Realignment [Worm]

[lemonancy]

Reposting from SB!

This will be at least a two-parter! Now, let's look at how Sophia's been handling her recent change in hat color.

New Haunt, Old Grudges​

Ass A.M., April 21

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

With the charges armed, I pressed the button to activate the five second timer.

BeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBOOOM!

Five simultaneous explosions liquified the doors to the holding cells, and a poor little wall who did nothing wrong except get in the way of the villain team I was breaking out of jail.

There was a small part of me that knew that I should be angry at myself for sinking so far, for being a villain now. But there was a far larger, far smarter part of me that knew the truth. Hero, villain? Nothing but words. Bullshit labels that prey uses to sort themselves. No, the only labels that matter are predator, prey, and prize.

Like, take the shithole that is Winslow. Sophia Hess, the predator. Taylor Hebert, the prey. And poor little Emma Barnes, no matter how hard she tried to be a predator? Just a prize.

The first one to step out of the cells was Circus. She practically danced out of her cell, and did that nod that I see guys do to each other all the time. You know the one, the one that looks like an upward twitch followed by a slow downward descent. Just after, Regent and Hellhound stepped out from the opposite side of the hallway. Hellhound lacked any sort of mask, like Coil said she probably would, but Regent was wearing the PRT-issue black domino mask.

Hellhound growled at me, which was about what I expected. Regent, though, just looked right past me and asked, "So what now, fearless leader?"

I spun around. From the same side of the hallway that Circus emerged was him. Grue. I shoved down the rage that filled me, but I wasn't able to do so silently; a heavy sigh had escaped me without my permission. It's not that I didn't know he was here, obviously I did. But knowing that you were contracted to bust your sworn enemy out of jail doesn't actually prepare you for the reality of seeing him standing there, glancing around like an asshole.

He, in return, gave me the side-eye. "Didn't expect the boss to send you to be our rescuer." Without the fog hollowing his voice, it was rich and deep, but not as deep as I expected. More Nat King Cole than James Earl Jones.

What? I'm cultured. Shut the fuck up.

"Shit, I'm so sorry. I'll head back to the snake, let him know you don't want the rescue, and we'll send someone else. Back to your cells, then."

"Now hold on, Grue," Regent smarmed at us. "I say we let the lady get us out of here, and then we bitch at her."

"What about me?" Hellhound grunted. Right, she called herself Bitch. Honestly, come to think of it, that was a much better name. Upside of not being on the kiddie cops' side is that I got to call her Bitch, I supposed.

"Not you, Rachel," Grue responded. "He meant complain at her, yell at her."

"I'm not fuckin' stupid, Grue. Even I can make jokes."

"If it helps, Miss Lindt, I thought it was quite good." Holy hell the clown's voice doesn't match the makeup, the costume… Come to think of it, that voice is way deeper than the voice she put on for the Boardwalk fight-- no, not the time. Shoot the shit later, break assholes out of jail now. I pointed toward the no-longer-a-wall.

"That way, now. Gotta make it through some PRT squaddies and any Wards on site, then we're home free. Move!"

The fog began to flow around Grue as he turned to me. "Do not give orders to my team, Stalker. You'll live longer."

Whatever. The plan Coil laid out called for me to take the lead on this part. The gift shop had display cases scattered throughout the room, which made for excellent cover to fire from. No crossbow, but I had the arm-mounted bolt-shooter which worked just as well. Phase, fire a bolt through the case, it turns solid as it exits and spears into a guy. Rinse and repeat. Easy pickings.

With the six squaddies on the floor, I waved to the doorway where the four deadweights lurked. I could hear boots tramping down the hall, and the whine of Kid Win's hoverboard. I loosed two bolts, both of which ding!-ed off of Clockblocker's armor. Dennis started to shout something that was going to be stupid as all hell, but he tripped after he'd gotten out "Stop ri-" and crashed into the ground. Chris stopped to check on him, so I turned away as Grue flooded that hallway with smoke.

Circus was fighting Battery and didn't look to be having the best time. I fired another shot to help, and the clown pulled a knife out of nowhere and hit my shot down another hall, where it hit- fuck, they brought the shortstack to a real fight? Well, with Vista, who was the only real threat, now incapacitated, Circus whacked Battery with the hammer they carry everywhere, and Sam seemed down for the count.

"What are you waiting for!" I screamed at Grue. "You gonna smoke the place or what?!" He nodded and did so, and in seconds the room was covered with streams of thick, black smoke, obscuring the cameras and entrances to the room. With freedom in sight, we shattered a window and made our way outside.

Say what you will about the Undersiders, but these fuckers could run. Not like me, obviously, but Grue had some serious hustle, and Bitch and Regent were doing a decent job not being deadweight with a decent running pace.

Circus, though…

"Go on without me!" the clown huffed. When we responded by picking up the pace away from them, a raised voice saying "That was a joke!" stopped us.

Luckily, the empty parking garage that served as the rendezvous point was just up ahead, so when we dragged Circus's fruity ass inside it only took us a minute longer than we would've managed without them.

A black SUV was waiting for us inside, and a man with a laser rifle opened the car door and ushered us to get in. Not seeing any real options, we obeyed.

"Undersiders," said a voice from the front seat. "And Circus. How was your stay at the finest hotel in Brockton?"

"If that's the best this city has to offer," Regent joked, "I might be headed back out."

"Funny," replied the voice. Coil. "I hesitate to suggest it, but I thought Montreal might be worse for you." Well that shut Regent up fast. "Creep, begin driving toward Captain's Hill for now. I'll direct you to one of Miss Lindt's shelters when I'm sure we've lost the tail.

"Circus, while you did not achieve your intended goal, you more than earned your keep in combat against the Dallon sisters. Check your account with this-" he handed the clown a mobile phone, "-and keep the phone as well. Hazard pay plus compensation for lost work hours. Your next contract will be delivered shortly."

Then, he turned back to us. "And my Undersiders. I hope your time with the PRT has educated you as to the necessity of staying away from dragons and their ilk."

Silence reigned for a moment, but was broken when Regent slumped in his seat. "Honestly, I thought Stalker was speaking in metaphor when she referred to our boss as a snake."

"Me too," Grue agreed.

Bitch snorted. "And people think I'm the stupid one around here."

"Not to interrupt the love-fest, but I think I'm done here," Circus butt in. "Boss, can I head out?"

"Creep, pull over two blocks from now. Yes, Mr. Circus, you can leave as soon as the car is stopped."

Hold up. "Wait, Mister?" I spat, glaring at Circus.

"Yeah, kinda," Circus replied, grinning.

"So you're not a girl, then," Grue replied.

"Well I wouldn't say that."

…"Whatever, not my problem," I muttered, turning to glare at Grue instead. He met my eyes for a brief moment, then looked away.

"Babe, 'problem' is the closest you've managed so far. Toodles!~" The car hadn't yet stopped, but the slower speed allowed the clown to throw open the car door and leap out of the vehicle, doing a somersault and standing up in that pose that gymnasts do when they're finished with their act, before sprinting off down an alleyway.

Coil took a deep breath in, and let it out quickly. "Creep, take a left up ahead. Undersiders, I would like to perform a demonstration." He produced a coin from a cupholder. He hesitated just a moment before flipping the coin at me. After catching it, I looked at it, but said nothing.

"Well?" he asked.

"It's heads," I replied.

He nodded, then flipped a coin in Grue's direction. "Also heads," came his answer.

"Heads," after Bitch caught the coin.

"Four for four," said Alec.

"It's times such as these where I miss my Tattletale." Coil's voice was like slime, filling every inch of the space between until it worked its way into your ears, your mouth, your nose, and filled you with disgust. "She always managed to make things so much more dramatic. Shame, that, but we all work with what we have.

"I'm sure you all have questions about what you've just seen. But before I answer them, a warning. I decide outcomes, control destinies. My Undersiders, rest assured that this was merely a small demonstration of my power. Recall on your jobs, the orders to stand down for five minutes? During those periods, I exercised my power to narrow down the range of possible outcomes to ones in which you were successful." He paused. "It would be trivial for me to do the opposite, and I would implore you to consider this before trying anything rash. Now, to questions. Yes, Grue?"

"Stalker and I have… history. As you know, I can be professional when required-"

I interrupted. "Yeah, yeah, I'll play nice if you do, Mister Professional."

