Bad Company (Taylor/OC, Worm AU)

[Kolejny dzień]

I think probably not. At least not until she starts to move in and raid Coil's base anyway. Ray is, even after the healing, to much of a loose cannon.

 

[Eatersgrin]

I wonder how Rays going to interact with Rachel she's pretty cool and is the only Undersider who hasn't fucked him over

Click to shrink...

He feels bad about the dogs, and she ate the rest of his chili. Should prove interesting.

 

[jumboseafood]

He feels bad about the dogs, and she ate the rest of his chili. Should prove interesting.

Click to shrink...

Ray can always make more Chili he can be the groups cook.

 

[tarrangar]

I believe Taylor believes she's doing the right thing. Then she rotted off a man's junk. Then she carved out the same dude's eyes. Then she robbed a bank. Then she robbed the PRT. Then she committed treason. Then she killed a superhero. Then she killed a high ranking Federal officer. And then she shot a baby.

That's where I draw the line.

Click to shrink...

None of those except the bank were actually amongst the things she did wrong.

Lung is a slaver, rapist and murderer who regenerate, so what she did to him, is only the equivalent of breaking some bones on someone who don't heal, and bone breaking, is certainly acceptable force to bring in slavers, rapists and murderers.

The bank she should have said no to, but by the standards of villainy, it's far from unforgivable level of misdeeds.

She didn't rob the PRT, she caused a ruckus at a PRT event, they didn't actually steal anything that time, and it got her Coils identity, so unlike the bank, that was actually an acceptable thing to do to get the info to take down a villain.

Calling her holding territory treason is really overblowing things, and isn't right by US law, she didn't try to overthrow the government, nor did she try to secede from the US, so it wasn't treason, a gang taking over an area is a lot of things but treason it isn't.

Killing Alexandria and Tagg was a mistake, but Alexandria convinced Taylor that she was murdering Taylors friends, which in itself is also a crime, the Undersiders didn't have kill orders on them, so murdering them were not in fact legal, and bluff or not, threatening someone with killing their loved ones if they don't surrender is not in fact legal.

And killing Aster was actually a good thing, Purity tried to do it before Taylor succeeded, because being in the hands of the S9 is in fact a fate worse than death, especially when the S9 member who has you is Grey Boy, and Aster was literally in the hands of Grey Boy, which meant Taylor had 0% chance of rescuing Aster, meaning there was only 2 ways Asters fate could go
1. She trigger and get recruited by the S9, a fate where she will kill many others then eventually be killed herself.
2. She don't trigger, Jack get tired of trying to get her to trigger, and Grey Boy put her in a torture loop.

Both of those options are worse than death, so Taylor did the right thing by shooting Aster.

It's all the things she did in between those that were wrong, being too brutal with minor criminals, attacking the heroes(particularly how she tortured Triump to force the Mayor to do as she wanted) and otherwise being too cruel when dealing with the smaller stuff.

I stared at the bruja rubia for a second,"No heads up on capes they got or the mall is a series of booby traps I gotta navigate?" (Blonde witch).

Click to shrink...

Lisa is being an absolute moron here, she is planning to take out Coil too, so she can't exactly count on his protection, and with how she's treating Ray, it become more and more likely, that after Coil is taken down, Ray decide she should be taken down too.

 

[jumboseafood]

None of those except the bank were actually amongst the things she did wrong.

Lung is a slaver, rapist and murderer who regenerate, so what she did to him, is only the equivalent of breaking some bones on someone who don't heal, and bone breaking, is certainly acceptable force to bring in slavers, rapists and murderers.

The bank she should have said no to, but by the standards of villainy, it's far from unforgivable level of misdeeds.

She didn't rob the PRT, she caused a ruckus at a PRT event, they didn't actually steal anything that time, and it got her Coils identity, so unlike the bank, that was actually an acceptable thing to do to get the info to take down a villain.

Calling her holding territory treason is really overblowing things, and isn't right by US law, she didn't try to overthrow the government, nor did she try to secede from the US, so it wasn't treason, a gang taking over an area is a lot of things but treason it isn't.

Killing Alexandria and Tagg was a mistake, but Alexandria convinced Taylor that she was murdering Taylors friends, which in itself is also a crime, the Undersiders didn't have kill orders on them, so murdering them were not in fact legal, and bluff or not, threatening someone with killing their loved ones if they don't surrender is not in fact legal.

And killing Aster was actually a good thing, Purity tried to do it before Taylor succeeded, because being in the hands of the S9 is in fact a fate worse than death, especially when the S9 member who has you is Grey Boy, and Aster was literally in the hands of Grey Boy, which meant Taylor had 0% chance of rescuing Aster, meaning there was only 2 ways Asters fate could go
1. She trigger and get recruited by the S9, a fate where she will kill many others then eventually be killed herself.
2. She don't trigger, Jack get tired of trying to get her to trigger, and Grey Boy put her in a torture loop.

Both of those options are worse than death, so Taylor did the right thing by shooting Aster.

It's all the things she did in between those that were wrong, being too brutal with minor criminals, attacking the heroes(particularly how she tortured Triump to force the Mayor to do as she wanted) and otherwise being too cruel when dealing with the smaller stuff.

Lisa is being an absolute moron here, she is planning to take out Coil too, so she can't exactly count on his protection, and with how she's treating Ray, it become more and more likely, that after Coil is taken down, Ray decide she should be taken down too.

Click to shrink...

Oh God stop simping. Are you seriously defending the undersiders terror attack on the fund raiser? Because that's what it was a terror attack. And she was running her like a Queen she and her minions effectively become the state for large portions of the bay. I don't think impulsive 16 years old with no accountability make for good governance do you?

