AN: Thanks again to my beta Grey Raven 09 for his assistance!
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!
Invigoration 1.5
"I do so enjoy these weekly meetings," Marquis said with a small grin as he raised the coffee cup to his lips. "It's the little things really, the routine, the punctuality, the normality. It's these that keep us civilized."
Teacher sighed. "Must you do this every time? It was amusing the first month or two. Then it was annoying. Then it was irritating. Now it is just tiring."
Galvanate shrugged. "I don't know, I kind of like the routine. Makes me feel like I'm back with the boys again when he starts up like this."
"Oh, did you like those boys, Galy?" Ingenue teased, leaning forward and dangling her arms so that they would accentuate her breasts. When he just glared at her she laughed and sat back up. "Can't blame a girl for getting her digs in. So few people down here to play with. It's fun to deal with some equals every week."
"Yeah, you want to play girl? Come over here and we can play all you want," Acidbath leered.
Ingenue scowled as she crossed her arms. "Ick. I had my Cell Block leader killed off when I got here because he was a sadist. You're even worse. If I could find someone down here whose powers could kill you, don't think for a second that I wouldn't do it asshole."
He just shrugged, the grin not leaving his face. "Hey, at least I never went after the kids or the wives like Mr. Vigilante there." He cocked his thumb towards Gavel who just raised a middle finger in response.
"Boys, boys, we all know you have large packages, so let's cool the jets before we wind up with another bloodstain on the wall, eh? I've got things to trade here today and I'm not too keen on finding a new buyer," String Theory said, patting the air to either side.
"Oh? What did you build this time, String?" Marquis asked, sighing. "I understand the usefulness of tinker items, but really, the countdown makes most of them pointless for anything long term."
Lab Rat nodded. "Agreed. That microscope was awesome, but the stupid timer kept resetting every five minutes and I could never keep it in focus long enough to finish my work before the thing zoomed down to the electron scale again."
String Theory scowled. "Well excuse me. It's not like I can help that my babies have to have a timer on them. You all know what you're getting when you buy my shit. But that's not what I'm trading, so bug off about it! Now are we waiting for Crane or is she still sick and I can get this moving?"
Lustrum leaned forward. "Oh you're not selling a new gadget? Then what are you trading? Might as well get on with it, Crane won't be attending this meeting."
String Theory smirked and pulled a USB drive from her pocket. "I've got footage of one of the news broadcasts. This is for Marquis and you in particular."
Lustrum looked at the device then just shrugged. "I can't trade for what I don't understand. What's on it? Why should I care?"
"And why would you bother to waste your limited privileges watching the news? How boring is that! There's dozens of soap operas or prime time series I can introduce you to that would be leagues better than the news," Galvanate said.
"Oh I didn't waste my time." String Theory waved off his comment. "I had Blood Bath waste his."
Marquis grimaced. "That doesn't seem like a good long-term strategy. With so few actual privileges allowed, having one of your subordinates be forced to relinquish their own solely so you can record something in the hopes of finding useful information is not the most intelligent idea."
"I doubt she's that stupid. She probably rotates who has to lose an hour or two so that no one comes up on the duty roster more than once or twice a month," Teacher said. "I do the same with my pupils."
Marquis blinked. "Hmm, I hadn't considered that. Perhaps I should implement something similar…"
"Off topic gents," String Theory said, waving her USB. "Now, to answer the illustrious feminist's question: Marquis should be interested because it's about his daughter." The man's back went rigid and his eyes narrowed to slits as his head snapped towards her. "And Lustrum, I have it on good word that the primary subject of this little segment is the daughter of one of your old girls too!"
Lustrum frowned at that as she leaned forward. "Name please. That doesn't really narrow it down and I'm not about to pay for something until I know who I'm supposed to remember from the world above."
String Theory's smile didn't waver. "The name Hebert ring any bells?"
Lustrum tapped her thigh. "Hmm, Hebert…Ahh, Anne-Rose. She married a Hebert."
"You let one of your girls marry a man huh?" Acidbath whistled. "And here I thought they were just a bunch of murdering psychos."
Lustrum scowled. "Just because some of my girls went too far doesn't give you the right to paint them with the same brush, cocksucker." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Annette was smart; she left before things got out of hand. I think she became a teacher. Always liked that girl. I didn't realize that she had a daughter."
Marquis placed his cup down, all extraneous movement kept to a minimum as he met String Theory's eyes. "How does my daughter fit into that report?"
"That would be telling." She smiled and held out an empty hand, palm up. "One pack of cigarettes, plus a box of things I can use to tinker with. From each of you. Then you two can watch to your heart's content."
Teacher shook his head. "That is hardly fair. We're all going to be watching it since you're doing this here. I'm curious about this too now. I'll get a single, larger box together and each of the leaders will contribute to it along with a pack of cigarettes from each of us."
String Theory frowned. "I'd prefer more equipment than smokes, but…fuck it. Deal. Everyone agreed?" All of the heads around them nodded, even Black Kaze and Glaistig Uaine.
She tossed the USB to Marquis and he snatched it out of the air. One could be forgiven for thinking he had a mover ability with how quickly he left his seat and went to the television in the corner. A moment later, the news report was playing. It was a fairly short segment about a teenage cape who led a group known as the Outcasts. The girl had apparently been heavily injured during a fall from a school roof while fighting off the Slaughterhouse Nine. The segment lasted barely a minute before focusing on the betrayal of the ex-Ward Shadow Stalker.