"This is exactly the kind of behavior I expected from you. Not even ten minutes into a meeting and you're mouthing off to me in front of our boss!" Regent reached a hand to touch Grue's shoulder, and while he didn't shake it off immediately, it was met with a sharp intake of breath. "Sir, I have serious concerns about working with her. She tried to kill me not six months ago, and I don't even know why, though I suspect it's because she takes losing fights personally. Is Shadow Stalker part of my team, or will she be functioning externally?"

"Shadow Stalker will be an official member of the Undersiders under your command, yes. I expect you to be able to manage her… difficulties, with all the grace that you managed those of your former colleague." I scowled at Coil's answer and went to interrupt, but he continued before I could. "Despite the loss of my Tattletale, the timeline of my plans has accelerated as of late. I am entering my endgame for Brockton Bay, and the Undersiders will play a critical role. For the moment, that role is to remain quiet. I will contact you when you are needed. Further questions?"

"My dogs," Bitch grunted. "Have they been fed since I went in?"

"Indeed they were. One of my soldiers paid a visit to your Page Street shelter, after one of my police moles reported excessive howling coming from the location. Further, one of your hounds, a Rottweiler of some sort, was found outside."

"Brutus."

"As you say, Miss Lindt. Anything else?"

Silence.

"Then speaking of your Page Street shelter, we've arrived. I would advise that you return to your respective abodes as quietly as you can manage." The car pulled to the side of the road, and the mercenary driving the car exited and opened the door, ushering us out.

As the armored SUV sped away, Regent deadpanned, "Well that was a pleasant meeting."

"I have an apartment two blocks from here," Grue started. "Rachel, will you be staying at your shelter for the night?"

"Yup."

"Okay. Stay safe. Meeting tomorrow afternoon at the loft. Don't be late." Bitch grunted. I was learning that that seemed to be what I should expect of Bitch. Lots of grunting. I grunted back, and she looked at me oddly. I only shrugged before we left.

Grue's apartment was bare. The only room that had any decorations at all was his bedroom, and all it had was a dresser and a bed.

He handed Regent a pair of jeans that he was very soon swimming in, along with an oversized hoodie. Regent started snickering, so I gave him a glare I hoped would shut him up. It didn't work. "Hey, Bri, normally you're supposed to kiss me before I get in your pants."

I intensified my glare, and he only cackled harder. So, I rolled up my sleeve to show off my new Tinker toy, flexing my tendons to extend the blades along my forearm. Finally, he seemed to get the message, and shut up.

"You have civvies, Stalker?" Grue asked. He stood just outside the closet, having changed from the PRT-issued villain sweats into dark-washed jeans, a t-shirt, and motorcycle leathers. The finishing touch was removing the black domino mask and- oh.

God damn it. Of course he's hot. I mean, I could have looked before, it's not like the shitty masks really do anything to hide most of our features, but we were a little busy, you know? Running from the cops, talking with the snake, getting inside. Thick cornrows lined the top of his head. His jaw was hard lines and sharp angles, strong cheekbones. Eyes like molten caramel, and prominent. Stubble, the kind that screamed "I haven't been able to shave recently" and just so happened to send my thoughts tumbling into the gutter. Couldn't really help but wonder what that might feel like-

"Uh, Stalker? I asked you something."

I blinked. Regent was off to the side, giggling again. Grue stared down at me- he had to be at least 6'4, probably 6'5, and- no. I had to focus. Game face now, ogle the asshole later. "Thinking about something. What was the question?"

"You have civvies?"

"Yeah. Underneath." I stripped off the cloak, armor plating and my tinkertech prosthetic, shoving everything in a nearby duffel bag. Plain black clothes, unremarkable. I flipped up the mask and stuffed it in the bag too. "Haven't been able to get back to my old place yet for much, but soon."

Grue inhaled deeply. "So, we're going to be working together, Stalker. Specifically, you're now a part of the Undersiders. My crew. We do things a certain way around here, and part of that is names." He stuck out his hand. "Laborn. Brian Laborn."

I took it, and shook. "Sophia Hess."

Brian nodded. "Not gonna bullshit about how it's nice to work with you. It isn't. But if you follow orders and only argue when it isn't important, you'll fit right in."

"The 'only argue when it isn't important' rule is where I come in," said Regent. "Alec, no last name needed or wanted. Personally, I think we'll get along fine."

Whatever, I thought. "Whatever," I repeated aloud because it sounded good. "Just here for the paycheck and the hunting." And shelter, after getting outed by that no-name bitch in her fucking glasses.

Brian nodded again, seemingly satisfied, though he was still emanating a low-grade fury. I could hardly imagine why. I mean, I figured you shoot someone once and break him out of jail once you're even, but if this dude still wanted to hold a grudge? I'd hold it right along with him.

Eventually, he spoke. "All right. Buses aren't running this late, and we're on the opposite side of the city from the loft. Gonna be a bit of a hike." Regent- Alec- raised his hand. "No, Alec, we're not going to steal a car." Alec put his hand down.



Late morning, April 21

The room I slept in that night was marked with a purple Egyptian eye on the door. Tattletale's symbol, that she plastered across her tits in costume. "Lisa" was apparently "a major asshole", "always had to be the smartest bitch in the room", and "exactly the kind of person who would ditch us when Lung showed up". For such harsh words, Alec didn't really seem to be all that pissed about it, but he didn't have predator instincts as far as I could tell. Shame.

I'd have to either beat them into him or let him go his own way.

Brian was an early riser, like me, but he spent his morning doing boring shit. At least he brought coffee back to the disused-factory-turned-apartment that served as the Undersiders' lair. Our lair. The warehouse below was mostly disused, though there were clear signs that Bitch had used it as a dog shelter at some point. I spent the morning doing much more important things, like practicing my aim with my shiny new toy in the empty space. There was a punching bag and some wrestling mats set up off to one corner, and enough empty and broken bottles that a shooting setup was easy.

I used to hold my crossbow with my right hand, steadying it with my left. Now with the bolt shooter as a part of my left arm, my aim had to be adjusted to compensate. I was getting better, almost back to where I was, but I could tell it was going to take some time until I could be sniping some lowlife in the back from a block and a half away like I used to manage.

Downsides and upsides. Upside is that it looked sick as fuck. New bolt shooter was a real predator's weapon, and I was going to put down so many Nazis with it.

As I nailed two bottles to the wall from twenty yards out, I heard a low whistle from the stairs. Alec. I turned away and shot the remaining three bottles, but these ones were glass so instead of pinning them to the wall, they just shattered. "Very nice," the curly-haired boy said. "You a lefty? Well," a snicker, "I suppose you aren't now, but were you a lefty?"

I glared. "No," I said. "Always used to hold the crossbow in my right hand, but this is too convenient not to use." I spun around, shot a bolt into the wall, then spun back in his direction, activating the blades as I faced him. "It's got slashing weapons too."

"Huh," Alec said. "Neat trick. I thought I felt as much last night, but you activate those by flexing your fingers- well, hah, I suppose you don't have those, do you?" I growled, but he continued, undaunted. "But it's the same motion you'd use to flex your fingers, now you use it to fire and get your claws out. Yeah, I like that."

Okay, first, they're blades that come out of the forearm and extend sideways, not claws that come out of the hand. Claws would get in the way of the bolt shooter, throw off my aim, when the blades as-is are good for slashing when people get in too close. Here I thought I might finally get to hang with people who actually gave a shit about their weapons, but I guess I expected too damn much.

Second, "How the fuck did you figure that out?" I spat.

"Nerves." He chuckled. "Thought that the PRT would've figured out at least that much by now. Though you don't seem the type to pay attention at briefings…" I gave him my best I-will-murder-you eyes, and he snorted. "Anyway, I wanna show you something cool. Point the barrel at a wall?" I did so, and then my arm seized up. Like someone was moving my fingers on the hand that I no longer had, and in just the right way that the bolt fired without me wanting it to. And the blades had retracted afterwards, too.

Oh fuck me, I wasn't expecting to have to deal with my own weapons working against me. Though honestly, that was about par for the course for my luck recently.

"The hell was that for?" I growled, scowling again.

"Just a warning, new best friend Sophia. Actually, can I call you Soph?"

"Absolutely not."