 

[Eatersgrin]

In my hand was the biggest gun I've ever seen in person, yet here I was shoving it in this dirty biker's face in the middle of the mall I'd gone back to school shopping in as a kid.

Holy.

Shit.

What am I doing? Oni Lee shoved a knife in my face just like this. To shut me up forever.

Holy shit.

I can't freak out. I can't.

Seriously, why did I do this?

The old man's eyes wrinkled more at the corners as he chuckled, "Why would I leave it loaded?"

"Because you're the kinda fella whose finger is all the safety ya need", Just be cool, Ray. Be The Duke. Be Dust Devil.

The Soul of the Dirtiest Lil Bay on the East Coast.

He whistled, "Got balls, boy. It's a real shame then to lose a piece like her but any guest of Skidmark ain't going nowhere without a party favor."

The old man let out a loud whoop and the crowd started going back to their usual rowdiness.

"Little Lady, you're comin' with me", I said over my shoulder as I lowered the pistol.

I stepped away from the MC and let the pistol swing freely by the trigger guard on my finger, and presented it back to him, "Now I can say I handled two nice pieces today."

He roared with laughter and I wanted to crack him across the face with the butt of the pistol as he took it. Everyone else on the stage went back to changing outfits and strutting for the crowd. The crying girl wobbled in place on high heels a bit too big for her feet.

I stepped over to the girl I was starting to better recognize on our corner of the stage and yes, we had at least one class together. I extended my elbow and offered her the crook of my arm, "C'mon, I don't bite. Better me than some random person from the crowd."

Her breathing picked up, hyperventilating, I think, "It's not a request."

She lowered her head and slipped her bruised arm through mine and I led her off the stage. We wandered through the various crowds, sometimes offers and catcalls hurled our way. Near a demolished fountain installation, in a more secluded section of the place, I motioned for her to sit.

"Put these on", I shoved the two red bands at her I was given by the two beefy entrance guards.

"Okay", she replied with a bit of condescension but did as she was told.

Ugh, it had to be Madison.

"Look, Hoover, you- are going to do as I say, when I say and your only question you will ask is if I'm okay with whatever you are requesting, got it?"

Her head snapped up to me, eyes red from crying, "Hoover? Do - do you - you know me?"

"Ennnt- wrong question."

"You're the new guy that- your Taylor's John".

I hate this girl. Too smart for her own good, too petty for self preservation.

"Alright, Tyler. I had one job today", It was better to talk to the biker guy.

I pulled my shirt from my pouch and offered it to her. She hesitated to take the bundle of cloth until I unfurled it. Madison put it on real quick after that, "Is this... used?"

"Since you're not going to go by my rules I'm gonna answer your question and then leave you behind. Yes, it's my shirt from this morning that I was wearing over my costume. Good luck with your reelection, Mrs. President."

She looked up at me like I had a third eye with a winking problem, "Please, please don't."

Ugh.

"Sadly, you are not my priority here. Yes, I want to help you but no, I am not here to do that. So stick with me and I will do my best to protect you. Run or do anything attention getting in this mall without my say and I won't bother looking for you to help you."

"I - I don't know", her eyes welled up more but her tone still carried that stupid tone. Was her weird superiority thing a defense mechanism thing? Was picking on Taylor her way of not being a target herself?

C'MON RAY, YOU GOT A JOB TO DO!

"What do you mean you don't know? Get. With. The. Program. Taft. I am the only person in a thousand foot radius not ready to do more horrible crap to you. Stick by me and I'll try to get you out unharmed, hesitate next time I tell you to do something and I have no problem letting you get your just desserts."

Madison lined herself up using me as a shield, all the while looking past me.

"Heeeeeey, you're that cape that t-took girl I had my eye on" a slurring voice entered my range of hearing.

I turned and a short Gollum looking figure crept along the floor. Mud, dirt and other colors stained his meager clothes.

"Mush", I replied.

"Yeah, who're you?"

"Dust Devil, I've been told we do things the same."

Mush grinned with a mouthful of stained teeth and scarring on his receding gums.

I continued, "Need to speak to Skidmark. Got word you're the fella to see 'bout that."

The gritty little man kept looking past me to the Generalissima cowering behind me, "We can m-make 'rangememt, yeah."

I snapped my fingers and put my arm out for Madison to latch on to. Carefully she stepped out from behind me and caught my arm "Lead the way, Mush. The rest... details."

Make up a plan, huh? The girl who had been torturing Taylor for months on end needed saving and you just save her? I mean she was the only one crying up there, maybe others needed saving? They just hid it better to not look victim-y?

Ugh.

Mush kept on stealing glances at Madison that made her cling tighter to my arm and closer to me. I noticed she had used part of my shirt to clean off the excessive makeup and perfume she wore and now I was going to have to answer for that later, thank you very much.

At one point in our trip we passed the old Christmas Tree the mall would put out for the holidays and it was super on fire. I mean it's gigantic and made of metal and plastic but it was on fire now. Black smoke, curled plastic, and the chemical smell of it all trapped in my nostrils.

Finally, we were up a set of metal stairs and somewhere on the second floor of the Mall. A security cage meant for janitor equipment and cleaning supplies held not so awake women. Just past that was a variety of lockers tagged with the Merchants logo and some were left open and were stuffed with drugs and I'm assuming drug using or making supplies.

Mush pushed open a door but gestured for me to stay back. An exchange went on from the office and Mush before I was waved inside. I pushed past the ring-bearer and he shut the door behind me and Madison. I saw a bank of monitors on a large wide wall all off. Sitting behind a large desk, a case on top of that desk, and I could easily guess who Skidmark was.

