AN: Greetings people of the internet. Wyvern and the Warhawk have returned with the latest installment of Rimuru's Sister and her bizarre adventure! This time featuring even more shenanigans from the good people of Brockton Bay as they watch their city go asunder!
AtW: Next chapter is probably gonna be a single long scene focused on Taylor. We're ready to wrap things up and I'm thinking this arc is starting to drag on. As for any clarifications, I don't know how long Panacea's healing powers are delayed by (it's somewhat unclear based on how she uses them from time to time), the Undersiders have their reasons for what they do in the chapter, and we're going to be killing… Seven? Eight capes? Something like that. We're gonna introduce a few OCs, but I hope you guys don't mind us knocking off a couple of characters.
Wyvern: Not like most of them accomplished anything in canon, so we might as well put their necks to good use. On the chopping board.
AtW: Most will be off screen, but we might reference or show it later. That and we will have a few on screen kills too.
Wyvern: But that's for later. Right now, its reading time! Enjoy the show!
Brockton Asunder (Part 4)
A gurney trundled by her swiftly, a wheel bumping against her shoe as another patient was hurried to surgery. The third in the last half an hour. At the end of the hallway, she could spot a long line of patients spilling out into the street, people pushing each other as they tried and failed to make room for more.
Her tired eyes surveyed the crowds.
Deep gashes.
Horrific burns.
Coughing and choking, both signs of smoke inhalation.
Bullet wounds in a few cases.
Surging forward, the crowd was growing more and more frantic as the hospital's staff was overwhelmed. In particular, the front desk attendant was trying to reason with five people as their desperate pleas and angry demand morphed into an unintelligible cacophony of shouts. The poor woman looked about ready to faint, eyes moving as her panic began to mount and hands trembling as she struggled to make herself heard over the crowd.
Amy couldn't fault her.
The past few hours had been nothing short of Hell for the staff of the Brockton Bay General Hospital. Between the gang fights, riots, and overall chaos causing more damage than they were capable of handling. Even now their police protection was dwindling, the authorities too busy trying to quell the fighting and most of their resources tied up trying to prevent even more damage.
This in turn left the fearful and wounded fleeing for shelter. A crowd of which had begun congregating inside and outside the Hospital as if it were some sort of holy sanctuary, untouched by the terror which ravaged the city at large. Something only half true.
Besides, the hospital was one of the few neutral areas when it came to the gangs. But considering the seriousness of the situation the Protectorate had still cordoned off the area, stationing a pair of heroes on the outside to prevent the fighting from reaching the hospital. This was one of the most important places outside of town hall and The Rig, though she'd learnt the latter had been breached by an escaped inmate, causing a breakout.
At least according to the two troopers chugging coffee in the break room.
Not that she managed to understand much from the furtive whispers she'd overheard. Only that the Wards had been taken out of commission and that at least three dangerous capes had managed to escape.
Skidmark, Squealer, and Flask.
The mention of the last one leaving her with… conflicting feelings.
Her sister, Vicky, often hung out with the Wards outside of and inside school. Birds of a feather flock together and what not. Plus, there was no one closer to understanding a juvenile parahuman than another juvenile parahuman. Victoria was even dating one of them, Gallant, though that never failed to make her spine crawl with distaste.
Vicky's questionable taste aside. The one Ward she seemed to get along with the best was Emma Barnes, or as she was better known, Diamond Dust.
The girl was a relatively recent trigger, with a power similar enough to Vicky's that after a few afternoons together the two had become fast friends. Honestly, Amy would have felt threatened had it not been for the fact that the two girls were TOO similar to each other. Hard headed, strong willed, perhaps a bit on the impulsive side.
They got on like a house on fire, really.
But of course, they could never be anything other than good friends. Most of all because whenever Emma visited during the past weeks, all she had to talk about was her supposed best friend and sister in all but blood. Taylor Hebert.
Better known as Flask.
And wasn't that a kick in the teeth? At least it was for Diamond Dust. Frankly, as annoyed as Amy was at the ball of slime for punting her sister through a wall, she was still oddly thankful she'd pulled the girl that Victoria was undoubtedly closest to away from her… sphere of influence. Even if her sister wasn't gay, her aura didn't discriminate. That meant she'd seen how Emma, probably because of how emotionally vulnerable she was, was growing closer and closer at an almost infuriating rate.
Something that was only speeding up since they had most of the same classes and studied together, neither being the greatest student, hung out at least three or four times a week, worked out together, trained together, and even patrolled together.
Barnes was practically spending as much time with her sister as she was! Amy… was aware that she was getting more than a little jealous. And that, that wasn't healthy. For her or Emma.
Obviously, Victoria didn't notice or really seem to care. No, she was just delighted to have another friend! Never mind how the redhead seemed to act like her, speak like her, even dress like her a little. It was nothing blatant, of course. But the little miss Barnes tried to project that same sense of confidence, of almost blind self assurance that only Glory Girl could really pull off. On top of that she'd joined Arcadia's cheer squad, at Vicky's insistence of course, and frankly only spent as much time with Missy, Vista to the public, as she did with Amy's sister.
