Leaning against the wall, I stared up at the sky and let myself bask in the emotions of the people around me.
Brockton Bay certainly wasn't the largest city on the west coast, but it had a nice beach and a sizable tourist sector that kept the economy, well, not healthy, but functional if nothing else. But like any city of comparable size, there were multiple shopping districts, each one similar, but subtly different.
The boardwalk was mostly filled with trendy shops, little cafés and those gift-shops that sold overpriced souvenirs to tourists. Beyond that, there were a couple of malls, the largest of them was of course in the city's richer southside. Otherwise, there were various street lines with stores that catered more towards day-to-day needs.
Right now, I was waiting for Madison outside the southern mall. The prices tended to be a bit higher than I would have liked, but she had insisted we meet here for our shopping trip.
"Taylor!" I jumped at the angry shout, looking around until I spotted Madison stomping her way towards me.
She wasn't a particularly intimidating girl. Barely over five foot tall and slender, getting shouted at by an angry Madison was like being snarled at by an angry chihuahua. The softly glowing eyes and faint whisps of smoke emerging from her body countered this somewhat.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? What's wrong? This!" she waved a hand at me, "Why do you look like that?!"
Puzzled, I glanced at myself. I was wearing a comfy pair of jeans, my old sneakers and a sweater. Not exactly high fashion, but given I was likely to be constantly trying on new clothes, I wanted something quick and easy to slip in and out of.
"No!" she hissed, dropping her voice and poking me in the chest. "Where are they?"
Flushing, I stepped to the side, pushing her hand away. Before leaving the house, I'd shifted in my 'school' look, which meant reducing my figure to something far less noticeable. "I didn't want to be stared at."
"Taylor," Madison groaned, running a hand down her face. "Okay, look. You wanna look your best for your date, right? Well how do you plan to do that if you're hiding yourself behind that appearance? Besides, she knows what you really look like, so what's the point in hiding?"
I wanted to argue, if only to spite her, but I couldn't think of anything that didn't sound like whining. Sighing, I muttered a 'fine' and followed her into the building. Once inside, we went into the bathrooms and I ducked into a stall so I could shift back.
I kept my demon features hidden, of course, but I let the rest of my body return to normal. Besides, I told myself, the less changes I made to my body, the easier it was to maintain.
"It's clear," Madison's voice just loud enough for me to hear and I stepped out to find the bathroom empty. "That's better," she said with a nod, then quickly turning on a heel to lead the way. "So, what sort of date is this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, is this a 'movie and fuck' date, a 'dinner and fuck' date, 'hang out and get drunk before fucking date'," she ticked each one off with her fingers as she spoke. "'Let's find a couple of guys then go home for an orgy date'..."
"W-wha, no!" I finally got my shock and embarrassment under control enough to hiss. "We're not, I've never- Not every date has to end with, with..."
"Sex, Taylor," she said with a laugh, leading us into a store with a flowery name and lots of low cut dresses on the racks. "Say it with me now. S-e-x. Anyway, of course they do… well, unless you're boring."
"There is something deeply wrong with you and this was a mistake." Turning, I tried to leave but Madison grabbed my arm.
"Oh, would you relax? I'm just teasing." Letting go of me, she picked up a dress and compared it against another before putting it back with a frown. "But seriously now, is this just 'friends hanging out', 'I want to get to know you' or 'I'm attracted to you and want to see if this will go further'?"
"I… I'm not sure…" Madison gave me a flat look and quickly held my hands up to forestall whatever she was going to say. "Yes, I know she's attracted to me and yes, I like her. I just don't know if… y'know, things would work out… I mean, I'm kinda boring and no one ever really showed an interest in me before..." I finished quietly, my voice trailing off.
"I… oh Taylor," stepping around the racks, Madison pulled me into a hug, her voice sounding older. "Emma… We really did a number on you, didn't we?"
"It's fine," I muttered, "Well, it's not fine, but I try not to think about it too much, otherwise I'd probably punch you…"
"I would kick your ass so hard," Madison laughed, giving me one last squeeze before pulling away. "Honestly, even before your um, growth spurt, plenty of people were attracted to you. Fuck, I know for a fact that if you had ordered Emma to shut up, kneel down and eat you out, she would probably have done it!"
