This has been edited in a few places to fit with canon better and put people in character. Most recent edit was on November 14th, and made some changes to the ending.
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Tattletale was not having a good day. Something, more likely than not her power, gave her the feeling that she wasn't the only one.
Robbing a casino run by the Azn Bad Boys was such a simple job. They ran in, grabbed the cash, and left before any cape in Brockton Bay heard about it. But unfortunately, it was just a little too high-profile for comfort. They were still considerably beneath Protectorate's radar, but not Lung's. And that was very bad. Because when Lung was after you, there were two options: run or die. And those weren't even mutually exclusive.
Of course, as in most situations, there was a third way. Her power was good at detecting those; seeing beyond expectations and preconceptions to find the hidden strategy that led to the optimal outcome. To be honest, this time it was rather obvious, and not even a particularly bad plan. Catch him while he's still planning and hit him hard enough with Bitch's dogs that nobody gets murdered. Maybe pull off an ambush, but at the very least not let one be done to themselves.
It didn't fill her teammates with a great deal of confidence, but nothing would when they were up against the leader of the ABB. It wasn't like they had any ideas of their own, save for Regent, who could safely be ignored while creating any plan that required the slightest sliver of delicacy.
The better part of the day was spent on reasonable, and some unreasonable, discussion, debate, and eventual convincement of the team. There wasn't much better to do, and the anticipation ruined any fun to be had from video games and television. Even the pizza lay largely untouched in the refrigerator.
Finally, it was dark enough that they could leave for the docks reasonably unseen. Out on a raid to conquer the dragon's lair.
Only, to their surprise, the dragon was elsewhere dealing with a few interlopers, leaving the miniboss and only a handful of fodder.
Oni Lee was a dangerous challenge, but he lacked the power to defeat entire cape teams solo that his leader could boast. And when his sight-based teleportation went up against a power to nullify visibility in entire environments, he was a much more manageable threat. Not to mention three brutes who could tank a few grenades with instinct overriding fear, and the neighborhood sociopathic master who could make every clone drop its tactical suicide grenade. Scaring off the ABB's lieutenant wasn't close to the level of the massive raid they prepared for.
But Lung was still out there. And the things Tattletale's power told her were not pretty.
And that was what led to the four Undersiders, on their three dogs, racing towards the other known meeting spot of the ABB. Only to behold minions on the ground, and Lung surrounded by an angry swarm of bugs.
To be precise, an angry swarm of bugs controlled by a newbie cape. And so far, the newbie wasn't doing half bad. With stings from bees and wasps, bites from fire ants and spiders, and just a few puffs of pepper spray, even a monster as massive as Lung might be taken down. If it weren't for the regeneration that hastened for every inch he grew. Furthermore, he'd be growing metal scales any moment, severely limiting the flesh access currently enjoyed by every stinger in the swarm. And as he was already proving, each burst of flame decimated the armed, puny forces. For now, they weren't impressive, but once he really amped up he might be able to annihilate the new cape's entire legion.
Such a strategy would only go far. Lung was growing and nothing would stop him. He would locate her sooner or later, and by that time he'd be as far out of the new cape's league as dragons were to, well, insects. Burnination wouldn't even be necessary; she could merely be stomped on. Worse, it was their fault. Tattletale had already deduced just how the novice hero had gotten herself into that mess. She'd even say-
"Tattletale, you're the one who figures things out. Figure this out." Regent interrupted her thoughts.
Ah. She had almost forgotten, but to the rest, it wasn't a cape fight, but Lung getting mobbed by a buzzing squad of insects.
"Alright," She answered, turning to face her team and extending an arm towards the nearby fight. "What we've got here is a newbie cape on her first night out." She didn't mention that the girl was a hero, because if her power was right, and it usually was, they might be able to change that.
"A cape who controls bugs? Not very impressive." Grue responded.
"I can see a few uses. Anyway, she doesn't expect to even meet another cape yet. So, by the universe's natural laws of luck and fortune, she finds Lung. She's not the boldest one, and does the smart thing, hiding atop a building. She doesn't want to fight, but then she hears what he says to his minions."
