They watched as the two great forces clashed over the frozen valley.
Sub-zero beasts made of ice or flesh tainted with ice warred with monsters made of living flame and super-heated rock, and where they met, they left behind steam and rapidly evaporating or frozen over water as well debris flying everywhere.
But, while the battle on the ground was brutal beyond belief, where Charr went against Charr and at best left behind smoldering corpses of Destroyers or corrupted beasts from the north, the true battle was happening in the air, and all around them and a lot of observers suspected even in the Mist.
After all, when two Elder Dragons clashed, nobody could say what would really happen. They were beings of mystical powers, beyond any mortal and even some immortals (especially Joko, praise his death!) but everybody could see that the battling energies in the air were beginning to strain the fabric of reality.
On Jormag's side, the ice was starting to permeate everything. Stone was turning to ice, surrounded by surprisingly sharp blades of grass made from the same material, and as the battle progressed, so did the area covered by those strange growths increased.
Though not everywhere was it so 'peaceful'. Jagged ice spikes reached towards the sky and in every direction, while astute observers would see them traveling in a downward direction, spreading everywhere and anywhere. And where Jormag's power touched, so did true life perish.
The only thing holding back Jormag from taking over the entire valley with his sheer presence was his brother, Primordus.
On Primordus' side, everything was simply on fire. If something was not on fire, then it was melting with frightening speed, then it caught on fire.
Great gusts of fires sprung up from fissures that appeared in one second, then vanished, only to reappear in a different area, rending the ground apart, shaking it enough that even those who were miles away could feel it.
Rocks melted, trees vaporized and while any life that survived the first clash of the titans was trying to run away but most of them were too slow to outrun, or out fly, the ever hungering flames of Primordus.
And where the two powers met, chaos reigned.
Ice tried to snuff out fire and magma, while the same fires tried to consume the ever replenished ice radiating from Jormag in an angry battle that saw no victor, only destruction.
And the magic…
Magic from both Elder Dragons was clashing over the heads of the distraught army, straining the very fabric of reality, opening and closing with incredibly speed jagged holes to the mist where either the mixed up powers leaked into it, or other magic leaked into the word.
The chaotic dance of magic, one of ice, domination, and mind, and the other one of fire, battle, and rage were causing the very world around them to warp. Rocks were turning into taffy (that immediately froze or combusted), what grass remained grew at an extreme speed only to vanish by turning into fleeting bubbles while the trees were blooming with fish that seemed to sing a very odd but catchy tune which then immediately turned into flocks of butterflies that flew into a timely appearing Mist portal.
Those who were watching the opening act of the battle could only stare at bafflement, only to be roused by Rytlock.
"Men! At arms! Stop staring at it and begin preparations!"
The voice, that not so little magic injected in it, instantly broke the staring army of people gathered for the purpose of saving Tyria and began the preparation for the death of the Elder Dragons.
Rytlock looked at Taylor, and couldn't help but exclaim to Crecia, standing next to him, looking over the battlefield preparations, occasionally barking out an order.
"Uh-oh… She is angry!"
Crecia said nothing, but looked in the direction of one of the most famous sorceresses currently in Tyria.
Taylor was staring aghast at the two Elder Dragons, and the chaos and destruction they were causing, her hand gripping her staff and sword (something about Gandalf fellow, but Rytlock never really cared for that kind of stories) her eyes alight with rainbow-colored magic.
Rytlock was pretty sure that his friend was seeing much more than any of them, so he just shrugged after confirming that Taylor was not about to rush into the battle like someone else (cough*Braham*cough) and returned his attention to the preparation.
Taylor was a big girl and could take care of herself.
Plus, he knew enough not to be anywhere close to what was angering Taylor, because he valued his health and life very much. He nudged Crecia to return her attention to the battlefield as she was staring at Taylor in fascination, but before he could say anything, two roars shook them and the entire valley (and probably the world).
One roar froze the courage in the people's hearts, while the other roar drove them mad at the sight of the dragon, causing chaos among the people preparing for the battle that was to come.
At the same moment the light that so far was constrained to Taylor's eyes, exploded in a spectacular fashion, covering the young woman for a second in a cocoon of light and magic, then it vanished leaving her in armor-clad of the same light and with two breathtaking crystalline wings on her back and with her entire body radiating a gentle light contrasting the chaos all around them.
Then she let loose a yell that rivaled the roars of the dragons.