Shame that the girl turned out to lack the will power to push past getting a real friend and stopped pining after Gallant. But around the same time Emma had glomped onto Vicky she'd taken Missy by the ear and done her level best to make her "a real girl and not just a cape". Emma's words, not hers. Of course, when she realized that Amy spent more time as Panacea than she did as a member of the Dallon household, despite New Wave outing themselves, she'd pulled Amy along for "girl's nights" and "coffee days", that was where Emma dragged them to various small coffee places around the Bay to try random stuff, and just kind of… gathered the female capes her age around herself. Shadow Stalker had even participated.
Once.
But that didn't change the fact she was monopolizing her sister's time!
'Though she isn't a bad person. She even knows my name unlike the rest of those sycophants that make up Victoria's orbiters. And they're… damn. Are Missy and Emma really the closest thing I have to a friend besides Vicky?'
"Please! Someone help my husband!"
Finally snapping out of her daze, Panacea could finally make out someone in the sea of people. Someone that very distinctly needed her help.
A small woman had a rather large man held up over her shoulder, the pair stumbling forward as small scraps of burned flesh came off in thin flakes of ruined skin. Pushing through the crowd, no one really noticing her costume in the sheer press of bodies, Panacea grabbed the woman by the hand and began to pull her and her husband with her.
"There's an interview room over here. I'll take a look at him."
Ignoring the woman's panicked thanks, Amy ghosted her fingers across the man's hand.
At once a framework seemed to appear before her mind's eye. A map of every cell, every vein, every artery, muscle fiber, and nerve ending. She felt a shiver of static run up her arm, the feeling, the compulsion, to change, to create, to destroy and remake nearly overcoming her as she assessed the damage done.
The damage was extensive. Burns down to the bone, massive damage to the man's muscles, and if his vocal cords hadn't been fried from what looked like smoke inhalation he wouldn't have been able to stop screaming from the crippling pain rushing through him. Honestly, Amy was impressed at just how much will power it took for the guy to push through and keep moving. Tweaking the man's nerves, she shut down his pain receptors in the areas that were most damaged.
Instantly, the man's body relaxed, slumping forth as the tension leaked out.
She kept him from fainting with a surge of adrenaline. There could be complications if he was knocked out part way through the procedure.
"All right-" She pushed a door open, hoping against hope that an orderly was nearby. "You need to listen carefully." Amy made sure the woman was as calm as could be and focused on her words. "I can only do so much for your husband. He's very badly injured. And I'm going to save him. But he will need help."
Thankfully, the man had plenty of fat she could work with. Enough that, under normal circumstances, she would have recommended a strict diet.
"Now, when you finally get in contact with a doctor, you need to give him this."
Amy pulled them both into plastic chairs, making sure the woman wasn't watching as burned flesh molted off of regrowing, slimy, wet muscles and as new bone calcified and disintegrated as her power essentially broke down half of the man's body to put it back together.
"Do you see what I'm holding up?" She'd pulled a thick notepad out with one of her hands, the other still brushing the man's knuckles. "I'm going to put some very important information on here-" A wet squelch and pop made the woman jump but Amy shook the pad. "Don't look at that, keep your eyes on me. Your husband's life depends on it."
Thirty seconds later, and after cleaning up the man's entire body, Amy helped the woman carry her now disoriented and confused, but not in mortal danger, husband to the toilet.
"Listen up. He's going to have to use the bathroom a lot. I just burned through about thirty pounds of fat and another one or two pounds of material for repairs to the rest of his organs." Amy scribbled down a request for fluid IVs and monitoring for the man. "He's going to spend a while in there. Just check on him every so often and if he starts screaming, it's phantom pain. I can't do brains, but he can be given something for the pain and to help him sleep. Got it?"
"Y-Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you! God bless you Panacea!"
Amy smiled and gave a short nod, not mentioning how the inside of the man's lungs had been blackened with smoke, of how she'd had to rebuild his circulatory system because, somehow, the damage from the fire and the stress had caused a heart attack. She didn't say a word about how the man had been minutes from dying and if her power's delay was more than a few seconds she might not have been able to do much.
It wouldn't serve a purpose.
Instead, she stepped back into the waiting room and began to drift through the crowd.
Silently, she moved through the minor injuries. Minor, of course, being relative. Gunshot wounds were simple enough. Four or five seconds and it was gone, the bullet being pushed out of the entry hole and clattering to the ground. Burns were harder, more time consuming, sometimes taking a minute or even two to properly address.
Few were as bad as that man had been, thankfully the hospital staff was skilled enough at triage to get them to surgery immediately, but there were a number of close calls. Each one leaving her cursing the fact she had to repurpose some of their own body and that she couldn't at least recycle the dead tissue.
In the end, the room had fallen silent, the crowd letting out occasional whimpers and cries of pain. But she simply kept walking forward. Her fingers brushing exposed skin, her powers purging infections, clearing debris, and knitting broken, burned, battered flesh and bone back together. Even when she stumbled, even when spots danced behind her eyes, even as her own muscles screamed in exhaustion Amy didn't stop.
This was her duty. This was her purpose. She was Panacea, the All Healing.
Soon the hospital staff had the group dispersing, the crowd breaking apart as the security officers and nurses pulled them into various waiting rooms.
Nodding to herself, Amy turned to head towards the surgery suite and blinked in confusion when she suddenly found herself in Assault's arms.
"I, what, why am I like this?"
Her words came out a little thick and a little slow, deepening the worried furrow in Assault's brow.
"You were just about to fall over there kiddo. I saw you start to tilt and grabbed you before you hit the ground. Think you can stand up?"
