The most important thing she needed also happened to be one of the few her vault couldn't supply — at least not directly: reputation. She could proclaim her ownership of the city from the rooftops and slaughter anyone who disagreed, but without reputation, without a story, she'd just be another crazy parahuman the PRT had to put down. They wouldn't succeed, of course, that wasn't in question. But Taylor understood what too few parahumans that came into powerful abilities did, something the PRT understood full well: you could have all the personal power you wanted, but in order to truly get things done on a large scale, you needed power over people. That was what reputation would get her. With reputation, she could scare off people halfway across the world without lifting a finger, people she'd otherwise have to spend time crushing under her boot. She could get control of a city instead of a pile of ash. With a big enough reputation, she could even scare the government into backing off, though that, admittedly, would be much more problematic. Regardless, this was the first step, and she needed to get it done, the faster the better. Taylor Herbert doesn't do things by half measures.
She'd acquired some reputation, along with a dangerous enemy, with her killing of Hookwolf. Empire 88 would try to suppress the information, because the killing of a prominent member would weaken their reputation as much as it added to her own. But too many people had seen them, at least 30, and short of killing them all, Taylor didn't see how Empire 88 could realistically stop the information from getting out. Because if High School had taught her anything, it was that people were incurable gossips, and would be compelled to tell someone a secret, even if a superior told them not to. Especially if a superior had told them not to.
But it wasn't enough. Hookwolf just wasn't infamous enough, not on the scale she needed. Ideally, she could just fight off an endbringer single handedly, but that was at least a month away, last she checked. Taylor sighed in disappointment. Why couldn't anything be easy? She briefly wondered if her sudden upshoot in power had caused her to lose perspective before dismissing the thought. Perspective was for those too weak to forge their own path.
The simplest way to both grow her reputation and start Brockton Bay's transformation into a city worth ruling was immediately obvious: just exterminate the parahuman gangs from the city. Yeah, when you have enough power, plans don't need a huge amount of elaboration. She'd never thought of herself as an exterminator, but no one had ever said taking over a city would be simple or easy, so she accepted the menial job of getting rid of the vermin graciously.
If anyone had bothered to ask, this was what Taylor would've told them was the reason she was currently standing ten feet away from a fifteen foot dragon, shooting swords at a pesky Oni-lee teleporting all over the place and exploding like a glitchy Michael Bay movie. Everything had started innocently enough, with her wandering ABB territory in the middle of the night wearing solid gold armor. You know, whatever most fifteen year-old girls do on a lazy wednesday night. She'd noticed a conspicuous lack of criminal activity in supposedly gang-ridden territory until, of course, she didn't.
The first sign that something supernatural was going on was the explosions. A few blocks away, three rapid fire explosions followed by a ringing gunshot. Curiously, her heart palpating in her chest, Taylor jumped onto a rooftop easily, roof jumping to the area of interest.
Taylor had taken up roof jumping after getting gawked at had lost its novelty, and found it a fast and suitably dramatic form of transportation. For that, some light damage to other peoples rooftops was acceptable.
The scene she came upon was chaotic, four, no, five capes fighting in a parking lot in front of a warehouse. She recognized Lung, hulking out at around 9 feet tall fighting a man wearing a black breastplate over a blood red shirt, wielding a katana in one hand and a gun in the other. He moved like a breakdancer, dodging with flashy flips and rolls as he cut Lung apart with strategic precision. Victor. He must have had invulnerability or some short range telekinesis, because he moved through Lung's fire without flinching. The cape seemed to be holding his own, for now. But there was only so long you could fight someone like Lung with just skill, and that time was approximately however long it took him to turn into a 15 foot tall pyrokinetic dragon. After that, even with invulnerability, well, good luck.
Oni Lee, Lung's second in command, seemed to be handling the other three capes, flitting around the battlefield exploding at extremely inconvenient times. She recognized one of the capes as Stormtiger, an Empire 88 cape obviously going for some type of wildman theme with a white tiger mask and no shirt to speak of. He was covered in scars, but Taylor examined him appreciatively none the less. You didn't have to like someone to appreciate their abs. The second was a young woman with a cage covering her face, and she seemed to be faring the best out of all of them. She was always at the right place at the right time, ridiculously fast reflexes and some type of sensor power letting her know where not to be when things went boom. Finally she saw someone who had to be her age in a black and red robe, floating on a trash bin, two anvils rotating around her like planets around the sun.
