but I know the color scheme is red and black. You should be able to recognize their powers if you meet them. K-Trickster can swap objects that have similar volume and mass. M-Sundancer can create miniature suns that have heat comparable to stars. Genesis stays here, but she can project monsters that she controls. Ballistic can touch something and shoot it faster than the speed of sound. We have one other member, but he can't do much."

Taylor considered the information, "You're right, they do sound powerful. Good synergy as well. Trickster can control the positioning of everyone on the battlefield. Genesis can take any damage that would be harmful to others. Sundancer can cut off areas. Ballistic can deal with anyone without a powerful defense."

Noelle's mouth was slightly open, "Yes, do you play Ransack? I would have loved to play against someone who thinks like me. You described my exact thoughts. If we could use those powers in-game, we would have dominated any tournament."

Taylor looked at her, "What's Ransack?"

"A MMOG."

"That doesn't mean anything to me."

Noelle looked like she was trying to remember something, "MMOG means massive multiplayer online game. It's pretty popular. There are massive tournaments with prize money if you win. We were a team of seven, and I was in charge. It had a fantasy theme. We were undefeated champions before-" She hesitated and stuttered, "B-before we got our powers."

She was hiding something. Taylor didn't dig into it, though; wasn't her business, "I never got into video games. I always liked reading more."

Noelle changed the subject, "So, you said you had ideas for a costume?"

Taylor didn't mind the change if it made the other girl more comfortable. She smiled and showed off her rock, "Yep, one idea I had involved making a rock belt."

...

Noelle was dumbfounded, "A rock belt?"

Taylor nodded and went back to carving, "Think of a chain that would go around my waist. I also thought about making rock rings out of this stuff and having them woven into the edges of my clothes. Just some aesthetic stuff."

She raised an eyebrow, "No armor? Nothing to protect yourself?"

Taylor gave a tiny shrug while she worked, "I mean, I'm really tough. The amount of armor I would need for it to be worth it would be absurd. Anything less that would give me protection would have to be made by a tinker and that is expensive. Legend blasted me in the face, and I just found it annoying. Alexandria hit me over the head, and I didn't get so much as a headache."

She absorbed the information. Her back limbs began tapping the floor. She slowly nodded, "Okay, I guess that makes sense. Still, it sounds like you're going out in the clothes you're wearing right now."

The centipede girl defended herself, "My shirt plus a skirt and stone mask."

Noelle gave her a deadpan look, "And just what would this mask look like?"

She was silent for a few seconds. She whispered, "A centipede."

Noelle was disappointed. She crossed her arms, "Taylor."

She stopped working and put her hands up, "I wasn't going to go super detailed and make it obvious. It would be a vague shape. Flatter like an armor plate on the forehead, multiple holes for the eyes, and the sides would run down to points at my chin."

The other girl considered, "...fine. I get the final say on the look."

Taylor went back to carving, "Copacetic."

Noelle asked, "Are you just going to wear all black with some green rings and a creepy mask?"

She responded, "I think the mask might be temporary. I don't have much and I don't really have anything that needs protecting. Could just go maskless. Don't live in the city anyways. As for the clothes, I was thinking of adding some color to them. How do you think I should do that?"

There were a few moments of consideration, "Tie dye?"

Taylor frowned, "I don't want to go out as rainbow puke."

She shook her head, "It doesn't have to look like that. You can add color in specific places. If you want to stick with black clothes, I think some yellow or gold highlights or splotches could look good. The same color as your legs."

Ah, that reminded her. How to put this delicately? She hunched in on herself, "Speaking of my legs..." She ignored the choking sound coming from Noelle, "When I start digging downwards, starting from human form, it doesn't feel natural. Other times, when I'm digging, I get a lot of energy and want to get it out by swinging something around."

Noelle asked, "You want some sort of tool?"

She gave a tiny nod, "Yes. The problem is that everything would wear away or break quickly. Anything made by a tinker would be expensive. There's also the noise that swinging something metal would cause in the city. I can dig quietly because my venom dissolves solid things. I could coat a tool in the venom, but it would dissolve. The only things that could resist my venom are possibly tinker materials, or myself."

There was silence before, "Taylor."

She began talking a little more quickly, "I just thought about making something useful. As a plus, I can use them as a weapon in a fight. I was personally thinking of making a shovel and pickaxe."

"Taylor."

She started talking even faster, "It's just a thought. It could complete the look."

"Taylor!"

She whipped her head around, "Yes?"

She was frowning. She spoke softly, "Please don't tear off your legs."

Taylor could see her eyes growing wet, "Hey, hey, I'm not going to tear off an entire leg. I was going to grow to full size. That way, I would only need the very tip. I have two hundred legs anyway. I'll heal and be good as new."

Noelle was still frowning, but she no longer looked like she was going to cry, "I still don't like the idea of you hurting yourself. Where would you even grow to full size?"

Taylor had actually thought of an answer to that beforehand, "Since I don't need to breathe, I was planning on going into the ocean to do it. Maybe head to Boston Harbor and give the people there a scare. Just a quick appearance, no fighting. I don't have any plans for becoming the next Butcher."

She gave the centipede a flat look, "Really? Scaring people?" She had a realization, and her eyes lit up, "On second thought? Go to Boston and put on a light show. It would ruin Accord's day. Make it as chaotic as possible."

Taylor raised an eyebrow at the new behavior, "Was he an asshole or something?"

Her face fell, "There used to be seven of us. Cody. He was an asshole, but he was one of us. An accident happened and Accord was mad that his precious order was broken. Trickster was in a meeting with him, and Sundancer had to come in and tell him what was happening. One of us had to take the fall. Krouse gave Cody to Accord as reconciliation. He later told me that Accord sold Cody to the Yangban."

That...

That was terrible. How did she respond? There's an idea, "Do you know where Accord works?"

Noelle blinked, "What?"

Taylor tried again, "Do you know where Accord worked or lived? He seems like the type of person to be in a tall building and look down on others. Just tell me, did he?"