"Excellent. Great work, new best friend Soph. Now you're aware that your toy is also my toy!" The fucker chuckled. He god damn chuckled, again! If he had a cat he'd be the most textbook supervillain I've ever met. "Bitch is on the way, so the meeting's in ten instead of three hours." Oh, right, cats wouldn't go well with all of Bitch's dogs.

And then he just walked back upstairs like he didn't just put himself on my shit list. Maybe it was better that way.

I took a deep breath. Whatever, whatever, whatever. This is fine! Totally fine. Sophia Hess, Shadow Stalker, Hunter, Predator, Survivor. The strong adapted to changes in circumstances. The weak ran and hid.

Take a hunter away from her pack and she makes a new pack.

Grue- Brian- ran the Undersiders, for now. Maybe he'd even keep the leadership. I mean, he was definitely the one more interested in wrangling Bitch to sit the fuck down and listen for a god damn minute, which sounded like a chore. It would be nice, though, to have a group to properly watch my back, or at least keep up with me.

And hopefully they could keep up with me. They were fast, which they'd proven last night, and if Bitch's reputation and history was anything to go by, the Undersiders hit hard when they wanted to. As stick-thin as Regent looked, he had guts too, and I'm sure that tripping thing the PRT briefings covered would come in handy when we had to make a quick escape. Grue- well.

Grue was a smug dickhead who couldn't even earn a real victory off me. His power totally blanked mine. It wasn't even just that I couldn't see which made it bullshit. If it was just that, I'd have smoked him every time we met. But no, while I was in his smoke I felt sluggish, like someone had fitted me with weights on every limb. Couldn't move like I'm used to, couldn't run, couldn't aim my crossbows, couldn't even throw a punch right.

And that wasn't even the worst part! My shadowform was all wrong, too. Ordinarily I'm weightless and intangible when I have it on, which makes leaping rooftops really easy. While I was in Grue's smoke, though, I was still weightless but couldn't phase through anything. Considering half of my book of tactics involved being able to ignore any wall in my way…

The punches and kicks didn't hurt all that much, since they mostly impacted my armor. Turns out, though, that punching a solid object that doesn't have any weight sends it flying at high speed. I thought that going solid again would help me out, but it only made the impact with the wall hurt all the more.

I really, really, hated losing. So basically, fuck Grue.

What sucked is that underneath Grue's helmet, Brian was a total beefcake.

I heard a door open in the warehouse. Not the one that leads to the loft staircase, the other one, that leads outside. It was Bitch, with two dogs in tow. I nodded her way and said, "'Sup." She just gave me the side-eye, so I shrugged and headed toward the staircase. "Nice dogs. Meeting's soon, so I'm headed up." Obviously, she grunted back instead of saying anything.

Not my fucking problem if she doesn't want to talk.

Alec's playing some video game. Looks like some kinda spaceship thing, with zombies inside. Pretty decent looking, honestly, as far as video games went. I never really saw the point in them, you know? I mean, I guess you get some adrenaline from doing stuff in the game if you got really into it, but why would you sit on the couch when you could be running outside, feeling the wind at your back, jumping between rooftops, checking your weapons to make sure they won't jam, the anticipation budding as you hunt for something to do, something to fight, someone deserving of punishment.

What video game can compare to the thrill of the hunt?

"Soph, you're looking at my video game like it pissed in your coffee. You okay?"

"Fuck you, dude, I just look like that."

"Hah! That's a good one. The meeting doesn't start for another five minutes so let me enjoy my game in peace? Thanks, Soph."

"I'm gonna punch you, asshole."

"Sophia, don't punch Alec," Brian called from inside his own room.

I did it anyway.

"She did it anyway!" Alec yelled.

"Did you deserve it?" Now he was in the doorway, wearing a tight-fitting tank top and oh my GOD the way his arms looked. They were nearly as thick around as my neck and it was not even remotely fair. I had to look at those things and pretend I wasn't affected.

"He did," I answered, instead of saying anything stupid about Brian's arms. I barely managed to maintain eye contact.

"Yeah? What for?" he asked.

"He called me Soph. He doesn't get to call me that," I growled.

A long-suffering sigh followed. "Alec," Brian said. "Don't call her that."

"Sir yes sir, fearless leader," he snarked.

Another sigh. "Sophia. Get used to him. Alec needs to get under people's skin like we need to eat, and he's been cooped up alone in a jail cell for a while. He needs to annoy someone."

I rolled my eyes. "Is Bitch going to come upstairs or what?"

Brian turned to Alec, who ignored him for thirty seconds before breaking. "Fine, I'll go get her."

* * *​

"The first order of business," Brian began, "is to talk about what we're going to be doing until Coil calls us back into the fold."

"How about nothing?" Alec piped up.

"No," Brian and I deadpanned, scowling at each other when we realized we'd spoken at the same time. After a few seconds, he schooled himself, raising his eyebrows and gesturing for me to continue. "I gotta hunt. My crossbows were with the PRT, but I've got that now," indicating my prosthetic, charging on the coffee table, "and I'm taking it for a test run. Since I'm not with the kiddie cops anymore, I'm gonna pay some Empire goons a visit."

Brian winced. "I'll get back to that, Sophia. Rachel?"

She scratched her dog behind the ears for a bit. "Hookwolf's got a dogfight coming up this week. Gonna bust it up."

"I'll come," I spoke.

She whirled on me. "You'll what now?"

"I'm coming with," I reiterated, annoyed. "Hookwolf's had it too good for too long, and he'll have guys. We'll kill two birds with one stone."

"Don't be so mean to birds. What did they ever do to you?" said exactly the person you'd expect.

"I will track down everyone you care about and crucify them, Alec. Then I'll strap you down onto a table and make you watch the videos like in Clockwork Orange, unless you shut up like a good little boy." Alec whistled, which was whatever, but Rachel gave me an appraising look.

"Fine," she spoke up. "You can come."

"Ah- about that," our nominal leader interrupted. Now what? "I"m not going to stop you, mostly because I don't think I could. But I do need to lay some ground rules.

"Number one: don't kill anyone."

"Fucking really? They're Nazis!" I shouted. I was a villain in the PRT's eyes now anyway! Might as well clean the city up properly, for once — one skinhead at a time…

"Please, Sophia — I promise it's important. Personally, I don't give a flying fuck if you kill Nazis. I hate them too, and before you decided you wanted to kill me for stealing from gangs, or beating you in a fight, or whatever the hell it was, I was a fan of the work you did on that front." Huh. "Nazis and rapists are the scum of the earth, and I'm glad there's fewer on the streets. But you know who does care if you kill Nazis? The PRT! Like it or not, you're with us now, and if the Undersiders are killers… Well, I don't think we'll be able to handle it if they start treating us like they treat the Empire or the ABB.

"Number two: make Hookwolf look like an idiot. I'm sure he'll do most of that work himself."

Rachel snorted, and I barked out a laugh. The metal furry wasn't exactly known for his… how had Dennis phrased it? His scintillating intellect? Something like that, anyway.

"Number three: don't do anything that would piss off our boss. Sophia, you weren't here, so you might not know, but Lisa was… she didn't feel comfortable around the boss, despite being the one who talked to him for us. Considering that she's a Thinker, there was probably a reason for that, and one I'd rather not find out anytime soon. He told us to keep it quiet, so we'll keep quiet — and this includes you." He paused. "Now, Rachel hitting Hookwolf's dogfighting rings is enough of a usual thing that I think it'll probably count as keeping quiet. Crucifying racists, though… Not so much."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. I'll keep the murder to a minimum. Just for you, Mister Professional." He sighed.

My mom always used to say that loving your job but hating your boss is an American tradition, and damn if I wasn't following that tradition in hating both of my bosses, horror movie biker extra and the snake alike. Add in with those the world's craziest dog lady and the ren faire reject and somehow you ended up with a group that was, shockingly, more on the same page than the Wards.

As strange as it seemed from the outside, I was going to enjoy this new squad.

 

[QroGrotor]

Ah, May. What a beautiful month. Perhaps not as tantalising as March and not as hopeful as April, but there something special about it, especially in these last days, when June was already knocking on the door. A month that brought in the feeling of fullness. The trees have fully put on their gorgeous, green mantle. The kittens's tiny squeaks filled the air with sounds of new lives being brought into the world. It felt as if the canvas of life had fully unfolded itself for all to see.

