Interlude 2g: Coil

She was the same as she always was, brimming with unearned confidence and smugness. Smiling at him as if she knew something he didn't know. As if she actually knew anything of real worth and not small tidbits of information that he couldn't have discovered with some effort.

Pitiful.

"So, tell me, what have you learned about this...Superior?"

The edges of her mouth gave a slight upwards twitch as Coil asked his question and she sat up a bit straighter.

"Superior?" repeated Tattletale, lifting her shoulders in a slight shrug. "Didn't we already talk about this over the phone?"

Coil steepled his hands on the desk, leaning forward until his face was almost touching them. "We did but I feel you might have had greater insights since we last conversed. So, what have you learned?"

She sighed. "Not much, really. I've only been around him twice but..." Tattletale placed a hand on her chin as if deep in thought, pursing her lips slightly. "I did learn something about him. It's not even important like the stuff from before. I only learned a little."

"Just a little?" he relied, tone level as he stared at her through the tinted lenses of his mask.

She raised a thumb and forefinger to her eyes and brought them close together, smiling slyly. "Just a tad."

"Then, please, share what you've managed to glean from him with your powers. What you feel is most relevant, of course."

She flashed him a smug grin at those words and for an instant, he almost regretted the enforced persona of politeness he usually kept. The little cunt seemed to preen whenever he seemed like he was being more polite than usual, as if she thought he was trying to curry favor her. If she didn't understand how things were by now, then her power was obviously leading her to some wrong conclusions. It was almost as if she thought she was irreplaceable to him. In a sense, she was.

Infuriating as she was, where else would he find such a deserving target for his...catharsis?

The little cunt leaned back in her chair, grin still wide on her face. "Well, he..."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"A TRUMP! AAAAUUUGGG! HE'S A TRUMP! GAHHHHH! PLEASE!"

Tattletale shook in her chair, jerking against the mechanical restraints that held her down. Moving as she did caused bruises to form around her wrists and ankles but she didn't seem to be paying attention any of that. Indeed, she didn't even seem to notice the bleeding welts forming on her wrists from all her thrashing.

"AAUUUGGGGGGHHHH!"

How could she? After all-"STOOOOP! AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAHHHH!" After all, she couldn't focus on something as trivial as that. Not when-"GAAHHHH!"

Not when her fingers were being crushed one by one with a pair of pliers.

"Ah, a Trump. And, how do you know this?" Coil stood by her side, voice calm and friendly even as he applied more pressure to the large pair of pliers he held in his hands. "Come on now, Tattletale, I don't have all day."

Underneath his skintight suit, the man had a big smile on his face as he watched the young girl scream beneath him. He would be lying if he said that he didn't get a certain thrill from the pain of others, especially when he was the one inflicting it. But then again, who didn't?

"I believe I asked you a question, Miss Wilbourn."

The girl was oblivious to him, having dissolved into pained groans and moans as he eased up on the pressure.

She was ignoring him! He had her life in his hands and she wasn't even paying attention to him. 'Let's fix that, shall we?'

"Miss...ugh...WILBOURN!" With a grunt of exertion, the pliers in his hand tightened, clamping down on the blonde's delicate forefinger with a loud and gratifying crack.

The girl didn't disappoint. With a shrill scream, she jerked up, thrashing wildly and unintentionally making Coil clamp down harder. "HE MADE LUNG STRONGER! HE MADE LUNG STRONGER! HE MADE LUNG STRONGER!"

"Is that all, Ms. Wilbourn?"

"PLEASE! STOP! I'LL NEVER HIDE ANYTHING AGAIN! PLEAAAAaiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Her voice went up a few octaves, screaming in complete agony but Coil only tightened his grip as she continued to beg and plead for forgiveness, her voice raspy from overuse. With a wet, grinding noise, her finger fell to the floor, completely separate from the hand it once belonged to and leaving behind little more than a nub of bleeding flesh and visible bone. Tattletale wheezed and took in big gasps of air, big fat droplets of tears rolling down her face as she stared at her missing finger and the crushed, bloody ones that came before it.

Coil threw the pliers off to the side, elation growing as he took in the girl's nearly silent gasps of pain. Either he was getting more inventive or Tattletale had been out of breath when she had entered his office. Discounting that time he had introduced her to a car battery, it normally took much longer for her to be unable to scream from lack of air. It didn't matter anyway. He was almost done with her.