She was confused, "Yes? He worked in a skyscraper of his own design." She gave an address.

Taylor smiled, "Thanks! When I go to Boston, I'm going to shoot his stupid tower with a laser."

She brought her hands to her mouth, "Pfft. Please do."

They shared a small laugh.

Noelle asked, "Hey, what do your projectiles look like?"

She explained, "There isn't that much of a limit. I have lasers. Energy bullets of any size, shape, or color. Fiery comets, diamonds, slithering lasers, explosive shots, football shaped, and more things I haven't tried. I can fire so many projectiles. The projectiles don't even have to be fired from my body. I can summon them from thin air around me. Some energy does leek from me when I focus, like my flight and its purple miasma you saw, but I can mold it into something cool."

The other girl was confused, "Something cool?"

Taylor turned from her work and summoned her magic circle. She enlarged it and had it slowly spin.

Noelle was unimpressed, "Really? Who are you? Myrddin?"

She laughed, and the circle dissipated, "See if I show you something cool again."

She huffed, and one of her muscular legs stamped against the floor, "I'm joking, but a pentagram? What sort of Endbringer are you? Did you see some edgy teenage boys draw that in school?"

Taylor shrugged, "Maybe during middle school. I spent the entirety of my high school years bullied."

Noelle's face fell, "Right, you mentioned that. Are they still alive?"

She wondered what she meant by that, "As far as I know. Why?"

She kept working on her carving as she listened, "Have you considered getting back at them? What have they done so far?"

Taylor opened her mouth and started talking. She went through what happened, what they had done. The endless bullying. Isolating her. Mocking her image and the memory of her mother. Madison's petty pranks. Sophia's physical attacks. Emma's sharp barbs. She mentioned the failed prank at the start of the semester. All culminating on the day before she met Noelle.

Silence.

"Why haven't you killed them?"

Taylor answered, "Would there be a point? I'm so much more than I was. They're beneath me now. I could go there. I know where Emma lives. Flatten her house. Tear her and her family apart. Melt her with my venom. Would it be worth the trouble? Getting more attention on myself?"

More silence.

"What about fear?"

She stopped and looked at Noelle. Wordlessly asking a question.

She was looking back into Taylor's eyes, "Not showing yourself, but letting them know your still alive. Some sort of sign that you survived and have the strength to end them. Nothing direct. Clean your hands of them and let them stew in paranoia."

Taylor considered that. She slowly nodded, "That could work. I'll think of something. Thanks."

Noelle smiled, "You're welcome." Her face shifted; she was considering something, "Ribbons."

"Hmm?"

She explained, "The last part of your costume. You mentioned that you never felt that you looked feminine enough. What about some ribbons to tie everything together? Orange ones, like the base of your legs."

That had promise, "Sure, I could tie them into bows." Some ideas were coming to her.

Noelle was onto her, she narrowed her eyes, "You're already thinking of ways to reference centipedes, aren't you?"

Taylor snickered, "You got me. How's this?" She held up the completed belt.

It clinked as she shifted it. An even number of sections with a pattern of a vertical link and two horizontal links to connect it to the next vertical link. The green chain glinted in the artificial light.

Noelle leaned closer, "That was fast. How did you polish it like that?"

She held one hand in a clawing motion, "I can change the potency of my venom. Don't need it to destroy everything it touches. This mineral is more easily dissolved by acid anyway."

She hummed, and the mass beneath her rumbled. Her face fell, and she sighed, "You should go. Despite just eating, I'm starting to become hungry again."

Taylor put on the belt and carried the leftover material back to the hole in the wall. She smiled and saluted, "Got it, chief! Anything else before I leave?"

Taylor enjoyed watching Noelle's face morph into a matching smile. There was a light dusting of red on her cheeks, "I'm almost finished with the book. Surprise me with the next one."

She laughed, "You got it!"

She left and crawled back to her hole in the ground. She curled up and fell asleep with a smile on her face. Thinking about the next day.

Chapter Text

Taylor sat in an alley a block away from Emma's house.

Funny, to think it had only been two or three days since she last saw Emma. She had been shoved into that pit Monday afternoon, and it was now a Thursday morning.

She had been focusing on the vibrations inside the house to track what was happening. All she could feel was people going about their day. Emma's father, Alan, had already left the house for work. Her sister, Anne, had also left the house. All that was left was Emma and her mother, Zoe.

She didn't want to hurt the rest of the family. Only Emma. Taylor still considered Alan and Zoe like an uncle or aunt. They hadn't done anything to her besides not teaching their child to be kind. Maybe it was just Emma; Anne had been nice to her. Her only target was Emma, and by association Sophia, and make them paranoid. She just had something to drop off. She idly patted the carved slate next to her as she felt the last two people in the house move closer to each other and head for the front door.

It was go time.

She got up and walked through the alleyway as she felt them get in the car and drive off. She didn't know how long they would take so she would have to be quick. She used some of her strength to hop the fence to the Barnes's backyard.

She lifted the corner of a large potted plant and found the spare key for the backdoor. They still didn't change its placement. She extended claws and picked up the key. Taylor unlocked the door and opened it without getting her fingerprints anywhere. A purple miasma floated off from her body as she hovered above the floor. Best to touch as little as possible.

She remembered the house and the path to take to Emma's room. Levitating up the stairs and down the hall with the carved slate tucked into her armpit. Opening the door to Emma's room, it looked just like how she remembered it. Posters on the wall. A vanity across from a plush bed. Some framed photos. Most had her family and Sophia. One picture was a shot of her modeling.

Taylor took the slate and placed it on her bed, propped up with pillows. It was vaguely oval shaped and a foot wide. Both sides were carved. The side exposed to the air and facing the room had 'I LIVED' clawed into it. The other side, if flipped over, had a carving of something like a comic. First, in the upper left corner, had a girl looking at the outside of a mine. The upper right corner had two girls shoving this girl into a pit. The final image went across the entire bottom half of the slate. It had a giant centipede emerging from the mine entrance.

She figured it was best to be direct with the point.