But it also felt like a succubus, inviting people to remain in this particular month, knowing that after it came summer, with autumn and winter inevitably following suit. And if that was the case, why the rush? Shouldn't you stay here, in this blooming month, enjoying the moment for all it was worth?


As the sleepy, blissful, joyous silence descended on the city, even the most despicable of villains slowed down their actions, realising that this wasn't their time.

It was on one of such days, as the sun was slowly heading towards the horizon, that Taylor and Amy found themselves sitting on a flat rooftop of a multi-story building, enjoying the sun. Siting like that, on a warm, heated roof, was incredibly pleasing. The sun, looking like a freshly baked pancake, generously shared its heat with the city while bashfully pulling the white, cotton-like blanket of clouds over itself, as if afraid of getting jinxed.

Happily wiggling her toes, Amy couldn't help but feel free. Not only she had the yoke of responsibility noticeably relaxed, having the option of throwing off her shoes was incredible. As she laid there, with her head in Taylor's lap, the brunette enjoyed the way that the clouds slowly drifted across the sky, their freedom raising her mood even further.

It was at this moment that Taylor had repeated one of her many attempts to lean in, and kiss her girlfriend, only to be rebuffed by Amy puffing out her cheeks.

"What, not interested in sunset?"

"Nope, definitely not right now," Taylor admitted, not even looking up, her eyes locked on Amy's. She had leaned in once again, obviously deciding to get her wish granted no matter what. Relenting, the healer had allowed herself to melt into the kiss, smiling all the while. Just two months ago, this scenario would've looked like a fever dream. And yet, here she was, enjoying her life, for the first time in years.

Suddenly, a dark shadow had fallen over two girls, making them pull away from one another, surprisingly noticing that they were both out of breath, and looking up at the new arrival.

The blonde had stared at them with the expression that could only be placed somewhere between amusement and bashfulness. In her hands was a grocery bag, filled with what both girls presumed to be snacks and drinks. Still, something was bothering Amy.

"Hey, you're blocking out the sun! Shush, Macedon, move away from the barrel!" Amy announced, causing Taylor to look at her with surprised expression, while Lisa's expression had switched to a full-on amusement mode.

"What are you, Diogenes?" The blonde asked, crossing her arms with a smile.

"No," Amy confessed degectedly, "but I've really missed the sun. This winter was weird in how little sunlight there was."

"Huh. Should I be calling you 'sunflower' then?" Taylor asked, looking down at her, gracefully accepting a bottle of Cola that Lisa had passed on to her.

"Do that in public and I'll make you rainbow coloured," the definitely not horrifying biokinetic promised in the sweetest voice she could pull off from her horizontal position.

Nodding, Taylor watched Lisa take a seat next to them and drape her hand around Taylor's shoulder, while ruffling Amy's hair, much to the dismay of the healer who protested with barely perceptible grumbling.

"So, Lisa, how'd you get onto the roof? I'm fairly certain we've locked the door behind us," Amy suddenly asked, twisting herself to look at the blonde who grinned in response.

"Thinker seven," she said, looking incredibly smug, as if that explained everything. In reality, the blonde never would've admitted that there was a fire escape that she had managed to climbed after a few attempts, the bag with groceries slowing down her progress.

"Right… So, I take it nothing is happening in the city? We have the evening to ourselves?"

"Yup," said Lisa, popping the 'p' for emphasis. "Not only that, from what I've gathered, none of the gangs should be making any big moves in the near future, so…"

Amy looked at her second girlfriend with a disbelieving expression, that quickly melted away as the blonde suddenly leaned in and quickly kissed her, causing Taylor to grumble indignantly.

"How come she gets to do that, but I get cheek blocked the entire time?"

"She brought good news and food," was the reasonable rebuttle. Raising her finger and preparing to say something, yet quickly realised that she would've probably done the same in Amy's place.

"Alright you two, we'll talk about city things later. Dig in, some of the food is still hot," Lisa laughed, opening up the bag and pulling out a hamburger that she quickly bit into.

The three of them bantered yet more, as they basked in the light of the sunset.

 

[QroGrotor]

"Look, we've agreed that some form of physical enhancement is necessary, right? Well, why not give Lisa what she wants while we're at it? Besides, her Thinker power works off of her own senses, right? Then, by doing this, we will also enhance her power."

"I get that, why a fox though?"

"Ask her, after she wakes up."

After the group's recent run in with the ABB, a unanimous decision was made to use both Amy and Taylor's biotinkering ability in order to 'sligtly improve' their rather fragile bodies. As one would expect, it quickly devolved into the most blatant case of human experimentation this side of Bonesaw.

As they were working on Lisa, however, a realisation came to mind. Why stop at just that, when there was a very real chance to potentially improve power, not stopping at the minor brute package.

Thus, the currently sleeping blonde was now sporting a very real, fluffy pair of ears that were supposed to enhance her hearing by a wide margin, as well as several tails that should've greatly enhanced her equilibrium and, potentially, acrobatic ability. The question now was whether they'd keep her old, human ears, or remove them due to redundancy. A difficult topic that ended up in girl's leaving their girlfriend asleep and heading out in order to grab some food.

A mistake they'd regret immensely.

---

Hirano Jun has never considered himself to be exceptionally smart or talented, yet he knew better that to try and get into a warehouse that was quite obviously controlled by the ABB, judging by the fact that the only people visting it were wearing gang colours. The same couldn't be said about whoever just dived into the said warehouse through the window, causing gunfire to erupt.

Hiding behind the nearest lamppost and trying not to think of how little coverage it actually provided, Jun quickly pulled out his mobile phone and started recording the video, hoping to get the news about a, potentially, new cape, out into the world first.

Recording the flashes and gunshots coming from the warehouse, he wondered if creeping up slightly closer and hiding behind a car would get him a look into what's been happening, especially considering that the door was unlocked, yet he couldn't get too close on the off chance that someone else had already called the police or the PRT.

The sounds slowly petered out, an eery silence settling over the area. Cursing quietly, the young man decided to move up closer to the warehouse, only for the door to be blown off its hinges by a powerful kick. Ducking behind the car, Jun carefully poked his camera out of the cover, only for it to be snatched out of his hand, causing him to release a high-pitched scream as he scrambled to get away. The last thing he saw was a large fox-like tail trailing behind the woman that quickly jumped up the fire escape, a pair of ears twitching as she went.

Some part of him knew it to be a cape of some sort, perhaps a 'weeb' of some kind that wanted others to think of them as a mythological creature. Another part couldn't shake off the worry that a kitsune was sent to torment ABB for their sins.

He would buy several packages of tofu on his way home. Just in case.

---

"How exactly did this happen?!"

"You're asking me?! We were both working on her!"

"You're the one with more medical experience! Any hypothesis why she didn't come back yet? Or why there's a 'new cape terrorising the ABB?"

"Well… There's been studies done that say hearing loss leads to feeling of isolation, depression, potential memory loss and so on."

"Okay, what does it have to do with our problem? We didn't make her deaf, if nothing else, her hearing should be way sharper!"

"That's the problem," Amy shook her head, collapsing onto the couch. "Who's to say something similar doesn't happen in the opposite case?"

Groaning, her girlfriend followed suit and almost fell into the chair. Of course even their harmless desire to improve themselves turned pear-shaped. Sure, people they knew were on the lookout for Lisa, but the damage was already piling up. 'Why in the fuck would she steal a goddamn motorcycle?'

"So, what are we going to do about it? She's kind of making a mess right now. PHO is already talking about bowing down to the 'fluffy overlady', and there's only so long before the PRT decides to come down on her hard."

"I'll… Okay, I'll contact Vicky and ask her to talk Kid Win into helping. He should be able to write an algorithm to track her, right? We just got to catch her, put her to sleep for a while and undo everything we've done."

"This has better work, Amy. If she gets hurt, it's on us."

"Don't I know it… Alright then, operation 'catch the dumbass' is a go?"

Taylor nodded, her mind already going through the possibilities of what they'd had to do. She just hoped that this wouldn't spiral even further out of control.

 

[QroGrotor]

Well, here's the continuation of the 'Vulpine Error' omake.

- - -

Using its newfound agility, the shadow easily sneaked into a seemingly unremarkable, hostel-like building, located deep in the gang's territory. She sneaked to a closed door and opened it just enough for her to see what she wanted. The goal was in sight. All she needed to do now, is bypass the two thugs that guarded the door. Usually, the advantage of being a cape would be enough to at least make her targets hesitate, but one of the guards looked like a mountain, holding an automatic rifle in his hands on top of that. She'd have to find a way around him.

