The street was silent for a few moments before several others stepped up beside the girl, each mounted on giant spiked caricatures of four legged creatures. The first was covered in leather like a motorcyclist, with what looked like a matching helmet that had been sculpted into the form of a skull that had impenetrable smoke rising from the side. On the creature next to him sat a slim figure with curly black hair, face covered in a strange white mask and a silver crown hung off balance on the top of his head. The final new entry wore a worn-out sleeveless shirt, plaid skirt and heavy duty boots, with a cheap dog shaped mask you could buy at any corner shop. Each of them was staring down at me and Taylor, the blonde girl in particular was looking at me with a… pained expression on her face? She caught me looking at her and the smirk returned, but it didn't reach her eyes.
The silence started to stretch uncomfortably long before the group shifted, the blonde girl swung up behind Skull Man and the animals leapt down to the street. The animals' claws sunk deep into the road as they slunk forward and I stepped forward, manoeuvring myself to stand slightly in front of Taylor. This seemed to startle her as her head whipped upward towards me before going back to them, I caught some hesitation in her body language, but she stepped up beside me. I smiled beneath my full-face mask. Clearly not nervous enough to cower behind me, I thought, there was the fire she showed at school.
They stopped a fair distance away from us and dismounted, close enough to talk normally but not so close as to be within easy reaching distance. Although I got the feeling that this did little to reassure them, clearly they had seen my fight with Lung (or at least the end of it) and knew that this distance was basically irrelevant. Each of them looked halfway torn between staring at us or the destruction around us.
Something pinged in my mind and I knew it was something out of the fog of Kieran's memories about this group. The Under-something? I reached further, tuning out the outside world as Skull Man, no, Grue, stepped forward and started talking, reaching out a hand for Taylor to shake. The Undersiders that was it, a group of teenage villains working – willingly and unwillingly – under some other big bad that slipped my mind. Even before Grue (Brian?) gestured over his shoulder at the other my mind supplied their names. The Blonde was Tattletale (Lisa?), dogface was Bitch (Rachel?) and the renaissance wannabe was Regent (Alec?). Meeting them felt odd, more so than even my first day back at Winslow after all this. At least with people like Taylor and Sophia they were present in both sets of memories, even if in one they were just characters in a story. Myles had never met any of them, but they'd featured heavily in Worm or at least the opening sections of it.
I snapped back to reality as I saw Grue turn to me, presumably after Taylor had refused to respond judging from how she was leaning away and staring at him like he was a snake about to lunge at her. Without a hint of the almost out of body experience I had felt at meeting them, I stepped forward and took the hand he'd stretched towards me. I pretended to ignore how I didn't see the rest of them flinched slightly at my movement or the tenseness in Grue's shoulders. Carefully, making sure I didn't crush his hand, I squeezed just enough to make it more like a normal strength handshake. Or perhaps a little too tight if the way he shook his hand out afterwards was any indications. Whoops.
"Almost got jumped by Lee and a bunch of goons." Grue was saying, voice deep and almost reverbing through the smoke, "Asshole ran off without his boss backing him up. Always has been a coward without him. I guess you two are responsible for that?"
Taylor stayed silent while I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, "Yeah, guess so."
My voice held none of the nervousness my actions did, still altered so as to be unrecognisable from my own outside of the 'suit'.
"You certainly did a number on him," He glanced down at the mildly mangled and severely bitten form of Lung before shaking himself and looking back up at us, "The fuck you do?"
Tattletale butted in before I could answer, pointing at Taylor and speaking in a smug voice, "Pepper spray, bites and more bites. He'd actually be healing up a lot faster without all the toxins you've stabbed into him," she trailed off before turning towards me, "And you…"
"I punched him," I interjected before she could finish. Seeing their disbelieving looks, even though I was certain they'd seen it themselves, I continued, "Very hard."
Almost as one they turned to look down at Lung, most noticeably the gaping hole where an arm and part of his torso should've been.
"Very, very hard."
Tattletale blinked at me for a second before grinning again, this time slightly forced.
"Right. Well whatever you did to him he'll be feeling it when he wakes up. Or feeling what he's missing at least," She gestured at his missing arm. Oh, she was definitely teasing us, "Good job, whoever you are."