Tattletale put on a deep, throaty voice. "Shoot all the children, and if they're dead, shoot 'em again. Don't give 'em any chances."
She returned to her usual tone. "Now, to her, she has no choice. Child murder is bad, and she's a 'Inaction is as bad as participation' kind of type. Of course, considering the reason we came out tonight, we should all be aware that Lung was really talking about:"
The silence was telling.
"Well, what should we do about it?" Regent asked, "Can we go home now?"
"Not our problem anymore." Bitch said.
"You guys don't feel the slightest guilt? It's our fault. And just because she's saved our asses tonight doesn't mean Lung's finished with us." Grue said.
"We're going." Tattletale said.
"What, why?" Regent complained.
"I said before, her power has a few uses. Forget that. There could be a ton. She's a new cape and she's already being pretty damn clever. To be honest, I think the team might be able to use her. Plus, Grue's right. Lung will come back for us sooner or later. Right now, we actually have a bit of an advantage."
Suddenly, Lung roared. It was loud enough to halt anything resembling conversation. Even Bitch's dogs squirmed and barked before their master managed to calm them. As he broke the eardrums of anybody within several dozen yards, Lung jumped to the side of a building, scaling it in less than a second and clearly moving with purpose. Purpose that implied he was looking for something, but he already knew where it was.
"Shit!" Grue said. "Do we agree we're helping her? Then we're going, now."
Bitch whistled, and the dogs moved. Tattletale looked out to see the flames. Lung was already on top of the building, and the new cape was on the other side. She was about to think of a quick plan, when something very small, yet very important was noticed by her power.
There was the sound of a voice, one that wasn't there before.
There was the sound of a voice, so distant that it could only barely be detected despite the fact that it was definitely a shout. Lung and the girl he was slaughtering didn't hear it. The buzzing of bugs and burning for flames drowned it out. Even the fellow Undersiders were too focused on the fight in front of them to detect the noise. It was the sort of sound that a friend would alert one too, asking if one could hear it too, and it would only be noticeable with concentration and cessation of distraction.
Or, if one had a power excellent for explanation and currently active. A power that readily informed her that the sound came from something falling.
More out of instinct than interest, she let it go a step further. Her power was already at full throttle, leaving the mental blocks down. Lung throwing flames at a tall, thin girl atop the roof was barely registered to her in the heat of the moment.
Hero; falling from very high up.
That caught her attention. She looked up. There was a faint shape just barely visible. And right above it, a light blue flash, lasting just a split second longer before fading away. She didn't notice the girl on the roof trying to climb down a fire escape in vain.
She let her power go even further.
Hero; falling from 1200 meters, going to land on Lung, strong enough to challenge Lung.
"Wait!" She exclaimed to her team, "Something's happening! Hold on."
"Tattletale," Grue responded, eyes still glued to the fight, the girl on the ground and Lung gaining on her. "That girl's going to die. We said we'd do it, let's do it."
Bitch nodded. "Let's move in and kill the bastard. Brutus-"
"No, stop! Two seconds, and you'll see why!"
The team obliged, though unwillingly. Lung approached the newbie hero, claws reaching and flames firing.
Then a large, falling, screaming, orange body landed directly on top of the villain, with an impact that destroyed the very rooftop on which they stood.
"The… fuck?" Regent said, as the being they beheld shouted "BOOYEAH!".
Grue turned towards Tattletale. "As much as it pains me to ever say it, I agree with Regent. The fuck just happened to Lung? I think… was that a tiger?"
The Thinker, however, was not listening to the questions of her teammates. Nor to the ensuing bickering and dick-measuring contest that sprung from Grue's relatively subtle jab.
Tiger-esque form, large muscles, large build; strength greater than Lung's current level. Claws, one on each wrist; capable of cutting steel, extendable and retractable.
No, no, no. That wasn't what she needed. She tried again. Meanwhile, Bitch said something, and the Tiger left the girl on a stable roof, jumping back to his soon-to-be battlefield with Lung.
Tiger-esque form, upright, relatively humanoid; overall biology dissimilar to normal human. Tiger-esque cape not known of; is Changer. Aggressive, single-minded, focused on combat, focused on martial superiority.