He bent over until he was face level with Tattletale and raised a hand to her face, caressing her cheek even as she trembled at his touch and forcefully quieted herself. The mixture of blood and tears on her face didn't bother him at all as he trailed a finger down her chin. It wouldn't be the first time he had gotten her bodily fluid on the suit and it certainly wouldn't be the last. He noticed her glance down at his hand and from the look in her eyes, Coil knew from experience that she was considering biting it. As her eyes stayed focused on one of the digits in particular, the one closest to her mouth, Coil hoped she would actually bite him. The times when she did made her resulting punishment all the more sweet. To his disappointment, she didn't even so much as try to retaliate against him, her eyes dulling and the remaining energy in her muscles seeming to evaporate.

"Hello, love. I'm rather sorry that you had to go through all that unpleasantness. You have to understand my position here; you lied to me and I can't have that, you see." He ran a hand through her hair as he spoke, and traced another down her jawline, breath quickening as the girl no longer moved away as he touched her. She was his now.

"You were keeping secrets and I can't have that. Worst of all, you doubted me and I definitely can't have that. Now, I'll make you a deal. I won't hurt you anymore as long as you tell...me...everything," he whispered the last few words in her ear, hoping it would have the effect it normally instilled in her.

It did.

She told him everything, even extrapolating on things she had already told him. His powers, his skills, his weaknesses. What she gleaned of the boy's personality, his interests, likes, dislikes. She also mentioned that the boy had unresolved issues with his confidence. Coil didn't care about half of what she had to say, considering half of it was probably speculation to save her life. What Coil found most interesting was the specifics behind the boy's Trump ability. He'd have to investigate this matter personally.

"C-c-can...I go now, please? I'm s-s-s...sorry. I'll never d-d-do it again. I'll never tell anyone, really. P...please?" As the last few words spilled from Tattletale's bloody and bruised mouth, she actually had the gall to look up at him with hope in her teary eyes. Although, noted Coil with interest, she seemed to actually believe what she was saying. Still, he didn't care about honesty. He'd get the truth regardless of lies or deceit. What he wanted was control and he knew one of the best ways to instill that into Tattletale.

Coil stepped back and reached behind his neck, grasping for something. As his fingers grabbed hold of the zipper, he slowly pulled it down, enjoying Tattletale's horrified expression as she realized what he was doing. It was at this point that she usually gave up, losing hope that he would actually let her live, but Coil hoped she would at least try to fight this time. That always made it so much more enjoyable.

"Won't you scream for me, Miss Wilbourn?"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"...he probably has an Oedipal complex."

Coil blinked at the girl's words, not expecting that statement of all things. "An Oedipal complex?"

She nodded, that same smug smile on her face. "Yep."

Coil simply looked at her over his steepled hands for a few seconds before speaking again. "And you know this how?"

"Well, I can't say exactly but for some reason, my power says that he has a dislike for male authority figures and an intense affection for female authority figures. Coupled with the fact that his parents got divorced because of his dad's infidelity and alcoholism, he also lives with his mother. I'd say he's pretty damn Oedipal by now." Tattletale finished with a grin, cocking her head at Coil as if waiting for a response.

Coil sat in front of the girl, slightly amused by her words but rather annoyed by how easily she could lie to him. It was moments like this that he often found himself wishing he had a third timeline to waste just so he could deal with her again. For now, though, he just wanted her gone. "Thank you, Miss Wilbourn, that will be all."

"Really? That's it?" She gave him a glance as if unsure he wasn't playing a joke on her.

"Yes. I don't need much from you today."

"Okay." With a shrug, the blonde stood up and prepared to exit the room when she suddenly stopped as Coil called her, something suddenly coming to mind.

"Miss Wilbourn, I ask that you and your team do your best to avoid contact with Superior."

Tattletale turned around and while that same infuriating smile was plastered on her face, he could see a hint of confusion in her expression. "Why would we do that? He's a hero, a strong one too. We're not crazy."

Coil waved off her replies, well aware that she planned on meeting up with the cape somehow. "It was just a warning. After all, there are rather dangerous people in the world we live in. I wouldn't want to see you getting hurt now."

Tattletale turned her head towards the older man, cocking her head as she looked him over. Gradually, the gleam in her eyes turned from smug to wary. "I'll be sure to avoid that, then."

"Goodbye, Miss Wilbourn."

"...Bye."

As the girl left the room, Coil leaned back in his chair, still riding high from the memories of the previous timeline. Putting the annoying little cunt in her place was one of the best perks of his power.

As he began to review the events of the other timeline, he was distracted as a phone in his desk began to ring. Opening a drawer, he brought out his phone and noted the Caller Id.

'Piggot...delightful. Another dumb cunt to deal with.'

"Hello."

"..."

"Yes, yes, I know. I do have caller ID. Is this important? I'm trying to relax right now. Can you call back later?"

"..."

"All right, Emily, you don't have to yell. What is it?"

"..."

"What kind of question is that? Of course. I would go to any lengths to stop another Ellisburg."

"..."

"...Superior? Really, now? Isn't that something?"