AN: Thanks again to my beta Grey Raven 09 for his assistance! Enjoy the New Years chapter! Also, careful what you wish for.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Worm. If I did, I would be FAR more productive.

Please enjoy and let me know what you think in a review if you feel like it!

Interlude 7.x

The Dragon of Kyushu rumbled with suppressed chuckles as Oni Lee brought out the tea kettle and laid it down on the table in front of him and his guest. The automaton man backed up to the wall once he'd divested his burden and stood, hands folded, just like a good little robot.

Lung's guest on the other hand, well wasn't she interesting. The red and gold spandex had been traded in for purple and orange silk along with intriguing yellow-tinted highlights for her gas mask. Spitfire's name remained the same despite her costume's redesign.

"Why send a pyromancer against a pyrokinetic?" he asked, not bothering to hide his smile as he sipped at his tea. "Certainly your new teammates have more sense than that."

Spitfire shifted her mask enough so that she could take her own taste of the drink before replying. "Our leader wanted to be here instead; however, she's still working out the final M/S details with the PRT. You have issues with some of the others on our team, and the other members who would find this meeting acceptable are otherwise occupied." She shrugged. "I used to work with Faultline, so you know me and that I'm trustworthy. Just because I'm new doesn't mean I'm not a good choice for a representative."

Lung's smile widened. Good points all and yet she'd sidestepped over his largest item. That was not something he'd allow, the proper tone of respect needed to be upheld after all. "And yet, you are still utterly powerless against me. My ability completely trumps yours."

She shrugged again. "Let's not pretend that you couldn't kill half of the Outcasts without even trying. But you won't do that because you respect Queen. And…"

"This is true," he responded, baring his teeth at her in the parody of a smile. "The little girl is not so little anymore. One who argues with the Beast is a formidable one indeed. Out of that respect to your mistress, I'll permit you to finish your other statement without harm," he said, waving his hand towards her.

Spitfire's face was mostly hidden by the mask, yet he'd been dealing with people long enough to know when they were smiling by their voice and posture alone. This teenage girl was smiling wide enough at him it bordered on offensive. She had balls of steel.

It was almost adorable. Not that that would normally let her get away with it, but he had just recently walked away victorious from a battle with the Beast of the Seas…

"You're not going to attack me, because if you do, you risk pissing off Queen. And after the other week…the whole city knows not to piss that bitch off."

Lung let out a roaring laugh and slapped his thighs. The tea sloshed over the side of the cup as his foot hit the table but he paid it no mind. Spitfire had more gall than he'd expected from one originating from Faultline's Crew. Queen certainly knew how to draw out the tiger hidden in her troops. If only the girl had been Asian…ah but such pipe dreams were a fantasy for another day. "Such loyalty to your new master! Impressive, impressive! Tell me, woman, what inspires this? I must know!"

Spitfire just smirked again. "She took me in. I've seen her work over the past few weeks and I've gotten hands-on experience now. She really is that awesome. Now even the Endbringers agree."

"Yes, apparently they do." He grinned back. "I wonder if she will go to the next one and be bait until it is chased away, or if she will simply bide her time until she can determine how to chain them as she has chained her pet monster."

"That would be telling."

"Of course. But we digress, this meeting has a purpose. Tell me, Spitfire of the Outcasts, what do you parley for?"

She cocked her head to the side. "I don't think that's quite the expression, but eh, whatever. I'm here to politely ask you to leave the city. We're trying to sort out the gangs and clean things up. We would rather not get into large fights that hurt more people or damage more property after the recent Endbringer attack. If this can be resolved peacefully with us assisting in a relocation, we are willing to negotiate."

Lung scratched his neck. "I find it hard to believe that Queen found these terms acceptable. She has been quite adamant about there being zero tolerance for any villains in 'her city' in the past."

"She's the one who passed along the message for us to get started on this," Spitfire said, shrugging. "She's trying a new tactic. She also advised that she saw your strength in the fight and doesn't want to risk losing an asset like that through pointless competition or antagonism. If we can exist side by side, in separate cities, she's perfectly okay with that."