The last one was hidden in the shadows off to the side, armed but otherwise not participating. If Victor was here, this could only be his power granting partner, Othala.
The fighting was extremely intense, they were all clearly trying to kill each other. Perfect.
She concentrated inwardly, and found herself trapped in a dark, humid place. Don't panic. She reached out to the gilded gate she knew was there and mentally unlocked it. The lock tumbled into place and opened with a sound like a gong, echoing deeply through her, resonating with every part of her as the power of her vault opened up before her, filled with golden light. None of this was actually happening, of course. This was merely a mechanism she had figured out, a type of self-hypnosis that allowed her access to her power. She'd found, through some experimentation, that opening her vault took energy, but once it had been opened keeping it active required only a small but constant amount. Still, enough that it was more efficient to lock it up then to keep it open, constantly draining her.
Feeling the first small stirrings of exhilaration, she summoned two portals and shot a pair of spears into both fights, not aiming at any specific person. Sneak attacks were below her; two man sized craters in the asphalt got everyone's attention handily. She jumped down into the street, a lamppost illuminating her appearance for her audiences benefit. Every fighter there was tense, eyes darting between their allies, their enemies and finally her. Victor spoke first, "You're the cape that took out Hookwolf."
Taylor smiled amusedly, "You're an observant one, aren't you?" She luxuriated in her confidence, a natural side-effect of her power that changed everything having to do with social interactions. She could be herself, and not worry about what anyone might say or think, what they might gossip about later. Fears and anxiety that had been the bane of her existence as a teenager, but especially that friendless, isolated year under Emma and Sophia's boots, were now irrelevant, impotent. And she loved it. She glanced sideways at Lung, who was getting agitated at the interruption. If this went on much longer he'd attack anyone, just to prevent his steady decrease in power without a fight.
Victor glared at her dispassionately, "You do realise the Empire will rip you to sheds? Regardless of your power, we have more capes in our ranks than any one gang in the city, including the Protectorate, with more reinforcements around the country than all Heroes and Villains in Brockton Bay combined. You don't stand a chance." Suddenly his eyes gained a fire, as if she'd personally offended him, "And I will be the one to end your miserable life."
Maybe he should steal some talent at giving out death threats, because Taylor was hardly shaking in her boots.
"Please try. I'll enjoy watching your so-called 'Empire' crumble as I kill off every parahuman in your ranks. Also, give Kaiser a message, boy," She delighted in the way he squirmed at being condescended to by someone clearly many years his junior. "Tell him that he has ten days to vacate the city of all members of the 'Empire 88'. Anyone that remains will be killed. Be thankful we met here so I could give you this warning, I was tempted to just start slaughtering you." She didn't know how serious she was about that threat. She'd certainly do something to them, but even with her newly dubious morals killing such a huge number of people seemed… excessive. Not to mention tedious. But she had to project the image of a ruthless overlord, of someone confident they could take on every gang in the city and win, no sweat.
She wondered to herself how much of that was an act, and how much was just her new self shining through. She wondered if she even cared.
Victor clearly didn't take well to being threatened, and the other Empire 88 members looked ready to jump her. He glanced at them, his eyes shifting to Lung, and finally to the ground. He grit his teeth, clenching his hands into fists. Whatever he was about to do, it was going to cost him. "Cricket, Rune, Stormtiger. Retreat, formation Loki." Their eyes widened, as did Lung's, and Oni Lee was nowhere to be found.
Stormtiger formed a concussive blast of air, so loud her ears were still ringing five minutes later. He and Cricket jumped backwards onto the young hero's anvils, Taylor thought she heard one of them grunt 'Rune', and she flew away with them. Victor, for his part, dropped a flash grenade and escaped using no doubt top notch parkour skills.
Hm. Well, that was a pleasant surprise. She'd expected it to take a bit longer for her enemies to start running from her on sight. "Well, it looks like it's just you and me, neanderthal."