Hmm, she had time. What was the harm in looking around?

Taylor lazily floated and searched through some drawers. Nothing but clothes, makeup, and other small, useless items. Nothing interesting to take or destroy. She opened the closet door and noticed a glint of silver in the corner of her eye. Taylor crouched down and dragged out a cubby from a shelf.

Resting inside was the beaten, but cleaned, form of her mom's flute.

She gingerly picked it up. When it had first been defiled, Taylor had been sure to clean it up. Then it had been stolen again. This time, her bullies hadn't even given it back. Taking away any hope that it could be repaired. With it back, she had one more thing from her past. This was all that survived of her family. She took it and floated out of the room and down the stairs. Not bothering to return things to their places.

Well, she would have to drop this off at her burrow. Hopefully, there were more muggers out and she could use the money to get it repaired. She stepped into the backyard. With her feet on the ground, she could feel the car pulling into the driveway. She quickly locked the back door and tucked the key beneath the potted plant. She took a running start and cleared the fence with a single hop, "That was quick. Time to leave."

Two hours later...

Taylor was floating underwater.

A fish passed by her face. Her eyes tracked it.

She lazily tried to bite it, but it darted away from her jaws.

Well, no time to waste. The purple miasma returned, and she began accelerating south. She was traveling close to the seabed and did ten-minute bursts of constant swimming before stopping to punch the floor to feel for the vibrations of a big city.

Taylor had gone to the library beforehand to research Boston. It wasn't a good idea to stay there long. The three well known villain groups in Boston were the Teeth, Blastgerm, and the Ambassadors. There were other groups and solo villains as well. Not to mention the local Protectorate and Wards. The respective teams were larger and had better training than their Brockton Bay counterparts.

One problem was the Butcher, the leader of the Teeth. They had a power that meant when they were killed by a parahuman, the powers and minds of past Butchers would transfer to their killer. The new Butcher would quickly go insane from the multitude of voices. Taylor just had to hope that they wouldn't be crushed by debris or hit by a spare shot. Blastgerm was a duo but mainly comprised of the Tinker Blasto. He made minions that would follow his commands. He was usually seen as a joke, but during the Boston Games they released a giant monster. Said giant monster was mostly passive, but it still showed they could be a problem.

That monster was killed by a solo villain called Damsel of Distress. Some passing info told that she could destroy anything in conical areas by pointing with a finger. She was someone who could possibly kill Taylor.

She was here for Accord, who was the leader of the Ambassadors. A Thinker who could create complex plans. Under him were over half a dozen capes that dressed in formal attire. She had seen people talking about Accord's territory and, apparently, everyone that lived there was happy. He kept everything quiet and orderly. Shame, he was probably going to die. Taylor had made a promise, and she intended to keep it. He would survive if he wasn't in his tower.

Taylor stopped swimming and punched the sea floor once more. She waited and felt the vibrations return. There were the vibrations from a city. Now to check and make sure she had the right place.

She floated upward. It took thirty seconds before her head breached the surface. She had to swim manually because she had no air inside her to make her buoyant. Taylor looked around and matched the far skyline to the pictures she remembered viewing. She spotted what she was looking for and ducked her head back under the waves.

She passed between Deer Island and Long Island, entering Boston Harbor. Taylor thought back to the map of Boston. Accord's territory was in Charlestown. The center of Boston Harbor would let her shoot a laser over the inner harbor and blow off the top of Accord's tower.

This would also be the time when she would be biting off the tip of one of her legs.

She sank to the very bottom of the harbor. While sitting there, a harbor seal came over. It looked her over. Taylor shooed it away. She temporarily considered trying to eat it before deciding otherwise. She could eat a shark or something on the way back.

Taylor mentally took a breath.

She started growing.

And growing.

Her length grew, and in moments, she was just under a mile in length. Considering that the entire harbor had a maximum depth of fifty feet, even if she was lying flat on her stomach, her back would be exposed to the air. She kept growing. Coiling herself into a ball with her head at the center. Her expanding body pushed tons of water. She had forgotten that growing in the center of the harbor would push all the water.

No matter, there was something she needed to do first.

Before any second thoughts could make themselves known, she brought one of her legs to her mouth and placed the very tip inside. Taylor carefully closed her jaws. She internally sighed in relief when no pain came with the separation. She kept her jaws closed and used her palps to cover her mandibles, making sure the piece of leg didn't slip out. A thought came to her, and she scraped at her armor to get some slivers of material.

With that done, she uncoiled and pushed back the water that was rushing back toward her. This created a second, smaller, wave that went out and engulfed the beaches around her. She raised her head and formed her magic circle, array. It began rotating, and the scribbles between the two circles shifted to different shapes. Being unidentifiable as any letter or language. The harbor was smaller than she thought. Taylor was confident that if she stretched, her head would touch New England Aquarium, and her last pair of legs could rest on top of Long Island.

She moved her head side to side, like a cobra about to strike. She aimed for Accord's tower all the way across the harbor.

She fired.

Giant blue lasers fired from each point of the pentagram on her array. The five rotating beams struck the tower with yellow flashes. The flashes were giant explosions constantly going off, and smaller yellow orbs shot off from the sight of the explosions to strike other nearby buildings. She idly made sure that the beams didn't touch the highways going over the inner harbor.

Apparently, Accord had contact with a tinker because a forcefield appeared over the tower. Luckily for Taylor, the shield only held for a few seconds before shattering like glass and fizzling out of existence. The tower didn't hold up any better than the shield, and the top third of the tower was torn to shreds. The top floors exploded from the force and shot debris over a wide area.

Accord's tower wasn't in the center of Charlestown, it was closer to downtown. It wasn't a skyscraper, but it was taller than the other buildings around it. Debris from the tower hit some smaller buildings, and a few of the smaller pieces shot into the residential area.

Taylor rose her head a dozen meters higher and started turning the angle of the beams downward. Destroying more of the tower until it was slightly shorter than the buildings around it.

She cut off the beam, and her array dissipated. She watched the last few energy projectiles from the explosions go off and strike a few nearby buildings.