"ENOUGH!"
The yell permeated everywhere, warming up frozen hearts, chasing away madness from those afflicted, and Rytlock could feel a seed of courage and some manner of hope nestling in his body.
Then Taylor flew up in the air and shot off towards the battling titans, her weapons shining with the same light, spells already flying towards the Elder Dragons.
Then, of course, Aurene chose this exact time to swoop down and join the battle.
Thus, the two-way battle turned into a three-way battle between Jormag, Primordus, and the pair of Taylor and Aurene.
At the moment, Rytlock couldn't really do much, just take hold of something and hope he wouldn't be swept up by the pressure waves of the explosion, but he vowed to have a talk with Taylor about plans and similar concepts.
Closing his eyes briefly as a giant flash of light appeared as Ice, Fire, Light, and Magic clashed, he sighed.
But only if he survived…
Taylor has been angry a lot in her life.
When Emma changed…
When Sophia showed up…
When the school wouldn't help her…
When her father lost himself…
With herself for being weak…
With bandits murdering and raping…
But she had never felt so much rage, as she watched as two Elder Dragons tore apart not just the surrounding area, but the very fabric of reality, the neighboring Mist, and the magic circulating in Tyria.
She watched with her senses as both Dragons gulped down bigger and bigger pieces of the magic permeating the air, and she could hear the death shrieks of the word as it was carried by the fraying ley lines.
They were killing the world, and they didn't care.
They were just about destruction, about domination, about taking. Never giving or creation.
She hated it.
While Tyria wasn't perfect, it had so many beautiful and breathtaking places, so many good and wonderful people and races, so much to see and experience that the very thought of her new home being destroyed caused an ache in her heart.
But the moment that ache appeared, a calming light swept it away from beyond her magic, from a small seed of power that she acquired so long ago. A seed of power she studied, made use of, and taught a lot of things about herself, life, and Tyria.
When she first gained it, she was horrified that Zhaitan did something to her, but after some examinations and self-reflection, she realized that she subconsciously took in part of the Elder Dragon's and world's magic and made it her own.
And now she could feel it yearning to help her, to help the world. To stop these monsters, to quell the chaos and destruction.
So, Taylor, beyond angry, ignoring the painstakingly prepared plans, agreed.
She reached deep inside her and grabbed the seed of power and then unleashed it.
And then, the world changed…
…it is my honor to report to You, my Queen that I have found a rather fascinating person.
The person in question is a young woman living in the Salma District, who seems to be a genius of magic and combat.
I happened upon her in the forest on the outskirts of our great city, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.
Originally, I journeyed there to investigate rumors of great disturbances, but after a brief search of the premises, I found the aforementioned young woman.
Young Taylor seems to be entirely self-taught, yet at the same time, her control and grasp of magic are beyond prodigious.
I would like to petition Your Majesty to see if we could have her join the Royal Court in some manner. Letting a talent such as her go would be a transgression against the Gods…
- A private letter to Her Royal Majesty Jennah, Queen of Kryta and Regent of Ascalon from Captain Logan Thackeray 1317 AE
…You like her?...
PS.: Anise will look into it.
- A private letter from Her Royal Majesty Jennah, Queen of Kryta and Regent of Ascalon to Captain Logan Thackeray 1317 AE
Taylor washed her hands after the last patients, then stretched a little and sighed in satisfaction as her back and let out a few small popping sounds. She then looked around the room she was currently resting, taking in all the people through the one-way window still in the hospital even a week later after the Nine's brief attack.
Thankfully, the truly dangerous cases were handled immediately, but they were still getting burn victims or people with broken bones that were now getting the courage to leave wherever they holed up.
Of course, thanks to the chaos, the Merchants decided to act out and cause some manner of chaos, creating even more work for her and Amy. Fortunately, the other Protectorate heroes were on the case and Mush was already captured and on his way out of the city, while Skidmark and Squealer were desperately trying to hide and evade capture.
It didn't help that with the very public takedown of Lung (she really needed to thank Purity for her help) the only parahuman the ABB left was Oni Lee who wasn't really the most charismatic person, so the Asian gang was also hemorrhaging people. Some were leaving the city for greener pastures, but others (the less intelligent ones) were setting up their own gangs, returning the city to the situations it was in before Lung arrived and united the feuding Asian gangs.