I don't know if it was the drug use, lifestyle from before, or something his powers did but suddenly the old smelly biker was positively ready for the public compared to Skidmark and his - well, the man looked like he smelled.

Dark skin, cracked lips, unkempt hair, in another life Skidmark was probably a decent man working as a warehouse foreman or emergency services dispatcher. Something with power or authority but just a bit too much stress that needed the edge taken off from time to time.

Squealer sat on the edge of the desk and looked like everything you'd expect from a daytime talk show Before interview. Again, I know I don't like judging people by how they look but - this was a gimme. Squealer was less a tinker and treated, what Dr. Yamada would call, a cry for help as a fashion statement. Oil, dirt, cuts and bruises probably from handling machinery for hours on end. I could sense the amount of grit, sand and oil soaked dirt that was on her body and I didn't like that knowledge one bit.

"Skidmark, Squealer", I acknowledged the pair as Squealer kicked her legs playfully as they hung from the desk where she sat.

Blegh.

Skidmark's grin grew as he looked me and Madison over, "Dust Devil, right? What's with her in the big shirt."

"She's a treat for later, not a buffet. Temptation is just fine, fighting the tempted... not."

Squealer laughed and Skidmark joined her. The Merchants seemed to laugh at anything.

"Mush said you had to talk to me, man. You been wandering around as my guest, benefitting from my name, time to spill it", Skidmark leaned back in the high backed office chair and steepled his fingers.

The security office reeked of chemicals and something like the smell from me and Annie would be together. I didn't want to be here, I really needed to get away from here but I had to deal with the Merchants.

I had to deal with the Merchants to please Lisa which would help Coil.

"Right now the city looks ripe for the picking. But it's not, no disrespect, but your expansion into The Docks and Boardwalk is over. The place has been taken over and officially claimed."

Skidmark leaned forward from his chair and cocked his head to the side, eyes staring up and to the side almost like he was listening to everything I said on a delay.

"Who claimed it?" Squealer asked.

"Skitter of The Undersiders, she moved in last week and ran off your people."

"By herself?" she asked.

"No. She had just one helper."

"And who the hell would help that little bitch?" Uh oh, Skidmark decided to participate and say the wrong thing.

I dropped four ball bearings on the floor from my pouch.

"Down", I ordered Madison over my shoulder.

She dropped like a stone, covering her head, as I swapped to my breaker state. The office wasn't that small but with three other people in it I had to be careful not to hurt Madison.

Skidmark used his power as Squealer divide behind the desk scrambling behind her boss. Lisa was right, the only thing I noticed from Skidmark's powers was that it was Infinitely easier to lift the ball bearings off the ground into my dust form.

The four small steel balls whipped around inside me like a man-sized tornado. I let dust and dirt collect on the bearings and it allowed me to steer the things a s they spun around.

"You will leave the city or I will end you. This is not a request. Your powers don't work on me. Mush cannot stop me. My power works everywhere. Stay in the city and I will find you."

"Fuck you", he spat as he reached up to grab the case off the desk.

I launched a bearing at his hand and you could just make out the sound of the bones in his wrist cracking as the steel ball smashed his now bloody hand, "Jesus!"

"Jesus Saves. God Forgives. The Devil Claims His Own", I taunted them with the weak shrieks of my dust form's Winds.

I sped up my rotations of three of the ball bearings and let them strike the table and the security glass that made up the windows. It sounded like a TV movie shoot out, the steel impacts plinking, thunking, and cracking whatever got in their way.

"Alright, alright," Skidmark said as he tried to stand.

I forced two bearings off their paths and into the case on the desk, knocked it to the floor, and it skidded effortlessly towards Madison. She grabbed it and held it in front of her head like a shield during my dust storm.

"Those are-" the third bearing I tried to ricochet off one of the metal filing cabinets in the corner but I'm real bad at geometry. It caught Skidmark in the shoulder and sent him spilling over the desk into his own field and the effect ceased.

The man was down and bleeding. Squealer came out from behind the desk and started doting over the man. She pulled tissue from the inside of her shirt and tried to cover the wound.

I guided the remaining bearings over the spot where I would be standing as I materialized and the three fell into my cupped hands, "I will visit your operations everyday until the Docks and Boardwalk are free of your drugs and violence. I will take a piece of whatever I find as a penalty."

"Casssse", Skidmark hissed while the tinker applied pressure to his wound.

"Yes, the case and the girl are the first penalty. Tomorrow, a bucket of these-", I clacked the bearings together. "-in a storm little bigger than half a city block."

"You coulda killed, Skid!" Squealer protested as the wound was still bleeding way more than the tissues could handle.

I snapped my fingers and Madison stood up with the case in hand. At least she remembered what I said, "Your gangs don't hold back when they attack the people of the city. This was a warning, your people will not get. It's your job to deal with them. Stay. Out. Of. Undersiders. Territory."

I pointed at the door and Madison trotted over in the ridiculous heels she was wearing and opened it. Behind it, blocking the door was some kind of muck monster made of mud and sand and trash.

Seriously?

As soon as he slammed a weird metal trash hand into my chest I swapped to my breaker state and started stripping his brute form to make mine. Clumps of sand, dirt, dust, and pieces of the busted office windows filled out my body.

"Huh?" was his reaction as I answered his punch with a front kick to his exposed lower torso.

Mush literally crumbled, weird thin tendrils flail wildly at my brute form, latching on but were unable to take any of the material back. Behind me I could hear the Commander-in-Chief struggling as my body pivoted and I watched Squealer grabbing at the case with both hands as Skidmark was passed out on the floor.