Lung chuckled again and reached for his nearly empty tea cup. Draining the last bit, he sighed and shook his head. "While I appreciate the sentiment, I have spent too long building my base here to move even as close as Boston. No, I think I shall stay. Queen is new, she will learn how to live with the ABB. I can perhaps agree to reduce the brothels to lessen the burden on her sentiments but that is as far as I will go. I've never been a huge fan of those establishments myself and if it gives me an excuse to look better than Kaiser's trash, I might as well. My apologies for going no further, I am after all, a 'lazy dragon'." He bared his teeth at her again in what could charitably be referred to as a grin if one cocked their head, squinted, and wished really hard.

Spitfire sighed. "I wish I could say that was unexpected, but yeah, I kinda figured. I'll pass your message along. I can't guarantee what our response will be."

"I will be quaking in my Lazy-E-Boy as I await your reply!"

"You sure you're okay being back here?" Paige murmured, her hands settled demurely in her lap as she and Cassie waited in the plush leather seats outside the penthouse office.

"Hell of a fucking time to ask that now, isn't it?" Cassie muttered back scowling. "If all you people didn't trust me to walk back up here you shouldn't have had 'Sight ask me."

"Didn't say I didn't trust you, I asked if you were okay."

Cassie grunted. "This place was never home. It should have been, but it wasn't. This fucker oozes when he talks, you feel him crawling into your skull like a parasite. It's not a power like yours…he just knows how to talk so that he always sounds right. I didn't even realize how fucked up I'd gotten and how alone he'd left me until I started hanging out with you girls." She sighed as Paige laid a hand on her arm. "Kaiser's a bastard but he's generally respectful about the rules. We should be able to walk in and walk out. If we can't…don't leave me here okay?"

"I'm a lot better with my power," Paige replied. "As long as they don't have earbuds, we leave together, or nobody leaves that room."

Cassie smirked. "You've been studying under Taylor."

"Amy actually," Paige replied chuckling. She didn't have a chance to continue as the door to the penthouse swung opened and a suited Hookwolf strode out, a grin stretched across his face as he gave an elaborate bow and gestured for them to walk inside the room.

"Rune, so good to see you again. And without any new scars this time too."

"Fuck off Hooky," Cassie replied almost automatically as she stood and smoothed her dress. Adjusting her domino mask, she stepped lightly past Hookwolf and led the way into the large office.

"You're a bit young for my tastes, sweetums. Now your friend here…yum."

"Gross," Paige commented her voice completely void of all inflection. "Would you like to do an encore performance of what I had the last man who tried something with me do?"

"You got style, girl! You should show me just how well you can use that pretty little mouth of yours," Hookwolf replied chuckling as he closed the door and followed along behind them. Paige took a calming breath and plastered her performer's smile over her face as she resolutely ignored the pig. The three took the arranged seats in front of a large desk placed before a panel of windows looking out on the city-scape. It was quite beautiful in Paige's opinion, if a little ostentatious.

The man behind the desk in a three-piece suit with metal bracers and a metal mask was definitely ostentatious. Kaiser swiveled his chair as he focused in on the two girls, his mask just high enough to reveal his grin. "Now, now, Hookwolf, let's not antagonize the guests. Rune, welcome back. We have missed you greatly."

"I'm sure," Cassie bit out. "But the name is Artillery now, Kaiser." Artillery right. Paige mentally shook herself. She needed to use code names herself, even in her head. They had masks on after all, maybe not full costumes, but masks at least.

Kaiser inclined his head. "Of course, my apologies. It's just so hard to remember the new name when a friend rebrands after working alongside you for so long. I will endeavor not to make that mistake again." Fucking manipulative asshole. She should see how he liked having his arm shoved up his ass. Paige's - no Mockingbird's - eyes narrowed as Kaiser turned to her. "And my little songbird. Such a pleasure to meet you in person."

