AN: This is still the penultimate chapter to this arc, the number of words was running away with me again. Hope you all enjoy, and thanks for the reviews so far. They keep me going at a decent pace. More reviews definitely equals more gribblies vs parahumans.

2.6

Aegis narrowed his eyes. "Skitter, if she was telling the truth ..."

Shit. I was really starting to hate Tattletale, even if it wasn't her fault. I would have done the same thing in her position, but that didn't mean I felt any better being made the outsider again, every move judged and criticised.

I shook my head vehemently. "I'm not using my bug powers, I promise. Tattletale was right, I can feel them. It's passive, kinda like they are bugs that I can't control."

I was surprised how much that rankled now that I thought about it, not being able to control something I could sense with my power. Probably said something about my personal history, about the lack of control I had over my own life all too often. About how many of the things I valued got stolen away.

Aegis nodded slowly and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Thanks for telling me, talking about this can't be easy," he said with surprising sincerity. "I know we are going to need to have a talk when we get out of here, but until then we could use a brute with a steady trigger finger."

If my face hadn't been completely hidden Clockblocker definitely would have made a joke about catching flies. It seemed I had yet to find the limit of Aegis' tolerance. Or maybe he was just being honest and couldn't afford to turn down an extra fighter in the situation. Either way I snapped a salute, grinning under my mask.

The screeching outside redoubled with the sounds of claws scrabbling on the reinforced concrete walls of the bank. If we had been in any other commercial building, and not one designed to withstand assault by supervillains, they probably would have come straight through the walls.

As it was, the noises served to remind everyone about the time-limit on Clockblocker's power. The incredibly variable time-limit, somewhere between 30 seconds and ten minutes of time-locked invulnerability. So far the door had been up for somewhere between five and six minutes, which left anywhere between zero and five minutes to evacuate. The plastic barriers outside had all fallen to the street.

The fliers were going to take the lead on evacuation via the roof, with the exception of Kid Win who couldn't use his hoverboard with the cannon on top of it. Unfortunately the plan also meant toughest capes were sidelined for the duration.

It also meant we would lose the services of Panacea, as Glory Girl straight up refused to carry anyone if she couldn't take her sister to safety first. They had flown out the second that decision was made.

So it came down to a fortified position, a few guns and a serious lack of high end strength. We had to hold out until the hostages were gone and we could fall back, or until backup arrived.

"Radios and phones still out?" Aegis asked Kid Win, who nodded in confirmation.

Tattletale made an odd noise in the back of her throat. At our questioning looks she shrugged. "It just doesn't make sense. They didn't cause a radio blackout last time, so why would they this time? I need more information."

"We can worry about their powers later," Aegis stated. "The PRT are going to notice that we dropped off the map. The Protectorate are busy though, so we can't bank on the cavalry arriving anytime soon." He turned back towards Tattletale. "At this stage we are on our own, so we need to understand what we are up against."

Tattletale grimaced. "OK, but you aren't going to like it. What I said before, about this being S-class? I'm pretty sure that's true." She noted the doubtful expressions around her, and folded her arms across her chest. "Yeah, I know it doesn't seem like it now, but think about what we know. They are a group of mutant brutes operating like a group mind. They are single-minded fanatics too, even dismemberment isn't enough to put them down. Finally, the one in here started talking about her Father, capitalisation intended, when Skitter shut down the link."

Aegis folded his arms across his chest. "So you are talking about a cult, maybe one with a cape who can give Brute powers? Bad news, but we have dealt with that before. Teacher springs to mind."

Tattletale nodded. "Yeah, a Cult would be a good way to describe them. But here is the thing, the one in the bank looked totally human, even to my power. She was just there to do her banking, blending in. She couldn't know it was about to get robbed."

Everyone looked at her blankly. Blending in hardly seemed like a threat against what was prowling around outside right now.

She shook her head in disbelief. "Do you have any idea what the odds are that a cult member happened to be in the Bank, the exact same time Skitter happened to come by? Or how they had someone near enough to Lung in the middle of the night to notice her doing her swarmy thing?"

"Bullshit!" Kid Win interrupted. "You can't possibly be saying ..."

The rest of us exchanged blank glances as he trailed off. "Uh, maybe you two geniuses could fill in the rest of us?" Clockblocker suggested. "What does a coincidence or two have to do with anything?"

Kid Win shook his head in disgust. "She is trying to claim that it would be statistically impossible for a small group to be in both places by chance."

But that would just mean that ...

"So either they had a reason to be in two unrelated places," Kid Win continued, "or there are enough of them that you would be just as likely to find them anywhere."