There was no way visible way in. Even should she somehow scare them off or knock them out, there was no way she could open a heavy, armored door. Not without the keys to the lock, which she couldn't simply take from the two, if they even had them. No. She'd have to find another way in.

Still, she was no longer limited to using words as weapons. And she had a den to furnish and make more comfortable for her mates.

A decision was made as the girl took off in a sprint, swinging the door wide open. With the change in anatomy, her power had adapted to maximize its usage. It didn't take long before she reached the two guards. They were startled by her sudden appearance; she was on their heels even before they fully realized what happened. As the first guard tried to raise his gun, she grabbed him by the shirt and kicked him between the legs with all her might, then punched him right on the nose. The second one quickly turned around, but he got a face full of fist just as quick. He went down hard on his ass, trying to recover himself.
The girl turned to the now fallen guard, who was desperately trying to get up, holding a bleeding nose. "Where are the keys," She asked matter-of-factly, wiping blood off her knuckles. As he tried to back away, she followed him, looking for an opening.

"Fuck!" he cursed as she caught him with a solid kick to the gut, sending him sliding across the room, where he crashed into the wall with his back.

'That is a slippery floor. Damn.'

The other man finally regained his bearings, but before he managed to do anything, a sharp strike to his throat and a knee to the temple quickly finished the fight.

She wasted no time, diving into the man's pockets, searching for a phone. Her power led the girl's actions, telling her what exact number to call. A few minutes later, the door swung open, with a stunned looking woman in aviator goggles looking at two of her fellow gang members, lying on the ground, unconscious. Before she managed to fully process the information, the butt of the rifle collided with her temple and dropped the woman.

The confrontation was quick, efficient and relatively stealthy. Just like she liked it.

With the door to her treasure wide open, the girl strolled into the room, her eyes growing wide from excitement. Covered in gold and considered one of the rarest pieces in the world, it was even more gorgeous than the girl had ever expected it to be. There was, however, one big question that she didn't really know how to answer.

How was she supposed to get it out of here?

---

"So, you're telling me," the large man in a metal mask had started. "That a teenaged girl, imagining herself a kitsune, managed to take down two of the guards posted near the door with assault rifles no less, and then disabled my handmaiden? Not only that, she somehow stole the one thing that should've been impossible to steal. Am I getting this right?"

The larger of the two men standing in front of Kenta slowly nodded, before his face was suddenly grabbed. He tried to swing at the cape, but the punch never made it to its target. In a burst of flame, the man's eyeballs evaporated, all the internal organs turning to ash in mere seconds.

"Let this serve as an example to all of you. No one gets to take what belongs to me. Now, go find Lee. I will have him return the kidnapped property."

The room was quickly emptied, as no one wanted to take the risk of annoying Lung, only the disfigured body of his 'example' keeping him company.

'I care not for who you are, little fox, but no one dares to steal from the dragon.'

And yet, even if his rage was slowly starting to rise, he could understand the motives of the thief. Laz-y-boy couch was one of a kind, after all.

---

"Taylor? What are you doing?"

Moaning in bliss, the girl turned towards Amy and smiled.

"Enjoying the couch. My God, I never knew there was a built-in massage function in these things. Where'd you order it?"

"I didn't order it," Amelia noted, raising her eyebrow. While she certainly wasn't against getting some proper furniture into their lair, ordering something could potentially set off the PRT, so it didn't seem like a good idea.

"Huh? But… Who did? Wait a minute, you don't think it's-"

"Our crazed girlfriend? I'm unsure. Even if she should be perfectly cognizant of her actions, I do not think she'd risk giving our location away."

Somewhere not too far from their base, an explosion rang out, disrupting the quiet night. Quickly exchanging glances, Taylor and Amy ran to the computer, in order to get some idea of what was going on. The mystery of the couch could wait until later.

 

[enticingCherry]

A Hug From Nature
(takes place sometime after Arc 8)​

Taylor sighed, comfortable to the extreme and content to a degree she hadn't thought possible in years. She snuggled further into the warm, comfortable body of Amy, her right cheek nuzzling into peach-scented hair, her arms pulling her little spoon tight against her body. She let out another little sigh, and burrowed herself further into Amy, much to the other girl's squirming.

"Is she deep enough?" Taylor whispered directly against Amy's ears, causing the squirming to increase. Faintly, after some moments, she felt little hairs brushing vertically across her nose, and she had to fight the urge to giggle. "I'm moving away now. Okay?"

The same hair movement was all the answer she needed. Slowly, with a calculated meticulousness born of experience from sleepovers past, Taylor disentangled herself from Amy. She slowly stepped onto the floor, careful to not trigger any of the little creaky spots she had long since mapped, and nodded at Amy's expectant face.

Amy, on the other hand, was much less graceful. After some time concentrating, she just took her arms from around Lisa, and rolled out of the bed, falling on a small mound of blankets and clothes with a deep thump.

"Amy!" Taylor hissed, caught in the indecision of going over to bonk her noisy friend on the head, and worrying over Lisa's prone form on the bed.

"Relax," Amy said, rolling her eyes for dramatic effect. She got up, gingerly patting down her legs, butt and arms, before motioning to Lisa with jazzy hands. "I temporarily boosted her production of melatonin to last her through the night, as well as introduced organic compounds that mimic the non-benzodiazepine medication they use at the hospital. All the potency, little risk. She'll sleep like a baby until noon, at least." Amy looked very proud about that fact.

"I-sorry, I understood most of that, but the… the medicine? I thought you didn't do brains?" Taylor asked, worried.

"I don't," Amy bit out, before taking a deep breath. "Sorry, I know you meant nothing by it. Just… touchy. But I don't. Melatonin can be created in two places that I know of," Amy starts, already moving away from the bed and towards the door.

Taylor followed her to the stairs, but just as they were about to descend, she paused, her eyes widening. Amy paused as well, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. Taylor shook her head, and rushed back into her room, taking care to not make enough noise to wake her Dad or Victoria, and wrote a quick note for Lisa, leaving it right on top of her prone palm. Taylor took one moment to just stare, a small, happy smile on her face at seeing Lisa so relaxed. She went back towards Amy, who noticed her smile, and answered it with an uncertain one of her own.

"Just leaving Lisa a note, in case she wakes up. Not that I think she will-" Taylor rushed out to reassure the resident biological expert, hands flailing around her much to Amy's amusement. "-just… just in case, you know? Wouldn't want her to wake up and wonder. Not after…"

After a heavy moment, Amy nodded, and motioned to the stairs. "Yeah. No, I agree." Amy paused, and then her lips split into a wide smirk that made Taylor wonder where she had gone wrong. "A note, though? You do know you could just use your phone, right? To leave her a message. You know, as one does."

Taylor shrugged, feeling strangely antiquated, but rallied on. "I guess? It's just… this way feels more personal. And I wouldn't need to worry whether she looked at her phone first, or whether it had batteries, or…" She trailed off at the amused look Amy was giving her. "You're teasing me."

"Would I? Little, old me?" Amy batted her eyelashes at Taylor, who just made a small, snorting noise, and thumped her on the shoulder. "Don't make it so easy. Anyway, uh. Want me to continue the explanation?

Taylor's smile widened, and she almost bounced on her feet as she nodded. "Yes, please. Shall we?"

"We shall. First in a little place in the brain called the pineal gland. It seems to regulate most of the melatonin production, as well as a bunch of other things related to sleep that I don't fully understand. That is located in the brain, and I don't mess with that." They moved down the stairs, careful to not trigger any of the numerous, very squeaky steps. "What most people don't know is that the retinae also produce some small amount of melatonin. Don't ask me why, vestigial evolution, maybe? Anyway, I've rigged her retinae to produce a small, but constant stream of melatonin throughout the night. I'll touch her up tomorrow to remove that, as well as see if I can reset her circadian rhythm to what it was before my intervention, but considering her sleep patterns, I'm not sure this will have done anything negative."

Taylor nodded, pensively, as they reached the door leading down to the basement. Opening the door, she motioned for Amy to move first, which she did with an amused smile and another eye roll. Taylor thought Amy was rather fond of those.

"And the non-benzo..?" Taylor trailed off, closing the door behind her and turning on the lights so Amy wouldn't fall to her doom like she almost did several days ago.