"This is…" Marquis murmured.
"Not all of it. The news coverage was barebones. It was suspicious with how little there was. But there's a Dateline after this finishes that I found too. It has a lot more. Plus actual video of that girl falling. Video is shaky, blame the gangbanger that took it. Dateline didn't have access to the good shots from the hero cams. Oh, and she's not a regenerator by the way. The healer is your girl, Marquis."
Frowns came at that comment as the report finished and the picture jumped to the Dateline story.
We have new details surrounding the group calling itself The Outcasts. Three months ago, they were a group of two individuals, Queen and Darwin aka Panacea. Queen was able to control insects to a degree that allowed the majority of the populace to think they actually had a third Case 53 member; this has since been disproven to an extent. Initially it appears that Queen and her construct were one and the same. That no longer seems to be the case as recent footage clearly shows the construct acting on its own while Queen herself has severe injuries to the point of likely brain death.
That coupled with the group's rapid growth into one of the largest powers in Brockton Bay has led us to do a special report on their activities and their known members. While many of their civilian identities are well known at this point, we will not be repeating them in this report. It is largely considered bad taste and most of their identities have been leaked through no fault of their own, as such we will respect their privacy.
Please join us as we try to understand just what makes The Outcasts so unusual among the local capes in their city. And perhaps…even further…
By the end of the recording Lustrum had a large grin on her face and was wiping tears from the corner of her eye. "Oh, if only Anne-Rose could see that girl now!" she crowed. "I've never been more proud of one of my people!"
Gavel set a hand on his knee and nodded. "They killed most of the Slaughterhouse Nine and managed to twist literal Nazis around their thumb. I'm impressed."
Acidbath just grunted and glared at the screen.
In contrast, Ingenue was only gaping. "Around their thumb? Jesus man, she has a fucking Nazi in her harem! A Nazi! She made a Nazi into a lesbian! Even I'm not that good!"
Marquis had his eyes closed and his head leaned back, his smile wide. "She's happy. My little girl is happy. She has people who care about her. Did you see how they closed ranks around her with that Doom Bug episode of their lives? I would put good money on the PRT issuing a Kill Order for my girl and they just bullied the authorities into dropping it. And then managed to adopt her Doom Bug as their pet!" He chuckled. "She has people who are willing to stand against everything for her. That's my Amelia."
"And they took over the city," Teacher muttered. "And they don't even realize it. If they did, they would have been on more news channels because they would be throwing their weight around. Who are these children?"
"A Queen," the soft reply instantly sent a chill through the room and the leaders' heads turned to look at Glaistig Uaine. Her echoing, three-toned voice issued forth again as she stared at the frozen image of a smiling Taylor Hebert. "She is the Faeries' Queen."
"Um, wasn't that…your name?" String Theory asked frowning.
"It was. I don't think it is the case any longer. I have been usurped. Faerie sees her and recognizes her. She hears the links that the Queen has established. The Queen is…She has taken my place." Glaistig Uaine shook her head. "That shouldn't be possible. Faerie assured me that the others wouldn't be interested in elevation. That I would have to take the plunge. And yet…she has done so. I will have to think on this and what it implies. Perhaps…perhaps there is another way."
She turned and abruptly walked out of the room as the others stared after her. Lab Rat snorted and was the first to stand in her wake. "Yeah, cause that's not ominous. Bitch. One day someone is going to get a straight answer out of her and all of our heads are going to explode. See you all next week. Teacher, send me the box whenever you get it and I'll throw my shit in."
The others all murmured agreement and slowly filtered out of the room until it was just Lustrum and Marquis left. She moved closer to him and lifted a glass in a small toast. He smiled and tapped it before drinking his coffee. "Never thought I'd see the day where one of my girls was with your daughter, Marquis."
"You know she's not actually your girl."
"I'm still going to take credit for this," she replied chuckling. "Anne-Rose was a good one. If I helped instill any values at all in her, I'm sure she passed them along to her kid."
"Well, she is surrounded by women so…I would say you succeeded," he replied laughing.
"Yes," she agreed, slapping her thigh, her grin spreading wider. "They have just enough men for breeding purposes. I told you: smart girl."
Marquis snorted and rolled his eyes. "Even you don't believe that, Lustrum."
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," she stood and saluted him with two fingers to her brow as she started to walk away. "Still though, can't deny that the girl has done her feminist grandma proud. See you next week, Marquis."
"I find myself looking forward to it quite dearly now. Pleasant evening." He leaned back again and smiled at the USB in his hands. Amelia was safe and among friends. He may not be there for her himself. But she was doing well.
That was what was important.
Fanfic Rec: 'Paranoia' by Rescind. On SB. An Alma!Taylor fic semi-crossover with F.E.A.R. Winslow is beyond screwed. This doesn't focus on Taylor actually but on Armsmaster and Miss Militia exploring the fearscape hell that has become of Winslow after Sophia and Emma went too far. While it's only two chapters at the moment they are long chapters. Rescind has a lot of started fics but hasn't been back to them for awhile. All are awesome though and totally worth the read. With what is shown of Winslow and Taylor's powers here…nukes probably wouldn't be enough going by the source material…Very good and a good look at Armsmaster as well!
