What do I know about Grue?

Not much, all things considered. His powers, costume, things like that. I know he can see and move well enough in his own darkness to fight effectively. That he was, nominally, the leader of the Undersiders. Who were, in some way, connected to Coil.

Running into him like this is most likely just coincidence. Tattletale was the Thinker of the team, and without her I think I'm justified in assuming he wouldn't have known I was out here. So, assuming the city block worth of alleyways that are blacked out aren't anything to do with me, that means something else is going on.

Am I going to get involved?

Well, I took down two of the four already. And...I'd be lying if I said there wasn't some lingering resentment over the way they'd tried to play me. So yeah. Why not?

The darkness disappears, to my sight. I see people in the building below me (asleep, unaware), but nobody in the alley. Moving on, I see...nothing. More nothing. I focus on the next building over, hoping to get a better view-

-and feel eyes on me the moment I appear.

I don't stop to think. I just throw myself forward, into the black fog below. The moment I hit it, it's like I've gone deaf...the expected resistance doesn't slow my fall at all, so I 'port again-

-to land, just a little too heavily, on the asphalt below.

Nobody watching me, now...I look up, narrow my eyes at the emptiness above me. I don't trust it for a moment. The last couple of times somebody was watching me on the rooftops, I got stabbed. Not something I want to repeat, today.

Never thought I'd be grateful that I'd stumbled across a villain, but I guess this darkness is pretty handy. I could probably break off now without being followed. Just in case.

Of course, that would mean leaving Grue here to get up to who knows what. Which probably isn't something I should do, is it?

On the positive side of things, it's shouldn't be too difficult finding him, at this level. And maybe whoever was watching me will just get bored and leave.

...yeah, I should be so lucky.

I start walking. Moving away from the area I'd already 'searched'. And, as expected, it takes maybe half a minute to finally spot him. Really, there's not much 'hiding' in an alley like this, once you take the darkness out of the equation. Close confines, only two directions to run, minimal cover. I wonder, for a second, why he hasn't moved on.

When I finally reach him, I don't have to wonder anymore.

He looks up, as I refresh my vision and move around the dumpster he's slumped beside. He's as aware of me watching him as I am of him watching me. Neither of us move; me, because I'm not entirely sure how to respond to this situation. Him, because there's a crossbow bolt jammed in the outside of his thigh. It looks pretty painful.

After a few more moments, he shifts, adjusting his grip on his leg. I tilt my head. Seconds tick by…

And the silence, the resistance, fades away.

"Crow." Bitter, breathless, echoing unsettlingly from behind his helmet's face-mask. "I'm a little busy right now, in case you hadn't noticed."

Yeah, I'd say he is. "I was in the neighborhood." I shrug, finger the baton hooked on my belt. "And you're not exactly being subtle, here."

He snorts, shifts. I step back, but he just pulls himself a little closer to the wall behind him, straightening his good leg. "Not a lot of ways out, at the moment. Of course I had to cover all of them."

"Keep whoever shot you guessing, huh?" He hisses, but I ignore it. Because that reminded me of something Tattletale had said. Something that really should have been obvious when I recognized the feather...things...on the bolt. "Shadow Stalker?"

"Psycho bitch."

"She tends to inspire that sort of reaction, yeah." 'Broadheads'. Great.

My vision goes out again, but I don't refresh it immediately. Look around, blindly scanning what has to be some kind of bubble, opened in the middle of the fog. No light to see it by, even without the blinding effect...I wonder, for a moment, whether Grue can see in the dark, or if it's limited to his fog. Can he see the alley around us, but nothere, where his power isn't in effect?

Something to think about later, maybe. I blink the darkness away, and turn my attention to the rooftops. "So she's still hanging around, huh?"

"Probably." He grunts, shifts again...I take another step back, as he grabs the edge of the dumpster and pulls himself upright. "Something must have pissed her off. She's been relentless since she spotted me."

I could probably hazard a guess or two as to the why. Not that it matters, right now.

"So, what now?"

It's a good question. And I guess I will have to figure it out. I didn't have much of a plan, for once I'd found him, and I was expecting to at least have a fight on my hands…

"I just cleared out a drug den." Or something like one. "Called the cops, so they should be on their way. I guess I could take you over to wait for them."

"And then the murder-ward comes along and takes me off their hands. No thanks."

