A/N: I don't know how this chapter got so long. But enjoy.
The Dallon Household – Late Night
"Kidnapped! In the first bloody weeks of all things." Carol shook her head. "What the hell was Taylor doing alone, anyway?"
"She was visiting her father, she was hardly alone." Sarah countered. "They were in broad daylight, for heaven's sake."
"And yet the Empire felt confident enough to just grab her off the street," Carol snapped. "She shouldn't have been out alone. It was foolish. We made a big show of putting her under New Wave protection and now the public knows that we can't protect her. I can't begin to imagine what that girl must be feeling."
"If it wasn't for Skitter-"
"Don't start with me on that," Carol hissed back. "That monster is only using our suffering for her gang wars."
"And yet, Taylor is safe," Sarah said back. "You know I hate criminals as much as the next hero but I think we should acknowledge-"
"Acknowledge what!? That she saved my daughter's girlfriend. That she's been spying on her for who knows how long and aware that a threat was incoming. Should send her a thank you card and some flowers!?"
"Acknowledge that she had a point," Sarah said softly. "The Empire can't get away with this. Not again. I hate the idea of the people we love being in danger, and I'd never wish that on anyone, especially Vicky. But if we don't do something now, then the Empire is going to get away with this shit all over again. And we all know what that feels like."
"So, what do you suggest we do?" Carol said after a long sigh. "We can't honestly give support to a supervillain?"
"We don't have to support her," Sarah said while shaking her head. "We just have to put the focus on the Empire. Denounce them, publicly. Get the people angry on our behalf. Get the PRT to finally do something about this stain of Nazis in our city."
"But that still puts Taylor at risk," Carol said, hesitant to agree. "Lisa too for that matter. We can't use her as some justification…"
"It's too late for that," Sarah said softly. "Taylor was always going to be at risk, just by being the girlfriend of a superhero. Hell, just for being gay in this godforsaken city."
Carol looked away from her sister. Mulling over the thoughts. Sarah's eyes followed her gaze. To the wall covered in newspaper clippings. All the stories about New Wave and the Brockton Bay Brigade. All the change in the city that never amounted to squat.
"Kidnapped..." Carol muttered again to herself. "If those girls... They could've gone through... what I... what we..." Her hand started shaking in her scrunched-up fist. Sarah walked up behind her and rested a comforting squeeze on her sister's shoulder. "Fucking Empire…"
"So you'll call a press conference?" Sarah asked her voice firm, her eyes determined.
Carol stood up straighter. Her hands clenched into a determined fist.
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Arcadia High – The Following Morning
Surprisingly, the city didn't immediately implode into an all-out gang war as some people had been expecting.
The news was all over the kidnapping of Glory Girl's girlfriend and the subsequent rescue by the Undersider's own Skitter. Her blatant call to war was shown on repeat throughout the local news cycle. While tensions in the city were high, it hadn't yet hit the tipping point, and so, school was still in session.
Vicky was bombarded with questions and comments when she arrived, mainly as support on Taylor's behalf. She could only imagine the type of crowd Taylor was dealing with when she walked into school today. She'd almost felt bad for the girl, except for the slight fact that Taylor had orchestrated the entire thing and Victoria was the only other person in the school who was actually aware of that fact.
Victoria hadn't had time to talk to Taylor since the supposed kidnapping took place. She'd sent a few messages back and forth between Taylor and Lisa, however Taylor was understandably caught up dealing with police statements and then spending time with her distraught father. It made their reunion all the more complicated, because as frustrated as Vicky was with being out of the loop again, she had to play the part of a girlfriend whose girlfriend just had a near brush with kidnapping.
"Honestly, I'm fine," Came the cool, calm and collected words out of Taylor's lying lips. "I was a little shaken up but I'm good now."
Victoria walked closer to her lunch table, wondering exactly how long she would have to keep up the charade before she could deck Taylor over the head with her food tray. Taylor for her part was shying away from Amy's hand as her sister was once again offering to give Taylor a quick, free medical evaluation after her traumatic kidnapping.
"Taylor, I can see the scuff marks on your arm, let me heal you," Amy sighed. "Seriously, it'll take two seconds, just take my hand."
Taylor hesitated, looking at Amy's hand like it might explode. She turned and looked at Vicky as if asking for help.
"Tay, stop being stubborn and accept Amy's healing for once," Vicky said with a little more annoyance in her voice than she intended. When both girls looked up at her with concern, Victoria shook off her feelings and added. "I just want to be sure you're okay. For me? Please?"
"Fine..." Taylor said before finally relenting and holding her hand up. "But just the cosmetic damage, don't change any-"
"Yes, yes," Amy said, grabbing Taylor's hand with both of hers. "Only the recent damage, I won't fix your vision even though I don't understand why," Amy hummed as she took a reading of Taylor's body. The slight bruises and scratches disappeared like dirt being brushed off her. "Geeze, your shins were in pain. Don't even try to lie to me about that. Fixed now, feel better? Want me to do some dental?-"
"Thanks, Amy," Taylor said as she pulled her hand back as soon as Amy loosened her grip, fiddling with her glasses to double-check that her vision hadn't been miraculously fixed.
"No problem. Wait, why do you even have glasses?" Amy asked back. "Isn't your whole thing like... super vision or something?"