From what I can remember, she was forced into working for the boss. A villain with a snake motif of some kind? But none of that showed up in her expressions, either she was a very good actor, or she genuinely enjoyed the villainous lifestyle. Personally, I thought it might be both.
What did I remember about their powers? Tattletale was a thinker and a very strong one at that. Something to do with intuition or getting an insane amount of information from very little. Grue was obvious with the smoke and Bitch with her (what could generously be called) dogs. Regent, who had moved over and was poking a groaning Lung with his foot, was a Master of some kind that could control how people moved? Something like that at least. It might not have been totally accurate but I was happy with how much wiki diving information I'd retained.
I blinked as we all fell into silence again before I realised they were waiting for us to introduce ourselves. It was awkward to realise that while grappling with my powers and getting half way ready for the night I still hadn't chosen a name but…
"Invictus. You can call me Invictus."
Strong. Unbreakable. Unconquerable.
I smiled. It had come to me on the spot but as it rolled off my tongue I was struck with a sense of rightness. Like my world had been tilted off axis and I hadn't even realised until now, when it fixed itself. My power roared through my veins and I was struck with a sense of innate confidence that hadn't been there before, a deep sense of belonging. Guess I made the right choice.
If the Undersiders had noticed anything they didn't say anything, just nodded and took it at face value. All except Tattletale, who's eyes had narrowed at me before relaxing back into twinkling good humour and joining her compatriots in shifting her attention over to Taylor.
She had shifted away from us and looked like she was almost considering bolting. I took the opportunity to check her over, I thought she'd been burnt pretty badly what with her screaming, but I couldn't see anywhere that looked to badly damaged. Some of her back and side was singed, and her hair had gotten an uneven, unplanned cutting in places, but I let out a quiet breath of relief. Maybe she'd just been shocked? At least it looked like she was alright, if rather shaken.
When she stayed silent to the unasked question, Grue looked her over too, "Hey, you okay? You hurt?"
Even through the helmet and power deepened voice, I could hear the honest concern in his questions. It seemed like my memory was accurate on more than just their names, they weren't irredeemable monsters even if they were 'Villains' that went against the law.
I heard Tattletale snort from beside me, she had turned back to looking up at me. It took me a moment to remember she wasn't particularly short, maybe around average, I had just shot up like a weed overnight. I was at least a few inches taller than Grue, who stood almost a foot taller than Taylor and even more so over Tattletale. Was I still growing? Something to think about later.
"She's shy, not hurt," Tattletale spoke absently, while I started feeling mildly uncomfortable under her intense stare. It was like I was a puzzle piece that was annoying her by not fitting in where she thought I should. Finally, she looked away and back over at Taylor, clearing her throat while rubbing her forehead, "What's your name?"
For a moment I thought Taylor was going to stay quiet but she coughed slightly and raised her head.
"I, uh, haven't had time to think of one, really."
I had to stop myself from laughing at her overly nervous answer, I knew for a fact that she'd been planning her first excursion for more than a month. Then again, I guess most people didn't have apparently superpowered willpower aiding their on-the-spot decision making about a name. She was taking the cape business a lot more seriously than I probably was too. I was still coming to terms with being in what had been a fictional story, the only thing making it feel real being the sixteen years' worth of memories in my head.
Before anyone could respond Bitch's dogs' heads shot up and sniffed the air, interrupting Regent who had raised his hand. No doubt he was about to make some insensitive wise crack. Tattletale smacked his hand down gently. Somehow, I thought Alec was pouting under the mask.
"Grue, we have to blow this joint," She gestured at the other Undersiders to remount their monstrous canines, "Any minute now a PRT cape is gonna show up and we don't want to be here when they do. Don't want our heroes to have to deal with being known associates of ours. Word of advice," Tattletale turned back to us while trying to wiggle into a comfortable position behind Bitch. Those spikes really didn't look like they made the dogs ideal for riding, "You should leave too, don't want them making any assumptions about your alignment."
She gave us a bright grin and a wink from behind her mask. The others barely hesitated, Grue giving us one last solemn nod before they were gone, darting into an alleyway and around the corner. In the distance, I thought I could see them leaping up onto the rooftops and jumping away into the more central docks area. I quickly lost them between the buildings. Focusing, I could also hear a loud motor vehicle approaching.