I knocked several dresses off the racks, the noise attracting the stares of the staff as Madison laughed and I tried to force away that particular image, as pleasant as it otherwise was.
"C'mon," she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the store. "This sounds more like an 'I'm interested in you' date and there's a shop further down that has some low cut tops that'll make her eyes pop out."
Still glowing red, I allowed myself to be dragged from one store to another, trying on clothes of various colours and tightness as we went. Madison, for her part, flicked between teasing me and rather blatantly ogling some of the passersby until we reached a store that was decorated in purple and blacks, the models in the windows dressed only in lingerie.
"For your date of course," Madison said when I questioned her.
"But I'm, we're-"
"I know that," she said, rolling her eyes and walking through the doors. "That's not the point. This isn't for her, not yet, this is for you, something to make you feel good about yourself."
Picking up a lacey purple set that was little more than some string, she held it towards me and I glared at it, folding my arms under my chest for emphasis.
"One sneeze and I'd snap that thing in half. Anyway, how is this supposed to help?"
Madison looked at it, then me with a laugh. "Yeah, you're probably right… that would be kinda hot though."
Yeah... it probably would be, I thought to myself. Maybe something to consider another time.
"It helps because… you're not doing it for your partner, or whoever, you're doing it to feel sexy for yourself. Leaning forward, Madison gave me a smile, her voice dropping to a sensual purr. "Sometimes, just knowing I can just pop a button and make her melt whenever I want is enough to make me feel better."
"Alright, fine," I groaned, I couldn't really say she was wrong after all. "Just… can we stick to the sale stuff? Bras in my size aren't exactly cheap, you know."
Laughing, Madison put down what she was holding and walked towards a rail with a big 'sale' sign under it.
"Sure, that's fair. Now, pink, black or red?"
##
"There is, by the way," Madison said between bites of her sandwich and I raised an eyebrow in confusion, "something wrong with me. I mean, besides the whole 'two people thing'."
After what had felt like hours of walking and trying on clothes, we were sitting in the food court, our purchases in bags by our feet and a light lunch on the table.
"Most would call it nymphomania, but it doesn't really have a name. Hypersexuality, maybe, I think?" She shrugged. "Doesn't really matter."
"Oh?" I wasn't sure what else to say, it felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach for getting so cross with her. I played with the straw in my drink while I tried to think of a suitable reply, but in the end, all I could think of was, "I'm… sorry?"
"Eh, not your fault. Actually, it's my parents if anybody's. Do you remember a health scandal a while back? A Tinker working with a pharma company to make fertility treatment?"
I tried to think back, but there had been more than one such scandal in the past. Tinkers were a specific type of cape that build advanced technology. Most of the time, this meant power armour and weapons, but it also included genetic manipulation, creating creatures or even various drugs.
As a general rule, 'Tinker-tech', as it was commonly known, couldn't be mass produced. It never worked the same or required more upkeep than was reasonable. Of course, that didn't stop companies trying. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
"Maybe?" I guessed, still unable to to remember the exact case she was talking about.
"Well," she waved a hand idly. "My parents were part of it. Them and a hundred others tried it over a year or so. Turns out, the shit was way too effective. By the time my mom was treated, ninety percent of the women were pregnant and almost all of them with twins or triplets. Fuck, one woman apparently had sixteen kids inside her. I think they had to abort them for her safety."
Sitting back, Madison held her hands out to represent a massively swollen stomach. I stared in a mix of fascination and horror. The idea of having that many children growing inside me was horrifying and yet, the image of Madison bloated and pregnant was kind of appealing.
"Does that mean you have a sister?" I tried to keep the horror from my voice. I'm not sure why, but the thought of there being another Madison out there was kinda worrying.
Madison tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and laughed. "Nah, I'm basically the lucky runt of the litter. See, they canceled the trial and scrapped the medication once it became clear that something was wrong and everyone pretty much assumed that was that. Until, of course, then all the kids started hitting puberty and it turned out the," she made finger quotes in the air, "'treatments' had fucked us over as well. Stupid high sex drives, growth issues caused by excessive hormones and so on."
I didn't ask about the growth issues as I could already picture it. There were some photos in Panaceas files of a girl like that, her body distorted and misshaped to the point she couldn't walk and could barely move.