"Not with her eyes," Victoria said, sitting down next to Taylor. "Anyway, Tay. I'm glad you're safe," She pulled Taylor into a hug but held a firm, warning grip on the girl's shoulder. "We should really talk about what happened yesterday when we're alone."
"Yeah, I was thinking that too," Taylor said, smiling a little as she broke the hug. "Sorry for not responding to your messages. Things got pretty crazy yesterday."
"I can imagine," Vicky said coldly. Amy looked over, wondering about the tense mood before Vicky slapped on her usual smile. "I'm just happy you're safe."
"Same," Amy said as she chewed on her food. "Those Empire fucks..." She shook her head. "Only found out what happened when I got home, but no one should go through that."
Amy was oddly more talkative than usual, Victoria didn't notice it at first, but the girl was actually making a conversation with Taylor without any prompting. Vicky could easily guess as to why, everyone in New Wave could relate to the fear of an Empire attack. Even Vicky's frustration over Taylor's manipulation of the event was layered with a thick level of fear over the fact that the kidnapping attempt was genuine. Vicky hated being out of the loop, but she hated the idea of Taylor being taken for real even more.
Her cautious grip over Taylor's shoulder gave way for a far more comforting cuddle as Victoria let her anger go in way for the other emotions she held behind it. Taylor, for her part, was not surprised when Vicky pulled her close and snuggled her a little, which was unusual as the girl usually shied away from public displays of affection. Even Amy, who comically rolled her eyes whenever Victoria got too cuddly with her partners, shared the same look of concern for Taylor, with a comforting hand on Taylor's back while she ate her food.
Eventually, the rest of the table started to gather. Sending their concern and well wishes Taylor's way as they quietly took their seat. No one commented on how Victoria's face was buried into Taylor's shoulder, or how the blonde wordlessly held onto Taylor throughout the lunch hour.
The mood around the table was somber and reflective. Victoria couldn't help but notice that none of the other students in the lunchroom were talking as much either. Giving the couple some much-needed space as Vicky continued to hold Taylor close.
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Taylor felt genuinely bad for the pain her plan had caused people. The guilt was already eating away at her for what she put her father through, now she had Vicky and Amy holding onto her like Taylor would disappear the moment they let go. The rest of the table wasn't that different. Alice and Jessica were trying their best to comfort her, asking about what happened and what she was feeling. Carlos and Dean had the same, somber silence as they were both lost in their own thoughts. Dennis was the only one at the table trying to keep the mood from dropping to an all-time low and for once, Taylor outwardly appreciated his attempts at jokes.
"-And that's when I said I couldn't play violin," Dennis said, nailing the punchline of his current story.
Taylor let out an audible giggle at the joke. On any other day, that joke would've caused the rest of the table to sigh, however, everyone at the table seemed to lighten up once Taylor started chuckling along to Dennis's jokes. Even Vicky in her silent mood, couldn't help but smile at the sound of Taylor's laugh.
"Alright, That last one was terrible," Taylor said, smiling and wiping a tear from her eye.
"Terrible?" Dennis said, putting a hand over his heart. "Taylor, you wound me. That was a true story."
"That doesn't make it a good joke," Vicky said.
"A good joke is all about timing," Dennis said back. "And I... can't finish that joke here."
Taylor suppressed another chuckle, aware that Dennis was about to make some kind of Clockblocker reference that Taylor shouldn't actually be aware of. Perhaps she should mention one day that she was already aware of who all the boys were, but for now, Taylor simply smiled.
"Thank you," Taylor whispered to Dennis.
Dennis winked back. "Don't worry about it. Just glad you're safe."
The bell rang. Signalling the end of lunch, and the group made their way towards their respective classes. There were only two days left of school for the year, which meant there was only one actual school day left and then graduation for everyone at this table except for Taylor and Amy. Taylor couldn't help but wonder how many of her school friends she would see after this week. Would they all just move on with their lives or would Taylor actually stay in touch with a few of them?
Vicky's hand slipped into Taylor's as the group walked towards the classroom, holding on a little tighter than usual. They walked behind the group, with even the common student knowing to give the two girls a wide berth of space.
"I'm sorry," Taylor whispered, leaning into Victoria. "I didn't... I can explain it later. After school. But I'm sorry. For making you worry."
"It's not your fault," Vicky whispered back, kissing Taylor on the cheek. "Well, I'm still furious about other things, which we will talk about... but you being kidnapped is not one of them."
Taylor turned back and gave Vicky a kiss of her own before the two girls separated for class. There were a lot of things she wanted to discuss with Vicky, and Taylor was determined to stick with her no-secrets policy. Vicky gave a wave and a smile before heading to her locker, Taylor did the same, hoping that her girlfriend wouldn't simply punt her into orbit the second they were alone.
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Arcadia High – Afternoon
Skitter's message to the public was still making its rounds. Every second phone Victoria looked at either had someone reading a news article on the topic or just the video itself. The common citizen of Brockton Bay could get behind the idea of all the city's capes banding together and kicking the Empire out once and for all.
Added to that, New Wave's statement on the situation mirrored much of Skitter's points without actually agreeing with the villain. The PRT had released a statement on the matter too, which was much less aggressive, but still denounced the Empire's actions and stated they were taking appropriate action while also asking for Skitter to turn herself in to the authorities before things went too far.
As a whole, the city was still standing and the tension was high. Standing being the optimal word for it. Victoria almost choked on her spit when she caught eyes of the latest social media trend for the Brockton area.