"Tattletale, do you think we should move in or not?" Grue asked, firm enough to grab her attention. Bah, just when she was getting something good. She needed more information.
"No, let's stay put. I'm Thinking. Just watch, and definitely don't interfere. This isn't our fight anymore." She answered.
Form focused on martial superiority; normal form not. Form changes personality. Form not preferable for that reason; has other forms; has many other forms. Current form's strength insufficient for beating Lung in less than 90 seconds; other forms capable of beating Lung.
Well, that was powerful. She definitely made the right choice in hanging back. She could enjoy the safety of being far away from Lung, while getting some very interesting information on Brockton Bay's newest cape. Because everything gathered so far was considerably valuable. And soon enough, they could skedaddle before they got caught in the crossfire between two giants. It was nice being part of a team good at escapes.
In the current moment, however, she needed another angle. Her power could give her a flood of answers, but only if she knew how to ask. She needed something to focus on, something that wouldn't give her another list of things with no meaning. Lung wouldn't help, being mostly a known quality. Fighting styles weren't relevant to what she needed. And the new girl, confused as they were, wouldn't tell them a thing about the tiger. No, she needed something else. Something like…
The conspicuous green, metallic symbol on the Tiger's chest. Oh, how Tattletale wished her power protected her from occasional spells of density.
Symbol present on chest; related to transformation. Present on all forms; is control button. Current form's biology unconventional. Current form's bone structure dissimilar to human and tiger. Current form unrelated to Earth life. Current form evolved separately; current form evolved on different planet; current form alien species. Other forms alien species.
That was… something. She would call Tinkertech bullshit, but not even Tinkers had access to Alien DNA. She didn't even think anybody knew there were aliens. In fact, she did a quick check with her power!
At least one alien currently on planet Earth.
This was going to be a whole new headache. There were aliens. Real aliens, and many types strong enough to beat a parahuman as powerful as Lung. Out of instinct and amazement, she looked up into the sky. Up there, there were other sentient species, with planets and lives of their own, maybe even capes. But then again, they could apparently get strong enough to rival the stronger capes without any buffs. Up there, the whole universe had to be filled with them..
Current form does not have flight. No planes in vicinity. Current form previously in air due to portal, portal responsible for slight glow earlier.
...Fuck
Words failed, so she spent the better of five seconds staring off into space. Up into space, rather. The space of her universe, where there were aliens, and one just came to Earth through a portal.
"Tattletale," Regent said nervously, breaking her reverie. "I know how your face when you've got your Thinking cap on, but Lung is looking pretty big…"
She shook herself. "Right. We should move out. No point in staying here. Besides… yup, the Protectorate's gonna show up pretty soon. They don't like Lung when he's angry."
"I'll trust your judgement," Grue said, "I don't think this conflict is about us anymore. Back to base."
"And we didn't even have much fun," Regent joked, "Well, we did send Oni Lee to cry to his mommy…"
Back at the base, Brian and Alec played video games. Not entirely stress-free, but contrary to earlier in the day, they were at a point where gaming could distract them. As usual, Alec twitched Brian's fingers whenever he needed the advantage, while Brian mentally told himself covering the screen with darkness wasn't worth it, if it meant stooping to the other's level.
Meanwhile, Rachel groomed Brutus, having already finished Angelica and Sirius. She hadn't said a word aloud in at least an hour, but if one knew her they would know the neutral expression she wore conveyed satisfaction.
And in her room, Lisa argued with their boss. Sure, the bug Master was a maybe. She wanted to be a hero, but she definitely had some issues, and could be swayed if they were decent people to her. Plus, she'd like the money. People either denied it to their deathbeds or believed it was the only truth, but the reality was that cash changed people's minds. Especially when they needed it.
But she had seen enough. The Changer was too dangerous. Too powerful. And as she realized as they left, way too heroic. Sure, they could try to approach him. She doubted he'd even try to catch them. But they would never be able to recruit him.
She hung up her phone angrily. It didn't feel very angry to tap the touch screen, so she slammed it on her nightstand. Much more satisfying. Almost orgasmic.