Frowning, I looked down at Madison. "So, why are you so… short?"
She stuck her tongue out at me. "Like I said, I'm the runt. I was born last, so the doctors had just enough warning to stick me on a mix of hormone suppressants and mood stabilizers since I was a kid. Kinda stunted my growth, but hey, unlike the others, I get to live a normal life… more or less. I mean, I was still pretty much a cat in heat and I would have fucked just about anything, even Greg..."
She scowled at the mention of his name and fell silent. I picked my sandwich, forcing myself to eat despite my lack of appetite. I couldn't stop myself from thinking about what she said while we ate. I couldn't imagine being a slave to my body like that.
Sure, I was a 'soul sucking demon' of myth, but I wasn't a mindless animal, no matter how turned on I was, I was still me, I wasn't going to jump some random person and fuck sensless or follow someone into a sketchy situation just for the chance at sex.
Something Madison said clicked and I looked up from my lunch. "You kept saying 'was'. What about now? Y'know, since the… accident?"
"It's better, actually." sitting back in her chair, she waved a hand at herself. "Its kinda fucked up, but that drive, the craving and the constant fog it brought with it are gone. Sure, I still want sex, anytime I can get it, but I dont have worry about spending my life endlessly rutting like an animal in heat, its manageable now."
Giving her a flat look, I tried to smile. "So, this is your 'manageable'?"
Laughing, Madison flicked a bit of crust at me, but her eyes were locked on something over my shoulder.
"Don't look, but I think you have an admirer and they're not staring at your tits or ass."
Without thinking, I turned my head, catching a brief glimpse of a blonde haired girl across the food court who smiled at me, then vanished into the crowds.
"You know her?"
"No… I don't think so..." the only blonde I knew was Glory Girl, but that hadn't been her. Wrong shade of blonde and different body shape. "Maybe someone from Winslow? One of Emma's friends maybe?" Shrugging, I turned back to my lunch.
"Maybe…" Madison looked at me, her eyes shining. "She was cute though, mind if I borrow your face for a bit? I'll tell her I'm your sister or something."
"No!"
"Oh come on, please? Okay fine, what about your nurse friend?he offer for a threesome still stands!"
Even as I groaned, I couldn't stop myself from smiling. Sure, she was sex obssessed and a bit of a bitch, but I found myself enjoying her company regardless. It was nice just having friends again.
##
NightNurse: Hi, this is Respite, we met last night?
GloryGirl: Hey! Interesting name
GloryGirl: joke, btw.
GloryGirl: So, I checked out that building. No one was there, but someone is defo using it for something. Fancy a stakeout?
NightNurse: Sure.
GloryGirl: great! Meet you where we split up?
I frowned as I checked my messages again. Talking to Glory Girl, even on PHO, was a lot like being run over by a speeding truck, or maybe a very attractive hurricane.
I'd waited until Dad had fallen asleep before sneaking out of the house and flying back to where I had first met Glory Girl.
I obviously hadn't had time to make a costume, so I'd settled for simply transforming my clothes into the black and yellow version of my healing outfit. Thankfully, as I was still wearing Mom's coat, the enchantments she had placed on it would offer me some protection, but I really needed to make a dedicated costume.
Problems for another time, I thought to myself, spotting Glory Girl in the distance.
"Hey, you're early!" she called once she was close enough, a warm smile on her face. I shrugged at the comment. I'd made sure to get here first as I didn't want her to see me flying.
"You said you checked the building?"
"Yeah," crossing her arms and legs, Glory Girl took a seating position while floating in the air. "Not much inside, but I found some couches, some lights and a space heater hooked up to a generator that had been hidden out of sight. So it's either some very organised teens, or some Merchants wanted a warm place to ride out a high."
Turning slightly, she started to move in the direction of the building and followed along, choking back a laugh.
"Organized teens? Is there a story there?"
"Trust me," she laughed, "you'd be surprised what some of my classmates will do to find a hidden spot to party or just makeout."
"And then they end up in the clinic, puking their guts out while Panacea and I call their parents?" It had happened once already, a group of teens carrying their friend into the clinic and asking for help, thinking we wouldn't immediately call their parents.
Panacea hadn't even blinked at the situation as it was apparently a common thing.