"It's over, Squealer. Tomorrow, don't be here", I kicked at the tinker and sent her sprawling.

Madison was breathing hard but stood there a moment taking in the scene, "Did you just take on three capes by yourself?"

Did I? I guess. I wasn't really registering what was happening since I pulled a gun on a guy.

I shook off the weird ass tendrils and stepped past Mush as he laid there in a daze. Held out the crook of my arm and Madison took it with the case of whatever it is in the other hand. Down the stairs, I shed Mush's materials and we were back into the internet made fer reals.

I'm no villain but she knows my identity or at least can at least seem sure enough to tell the public who I am. Oy, I guess it's time to deal with the Madison problem.

"Now as for you, Quincy Adams, where are your folks? Need to get you back to reality, now don't we?"

"But - I know who you are, aren't you going to kill me the first chance you get?" as the words left her mouth, while we strolled through the mall, the realization hit her.

We were in sight of the entrance and the two guards. My options were to leave her and not bother thinking about her date, or I let her go with all she witnessed and potential knowledge about me, or... "Well, you just talked yourself out of your one and only taste of freedom. Can't have you blabbing and, if you're right about my identity, we would both know how much you love to speak your mind".

"I - I - you can't just, you wouldn't ahh-"

I stopped our walking and put a dirty gloved finger to her lips, "You have two choices to pick from: Jack" I gestured at myself, "and shit." I gestured at the crowd of Merchants and their customers, their eyes already zeroing in on our scene.

"Jack", she removed my finger and answered.

"Who?"

"You, Jack", she started forward, still holding onto me and dragging me forward.

I laughed my weird ass hacking laugh, making a show that Dust Devil was having a good time with his party favor.

Once out the doors and clearing the sidewalk, with my feet on the asphalt I let go of a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Can we, can we stop for a second, Jack?" she asked, as she let go of my arm.

"Sure", I replied and she passed me the case. She leaned one arm against the building wall next to her on the sidewalk and removed her heels. "Oh god, those were awful."

"How'd they even get to you?" I asked while staring at the case. It was a simple hard metal case barely big enough for a small electronic device and maybe a small manual, it wasn't really impressive.

"Me and my family were - we were rounded up for evacuation. There was an issue with the trucks so we were stuck out in a park as part of a camp while we waited. I guess we were there a week, maybe less. Then Merchants got in or were already in and I got grabbed. I- I didn't get much sleep after that so I'm not sure what day it is".

I looked back up at her, "Were you kept in that cage on the way to the security office?"

She stared off for a long moment, it made me nervous enough to look around if she spotted Mush or a crowd coming but then she spoke up, "Yeah… they kept tossing pills at us. One of the other women explained what each one was, she was a pharmacist assistant. I only took the ones that kept me awake. Most- most wanted just to sleep. I'm probably going to have a problem when they wear off, okay?"

She's talking about withdrawal. She's going to get sick or worse.

Fuck.

It's not her fault. What can I do? What would -

OH, OH I CAN GIVE MADISON TO LISA!

She's got a shelter and probably needs a blood sacrifice for her unholy rituals.

Win-win, baby!

No, stop it you asshole, you're only playing a villain. You're a hero, you promised your Abuela you would protect the people. Madison is people.

"Hey, let's get a move on. There is a shelter not too far from here, I know who runs it and who funds it, and I can stash you there."

"Really?"

"Yup, now don't lose the heels. If they have a sensory thinker they could track us by the smell from your heels", yeah use that Wards training. Sound like you have a plan, Ray.

Madison sighed and kept the shoes in hand as we walked, "Do you think the Merchants will stay away like you told them?"

"I'll find out tomorrow."

"When you show up with the bucket?"

I didn't bother answering her. We walked in silence for a while and l occasionally went breaker to check ahead or backtrack to check for any roving bands.

The Sun was going down and as we cut through alleys, we came up on a stretch of street lit up by security lamps around Lisa's shelter to light up spots people could sneak up from.

"I'm going to need my shirt back now."

The girl looked at me mortified, "Shirt? Really?"

"It's not like you're naked, Madison."

"I can't", ugh she was doing that crap again.

"They're not going to judge you for being held by The Merchants. They'll be - hope. You'll give them hope that others survived and got away, too."

"It's cold out?"

I hung my head, "Gimme the shirt."

Shirt and pants back on, mask off, I lead Madison to the shelter. The lines for people needing help were far shorter now and a carefully painted sign said they were out of beds.

Ugh, of course she'd run out on me.

Approaching the main entrance one of Coil's soldiers dressed up as a volunteer, "Beds are full."

"I need to speak to Lisa."

"She's busy, leave a message?"

I shook my head, "Just tell her DB will complete the task tomorrow. That's it. We're good. Moving on now."

"Jack?" Madison asked, clearly not liking the eying she was getting from the volunteer.

"I got a line on something else", I replied and cocked my head to a spot near a light across the street.

We hustled across the street and I pulled a phone from my pants pocket.

"You had that the whole time?"

I gave her a displeased look and the phone rang.

Cranston answered, "Yes?"

"Need a ride for two back to Skitter's base, possibly being followed by two or more Merchants."

"Location?"

"Across the street from TT's shelter."

"Acknowledged, ETA to pick up is four minutes. Supply truck run in progress for your location."

"Thanks, I need someone with training in dealing with drug withdrawal. Also we're going to need more uhh ladies clothes for the morning", I looked at Madison and she was a bit - more, than Taylor but much shorter.

"Size?"