I turned to Taylor, who was just staring down at the ground. Even with the mask, I could tell she was almost catatonic and had realised that the Undersiders weren't exactly innocent teenagers.
"Hey, Hey," I repeated myself when she didn't respond but she finally looked up at me, "It'll be alright. No matter what happened, we took down Lung. I'd like to see them trying to arrest us for that."
She shook her head.
"You took down Lung, I just sat back and got set on fire." Her voice was seeped in bitterness, although it felt like it was mostly directed inwards at herself.
"Really?" I smirked and made sure my voice showed enough gentle sarcasm to ensure she knew I was joking, "I didn't realise I was the one controlling those bugs. Thanks for letting me know. Seriously, it's what, your first time out and you did take down Lung."
It looked like she was going argue before her head dropped and turned away slightly, someone was embarrassed. Honestly it was slightly worrying how telling it was that she couldn't take praise or credit after she'd just fought arguably the biggest hitter in Brockton Bay. I clapped gently, making her jump and bringing her attention back to me.
"Anyways, should we get out of here? They might be villains but they're not exactly wrong, I did cause a lot of the damage here and the PRT have been known to be… overzealous in their responses. It would be simpler to get gone before they can ask any questions."
Taylor, although still reticent, seemed to consider it for a few moments. I was certain that the motor vehicle I could hear getting rapidly closer was carrying the cape, and that it was now close enough that she could hear it too as her head shifted towards facing the incoming noise.
"I," She stuttered out, "don't want them to think that I'm, that we're running away, or something."
I could hear the desperation in her voice for just one thing to right tonight. From what I could remember from the web novel, Taylor so desperately wanted to be a hero. The idea of running from one probably didn't sit well with her.
"I could get both of us out of here before they get here," I raised my hands placatingly when that didn't seem acceptable to her either, "or we can stay here and give a statement. It'll be okay either way."
I left the 'they can't stop me anyway' unsaid, that would probably be off-putting. Taylor was looking at me again, focused this and maybe even frowning beneath her mask.
"I don't under-"
The arrival of the cape cut her off. Roaring around the corner on a six-foot long, sci-fi looking motorbike, Armsmaster arrived. Clad in his signature blue and silver power armour and helmet, with his equally well-known halberd collapsed and attached to his back, he cut an intimidating figure as the bike stopped near instantly in front of me and Taylor. His armour clearly gave him enough strength that the sudden stop barely impacted him. He swiftly dismounted and approached the crater on the opposite side to the two of us. The street plunged into relative silence as the engine cut out.
It was strange trying to hold back half of myself from squealing over the famous hero. I was pretty sure that if I rummaged through my cupboards at home, somewhere there would be at least three little figurines of the man. They were some of the few things I'd managed to save. The fact that the rest of my memories, of wiki pages and fanfiction, told me that the man wasn't a flawless paragon left me feeling conflicted.
"You gonna fight me?"
His voice broken the stale air, stoic and every inch the hero I'd expected him to sound. I couldn't stop myself from smiling, it really was like meeting a near mythical figure you'd admired growing up. Not that he could see my expressions.
"I'm – we're good guys." Taylor corrected herself again, scared back to timidness by the hero.
The man's head tilted and I felt his eyes raking over both of us. Somehow, I got the feeling that he doubted that, but he relaxed and his attention was primarily taken by the thoroughly beaten form of Lung below him.
"You did this?"
It wasn't clear who he was talking to, but I answered anyway.
"We did, yes."
I felt like he was frowning at me beneath his V-shaped visor but his mouth remained perfectly neutral.
"You're a team?" He gestured nodded his head between the two of us, but I shook my head.
"Only by coincidence. I saw Lung trying to get her and thought she could use some help." I shrugged, "One thing led to another and…" I gestured down at the gradually recomposing body.
It struck me as odd how he would pause for a few seconds every time I answered before saying anything, like he was waiting for something.
"Do either of you need any medical attention?"
His question was briskly asked but I heard the genuine notes of concern. This man knew what sort of damage Lung was capable of more than most, as the leader of the Protectorate ENE.
His question reminded me again of the nasty fall Taylor had taken, as well as her screams, and I looked down at her. She noticed me looking and shook her head up at me.