"Something like that," Glory Girl admitted with a sigh before straightening up. "Need a ride?"
We had reached the address we had been given, the building was on the other side of the road, its windows dark and door shut. We were standing next to a slightly taller building and Glory Girl pointed to the roof with a jerk of her thumb.
It would have been easier if I could just fly myself up there, but I'd need my wings for that and I wasn't what, if any, warning the PRT had given Glory Girl. Was she still on the lookout for the human eating master, like they had told Panacea about?
I know the Wards had said the PRT just wanted to talk, to ask about Winslow, but I wasn't sure how much I trusted that. For I knew, it was just an attempt to trap or arrest me and I wasn't willing to take that risk.
With no other choice, I let her carry me to the rooftop. It was flat, with a raised wall around it perimeter that meant we could watch the Merchant building without being seen ourselves.
"So, do you have a plan?" She was the more experienced cape afterall, so I decided it was best to let her take the lead.
"Stakeout," Glory Girl said with a shrug. "We'll give it an hour or so, see if anyone comes to the building, take pictures of them if we can, go in if we see anything suspicious and then hand it all over to the police."
"And if no one shows up?"
"... we get to spend an hour on a roof like a pair of hot idiots?" she struck a pose like a catwalk model and fluttered her eyes at me and I was unable to stop myself from laughing.
There was something relaxing about Glory Girl. Her emotions were a bright mix of happiness and honesty that made me think she really enjoyed what she was doing. Despite the mask on her face, she wasn't trying to hide herself.
Spinning around, her feet finally touched the ground, roof, and she leaned on the wall, facing towards the Merchant building.
"So… how did you end up working at Panacea's." her open honesty meant she didn't even try to hide the sarcasm in her voice.
"Got hurt, Panacea healed me and we got talking about magic and it moved on from there," I said carefully. It was, mostly, the truth after all. It was just missing some of the details. "You don't like her?"
"What, no, she's fine! She does so much good for the city, healing all those villains. Who knows what would happen if the heroes were able to arrest them instead."
"That's not fair!" I hissed, surprised by the vitriol in her voice. "If Panacea didn't heal the villains, they would simply attack the clinic! Do you know how many people would get hurt? Or worse, what do you think one of the gangs would do with Panacea on their team?"
What I didn't tell Glory Girl, what I wasn't allowed to tell her, is that while Panacea charged known villains a bit more than everyone else, that money was immediately donated to various charities that helped look after victims of supervillain attacks.
"Besides," I muttered, refusing to look at Glory Girl. "Panacea doesn't heal the villains. Not really. The Empire has their own healer, Lung regenerates and the smaller gangs tend to use their own doctors."
It was true. I'd looked through what records I was allowed to see and the villains rarely came to the clinic. Really, Panacea spent more time healing the heros at a steep discount that was mandated by the PRT or risk losing their support.
I glared at the Merchant building across the street, trying my best to ignore the feelings of frustration, surprise and anger drifting off Glory Girl, the air between us tense.
Time slowed to a crawl and I wasn't sure if it had been five minutes, or twenty. I could have checked my phone, but my temper was making me stubborn and I refused to give in. I was being silly, I know, I was just irritating myself, but it was hard to stop.
Eventually, Glory Girl sighed.
"Fuck, look, I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean what I said, it's just… Panacea is a bit of a bitch, alright?"
Turning, I gave her a level look. If I had still been wearing glasses, I'd have been looking over the frames at her.
"She blacklisted me, okay?"
"Why?"
"I don't know!" she threw her arms into the air. "She blacklisted the whole Brigade when she first opened and won't tell us why. I think Mom knows, but she won't say anything and I can't go near Panacea or I'll risk pissing her off even more."
That didn't make any sense. Blacklisting was more or less what it sounded like. No healing, no cosmetic procedures, nothing. The only exceptions were in the case of immediate life or death, or an Endbringer battle. As far as I knew, only a few people had been Blacklisted by Panacea and most of them villains.
"I… didn't know. Panacea never mentioned it."
Glory Girl made a huffy little laugh and turned back to the building. "Laserdream was pretty pissed when she found out Panacea wouldn't remove her Tattoo..."
"Oh?" I perked up a bit as Glory Girl told me about her cousins 'accident' while at a college party, the tension between us slowly easing.