She nodded silently, a sudden migraine flashing between her eyes.
The man hummed in understanding and helped her out of the waiting room, through the doors, and onto a bench outside. Slowly blowing and thick with the stench of smoke, the cool breeze of the night still helped mitigate the buzzing between her ears, letting Amy blink away the haziness from her sight. In that state, somewhere between waking and sleeping, the light of the nearby lamppost reflected off the man's bright red costume and seemed to fill the air with a shimmering haze of light.
"Thanks…." She mumbled.
"No worries. Whatever are heroes for, right?" Assault gave her a cheeky smile.
She reclined, slowly spreading her robe out over the bench and carefully laying her back against the smooth stone seat. Giving her room to breathe and settle her nerves. Outside of the glaring lights and ammonia stench of the hospital she could finally unwind, clenched hands easing their way open as she took deep breaths.
"Good, keep it up. You were going crazy back there, kid. Just breathe with me. In and out." The man's palms lay gently on top of hers as she tried to match the slow and methodical rise and fall of the man's chest.
In.
Out.
"Easy, easy. Just focus on my voice."
Amy nodded absentmindedly. Her powers worked with even the slightest hint of contact. It made human touch something uncomfortable for her, as her powers would flash with the bare minimum contact.
Someone wearing gloves touching the top of her hands, however, was different. It felt… reassuring. To be able to touch someone and not see the deepest secrets of their bodies. Even if she could still feel the bacteria crawling over their bodies, it was good.
In.
Out.
She opened her eyes, heart finally settled and head no longer buzzing with pain. The healer offered the man a small grateful smile.
"Thank you."
He waved her off.
"Again. No problem. You looked like you needed to take a breather, and we wanted to check up on you anyway."
Amy blinked in confusion.
"We?"
"What that numbskull is trying to say. Is that I asked him to check up on you." Another costumed person, this one wearing a dark suit with blue details shaped like circuitry. Unlike her partner, she wore a modified combination visor and biker's helmet. Really, if it weren't the way the circuits glowed in the dark Amy wouldn't have seen her approach.
"Feeling the love here, Tabby-Cat"
Battery grunted.
"You called me Puppy until you learned my name, please don't call me that now. Hello, Panacea, my name's Tabitha. And this idiot is Ethan. I know we were introduced earlier in the evening, but one of us has been watching you the whole time. We're pretty sure you haven't taken a break in the last six hours, since all this-" Battery gestured at the city. "started. Are you going to be ok? Because without your help the hospital is screwed. Hell, the city might be screwed."
Assault, no, Ethan rolled his eyes.
"Way to put the pressure on, Tabby. The girl almost fainted a while back."
The way he said it was teasing, but the implication was enough to make the older woman stop for a second, expression turning contrite.
"My apologies."
The girl behind the mantle of Panacea sighed in relief, stress mostly forgotten now that she got to watch two experienced heroes bicker like the married couple they were. Really, it was no secret that the two were a thing, but it was one thing to know they were married and another to see it in action.
"So, what's the situation?" Panacea broached the subject at last. The two older parahumans sharing a look as she stood up with a stubborn grimace that screamed 'I'm fine'.
Assault sighed.
"Things aren't… good, but they aren't as bad as they were before. The riots are dispersing and most of the criminals have either been apprehended or left after enough troopers arrived to help the police. Right now, the only major problems we still have are Lung and the fires. And, well, the insurgency raging in the ABB territory. That one… is bad. We lost a teammate already."
"I've heard about that. I'm sorry about Challenger."
Battery let out her breath in a hiss, face set in stone.
"She knew the risks. So don't apologize. That's on Lung." Assault spit on the ground at the name, eyes narrowed in anger.
"Still…." She continued, a hundred thoughts itching at the back of her help.
"Kid. I know you're feeling guilty right now. With powers like yours? Yeah, I would probably be feeling pretty shitty too if I heard a good woman lost her life. But right now, we gotta focus on the present. Later on we can bawl our eyes out and curse the bastard's name."
Battery elbowed him lightly, doling out a look of reproach.
"Sorry, sorry. But like I said, things are still crazy out there. But it is mostly capes doing it. Those weirdos, Uber and Leet? They are still holding folks hostage at the Boardwalk. The PRT is organizing a manhunt for Skidmark and Squealer. Get them before they get too far. Last we heard, Canary's transport was derailed and she's also on the loose. And who knows what the Empire is doing."
Sighing, the red caped hero ran a gloved hand through his hair.
"At least the hospital hasn't been attacked? It's neutral ground. So I think we should be safe."
"Sir, mam! Villains are approaching the front gate!"
A painfully loud smack echoed on Amy's ears as the older heroine gave her husband a rather effective love tap, his head bending a good forty five degrees as a PRT trooper in a field uniform and wearing a light ballistic vest pushed his way into the rest area.
"It's the Undersiders and Flask! We contacted the SRT but they're still ten minutes out. What do we do?"
Battery was in motion first, glaring at a sheepish Assault even as she issued orders.
"Get any of the hospital security you can find. Move all civilians inside the building and clear the windows and doorways. Assault, think you can slow them down? Talk to them, at least until reinforcements arrive?"
"Yeah." The cape nodded, replacing his visor. "I can do that. Maybe they aren't here for a fight? After all, Flask has no association with the Undersiders and they're just thieves."