"It is a shame that the same cannot be said of all here," she allowed.

He chuckled. "Just give us time my dear, I'm sure even the roughest here could worm their way into your heart if you let them. But, before we posture further, does anyone wish for refreshments?" At the round of shaking heads, he shrugged and continued on. "Very well, to business then. Are you both here with the full blessing of the Outcasts as a whole or do you need to return with whatever is agreed upon when we leave this room before it becomes official?"

Artillery leaned forward and rested her crossed arms on the desk. "I am sure that any negotiations can be wrapped up before we leave."

"Your Mistress is still under quarantine."

Her lips lifted into an evil half smile. "Please, you know better than most how awesome her range is; for all you know she could be in here with us right now. And let's not pretend like you don't have one or two moles in the PRT feeding you data. I know you heard about her little chat with Insight, Darwin, and Watchtower earlier."

Kaiser's smile this time was far more genuine and his laugh was less forced. "Sometimes I forget that you weren't just dumb muscle. Okay, I'll grant that you probably have been delegated authority by Queen for this meeting. In that case, what are her demands?"

Mockingbird took over and drew herself up as straight as she could, remembering all of her training in projection and image from her idol days. "She has asked us to bring forward two options for you. The first choice is for the Empire Eighty-Eight to shift operations from Brockton Bay to Boston, or any other city really. She is willing to assist with relocating if that is a problem. The second option would be to shift the main focus of the Empire from gang related crime to reconstruction and peacekeeping. A 'rebranding' in the wake of the Endbringer Assault if you will. Obviously all racism would have to be curtailed should you choose this route. We will permit a reformed non-criminal Empire to operate here, but we will not permit active Nazis to remain."

Before Kaiser could start to laugh at the absurdity of the demand, Artillery took over. "I know that you personally don't buy into the party line. Yes, a lot of people in the Empire do, but you're just in it for the power. Shift the gang away from violence, shift them away from being villains, and you still keep your power, you lose some members, but you gain legitimacy. We can talk to the PRT on your behalf - it's not like they have the power to refuse us right now plus we have the ear of several of their top members - and you will have some extra backup against the ABB, if they decide to stay in town. It's a good deal; I'm living proof that it can work."

Kaiser frowned. For an instant Mockingbird almost thought he was considering it.

Then Hookwolf had to open his mouth and start to scoff. "You're just a stupid little dyke now aren't you? Were you always this dumb Rune, or is it a new development? Did that Queen slut send roaches into your ear to munch on your brains like she had you digging into her carpet you little whore?"

Artillery's lips curled into a snarl and she snapped her head to the man as Mockingbird clenched her hands into fists. "Don't. Insult. Queen. You can fucking degrade me all you want Hooker. I'm fucking used to it. But that girl has saved my life more times than I can count and has given me a roof over my head. All she's asked for in return is a little bit of acceptance towards others on my part; which isn't even that hard now that I'm away from you fuckers. All you've done is try to hurt me whenever I turn my back."

"Listen here you little dyke, I can insult whoever I want and - "

"Does Hookwolf run the Empire, or do you?" Mockingbird asked, extending an open hand towards Kaiser and letting out a barely noticeable breath. It took all of the control she had, but she'd had practice for months leading up to the concerts and the tours. She could deal with assholes like this. Never play into their hands. Hookwolf didn't even seem like he meant what he was saying, not really. He was playing it up to piss off Artillery and it was working.

A corner of Kaiser's lip raised almost imperceptibly and he nodded his head ever so slightly to her. Fucking asshole. He'd probably told Hookwolf to ramp things up just to see how they reacted. Now she got respect for keeping it civil. Fucking manipulative asshole. "Even if the Empire were to rebrand, it is not so simple. I'm sure your Insight is aware that we have ties to the Gesellschaft. Should I move too far from my normal 'activities' there would be responses from the main body. I doubt your Mistress would enjoy the sort of capes they would send in response."

"You can't seriously be fucking considering this!?" Hookwolf snarled.