"Women's small?" I looked at Madison and she nodded.

"Shoes?"

I pointed to her feet and she mouthed the word Six.

"Size Six shoes."

"We can have all the clothes this evening if you need a rush, but the medic won't be available until morning."

"Okay, clothes tonight then. Please notify Skitter I am bringing an unwelcome guest. Thanks."

And I hung up, "We got a ride in a few minutes on a truck. It'll take us close to where I'm staying. I'm going to have to blindfold you before we enter the secret base as it's, ya know, secret."

"Really?"

"Well you know who I am and we can assume if they haven't fled the area yet that the Merchants are probably looking specifically for Dust Devil, you and this case. So unless you can fly or run really fast, you're traveling by foot in a disaster area of a city."

We waited silently until a supply truck passed by us slowly, I hopped on and pulled the school bully on after. A few minutes later the truck slowed again and I recognized the area. I encouraged Madison to hop off with me.

We closed in near the storm sewer entrance and I whipped my shirt off and rolled it up into a rough blindfold shape.

"Ewwww", she groaned as I tied it around her head.

I led her blind ass down the winding passages and finally got to the sewer entrance. I dialed in the key code and opened the door. I stepped in first and found that the bare minimum of lighting was turned on, a faint white glow traced around the edges of the walls and just enough light to navigate the main living space was provided. The top two floors were shrouded in the dark, and Skitter's yellow lenses caught just a glint of the light in the dark.

"Step in. I'm going to lead you to a seat. Stay there and don't take off the blindfold or move from that seat. I haven't cleared you yet", I instructed Madison and then left her on a stool at the counter.

I materialized next to the Boss and she took my hand and led me into her bedroom. The door shut behind us and pulled her mask off, "Who is that?"

Taylor's eyes were wide and her stare intense.

Shit.

"Madison Cl- Clementine? Kennett? Kermit?"

"Clements… why?" brown eyes narrowed and her pale face was framed by the dark void of the room.

"Remember we each started out as heroes. We're doing this to save the city, help the people, unfortunately she's one of the people in the city that the Merchants snatched. They doped her up, held her for days, forced her to do things. She's hurt, scared, and alone. And I love you and I am sorry and you know I would not do this to you unless it was the very last op-"

She covered my mouth with her armored hand, "Only because it's you I have decided to be understanding of the situation. But if she steps out of line you - will have to make new arrangements".

 

[jumboseafood]

Two things a Charlotte Madison role swap looks interesting and I am digging that nice subtle refrence to Pale. Also now Coil had access to powers in a can this can mean only one thing more OCs. Let's tumblr it up in this bitch

 

[tarrangar]

Oh God stop simping. Are you seriously defending the undersiders terror attack on the fund raiser? Because that's what it was a terror attack. And she was running her like a Queen she and her minions effectively become the state for large portions of the bay. I don't think impulsive 16 years old with no accountability make for good governance do you?

Click to shrink...

I'm not saying it was good, I'm saying that attacking the fund raiser, was within acceptable levels of crime to get the info on Coil, of course what Taylor should have done from there, is tell the PRT what she learned about Coil, but the attack on the fund raiser, was within what's acceptable to take down a gang boss.

As for her and her minions effectively becoming the state for large portions of the Bay, that had more to do with the actual government failing to govern there, it's not like they repeatedly pushed out government attempts to govern again, the government just wasn't around much in their territories at that point.

Taylor did a lot of other things wrong, but crashing a fund raiser without anyone getting seriously hurt, is acceptable to get knowledge that can take down a gang leader, so Taylors mistake there wasn't to go along with it at all, it was not turning the evidence over to the PRT, and there's mitigating circumstances for that, in the whole Leviathan attack happening before she could do so.

"Sure", I replied and she passed me the case. She leaned one arm against the building wall next to her on the sidewalk and removed her heels. "Oh god, those were awful."

"How'd they even get to you?" I asked while staring at the case. It was a simple hard metal case barely big enough for a small electronic device and maybe a small manual, it wasn't really impressive.

Click to shrink...

So they took some powers in a can from the Merchants, I wonder if they will figure out what they are and add some more capes to their team.

 

[thewhiteraven22]

"Jesus Saves. God Forgives. The Devil Claims His Own"

Click to shrink...

Ooooh, love this bit. I'm a simple man, I have simple tastes.

 

[jumboseafood]

I'm not saying it was good, I'm saying that attacking the fund raiser, was within acceptable levels of crime to get the info on Coil, of course what Taylor should have done from there, is tell the PRT what she learned about Coil, but the attack on the fund raiser, was within what's acceptable to take down a gang boss.

As for her and her minions effectively becoming the state for large portions of the Bay, that had more to do with the actual government failing to govern there, it's not like they repeatedly pushed out government attempts to govern again, the government just wasn't around much in their territories at that point.

Taylor did a lot of other things wrong, but crashing a fund raiser without anyone getting seriously hurt, is acceptable to get knowledge that can take down a gang leader, so Taylors mistake there wasn't to go along with it at all, it was not turning the evidence over to the PRT, and there's mitigating circumstances for that, in the whole Leviathan attack happening before she could do so.

So they took some powers in a can from the Merchants, I wonder if they will figure out what they are and add some more capes to their team.

Click to shrink...

Oh am sure Taylor actively wagging war aganist the PRT sure did help the efforts to restore governance to the bay. The government wasn't around because they couldn't establish themselves because the undersiders kept pushing the PRT out.
Oh the after raid meeting with Coil Taylor was eating Coils shit up to the point she started to question if working for him was for the greater good. Also you don't need to hurt people to do a terror attack you just need to instill fear.