"Non-benzodiazepine," Amy provided, reaching the end of the stairs and moving towards where they had set up their biological experiments area — or, as Lisa had put it, their Nightmare Lab. "It's a less risky class of drugs used to treat anxiety and insomnia. They're the least addictive variant available, so really the only thing I felt comfortable introducing into her body."

Amy frowned, a hand coming up to rub at her arms, and then the hem of her pajama shirt. "Can't afford to mess up. Lisa has enough problems as is."

Taylor nodded. She agreed completely with that assessment, after all. Since the raid at Coil's base, and… everything that followed after, Lisa had been overworking herself to an almost dangerous degree, following up leads she had left to the sides on old dangers, as well as obsessively trying to prepare for new ones. She promised and promised that she would get rest, but it took the combined effort of Taylor, Amy, and sometimes Danny and Victoria to get her to get a modicum of rest. Unfortunately, said attempts were often interrupted by various nightmares, with Lisa's brilliant, cursed mind recycling her old ones into new horrors with everything she imagined around the corner.

Taylor's heart constricted at the thought of her beautiful, compassionate and genius friend suffering, endlessly preparing and waiting for the possibility of something that she was sure was coming at any moment. She wanted nothing more than to take Lisa into a hug, tell her everything was going to be okay, and know that it was going to be so. Which was partially the reason she had asked for Amy's help in their little clandestine project.

She glanced around, and saw that Amy was already by the potted plant they were lovingly calling 'Cuddle-vine'. Or, well, Taylor was calling it that. Amy's initial idea led Taylor to a decidedly uncomfortable search online, and many embarrassed looks at Amy.

"Alright," clapped the biokinetic, thankfully interrupting Taylor's train of thought as she moved around and behind Cuddle-vine's pot. "So, what did you have planned?"

"I wanted to make a… well, a hugging bed of vines, for lack of a better word." Taylor began, moving closer to Amy, and leaning into her left side, one arm going around a shoulder to pull her in a hug, and the other motioning towards the pot. "The vines would have to be much thicker — maybe around an arm's length, or two? They'd have to be really soft, but durable, and be able to configure themselves in whichever way we want them to." She paused, humming as she leaned her head on top of Amy's, much to her friend's silent, squirming disapproval. "Could we pre-grow it, and then hide the length underground?"

Amy hummed, reaching with her right foot to touch the tiny base of the vine protruding from the soil, her hands holding Taylor's around her shoulder. "It… shouldn't be difficult? I mean, the hardest part would be to grow them. Do we want to be controlling how they move, or give them some sort of sentience?"

Taylor shivered, and hugged Amy closer still. "No. No sentience. We need to… we need to be in complete control. We cannot allow any chance for this to hurt Lisa."

Amy nodded, a relieved little sigh escaping her. "I'm glad we agree. Alright. You ready?"

Taylor nodded, almost glaring at the little pot. "Let's do this."

---

Danny Hebert woke up as he usually did these days, feeling good. He got out of bed, hissing as his back popped when he stretched, the sound loud in the otherwise silent room. Danny went to the bathroom, where he took a quick, serviceable shower, brushed his teeth, and shaved. He briefly spared a look at the mirror before drying himself. Feeling more presentable, Danny left the bathroom, and glanced at the hall. Victoria's room was still closed, and he could hear her snores coming from inside, while Taylor's — the girls', he corrected himself with a small, chagrined grimace — door was ajar. He moved to it, wincing at some of the heavy creaking his steps caused, and peeked inside.

Danny frowned. Lisa was the last person he would have expected to be sleeping on the bed alone like that, particularly with how she had been in the last two weeks or so. He peeked his head further in, looking around, but couldn't find the other two. Shrugging, he went downstairs, each thumping, creaking step making him wince, afraid that it would wake Lisa up. Reaching the bottom floor, Danny looked around, and noticed the basement door.

He opened the door more, glancing inside with some trepidation. While he wasn't unused to capes in general, living with multiple parahumans inside of his home was intimidating and stressful, particularly when his girl was one of them. Danny carefully stepped down until he could see the basement floor, and he suddenly wished he had stayed up.

No matter how cute Taylor and Amy looked, curled up against each other in that way that made him think that they weren't only 'really good friends', as they seemed to insist, the nightmare of vines that supported them reminded him uncomfortably of why people were so scared of capes that could affect biology like that. It looked innocent, and Danny trusted Amy and Taylor to know what they were doing, but just looking at that thing made his pulse quicken.

Danny moved back up the stairs, and then into the kitchen, idly preparing a cup of instant coffee. He thought about Taylor, Amy, and Lisa, and how complicated everything was with them. Danny snorted, blowing on his brewed coffee even as he started the coffee machine for a full pot. Annette would have loved the other two living at the house. Danny stared at some of their old pictures, a lost, bittersweet look on his face as he imagined what his wife would say to the three now, the stories she would share, with teasing smiles, and gentle touches.

He placed his cup down, and moved to a particular frame holding their wedding picture. He traced the outline of Annette's face with his fingers, before sighing, and moving back to the kitchen. Danny prepared a platter of eight sandwiches, two for each of the girls, with what he hoped was still their favorite, cheese and ham. He toasted them, having to prepare one extra since he burned one side a little too much, and prepared his own lunch — the burned sandwich, an apple, a boiled egg and two bottles of water. Danny looked at the basement again, and just shook his head. He'd trust his girl to know what she's doing, and to ask for help if she needed it.

"Still," he mused idly as he fished his keys and left the house, "better talk with her later, just in case."

---

Lisa woke up with a jaw-breaking yawn, stretching along the empty expanse of Taylor's bed. She felt well-rested and ready to tackle a new day, if sleepy still, which never happened. Lisa was immediately suspicious.

Well rested. Slept for 10 hours and 35 minutes. Experiencing higher levels of sleepiness. Sleepiness incongruent with previous sleep patterns. Sleepiness artificially induced. Taylor and Amy missing.

"Shit!" Lisa dove out of the bed. She was wide awake now, pupils blown and heart rate through the roof, matching her short, sharp breaths. She gazed around in a panic, trying to find any more clues she might've missed, until she finally noticed that her left hand was clutching something. With trepidation, she brought her hand up, staring at the balled up paper within.

Is crumpled. Visible characters written match Taylor's handwriting. Visible characters suggest unhurried writing pace. Taylor wrote on the paper.

Lisa straightened out the paper as fast and carefully as she could, and then stared at the little note. "'Lisa, we're in the basement. If you wake up and we're not there, come say hello? With care, Taylor.' …What?" Lisa stared at the piece of paper some more after reciting its contents, as if trying to divine some deeper meaning from that.

Is carefully written. Writing suggests Taylor was worried. Writing suggests Taylor wanted to appear non-threatening. Writing suggests Taylor wanted to reassure you.

'No shit,' Lisa snarked, still just as confused, but now at Taylor. She brought a hand up to her chest, feeling her heart rate slowly returning to a not-so-frantic pace. 'Is that what she considers non-threatening and reassuring? We're going to sit down and have a long, nice talk about some things…' Lisa groused, letting herself fall back on the bed, unbothered by the springiness of it. She stayed there for another few minutes, before finally getting back up with a sigh. She stared at the mess left around the bed with some level of fond exasperation.

Placement unintentional. Objects thrown in a hurry. Taylor and Amy left while you were asleep. Taylor and Amy threw blankets-

'Yeah, yeah, obviously,' thought Lisa as she got up, pacing around the room. That her friends were missing was evident, but were they still in the basement? And for that matter, when did they leave?

Door ajar. No noises in the house. 02:32 PM. Danny left for work 6 hours and 22 minutes ago. No noises in the house. House likely empty.

'Like hell those two would just leave me here sleeping for too long,' groused Lisa, even as a niggling, traitorous feeling bloomed in the back of her head. Lisa hurried out of the room, noticing all the little things visible and not. She went down the stairs, and glanced around.

Kitchen table made. Note on top of table. Fresh coffee pot in coffee machine. Note on fridge. TV off. Danny's shoes gone. Taylor and Amy's still in rack. Danny cleaned kitchen and left for work. Taylor and Amy are in the house. Bedroom empty. Bathroom empty. Kitchen empty. Living room empty. Basement door closed. No noises in house. Victoria likely left. Taylor and Amy likely in basement.