"Quiet, Wolf, the grown-ups are talking." He frowned as he leaned forward, clasping his hands on the desk. "Queen is powerful on her own, I witnessed that firsthand. The Outcasts grow in strength every week as more flock to her siren call. I see the way the wind is shifting. I don't wish to fight you, but I also have no intention of just rolling over. I inherited this organization and only managed to hold it together because racism is easy in America and the BBB kicked Marquis to the curb by threatening his daughter. If I am to do any sort of massive shift like you speak, I would lose both grunts and capes. To make it worthwhile I would need more than empty platitudes about good deeds and rebrandings. I would need a legacy to make it anything more than pointless."

Artillery's eyes darkened and she froze, stiff as a board. "No." Mockingbird frowned. She could read a crowd; this was the undercurrent that the whole thing had been building towards. She glanced to her side and Hookwolf was frowning as well. He was just as blindsided as she was. What was going on?

"Those are my terms."

"You can't have her!"

"Artillery?" Mockingbird asked laying a hand on her friend's arm.

"What the fuck is this shit now? I thought we were talking about the dyke and her queen bee mistress?"

"I said be quiet!" Kaiser snarled. Hookwolf flinched back and snarled, but stayed quiet. Kaiser shut his eyes for a brief moment before centering in on Artillery again. "I said a legacy, Artillery. I would prefer the girl, yes. I make no secret of that. But if I must settle for Theo…if that will maintain peace and allow for me to keep my grip on a portion of this city…then I will do so. If the Empire were to change its focus, now would be the only time I could conceivably do so and still maintain anywhere close to our current numbers. Obviously the base would not shift overnight, and I will expect you to stall the PRT while we change the core workings, but if your mistress is willing to allow me time to educate my personnel on what is acceptable…perhaps I can make my people presentable without much sacrifice. There will be consequences however. When the Gesellschaft come, I will need your assistance with driving them out, and do not mistake it, it is a when, not an if."

Artillery's scowl could've been seen from space. She pushed her chair back and stood, her back locked straight. Mockingbird hurried to stand as well. "I'll talk to Theo. If he comes to you, consider the agreement made. But Kaiser, under no circumstances are you getting Aster."

"I understand though I urge you to reconsider as it would, shall we say, sweeten the pot for me." He waved his hand towards the door in an obvious dismissal heedless of the fact that they were already standing. "I'm sure you can see yourselves out. It was a pleasure seeing you again, Rune."

Mockingbird rushed after her growling friend as she stormed from the room.

What the hell had she just missed?

The Merchants party was loud enough to be heard from two blocks away. The bearded man, approaching the party with his large teammate, quirked his mouth and shook his head.

"See now, it's this sort of thing that gives people a bad reputation."

His lumbering teammate just grunted.

"So loud, and for no good reason. Everyone knows the Merchants are here. We only just arrived a few hours ago and we know they're here. What's the point in making such a nuisance of yourself like this? All it does is annoy the neighbors."

Several mouths snorted at that. "We'll announce ourselves when we arrive."

"The keyword there is announce. Proclaim. Declare. Broadcast. We make a statement. Everyone should be aware and everyone should get a fair warning that the game is about to start. These tiny little things however, well they aren't even playing a game! They're just making noise to make noise!" He waved his arm towards the warehouse and his expression darkened, his eyes narrowing and his grip on his weapon tightened. "I hate people like that. If you're going to be a villain, then be a villain. Fucking commit."

"They are being villains. They're pissing people off because they can."

"No. They have no goal. They have no plan. They're not doing this because they can. They exist just to get high. That's the sum total of their existence. There's no point. There's no fun. There's no progress. They are the stains under our shoes…well under my shoes at least, you don't have shoes." He slowed to a stop and glared at the building with the blaring noise. "This was a mistake."

His partner growled and the street beside the large creature sizzled from spittle raining down from his mouths. "You said I could have the Tinker bitch. I want wheels."