#StandWithSkitter was front and center on PHO threads and related websites. Along with a large assortment of hashtags and comments from the general population of Brockton Bay. Some were clearly from people in the Empire, trying to derail the conversation but the vast majority of the hashtag was from civilians.
By the time the last school bell rang out, Victoria was eager to talk to Taylor about this latest development. Taylor was waiting for her by the school gate standing around with Amy as the wave of students filed out and into the streets. Amy waved goodbye and headed off to the hospital while Taylor and Victoria walked in the other direction.
The two girls stayed silent until they were clear of the crowd.
"Not working with the Wards today?" Taylor asked, nodding her head in the direction of Carlos, Dennis and Dean as they all headed into the city.
Victoria sighed and shook her head. "I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you that I'm back working with New Wave... As your protection. For the foreseeable future."
"Oh," Taylor said with a nod.
It made sense, she'd just been targeted by the Empire, of course, New Wave would be concerned about a follow-up attack.
"Sorry," Taylor said with a frown. "I know you'd rather be doing actual hero work rather than babysitting me."
Victoria waved the comment off. "Please, it's not like I did anything heroic with the Wards this week. It's been three days of photos along the boardwalk for tourists," Taylor nodded again, a little more confidently. "Besides, if I didn't volunteer for it, they would've sent my cousin and that would've caused you even more trouble."
"Shame," Taylor said with a wry smile. "Always wanted to meet Laserdream."
"Hah," Victoria chuckled. "Actually they almost sent Eric, uh, Shielder. For the protection and all."
"That does make more sense," Taylor said. "And I suppose this is a bad time to tell you that I kinda... have work?"
Victoria stopped in her tracks, looking over at Taylor's guilty smile.
"Oh, no," Victoria said while raising a finger.
"I did promise to explain everything," Taylor added.
"I am not. No. We are not going to see…"
"You can listen to Lisa and our explanation," Taylor said.
"You mean go to your lair?" Victoria hissed. "Your supervillain lair, which I am seventy percent sure is Coil's old base, right?"
"Plus, it's not like your family would tell you to watch over me and not Lisa, right?" Taylor asked, ignoring Victoria's complaint.
"That's not untrue," Vicky admitted hesitantly.
"So come to work with me," Taylor asked with a smile. "Honestly, it's perfect. We're all just having a meeting about our next steps. You want to be part of the loop, you'll have a seat at the table. And I promise, no crime will take place... today.... while you're there."
"Conspiracy to plan a gang war is a crime," Victoria said flatly. "As well as being an accessory."
"It's a grey area." Taylor shrugged.
"It's illegal."
"We can debate the legality later," Taylor said, taking Victoria's hand and guiding her back onto the sidewalk. "Come meet with Lisa. We'll explain everything. And if you don't like what you hear, you can walk right out. Okay?"
Victoria scrunched her face up and rubbed her temple. How had she gotten into this situation again? The world used to be so simple, so black and white. Now her supervillain girlfriend was inviting her back to her evil lair and a part of Victoria did want to go. To understand what the hell had happened in the past week.
"Fine," Victoria said, pulling her hand out of Taylor's. "But if anyone commits a crime in my presence, I'm arresting them."
"Of course," Taylor said in an all too dismissive way.
"I guess we're flying off into downtown then," Victoria asked. "Unless you want to tell me that you haven't taken over Coil's old base?"
There was a slight tinge of hope in her question to which Taylor's expression dashed instantly. Victoria was right on the money, the Undersiders had moved in on the free real estate.
"Sorry," Taylor said apologetically. "Oh, but first we need to drop by the old flat on the way and pick something up."
"The old flat?" Victoria asked. "Wait, so I'm visiting both secret lairs today? Wonderful," She shook her head again, wondering if it wasn't too late to simply put her fingers in her ears and pretend she heard nothing. "What illegal goods are you planning on transporting by air Vicky?"
It was a joke, but one that also served to remind that there were limits to what Victoria was willing to do for her girlfriend. If Skitter needed help moving the evil furniture into her evil lair, then she could take the evil bus like everyone else.
"Nothing illegal," Taylor shook her head. "Figured you'd want to change into your costume first."
Victoria blinked back at Taylor in confusion.
"I'm sorry, my what?"
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The Undersider's 'evil' lair – Afternoon
One quick flight over to a relatively run-down-looking studio flat in the middle of nowhere special and Victoria was being handed her new costume by Taylor and offered a spare room to change in.
Judging by the purple eye theme on the door, Taylor had given her Tattletale's bedroom. The room was sparsely decorated, only having the bare minimum furniture and a duffle bag full of ID's and cash in the closet. Victoria resisted the urge to poke around more in favour of looking at the outfit Taylor had given her.
No longer was it a simple spare Skitter costume with some missing accessories. The black body suit now had dark gold lines running across the torso and arms. Upon stepping into the suit, Vicky noted that it fit her body far better than the last time she wore the cursed thing. The limbs had been widened to accommodate her muscular frame, the gloves were fingerless, and the shoes had been converted to much bulkier boots, also the chest didn't cling to her so tightly.
Overall, the design was much more armoured and bulkier compared to the slim and stealthy Skitter. Taking advantage of Victoria's brute strength to manage the extra layers of protection. Taylor had obviously worked on this to fit Victoria's measurements, which raised some questions as to her intentions. The suit was built like Vicky was expected to fight in it, far more durable than her usual Glory Girl getup.