She sat down. In the end, the night wasn't a failure. At the very least, they built up some cred against Oni Lee. And they didn't have to go up against Lung. Worst case scenario; the new capes make some changes in the scene of Brockton Bay. It wasn't anything they couldn't work around.
She glanced out her window.
A cyan light flashed high in the sky.
She didn't need her power to know it was the same light that flashed when the Tiger fell in from another universe. She activated it anyway.
Cyan light; emanating from intense energy expenditure; emanating from dimensional anomaly; emanating from portal.
"Shit!" She raced to the window, pulling it open and sticking her head out. If was distant, but energy seemed to be swirling, coalescing into a sphere. It briefly showed a static image. She saw a… warehouse, or something. There were several strange devices visible.
Alien devices.
But there was… a humanoid silhouette. It was moving, yet not moving, falling through the portal yet frozen in time.
Human coming through portal; powered; from same place as previous cross-dimensional hero.
Her nose pressed into the window. On second thought, she slid it open and stuck out her head. There was a human, and yet there was alien tech. She had used her power a bit more, and there definitely wasn't any of that on Earth before.
Portal comes from alternate universe.
Fuuuuuck. No, there wasn't time to be shocked. This portal was open to be fully opened.
Once again, her power was vital for noticing things. The distant speck, black, yet briefly reflecting moonlight, was exactly the man they were looking for.
Lisa aimed her power at one more specific thing. A detail of the newcomer to her earth. A long shot, but why not.
She got something nice.
Bursting through the doorway, she nearly dented the opposing wall. The sudden noise stole the attention of of her teammates, not to mention Rachel's dogs.
"There's another portal, not far away! Let's get going!"
"You serious?" Grue asked.
"We getting another tiger-man?" Regent asked.
"Something like that. We've got to get to where he's landing." Lisa scrambled for her shoes and a coat. It was a chilly night, and-
She slapped her forehead. "Shit! Costumes! I'd prefer to get there quick… Rachel! Throw on your mask and get to the corner of Conch street and Coral avenue. The guy's gonna land there; tell him to wait, and that we have an offer he can't refuse."
"Fine." Rachel answered, before whistling to her dogs and grabbing some shoes.
"Is this guy really so important? Another cape doesn't have to be such a huge deal. Especially at this time of night." Brian said.
"I can't say for sure, but I'm pretty damn sure he'll be a perfect addition to our team." Lisa answered.
Rachel went out the door with her dogs. The canines could be heard outside as their master's Master power enlarged them, then as they charged to their destination, the spot at which the new cape would land.
There was silence for a few moments. They slipped into their costumes.
"Aww yeah!" Alec suddenly shouted. From the couch. Where he had his hands in the air and a game controller on his lap, and his dirty shoes on the coffee table. Where he was not getting ready.
"Regent, tell me why the fuck you're not suiting up." Brian growled.
"Check it out! This is what you get when you leave in the middle of the game, loser!" On the screen were large, flashy letters reading '99x COMBO: SUPER MEGA ULTRA KO!' Alec's character was in a victory pose, while Brian's lay defeated, HP bar as empty as his emotions after the pathetic defeat.
Alec looked up into the eyes of his teammates, and he saw hatred.
Soon enough, the team was ready, costumed up and head throbbing in Regent's case. Tattletale lamented the fact that they sent Bitch out with all of three dogs. Thinkers weren't meant to run. It wasn't right.
Did she deserve to be rushed by her teammates as revenge for rushing them while still in the apartment? Nah, this was just fate being mean.
Huffing and puffing but trying to hide it, she saw the unmistakable silhouettes of Bitch's dogs and their lone rider on a roof in the distance. They looked straight down upon the corner of Conch and Coral. Tattletale wondered if her power was wrong. Her teammate should have been able to see the newcomer already. Hell, she should have been right on top of him. Maybe there wasn't a street lamp to illuminate the positions of any suspicious characters.
But Bitch should have arrived long before they did. Just what was she doing still up there? It was suspicious enough that Tattletale used her power.
It told her what Bitch was doing.