Could she do that? I don't actually know...maybe something to find out. Not something to risk, though. "The PRT headquarters, then." Actually, that'd be perfect. "You'll get medical treatment, and they'll get evidence Shadow Stalker's been breaking the rules." There's a sense of vicious satisfaction, in the idea...

"Heh. You really don't like her, do you?"

I didn't realize I'd been smiling, until that wipes it off my face. "No. I don't." I edge forward a half step-

-and crouch, on the edge of the dumpster. Looming over him. He startles, and bites out a cry of pain when his weight comes down on his injured leg. "Fuck-!"

"I don't particularly like you either...but I figure two birds with one stone isn't such a bad thing." He wavers, tries to catch himself against the wall...darkness falls, but I can hear him hit the ground. "I could just leave you here, too. That's still an option."

Overwhelming silence returns. A moment later, so does my vision. He's pulling himself up again, straining visibly...obviously in pain. I do feel bad about that, for a moment. Can't really help it. But I remind myself that he's a villain, that he's threatened and hurt innocent people for money. That he chose this.

"Hey." I wasn't sure whether it would work...but he does look up at me. Guess he can hear as well as see. "Are you coming, or not?"

He stares, for a long moment, before slumping against the wall beside him. The silence recedes. "Damned if I do…?"

I think that's a yes.

I drop down, move to his good side. "Try not to distract me, once we get moving. I'd hate to drop you off a building." More than once.

It'd be tiring.

The nearest way out is the street that had first drawn my attention. I grab Grue's shoulder, and put us on the sidewalk. More silence, since we're in the middle of his fog…

"Stop using your power, once we've cleared the area. You don't want her to follow us, after all."

That said...there's a rooftop across the street. We're standing on the far side of it moments later. Wind, sound...I let my vision revert, and take a few moments to get a good look around without it.

"It'll take a little time for that to fade." I glance up as Grue gestures back toward the street. "She'll probably assume I'm still there, until then."

Well, that's lucky. "Saves me some effort, then." Back to the skyline...we need to head further downtown. "Now be quiet."

He doesn't say anything. And we teleport.

It takes three rooftops I reach a good elevation. Plotting things out from there gets me another five, without much difficulty...Grue seems to be flagging, by the end of it, which is annoying, because he keeps having to lean on me, but it's not too much further-

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Fuck. I shoot him an incredulous look, but I obviously can't see anything beneath that mask of his. "You're joking."

"Gratuitous injuries aren't my usual thing." He growls, clutching at his stomach. "And some of us don't have a healer on tap."

That'd be both of us, actually. Not that I mention that. "If you throw up on me, I'll be dropping you at the nearest hospital instead…" Still, I move us to the alley below, finding the nearest trash-can to open up. Grue limps up beside me, as I set the lid aside. "There. I hope you don't expect-"

Impact. Sharp not-pain in the side of my head, pressure as the other side hits the brick and rebounds. Vision swims, dizzying.

Something hits me in the stomach. The side. Something hard. There's more not-pain.

"...really are a rookie, aren't…"

I'm vaguely aware of movement, a shadow against dark, but it's...hard to focus.

Hard to-

xxxxxxxxxx

I wake up to the noise of a phone ringing. My phone, ringing. I groan as I push myself up, fumbling at my pockets for...phone? And I have to pull my mask up…

"H-" My voice catches, scratches painfully. I wince, swallow a couple of times before trying again. "Hello?"

"Well you sound like shit."

I blink, squint past the...sunlight. "...Victoria?"

"You were expecting maybe one of the other people that have this number?" She scoffs. I blink again. "So listen, we got a call way too early this morning. Your dad. He was pretty freaked out when he realized you weren't at home. He wanted to know if you'd come over last night."

Dad...I wasn't home. Last night?

"So I covered for you. With him, and with mom, who wasn't happy about it...you're welcome for that." I flinch. Brace myself against the...the blacktop that I'm sitting on. "But I also figured I'd check in and make sure you hadn't gotten yourself blown up or something stupid like that...where are you, anyway?"

Where…? "I'm in an alley."

Oh.

Oh, shit. "Fucking Grue…"

"Grue? The Undersider?"