"No, somehow," She laughed a sad, tired chuckle. In fact, she looked about ready to fall asleep on her feet, if the way she was swaying like grass in the wind was any indication. Picking up the burnt strands of hair she continued, "unless you count a hair disaster."
Looking back up I also shook my head in the negative and Armsmaster nodded, although I saw his lips twitch upwards at the last comment.
"And that's quite an achievement for a pair of new capes. You are new? I don't recognise either of you."
"First night out actually. Hell of a way to start I suppose."
I chuckle and I'm surprised when he joins me, Taylor nodding along shakily.
"It was very brave of you taking on Lung on your first night out. Most new capes wouldn't want to be within a block of him," I felt like he was leading up to something, "it was still… foolish to go up against him alone. That is what teams are for, having no-one at your back against a Villain like Lung…"
He was talking to both of us but I thought that the second half was more directed at Taylor than me. It seemed that he had cottoned on to the fact that at least one of us was young enough to be a Ward as he continued.
"That is the purpose of the Wards program. To provide a safe learning environment where you can learn from professional heroes and prepare yourself for things like this."
Armsmaster pointed down at Lung. Personally, I thought his point was somewhat derailed by how damaged the body actually was and the fact that we had been the ones to do that to him. It didn't help that I didn't feel like I was ever in any real danger from Lung at any point, though on closer inspection it felt like that was my powers talking more than me. At this point they might actually know better than me.
"I think we handled it just fine."
My voice came out a bit cooler than I had intended it to and he raised a hand placatingly.
"I won't deny that you won, but this situation could've been handled a lot better with a group," he paused and gestured at the destroyed street and buildings, "with a lot less collateral damage."
Now I knew he was pushing for something, cape fights (especially when Lung is involved) often cause a lot more damage than this, but it didn't stop the sliver of guilt from wriggling a little deeper. I'm sure there were many other options as to what I could have, and should have, done but I hadn't thought it through clearly.
"Because Glory Girl hasn't caused more damage stopping a non-cape mugger?"
The air was more tense now, I didn't want to fight the man. He was a hero and as much as more than half my memories didn't know him, the rest practically worshipped the ground the man walked on. I could see how his broad, armour covered shoulders bunched up before he forced himself to relax. He wasn't used to being seriously backtalked, was he?
"I can't comment on New Wave business," he started gruffly, "nor am I going to push this. You've both done a very good thing in stopping him before he could do too much damage."
I stopped myself from flinching.
"Will you be able to take him from here? I could drop him at the Rig for you."
I didn't really want to leave Taylor alone, or with Armsmaster, but I could recognise the need to get someone like Lung to containment as quickly as possible. To his credit, Armsmaster seemed to recognise this too as he looked down at Lung. Was it a necessity that capes got so good with body language because of their masks?
"No, I'll tranquilise him enough to make sure he stays down. Better they see me going to base than an unknown. Which brings me onto my next point, taking down someone like Lung comes with downsides. Do you want credit for it?"
I could practically feel Taylor frowning besides me.
"What do you mean?"
"We know what you've done is amazing, but will the ABB see is that way? Bakuda? Oni Lee? More than that the two of you are unaffiliated capes, powerful enough to take down Lung. I don't know what the other gangs would do to try and bring you in to the fold. That is, if they know that it was you that took him down."
He wasn't wrong, and I could tell by his voice that he was being earnest. Well, at least partially. I had vague memories of him being very focused on personal glory, and he was suggesting that he should take it all. I looked down at Taylor.
"The gangs won't pose an issue to me," I scratch the back of my head, even to me that sounds arrogant, "I mean, Alexandria package and all. I'm not sure there's much they could do to me. It's not like I particularly care for the credit but… you did put yourself in danger to save those kids. You deserve to be known for it if that's what you want."
If I could see under the mask I was pretty sure I would see Taylor biting her lip. Armsmaster jumped in before she could say anything.
"Kids?" His tone was serious now, worried.
I let Taylor lead the explanation about the Undersiders, content that she had been on the scene before me and had heard the crime boss talking about 'shooting kids' while I had just turned up to help put him down. It devolved into a discussion about tinkers, or more specifically Bakuda, who apparently wasn't prominent enough yet for Taylor to know about her. Eventually they reached a lull in the conversation after Armsmaster had delivered an ultimatum, join the wards or don't take the credit.
