Interlude 1: Vista
— 19 —
Bzz.
The heavy metal door behind Vista shut, and its twin in front of her opened. Containment foam nozzles pointed towards the new entrance.
"Fifteen minutes," the voice over the intercom said.
She nodded, holding tight the tennis ball in her hand as she stepped through.
The six-by-six cell seemed hardly big enough for the tiny golden lab inside. A vent in the ceiling constantly pumped in fresh, if cold, air. Once more, Vista wondered how strong the metal walls were, and why anyone thought they were needed for a pup.
Puppy Arson—god, how she hated that that name had stuck—rolled off his back and barked at her, wagging his tail so hard she swore his butt was vibrating. As the door closed, the little dog ran up to her, nearly falling down in his excitement.
Vista felt the room with her power and expanded it with a thought, in blatant defiance of the very laws of physics. To an outsider, it would appear no different. To her and the dog, they had all the possible room in the world.
"Heya, boy!" she cooed, scratching his ear. He woofed. "You want the ball? Huh? Huh?"
Again, he barked.
"Go get it!"
He ran after the ball, seeming oblivious to the changes in the room's dimensions.
Vista watched him. And of course, it was Vista, not Missy Biron. She was decked out in her full costume, green and teal, with a skirt. It was protocol: Puppy Arson was officially a villain, and she had to dress up as the hero.
Protocol was a dick.
The pup came back. She told him he was a good boy, pet him, and threw the ball somewhere else. Full of glee, he ran off after it. Puppy Arson's mouth could barely fit over the ball, and it almost hurt to watch him fumble around before finally managing to get a grip on it and trotting on back. She made a note to herself to see if she could buy a smaller plastic bone for the next time she came to visit. That'd probably suit him better.
Throw. Fetch. Throw. Fetch. Good boy.
It struck her as mechanical, almost boring in variety. But Puppy Arson couldn't have been happier. The little guy hadn't had any visitors besides her and Armsmaster—she'd asked. No one should be subjected to Armsmaster as their only company.
Vista took out her phone and snapped a photo of the little guy just because. Then when he came back, she repeated the cycle.
She was rubbing his belly, listening to his happy barks, when the intercom came to life.
"Time is up. Puppy Arson, please move to the other side of the room, or you will be shocked." The speaker sounded almost bored.
Vista looked to the tinkertech collar on his neck for a moment before her eyes fell to the concrete ground. Slumping slightly, she let the room shrink back to its original dimension.
"Sorry, boy," she said. "Rules are rules."
She picked him up and took him to the other side of the room. Vista set him down next to his bowl of food and water and with the most stern, serious look she could muster, commanded, "Stay!"
Puppy Arson sat down, tilting his head.
Vista turned and walked away. The door opened for her, and she passed its threshold. It closed behind her. After a moment, the other door opened, and she saw Aegis standing there, his arms folded. He didn't look happy. Not angry, nor disappointed, just… something unpleasant.
"You can't see him anymore," he said as Vista walked through. "The Director wanted me to let you know."
She looked up at him, eyes wide. "What?"
"You're on the news. Voting down Armsmaster," he said in a calm, if distance voice. He seemed to hesitate for a moment. "I can't say that it doesn't suck, but… your puppy privileges have been revoked."
"Piggot can't do that!" she almost shouted.
Aegis' look took on a slightly harder edge. "She can and has. And maybe if you liked being able to do what you want, you shouldn't have faked your parents' signatures on the Endbringer consent form. And, if I understand correctly, others as well."
His words stung more than they should've. "What's the point? If I had to ask permission for everything, I still wouldn't be allowed to do what I want. And then there wouldn't even be a chance of getting away with it."
When Aegis didn't reply, she frowned. "I liked you better before you were team leader."
With that, she walked off past him.
Aegis, nearly out of earshot, sighed. "Me too."
— 20 —
Missy Biron returned home. Her father was out working, and her mother was almost too busy watching something on TV to notice. As she stood there, at the edge of the living room, it dawned on her that this was deliberate.
"Hey, Mom. I'm back," she said, trying to sound happy. Her mother continued to stare at the television. "You wanted me to tell you when I got home, so… here I am."
Her mother still continued to stare at the TV, maybe with a slightly tighter mouth. Missy's shoulders slumped a little.
What was she even watching?
It was some news segment, featuring crying, concerned-looking children, set to the backdrop of a dog park. The top story today seemed to revolve around said kids worrying the Protectorate—or, really, Armsmaster—would steal their dogs, too.
Crocodile Tears, Missy thought, rolling her eyes.