I'd have to ask Panacea about it later. Sure, she could be a bit catty, but there had to be a reason behind blacklisting an entire hero team.
##
"You're kidding?" Glory Girl gasped and I shook my head. I probably shouldn't be telling her this, but we had been on this roof for nearly an hour now and swapping stories was all we could do.
"No, really a two liter bottle," I held my hands out in demonstration, Glory Girl watching in a mix of horror and fascination.
"And she agreed to it?"
"No, she-"
I cut off as a white panel van came to a stop outside the building we had been watching. I'd expected whoever was driving to get out, but instead the side door slid open and five people emerged from the dark building to climb inside.
Cursing, Glory Girl pulled me into a bridal carry and took off, following the van as it drove down the road.
"I can't believe I forgot to check the building was empty!" She hissed, staying high enough that the drive would be unlikely to see us, but low enough that we wouldn't risk losing them.
"I didn't think of it eithe-"
"I'm the experienced one! Mom is going to flip if she ever finds out!"
"Just tell her this was the plan," I squeaked As Glory Girl banked suddenly, putting a building between us at the Van as it turned a corner. "We're following them back to their base or something!"
"Good idea!" she laughed, slowing as the van turned off the main road and was now weaving through the narrower sidestreets. We were deep in the docks now, but far away from the abandoned trainyard that was supposed to be the center of Merchant territory.
The van pulled into the forecourt of an old warehouse and Glory Girl landed us on a nearby roof as a man in dark clothes pushed the gates closed with the screech of rusted hinges.
"Okay," she muttered, "this isn't right. Since when did Merchants offer pickup?"
As Vicky pulled out her phone and started taking pictures, I stared at the faint shimmer in the air around the warehouse. If I squinted at it, I could almost see words floating around the building, twisting and blurring before vanishing from sight.
"Glory Girl, why does this place have wards?" They weren't like the ones around Winslow, which had been hidden from view until you were inside of them, these seemed rushed and half-assed. Maybe they were done by someone who didn't really know better?
'Or', I thought, 'Maybe they were just too stoned to care. Druggies aren't known for their workmanship after all.'
"This really doesn't feel right," Glory Girl muttered, biting her lip and frowning at the warehouse. "Will those wards do anything if we enter?"
Squinting, I tried to make out the words, but they were too indistinct. I did, however, notice a very large, very obvious gap in the Wards and I smiled at the stupidity of it.
"I know how to get us in… wanna see some magic?"
##
Walking forward, I made a show of shivering as I approached the gate.
I'd change my appearance to a twenty-ish woman with an attractive figure and very revealing clothing, my long blonde hair swaying in the wind. I'd told Glory Girl it was an illusion as a cover and now she was hanging back, waiting in the shadows of the nearby buildings as I attempted to distract the guard.
He noticed me pretty quickly, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline at the sight of me.
"H-hey!" I called out, my voice of a gravelly rasp of a long time smoker. "Y'know where I can get a hit? Maybe a chance to get warm? Jessy said she scored here, that you guys were always good for it."
The guard, a guy who was probably in his late teens didn't even try to look me in the eyes, the front of his pants tenting as she stared.
"I-I don't have-" he started to say but I cut him off with a whine.
"Please?" stepping forward, though careful not to touch the gate I very obviously tugged on my top, pulling the plunging neckline lower. "I can pay!"
The guard took a shuddering breath, then glanced, putting his head through the bars of the gate and even checking behind himself. Once he was apparently satisfied, he pulled the gate open enough to squeeze through and came out to meet me.
I held out a hand and he frowned, "You first."
Giving him a flat look, I crossed my arms and glared at him. "No way, pay first, I'm not stupid, I've done this before."
Huffing, he reached into a pocket and pulled out a small bag of something that I didn't recognise. I'd never been interested in drugs and had stayed away from the Merchants at school. Whatever was in that bag could have been soap powder for all I knew.
Snatching the bag from him, I ignored his huff of surprise and made a show of looking at the pills inside.
"Alright, come on." Grabbing his arm, I led him away from the gate. He resisted at first, probably unwilling to fully leave his post, but he gave in quickly when I nodded at the wall next to the gate. It was still kinda public, but it at least meant no one inside could see us.