I hiss, pressing a hand to my head. "I found him...last night." God, it's daylight already. "He was hurt. Shadow Stalker'd shot him in the leg." I look around...stand, and pull my mask up further so I can actually see the ground. A trail of blood, leading away. "I was bringing him to the PRT, but…"

He'd...oh god, I'd fallen for that? That's...I can't…

"He hit me pretty hard." More than once, if I remember correctly. "I think he might have broken a few things, while he was at it." I poke at my ribs, feel...nothing much, really.

"You think?"

Oh, right. "I'm a Brute, now. And I was pretty out of it, after he bounced my head off the wall."

Silence, on the other end of the line, and I go over what I'd just said. Bite my lip. "Victoria?"

"I can't leave you alone for a minute without something weird happening, can I?" I pull my mask back down, and don't respond. And, after a few more seconds of silence, she sighs. "Look...you should come over, alright? Get yourself cleaned up so you can let your dad know you're in one piece. Then...we should talk." A pause, and her voice hardens. "Actually talk, Taylor. No more dancing around this stuff. Alright?"

What am I supposed to say to that? I squeeze my eyes closed, and try to ignore the way my stomach is clenching. "...okay."

"Awesome. Guess...guess I'll see you in a bit, then."

"Yeah."

She hums. I chew my lip some more. Then there's a rustle, and a click. Guess it's time to hang up.

I tuck the phone away, pull my mask back into place and adjust my hood. Everything else is...exactly where it should be. Nobody was rifling through my pockets or anything.

I look down at the blotches of dried blood, one more time. The ones that I don't think are from Grue.

...shit.

I turn away, and teleport straight up. The rush of falling clears away the last of my haziness, and gives me enough speed to get moving.

Off to Victoria's house.

xxxxxxxxxx

One incredibly awkward hour later, I'd gotten a shower, a change of clothes, reassured my dad, and stowed both my costume and the crossbow Victoria had shoved off on me somewhere safe.

Victoria, for her part, had wasted no time in hijacking me again, 'likely for the rest of the day'. Dad, well-meaning traitor that he is, agreed with that dazed smile that so many people seem to default to when faced with her...forceful personality.

And then...then she'd flown us here, to the top of some office building on the edge of the Docks. High enough to see the Bay, stretching out across the horizon...it'd be a great view, if it weren't for the tension coiling in my chest, the frustrated frown etched onto her face as she stares out at the water.

"...so-"

She holds up a hand, and I cut myself off. Wait, uncertainly, for her to...say something. Anything.

Finally, she sighs. "Alright. So it's been...less than two days." She turns her frown on me. "But obviously I've missed a few things. So get me caught up."

"...right." I can do that. "I...figured out how to track down the Runes. Sort of." She stares, and I grit my teeth, defensive. "I thought I could figure out where the Tinker was set up, again. And I did. Another workshop...lots of Runes. Lots of half-built stuff. And a couple of armed guards."

"He's got henches now?"

"I guess." I shrug. "But he's down the workshop. I kind of turned it into a bonfire."

Oh. That sounded better in my head.

Victoria seems to agree with that sentiment. "You...burnt his workshop down."

"I don't actually know if it burnt...all the way down?"

She scowls, and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Taylor…"

"He had parts." I raise my voice without thinking, but quickly reign myself back in. "He had a freezer full of...raw materials. I wasn't going to just leave him to work."

Silence, as we retreat to our metaphorical corners. But before it can stretch on too long, I pick up where I'd left off. "I...took some of the stuff I'd found. The Runes. And I wound up sort of…" I don't know what to call it. "I hurt my hand, when I was talking to Armsmaster. It was getting worse, and I was holding a Rune, and I sort of...burned a few of them."

"...and now you're a Brute."

I nod, slowly. "I think so. The pain just...wasn't very important, anymore? And it was completely healed a couple hours later."

She closes her eyes. "These rune things gave you new powers."

They did. Something I've been trying not to think too hard about. "Yeah, as far as I can tell."

She nods. Takes a deep breath, holds it, and lets it out in an explosive sigh. "Okay. So how does this lead to Grue?"

It doesn't, really, but I don't think correcting her on that will be very helpful, at the moment. "I was getting restless, last night. I needed to do something. So...I went out." I shrug. "Wound up clearing some kind of gang hideout-"

"As you do."

The sarcasm trips me up, but for a brief moment I think I see her smirking, and that's...good. That's good. "It wasn't much. I doubt anybody will care, a week from now. But, yeah. I took care of that, called the police in. And when I was leaving, I spotted Grue's fog, nearby. Decided to investigate."