Lung's eyes narrowed, and when he spoke Taylor had to struggle to understand what he was saying through his deformed mouth. "Eee im in extremely dang-guerous enemy te mAaake." I'm an extremely dangerous enemy to make.
That was true. He was known, besides being the founder of the ABB and a guy who could singlehandedly take an entire protectorate team, for having gone head to head with Leviathan during his sinking of Japan. Maybe this would be a challenge?
"All I've seen of you so far is a stupid lug standing around like a little bitch as his enemies get one over on him." She wasn't sure if that was actually the case, but it seemed like a pretty safe bet. Regardless, it would piss him off. Fighting someone like Lung would definitely increase her infamy. But not yet. She needed him stronger if this was to have any impact. Then she felt the air stir behind her, and turned around just in time to get a face full of bomb from Oni Lee.
She returned to consciousness buried under a wall on the other side of the street.
...What?
Those weren't normal bombs. They were parahuman made. She could tell, because she hurt all over, especially around the dent in her armor. So a tinker, probably specializing in bombs because any normal tinker tech wouldn't even budge her. When did the ABB get a tinker specializing in bombs, of all things? She must be new. Taylor briefly wondered whose stroke of genius it was to get a bomb tinker to team up with Oni Lee. That, there, was some crazy synergy even she could appreciate. She smiled, but the smile had a dangerous edge to it. This was getting very interesting.
She stood up, throwing off the crumbled wall and swiping the stray dust off her shoulders. Meanwhile, Lung became a porcupine of deadly swords and Oni Lee frantically teleported out of the way. He teleported behind her again, this time ready to slit her throat, but she unsheathed a sword from a portal next to her and cut him in half. He didn't try that again.
Lung was already starting to recover, blue fire covering him in a ghostly armor. He was now fifteen feet tall, and growing as she watched. Nothing like getting impaled to give someone a sense they might be in a fight. He charged forward, unnaturally fast for his lumbering size and moving with serpentine grace. Blue fire reflected eerily off his silver scales. She let him get a little closer this time, before he once again found himself riddled with an uncomfortable amount of deadly weapons. And down an arm, and the right side of his face...and probably a kidney, too. That one might take him awhile.
Her vindictiveness born of being knocked through a wall was temporarily sated. That said, they most likely wouldn't survive the night if she had anything to say about it. She took out her mirror, and found Oni Lee.
/
Oni Lee stood in an apartment building across the street from the warehouse, staring down at the Golden woman who'd scared off the Empire 88 and taken out Lung. He was angry. No, he was furious. He'd been handling them. He'd been one explosion away from killing three important capes in the Empire's hierarchy. But because of that girl, that girl who couldn't be more than 16 years old, they'd escaped.
He slammed his fist against the wall. Shit, get it together. He had to concentrate on the now. Lung was recovering, and he'd be back up and stronger than ever in no time. That's what made him so useful. But what was really bothering him was the way she just stood there, staring into her mirror as Lung recovered a meter away. Was she just playing with them? Did there exist someone strong or stupid enough to try and fight Lung in a battle of attrition?
Maybe it was an honor thing. Oni Lee had seen it before. Refusal to strike a downed enemy, bound by pointless rules into what they thought was a "fair fight". Oni Lee had killed a lot of fair fighters.
He was shocked when she glanced up, staring directly at him. Did she know he was there? Enhanced sight? His question was answered with a golden sword through the face. The Oni Lee clone crumpled into burnt carbon.
He appeared 20 meters above her, free falling towards her position, an active bomb strapped to his chest. She detected him again, shooting swords skyward. God, she was as bad as Cricket. How was he supposed to explosively ambush people with all these extra-sensory powers cramping his style? That Oni Lee died, another one appearing 5 meters above her, basically on top of her. She looked up, this time, and jumped back almost frantically, if it were not done with the poise of a ballroom dancer. Oni Lee collided with the ground and exploded. He appeared on the roof of the warehouse just in time to be blinded by the tinker made energy. He exhaled in frustration. This bitch was powerful. Ridiculously powerful.