"Well," Missy said, struggling to find something that didn't sound stupid or forced, "I'll be up in my room. See you at supper?"
Her mother picked up the remote and increased the volume.
"Or not," Missy sighed.
Without another word, she turned and made her way up to her room upstairs. She plopped down onto her bed and let her head hit the pillow. Then, she hit the pillow a few more times, for good measure. How long did she have until school began again? A week and a few days?
She looked to her computer, sitting over on her desktop. She could go online, but it seemed that all her usual haunts were talking about nothing but Void Cowboy, and that asshole had been dead quiet ever since the Simurgh came and left. Nobody had heard a word from him since, or if they had, they'd been keeping it to themselves.
Missy took out her phone and flipped through her dismally short list of contacts who weren't her parents or teammates. No new messages. No one to really text.
She sighed and found her picture of Puppy Arson, as happy as could be, a ball in his little mouth.
The poor dog. Fuck.
Stupid Armsmaster. Stupid Piggot. Stupid Aegis.
She tapped the puppy's smiling face on the screen, and a little overlay appeared on the phone. "Share this image?"
Missy thought about it as she lay there.
Why the hell not?
She touched the overlay, then selected the PHO messenger app. It opened up, along with a message pane.
It asked for a recipient, and she typed out XxVoid_CowboyxX.
Subject?
Puppy Arson.
She considered what to say. Something short, simple or… something honest? Missy wasn't sure what to say, how to say it, or anything. She doubted Void Cowboy was even reading his messages now.
Sweeping_Vista: I hope they give you your dog back soon.
They're being real stupid about it. It's been days, and they're still trying to figure out how to get the perfect PR spin on things. Play his return for maximum effect.
Until then, Puppy Arson's going to be alone. In a cell.
I don't want this to sound mean, like, 'haha we have your dog,' but I visited him today. And I took a photo. He looks really happy in it, but I know he must miss being outside. And he probably misses you too.
By the end, her thumbs hurt. But there. It was sent. And… did she feel better? A little bit, she thought. It was nice to speak to someone, even if they never replied. At least Void Cowboy wouldn't be ignoring her personally.
Missy reached over to her desk, bending space as she did it, and set her phone down. She needed a break from everything. A nap seemed really good right about now.
She wasn't sure how long it was—fifteen minutes maybe—but her phone buzzed. Blinking, she sat up and grabbed it.
Void Cowboy has actually replied.
XxVoid_CowboyxX: Holy shit, it's Puppy Arson! Thanks for sending me this. I was really starting to worry about the guy.
Missy blinked. She wondered if this was how some of her fans felt when she personally answered their letters, instead of firing off one of the regular PR-approved templates. There were so many things that the world wanted to ask Void Cowboy, and here she was, with a direct line to him.
What to say? "So, can you predict the other Endbringers? How can you tell about Leviathan?"
Nah.
Sweeping_Vista: He's really fun and cute. Likes to play fetch a lot.
XxVoid_CowboyxX: Sounds like you've been taking good care of him, at least.
Sweeping_Vista: Yeah... It's been great.
This conversation felt almost bland. Normal, even. She had imagined a chat with the precog of the hour would be more profound.
It was a minute or so before he replied.
XxVoid_CowboyxX: "Been"?
Sweeping_Vista: Yeah. My "puppy privileges have been revoked" after the whole Armsmaster votey deal
XxVoid_CowboyxX: Shit. Sorry to get you in trouble over that.
Sweeping_Vista: No, I did a lot of things I shouldn't have, not just that. The vote didn't help though.
Sweeping_Vista: Everybody's mad at me now.
Missy sighed.
Sweeping_Vista: Mom's not talking to me. They didn't want me going to Endbringer fights, so when they saw me on TV...
XxVoid_CowboyxX: Oh :(
XxVoid_CowboyxX: But you know angsting is for the weak, right? Real heroes don't sit around and brood about things.
Sweeping_Vista: wat
Missy could hardly keep herself from laughing.
Sweeping_Vista: Aren't you, like, one step away from villainy yourself?
XxVoid_CowboyxX: I am?
Sweeping_Vista: Yeah, being friends with the Undersiders and stuff. And you sure didn't seem like a fan of the heroes, or you would have gone with Legend afterwards and explained what you meant.
XxVoid_CowboyxX: Hey, I'm not a villain. I'm just awesome.
XxVoid_CowboyxX: But yeah, you need to cheer up, missy!
She paused. Had he just used her name, or was he using a little nickname?
XxVoid_CowboyxX: You know what? I know someone else who would love to see that photo. A girl about your age, too!