The man sighed. Nodding, he resumed his walk. They were only a few dozen feet from the warehouse now. "Yes, yes, I know, I know. You're tired of walking the van when it breaks down, or towing the truck, or giving us rides on your back. You realize it's your own fault for becoming so big and mobile, don't you?"

"Fuck you. The Traveler bitch isn't here anymore because we were too goddamn slow. I want my compensation. I want fucking wheels."

"We'll see." The man came to stop in front of the door to the warehouse, the music grating on his very bones as he looked at the 'bouncer' standing in their way.

The drugged-up Merchant took one look at the two of them and proceeded to whimper, piss himself, and bolt inside the door of the establishment. The bearded man chuckled and patted his companion on the side. "Ah, it's so nice to be recognized, don't you think?"

"No more stalling."

He let out a dramatic sigh. "You have no flare for the dramatic. Come along then." Striding forward, he pushed open the door, throwing his hands wide as he made his way inside. His companion, far too large to get through the tiny opening, just smashed a new hole instead, completely flattening the door and squeezing his bulk in behind his teammate.

The music continued for almost a full ten seconds, though all movement stopped in a wave of stillness as people took notice of the bearded man and his companion.

Then the screaming started. And the running. Or more accurately the trampling. Drugged up idiots trying to stampede out of two tiny exits from a large party warehouse did not make for a pleasant experience for anyone involved.

The bearded man just chuckled as he watched the people in front of him scurrying away like ants running from a flood. "You see, Ned? This is respect. All we did was walk in the door. The Merchants don't have that."

"But they have my wheels."

"They might have your wheels," he corrected. "I am still holding out judgement and my opinion is lowered every second we remain here."

As the main floor emptied a little over halfway, leaving a sea of broken bodies behind and scrambling forms still pushing at the side doors, a nasally voice sounded out from the balcony above. "Who the fuck do you think you are you shitstained little twat? How dare you interrupt my party! Nobody messes with the motherfucking Merchants you used douche water drinking arse-knuckle!"

The man rubbed at his beard. "My, my how rude. You're lucky my little girl isn't here. She'd have to educate you on general principle. We're supposed to watch our language around other people. Weren't you ever taught basic manners, or basic cleanliness?"

Skidmark bared his rotting teeth at the man and threw his arms forward, bright colored streaks springing into view in the air in front of him. "Imma fuck your pansy ass with your own shit-smeared foot you queef gobbling turd-wrangler! How's that for watching my fucking language ya inbred asswipe!"

The man's lip curled in the smallest hint of a snarl before his calm, friendly demeanor reasserted itself. Skidmark kept dropping more layers over his floating power while the bearded man spoke. "Now see, I was originally intending to bring you back as a bit of present to my friends. However, I'm not quite feeling so generous anymore. Do you really not know who we are? Your people do. They've already ran away just from seeing us."

Skidmark laughed. He picked up an empty bottle and hovered his hand over the lines of his power. "I know who you are, you're stains of dirty cunt blood on my floor you brain-dead troll-smelling gonorrhea secretion."

The Merchant leader let go of the bottle, it fell and as it hit the rainbow in the air, it jerked hard with a loud crack. The bottle flew straight towards the bearded man and his companion at speeds well past that of a bullet, leaving Skidmark just enough time to smile and assume he was witnessing the end of the 'fight'. Everyone always underestimated him.

Except the bearded man just flicked his wrist and the bottle sailed off in two pieces. The larger piece bounced to the left, completely missing him, the other section was knocked to the side and into the flesh of his hulking friend. "That didn't even tickle," the monster mumbled. "This is the best the fucker can do?"

"Probably not," the bearded man said shrugging. "But honestly, I don't feel like playing here. Just because we miss a few of the general amenities at times doesn't mean we don't appreciate them all the same. This facility is disgusting and the caliber of personal care of these…Merchants is reproachable. Not to mention their horrible use of language. I have no desire to stay here longer than necessary. We won't be finding any candidates here, Crawler."

"What about my fucking wheels?!"