The second he moved away from the gate, I let go of his arm and clamped my hand over his mouth, lifting him off ground by his jaw and slamming him into the wall. I felt the breath leave his lungs, his eyes wide with terror as I let the 'illusion' drop.
I felt a thrill go through me as he tried to fight, grabbing my wrist with both hands and pulling, but I'd already pulled my wand from my pocket. With a dull flash, the sleep spell hit him in the stomach and he went limp in my hand.
I let him slump bonelessly to the floor as Glory Girl shot forward.
"What the fuck was that!?" she hissed, clearly trying not to smile. "I thought you were gonna, I don't know, ask for help or something!"
"Looking like that? Anyway, it worked, didn't it?"
Dragging him further away from the gate, I pushed it further open and slipped inside, followed by Glory Girl.
On the inside, I could see the Wards more clearly. "I was right… the wards only sound the alarm if someone tries to sneak over the wall or force the gate. They don't notice if someone opens it from the inside."
"Hundred bucks for a cheap CCTV system would have worked better," Glory Girl snorted, frowning at the wards she couldn't see.
"In this neighborhood?"
"Fair point…"
Smiling, I led the way across the forecourt, trying to make as little noise as possible, something that was easier for Glory Girl who was floating only inches from the floor.
Rather than risking the front door, we moved around the outside of the building, listening for any sign of another guard or a patrol. On the buildings western side, there were a series of windows high enough up that they were probably a second floor office or something. One of the panes was missing and Glory Girl quickly flew up to look inside.
When she dropped back down, I sighed but let her lift me into the air and then guide me through the window. The office inside was filthy and dirty, clearly having not been used in a long time. A desk sat at one end of the room, with a half rotten corkboard on one wall.
I stepped aside, giving Glory Girl room to follow me in and she cursed about the darkness.
I hadn't even noticed it. I'd gotten so used to my better senses that I was starting to forget that others couldn't see as clearly as me at night.
"Just be careful," I whispered, tugging gently on her sleeve and pulling her in the direction of the door. The old hinges groaned as I opened the door. I winced at the noise, pausing and listening for the sounds of alarm, my heart pounding in my chest.
The seconds ticked away into minutes and I let out a breath when it became clear no one was coming. Before I could step out into the corridor, Glory Girl put her arms around my waist and lifted me up, flying forwards slowly so she didn't crash into the walls.
We moved silently through the building, I could faintly feel people in the distance and was using that to point us in the right direction. As we got closer however, I became aware of the smell of magic. It was weak, but steadily growing stronger and it had a smokey edge I had never felt before.
What the fuck were they doing here?
Eventually, we left the offices and emerged on a catwalk overlooking what had once been a production area of some kind. The floor below still had metal plates that had once been used to hold down machinery fixed to it and deep scratch marks where they had, presumably, been removed long in the past.
Now, however, someone had constructed a small raised platform out of wood with runes carved deep into it and the stench of magic was almost overpowering even from where I was.
In front of the platform, a dozen people in dirty clothes had gathered, while around them stood half a dozen people in the same dark clothes as the guard outside. Unlike him, they had deep red bandanas tied around their arms.
For a moment, I thought they might have been Empire Eighty Eight men, but I quickly abandoned that notion. The clothes might have matched, but the Empire were neo nazis and the people down below were a mix of skin tones and genders.
Maybe I was naive, but this didn't feel like a drug den to me.
There was movement to my side and I looked over to see Glory Girl carefully angling her phone to film whatever was going on as a man entered the room.
He was tall and slim, with short slicked back, red hair and close cut beard. Like the others, he wore black, but unlike them, instead of the shapeless black pants and top, he wore a fitted suit with a matching black tie on a white button down shirt.
There was a patch on his arm, sown professionally onto his sleeve, but I couldn't make out the symbol on it and that same smokey smell followed him as he moved.
Behind him was a smaller man in his underwear. He was painfully thin, enough that I could see his ribs and his pale skin was covered in dark marks. As the people turned to watch him, he flinched away, moving closer to the suited man as they moved up onto the platform.
The suited man stood on the platform, close to his audience while the other was guided into the magic circle by a woman in black clothes.
He held up his hands, calling for silence despite no one talking and smiled broadly.