Finally came the mask, which Victoria was still hesitant to place over her head. The eyes had been darkened to match the gold that accented the rest of the suit, less bug-like but just as intimidating as before. The final addition to the suit was a hood at the back that connected to the head of the mask. Victoria could potentially tie her hair up into a tail and hide her blonde locks away, adding another layer of anonymity to her attire.
When the full piece came together, it was hard to believe it was Victoria under that mask, much less a woman in general. The extra armour panels hid away any obvious signs of her femininity, and in turn, her entire identity as Glory Girl.
Of course, that didn't stop Victoria from immediately trying a few general poses to see what she could work with. Between her mixture of horrified and impressed about the outfit Taylor constructed, a sly smile hit Victoria's lips as she held a specific pose. As expected, no amount of insect shells and spider silk could hide all that a-
"Are you ready?" Skitter called out from the other side of the door, startling Vicky.
"Y-yeah!" Vicky called back, quickly gathering her civilian clothes, and throwing them into her school bag.
Skitter stood in the living room portion of the flat with Taylor's schoolbag swung over one shoulder. The buzzing and jittering of her swarm hidden safely away in one of the bag's pockets. Nervously, Vicky walked out and over to the waiting supervillain who promptly welcomed her with a hug.
"Did I get the measurements right?" Skitter asked, looking over Victoria's costume. "I assumed you could handle the extra plating, but I never actually asked if constantly hold it without bother, not to mention the extra heat from all those layers. It is summer after all."
"No it's… oddly perfect," Victoria said, remembering that Skitter was still just the dork she loved. "The measurements I mean, not the whole… Okay, why do I have a new suit?"
"We couldn't have Glory Girl meeting with the Undersiders," Skitter said, tilting her head in confusion.
Vicky shook her head. "No, I mean, when did you even make this? And why? I thought the whole team-up thing was a one-time thing."
"I like to be prepared," Skitter shrugged. "I've been slowly updating all the Undersider's outfits in my spare time. Figured I give Deimos a new look while I was at it… just in case."
Vicky frowned at the name, not that Skitter could see. A villainous name, a villainous costume, standing in a villainous lair with her villainous girlfriend. Vicky didn't like the implications, but she was already this deep, so she couldn't do much except sink or swim.
"Anyway, ready to go?" Skitter asked again, holding out her hand as she nodded to the nearby window.
With a deep sigh, Deimos wrapped one arm around Skitter and took to the sky.
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The Undersider's new 'evil' lair – Fifteen minutes later
The pair landed outside some Chinese laundromat on the edge of the city. The place was empty except for a few running machines and an elderly lady who didn't so bother as to look up when two masked capes walked into the shop.
Skitter took the lead, moving into the backroom and descending into the basement. An ominous metal door waited for them. Knocking twice, a small hatch opened followed by a gruff voice asking, "Password?"
"Tarantula juice," Skitter spoke back bluntly. Deimos looked between the door and Skitter with amusement.
After a few seconds, the door swung open, revealing the most cliché underground casino that Vicky had ever seen. It was like she was transported to some old-timey speakeasy, filled with well-dressed crooks playing cards and craps.
A few eyes caught on Skitter and her new cape friend, however, Skitter ignored them all as she walked through the small crowd of gamblers. Victoria tried hard not to think of how many crimes she was witnessing in this place alone, Taylor obviously didn't consider underground gambling and unlicensed bars to be considered a crime when she made her promise.
Walking into the backrooms, Skitter made a beeline for the head office as security got out of her way. Most of them gave Vicky a quick glance before acting like the girl didn't exist at all, even watching as one of the bar staff froze in place as they caught eyes on the two capes. Victoria hated this feeling. She knew that the outfit was intimidating, but the look of frozen fear this random man shot at them rattled Victoria.
"She's with me," Skitter announced as she marched through the office door.
A large man in a suit sat in the office, watching the security cameras on his desk computer. He gave a curt nod and pressed a button under his desk as Skitter strolled past, the bookshelf behind him giving way to a fake wall.
The nervous beads of sweat ran down his face as the two capes passed through, Victoria could hear how he released his breath as the false wall closed behind her.
"So, you have a secret door, behind a secret casino, behind a secret door… in a Chinese laundromat," Deimos said sarcastically, listing off the rooms with her finger. "Did I miss anything?"
"The casino is a front," Skitter explained as they walked down a hallway. "In the event of any police raids, all they will find is some low-stakes gambling. Owned by minor nobodies."
"I gathered that much," Vicky said as she rolled her eyes. She was feeling uncomfortable, between the blatant crime and the familiar-looking hallways of Coil's base.
Unlike up in the casino, all the men Skitter and Deimos passed treated the pair like they weren't a secret trying to hide, but like royalty. Skitter specifically, every mercenary they walked by stopped to give the villain a quick salute before continuing on with their assignments.
"Ma'am," One man said, opening a door for Skitter.
"Ma'am," another said as he stood at attention in the hall.
"Ma'am," A woman said, holding up a computer tablet. "I have updated Empire movements for Tattletale. I was just about to send them through,"
Skitter took the tablet and inspected its contents. After a short second, she handed them back to the woman. "Tell squads two and six to act more overt, we don't want them thinking our flank is exposed."
"Of course, Ma'am," The woman saluted and walked off.