"Supposition. We can't act on that. And ensuring the security of the wounded is our first priority. Besides, you were the one who jinxed us. You get to clean up your mess."
Panacea was walking behind them, pulling her hood up as she did so.
"I'll go with you. If they're here for medical help maybe I can bribe them to leave without causing trouble. Maybe even get them to surrender. It's worked before."
Battery hissed but took one look at her determined glare and nodded her ascent.
"Be careful you two. I'll be gathering the cavalry so if anything goes down you'll have backup."
"Yes mam!"
Assault gave a sharp salute and even clicked his heels together, getting a snort from Amy.
"We will, Battery, I'll make sure your boy toy makes it back."
Somehow, Assault thought that was the most hilarious thing in the world and laughed like a mad man. If nothing else, it made Panacea feel a little less afraid about confronting the girl that had wiped out the entirety of the Wards.
Just a little.
Of the many ways Danny could think of spending his evening, several, quite pleasant, diversions came to mind.
Reading a good book.
Watching whatever crappy movie happened to be airing on TV.
Even just sleeping the night away after a day of hard work.
Of course. None of them included being trapped inside a crazy reinvention of a kid's game while watching two lunatics wax poetic in front of a camera. An expensive camera, mind you, but it was the thought that counted.
His plan for the evening had been simple.
Meet with his college years' nemesis, who also happened to be his daughter's lawyer, and go through their options when the time came for defending her in court before the eyes of the world. Not the most enjoyable way to spend his time. He would rather get his teeth pulled out without anesthesia than have to deal with Elizabeth for more than one hour at a time. Unfortunately, parental duty required him to ignore his many, many misgivings about the woman and try to act civil.
If this were a book, it would likely be 'The Taming of the Shrew'.
Not that he would mention it, of course. The woman would break into one of her spiels if he gave her too much time to talk.
So, against all reason and sense of self preservation, he invited her to a quaint dinner at a restaurant that was kitschy enough to rate as "amusing" and cheap enough he wouldn't have to worry about food for the rest of the month. Not that he'd pay for Elizabeth's food even if she were the kind of misandrist to let him.
It was simple math, really. Give the raging man hater something to stuff her pie hole with and she wouldn't focus on dressing him down like usual. It also probably guaranteed him a place in heaven as well. Or at least Parent of the decade.
Two birds, one stone.
Danny snorted. Taylor was a much more forgiving person than he. After the shit he pulled up he still had to catch himself from thinking too hard about how much better off his daughter would have been if he'd died instead of Annette.
Granted, that meant the woman sitting next to him would be trying to make nice with his widowed wife.
And just like that, he decided to drop the thought like a hot potato least it give him nightmares.
Then again, the stand off going on just outside the restaurant was about as likely to accomplish that. Mostly because there was a nazi emptying a pair of pistols into a giant four armed frog man that then proceeded to rip him in half. As in his legs went flying one way and his torso another.
"Oh! Look at that ladies and gentlemen, Alabaster taking two for the team again! Looks like he still hasn't learned not to let Machamp close the distance, huh Leet?"
"You know it Uber! This guy got pounded to a pulp pronto, for the third time too. He really is a champ. And there he goes! Just popping back together and off again! Shit!"
The two villains ducked down and paused their running commentary as Alabaster unloaded on their position, bullets flying through the air. Machamp, as Danny had learned the monster was called, proceeded to grab the Empire cape from behind, taking both legs in hand, and pulled him apart like a wishbone, on half of the color drained villain's body flying to the distance while the other was used like a club to swat at giant blonde woman that tried to punt the frog.
"Honestly, Elizabeth, I don't know why you don't appreciate the lengths I go to for our relationship. After all, I only set this up because I know how much you like seeing men torn apart. And the big frog did kick the literal nazi in the balls so hard his power kicked in. That's what you like, or am I misremembering your college soapbox lectures?"
The woman snorted derisively.
"Shut up. I'm watching the show."
Her voice was at a rough growl. Something likely caused by the half hour she spent screaming at the top of her lungs at the two video game enthusiasts. Fortunately, or rather unfortunately for him, the pokemall the two of them had been locked into together seemed to be soundproof.
Not on the inside of course. Which meant he had to be the only one who actually heard her.
But on the other hand, he got to watch two giant women wrestle with an even bigger dragon snake thingy. It's fanged mouth set in a permanent scowl as its hard light blue scales thrashed about, dragging the valkyrie-looking women across the floor and down the street.
If he didn't consider himself a married man, he'd have even taken a moment to appreciate it when said giant snake thingy bit into one of the nazi giant's chest plates and tore it off. Giving him two pretty good reasons Kaiser had recruited them.
'Playboy models indeed.' He clamped down on the urge to whistle.
Assuming he wasn't a married man, of course. As it was, he was treated to a lecture about how men only objectified women, saw them as sex objects, and thought with their lower heads. Not that Elizabeth would have been polite enough to actually use a euphemism, of course.
'I wonder if she has daddy issues or is just plain crazy?'
"Would you look at that, Uber. Even while pulling off a flawless Double Team, the Nordic Giantesses just aren't up to the same level as my brilliant inventions, the Holomons! 'Course we're gonna have to censor that last bit. Gratuitous violence and no nudity because a nipple might make little Timmy a satanist. Brought to you by Hetap!"
The two capes holding them hostage were for sure weird. Dressed with black pants and white shirts with the letter R painted bright red on it, the scrawnier of the two, Leet or something, reached for his pocket, pulling out what looked like a smaller version of the spheres he'd used to trap him and the other people at the restaurant.