He texted Missy a phone number.
Missy sat there, considering the number. Void Cowboy seemed almost eager to change the subject. Before she could give it more thought, he messaged her again.
XxVoid_CowboyxX: She's been wanting a puppy for a while, too.
XxVoid_CowboyxX: Oh. And it's actually her birthday today. I think.
XxVoid_CowboyxX: Actually, wait, can you do me a solid?
Sweeping_Vista: ?
XxVoid_CowboyxX: That girl whose number I gave you, Dinah Alcott. She's having a party today. Why not go there—as yourself. No costume, no powers, just a girl having fun with a new friend.
She hesitated, trying to think up a response. Missy started to type when he interrupted her.
XxVoid_CowboyxX: If she asks, tell her that Void Cowboy sent ya.
And with that, XxVoid_CowboyxX logged out.
Missy frowned. The guy had just ran off. Hardly an explanation. While they were talking. She felt a touch offended as she considered the phone number he'd given her.
Dinah Alcott.
But the more she thought about it, the more it occurred to her that if her mom was going to pretend she didn't exist… why not just roll with it and sneak out? It wasn't like anyone was going to come to her room looking for her.
Hell, maybe this way she could even get dinner and cake.
— 21 —
"Um, hi?" Missy said a little awkwardly to the girl in the doorway.
The other girl, a somewhat pale brunette in a blue blouse and skirt, looked Missy up and down. Her straight hair seemed a little done up, which made sense for a girl on her birthday. "Well, at least you're not wearing a trenchcoat. And you're actually a girl my age? Come on in!"
Missy wasn't sure how to reply, but she allowed herself to be shepherded in through the door. She settled for, "Oh, and happy birthday?"
The girl smiled. "Thanks. You got a name?"
"I'm Missy Biron," she said after a brief hesitation.
"And I'm Dinah Alcott, in case you don't know or forgot." Again, she smiled. "I see you don't have a gift but that's cool. It's cool to even have you."
Something seemed to click in Missy's head. "Wait, you look kind of familiar. Weren't you the girl on TV crying about how scared you were Armsmaster was gonna steal your dog?"
Dinah gave her a shit-eating grin. "Ah, so you're a fan of my work, huh?"
"And… the guy who invited me here said you wanted a dog. You don't even have one!"
Again, Dinah smiled. "Nope. But I got cake. Want some?"
Missy nodded a little dumbly. "But… you lied on TV?"
"So?" Dinah asked. "My uncle does it all the time. He's the mayor. And look at it this way: are you happy with what Armsmaster did?"
"Well, no," Missy replied.
"Then that settles it!" Dinah took Missy's hand and all but dragged her through the house—a very nice, sizable house. Dinah's folks clearly had some spending money—and took her out to the back porch. There were a few other girls here. Dinah seemed eager to introduce them.
"This one's Hannah; she's my neighbor and she likes chocolate. This one is Louise. I think she's from Canada or France—I don't really know the difference. And this one here is Clara from school. She has the same last name as me, but we're totally unrelated. She likes pepperspray. Isn't that cool?"
"Yeah, cool," Clara said in a borderline monotone, moving one of her black curls away from her piece of cake. She was wearing a t-shirt and jeans that went well with her almost boyish figure.
Missy blinked. "Um, yeah. Cool."
"Everyone, this is Missy. Missy, everyone else."
She got a little "Hello" from the other girls, who, aside from Clara, all seemed far more concerned with their cake than with Missy.
"You're giving her cake, just like that?" Clara asked with a snort. "Shouldn't we at least check if she's cool enough first?"
Missy tried not to bite her lip. "What's that supposed to mean?
Clara scoffed. "Dinah, where'd you find this girl?"
A part of Missy felt offended. Before she could say anything, Dinah handed her a generous piece of cake and spoke for her.
"Through some crazy teenage boy we both know for whatever reason," she said, smiling.
"Ah," Clara said, "so this is the one your boyfriend sent over."
"He's not my boyfriend!" Dinah protested.
"I'm surprised he's still a boy at all after I finished with him," Clara said. She mimed the action of grinding something to a fine paste. "He's tough, though, I'll give him that." Then, with a vaguely New York sounding accent, she said to Missy, "How about you? Are you tough?"
Dinah rolled her eyes. "I know we just watched The Godfather, but do you really gotta sound like that?"
The Canadian one, Louise, looked to Missy and spoke up. "She does this when she likes a movie. Don't let it bother you."
"Eh, a wise guy, huh?" Clara replied, making a weird claw gesture at Louise.