Vicky watched the woman leave and then slowly turned her head back to Skitter. She stared silently at the back of Skitter as she continued her walk, Skitter for her part stopped shortly once she realised that Vicky wasn't following.
"What?" Skitter asked, tilting her head as she always did.
"Nothing," Vicky sighed under her mask. "Just getting PTSD flashbacks to working with Piggot."
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The door opened onto a large meeting room, in the center was a table that looked to fit some twenty to thirty people. Two people sat at the end of the table, one of whom smiled brightly as Skitter and Deimos walked in.
"Deimos!" Tattletale called out as she skipped across the room. "I can scarcely believe it. When Skitter said you were coming to join the party, I was sure it was a joke," She threw her arms around Victoria and gave her a friendly squeeze. "Welcome aboard. Please tell me you're here to stay?"
"She's just here to talk," Skitter clarified, earning a pout from Tattletale.
"This is temporary," Victoria quickly added. "I still don't know what the hell I'm doing here, but nobody is joining anything."
"Right, Of course," Tattletale said with an all too knowing grin, she turned to give Skitter a hug of her own, to which Vicky was pulled into again.
Someone cleared their throat loudly. Victoria turned her head towards the sound and took notice of the other man still sitting at the end of the desk. Grue was an intimidating fellow, the dark smoke emanating from his skin and mask didn't help.
"Oh stop that," Tattletale groaned. "We're all friends here."
"Are we though?" Both Grue and Vicky asked at the same time. The question was ignored in favour of Vicky being pulled into a chair next to Skitter.
"Come, come," Tattletale said. "Meeting starts soon, we can get you up to speed before then."
"And yet she says she didn't want to lead," Grue sighed to himself, gesturing to a chair to Vicky. "Make yourself at home, Deimos."
Getting settled in her seat, Vicky put both her hands together and sucked in a long sigh. "Okay, I've been patient so far, but I am really starting to get annoyed, so I'm just going to say my piece clearly... Lisa, Taylor... What the fuck?" She looked over to both girls in question, one smiling at her as they leaned back into their chairs. "Seriously? It was bad enough when you two were just thieves and petty nuisances. But this? What the fuck?"
"Okay," Tattletale raised her finger. "I know that you may have some concerns."
"Some concerns!" Victoria scoffed. "You've taken over from Coil! You're preparing for a gang war with the Empire. You're... warlords! You're literally running the second biggest gang in Brockton Bay."
"Uh, independent mercenary company," Grue interjected.
Deimos's mask locked onto Grue's and stared down the villain, her glare obvious behind the cold, emotionless mask. Grue shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked over to Tattletale.
"It's... semantics," Tattletale admitted with a shrug.
"Coil's operation was the only thing keeping the Empire at bay," Skitter added. "If we let it fall apart, then they would've had free reign of the city."
Vicky couldn't refute that fact, as much as it frustrated her to admit, but there was more to her concern than just the criminal element. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"We were going to, honest," Tattletale said with her best smile, Skitter nodded in agreement. "We're still in the process of cleaning house and restructuring. We didn't want you to think that we just took over Coil's operation and continued it as is."
"But then Rune decided to start following me, so we had to plan for her to try something," Skitter said. "Nothing major, just a team to back me up."
"We didn't think Rune was going to actually attack Taylor so soon," Tattletale said. "It really fucked with our plan, moving up our timetable by a few weeks."
"And you didn't think to tell me that Rune was stalking you?" Victoria demanded, looking pointedly at Skitter.
"Vicky, please?" Tattletale chuckled. "What do you think you would've done we told you Taylor was being targeted."
I'd have thrown a fucking bus at that cu-
"I would've handled it!" Victoria growled, ignoring Tattletale's smug smirk.
"Of course, you would," Tattletale said, every so patronisingly. "Skitter and I simply saw an opportunity too good to pass up."
Victoria was about to raise another biting point of contention before the door opened again. Regent walked in with the same casual arrogance that Vicky had expected from such a guy. He stopped midway into the room and looked at the trio, and Grue, seated around the desk.
"Oh dang," He said, snapping his fingers. "Gloom Girl is back and looking badass."
"She's not Gloom Girl, Regent," Tattletale said with an eye-roll.
"Deimos is joining us for this meeting," Skitter added, motioning for a seat opposite Victoria.
"Is she joining!?" An excited squeal of a question jumped Vicky from her seat. The Undersider's mystery Stranger appeared behind her, inspecting the suit. "Please tell me she's joining? She looks so badass!"
"That's what I said," Regent chuckled.
"Skitter! I want a hood!" Imp added, shaking Skitter's chair. "When are you gonna get round to updating my suit? Give it a hood!"
"If I remember," Skitter said back, drily.
"Take a seat, Imp," Grue added, motioning to the chair next to Vicky. Imp made a point of walking all the way around Grue and sitting next to Regent. Victoria got the vibe that those two were an item, and Grue did not like that at all.
"Alright," Grue said, ignoring Imp's seating choice. "Anyone seen Bitch?"
"She's coming," Skitter said. "Walking to us now,"
"Hey, before she gets here," Regent said in a low, conspiratorial tone. "Anyone else notice Bitch acting kinda weird today?"
"Weird how?" Tattletale asked.
"I don't know," Regent shrugged. "Just like, less... Bitchy. I accidentally walked into her this morning and do you know what she said?... Don't worry about it."