"Not going to give me the recruitment pitch too?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Again, not that either of them could see that. Damn I really would need to look into redesigning at least the face part of the costume.
He looked me over, I was taller than he was and I remembered that I was altering my voice to be deeper. Oh. He thought I was a lot older didn't he? Maybe I shouldn't have brought this up. Too late to do anything about it now though.
"I didn't think that you were – that is to say, I didn't think that you would be eligible for the Wards. Was I wrong? I'm sure that you would be a great addition to the team."
Maybe my real power is my flawless ability to put my foot in my mouth.
"Yeah, I'm around that age. Can't say I'm overly interested though, no offence."
Armsmaster's lips twitched down towards his beard.
"Could I ask why? It's the perfect opportunity to do some good for this city and stay safe."
I wobble my hand at him in a so-so gesture. Honestly, I know where the man is coming from and as the leader of the local branch, I'm sure he's halfway obligated to make the pitch. But he's just so stiff, I'm not on the team and I already feel like I've done something wrong. Then again, I remembered that he had some kind of issue with expressing himself, maybe I should cut him a break.
"The way I see it, no offence, the PRT really hasn't done much for fixing the city." I respond as gently as I can. His frown deepens though, crap, he has taken offence.
Maintaining the status quo? Sure. Actually improving the Bay? Not so sure about that. Besides, I knew there was something fishy about the PRT from Kieran's deep wiki dives even if I couldn't remember off the top of my head.
"Besides, I'm not sure that I'm someone you'd actually want on your team. I have a complicated relationship with rules and authority, love-hate you could say. As in, we love to hate each other."
His frown stayed for a few seconds more before he let out a deep sigh. He was disappointed, but I got the feeling that he had dealt with enough hormonal cape teenagers to understand exactly what that meant, and how true it likely was.
"Either way, I'll need you to make a decision before I take Lung into custody. For the official report."
Shrugging, I turned again to Taylor. She hesitated slightly before speaking up, obviously uncomfortable with being put on the spot.
"I think I'm, I'm not ready for that kind of attention yet. And," She paused to look back up at me, "as long as, ah, Invictus is okay with it too I'd like you to keep us out of it. Or at least me."
My cape name was said like a question, uncertain whether she'd got it right. I nodded at her and she gave me a jerky one back. We turned back to Armsmaster, seeing him already tapping some buttons on a section he'd opened on the inside of his wrist. Once he'd finished, he flicked it closed again and looked back up at us.
"Invictus, you said?" I gave him a jaunty wave as affirmation, he turned to Taylor, "And you?"
Suddenly she found the ground very interesting.
"I haven't actually… chosen one yet."
Armsmaster let out a brief chuckle at that, and I was sure that she was pouting. It was funny seeing how different she was as a cape to the beaten down Taylor I saw at Winslow. I'd talked to her more in one night than Myles remembered talking to her ever. Somehow, my knowledge of her identity made me feel guilty. Here I was with knowledge of her secret identity, while she still thought me a complete stranger.
"Might want to work on that, identity is important. Especially here." He looked her over from top to bottom, if it was anyone other than Armsmaster I would've thought it was sleazy, "And you'll want to make some changes to your suit, I had thought you were another Villain."
"You try and make a suit with no funds and come out looking like Legend." Taylor shot back before she slapped her hand over mouth in apparent shock, "I, I mean-"
Armsmaster raised his hand stoically and turned to me.
"It's quite alright. I'm well aware that not many Tinkers have access to the same level of resources that I do. Another reason to join the Wards…" He carried on before I could interject, "And you, you should show at least the lower portion of your face. Makes capes easier to trust."
He gestured up to his partially revealed face, tone blunt and to the point. It almost sounded insulting but I got the feeling that was just how he was. I was about to take his advice and make the modification to my 'suit', yet I remembered how I wanted to hide my other capabilities for as long as possible. Let them think I'm just an Alexandria Package. 'Just', as if that power set wasn't ridiculous in itself. Despite everything that had happened, a part of me, the part that grew up knowing powers like this were only for comics and stories, was still grappling with the knowledge that I had them.
"Thanks, I'll take that into consideration. You got everything you need from us? Still got to get up for school in a few hours you know."