"But as our faithful watchers know. A two on one battle is illegal! So let's try and even the odds, shall we?"
The man… struck an awful pose. As if he were getting ready to make the opening pitch of a baseball game. And then, after taking an almost stupidly exaggerated windup, the man tossed a small sphere towards the melee. The red and white ball flying in a perfect arc as it fell towards the twins.
"Tauros, I choose you!"
It enlarged, becoming palm sized as it released a flash of bright light from all sides, the energy forming a shapeless mass of white before settling into what looked like a giant bull the size of a van with three tails and a large mane of dark hair.
It landed on the ground with a thunderous boom, its hooves cracking the asphalt.
"Now, use Take Down!"
And just like that, the massive bull charged off into the melee. Tackling one of the giant women off the serpent and across the street and leaving her twin to the serpent by herself and Alabaster to the Machamp. Which by now had ripped him in half for what felt like the twelfth time.
"Someone get this thing off me!" The pasty white cape shrieked in pain, even as his body went flying.
Fenja and Menja shared a look, gritting their teeth and taking ahold of the giant blue serpent. Menja, the one that had her chest exposed, Danny thought, dropped any pretense of modesty and wrapped her arms around the snake's… vague neck area. Arching her hips, she began cranking her choke hold even as Fenja, the one that had her armored skirt mostly torn off, grabbed the thing by the tail began to drag the thrashing, twisting, shaking monster towards a mac truck.
Alabaster's head and chest went flying again, his arms still reflexively firing his pistols as they tumbled away.
Danny… was very much enjoying the show. Of course, that's when a swarm of ghostly, spear wielding figures charged into the area.
"Well my purple haired compatriot, it looks like we're really in it this time!"
"Not so fast my blue haired comrade, we do have a Trump card for just this situation!"
"Don't tell me it's that blue monstrosity oh kind, wise, skilled, and handsome friend who is totally not cosplaying a girl he used to touch himself to?"
"No, my bright, quick thinking, intelligent ally, it's the monster that still makes you piss yourself when you get hit with a jumpscare!"
Both of the idiots clasped hands and, awkwardly, threw a ball together.
"Blast off at the speed of light, Gengar!"
A white blob with two large arms manifested in mid air, just hovering there for a minute. And then it screeched. Unleashing a furious swipe, it carved through a ghost creation before disappearing, seemingly teleporting on top of Crusader, who had lead the charge of another dozen of his clones and what looked like a small army of Empire thugs, and vomited toxic sludge on top of him. Screeching again, the thing formed massive, two or three foot long purple claws, flickering with a dark power, and simply tore into the group of men.
"Holy shit man. What the fuck. I mean, holy shit Leet!"
The Tinker, wearing a pink wig, stuttered before taking a deep breath.
"I, uh, just want to tell our lovely viewers-" A group of grown men went flying, screaming in sheer terror and blindly shooting at the white ghost thing. "That it should be… non lethal."
"Let's, uh, let's just focus on the fight with the half naked blondes. Fucking Hell!"
Chuckling, Danny reclined on his folded up jacket, resting on his hands as he watched the bent over nazi woman show off the… very sheer lingerie she'd been wearing under her costume. Sure, she was trying to shove a blue snake dragon thing into the back of cargo container, and getting a lot of trouble for her efforts, but it was still a nice show.
"Chauvinist pig."
Elizabeth's insult made him smile.
"Omnisexual lesbian with no standards."
The lawyer made an offended choking sound even as another smattering of bullets pinged off their ball.
"Don't give me that look." Danny began. "I saw you ogling the other one too." He waved his hand at her, the one with the wedding ring. "Of course I could control my eyes long enough to actually get the girl. I do suppose this counts as confirmation that Kaiser does keep them around for their looks though. Wonder how they're gonna feel about all this."
Snorting, the feminazi, important distinction, tossed her hair.
"Superior race, my ass. Those are obviously implants. So much for the ubermensch."
"So you were ogling the Nazi!"
"Like you weren't too. Just look at that shameful display. It's like she's begging for a photoshoot. I mean, how pathetic do you have to be to match underwear with your twin just to please a man. Those two need a real woman's touch."
Danny felt his mouth open and close. Not quite wanting to delve into whatever thoughts his hated nemesis was cooking up in her vile brain. Probably something about trying to send him to Singapore in a container again. Or the half naked Nazi women fighting the giant snake.
He blinked. Well that sounded weirder than he thought it would.
Leet suddenly swore loudly, turning to his friend.
"Gyarados is going critical man. I've gotta shut Mr. Nibbles off or we'll fry the projector."
"Crap." Uber ran his hand across his face. "Ok, I've got a plan. Champers, send that shit fuck flying! Up and through the building!"
Responding to "Champers", the four armed frog man grabbed Alabaster by the ankles, the man once more wildly discharging his pistols in a vain attempt to hit the two rogues, and began to spin. And spin. And spin. With a very loud "Kero~", Danny wasn't sure how but he knew there was a tilde there, the frog sent Alabaster through the roof.
He didn't come down.
"Taurus!" Leet stepped forward. "Charge your hyper beam, Gengar, finish off the cannon fodder!"
Uber stepped forward, throwing his hand forward, palm first, while he brought his other hand back into a fist.