"Dammit, Bitch!" The Thinker exclaimed, right as her teammate's command of, "Hurt!" rung through the night. Three dark shapes disappeared behind the building as the beasts likely charged to maul. Not the welcoming welcome Tattletale planned. Perhaps not even something she could work with.
"Of fucking COURSE she has to pull this now. Move it! We've got to stop her from screwing this up."
"What's she doing?" Grue asked, as they ran for the impending battle. "Why, I mean."
"She doesn't want to share the pay. She doesn't want new people in the group that aren't necessary. She thinks we've been fine so far, so she's decided to pick a fight with the transdimensional fellow to make sure he's worth it."
"...We are going to have a talk with her."
"Right. Now, as soon as you can cover them with you darkness. I don't want to see a thing of either of them. Hopefully we can stop any immediately blows and switch to talking. Now, Regent. I don't care if she's our teammate, trip her up if that's what it'll take to interrupt this fight."
The rest of the dash was silent save for the steps they made. As they gained on the sounds of clashing strikes, worry filled Tattletale. If only she paid attention to what Bitch was thinking before they left. Of course she wouldn't listen to the bare bones instructions she got.
They turned the corner. The dogs were getting punched by a stone boy with large arms.
Brutus was embedded in the rubble of a nearby wall. Judas was next to him but considerably more upright and snarling. Angelica was currently the one getting punched.
"Why! Can't! You! Just! Stay! Down!" The boy shouted. His left arm shifted from an oversized fist to a spiked mace.
Well that would be excellent. Brute, plus possible changer. Now to un-fuck up this fucked up situation.
"Grue, now!" She shouted. He obliged. Physical darkness flowed out of his body, spreading over the stone boy's face before his expression could be could be punctuated with any exclamation. If they were lucky, that would be enough to halt the rhythm of combat and talk things out.
"Wait, I don't think any of them can see but Angelica is about to-" Grue exclaimed, before the boy abruptly shot out of the darkness and hit the base of a street lamp. It flickered, but stayed on.
"Wow, lucky hit." Regent remarked.
The boy rubbed his head and leaned up. "Darkness… that's new. See how those monsters like this." He stuck his hands on the telephone pole. From the points of contact, a wave spread across his skin and clothes, changing the surface from stone to metal. "Ugh… steel'd be better, but whatever."
Grue made a movement to cover him in shadow again, but Tattletale raised her hand to stop him. "Don't need to do that indefinitely or anything. Hold off unless it's necessary."
As she spoke, however, the boy perked up, looking very, very frustrated. "Aww, man, more of you? I'm getting sick of this."
He smashed his arms into the ground, embedding his fists underneath. Confused at what he intended, Tattletale used her power.
"..Uh oh. Regent, can you interfere? I don't like where he's going with that." She asked.
"Something's weird about his biology. It feels… inhuman, and that's not even counting how weird it is that he's made of metal." He answered, before flicking his elbow. There was a noticeable twitch in the left metallic arm, but nothing that stopped it from slowly raising the asphalt, still connected to its flatter areas. It groaned in a rocky way one usually heard only next to sounds of machinery. With a small grunt, the metal boy hoisted it, arms extended toward the sky.
"How… do you like this?" He growled out, before taking a step back and, with gusto, slamming the road back to where it belonged. The impact made a loud bang, followed by a steady rumble as the asphalt formed a massive physical shockwave.
The Undersiders could have dodged long before their ferrous friend was ready, but it never sank into any of their heads that he was really going to attack that way. A physical shockwave was… unconventional, when most brutes would be picking up bits of the road to throw. It didn't trigger many warning instincts, which would have protected them. Jumping at the last moment would do nothing. And it didn't.
Three teenaged villains, down but not out.
Metal-boy's hand started changing again, exaggerating the shape of his fist into a hammer. He jumped over the cracked road he just created and ran towards the aching Undersiders.
Mid-stride, something snatched him out of the air. His torso was engulfed by the maw of a large, angry dog. Judas has managed to figure out that metal-scented moving objects needed to be crushed, dooming the fate of any cars it would encounter in the following weeks.
"Agh! Bad dog!" He hammered its face, but without proper leverage it failed to free him.