The sirens had started blaring a few seconds after she fired her lasers at Accord's tower.

Now was the time to escape once again. It was time to bring the rain.

Her array reappeared above her. This time, it covered the entire harbor. While it rotated and expanded, she writhed and coiled over and over in a ball. Every rotation dug into the seafloor and excavated tons of mud and sand. Taylor moved the muck to build up a perimeter around herself, digging deeper into the earth.

From the circle in the clouds above came red football-shaped energy bullets the size of a human head. They moved and shifted position as they fell toward the ocean and coast. Before they could touch the water, the bullets slowed to a stop. They hovered for a second before they multiplied and split into a shotgun of bullets, continuing back down in a cone. Each successive wave of energy bullets stopped above the wave before it and split. Eventually, the number of bullets became a cloud of red that couldn't be seen through.

The rain of energy bullets ensured that no capes would be bothering her while she was digging.

Taylor started digging a tunnel after building a fifty-foot-tall ring of muck around her body. She brought more of her body above her head as she burrowed to use her weight and tunnel faster. While doing so, she felt small pokes across her back. She was busy digging so she couldn't look at what it was, but she could guess. It was most likely Legend. Taylor hadn't found any long-range blasters that lived in Boston during her research. Legend was fast enough that he could get anywhere in just a few minutes. When Taylor first got her powers, Legend had been shooting her face. It hadn't been painful, but it was annoying. Now, he was blindly shooting into her storm, peppering her coils with tiny blasts.

Taylor started shrinking, making sure her red rainstorm kept going. Curving her tunnel and digging toward the ocean.

She eventually became human-sized and kept digging. She had thankfully remembered to spit out the pieces of herself and carry them beneath her. The leg tip was around four feet long and was a beautiful golden color. The scraping of her back armor gave her some six-foot slivers of material to use, which were a metallic blue-grey, like steel. She figured she could use the slivers as handles for her tools.

Her tunnel began curving upwards, and she broke the ceiling. Seawater rushed in, and Taylor powered through it. She kicked the wall of the tunnel as she exited, and it promptly collapsed behind her.

She took off swimming north, making sure to stick close to the bottom of the ocean.

Over the course of thirty minutes, her speed slowly decreased until she hit a speed where she wasn't leaving any wake behind herself.

It was very boring.

She got closer to the surface so she could use the light to see around herself. Nothing but blue as far as she could see. Taylor sighed. Water rushed into her open mouth. Another annoyance. She could wait until she got to Brockton Bay before she spat all of it out. There was another method. She swallowed the salt water. She could taste all the different minerals in the water.

It was unique, but she preferred fresh water. Too much salt in this for her taste.

Her boredom was relieved when she heard faint clicks and whistles. She debated whether to investigate or continue escaping.

Fuck it. She didn't have anywhere she needed to be in the next few hours. She was fully human by this point and if someone found her, she could just say she's a water cape that wanted to explore.

She lazily shifted direction toward the sound of animals.

Taylor saw a dark shape swimming in the water. Then there was another and another. She swam toward them. As she got closer, she could finally identify what she was looking at. It was a pod of Orcas. They were swimming together; a total of six of the giant dolphins.

She slowed to a floating pace. One of the Killer Whales had a baby swimming alongside it. One of the larger ones turned from the others and started heading towards Taylor. She stopped swimming altogether and hovered in place. The orca mirrored her and floated in place. They examined each other. Taylor could hear and feel the clicks from the large mammal. She could see a scar on one of the flippers.

Her eyes snapped to another member of the pod that was heading toward them. She blinked. Was it carrying a dead fish on its head?

It got closer. Yep, that's a dead fish. It got closer and passed the larger orca. The scarred orca turned its head to look at the other orca. That one got closer and tilted its body. It drifted past Taylor as it left a fish in front of her.

Now what? Did it want her to eat it?

The orca that had the fish circled around till it floated next to the scarred orca. They watched Taylor. She grabbed the fish and brought it to her mouth. She hesitantly took a bite. It was alright. Better than she expected, considering it wasn't cooked.

The orcas clicked and whistled. Did they want her to do something else? What about copying them?

She moved the fish and put it on her head. It didn't stay attached and started floating off. Taylor left one hand to hold the fish and used the other to gesture, another set of arms held the materials. She gestured northward and started drifting that way.

They clicked and swam alongside her. The pod had been heading in that direction anyway. Taylor made sure to keep pace with them as their path curved back toward the pod. She wondered if the killer whales were laughing at her for having a fish on her head. At this point, she didn't care. It was silly. She enjoyed. Taylor listened to the sounds they made and watched them swim together. Occasionally, the baby orca would peer at her from behind what Taylor assumed to be its mother.

After a dozen minutes of swimming, something happened. The orcas seemed to be growing restless. Something was agitating them. The scarred one jumped out of the water and swam a little faster. Taylor floated upward and popped her head above the surface of the water and looked around.

To the south was a large flying dot. There was a light show beneath it, and it was coming this way. Did someone follow her? Was that a scanning device?

It was much too large to be a person. If Taylor had to take a guess, she thought it was the best tinker in the world, Dragon. She created so much widespread tech and used remote control mechs to deal with threats across the country. Taylor had yet to encounter her, she hadn't fought during Taylor's first outing, or at least Taylor hadn't seen her. Her mechs were noticeable because all her mechs looked vaguely like mythical dragons.

Should Taylor fight? She was confident she would win, but that would give people more information about Taylor. It was better to deny any information. But how?

She ducked back under the waves and joined the pod of orcas in their swimming. Taylor went lower and went under the orcas. Looking back, she could see the water behind her turning green from the light of the scan. Speeding up would cause a wake to form and give away her position.

A shadow came over her. She looked up. One of the killer whales had positioned itself above her. Soon, another joined it and another. The pod was swimming in close formation right above her. She kept below them as the light got closer. The scan passed over them, but the light did not go through the pod. It continued at the same pace, and the pod slowed down once it passed. The danger was gone.