"Welcome all of you." His voice was rich, warm with a gentleness that bordered on fatherly. It was the sort of voice you could listen to for hours without getting tired. It was also lousy with magic and I glanced to my side to see a faint blush on Glory Girls cheeks, her eyes hazy.
Without thinking, I grabbed her arm, magic tingling across my skin. She jerked, looked at me then shook her head, her eyes focusing once more. I tightened my grip to keep her from moving and she nodded in apparent understanding.
Below us, the speech had continued. "Great are the days in which we are touched by our Lady, magic. She guides us all, ever unseen, but always present. Before we get started, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you who so generously helped us make this event come together smoothly. Through your tireless efforts, we grow ever closer to having a place we can truly call our own. The Halafong is nearly complete, and with it, our Lady's blessing."
There was some excited murmuring from the crowd and he waited for it to stop before continuing.
"But, that is not why we are here tonight. Instead, I have called you here to witness an ascension." There was more noise from the crowd and he calmly raised his hands, palms out in a gesture of calm and the crowd quickly feel silent. "That's right, two weeks ago, Naysun chose to be a part of our calling and now, he has passed his tests. Only this morning, our Lady appeared before him and granted him a name and a blessing. Now, we are here to witness his," his voice raised to a not quite shout, "Rebirth!"
Turning, the man placed his foot on a rune, the smell of magic surging. The thin man, Naysun, trembled as, one by one, the runes lit up.
"We are the lost and the forgotten! The dregs that were cast out by society!" the suited man shouted. "And as I lay dying in the gutter, our Lady came to me and raised me up, she gifted me as I gift you! She told me that life is passion and through our mutual passion we have found each other, our passions help us all to come together as one and the energy we create as one allows us to call our Lady!"
He sounded almost like one of those evangelical preachers on TV and I tuned most of the speech out. Even I could tell it was pretty much new age garbage and yet, his audience was clearly enthralled.
Still, this was clearly a performance to distract people from what was really happening. The magic entering the runes was moving slowly, too slowly. Either this 'priest' didn't have much power or he didn't know what he was really doing.
I could have charged that spell in a second.
"We need her as much as she needs us and this is why we are so happy to serve! Domina est enim nostra nobiscum!"
The latin was nonsense, of course, but as his shouting reached fever pitch, water rose up out of the runes and the magic in the room heaved. Twisting together, the water wrapped around Naysun like a snake, forcing him upright. For just a moment, the water took the form of a woman that leaned down to kiss him, then it snapped tight around his body and his mouth was forced open as the 'woman' entered his throat.
Naysun struggled, trashing fruitlessly against the water even as his skin started to writhe. Stick thin limbs thickened, each one packed with muscle, his chest and shoulders broadening as he grew taller. He fell to the floor as the force that was supporting him vanished, water pouring off his body in an endless wave, evaporating as it reached the edge of the platform.
After a moment's silence, the flow of water stopped and he stood up, his eyes shining with magic. The 'priest' stepped forward, clapping Naysun on the shoulder with a quiet, "Welcome home, my brother."
Turning to the crowd, he spread his arms. "Everyone, may I be the first to introduce you to Naysun of the sea..."
The crowd cheered and Naysun lifted a fist into the air, a ball of water appearing above him.
"We need to leave!" Glory Girl hissed and I nodded. These weren't Merchants, they were something worse.
As we stood up, I glanced back down and my heart froze. One of the guards in black was looking up at us, his eyes literally burning with fire. Before I could shout a warning, a gout of flame slammed into the catwalk, demolishing it.
Glory Girl tried to grab me as we fell but she wasn't quick enough. Twisting my body, I managed to land in a crouch, Glory girl hitting the ground moments later with enough force to crack the concrete floor.
"Kill them!" the suited man shouted as the crowd scattered, running for the exit.
Spikes burst from the ground, splitting me and Glory Girl up as a man with flaming hands charged forwards.
Ducking and weaving around his blows I stared at his glowing eyes with mounting dread. Something was wrong with his emotions, the only thing driving him was a burning, barely controlled rage that tasted like hot ash on my tongue.
Knocking his fist away, I reached for my wand, only for a blast of water to slam into my shoulder. It felt like I'd been hit with a steel beam, the force knocking me back, ice covering my arm.