"We'll just have to search for someone more appropriate."

Skidmark squinted down at the two as the name cut through the haze of drugs clouding his head and tingled something at the back of his mind. The sound of an engine revving to life reverberated through the building and set some of the giant monster's eyes rolling towards the source of the noise. "Just who the fuck are you arse bandits?"

The bearded man put one foot back, threw his arms to either side and leaned forward into an elaborate bow. "To my friends I am known simply as: Jack. You, however, may call me Jack Slash. My colleague here is the preeminent Crawler. We were originally in search of your mistress, Miss Squealer. Judging by the sounds outside, it seems she approaches us of her own free will, so we will have little need to go searching any further. You see, it can be hard to find good candidates. And Crawler here was rather annoyed that his chosen had already vacated the premises by the time we arrived. He even managed to convince me that he should get two candidates to make up for it!" Jack chuckled and shrugged as the engine grew louder.

Skidmark, to his credit, seemed to finally realize the danger and had started to back up, attempting to subtly follow his fellow gang members. Being on the upper floor his retreat was already hampered. It was further impeded by Jack smiling at him and simply refusing to allow for the gang leader to run. Jack just smiled as he flicked the hand holding his knife again. A cut appeared on Skidmark's cheek, blood seeping down from the shallow wound.

The Merchant leader flinched, his eyes widening. "Look cocksucker, you want my drugs, take my fucking drugs. I can get more. Squealer ain't worth this shit though. She's a good lay, but she's not gonna satisfy you creepy fucks."

"You misunderstand. We were going to make her better. Except I find your way of life disgusting and not worth the effort to rehabilitate. No, it's better to just wipe you from the map. Even we have standards after all." A wet stain visibly spread down Skidmark's leg at that statement which just had Jack sighing and shaking his head.

"Dormīs cum puerīs mūtūniātīs, et non stat tibi, Jack, quod stat illīs!" Skidmark shouted down as he started to layer more of his power into the air.

Jack started to laugh. "Hey, that was actually a pretty good one! I'm impressed. If you are going to die, you might as well die with style after all, right my filthy friend?"

Besides Jack, Crawler chuckled, the echo from his multiple mouths sending a visible shiver down Skidmark's body. "If you're not going to let me force the bitch out there to upgrade me with wheels, can I at least have some fun tearing her apart while you finish here?"

Jack smiled. "Go wild, Crawler. Go wild."

Battery stood next to Queen just outside the main PRT entrance while they waited for her teammates to arrive with her car. The girl groaned as she stretched her arms over her head, her joints cracking loudly. She'd forgone her costume and opted for just a simple domino mask with shorts and a thin tank top. Not that the decision was surprising since she'd walked in without a costume to begin with and the PRT jumpsuits were pathetic while her own clothes were perfectly fine. "Dramatic much?" Battery asked chuckling.

"Maybe a little, but hey, cut me some slack. I've been cooped up inside for like three days!" the teenager quipped, smiling back. Battery lifted an eyebrow at the girl, not that she could see it through the visor. Or maybe she could. Queen seemed to be picking up new powers every week. At this rate, she'd end up being dubbed the next Eidolon instead of the next Lustrum. "Hey, what are you smiling at?" And that was confirmation, sigh, one egotistical cape in that power range was more than enough.

"Oh nothing, I was just thinking that you should probably work on recruiting some men to your group. You're getting quite the reputation, young ladykiller."

Queen groaned and slapped her hand to her face. "Oh for god's sake, I go on one date with a girl! And it got interrupted!"

"Wait you're actually dating a girl in your harem? That's not just a joke?" Battery's eyes widened and she gasped. "You cannot tell my husband! Under no circumstances can you tell my husband! He will never let you live that down."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Hey, by the way, if one of my team comes to you in the next few days with a request to ease up on the Empire, do you think it would be honored if the E88 keep quiet on their end? Hypothetically, of course."

Battery blinked and gaped down at the girl. "What?"