Taylor continued to swim alongside them for a dozen more minutes. Before long, she popped her head above the waves and spotted Brockton Bay in the distance. Now was time for her to leave. She swam faster and got in front of the pod. She saluted them and dropped the dead fish off. The fish drifted toward them, and the baby swam forward to grab it. There was an increase in the number of whistles and clicks. She smiled and swam off.

Her speed increased, and she skimmed the bottom of the bay. Feeling the familiar vibrations of her city and taking in all the information.

She dug into the coastal seabed and made way for her tunnels. She crawled through with her tool supplies and stashed them far inland. Taylor took a dip into the aquifer to clean herself of ocean and fish smell. Crawling through a hole in a wall, she entered the sewers for a quick moment before exiting out a manhole. Clutched in her hand was her mother's flute. She had decided that she was going to look for a place to get it fixed.

Taylor wandered the streets of Brockton Bay. She wasn't entirely sure where to go to get something like a flute fixed. She let her feet take her around the shopping district of the city.

She couldn't wait to finish her costume. After finding a place, she would begin working on her tools. Taylor would also have to learn how to dye and work the stone rings into the clothes.

She frowned. That was a lot.

Taylor was brought out of her thoughts by a voice, "Taylor?"

She stopped walking and turned. Two people were walking toward her. A man and a woman, both well built. Taylor could recognize both of them, despite not having seen them in months, "Kurt? Lacey?"

They were both staring opened mouth. Lacey spoke, "It is you. Taylor, where have you been?"

She waved off their worries, "Oh, just hanging around."

This did not dissuade them. Kurt spoke, "Taylor, look at me." He walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Danny is gone, and your house was destroyed. You disappeared, and no one could find you. No,w we find you walking in the street without a care. What are you doing? What happened?"

Taylor was silent. She debated if she should answer their questions. They had been nice to her. She could tell them a few things. Not everything, of course, "Can we talk about this somewhere else? There are things I don't want others hearing."

Kurt opened his mouth, but Lacey was faster, "Of course, dear, but you are going to tell us everything."

She nodded, intent on very much not doing that, and walked alongside them. They headed further into the docks. They hadn't gone for the residential area, so she could guess where their destination was. Taylor paid attention to the vibrations she could feel through her sandals as they approached the dockworkers association.

They didn't go in through the front entrance and went around the side. There were fewer people than usual in the DWA. Entering a side door, Taylor looked around the main building. She saw someone do a double take. Well, there went any chance that this wasn't going to get out. Kurt noticed her looking around at the small number of people and explained, "With Danny's sudden passing, a lot of people became disheartened. There's been a rush to find someone to take over the position, but it's been hard. People have been leaving to find other work. Most of them have been joining the gangs."

They took her into a side room, Lacey stood in front of the door, "Okay, spill. You ain't leaving till you tell us what happened." She crossed her arms and gave Taylor a pointed look.

She raised her hands, "Okay, I'll tell." She lowered her hands, "I got powers."

Both of them raised their eyebrows and glanced at each other. Kurt was hesitant, "Really?"

She grew a second set of arms, "Quite sure." She retracted the arms.

They stood there in shock. Eventually, they spoke again, "But where have you been? You disappeared." Kurt's eyes narrowed, "Did you join a gang?"

She couldn't help it, "Ha! Seriously?"

Lacey sighed in relief, "At least there's that. But, kid, where have you been? Do you have a place to stay?"

Taylor answered, "I have quite literally been living in a hole in the ground. Dug it out myself. It's comfortable."

This, surprisingly, did not comfort them. "Really, kid? What have you been eating?"

She grinned, "Rocks."

They both blinked and took a step back. She stopped smiling and looked between them, "What? Do I have something in my teeth?"

Kurt shook his head, "No, it's just that your teeth look very sharp."

Confused, she brought up her hand and started poking her teeth. What the hell? They were right, her teeth were almost triangular. She closed her mouth, and the teeth fit together perfectly. This was most likely some unconscious use of her power. She focused, and her teeth changed back to normal. Taylor shrugged, "Huh, no wonder people were put off when I smiled at them."

Kurt took a deep breath in and stepped forward, "Look, Taylor, we want what's best for you. It doesn't sound like where you're living is stable. Why don't you come with us?" He looked at her hands and finally noticed she was holding something, "What's that?"

Right, she had almost forgotten. She held it up and showed them, "It's Mom's flute. I got it back, and I was looking for a place that could repair it."

There was a moment of silence before Kurt nodded, "I know a place. Taylor why don't you come with us, and I can show you?"

She shook her head, "Sorry, but there's some things I need to do. I also don't want you guys to become a target for anyone. Besides, I'm okay. No one can hurt me. I can provide for myself as well."

Lacey sighed, "All right, but please come visit us. We don't want to lose you."

Taylor gave a genuine smile, "Of course!" She had a thought, "Hey, Lacey, you used to sew, right?"

The woman furrowed her eyebrows but nodded.

This was good, "Great, I have materials for a costume, but I need some help putting it together. Can I bring it over when I visit you?"

Kurt and Lacey both looked at each other for a few moments. Speaking to each other without words. They seemed to finish and nodded to Taylor.

"Thanks! Can I leave now? I got a few things I need to do."

After some more talking, she handed the flute over to Kurt and they said their goodbyes to each other. She walked away and thought about how her costume would look when it was finally completed.

Chapter Text

It was early in the morning, and Taylor was skittering through a tunnel with her tool materials held in her last few pairs of legs. She couldn't wait to see Noelle again and tell her how everything had gone yesterday. Pulling off the prank without being noticed. Swimming to Boston and destroying Accord's tower. Swimming back and playing with some orcas. Said orcas, hiding her from Dragon. Coming back and talking with Kurt and Lacey. Finishing up the final details of her costume. Everything would be ready tonight.

Taylor felt the vibrations as she moved and could tell that Noelle was near the vault door to her room. She guessed that the other girl was eating right now. No matter, Noelle didn't look like she enjoyed eating, so she might want a distraction.