"Machamp, hit her with a low kick and then give her one Hell of a seismic upper cut!"
The bull,which had previously been trying to trample his foe or gore her with his spear like horns, now somehow leapt backwards, despite being in the middle of another charge, and began to gather energy in its mouth.
Neither one of the twins wanted to permit this, of course, and so both began to move. Either to attack or dodge, Danny couldn't say. And not just because both of their costumes had pretty much been ruined at this point. Honest! It was the dust cloud.
Irrespective of why he couldn't say, it didn't matter to the hard light monsters. The frog man lashed out with a brutal low kick, even he could hear the woman's snapping ankle, and then, as Fenja or Menja, he didn't know which, began to fall it jumped upwards and punched her with all four arms at once.
Even he winced at the spurt of blood and the shattering of her nose when that happened.
"Damnit, Leet, I thought you said they shouldn't cause this much damage!"
"I don't know man, they're acting up. Nothing's wrong on the control screen, it's just like they want to fight. I… let's just end this, now!"
Of course, the giant that was still standing took grave exception to this attack on her sister. Recovering the spear she'd lost much, much earlier in the fight, she lashed out at the bloody Machamp. Being a hard light construct, this simply caused it to violently flicker and part around the weapon instead of being splattered across the far wall.
More importantly, the creature didn't reform.
Instead, Leet swore and messed around with a few more switches.
"Well guys, looks like that's two pokemon fainted!" Uber stepped forward once more. "But now, Taurus, use your hyper beam!"
A clear bolt of light, bright enough Danny had to close his eyes, struck the still standing giant in the chest. This, instead of punching a hole through her, simply knocked her backwards. Straight into what had been a free standing support pillar. Slumping to the ground, her bra finally gave up the ghost, on a live stream no less.
The two independent capes would be sure to make a mincing out of it.
Danny, on the other hand, would have been far more sympathetic to what would have been horrific public humiliation if the Empire hadn't attacked some of his friends and coworkers for the colour of their skin.
As it was, he just smiled and nodded.
"You know, I was going to enjoy a nice dinner, hopefully without you saying much, but a show is good too. And it's not billable hours."
"Please, as if your blue collar earnings could pay for that."
Danny rolled his eyes.
"Classist or feminist. Try and pick a schtick that's not wife stealer and keep to it."
"Oh, I didn't steal anyone's wife. You're such a narrow minded, patriarchal college drop out that you wouldn't even recognize women's liberation if it hung your elitist ass from a lamp post." The sound of a nail file got Danny to turn his head, blinking in confusion as Elizabeth casually took care of her nails.
"What?" She shrugged. "I've got fifteen minutes and I like having good personal hygiene."
"All I'm saying-" Danny chuckled. "Is that I'm the one that got the loving wife, a job that lets me help people, and a freaking amazing kid. I think I got the better deal."
Elizabeth harrumphed, but blessedly said nothing else.
"Okay…" The larger of the streamers started, words not quite coming out at the pleasant surprise. "To all our lovely viewers, we'll be censoring that in post. And hopefully the Empire doesn't lynch us for this later. This is Uber-"
"And this is Leet!"
""Blasting off again!""
The small cameras floating by their side shut down with a click, the duo sharing a hearty high five.
"Ok man, that was a good show. I think Gengar got the rest of those guys, the twins are down, and I think we sent Alabaster into another state. Uh, shoot, they're running hot. Gonna need to give these guys some major TLC when we get back to base."
Uber chuckled.
"Sounds great man. Just look at these numbers! They are amazing. Like, maybe we should try this hero stuff more often. So, you about ready to move?"
Leet was a Tinker and Uber was a Thinker. They were a pair of mild villains and mostly rogues. Neither of them were actually experienced fighters, not really, despite Uber being able to give himself the mental abilities of one. Tonight had been incredibly hectic for them. It was mostly understandable that they forget one of their enemies.
And not notice a sneak attack.
Crusader roared, leaping up from under a table and driving his spear into the side of Leet's gut. Twisting the blade, he yanked it out and turned to charge Uber. Before he did so, the man screamed in pure, unadulterated fury and launched himself at the armored cape.
Apparently, it wasn't very good armor.
The ten foot long spear, red with Leet's blood, was swiftly broken, Uber driving the head of the spear into the shoulder joint of Crusader's cuirass. Following this, he delivered a swift set of palm strikes to the man's chest, tipping him backwards even as the Nazi screamed and tried to use the haft of his spear to drive the enraged man back. This backfired, however, as Uber used the leverage and Crusader's lack of balance to pull him forward, trip the man, and stomp him in the middle of the back.
This blow didn't do much itself, but the spear point ground into and crunched Crusader's shoulder. With his foe still on the ground, Uber continued his assault.
First he brought his foot up and around in a perfect low kick, the tip of her boot colliding with the side of Crusader's head. As the Nazi's head went, so too did his body come crashing down in the opposited direction. Uber scooped up the spear haft and brought it down like a bat. With a picture perfect swing, he slammed it into the downed Nazi again and again and again, brutalizing the man even as the rogue screamed in rage.
"Hands up and stop moving!"
Danny almost jumped when a group of cops charged in, guns drawn and aiming at Uber. Fair enough, he supposed, considering that Crusader's ghosts were gone and the man himself wasn't moving. It was still a struggle to care about a man that was as vicious as one of the Nazis. Fortunately, for his sense of morality if not his back, translucent red and white ball holding him up disappeared; preventing him from musing if would be tyrants really did have it coming or not.