Oh. Fuck.

Tattletale nodded grimly. "Ladies and gentlemen, I think Brockton Bay just became ground zero for Nilbog number two."

Nilbog. The kind of name that parents wouldn't even use to frighten their children. The reason Ellisburg had been wiped clear off the map, yet still had a military budget equal to the GDP of a small state.

Aegis took a deep breath, muscles flickering along his jaw as it clenched. "Kid, what do you think?"

The Tinker shook his head. "I don't know ... I haven't seen enough to ..." He paused, gaze flickering around the bank. He let out a big sigh. "Yeah," he admitted, "it's possible."

Considering the topic of discussion we all practically jumped out of our skin as the barricade at the door hit the floor with a crash. Aegis and Clockblocker were prepared and slapped it back into place in seconds. In those seconds the monsters outside had converged on the door so fast my mind could barely keep up with them. If any of them had been a yard or two closer...

"Looks like we're out of time," Aegis said. "So nothing has changed, we stick to the plan. Secondary objective is to make sure we get this information out to the PRT, so stay alive." He turned to Tattletale. "So, any bright ideas? Can we kill these things?"

Tattletale frowned. "I don't know ... maybe? My power is telling me that their speed and strength might be hiding a lower level of toughness, but I am working with limited data here."

"Better than nothing," he grunted. "Form teams at each window, shooters and crowd control, Kid Win will hand out the guns. Clockblocker, you're in charge until I'm finished with the hostage evac."

Clockblocker nodded, serious for once. "I'll be floating to refreeze the windows when my power wears off. Each non-shooter grab a chunk of glass and keep scratching your window with it. Call out when you make a mark."

The group started dividing up to cover the three windows. Bitch and her dogs just wandered off, obviously not planning to take part. Whatever.

I turned to Vista, but she pointedly ignored me and walked over to Gallant.

I felt like I should be used to it by now, but it still hurt. Everyone was forming teams, leaving me out again, like waiting for a game of pick-up soccer as the other kids all got chosen ...

"You coming?" asked a voice behind me.

I turned to see Shadow Stalker looking blankly at me. It took me a second to realise she was talking to me. Some part of me felt intensely grateful to her right then. I nodded wordlessly.

A poorly-smothered giggle caused us both to spin around. Tattletale straightened up and grinned at us, wide. The word "predatory" sprung to mind.

"Sorry," she said, totally unapologetic. "So, is this a private girls club, or can anyone join?"

Silence stretched out. Of all the people here, including her own team-mates, and she want to work with me? After what she did?

"Whatever," Shadow Stalker muttered, turning away and ... stalking towards the nearest window.

"Why?" I asked, still trying to process.

If anything, her grin widened. Predatory became downright vulpine. People shouldn't be able to show that many teeth.

"Oh, but you two just seem like so much fun!" she enthused. "Besides, you will need someone to check the window while you shoot at them, right?"

It was true, and certainly no-one else was coming over to help. I felt like my awareness of the enemies' positions would be useful, and I couldn't see Shadow Stalker sitting this out to scratch some glass. We really did need the extra set of hands. Damn Aegis and his shining example of acceptance.

I nodded reluctantly.

"So where the hell are they?" Shadow Stalker growled.

It was true that after our first volley of shots the Cultists had virtually disappeared from the street, with almost no real damage done. I could still feel them though.

"There is one behind that car," I pointed. "Halfway down the rear passenger side door, crouching. Head is about at the level of the door handle."

Shadow Stalker fired. The bolt dissolved into smoke, passing straight through the car. She could rephase her projectiles at any point in their flight, she had told me. If they reformed inside something they fused with it on a molecular level. Scary, especially now she was aiming for the brain.

The thing dropped to the ground and started thrashing.

"You got it, pretty bad I think."

She nodded with satisfaction. The third member of our team chuckled softly, apparently finding something amusing.

skritch

Argghh, that noise was really putting my teeth on edge. I glanced at Tattletale, who smiled back lazily, dragging the chunk of the bank door across the frozen window.

skritch

"Well, isn't this nice?" she asked. "You two really work well together, don't you?"

skritch

I could hear Shadow Stalker gritting her teeth. I had to consciously relax my own hands lest they destroy the fragile Tinker laser I was holding. As it was the plastic casing creaked dangerously.

"Where's the next one?" Shadow Stalker hissed. I couldn't help but notice Tattletale studying us as I directed the Ward to another of the Cultists. The bolt flew true, but didn't take it down. My directions were just too low-res, I couldn't even really tell body parts apart. I was pretty much just making wild guesses based on a general shape.