 

[Eatersgrin]

Two things a Charlotte Madison role swap looks interesting and I am digging that nice subtle refrence to Pale. Also now Coil had access to powers in a can this can mean only one thing more OCs. Let's tumblr it up in this bitch

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Did I get this multi quote thing right? I remember when forums weren't fancy and you had to copy and paste and learn html.

Anywho, who said Coil gets the case? This case is penalty fee for encroaching on claimed turf. If anything it's Skitter's but of course they don't know what it is until they read the paperwork. Or until Lisa holds the case against her forehead and then does her Tom Cruise witchcraft.

Ooooh, love this bit. I'm a simple man, I have simple tastes.

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Between Grandpa Alcaraz, Mass, and Sci-fi Horror movies, Ray has lots of places to pull quotes from.

 

[jumboseafood]

Man those vials are going to drive me crazy they are a massive chekhovs gun.

 

[Eatersgrin]

Man those vials are going to drive me crazy they are a massive chekhovs gun.

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So much fun.

 

[jumboseafood]

So much fun.

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So you referenced Kennet. So Which one of the three is your favorite and why is it Verona?

 

[Eatersgrin]

So you referenced Kennet. So Which one of the three is your favorite and why is it Verona?

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None of the above. Haven't read Pale or Pact, I just kept seeing the Kennet Trio mentioned on the Unofficial Parahumans discord so I just name dropped for shiggles

 

[tarrangar]

Oh am sure Taylor actively wagging war aganist the PRT sure did help the efforts to restore governance to the bay. The government wasn't around because they couldn't establish themselves because the undersiders kept pushing the PRT out.
Oh the after raid meeting with Coil Taylor was eating Coils shit up to the point she started to question if working for him was for the greater good. Also you don't need to hurt people to do a terror attack you just need to instill fear.

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Taylor was waging war against the PRT much less than pretty much any other gang, she didn't attack them unless they attacked her first, and wasn't trying to seriously hurt them, she could have done better of course, but it wasn't because of her that the PRT couldn't reestablish themselves.

Taylor was ready to turn on the Undersiders to take down Coil after the meeting, since Taylor very much wasn't up for working for someone who enslave children.

If Leviathan hadn't attacked, and so Taylor hadn't discovered that Sophia was a Ward, and hadn't had Armsmaster violate the truce to kill her, then after the meeting with Coil, Taylor would have turned what she had learned over to the PRT.

 

[Eatersgrin]

The description was a bit vague for Harrison, so I did my best with artbreeder, photomania, and ibis x to come up with Ray's recent rescue, and Taylor's bully.

Considered cute, a late bloomer and petite, here's "Bad Company" Madison. Also since she lacks much background I had to make up some things to flesh her out and her motivation.

"Since she was a late bloomer, tended to hang out with the two other parts of the trio since she was not intimidating on her own. Boys and men saw her as small and weak and despite looking younger than she was made her a target for aggressive guys. To fit in she made fun of others to court the attention of Sophia and Emma. Thus gaining their friendship and de facto protection.

Is much shorter than Ray and Taylor. Has a big appetite. Being small and petite she tried to take only half the pills given of uppers to keep herself aware during her time captured by The Merchants.

Isn't sporty like Sophia or vapid like Emma, actually enjoys her personal time but would be put on display by her parents a lot. A small amount of adults in her parent's social circle liked her a little too much, would be volunteered to babysit their kids putting her in awkward situations."

 

[Mortal-Champion]

I'm not saying it was good, I'm saying that attacking the fund raiser, was within acceptable levels of crime to get the info on Coil, of course what Taylor should have done from there, is tell the PRT what she learned about Coil, but the attack on the fund raiser, was within what's acceptable to take down a gang boss.

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YEEEESSS, but not really. This is Worm weirdness manifest, if you unmask a Villain, you're in deep shit. Handshake, medal, and the identity change and moved to Wyoming type deep shit. Because the Villains will know you unmasked a fellow Villain.

Which is why the Heroes and PRT dont do that. So, it never makes the margin of acceptable.

Now Coil has an identity so politically poisonous that if they knew he was PRT a priori, yeah they'd break that rule. But its a priori ... so lets say Hunch had a hunch and they okayed it.

Coil is a lot of things, but hes not dumbfuck stupid. When he reveals his identity as Calvert, hes going to be holding those safety timeline for a while so no one spills. And his power is only understood by Lisa who wasn't cooperating with Skitter on working with the PRT.

Fund raiser attack happens, Coil eventually reveal who he is, Skitter gets off her ass and reveals it to Armsmaster a less angry PRT person and the info enters the system, and Coil drops the reveal timeline and has Skitter offed. Total result: dead hero. No Villains caught.

Sting operations take a shit ton of research in RL. Planners, resources, its not sending Jake Peralta to infiltrate the Italian mob singlehandedly. In a world with powers you'd need your equivalent Thinkers and spies.

Between the rules of Bet, and Coils powers, he was conventionally bulletproof to detection unless something like the Think Tank with experienced espionage types went after him. Skitter's attempts were achieve nothing on her own until Lisa came in. And she was an asset for him for a long portion of Worm.

Armsy is an ass, but really, Skitter empowered the Undersiders which empowered Coil, and it took ridiculous S-Class disasters to happen before she beat him.

 

[tarrangar]

YEEEESSS, but not really. This is Worm weirdness manifest, if you unmask a Villain, you're in deep shit. Handshake, medal, and the identity change and moved to Wyoming type deep shit. Because the Villains will know you unmasked a fellow Villain.