Not only did she have a ranged attack that could take out most brutes, her armor granted her a durability that could stand up to Bakuda's bombs. Bakuda's bombs were strong enough to damage Endbringers. As if that wasn't enough, she seemed to have increased strength and agility, and at least one item that granted her extra-sensory perception at a reasonable distance. And there was no telling what other bullshit she'd pull out of her bag of tricks. If he'd been alone, he'd have no chance of winning. But he wasn't. Not by a long shot.
Lung lumbered to his feet, towering a few inches above the buildings surrounding him and growing. And he was pissed. He breathed blue fire and swept his head in a half-circle, lighting up the entire street. By setting everything on fire he was simultaneously limiting his enemies movements and increasing his tactical adaptability, making the battlefield his ideal staging ground. He stretched out his wings and breathed fire into the sky, roaring, informing the whole city that he was on a rampage in the hope the protectorate would come and try to help. The more the merrier. For Lung, at least. Oni Lee heard a siren, and guessed they had already initiated evacuation.
Lung turned to the golden cape and charged, an aura of fire surrounding him. She skipped backwards, launching dozens of weapons at a hit, and they were effective. But not effective enough. Lung's regeneration sped up exponentially the stronger he got, so at this points the weapons were still painful, still damaging, but ultimately only a minor inconvenience. Wounds steamed shut as fast as they were made.
The still human sized cape's eyebrows scrunched in frustration, and she searched for something that would hurt Lung, and keep him hurt. She searched through her vault, mentally examining and dismissing hundreds of weapons —giving herself a huge headache in the process— before she came on one that would serve. A golden pool of light appeared directly before her, and she grabbed the handle of the sword it presented.
The blade was beautiful, more the idea of what a sword should be than any actual weapon crafted by men. It was a broadsword, almost as long as Taylor was tall, its blade shining imperceptibly in the night with a simple black leather grip. This was Gram, the sword used by the hero Simurg to slay Fafnir. It was the ultimate dragon-slaying sword. It was perfect.
Taylor brought the sword over her head like it weighed nothing, and prepared for what looked like an overhead strike. The sword glowed with light the color of the moon, growing stronger with every passing second. Lung looked upon it, and he must have sensed something was not right, because he charged straight at her faster than he'd moved the whole fight, but it was too late to stop the threat to his life. She swung down growling "Gram!", and with the motion came an ocean of light that atomized everything in that general direction. Lung brought his wings before him as a makeshift shield and his flames exploded into motion, flaring with the brightness of the sun as the flew to counter the attack. The two energies met halfway between them, and the world went white.
Oni Lee came to as his vision blurred into existence, his ears still ringing from that sound like a thunderclap. He'd managed to get out of the way, barely. He looked down at the devastation those attacks had caused. A block of the city was just...gone. There was no rubble, just a half circle of scarred earth, burned black as charcoal and glowing red in some places where the heat had melted dirt and stone. Standing right in front of the half circle was the girl, the golden cape that had been fighting Lung. She looked tired, but otherwise pristine. She seemed to be observing the damage she'd done, slightly surprised if anything.
And Lung was gone. He had to be. No one could survive something like that. That woman, that monster in human flesh, had just managed a feat not even Endbringers could boast. She beaten Lung. Not prematurely, before he could power up, but in his full, terrifying glory. Oni Lee hadn't thought that was possible. She turned around, apparently done for the day, when the ground rumbled.
Her head snapped back to the battlefield, and he saw the earth crack as a huge, blackened arm, the silver scales broken, reached out to grab her. She panicked, launching weapons at it, but they had no effect. The arm ignored them, taking the damage and regenerating as more of the body climbed out of the partially melted rock. Lung's draconic face pulled itself from the crumbling earth, larger than Oni Lee had ever seen him. He grabbed the cape in a single monstrous hand and squeezed. Hard. The girl let out a small scream before closing her mouth, looking strained. Lung brought her before his face, until she was right in front of his huge draconic mouth.
Steam raised from the cooling ground as a fire still raged across the city, and in the center of the devastation stood a twenty meter tall Lung, with four arms, two pairs of wings and a very cruel, very deformed simile of a smile on his draconic face.