"Okay," Lisa said, psyching herself up. "They haven't left. They didn't leave you. They're still here." She nodded, once, twice, moving closer to the kitchen to check on the notes left there. The one by the table seemed to be from Victoria, if the hurried chicken scrawl was any indication. Lisa hummed, glad that Victoria was out and about again. Cultivating friendships outside of them was supposed to be healthy. One look at the fridge, and she shook her head, her regard for Danny Hebert growing a bit more. Lisa thought it was very sweet of him to leave them prepared sandwiches in the fridge, and their favorite, too. Quite the impressive progress, considering what a wreck he was just a few weeks ago.

Lisa glanced inside the fridge just to make sure the sandwiches were actually edible before frowning again. "What are they doing in the basement that they needed me asleep for in the first place?"

Lisa stood there, mind trailing all the possibilities even as she clamped down on her power so hard she almost, almost couldn't feel the endlessly present connection. 'Don't theorize, find out,' Lisa chastised herself, moving towards the basement door with some level of trepidation. She didn't need to get knocked out again, thank you very much.

She opened the door, her nose wiggling at the fruity, floral scent that almost physically hit her. It was pleasantly warm; cinnamon, clover, peach, apples, with more spices and scents she couldn't recognize. She breathed deeply, a little smile on her face, and descended the stairs.

She noticed the light was still on in the basement, even as bright as it was outside; Brockton Bay had been experiencing some rather warm weather, and the days had been very clear. Lisa finally got to the bottom of the stairs, and froze at the sight before her.

Taylor and Amy were sound asleep, their little snores now not only audible, but sonorous. They were tangled in each other, which would have been endearing and cute in any other situation, had they not been involved in a bed of vines as thick as her thighs, growing green at the base, and then shifting from that to a deep, dark orange, light, pastel pinks, and finally, to bright, purple tips. It seemed to shift and bend as they themselves moved, though there was a strange ovoid absence between Taylor and Amy that she couldn't explain.

Is made by powers. Was not present before. Occupying space similar to previous potted plant. Is previous potted plant. Potted plant placed deliberately. Potted plant placed according to plan. Taylor and Amy planned to create the plant.

Is harmless. Is holding Taylor and Amy in place. Plant's tensile strength enough to support Amy and Taylor without visible signs of stress. Vines strategically placed to provide maximum comfort. Taylor and Amy comforted by vines. Taylor and Amy dressed in pajamas. Taylor still wearing glasses. Taylor and Amy fell asleep testing the plant.

Is purposefully designed. Vines around Taylor and Amy suggest deliberate placement. Space left between Taylor and Amy. Vines forming reactive bed around Taylor and Amy. Bed intended for you. Bed created to help you. Space left for you. Taylor and Amy intended for you to rest with them.

Lisa blinked, one hand coming to rub at the sudden throbbing of her overusing her power in such a short amount of time like that. She re-examined the plant in a new light, how it looked squished underneath her friends, and how comfortable they looked. She tentatively moved towards it, and tried sitting on the space between the two girls, humming at the pleasant, soft warmth that ran underneath her even as the vines shifted very little to support her weight. She looked first at Amy, a small dribble of drool running down her face as she slept, little snores breaking the silence every now and then, and Taylor, whose intensity disappeared entirely while asleep, replaced instead by a sort of serenity that was breathtaking.

Lisa smiled, feeling fuzzy and warm inside at the thoughtfulness. Truly, she had made the right choice, and she vowed to continue making it for as long as they all lived. Lisa hopped on her little spot, and burrowed herself between the two already there, and she was out not soon after yet again.

---

Victoria unlocked the house and got in, shuffling the many takeout bags she had with her. "Hey! I got food~" she sang, floating through the living room, and into the kitchen, placing all her bags on the table. "Hellooo? Taylor? Ames? Lisa?"

Victoria looked around, only just noticing how quiet the house was. She floated up the stairs, looking inside Taylor's room, and then floated back down, frowning. Vicky tried calling out louder, but still, no response.

She looked around for a note, thinking with a small bit of amusement that leaving notes around and for each other seemed to be their new thing, before she fished out her phone, checking for any messages. She found the lack of anything, however, rather worrying, particularly since she hadn't seen them since yesterday. Yes, she'd noticed the note from Mr. Hebert when she'd woken up earlier, but still. Her own note was undisturbed, right where she had left it, and she couldn't help that tiny fear creeping into her mind of her friends and sister disappearing again.

Victoria floated around the house, careful not to rouse anything as she looked for clues as to where they could have been. They had to be somewhere, or left a clue, or… 'There!'

Vicky flew closer to the opened basement door, noticing how the lights were turned on. Were they tinkering again? "Girls? I brought food!" Nobody answered. "You better have clothes on, 'cause I'm coming down!"

Vicky floated down, and simply stared at the scene in front of her. All three of the girls were curled up, Lisa in the middle of the sandwich, with arms and legs tangled up along with the world's freakiest hammock. As she watched, she noticed Lisa shake her head at something, and burrow her face into Taylor's stomach, causing a squirming chain reaction. Amy's familiar little snores continued on throughout it all.

Vicky snorted quietly, fishing her phone out to take pictures for the next time the three tried to tell her they weren't interested in romance. After taking pictures from many angles, Vicky grew a devious smile. She pressed a different button on the phone, and started to record.

 

[Lucifra]

Content Warning: Suicide Baiting. Emma is,,, not in a great headspace here, and she's also not a great person, post-Sophia.

I wish I had enough willpower to stand up to my muse when she decides that it's time to start a new project.

-----
Heart of Midlothian
-----​

Emma Barnes was.. concerned about Sophia. After… Hebert… had pulled that underhanded trick with her locker and ignoring that they'd shown lockers were fair game very early on, she hadn't really heard from Sophia, even though she'd promised-

Breathe.

Anyways, the only news she had of Shadow Stalker was when she'd seen on the news that she'd broken the Undersiders out of Protectorate custody, which… what the hell? She'd been so adamantly opposed to Grue in the past that it seemed counterintuitive for her to want to go anywhere near him, especially given how she'd been injured by her… other nemesis.

That being Taylor.

Emma knew, intellectually, that Taylor wasn't someone she should be lashing out at. But at the same time… well, Sophia had taught her that there was only strength and weakness, and Taylor hadn't shown any of the former except in resilience, some quiet part of her brain said, so she obviously couldn't be allowed to remain in her life. Admittedly, the method she'd chosen to get Taylor out of her life was… extreme… but to be honest she liked it more as a method to show off her strength than anything else.

And then she had cost Sophia her hand.

That had really not worked out how Emma thought it would. Ideally, Taylor would have been shipped off to juvie for setting a booby trap like that. More realistically, she was probably going to get suspended for a couple of weeks, because despite all the pressure that her dad and Sophia's handler could bring to bear, uncle Danny could bring the full weight of the union community of Brockton Bay down on the school like the wrath of Legend and Blackwell was always careful to keep his ire pointed mostly away from her.

That said, Emma wasn't expecting Taylor to just up and vanish, nor was she expecting almost all her social support to dry up practically overnight.

Pragmatically speaking, she knew that a significant amount of her social standing came from Sophia, one way or the other. Her status as a Ward bringing in money to the school above and beyond what her own father was willing and able to contribute kept staff off their backs in all but the most extreme of situations and minimized their response even in those situations, and her willingness to threaten, intimidate, or bruise any potential social challengers handled what portions of the student body her own charisma and Madison's… strategy didn't.

Even so, she didn't realize quite how much of her social prowess was enabled by Sophia until after the Ward was gone.

The revelation of Sophia Hess, arm-deep in Taylor's locker, had caused the student body to reconsider their relationship with Sophia Hess, who they now saw as a violent thug, as well as herself and Madison, who were now seen as social camouflage and a brainless hanger-on, respectively.

The fact that the involvement of Shadow Stalker in the escapes of the surviving Undersiders, as well as the dumbass bitch who thought it was a good idea to hit Panacea in the chest with a hammer (to the point where Black Rose had been forced to intervene and heal the healer before her official debut, no less), was public knowledge did not help their case by any stretch of the imagination.

Madison had read the changing of the tides and abandoned Emma before most of the school had, joining up with Greg, of all people.

Emma shook herself out of her introspective spiral, refocusing herself on the mall around her, where she always came when she was feeling down or unsteady. As they said, a little retail therapy never hurt anybody.