Which is why the Heroes and PRT dont do that. So, it never makes the margin of acceptable.

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It's not about learning Coils civilian identity, Taylor didn't learn that when she met him anyway, it's about learning who is bankrolling the Undersiders, because someone who can put together a whole cape team, while keeping the fact they lead that team is more dangerous than they're known to be, and they are going to be coordinating their own crimes to take advantage of the Undersiders crimes, so knowing who is backing the Undersiders, mean you know who you should also be paying extra attention to, when you hear the Undersiders are committing a crime, it mean if the Undersiders are arrested, you know who will most likely be sent to break them out, and so know who to spend the most effort on preparing for.

If it's an out of town cape that's sponsoring them, it mean you know who is trying to push into Brockton Bay, the Undersiders could easily have been sponsored by someone like Accord(so long as it was done with a few degrees of separation so their chaotic natures didn't enrage him) or by a branch of the Elite, knowing that either of those gangs are preparing for expanding to Brockton Bay is very valuable.

If they were sponsored by a minor villain(we know they existed, even if we don't know who they were) then that mean that minor villain has access to way more resources than they thought, and so can prepare for when the minor villain try to make the leap to major villain.

Knowing it was Coil, was one of the less valuable to know possibilities, though the fact Coil was enslaving pre-teen capes, pushed it back up to very valuable to know, since once it's known to the Protectorate that Coil is doing that, they have no reason to stick to the Unwritten rules were he's concerned.

But the real reason attacking the fund raiser to learn who the Undersiders secret backer was, is that there was lots of other possibilities for who it was, and all of those would be very valuable to know, since aside from Coil, all other possibilities would either mean a major increase, to what threat level the Undersiders boss cape identity was considered(since it couldn't be Lung or Kaiser, and the only Brockton Bay capes, who being known as the Undersiders boss don't massively increase their threat levels, are Lung Kaiser and Coil.)

Imagine if it had been found out that Uber and Leet or Skidmark was secretly sponsoring the Undersiders, that would mean that they were just playing the fool in order to be underestimated, and probably had a plan that relied on being underestimated, and so finding out it was them who sponsored the Undersiders, would mean the Protectorate wouldn't be blindsided when they showed their true competence.

Taylor had no reason to think she would learn the boss civilian identity, what she was hoping to learn, is who was either secretly running 2 gangs, or secretly running a gang while hiding as just a random villain(or perhaps even hiding as a random independent hero) knowing the secret connections between gangs is valuable, because it allow you to predict them a lot better.

 

[Mortal-Champion]

It's not about learning Coils civilian identity, Taylor didn't learn that when she met him anyway, it's about learning who is bankrolling the Undersiders, because someone who can put together a whole cape team, while keeping the fact they lead that team is more dangerous than they're known to be, and they are going to be coordinating their own crimes to take advantage of the Undersiders crimes, so knowing who is backing the Undersiders, mean you know who you should also be paying extra attention to, when you hear the Undersiders are committing a crime, it mean if the Undersiders are arrested, you know who will most likely be sent to break them out, and so know who to spend the most effort on preparing for.

If it's an out of town cape that's sponsoring them, it mean you know who is trying to push into Brockton Bay, the Undersiders could easily have been sponsored by someone like Accord(so long as it was done with a few degrees of separation so their chaotic natures didn't enrage him) or by a branch of the Elite, knowing that either of those gangs are preparing for expanding to Brockton Bay is very valuable.

If they were sponsored by a minor villain(we know they existed, even if we don't know who they were) then that mean that minor villain has access to way more resources than they thought, and so can prepare for when the minor villain try to make the leap to major villain.

Knowing it was Coil, was one of the less valuable to know possibilities, though the fact Coil was enslaving pre-teen capes, pushed it back up to very valuable to know, since once it's known to the Protectorate that Coil is doing that, they have no reason to stick to the Unwritten rules were he's concerned.

But the real reason attacking the fund raiser to learn who the Undersiders secret backer was, is that there was lots of other possibilities for who it was, and all of those would be very valuable to know, since aside from Coil, all other possibilities would either mean a major increase, to what threat level the Undersiders boss cape identity was considered(since it couldn't be Lung or Kaiser, and the only Brockton Bay capes, who being known as the Undersiders boss don't massively increase their threat levels, are Lung Kaiser and Coil.)

Imagine if it had been found out that Uber and Leet or Skidmark was secretly sponsoring the Undersiders, that would mean that they were just playing the fool in order to be underestimated, and probably had a plan that relied on being underestimated, and so finding out it was them who sponsored the Undersiders, would mean the Protectorate wouldn't be blindsided when they showed their true competence.

Taylor had no reason to think she would learn the boss civilian identity, what she was hoping to learn, is who was either secretly running 2 gangs, or secretly running a gang while hiding as just a random villain(or perhaps even hiding as a random independent hero) knowing the secret connections between gangs is valuable, because it allow you to predict them a lot better.

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Fair. So the Unwritten Rules part of it should not matter if she only wanted Coil's cape identity. But, its still 2 Thinkers against. Coils own power after revealing himself, and Tattletail. People woobify Tat's, but not only was she aware of Taylor's identity, shes a good enough Thinker to ensure Taylor would never do it. And Taylor never clued into it.

And thats why I think acceptable crime to get info is an acceptable premise, when done by professionals. Taylor isn't qualified to judge. And as I described above, even if she did try, her efforts would be blocked by Tat's social-fu, or Coils precog. Taylor's endeavour was impossible from the very beginning, when she joined a group under false pretense that had a Thinker and a Master. If it was anyone less compassionate than Tattletail, Regent would be wearing her like a suit.