It was strange though; I knew I should be tired, but we were well into the early hours of the morning and I didn't feel the slightest bit fatigued. That was slightly worrying. No need to breath, no need to sleep, I had sinking feeling that no matter how long I waited hunger or thirst wouldn't be an issue. As great as it was practicality wise, there was a certain humanness to the needs that losing them felt… strange.
"No, no you can go," He made his way around the crater to hand a small white card adorned with his logo, a blue visor backed by silver, to each of us, "take these with you. If you're ever in trouble, call me."
Once we took them, he returned to his bike and pressed a few buttons hidden by the dashboard. Some kind of foam spewed forth from pipes identical to the exhausts, coating the fallen Lung before it hardened in just moments. This was the famous containment foam then? I could still hear the criminal breathing underneath it, even though I couldn't see a single inch of his skin. Neat, I wonder how well it would work on me.
A piece of metal shot out of the side of Armsmaster's bike, unfolding from just larger than a notepad into a full-size metal casket. He rolled the lump of foam over into it before slamming it close with the click of many locks. From the top of the coffin a thin cable popped the tip off like a cap and the Hero caught it, before pushing it into a socket.
He turned back to us one more time while mounting his futuristic ride.
"Think on what I said about the Wards and remember that I am available to talk, during contact hours." He pulled out another one of his contact cards and tapped it briefly against the body of his bike, then slotted it away again.
Without another word he turned away. The low growl of the bike's throttle thrummed through the air as he rode away, accelerating rapidly and rolling around the corner. Taylor and I stood in silence for a long moment. Awkward silence draped itself over us like a blanket now that there was a moment of actual peace and quiet.
"Well," I started, deciding to break through the stilted silence like it wasn't there at all, "we should get outta here."
That snapped Taylor out of whatever sort of haze she was in.
"We?" She asked archly.
"Yeah, well, I thought we might want to talk through some stuff. Y'know, like how we fought a dragon?" I didn't stop my giddiness from leaking into my voice, no matter how you put it fighting a dragon was cool, I hastily added on, "Oh, and I want to make sure you're okay too of course."
"What you have some kind of healing power too now?" She sighed and her shoulders drooped with the exhale as she looked around the street.
A short laugh escaped my lips and I shook my head.
"No, no, nothing like that. I can fly you to the hospital if you need it though, and if nothing else, drop you off wherever you want," I raised my hands when she tensed, "I said wherever you want, not your home. That's something else we'll need to talk about."
I held my hand out to her and, reluctance dripping from her every movement, she took it. Gently, like I was swaddling her in a blanket, I wrapped my field (for lack of a better term) around her. I barely pushed it at all, as the thought of crushing her like a grape rolled across my mind, only enough to stop wind resistance from affecting her as much. Hopefully.
"Ready?" I ask gently, tilting my head to the side
She nodded back to me after taking a deep breath and steadying her stance. Slowly at first, we lifted up into the air and I heard her take a sharp in take of breath. I could relate, there really was nothing like flying. I wasn't sure how it felt to her, not being the one in control over our movement but she admirably kept still against the instinctive urge to flail in the open air.
"First time flyer?" I grinned cheekily when Taylor, presumably, glared up at me. The bug mask made it rather hard to tell. Was this how Armsmaster and the Undersiders felt with my closed-face suit? Maybe the Protectorate Hero really was giving genuine advice.
Taylor sucked in a deep breath as she looked around. We had risen above the rooftop that she had been fighting Lung on. Almost half of it had been scorched by the dragon's flames and tiny bodies of innumerable bugs were scattered in piles and ash.
"Never even been in a plane."
Her voice was distracted, head turning to track the lights of approaching cars. Sirens filled the air, no doubt rescue services coming to put out any remaining fires. I stopped our upwards momentum, and for a second we were both just hanging suspended, watching the city pass by underneath us. No, I'm definitely still not used to this.
"It's an experience for sure, I don't think anything has made me feel so free. Well, where to? We can talk on the way, or when we get there."
Taylor absently nods along, taking a moment to think. Eventually, she sluggishly raised an arm to point west, vaguely towards Winslow.
"Just drop me a few blocks that way, I can make my own way from there."
"Anywhere specific? If I know where we're going, we can go the fun way."
She looked up at me, head tilting quizzically.
"The fun way?"
I nod faux seriously at her.