He didn't scream.
"Oof!"
The wind was knocked out of him. Thankfully, his jacket cushioned his head slightly. Awkwardly climbing to his feet, Danny watched as armed and uniformed police officers swarmed through the mall, at least a dozen on each of the downed capes, and a trio of paramedics already hovering over Leet and loading him onto a stretcher. Blinking the flashing lights that were then pouring through dozens of broken windows, he just kind of… stood there and watched.
"Danny… Danny, come on. We should go."
It all felt surreal.
Video game monsters fighting Nazis.
Uber and Leet of all people being heroic for once.
Elizabeth of all people speaking an entire sentence without insulting him, his financial situation, or his gender.
Truly, this was turning out to be a night to remember.
"I just hope Taylor is alright." It was a gut instinct, really. He hadn't had the chance to try and call the PRT to ask if his daughter was safe. The darned spheres blocked cell phone signals so he'd been in the dark for hours now. And with how crazy things were getting, he needed to be sure she was okay.
His old nemesis scoffed.
"She is a smart girl. It's not like she would be bone headed enough to try and escape the Protectorate. Annette taught her better than that."
"Right." He nodded. "She's probably in her cell and doesn't know anything. Let's get out of here before the cops question us for six hours."
Taylor was safe. Hell, she was probably the safest person in the city right now.
"So, why are you guys not worried about being arrested again?"
Taylor rolled over another crater, this one shaped like a giant foot, as she steadily rolled towards the hospital. Her passengers, sans Bitch who had passed out, mostly spent their time chatting or barking. Not always depending on their species, oddly enough.
"I mean, you even knew they had a command post there. And I suppose that makes sense, BB General is important, but you spoke like you knew."
"I'd say I'm a mindreader." Tattletale chuckled. "But you're a Trump and we're all touching you. So let's just say that I'm a Thinker and powers are bullshit. Ok?"
"Ok. I can buy that." Taylor even gave a full body nod. "But you didn't say why you're not worried about being arrested."
"Turn right up here. And that one's simple. See that giant dragon about half way across the city?"
"Lung? You really think that, that is enough to get you out of prison for free?"
She was a bit incredulous, but Taylor did make the right turn, the Hospital's sign, and a line of sandbags, demarcating their destination.
"No, not entirely." Grue's voice surprised her, the boy having been largely silent and letting Regent or TT entertain Taylor. "But what he's doing, how the Empire has responded, and the fact that the city is shut down. I mean, can you hear anything but gunshots in the distance?"
"And even those are starting to fade out too." The purple spandex wearing girl leaned over the side of Taylor's body to look her in one of her many eyes. "It's simple. The whole place is fucked. The Rig is fucked. Their headquarters are gonna have people way scarier than us on ice, and that assumes anyone even wants to fight. After all, the hospital is kind of a neutral area. Though… that is an angry looking Assault standing at the front gate."
This was not how Taylor thought her night was going to turn out.
Sure. It hadn't been her intention to force her way out of prison to save another person from being sent to prison. But that was just the reason she was out here in the first place. She'd landed right on top of a nazi, threatened and then decided to help a hapless bunch of injured villains.
"Hello!" So she was going to ride this wave of bullshit all the way to the end. "I have wounded! And they say this is a neutral ground, so, um, we come in peace?"
"You have an interesting way of showing it. Shoulding you be back at the Rig?" The man in the red suit remarked.
Taylor felt a wave of unease ripple through her. Well, unease and embarrassment at being called out like a child who'd gotten seen taking from the cookie jar. The fact it was a superhero of all people giving her what amounted to a scolding felt way too surreal. Like a fever dream.
"No… haven't you heard?" She waffled a bit. "Well, Canary was going to be caged. It's wrong. And aren't heroes supposed to stop stuff like that?"
There was enough indignation and stubborn frustration that everyone around her started getting… worried.
"Uh, Taylor, I hate to be like this, but can we get off before you start fighting?"
Harrumphing, Taylor, gently, set the villains, and their mutts, on the ground. Except for Bitch, whom she kept partially covered and secured within her main body.
"Bitch's hurt. Bad. Get a few doctors down here to take her and I'll go. Regent got slashed across the face too.
"I'll take it from here."
A hooded figure calmly walked towards them, one that had been previously obscured by Assault and the bad lighting. Now? It was possible to see the red cross emblazoned over the form of Panacea, followed by the neon blue circuit accented form of Battery. The two heroines stood a few feet further away from them. Which in hindsight shouldn't be that much of a surprise, considering they were at Brockton Bay's biggest and main source of health care.
So of course she would be here. Especially during an emergency.
"The one of you that's injured more severely, come over here first. I take it that's the girl you're carrying?" At Taylor's nod, Panacea shrugged and sighed. "Can you extend her hand outside of your body? Let's see if your Trump rating carries through to what you're touching."
Ignoring the protests of the heroes, and the sudden arrival of about ten armed PRT troopers, the healer marched right up to Taylor, who had allowed Bitch's hand to slip out, and lightly touched the wounded girl's hand.
"Ok, I can see some of her body… but there's these big black patches. I'm not getting full picture here. Can you let a bit more of her out?"