 

[tarrangar]

Fair. So the Unwritten Rules part of it should not matter if she only wanted Coil's cape identity. But, its still 2 Thinkers against. Coils own power after revealing himself, and Tattletail. People woobify Tat's, but not only was she aware of Taylor's identity, shes a good enough Thinker to ensure Taylor would never do it. And Taylor never clued into it.

And thats why I think acceptable crime to get info is an acceptable premise, when done by professionals. Taylor isn't qualified to judge. And as I described above, even if she did try, her efforts would be blocked by Tat's social-fu, or Coils precog. Taylor's endeavour was impossible from the very beginning, when she joined a group under false pretense that had a Thinker and a Master. If it was anyone less compassionate than Tattletail, Regent would be wearing her like a suit.

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The fact of the matter though, is that if Leviathan hadn't attacked it would have worked, Taylor had decided to cut ties with the Undersiders due to Coil enslaving Dinah, Tattletale wasn't preventing it, and Taylor didn't decide to do so quickly enough, that Coil hadn't already closed the timeline where he didn't show them who he were, by the time she would have told the Protectorate.

And aside from that, we haven't been talking about how smart Taylors plan was, we have been talking about if it was morally defensible, for Taylor to participate in the fund raiser attack to get the info of who the Undersiders boss was, and it absolutely was at that, Taylor is an idiot, for not seeing that her infiltration plan was far too risky to pull on a team with a Thinker on it, but being stupid isn't the same as being morally wrong.

 

[Mortal-Champion]

The fact of the matter though, is that if Leviathan hadn't attacked it would have worked, Taylor had decided to cut ties with the Undersiders due to Coil enslaving Dinah, Tattletale wasn't preventing it, and Taylor didn't decide to do so quickly enough, that Coil hadn't already closed the timeline where he didn't show them who he were, by the time she would have told the Protectorate.

And aside from that, we haven't been talking about how smart Taylors plan was, we have been talking about if it was morally defensible, for Taylor to participate in the fund raiser attack to get the info of who the Undersiders boss was, and it absolutely was at that, Taylor is an idiot, for not seeing that her infiltration plan was far too risky to pull on a team with a Thinker on it, but being stupid isn't the same as being morally wrong.

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Thats a big presumption that Coil didn't have a safety timeline, I know Wildbow varies his characters abilities frequently, but the whole setup was based off Coil having two chances on all big choices. And his weird little coin demo, is actually not really a good demo of his power, so I'm doubting that was timeline tricks.

Morality .... I'm sure Taylor thought it was morally justifiable right up till she saw Dinah. I'd have probably stopped around the time I saw people screaming when they had venomous spiders on them. Any PRT or FBI or alphabet soup gang would have called it off a long, long time ago, but its a shitty plan that gives a mysterious mastermind a walking biblical apocalypse in his plans.

 

[tarrangar]

Thats a big presumption that Coil didn't have a safety timeline, I know Wildbow varies his characters abilities frequently, but the whole setup was based off Coil having two chances on all big choices. And his weird little coin demo, is actually not really a good demo of his power, so I'm doubting that was timeline tricks.

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He had two timelines going during the meeting, but Taylor wasn't betraying him during the meeting, and she wasn't going to the PRT right after the meeting, so Coil wouldn't have been able to delete the timeline where he told them, because Taylor would have taken long enough to betray Coil, that he would have closed the timeline where he didn't tell them.

Coil don't keep his timelines going for days normally, he don't close and resplit multiple times an hour, but he do it rather often, so since it would probably have taken at least a day for Taylor to arrange a meetup with a hero, he would have closed the timeline where he didn't tell them, by the time he became aware of her betrayal.

 

[Eatersgrin]

I know his avg long time line parallel is overnight. Specifically so he doesn't miss anything while he was sleeping. Then just smashes those timelines back together for breakfast.

 

[jumboseafood]

How are Dennis and Misty handling Ray being a apparent turncoat? Has the PRT figured out that Ray's dating Taylor?

 

[Eatersgrin]

How are Dennis and Misty handling Ray being a apparent turncoat? Has the PRT figured out that Ray's dating Taylor?

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All good questions. They will get answers a lot sooner than expected. But this next chapter I'm still dealing with Madison being an issue.

 

[jumboseafood]

So am starting to think Ray might be a little overpowered who can threaten him in his breaker state?

 

[Eatersgrin]

So am starting to think Ray might be a little overpowered who can threaten him in his breaker state?

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His weakness is he needs basic materials to do his brute form. His brute state can be bashed up and taken apart and it's especially time limited.

His regular breaker state, still has his his consciousness there so that's why Master Mime could literally stop him and make him revert back to his human form. So he can be strangered, trumped, mastered.

 

[jumboseafood]

You seem to really like that master mime oc. Will she ever get a fanfic unto herself? She seems interesting enough Coil intrigue maybe a ship with Circus a lot of potential.

 

[Eatersgrin]

You seem to really like that master mime oc. Will she ever get a fanfic unto herself? She seems interesting enough Coil intrigue maybe a ship with Circus a lot of potential.

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I tried to come up with something funny but creepy at the same time. I saw a horror short film on YouTube this past year with a Mime. It wasn't creepy itself, the concept was beyond the budget, but the idea of trying to make a mime scary.

So the idea of projecting the reality they mimic on someone else was cool. Then I considered the scene of an entire Protectorate Team held hostage by a Mime holding finger gun to thier own head as the funniest damn thing. The idea that anyone they looked at could have their brains blown out with a twitch of a thumb... I had to write that.

Humans Are Such Easy Prey