So, despite the overwhelming defeat of the Nine, nobody was having a good time. Which didn't really shock a lot of people. This was, after all, Brockton Bay, where hope, joy, and happiness went to die and nothing good ever happened, and if it did, it was a scam. Or drugs.
Taylor then turned to Amy, who entered the room with her to ask something, but the moment she saw the young girl asleep on a sofa, mouth hanging open and lightly snoring, she just smiled gently, then turned around and left the room closing the door gently and leaving a magical sound barrier that would hopefully allow her young friend to sleep the stress of the last week off somewhat.
The moment she stepped through the door, she was approached by an anxious nurse.
"Miss Weaver. Have you seen Panacea?"
"Yes, she is sleeping," answered Taylor, indicating the room Panacea was resting in with her thumbs. "Why?"
The nurse's expression gained an understanding look, but the anxiousness returned quickly.
"The patient in room 427 is not responding to the infusion. So, we wanted her to check it out. She is …er better at diagnostics than you, Miss Weaver."
As the nurse said the last part, she looked a little embarrassed.
Taylor just chuckled and began heading towards the aforementioned room, the nurse hastily following her with a relieved expression.
"Don't worry. I understand. But let me check the patient first before we wake Amy up. She was exhausted…"
"Of course!" nodded the nurse enthusiastically.
They walked for a minute in silence, with Taylor greeting patients, doctors, and nurses, before the nurse hesitantly spoke up.
"Uhm, Miss Weaver, can I – can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Janet. Ask away," responded Taylor with a small smile, watching the nurse act surprised that she knew her name.
There was another brief silence as the nurse gathered the courage to continue speaking.
"Why don't you use those clones to heal people?" she finally asked.
Still walking, Taylor turned her head slightly to look into her eyes and began to speak.
"Because those clones, while perfect for fighting, are not the best for precision work, like healing. They are rather like a programming script. When creating them, I set the parameters and then let them loose. I can't do that for healing, it's much too complicated for that…"
"Oh…"
"Plus," continued Taylor with a chuckle. "Healing is not really my forte, so I have to focus and concentrate extra hard when doing it. Adding those clones to it would result probably in a disaster."
"I see…"
As Taylor talked, they reached their destination. Taylor shot a grin at the nurse, who returned a shaky one, then she picked up the chart at the door and began perusing it.
"Now let's see what is happening here…"
"So, when are you leaving?"
"Excuse me?"
"When are you leaving this dimension to return to Tyria?"
Taylor looked back at her father over their dining table, filled with empty dishes after a peaceful and fulfilling dinner, and looked into his eyes, that despite the rejuvenation elixirs she fed to him, conveyed more age than it should be possible.
He looked old and tired, as if expecting the worst, while at the same time resigned to it.
Finally, after a few seconds of silence and contemplation, Taylor finally replied.
"Why do you ask?"
Danny sighed and crossed his arms in front of him, and Taylor could hear the sadness in his voice.
"Taylor, we might have been apart for a while, but you are still my daughter. I know you. At least part of you." He took a deep breath, pausing for a while, then continued. "I knew the moment you told me what happened to you that you would never stay on Earth Bet."
"Really?"
He nodded with a small but sad smile.
"Yes. It was obvious how much you loved Tyria, and the people you met there. And it doesn't take a genius to compare it to the connection you have or rather had on Earth Bet."
Another silence filled the room until Taylor smirked at her father.
"Maybe, but you are wrong about something!"
Danny looked at her, surprised, wondering what he had missed.
"I won't be going alone. You're coming with me," said Taylor, looking seriously into his eyes, conveying all her convictions. He was, after all, the reason he returned.
"Me?"
"Yep."
"I can't – Taylor, I can't leave!"
"Why not?" asked Taylor with a quizzical look. "What's keeping you here?"
"My job–"
"You can get another job over there. Tyra has docks too. Or you could choose not to get a job and live off my money," retorted Taylor. "I have a lot of it."
"What about my friends?"
"What friends?" came the cold and merciless retort from Taylor. "You haven't really talked with anyone aside from the people at your job."
Danny hung his head down in shame, not even trying to defend himself. Then, in a whisper, he brought up one more thing.
"What about Annette?"
Hearing the question, the look on Taylor's face softened, but she still had an answer prepared.
"We can move her too. I bought a nice plot in the Divinity's Reach graveyard for my eventual family when they expanded it, so she will have a nice place to rest."
Danny gaped at her for a second, then began to chuckle.