She took off the panel for the tunnel and stuck her head out.

She saw Noelle's head turned toward her with shock and worry plastered across her face.

She didn't see what was flying toward her.

Taylor didn't care what it was when it stuck into her open mouth, and she bit down.

A divine flavor filled her mouth. Better than any rock or gem she had eaten. Better than any food she had eaten before getting her powers. The texture and taste almost like beef but better and sweeter. Her teeth glided through the soft outer part before coming down on something hard with a satisfying crunch.

She scrambled forward and grabbed the object before it could fall to the floor. She chewed the divine substance and swallowed. Taylor brought up the object and prepared to take another bite before she saw what it was.

In her grip, extended claws digging into soft flesh, was a human arm. It had been torn off at the shoulder, and the hand was gone. She stared at it. She had killed people before, but she hadn't actually seen any detail. Despite Brockton Bay being the shithole it was, Taylor had never seen a dead body. She had seen Noelle eating a person before, just a body. Taylor guessed that villains like Coil had easy access to corpses or could easily disappear people. Taylor examined her own thoughts and feelings. Cannibalism is considered one of the ultimate taboos worldwide. Only supposed to be done in the direst of circumstances. She couldn't muster up any feelings other than people might fear her if they learned she liked to eat people. Her parents would be disappointed, right? Why didn't she care?

Taylor looked back up at Noelle, who was covering her mouth with her hands and looked horrified. She whispered, "I'm so sorry." Her animal heads continued eating the bodies at her feet.

Taylor tried to think of something to make Noelle feel better. She said the first thing that came to mind, "Why didn't you tell me people are delicious?" Shit.

Noelle lowered her hands and blinked, "What?"

Well, she might as well tell the truth. She waved the arm around, "This is the best thing I've ever tasted. Not any food before I got powers and not any rocks."

The girl frowned, "You don't have to lie to me."

Taylor stated, "No, I'm serious. I was about to take another bite till I saw what it was." She paused and looked at the arm, "I'm still considering eating it."

She looked upset, "What are you talking about? Shouldn't this disgust you? That was a person. This isn't something you can go back from."

Taylor used her other hand to scratch the back of her head, "Yeah, I'm kind of realizing that my powers may have changed me more than I thought. I can't bring myself to care about what others think of me. Also, I was serious about eating it."

Noelle stopped looking upset and started looking concerned, "Taylor, please tell me if something's wrong. I don't want you to lose yourself like I am."

Some movement caught Taylor's eye. One of the tentacles, a scaled one, dug into one of the bodies and tore a small piece off. It didn't bring the flesh to one of the animal heads and instead brought it upward. She brought Noelle's attention to it, "Hey, your lower half is doing something."

Noelle was only able to look down and say 'wha-' before the tentacle shoved the human flesh into her mouth. She brought her hands up when a different tentacle curled around her mouth to keep it closed. She clawed at it as she grew more and more panicked. Taylor couldn't do anything but sit back and watch. From what Noelle had said, her lower body had a mind of its own, and this confirmed it. If Taylor got closer, the lower body might grab her. Noelle's description of her powers made her believe there wouldn't be anything left of this section of the continent if she was grabbed. It might make Noelle sad as well.

The girl with power equal to city-shattering monsters was helpless to watch the other girl struggle with her own body. She saw tears form in the corners of Noelle's eyes as she gave up and swallowed the human flesh. After a few moments, the tentacle unwound from her head. Noelle immediately began retching, trying to puke the meat back up. Nothing came of it.

Taylor didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to fix this. Hesitantly, she spoke, "I- I'm sorry. I wish I could help."

Silence before, "It's fine. You made the right choice. Touching me would have ended badly."

She had to ask, "Has it ever done that before?"

The other girl shook her head, "No, never." She whispered something that Taylor couldn't hear.

"What?"

Noelle repeated herself, "It was delicious..."

Okay, it was time to move away from this, "Hey, let's talk about something else."

There was another moment of silence before Noelle nodded, "Okay, how did everything go?"

Taylor didn't smile, "I got in and out of Emma's house with no problems. While I was there, I found my mom's flute. I'm going to get it repaired. Maybe, I can learn to play it, give you something to listen to?" Idly, she tucked the human arm beneath her and used her legs to move it further back into the tunnel.

Still quiet, the animal heads had finished eating. Noelle spoke, "About the house you went to. I noticed something."

Taylor tilted her head, "Yeah? I thought you could only track parahumans and have a hard time tracking me. How would you know anything?"

Noelle explained, "I have been trying to keep track of you when you leave. I've been getting better, but it's difficult. When you left the city, I lost track of you. Anyway, I noticed the house you went to is visited often by a Ward."

She blinked, "Excuse me? You mean Emma's a Ward?"

The girl shook her head, "I don't think so. The Ward doesn't stay over often enough to be living there, but they do go there often. I know they're a Ward because they go to the PRT building and go in pairs with other heroes."

Taylor absorbed the information. She brought a hand to her chin, "Emma's friends with a Ward. You said they hang out a lot, and Emma doesn't have too many close friends. She has hanger-ons. The only person I can think of would be Sophia. She's a Ward. Wow. There are only two girls in the local Wards and she sure as shit isn't Vista. That means I've spent the last couple of years being bullied by Shadow Stalker. Did no one there notice?"

Noelle shrugged, "I'm not sure. I think the heroes here might just be incompetent. Did you know that Coil works at the PRT building?"

She blinked, again, "No fucking way. Really?"

"Yep, and I'm pretty sure that all the local Nazis meet at that medical building downtown. The fancy one."

"Medhall?"

"Pretty sure."

Taylor had to take a moment, "Wow, no wonder my city is so fucked up."

She smiled when Noelle giggled. Good, the distraction was working. Noelle asked, "So, how was Boston? Did you accomplish everything you needed to do?"