Missy relaxed a little and took a bite of cake. It was pretty good, really, though obviously store bought. She wondered where Dinah's mother was. Still, she finished the desert pretty quickly. She was tempted to ask for more when Dinah spoke up.
"Ah, you're done. Hey, this might be weird, but you wanna go up to my room? I wanna ask you something in private."
"Uh, I guess, sure," Missy replied.
Standing up, Dinah pointed to Louise. "And don't even think about following up to listen at the door. If you try anything, Clara will break your kneecaps."
"It's true, I will," Clara added in a casual voice, serving herself another piece of cake.
Dinah beckoned Missy to follow, which she did. She led Missy through the house to her room, somewhere on the second floor.
The girl's room seems pretty normal. A bed, a few posters, a dresser, a closet—the works. There was even a pink beanbag chair. The poster of Alexandria on her wall was even signed! Missy wondered if that had something to do with Dinah being the Mayor's niece. But really, the most striking thing of note were the thirteen gigantic and empty slushie cups.
Before Missy could question the décor, Dinah closed the door and asked, "So, how do you know Greg?"
"Greg? Who's—" Her eyes widened a fraction. "That's his name, right?"
"Well, I have him in my phone as 'Crazy Puppy Guy Greg', but I take it you know him some other way?"
"I… guess so?"
"Well," Dinah said, "in my case, he kinda stalked me a while ago so he could offer me a puppy, and he said I had powers. Or was going to have powers. Then some cape beat him up and I made him buy me a slushie." She nodded towards the shelf of empty slushie containers.
Missy just stared.
"I said I'd call the cops on him if he started stalking little girls again, so I just want to make sure."
"Uh, no, it's nothing like that," Missy replied with some hesitation. "I've never even really met him, only saw him for a brief moment. And the one time we talked online, I messaged him."
"So he wasn't wearing a trenchcoat?" Dinah asked.
"No, no trenchcoat. Though he did have a duster." She'd seen enough costumes to know the difference.
"And he wasn't doing anything sketchy?"
Missy thought about Void Cowboy and how he seemed all buddy-buddy with the Undersiders, and how the Simurgh herself had actually waved at him. A part of her shuddered at that. "He was with some pretty shady people. I don't know what to think of him."
"Hmm," Dinah hummed, looking at her phone. Her brow furrowed. "Wait. Armsmaster sent Lord Woofers to the PRT lockup. How'd you get this picture of him?"
The dog? Missy tried to think up an answer. "Internet?"
Dinah tapped a few buttons on her phone. "Nope. Doesn't show up on reverse image search. Try again."
"Um…"
"It'd just be weird if they let some random girl into the PRT lockup." Dinah looked Missy over with an almost deathly serious expression. "So maybe you're the daughter of someone who works there. Or—maybe you're a cape."
Missy tried not to show any emotions. Wait, no, the poker face itself here was a dead giveaway. Fuck.
Okay, Missy, think fast. Can't lie—face already gave you away, if the picture didn't already. "Look," she said, "you got me. But please, please don't tell anyone."
Dinah shot her an evil grin. "Hmm?" she drew out. "What's in it for me?"
The girl looked to her slushie wall and hummed again.
Missy's mind almost flailed trying to think of something to say. Anything. This was a mistake. She should have stayed home. Been a good girl. This was all her fault and—
Dinah clapped her hands, shooting Missy this huge, friendly smile. "Oh, come on. Stop being so serious; real heroes don't brood." She gave Missy a playful shoulder punch.
"Wha?" Missy choked out.
"I'm just playing, duh!" The other girl broke out giggling. "I think Greg knows a lot of capes. Just as long as it's that and not something weird, it's okay. You don't have to say, and I'm not going to tell anyone."
"Uh… that's it?"
"Yeah. What did you think this was? I was going to extort you or something?"
Missy was unsure what to say.
"But come on, we'd better get downstairs before the others start wondering what's going on. And don't worry about the whole cape thing. We're friends, and I wouldn't out a friend like that."
"But we're not friends," Missy protested weakly. "This is the longest we've ever spoken, and all you did was scare me and almost blackmail me."
"Yeah. Almost blackmail you." Dinah winked. "And there was also cake." She walked over to the door and spun around. "Really, isn't that how all great friendships start?"
a/n: I don't even write third person. This is practically my first occasion thereof in years. I know nothing of little girls. I am totally out of my element this interlude. This is sort of an experiment to see if I can ever do these. I know I don;t exactly organize things with arcs and interludes like Wildbow does, but hey, I'm just a special snowflake who's also a loose canon and doesn't play by the rules.