Everyone at the table looked up to Regent, Victoria felt like she was missing out on some great revelation.
"Don't worry about it?" Grue repeated with scepticism. "To you?"
"Yeah," Regent said, gesturing to the team. "Those were her exact words. I was ready to be slapped across the face. I guess I was in a way."
"It's been nice knowing you," Imp said, patting Regent on the shoulder. "She's obviously decided to kill you later and granted you one small mercy."
Grue and Tattletale chuckled at the joke while Regent continued to claim that his story was true. Looking around the room, Victoria could see the strange juxtaposition of her reality. The Undersider's were kids, no different from the Wards. They had relationships, squabbles and jokes between each other. Even in their intimidating and oddly varied costumes, these were just a bunch of teens.
A few minutes passed and Bitch walked through the door, the girl wore her trademark jacket and cheap dog mask, but threw the mask off the second she sat down, taking the chair next to Victoria, much to Vicky's displeasure.
"Who's this?" Bitch asked as she shoved a pointed thumb in Vicky's direction.
"Bitch, you remember Deimos?" Tattletale said with a suppressed, closed-lip smile. "She'll be joining us, for today."
"Oh, right," Bitch nodded, looking Vicky over with a side glance. The girl held a contemptuous glare that didn't go away, eventually, Vicky realised that this was just her natural expression.
"H-hello again," Victoria said, holding a hand out to shake. Bitch didn't reciprocate. Victoria was worried that the girl's anger would turn into a problem when Regent spoke up again.
"Seriously? That's it?" Regent sighed out. "You straight up attacked Skitter when she joined the team and Demolition Barbie just gets an 'oh right' and a glare?"
"She never attacked me," Imp said with a chuckle.
"The fuck are you on about?" Bitch grumbled.
"Just... Forget it," Regent sagged into his chair. "Let's just get on with it."
"Right... let's," Grue said, pressing a button on his overpriced chair that dimmed the lights. "Before we start, we have some guests today, so remember not to use names. Bitch, mask on, okay?" Bitch made a confused frown and gestured to the air with her hands, Grue held his stare until the girl sighed and placed her mask back on her face. "Alright, so yesterday's impromptu operation went off without a hitch."
Tattletale pressed some buttons on the table by her seat and a video wall lit up with Skitter's message to the Empire playing in silence.
"Since then," Tattletale took over, pulling up two more videos. "The PRT and New Wave have also sent out similar messages to the public, denouncing the Empire's actions. While the PRT gave a very Swiss stance to the whole thing, New Wave were a lot more vocal about their hatred of the Eighty-eight. So, go Brandish and Lady Photon." She smiled Victoria's way, who simply returned the stare.
"Oh, we should send them, like, flowers," Imp called out. "And a thank you card."
"We've also received word that the E88's leadership has been in an uproar over the incident." Grue took over again, "Stormtiger, Hookwolf and Cricket have all been seen entering private gatherings. And Kaiser himself sent out his own statement of the facts a few hours ago."
Tattletale tapped her screen again and a webpage to an Empire's website popped up, a long page of text ran down the screen.
"It's really a riveting read," Tattletale said sarcastically. "But I'll spare you the details. As predicted, the Empire is putting all the blame on Rune, calling her an independent and denying any involvement, yada yada. Same old bullcrap."
Regent raised his hand. "Yeah, this is great entertainment and all, but wasn't the plan to do all this in like... two to three weeks, when we had more manpower and some extra support? Aren't the Empire just going to steamroll us like a herd of rhinos?"
"No, not at all," Skitter answered, gesturing to a map of Brockton Bay displayed that Tattletale flicked up on the wall. "So far, our bluff has held, we've been able to convince the Empire that Coil's forces are as strong as ever. They're still too cowardly to make the first move."
"But they did make the first move?" Victoria asked. "Rune literally tried to kidnap you, right?"
"Rune was an unexpected opportunity," Skitter explained to her, "But from what we have gathered, Kaiser didn't approve of her plan, at all."
"So all this is true?" Victoria asked, pointing to Kaiser's statement on the wall.
"Yeah, pretty much," Tattletale chuckled. "The public doesn't believe it for shit, and that's what we want."
Imp and Regent laughed at Tattletale's remark. Victoria wasn't amused, but she understood. The Undersiders couldn't fire the first shot, regardless of their manpower, they needed a reason to go to war and to look good doing it, and Rune gave them the perfect reason.
"Since then, support for us has been through the roof," Tattletale continued. "Hashtag, Stand with Skitter has been a major success. I've had teams on social media all morning keeping it running."
"You did that!?" Victoria balked, almost falling from her chair.
"Yeah," Tattletale chuckled. "Coil had a whole social media division, I thought it was a stupid waste of money at first but then I thought... Damn, I could really use that. So we kept it."
"Anyway, back to your question, Regent," Grue spoke up again. "Skitter's micromanaging squads have held off any immediate attacks from the Empire, and thanks to Tattletale and myself, we'll have some more manpower to throw around in the coming days."
"Right, how was the trip to Boston?" Imp asked, looking over to Tattletale. Victoria followed with a questioning look.
"Productive," Tattletale smiled back. "I already knew that Coil had dealings with Accord, we met on neutral ground, through proxies. He agreed not to kill us in retribution for Coil's death so long as we continue to uphold all of his previous deals he had with the snake, mainly a lot of gun running through the Bay down to Boston. It's all set up anyway, we just don't need to touch it," She froze her smile and slowly turned her head around to Deimos's blank glare. "I-I mean, candy and ice cream deliveries..." She let out an awkward chuckle.