Taylor grinned, "Yep! Blew up Accord's tower. The harbor there was shallower than I thought, and it turns out that something growing to an enormous size in the middle of it causes waves. I may have crushed a few coastal buildings with them. Anyway, I did all that and escaped. I'm pretty sure Legend was shooting at me as I dug away. It didn't hurt, it felt like someone poking me with their finger a lot."

Her face fell, "And what about your leg? Are you okay?"

She laughed and brought forward the materials, "I'm fine. Didn't hurt one bit. While I was at it, I scraped at my shell so I could use the pieces to make the handles for my tools."

Noelle stared at the four-foot-long curved golden spike. She was hesitant, "Are you sure? That looks like a lot."

She waved off her concern, "Seriously, I'm good. That piece doesn't make up even a fraction of a percent of a single leg. The scraping didn't hurt either."

"If you say so... Did anything else happen?"

Her smile returned in full, "Oh yeah! On the way back from Boston, I met a pod of orcas. They were nice. Helpful too."

Noelle blinked, "Orcas? You mean killer whales? What do you mean by helpful?"

"Yep! It was a pod of six. There was a little baby with them, and the biggest one had scars on one of its flippers. I swam with them back to Brockton Bay. They warned me that Dragon was approaching, and I saw that she was using a scanner on the ocean. I dived beneath them, and they gathered together over me and blocked the scanner."

The brunette stared, "Huh, I didn't know they were that smart."

She chuckled, "They play, too. One of them had a dead fish on their head when I met them. It brought the fish over to me and had me do the same."

Noelle's face was stone, "You swam back to Brockton Bay with a fish on you head?" When Taylor nodded, her face became a deadpan look, "If I didn't know better, I would say you're making this up."

"It's true!"

She sighed, "Okay then. Did anything else happen on your crazy adventure?" She was massaging her temples like she had a headache.

Taylor thought back to yesterday, "Well, I ran into some of my dad's friends. They recognized me, and we talked for a bit. They were worried about me and wanted me to stay with them. I declined and they didn't push after I showed them I have powers."

Noelle was hesitant, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Taylor reaffirmed, "I trust them. They always treated me kindly. They aren't going to sell me out to one of the gangs, they hate them. Besides, Kurt's the guy who is getting my mother's flute repaired. Lacey is going to be helping me with my costume. Speaking of, I think it'll be finished by tonight."

Noelle moved to the other side of the room and her enormous body lowered to rest itself on the floor. She sighed, "Okay, that's good. You can show me once you're done." She lowered her head in thought.

The centipede girl nodded, even if Noelle couldn't see it, "Cool. I'm going to go now and finish up my tools. These are going to take a lot more effort to carve through."

Before she could leave, Noelle spoke up, "Wait."

She stopped, "Yeah?"

"I..." The other girl hesitated before steeling herself, "My group and I aren't from here."

Okay, "I sort of figured you weren't from Brockton Bay."

She shook her head, "Not what I mean. I'm saying we're not from Earth Bet."

...

That... This was big. She asked, "I didn't think it was possible. Aren't the portals too small for anything besides energy to pass through? I know we're in communication with Earth Aleph. Is that where you're from? How did you get here?"

Noelle spoke slowly, only looking down at the floor, "Yes, the Travelers and I are from Earth Aleph. We're from Madison." She waited for Taylor to interrupt her and continued when she didn't, "The Simurgh was able to use some tech to open a portal between Earth's, and we got caught in it. There was chaos everywhere. Scion was fighting the Simurgh. We saw a cape get blown up by a harness they were wearing, cursing at Dragon when it happened. Monsters started appearing, and we found a place to hide while the Simurgh kept screaming."

Taylor's own voice was soft, "And I'm guessing all of you got your powers during that?"

Noelle didn't move, "Not in the way you're thinking."

She tilted her head, "What do you mean? Is there a different way to get powers?"

She breathed in, "I was injured when a building collapsed during the chaos. Krouse found something he thought could help all of us. It was a briefcase, and inside of it were six vials of fluid and papers. The papers were filled with science words, but putting it all together we figured out that drinking from the vials would give us superpowers."

Taylor didn't say anything, she kept listening to Noelle's voice, "We didn't think it would work. None of us wanted to try it until Krouse tried it and became able to swap the places of things. The rest of us started taking them. Marissa could make suns. Luke could shoot things at the speed of sound. Cody could reverse things in time. Jess could make and control monsters while asleep. Krouse convinced me to take the vial, but I didn't want to take all of it. He convinced me to take half when I brought up when there were more of us than there were vials. Me and Oliver each had half."

She was curious, "What powers did Oliver get? Was it similar to your own?"

Noelle gave her head a small shake, "Not quite. His face changes slightly each time he looks at someone's face. His looks change based on his idea of what is attractive. He can also get better at a skill if he focuses on it for a long time. Some things stayed the same, like his blonde hair, but it's hard to recognize him at times. We've theorized that he got the portion of the power that allowed for control. The power's safeguards."

Taylor had to take time to process all of that, "I didn't know there were people that sold powers." She focused on Noelle, "You've been through a lot. I want to help you. I'm going to do as much research as I can. Maybe I can find something you guys missed. Anything, a rumor, a story, some ways that powers can interact and change."

Noelle looked back, "We've looked everywhere. We just wanted to go home. I wanted to see my family again. Coil says that he has an idea to help us. He said he knew people who could make portals between worlds. He's our last hope. At this point, I'll take being myself again."

She held Noelle's gaze, "I'm not going to turn away from you. I'm not going to stop. I will find some way to help you. No matter what it takes."

Noelle looked down, she whispered, "...thank you."

Without another word, Taylor went back into her tunnel and scuttled back to a central chamber to work on her tools.

While concentrating on her work, she brought the arm up to her mouth and took a bite. She smiled and melted into the amazing taste. If all went well, she would get to go out tonight in a finished costume.

...

That night...

...

Taylor smiled and gave a small laugh as she balanced on the edge of a building. Looking up, she could see the nearly full moon overhead beaming down at her.

Her costume was finally finished, and she loved it. It was, essentially, a stylized version of what she usually wore. Sue her, she liked the look. It didn't need to much work to make it, and Lacey helped her get it done.