"The fun way."
You know, if she was any other teenager I think she would have gulped. As it was, she just slumped. Her body language practically screamed 'I'm-so-done-with-this'. That, or 'Why-am-I-flying-with-the-crazy-parahuman'.
"Fine, I don't know why I'm agreeing to this but fine," she sighed, "Just take me to that high school, Winslow?"
I had to stop a chuckle from bursting out. I don't know if it was just because I knew that it was Taylor but her attempts at misdirection were laughable. Even if I didn't before, I think I would've known that her 'secret' identity went there after that.
"I can do that. Now, please keep your hands and legs inside the ride at all times. I will not be responsible for any injuries taken in the duration of the trip…"
"Wha-?" Taylor cut through my best impression of a roller coaster announcer.
I looked down at her again and winked, not that she could see it.
"Just don't let go."
It wouldn't really matter if she did, the grip I had over my field was easily enough to ensure she wouldn't slip away from me. Still, it was fun to see her stiffen up in the split second before we blurred.
One second we were floating still and the next we shot through the air like a bullet. The air was oddly silent, as the field cut through any wind resistance like it wasn't even there. I wondered how it looked from an outside perspective. Was it just as silent to them?
Taylor had started to scream as soon as we accelerated but the sound had barely left her lips before we stopped again. Although neither of us heard it as the sound was left behind by how fast we were travelling. Without my field around her, the sudden stop would have ripped her apart. Not that there was any risk of that, even without my own grip on her hand as her fingers had wrapped themselves in a suffocating grip around my wrist. Pretty sure she was only hurting herself with the grip though.
I set her down as gently as I could on the roof of Winslow and she immediately collapsed to her knees then her back, flopping like she'd lost all the bones in her body.
"What was that?" Taylor's voice barely carried through the air, though I could still hear her perfectly.
"Thank you for flying Air Invictus, we hope to see you again soon."
A startled half-laugh half-gasp clawed its way out of her throat, devolving into helpless giggles. She laughed and laughed until it petered out into retching intakes of air. I sat opposite her, back to the drop off from the roof, one leg folded up in front with my arm across it at the elbow. I waited, content to let her calm down.
"We fought Lung." She eventually managed to spit out between gulps.
"We did."
"No, no. You don't get it. We fought Lung. And we won."
She laughed desperately, while gulping in as deep breaths as she could between them. Her body shook in disbelief and a little bit of wonder, her glove clad fingers scratching against the roof as if to make sure it was really there. This time, I stayed silent.
"I could've died." The sudden words seemed to sober her. Plunging the roof into stifling silence, "I would have died, if it wasn't for you."
The girl looked up at me, imploring for something through bug styled lenses and hair blowing in the wind behind her. It struck me then, perhaps for the first time really, that she was just a teenager. Just a young teenage girl in a miserable world, living what was by all means a miserable life, and just trying to do something impactful in the world. Make a little spot of good. But on her first night out, she was thrown into the deep end and now, more than any other time, she was alone. Alone on the cold rooftop of a school she hated with a guy she'd (supposedly) never met before after almost dying.
"You would've been okay." I say without thinking, utterly confident, "If I hadn't come then I'm sure those kids would've. And if they hadn't… If they hadn't you'd have done it by yourself, somehow."
She was shaking her head before I'd even finished talking.
"That's- no. They were criminals. Bad guys. They wouldn't have helped and I, I keep thinking maybe I shouldn't have…"
"What? Helped them?" Taylor nodded wordlessly, "Did they seem like bad guys to you?
The rooftop descended back to silence again as she paused for a moment.
"Even if they didn't, they would've just been tricking me. Everything else went wrong tonight what's one more." The last part came out bitter, spat out under her breath as she looked away.
"Everything? And here I thought we'd put away Lung." Her head shot up as if to interject but I raised my hands, "Those guys, Grue, Tattletale, Regent and Bitch, yeah they're Villains. Any other day, any other situation and maybe we'd try and take them in. But behind those masks they're kids, teenagers just like us."
There was silence for longer then, both of us mulling over my words content to allow the quiet to settle. After a few minutes of it, Taylor shuffled over next to me but facing still facing the other way. She dangled her legs over the ledge, kicking them out beneath her idly like she was treading water. Bemused, I turned and joined her.