Taylor did just that, feeding an unconsious's Bitch's body, which she had been holding together to prevent exsanguination, out of her main mass. The girl's dogs letting out pitiful whines and a small whimper when a few drops of blood splattered on the ground.
"All right, I can work with this. Just keep letting out a bit more at a time and I can keep working with her. But, Jesus, did someone try to crucify her?"
"Hookwolf." Grue's deep voice prevented Taylor from trying to stutter out an answer. "He won't be a problem. For anyone."
The heroes tensed, his implication being obvious. Taylor simply closed her eyes and thanked the young man for taking credit for something she was trying really, really hard not to think about.
She already had beaten up the Wards twice. Squashing another human being wasn't something she wanted on her resume.
Even if they were a murderous Nazi.
"Ok, hold up, before we start fighting, let's just calm down." Assault raised his hands and stepped back a bit. "Hookwolf was a shit fuck and had a cage order on him, he was trying to murder a young girl-"
"He disemboweled her too, good job cleaning these by the way."
Even the troopers winced at Panacea's announcement and Assault continued, truly sounding eager to avoid violence.
"Shit. So the guy was trying to rip her open too. He had it coming, self defense plane and simple. Or defense of others or whatever. So we're gonna submit a report and you guys are gonna tell us where you left him, ok?"
"He's a red smear. But his bitch should still be alive." Regent, still holding his half red face, gave a bitter chuckle. "As for why there's no body, well, giant, angry lizard dogs get hungry. If Grue hadn't stopped me, I'd have made them eat Cricket too. Be thankful."
"Ignore him, the pain is making him pissy." Tattletale walked over to her teammate, helping him up from the curb he'd sat down on. "Bitch is almost ready to go, right?"
Panacea gave another nod.
"Yeah. And I didn't even give her early onset diabetes. Let me see your friend, then you leave. Got me?"
"Got yah."
Again, Grue spoke up, maneuvering closer to the healer and the slime. It said a great deal that he simply ignored the group of adults, particularly the ones levelling loaded weapons at him.
"Will she wake up?"
Now that he was closer, and he wasn't projecting his voice, Taylor realized there was serious concern in his tone.
"Yeah." Panacea nodded. "I don't do brains, but it's just mild blood loss at this point. Since I assume you guys aren't going to stay, you should get her to eat plenty of fruit, plenty of natural sugars that is, and some salads. Throw in a steak or two, too. She should be fine."
"Thank you." The young man's voice was soft. "Regent, you're up." Throwing Bitch's arm over his shoulder, Grue began to carry her towards her dogs and was soon joined by his other comrades; Regent only needing a few seconds and a pat on the cheek to get moving.
"Flask." Taylor formed a few eyes to look at the leader of the Undersiders. "If you want to come with us, you can. We might even be able to help."
Taylor considered it. Really hard.
She'd known them only for an hour at most, and barely that, but they seemed to be interesting if quirky people who she would love to get to know better. Even Regent, if only because she was never the target of his jokes.
But….
"Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. Knowing my luck, I'll end up leading us right to Lung, and I think Bitch has had enough near death experiences for the night."
She wasn't the only one hurt either. All Undersiders looked worse for wear, if not tired out from whatever ordeal they went through. Taylor was fine with putting herself at risk, she was basically indestructible, but they were squishy, and right now she couldn't afford bringing them along.
Not when she was about to go cause even more trouble.
'I've… already killed at least one man tonight. I'm probably responsible for even more with the Ward's out of action.' Taylor's whole body wobbled in a sudden bout of depression. 'But I just need to press ahead. If I save Paige maybe all of this will be worth something.'
The group seemed mollified, though Tattletale and Grue gave her doubtful looks before they moved away from the hospital atop Bitch's mutant hounds. She understood why. Better to leave now and not risk the heroes changing their minds about bringing them in. Something Taylor didn't need to worry about.
Not unless Militia or Armsmaster were lurking around.
She eyed the heroes warily. Her form warping and rippling into a humanoid form. Granted, all the extra mass she collected on the way out of the rig ended up making her look gigantic by comparison. And eight feet tall slime monster with eyes all over its body and tentacles coming from its back.
By far not her best look, but it would do.
"What happens now?"
The heroes seemed to be as stumped about it as she was. It wasn't like they could stop her from just leaving. But they couldn't just let her leave unrestricted. Of the three, Panacea seemed the less conflicted. Simply staring at Taylor's new form with newfound interest. The other two, however, seemed to be having a silent conversation of their own.
Looks were exchanged.
Whispered words she could not make out.
The duo seemed uncertain, yet she knew that if she made the first move they would be forced to make a decision rather than remain at this mexican standoff.
"That's true enough. But, of course, you want to be a hero. Right, Miss Hebert?"
Startled, Taylor and the heroes turned to face a group of troopers arriving at the gate, having cautiously approached them from inside the hospital. They were led by a suspiciously unarmed black man, someone who looked strangely at ease despite being so close to an escaped prisoner. Unlike his fellows, who seemed more than eager to cling to their guns.
Considering the circumstances of the Bay, she couldn't hold it against them.
The leader stepped forward, keeping his eyes on her all the while. He looked, haggard? No that wasn't the right word. His clothes looked a bit on the crispy side, and his face was smeared with ashes and dirt.
As if he had just gotten off the fighting.
"I'm Commander Calvert of the PRT's Special Response Team." The uniformed man fell into an easy, instinctual parade rest. "And I'd like to speak with you, Flask."