As Emma turned towards Abercrombie and Fitch, she felt the basso "thump thump thump" that spoke of several of Bakuda's bombs going off, and her eyes widened. Despite the fact that the ABB was more reviled than ever, the mad bomber's power had kept them "in the game", as it were, with the specter of terror she held over the city being far more than any other cape this side of the Fallen.

Emma looked up, but before she could cast about for the source of the sounds, she heard as much as felt two different changes. On her left, she felt the air pressure increase with the sound of flesh thwap-ing to the floor, and on the right everything stilled and went silent, not even the air daring to move.

When the two effects met, with her in the middle, things got… complicated.

-----​

Taylor was glad she had managed to grab a thorn based on Armsmaster's power already, so she could use it (in conjunction with a thorn from Lisa's power) to retrieve and disarm the detonator on one of Bakuda's bombs.

The newly retrieved piece of Tinkertech looked relatively inconspicuous, a dull grey sphere approximately the size of a baseball, but based on what Lisa suggested it might be the key to cleaning up the more persistent effects of Bakuda's bombs.

According to what Lisa's power could feed them, combining thorns of her power and a Tinker power let her sidestep tinkering to produce some of the effects that the original Tinker's power could produce in a semi-random manner.

So, as Nebula and Black Rose, the pair of capes went to the Brockton Mall, where they could test it on a relatively stable anomaly- that being the replica of a Gray Boy bubble that Assault had mentioned.

The plan was to arrive at the mall, combine Lisa's power with Bakuda's, and then see if she could pull off some sort of power reset effect, or maybe teleport any of the victims out of the bubble, or some other bullshit effect that Bakuda had pulled out of her figurative hat that could undo at least some of the destruction the bomber had wreaked across the city.

Of course, Taylor couldn't have nice things, so the first thing she heard was Emma's voice shrieking something about a Stranger.

She was not expecting to hear a younger version of Emma's voice retort with "Well, if you don't recognize a version of yourself who didn't stab our sister in the back as anything more than a Stranger, then there's something seriously wrong with you!"

Taylor very carefully did not rush into the pseudo-courtyard of the mall, but when she arrived she saw two Emma's, one as she had seen her the last time she was at Winslow, but the other shorter, younger, and far angrier.

"Excuse me," said Taylor, trying her best to disguise her voice. "What's going on here?"

"Not now, Tails," said the younger Emma, "I'm dealing with this… disappointment."

The older Emma just gaped at Taylor like a fish. "W-what?"

Taylor's eyes narrowed behind her mask as she produced an extra thorn and touched it to Lisa's exposed fingertip. "Well then," said Lisa, no small amount of forced calm in her voice, "this is going to be a mess."

"That's right," said the younger version of Emma, "you tortured Tails so much that she got superpowers! Didn't you know how bad that has to be from talking with Sophia?"

"Her power is… well, she got the perfect one to slit her wrists with!"

Reality stuttered for a moment, with people shifting positions in between one heartbeat and the next, and then Taylor's mouth dropped open as she watched the younger version of Emma crack her older version across the face.

Then, a tattered, golden cape appeared, hanging from the younger Emma's shoulders, with a blue-white image of a bear's head appearing on it over and over again, and moments later she was abruptly flanked by two bears in Ursa Aurora's ghostly style, which immediately moved to hold Emma down.

"You're a disappointment to everything Mom and Auntie Anne ever stood for," said the younger Emma, glaring at her older counterpart with pity in her eyes. "On one hand, I want to hate you for what you did, but knowing what made you this way… I'm not sure I can really blame you."

She turned to Taylor. "Tails, I'm sorry for everything we've done to you. I'll make it better, I promise. Just… Take Ems home, please, and make sure Mom reads my note."

Her cape shifted, the bear heads shimmering and changing to a porter's cap even as the projected bears faded to nothing and Emma collapsed to her knees, one hand brushing against her cheek. Then, the younger Emma vanished with a sound not entirely unlike a gunshot and a brief sound of an intense wind.

No one talked, not when Taylor undid the Gray Boy bomb's effect or after, until they arrived at Emma's house, practically having to drag the unresponsive redhead to her home.

Before they could enter, the door swung open, revealing a distinctly unimpressed Zoe Barnes. "Taylor, come in. It's been too long. We need to have a… family discussion."

-----​

Emmie (not Emma, not after what the other-her had done to that name) was, to put it bluntly, panicking.

Ideally, she'd be able to handle the situation with Mom before anyone noticed. On a more practical level, she was still undergoing the mother of all existential crises after being created, whole cloth, from her older self not ten minutes ago, sorting through the jumble that was her memories of the last five years of Emma's life, and dealing with the issue of how the fuck to handle her brand new superpower.

One of those problems, at least, was relatively easy to handle. She shifted her mental focus away from Strider and towards Accord, the villain known for his ability to think his way to a solution for any and every problem he encountered.

Immediately, she felt the cape on her back shift, the design related to Strider vanishing in favor of Accord's mask. At the same time, Emmie felt her mind… not expand, per se, but it did definitely change in a way she couldn't quite quantify.

This time, when she refocused herself on her issues, they seemed… not less daunting, per se, but she felt better equipped to handle them.

The immediate issue was the note she promised Tails she'd write, which was something she could handle immediately.

Dear Mom, she wrote.

There's a lot of stuff you're not going to have context for in this note, and that's okay. Ask Tails and you should be able to get a mostly complete picture, or if she brings her blonde friend, you should be able to ask her.

Long story short, Emma was caught up in the wrong place (or the right place, depending on your interpretation), and she was in the exact intersection of the detonation of two of Bakuda's bombs. Don't worry, she's fine. Some weird interaction between the two bombs made me, which… well, I'm kinda-sorta a ten-year-old version of Emma with all the memories of what Emma is supposed to have. Call me Emmie, for now.

Then, it turns out that… well, there's no easy way to break this to you, but Emma has been bullying Taylor ever since she met Sophia. See, Dad and Emma got attacked by the ABB but saved by Shadow Stalker, AKA Sophia Hess, and Emma sort of latched onto Sophia, to the point where when Sophia said that she had to prove her strength by getting rid of Tails, she did. That bullying… well, I won't tell you all the details, but it's bad enough that it caused a Trigger Event (which is basically when someone… loses hope, I guess, but even that isn't a complete explanation, and then they get superpowers), and Emma didn't stop there.

Sophia is… removed as an influence in Emma's life, but that's not going to fix what she broke. You need to make sure she gets therapy, and you can't let Dad keep enabling her. Emma thinks she can do whatever she wants, you cannot allow that to continue.

As for me… don't worry about me, I can handle myself. I have powers now, but I can't come home yet. I need to make up for all the bad things that we did to Tails before I can face her again.

Love you, mom,

Emmie.

Emmie absently noted that for some reason Accord's power was making her pool of power options shrink much more slowly than either Ursa Aurora's or Strider's, but set that aside for later interrogation as she set the letter down on her mom's place at the table, then-

"Emma? What's going on?" Emmie's eyes snapped up to meet her mom's, and she internally winced at the necessity of what she was about to do.

"Sorry, mom, I can't stay. Tails is coming over, make sure you read the note before she gets here."

Losing Accord's power was more jarring than gaining it, because her brain abruptly snapped back to what it was before in a not-quite-painful manner, but it was what had to be done.

"Young lady, you will-"

"Don't let Emma drive Taylor away again," Emmie said, power already shifted for Strider's, destination firmly fixed in her mind. "I love you, mom."

Emmie was abruptly in the old warehouse she and Tails had loved running around in whenever they were waiting for Uncle Danny once they had gotten tired of sitting around the DWA office.

She borrowed Labyrinth's power long enough to reach into another dimension and pull a notebook and pen into the warehouse, then released it (and shuddered as the eerie feeling of having so many dimensions overlaying her vanished) in favor of Accord's once again.

​

She had plans to make in order to atone for what she'd done to Tails, after all, and she'd need to write them down.

-----
Semi-canon addition:​

Jack Slash frowned. "Why do I hear boss music?"

Mannequin shrugged.

-----​

And that's that!

This will be continued, eventually (probably).

Read, review, enjoy, and…

WORDS FOR THE WORD COUNT! OMAKES FOR THE OMAKE THRONE! ALL HAIL THE DREAD LORD SHADELIGHT!