"And you found him, obviously." She turns back to the bay, finally moves again...I follow her to the edge of the roof, and when she sits down, I settle carefully beside her. "You said Shadow Stalker shot him."

"With an actual crossbow bolt. Definitely not non-lethal ammunition."

"Which is seriously against the rules. And that's for Wards who aren't on super-secret probation."

"And that's why I was taking him to the PRT."

She hums, mulling that over for a second. "Except you let him get the drop on you. And you spent the rest of the night unconscious in a random alleyway." I can't really do anything else but nod, and she sighs. "Taylor, you...I can't decide whether your luck is amazing...or complete shit."

Yeah. That's a fair question. One I'd like an answer to, myself. "I like to think I'm doing well with what I've got."

"If this is 'well', I'm really not looking forward to seeing what 'falling apart' is like."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

She barks out a laugh, brief, sharp. And when she turns to look at me again, she's grinning. It's not a very comforting expression. "Hey, I like to think of myself as an optimist. But I've been chasing this stuff around in my head for awhile now and…" Her grin fades, and she snorts, shakes her head. "It's...you have to admit it's pretty messed up, Taylor. This guy, giving out powers? Pitting you against this psycho...treating people like entertainment…"

I don't agree, not immediately. And I think she notices. But she doesn't say anything, and I do manage to find the words I want. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't have anything to do with...setting us against each other, or whatever."

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah. Obviously I'm way off base."

Obviously. "He's kind of an asshole, yeah. But a lot of people are. And at least-" At least...what?

I swallow, and turn away. Watch a group of hazy clouds crawling toward the city from over the bay. "...he gave me these powers. And if I didn't have them, I'd still be...stuck. I'd be going to Winslow every day, eating my lunches in the fucking bathroom. I'd still be watching my grades spiraling down, watching the teachers and the students do nothing...watching them disassemble my life, and there'd be nothing I could do to change it."

My vision blurs, for a moment, but I don't really care at this point. I'm sort of...beyond that, here. "I don't give a shit about that place anymore, and I don't really have to." I actually have to smile, as the realization dawns. "What do they matter? I've saved people's lives. I've fought supervillains. I've died, a dozen times, and."

"God, that is so not something to brag about."

I laugh. I laugh, and it feels so good to do so. "I mean, I'm getting better about that. Obviously. But how many other people can say stuff like that?" Not many. I'm pretty sure of that. "I've died, and nearly died...I got saved by Velocity, and by Panacea, and Glory Girl." I smirk, and nudge her arm. "Teamed up with New Wave, trained with Manpower…"

She's laughing now, too. "Okay Taylor, I think I get the point."

"...and I made a friend." I look down again. "I was pretty shitty about it, but I was trying, and it was...it was nice. And even though I screwed it up, even though it only happened because I got these messed up powers that came with all this...I dunno, baggage…" I pause, suddenly. Just drawing a blank. "I guess...I'm just glad I managed that much."

The wind blows. Below us, the morning traffic continues to crawl along.

Victoria laughs again. Sniffs, loudly. When I glance up, she's wiping fitfully at her face, and looking anywhere but at me. "Wow. Kinda makin' me feel like an asshole, over here."

That wasn't what I'd planned. At all. "To be fair, that's...I did lie to you about a lot of stuff."

"You did." Her smile slips. "Yeah, you did. And you know what?" She levels a glare at me, reaches up to poke me between the eyes. "You're going to make it up to me."

Heh. "Yeah. Okay."

She nods, and lifts off the rooftop, rising until she's got her feet under her...she takes a step back from the edge, rocking on her heels and sweeping her hair from her face. "Awesome. Good talk."

I guess it was…

"Hey, I'm pretty hungry, though. Sort of skipped breakfast, with the whole 'making sure you weren't dead' thing. Late breakfast?"

Victoria offers me a hand up. I take it, let her pull me to my feet. "I...sure. Yeah." Breakfast sounds good. Great.

"Awesome. You're buying. Again."

"I...don't have my wallet." Or money to put in it, anymore.

She seems to consider that, for a long moment. "Ehh...I'll take an IOU, I guess."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"I'm a generous soul."

I smile all the way to the Boardwalk.