Vicky sighed under her mask and elected to simply experience selective hearing for the rest of the day, as that seemed the only way to get through this nightmare she found herself in.
"A-anyway," Tattletale continued after clearing her throat. "Beyond promising not to kill us all, Accord also showed me where all the usual underlords hire boatloads of trained mercenaries from, so we should be replenishing our reserves once I vet them. It's uh... very costly though, so might be a problem in the long term."
"We also have people from the docks asking to volunteer to help out after yesterday's stunt," Skitter added. "Obviously not in any mercenary capacity, but it would be a waste to pass up on volunteers."
Grue didn't look too pleased about that but he didn't say anything to the matter.
"As for the other effect of Skitter's message," Grue said instead. "I've reached out to some of the local parahumans who are willing to stand with us against the Empire," Grue pulled out a handwritten note from his jacket pocket and read down the list. "Uber and Leet are, quote, down to clown so long as we get paid, unquote. Circus seems to think that we're still paying him, we might want to look into that, regardless, they're onboard if needed. And someone called Bakuda showed interest, I wasn't sure if she had any ABB connections, but Tattletale tells me no."
"She's a bomb tinkerer," Tattletale explained to the group. "Was arrested by the New York Protectorate when she tried to blow up her school or something. A little unstable, keep her as a maybe. What about Faultline's crew? Any bites from them?"
Grue let out a chuckle. "Kinda, but you're not going to like it."
"They're not gonna help?" Tattletale sighed.
"Oh, they'll help. They just have some... Conditions." Grue said back.
"Great..." Tattletale whined. "Let's hear them."
Grue pulled out a separate note in his pocket and cleared his throat again.
"One," Grue read aloud. "No suicide missions. They won't risk anyone for our war, any assignment needs a solid plan."
"I always make a solid plan," Tattletale grumbled back.
"Two. Payment is to be made in full before any operation is to commence. No exceptions. They sent us a list of prices, it's more than double of last year's rate."
"That greedy shit," Tattletale muttered.
"And three. Before Faultline even considers working with us again, she expects..." Grue sighed for a moment and tensed for the inevitable outburst. "A genuine apology from Tattletale. In-person, to the entire team."
"What!?" Tattletale balked. "Me? For what?"
"According to her, you know what you did," Grue said, pulling out yet another note from his pocket. "Specifically, she wants you to read this message during open mic night at the Palanquin."
Tattletale snatched the note from Grue's hand and quietly read it over. Vicky watched in amazement as the girl slowly went red in the face. After a short moment, Tattletale scrunched up the note and threw it over her shoulder.
"No. Fuck no. She can go to hell. Who the fuck does she think she is? Fuck that. No, I ain't saying shit!"
"T..." Grue said back to her. "We kinda need them if we wanna take on the Empire."
"Fuck you, we don't need shit," Tattletale snapped back. "We have Deimos, we're invincible."
"She's temporary," Grue said before Vicky could speak up. "And do you really want to throw her at Hookwolf alone?"
Quietly, Tattletale stood up and picked up the paper that she threw. Placing it into her pocket before sitting back down again. Grue nodded and didn't speak any more on the subject. It was up to Tattletale to sort out that deal in her own time.
"So..." Regent spoke up as tensions lifted from the room. "Those dockworkers that we have working for us, or going to have working for us. Do they get cool uniforms too? Cause I keep thinking back to my Underside gang idea, and I was thinking-"
"Not a gang," Grue said blankly.
"Yes, yes," Regent waved the comment away. "But we should give them uniforms, or maybe, something that sets them apart at least, maybe some patches to add to their work clothes so we can identify them. That would be cool, right?
"I drew some emblem ideas at school today," Imp added, pulling out a workbook filled with colourful pictures and doodles. "We could turn one of them into a patch. Anybody know how to sew? Skitter?"
Skitter shook her head. "I'm still busy making up costume adjustments for all of you. I'm not wasting my spider silk on emblems."
"I like that one," Bitch said, pointing to the emblem design that featured her monster dogs. "Put it on my jacket."
Imp giggled proudly and pushed her book towards Bitch, who took it and started to flip through the pages.
"Guys, priorities," Tattletale sighed, looking to Vicky and giving a 'this is what I have to work with' look. "We don't have the time or the skill to make badges for people's jackets."
"Actually," Grue sighed, groaning to himself like he might regret what he said next. "We might have someone who can help with that," Tattletale blinked back in surprise as Imp and Regent collectively gasped. Pulling out a phone, Grue held it up to his mask. "Yes, is she still in the lobby? Send her in." He flipped his phone shut and looked towards the door.
"Who's in the lobby?" Victoria asked the group. Most everyone looked surprised by Grue's revelation, except Skitter who probably was aware of the mystery person the entire time.
"Where is the lobby?" Bitch added, looking up from the book of drawings.
Grue returned his attention to the first list of names he read off earlier. "While I spent most of the day reaching out to Brockton Bay's criminal parahumans as a resource of individuals for us to hire, I did get one person who actually reached out to us after yesterday. She's hesitant to work with the Undersiders, so I didn't want her to feel forced into a meeting unless she was comfortable. Bitch, play nice. If she backs down, let her leave. No arguments."