"Just saying. Hypothetically, if I could convince Kaiser to start playing nice - and drop his Nazi personnel down a dark hole - do you think you, Assault, Militia, and Armsmaster would be enough to convince Piggy to focus on Lung and the Merchants while I finish flipping the Empire into…whatever the hell Nazis call themselves when they're not Nazis anymore?"

"…I have no idea how to respond to that."

Queen sighed and shrugged. "Yeah, well, it was worth a try. I'll talk to Armsmaster later when I know more. No guarantee it'll go through any - " She cut off and her head snapped to the side. "What the hell is that?"

"Queen? Is something?"

"Shut up. There's…the glass is…singing…high pitch…FUCK!"

Battery had no time to react as Queen pivoted on one heel, pushed off the ground and leapt at her, hand outstretched. She tried to reach up to block the girl, but misjudged and the gangly teen got a hand on her visor tearing it off and bearing them both to the ground just as the glass in the buildings around them started to vibrate with a distinct ringing noise that was almost reminiscent of a distant song. A bare instant later and it was almost like a bullet had shot down the city street, an impact reminiscent of a sonic boom following in its wake with glass raining down around them in all directions.

Battery groaned from her position on the ground trying not to move as she felt glass shards digging into the sides of her arms and legs. At least most of them hadn't penetrated her costume and only a few had nicked the back of her head or neck, Queen's hand and curtain of hair having shielded most of Battery's face. On the ground beside her, her visor…was completely shattered. If that had been on her head still…an uncontrollable shiver ran down her as she stared at the destroyed visor.

"Ow…" Queen's pained whisper broke her from her contemplation from her near death or disfigurement and her eyes widened again as she took in the girl laying over her. Queen had taken the brunt of the falling glass shards from the windows on the surrounding buildings. Without the impressive protection from the spider-silk costume, the glass had cut deeply into her limbs and back, leaving her bleeding liberally from many small cuts over the majority of her thinly covered back, and her completely exposed arms, and legs.

"Queen, hang on, it's…it's going to be okay," Battery murmured. She tried to shift the teenager to the side to sit up, but another pain filled groan had her freezing in place. "Taylor, I need to move you. I need to get up, to see how…how bad it is…"

" 's okay," Taylor whispered. "Amy's almost here…drives 'ike crazy…even 'ithout 'mergency. Sorry 'bout…jumping you…mask was…problem…"

"Yes, it was," Battery murmured back feeling tears leak down her eyes as she gingerly wrapped her arms around Taylor's back. She slowly felt the teen's labored breathing start to even out as she counted the seconds. The best estimates for the Taylor's range was between 11 and 12 blocks. If Amy Dallon was at the extreme edge how long would it take her to get here? She had to have been closer though right? She was already coming to pick up Taylor. There was so much blood coating her hands…

Battery felt herself crying harder and she could only pray that Amy would arrive in time.

AN: Skidmark's Latin: "You sleep with well-endowed boys, Jack, and the thing that stands up for them does not stand up for you." (What do you do while stoned? Skidmark reads books in a dead language. And Skidmark is stoned a lot…)

Fanfic Rec: 'A Show of Force' by UnwelcomeStorm. On SB. This is told mostly through Emma's perspective with some from Aisha and a few others. Emma's is not a sympathetic perspective, but it's an awesome twist because of it. Instead of 'Being Taylor Is Suffering', we have a 'Being Emma Is Suffering' fic! It takes a while but it's eventually apparent that this is not just a slightly different verse, but a true AU, and when Taylor starts to fight push back against Emma and the cronies…boy howdy does she push hard and fast. Emma does not make the best of choices from that point and Brockton Bay should be very terrified of what the PRT ends up with because of their choice on which parahuman to recruit from the fallout. My vote for one of the scariest, creepiest, most badass, awesome Taylor's with an alt powerset I've seen. Also, the coolest team-up with Aisha ever, and I'm generally not Aisha's biggest fan so that's saying something lol! Sadly, it seems to be a dead fic, but it's well worth the read for what is there!