A black shirt and skirt with gold markings randomly placed across it in lines. Green rings made of leftover serpentinite ran along the edges of the fabric. The gem belt was around her waist and occasionally clinked as she walked. She had orange bows wrapped around parts of her body. One large ribbon was wrapped around her waist, and the bow behind her ensured the belt wouldn't fall off. There were bows wrapped around her limbs as well. Three for each forearm and five for each lower leg. To wrap it up, she had a stone mask covering the top half of her face. There was subtle carving and plating over it. She had drilled four small eye holes for each eye. The sides of the mask came down to points along the side of her jaw. Taylor had also decided to let her claws out and her teeth sharpen.

She took a running start and leaped to the rooftop of another building. Her landing caused her tools to tap against each other. Right, her newly made tools. Her smile got wider. Taylor grabbed a tool in each hand and unsheathed them. In her left hand was a large pickaxe that was too unwieldy for anyone without super strength to use. In her right hand was a shovel with a D-shaped grip on the opposite end. Despite being the size of a normal shovel, it would also require someone to have super strength to use it in a useful way.

The handles of her tools were made from the scrapings from her armored back. It gave them a metallic steel look, though they were slightly off-color from regular steel. The heads were made from the tip of her leg, and they shined a brilliant gold color. She had carved away a lot from the parent material to make them, so she saved the leftover parts for future projects. They had been difficult while carving, but it had been worth it. She had crawled into the mountain and did some test digging. They were perfect. Each swing was satisfying, and the tools gave no sign of breaking from continued use. She had done a final test coating them in her venom, and they succeeded. With her venom, her pickaxe dug further into the stone, and her shovel glided through the earth like it wasn't there.

She sheathed them by crossing them over her back and formed small, jointed legs to grab them. Taylor continued her enthusiastic walk through the night. She wasn't expecting to find anything. She had simply wanted to go out in her brand-new costume.

It looked like something was going to find her, however. Taylor could feel the vibrations from two people. It wasn't hard to guess they were capes when she felt one speed up, and they were suddenly on a rooftop adjacent to her. The other cape climbed up the side of the building and each touch sent either more or less vibrations than she thought it should.

She turned to look at them. The fast one was in a grey skintight suit with cobalt lines running across it in a circuit design. They were wearing a domino mask. It was Battery, a Protectorate hero and someone Taylor remembered viewing as a role model in high school. She could guess the other cape was in red body armor and a more covering mask. That would be Assault, the other part of their duo. She had to stifle a laugh when she remembered a few of the jokes about a hero duo called Assault and Battery. They both seemed like good people in their interviews, and she hadn't heard any rumors to counteract this.

Both of them were already facing in her direction, so she got to the edge of the building closest to them and waved. The Protectorate heroes looked at each other and talked. She guessed they were also talking to people back at the reformatted oil rig they were using as a base. They nodded as one and walked toward Taylor.

They stopped walking when only an alley separated them from her.

Assault put his hands on his hips and smiled, "Hey there! Who might you be? Haven't seen you around."

Taylor matched his smile, "Hey there, yourself! I just finished my costume and decided to do some patrolling. Don't think I'm going to find much, but I wanted to have an excuse to use the costume. Call me, Centi."

If she remembered correctly, Assault could manipulate the kinetic energy of himself and things he touched. It made him a fast, slippery opponent that could take a hit and return it with the same amount of force. Battery could become super strong and fast. She lit up with blue electricity and could deal incredible damage quickly. The downside was that she had to take a break between uses of her power to charge it. She could also let off a burst of electromagnetic energy to fry equipment or manipulate metallic objects.

Battery introduced them, "Hello, Centi. You may already know, but I'm Battery, and he's Assault. I'm guessing you're a hero then if you're patrolling."

They seemed fun to talk to, "Yep! And I do know both of you. I'm a local. Actually, Battery, you were one of my role models growing up."

Assault's smile got wider as he turned to his partner and elbowed her, "Looks like you have a fan~."

The corners of her mouth tilted downward, "Stop that." He did after a final elbow. "Well, if you're a new hero, do you mind telling us what you can do or if you can come in for power testing?"

Assault admonished her, "Laying it on a bit thick, aren't you?"

Taylor waved away his concern, "No worries. I have no trouble showing off some." She had another pair of arms come out of her sides, "How's this?"

The red hero whistled, "Neat-o. You grow extra limbs?"

"Got some super strength and durability as well. Few other things, but I prefer to keep at least a few cards to myself."

He nodded, "That's fair." Assault tilted his head, "Say, you sound a bit young."

She gave a small laugh and put all four hands up, "You got me."

Battery gave her a nice smile, "Have you thought about joining the Wards?"

It built inside her. Slowly getting bigger and bigger. It started as a chuckle. It turned into a laugh. She couldn't help herself. The very idea of heroes asking someone thought to be an Endbringer to join the Wards was the very height of hilarity to her. She imagined someone standing in front of Behemoth and asking if he wanted to join the Protectorate because he had recently turned eighteen. Additionally, Sophia was in the Wards. So, fuck that. By the time she was finished laughing, there was very little noise from how she was barely taking in a breath. She wiped a tear from her eye. She looked back at them and apologized, "Sorry."

Battery was frowning and did not look impressed, "You want to give a reason?"

"Circumstances. I wouldn't fit in."

Assault chuckled, "Fair enough. Still, you should consider coming in. If not to join or learn more about your power, you can still sign up as an affiliated independent. There are good benefits."

Taylor grinned with sharp teeth. "I'll think about it." She lied.

He saluted at her, "Righty-o. We got some patrolling to do and so do you. Let's go our separate ways for tonight. Just remember, you can come and talk to us anytime you want."

She saluted back, "Sounds alright to me. Great meeting the both of you. It was fun!"

With that, she turned and walked away. That had been enjoyable. She snickered when she realized two heroes just chatted with an Endbringer and didn't know. Tomorrow she would do some research on powers. Hopefully, she could find something to help Noelle.