There was a knock on the door and everyone in the room turned to face it. Skitter was the one who eventually called out.
"Come in."
The door opened as a short woman in a Victorian-style porcelain doll costume walked in. She stopped shortly after entering, not willing to get any closer to the Undersiders. Vicky recognised the woman as Parian, the rogue cape who made dresses and dolls on the boardwalk. Vicky had walked by her store just the previous day while working with the Wards.
"Good evening," Parian said, the nerves evident in her voice.
"Parian?" Victoria said in surprise. Looking between the cape and Grue. "How? What? Parian?"
"Yes," Grue confirmed the obvious with a nod. "Please, take a seat. Make yourself comfortable."
"I'm more comfortable standing," Parian said, not willing to get any closer into the room. Grue nodded again and didn't push the offer.
"She came to us?" Tattletale said with a smile. "Well, I'll be…"
"Oh my god, I love your store!" Imp cheered. Parian jumped slightly, obviously only now noticing the Stranger. "I'm in there every other week."
"T-thank you," Parian said. She relaxed a little around the sight of Imp but still continued to glance cautiously at Vicky and Skitter.
"You wanted to meet with us in person?" Skitter asked, "Aren't you afraid of wandering into our base all by yourself?"
"Skitter," Grue warned.
"She has a point," Bitch grumbled. "It's a stupid idea. Why is she even here?"
"I'm not as frail as I appear to be," Parian spoke up, her confidence didn't match her words. "Also I did my research on your group before reaching out to Grue. You're not as violent as the PRT want people to believe. I wouldn't have come if I thought that you would attack me." The eyes behind her porcelain mask started cautiously at Bitch, but she didn't say any more.
"She wanted to meet in person so she could evaluate us," Tattletale explained to the rest of the team. "She's still considering if she wants to join us in our crusade or not."
"That's right," Parian agreed. Tattletale bowed her head in pride.
"Well then," Grue said, sitting up straighter in his chair. "Why don't you tell us what you're hoping to see and we'll give ourselves a chance to sell ourselves."
"When I watched Skitter drop Coil off at the front out the front of the PRT, my heart broke," Parian explained. "Not because I held any love for the man, no far from it. But because I knew what that meant for the Empire and this city. I was angry, I thought you were all complete idiots who doomed us all for pretty power plays or whatever."
"And then you saw Skitter's message," Tattletale said with a smile.
"And then I saw Skitter's message," Parian echoed. "I've watched this city let me down day after day. My circle of safety slowly chipping away while the Protectorate do nothing. The only thing stopping me from leaving this city is that I don't want to let those people win. So if you're serious about this fight, if you actually mean what you said, then I want in. I want a seat at the table... this table. Whatever." Parian's stance grew bolder as she spoke. "Of course, I'm not a combative cape myself, and I certainly have no intention of taking part in your thievery or the like. But if people are finally taking on the Empire, then I can respect that much. I just want to help, however I can. I can't sit around and hope that things in this city will finally get better, because they won't, they never have."
"So, you wanna join the team, but not be a member of the team?" Bitch asked. "We already got this one here being useless," Bitch nodded her head towards Vicky. "What does she actually bring to this table?"
"Uh, she can make us uniforms, obviously," Imp said, waving her book in Bitch's face.
"Well damn, she has my vote then," Regent chuckled.
"I'm all for it," Tattletale smiled. "We'll find a way for her to fight the good fight. Right, Skitter?"
"I'm not sure," Skitter hummed. "We don't really know anything about her. How do we know she isn't going to betray us later down the line?"
"Projecting much?" Tattletale chuckled under her breath, Vicky barely heard her say it. She spoke again to the rest of the table. "I trust her, everything she's said so far has been the truth. A temporary alliance, while we deal with the Empire. No crime needed. Same deal we have with Deimos here."
"Skitter? Any objections?" Grue asked, looking at her. Skitter looked to Tattletale but quickly shook her head. "Bitch? Any issues?"
"Ehh, I don't really care," Bitch waved Grue off. "Just don't fuck with my dogs."
"Trust me, that won't be a problem," Parian said with a nod.
"Deimos? Thoughts?" Grue called out, everyone turned to her.
Vicky startled in her chair for a moment. "Huh? Why are you asking me?"
"You're part of this team too," Tattletale said with a smile.
"I am..." Vicky trailed off. She was about to say, 'I am certainly not part of this team,' but then she thought about her current predicament. A villainous name, a villainous costume, sitting in a villainous lair with her villainous girlfriends' villainous team, taking part in a villainous meeting. "Oh god, I am..." Vicky placed her head into her hands and apologised to her mother through telepathy she didn't have. "Fine, whatever. Yes. She seems like a lovely choice. Though, Parian, Take my advice and run before these lot drag you down with them."
"N-noted," Parian said, looking at Vicky with a confused stance.
"That's a yes around the room," Grue nodded to all of his teammates, "Parian, we can discuss the specifics of what you're comfortable doing with us, as well as get an update on where we are with our plan. Please, don't feel pressured to unmask-" Bitch pulled her mask off immediately and threw it on the table. "-around us. We'll respect your anonymity."
"Oh, and since we forgot to say it last time," Tattletale jumped up with a smile. "We'll say it together now. Parian, Deimos... Welcome to the Undersiders."
Vicky sank down into her chair and whined.