"Shut the fuck up!" Bitch screamed, having escaped the darkness not four moments before. "You don't fucking tell my dogs when they are and aren't bad!"
As Bitch whistled for her other dogs, Grue picked himself up and rushed forward while Judas ran the metallic menace into a brick wall. He threw up a cloud of darkness around the point of impact, and stormed in. Judas soon came trotting out, head tilted in confusion, then nothing.
No sound was heard, but through the ground Tattletale felt a vibration. Finally, the shadows dissipated. The metal boy was no longer metal, now in a black shirt, blue jeans, and a hold that pinned him to the wall. His arms were thick but not toned, and evidently not strong enough to rip himself out of Grue's grip. Grunting, he turned his head from the wall, his right eye becoming visible. The color was as dark as his hair.
Regent took initiative, for once, and stepped up as he twirled his electric scepter. He activated it to showcase the charge, intending dramatic effect, but Tattletale stepped in his way. "No need to escalate this with further conflict. Remember, that's not why we're here."
"Oh, yeah?" The formerly metal boy spat out, "Mind telling me just why you had to pick a fight? I can't help but doubt this was all because of some huge misunderstanding."
Nobody answered. Bitch scowled at that fact, but stayed shut.
"Seriously? You've got to be kidding me."
Grue let go and backed off. The boy shook himself and flexed his neck, then turned to face the villainous team. "Then why did your friend, here-" He gestured to Bitch, "-Have her dog-beasts attack me?"
Bitch bared her teeth, but still stayed quiet. Tattletale responded instead. "She decided she wanted to see if you were tough enough–which was not why we came out here to greet you. We're sorry for that. Truth is, we just want to talk to you."
He shook his head, then sat down on a large broken rock. "What's so important that you just had to be my welcoming committee?"
"Don't you want a place to stay?"
Just as he was making himself comfortable, he twisted himself to look. "How would you know I need that?"
Tattletale shrugged. "Portal shows up in sky. Guy falls out of portal, screaming. I don't think you're at home here."
"Then why-" He gestured to Bitch, "-did your friend here attack me with her creatures?"
"She has an issue with not wanting to work with people who aren't strong enough. Look, I'm sorry. I can tell you're alright, and believe it or not, I don't want to leave you out in the cold."
He looked at her. Even with a mask on, she stared back impressively. "Then just what is it you want from me?"
"Why don't we continue this on the way to our place. It's chilly here. By the way, you can call me Tattletale."
"I can see why," He grunted. Then, he extended a hand. "Allow me to introduce myself. Kevin E. Levin."
Expressions of confusion passed over the faces of the Undersiders. Regent spoke up. "Wait, the fuck? Kevin Eleven? That's what you call yourself?"
Kevin slammed his fist into his forehead. "DAMN it! I meant Kevin Levin! Levin! It's my name!"
"That's… not much better. Basically sounds the same." Grue remarked.
"Just… shut up." Kevin said.
Anyway, it's finally done. Sorry it took so long. I'm glad Chapter 1 got such a positive response.
The original plan was to pick up with Ben immediately and save Tattletale's chapter for later. However, I went with this because I didn't want to write what Ben immediately does because it's hard and everything I tried didn't work. I feel that this chapter lets me get away with skipping straight to the next day for Ben, next time. Already started work on that, with the plot generally outlined in my head. So hopefully, it will come a bit quicker.
I noticed I didn't do Velocity's personality right in Chapter 1. I mean, he had one line, but it was wrong. His personality wasn't specified much in canon, but Wildbow once specified a few details, and I wasn't aware of them at the time of writing. Think it's worth going back to change it?
Can you spot all of the Spongebob references? Probably. They're not the subtlest. I'd ask you to spot the One Piece reference, but sadly that was phased out in the editing.
Anyway, question time. This won't be an immediate thing, but as we get into the story, do you think Ben should keep his identity secret, or public? This is not a poll; to me, reasons have more weight than quantity.
Edit: To all the people who still keep saying I messed up Tattletale's power: I am fully aware, and I plan on getting around to fixing it eventually. I'm just really lazy.