Glancing behind me, I saw Glory Girl trading blows with a man made of stone. He wasn't hurting her, but any damage she did to him instantly healed.
Seeing movement, I threw myself to the side, narrowly avoiding a blast from the burning man only to slip on ice that hadn't been there a moment ago. Hitting the ground knocked the wind out of me and I stared up in shock as my attackers closed in on me, the same blank expressions on their faces.
At that point, common sense and survival won out and I dropped all pretence. My body flowed back to its natural form, one of my wings turning into a spike that lunged at the man while the other drove itself into the ice so I could climb to my feet.
My sudden change in appearance gave my attackers pause and for just a moment, I could taste their fear.
Wand in one hand, I charged forwards, shooting fireballs at the woman while the claws of my other hand lashed out at the man. He flinched back, but it wasn't enough and I carved deep grooves into his chest.
He stumbled to the ground, clutching at the wound and the water woman glared at me, her skin vanishing as ice covered her body. I readied my wand, planning to melt the bitch if I had too, when Glory Girl suddenly shouted in warning.
I ducked as the stone-man she had been fighting crashed through the spikes and slammed into the woman, the impact causing them both to shatter.
Straightening, I looked at Glory Girl who was openly staring at me in shock but I discarded it for the moment. Instead, I faced the other two, who were in the process of pulling themselves back together. Even the man I had gutted was slowly healing, fire coving his wounds.
Without hesitating, I fired sleep spells at all of them and they dropped to the floor, even as their bodies continued to repair themselves. Earth and water were moving along the floor, rejoining the main body and changing back to flesh.
A quick look at the platform showed that the leader, whoever he had been, was gone. Either hiding in the building or running through the streets outside. Either way, I wasn't in the mood to look for him.
"You!" Glory Girl said suddenly, "You're the one the PRT was looking for!"
"And what if I am?!" I snapped back, one hundred percent done with tonight. Spinning on my heel, I stalked towards the doors. Glory Girl could clean up the mess.
"Wait," she called out, hurrying after me. "You've been at Panacea's this whole time? Fuck, the PRT is going to-"
Spinning around, I lifted my wand, my magic pulsing under my skin. "The PRT will do nothing, do you understand?! They tried to fucking kill me! Did you know that?" I hissed, stepping forward, "No talking, no surrender, just 'do as I say and I'll give you a quick death!' So fuck the PRT!"
Glory Girl stared, slightly cross-eyed, at the tip of my wand. I wondered briefly if she was immune to magic. Rumor had it, Alexandria was and Glory Girl was sometimes called Alexandria-lite.
Lowering my wand, I turned and left, Glory Girl following close behind.
"Wait, they said what? Look, hold on and talk to me-"
Reaching out, she grabbed my arm to pull me to a stop and I growled at her.
Slowly, Glory Girl raised her hands, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Okay, first off, don't do that. But look… I get it… I wont tell the PRT about you, yet. But, does Panacea at least know? I mean, she's a bitch, but you should at least tell her about this."
"Of course she knows." Ssighing, I pushed my hair out of my face. "I got hurt saving a woman from a monster and she healed me… she knows everything about me."
That was probably more than I should have told her, but Glory Girl relaxed, her emotions leaning more towards curiosity now.
"Look," screwing her face up, she scratched her head with both hands before continuing. "We both need time to calm down… I wont tell the PRT, but you owe me an explanation, at least. So, message me on PHO and well… I dunno, go on a patrol together or something, deal?"
She held and hand out and I didn't need my empathy to know she was being honest. Glory Girl wore her heart on her sleeves.
Reaching out, I took her hand.
"Fine, but I'm not sticking around for the PRT. If they send Dauntless, he'll probably attack me again."
"Right," she nodded with a faint smile. "I'll just tell them you had to get ready for an early shift or something."
"Sounds good," I said before walking off. At least now I didn't have to worry about her seeing me fly. So, at least tonight hadn't been a complete mess after all and now I had something else to ask John about.
I didn't know until the next day that I had received a PHO message from Glory Girl that she had sent minutes after I left.
Glory Girl: hang on, I just realised you could fly this entire time!
AN: chapter written under commission
Beta by Fedorable/WhoAmEye, useless lesbian extraordinare
If you enjoy my content, please consider supporting MetallixMiscellaneous on Patron