Shadow Stalker clicked her tongue in frustration. "Hey," she said suddenly, turning to Tattletale. "Those super-monsters are already here, right? So why can't Skitter just swamp 'em with bugs like she did before? We could probably just walk away while they zoned out."

Tattletale stopped grinning, and shook her head. "A few reasons. First of all, we don't know how many of those things exist. We could draw even more here if we did that. Second, it will ruin our visibility. And third, I don't think it will work again."

"Why not?"

"The one in the bank didn't just stop when the bugs cut her off, she flipped out. I think this Cult leader is too clever to leave that sort of weakness exposed. They have probably been updated with new instructions for if the connection gets cut again."

Shadow Stalker scowled through her eye-holes. "You think? Probably? You don't sound so sure."

Tattletale nodded. "Yeah, I'm guessing," she admitted. "But my guesses are normally pretty good. I think the bugs should be a last resort."

I noticed a flicker of movement as one of the Cultists broke from cover. My purple laser flashed out, joining the other monochromatic lights spraying ineffectually around the speedy enemy.

There was a low thump that rattled through my bones as the ground across the street erupted. As the dust cleared all that was left of the thing was a deep hole in the ground and a carbonised shadow on the building opposite.

"Yeehah!" Kid Win shouted, the muzzle of his cannon glowing hotly against his window sill.

"Damn!" Regent shouted, whistling appreciatively. "Why do you get that big gun while we make do with these little flashlights?"

I shook my head at their antics, tuning out whatever Kid Win said in response. The surviving enemies seemed to be bunkering down, and the bigger things were just sitting there, waiting.

skreeeeech

Tattletale paused, looking from the glass in her hand to the newly scratched window bemusedly.

Shit.

"CLOCKBLOCKER, GET OVER HERE!" I yelled. They were moving, fast.

Laser beams arced across the street as the screeching monstrosities burst from cover, covering the ground in great leaps. Straight towards us.

These things were definitely not like the others, there was nothing human about them. Bulbous heads, heavily armoured organic looking exoskeletons, rending claws and razorsharp teeth rounded out the alien appearance. Oh, and four limbs.

Unlike the Cultists, these things all looked identical, even down to the colouration: deep blue and fleshy pink. Exactly the same as the monster I saw the first night with Lung. That did not reassure me about our chances if one of them got in the bank.

They avoided the majority of our fire, zigzagging at outrageous speed as they advanced. If it wasn't for Vista they would have reached us in seconds, but thankfully she was here. Space streamed out between our defensive position and the attackers, the street widening like a bad movie effect.

I scored a few hits aided by my sense of their position, but I had to agree with Regent. Despite the high quality tinkertech, these guns were practically useless against them. Beams that could scorch concrete splashed harmlessly off their chiinous armour without even slowing them down.

The closest one leapt just as Kid Win fired his cannon again, and it rode the way of force as the street vaporised behind it. Time seemed to slow as it arced through the air, and I could easily track the trajectory it was following. It would come down right on the window.

The few bugs I still had secreted on my allies confirmed one thing. Clockblocker would not arrive in time.

Even at this distance I could make out its malevolent red eyes glaring at us. At me. Those eyes met mine and I felt a strangely familiar pressure.

The bank receded, noise muffled. My world became those eyes, and the rage within them transcended the gulf that separated humanity fromit. The will behind those eyes pushed against me, trying to steal from me.

Something flared within me, and the fury was returned with interest. My body, others. They were MINE.

Liquid flared through my forearms, rippling as I stepped forward, placing myself between it and mine. They were swept behind me without effort and I crouched low, ready as it reached the apex of its arc and began to descend towards us. My claws flexed, itched, ached in anticipation.

For a moment, it flinched.

Then the window shrunk to a letterbox, as did the front wall of the building. In my minds eye I saw space warp further, the distance between the thing and the building shortened to nothing. Still at the peak of the parabola, it struck the distorted facade at the third floor rather than the first. Then the building snapped back into place, and it was dozens of feet above us, still outside.

tap

A grey-gloved hand rested on the window pane. I followed my gaze from that hand to my own, still pulsing with my blood and heavy. Slowly the feeling receded.

The moment was broken and sound rushed in. A sigh of relief, another of disappointment. A muttered thanks to a teammate who saved all of us. I felt all of that and more. I smiled along with the rest as we felt relief. Clockblocker laughed weakly.

With a tinkle of chimes the glass from a third floor window splashed onto the street.