"But I'm meant to be a Hero. I wanted to be, anyway. Taking them in is what we do. I saved Villains. What does that make me?"
Her voice was quiet, full of hesitation and worry. Like she didn't know if she wanted the answer to her question. But I respond without hesitation.
"A Hero." She doesn't look at me, but I can feel her eyes, "When did that start being about legislations and meaningless laws," A scoff closer to a sigh escaped my lips, quiet on the wind but I'm sure the girl next me heard it, "And not about saving people? Tell me that saving four teenagers was wrong. Look at me and tell me."
Taylor looks at me but doesn't say anything for several, long minutes. My awareness fades away until all I can hear are the sounds of car engines and jabbering voices; and all I can see is an ocean of streetlights stretching away from me beneath my swinging feet. I closed my eyes and breathed deep, then released. Again, and again.
It was Taylor that eventually spoke up.
"Y'know, I can't shake the feeling that I know you from somewhere." Her tone is inquisitive more than interrogatory, but it still hit close to home.
I hummed consideringly before I answered, "You very well might. But it's not something you should ask about, not really. You ever heard of the 'Unwritten Rules'?" When Taylor shook her head I continued, "Before you get into that suit again you should look into them. They're the little rules of this game we've entered."
"Game?" She asked quizzically.
"This." I gesture at our costumes, "Capes. Heroes and Villains. The PRT and Protectorate. All of them hinge on the Rules. I'll give you a brief rundown but it's best to look into them yourself and make sure you understand." Kieran's wiki diving don't fail me now, "First and most important, respect the masks. Don't try and find out any cape's secret identity. No going after family either. No lethal force. No… sexual assault of any kind." Taylor flinches at that one, but I continue.
"There are some more but those are the main few. Stuff like no attacks on civilians, wide-spread ones at least. The rest can be your homework." I nudge my shoulder against hers.
"I have enough of that already thanks." She groans and we both share a laugh. I politely ignore how hers is the slightly hysterical laugh of someone that knows they've just avoided death by a (dragon's) breath, "But I got it, no asking who you are."
Ah but Taylor, it won't be long until you'll be able to guess anyway. It's not like there are many people my size in the city anyway, let alone among high school students. I'd gotten lucky so far that she hadn't actually interacted much with me out of costume, both before and after I 'woke up' but time is running out on that. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if the PRT work out who I am very quickly. There's not much I can do to hide a massive growth spurt, and it would be trivial to see it coming from a trigger event.
"We should both get back home, I think. I'm exhausted." I gave an exaggerated stretch as I lied through my teeth.
Taylor hesitated before standing, looking down at me as I made no sign of moving anytime soon.
"How can – Will we be able to talk again?" I hated how dejected she sounded, like she was forcing herself not to hope. Knowing what I did about her daily life, I could imagine that very much being the case.
"You have access to a phone?" She looked torn but shook her head, "Computer? Well, if you can get onto PHO I'm thinking about making an account. Or a new one for my Cape self y'know. Hopefully Invictus isn't taken."
I couldn't think of another Cape using the name but my knowledge was far from flawless.
"How will you know it's me messaging you?" It sounded like the frowning under the mask.
"Just call yourself Bug Girl or something." I laugh to myself when I was pretty sure she was glaring at me, "Or ask me how getting bitch slapped through a building felt."
She couldn't help but chuckle at that either, though I was sure she tried to in order to keep glaring at me. It was adorable and I barely stopped myself from blurting that out. No doubt that would only make it worse.
"Go on, shoo." I pushed her away, careful not to send her flying off the edge. People really were fragile.
It didn't stop her from hesitating again but after a moment she made turned away from me and made for the fire escape. I waited a few more moments and, once I was certain she was gone, I stood too. I could still hear the buzzing of her insects as she made her way home, but I made certain to bring the bubble of my hearing back in closer to me to let her get home undetected. The guilt from unfairly knowing her secret identity was more than enough for me, thank you very much.
Without another thought I set my sights back towards home and blasted away, careful not to damage anything around me as I did, leaving this mess of a first night behind me.
A/N: So yeah this chapter kind of got away from me. That and I feel like I really suck at dialogue, I always feel like it's super clunky when I write it. I actually have a few ideas for where I want this story to go so that should be fun. Let me know what you think!