"It seems I can't really win."
"Nope!"
He closed his eyes, seemingly wrestling with something in his own mind, but under Taylor's patient eyes, after a few minutes of self-reflection, he finally opened his eyes, newfound clarity and a minuscule hope in them, and looked at Taylor.
"Then when do we leave?"
Taylor gave him a smile with glittering teath, showing happiness that the last Danny saw it was when Annette was alive.
"Soon, Dad! I need to arrange a few things, and deal with some stuff…"
"Alright, Taylor. Should I prepare or…?"
Taylor waved his question away.
"No need. Just go to work as usual. I will tell you when it's time!"
"Okay…"
Then Taylor stood up, walked around the kitchen table, reached out to her dad, and hugged him.
While Danny was surprised for a second, he quickly returned the hug, luxuriating in the feeling, and for a while, everything was alright in the world.
The meeting room was awash with peoples' chatting, the slow murmur of the ancient projectors that for some reason were still in use in the Protectorate building. Armsmaster stood at the helm of the table in front of the projected map of the city, the gang territories clearly marked, with the important locations labeled just as clearly. On the top right of the map was a concise and very efficient legend for it.
Around the table sat the adult part of the Brockton Bay Protectorate.
Overwatch was sitting with a straight back and a notebook open in front of him, taking notes, with Miss Militia sitting next to him, sitting in the same position but without the notebook but just as attentive.
Dauntless and Velocity were also paying attention, but their posture was more slouching than straight, and they had no notebooks, only a few pieces of loose papers in front of them.
Assault and Triumph were playing a quick thumb war, while Armsmaster pretended not to see it, reasoning that at least that way they weren't annoying him.
Battery and Weaver were, however, chatting quietly about something that Colin did not know, and probably didn't want to know, if the amount of giggling he heard was right.
He tapped the board where the projected image was and cleared his throat.
"If you could pay attention, ladies, then I could finish this briefing on time."
Weaver smirked at her, while Battery at least apologized.
"Sorry, Armsy! You were saying?"
Assault shot his wife a funny look but then cried out in dismay as the inattention resulted in him losing the thumb war to Triumph. Colin waited until they all settled down, not even counting the thirty-seven point eight seconds it took, then continued his briefing.
"As you can see on the map, the gang territories have changed. You will all get the information packet about the detailed locations, areas, and movements, but I want to highlight a few things."
Mercifully, nobody said a thing, so Colin could continue.
"Due to Weaver's takedown of Lung, ABB has fractured, and it seems Oni Lee has given up keeping the gang together. Our information suggests that he is planning to be a cape for hire, so I want to prioritize his capture before anyone could make use of him. The PRT is already looking into locating him with the help of Overwatch," he gave a respectful nod towards the elder man, who returned it, then Colin continued. "When they find him, I want him taken down as fast as possible!"
"Yes, Assault?"
Ethan lowered his hands, then spoke up.
"What about the gang members?"
A sour expression appeared on Colin's face, and the people in the room all picked up on it.
"I was informed by concerned parties, as those gang members do not belong to a parahuman gang anymore, they are out of our jurisdiction."
"Horseshit!"
He glared a little at Assault, who instantly calmed down due to his wife touching his shoulder, but even Colin had to admit, it was a rather vexing situation.
"This is how the situation is, Assault. Maybe in the future, it will change, but for now, we need to act within the constraints that are present. We can go after Oni Lee, so we will go after him. Understood?"
"Yeah, yeah…" answered Assault, but everyone in the room knew he didn't like what he heard. Not that anybody else liked it. Even Colin felt that the police's reaction was rather heavy-handed.
Clearing his throat once again, Colin continued the last part of the briefing.
"Then the Empire." Without any visible movement from him, the projected screen changed, zoomed into the Empire territory. "Ever since the Nine attack, they have been silent and information we gathered suggests that they are sitting back and waiting. Official instruction is not to seek them out, but as always, stop them if you see them in action."
Every hummed in agreement, clearly wanting this meeting to end, so Colin simply continued.
"The last are the Merchants. Gang members are, as usual, easy to apprehend, but the leadership is much tougher. Squealer and Skidmark went into hiding, and as of now, we haven't managed to figure out where they are. We are suspecting cloaking technology as Squealer has built something similar in the past, but for now, nothing is certain. Thinker support from Watchdog is scarce," he grimaced at the reminder that PRT ENE was still being treated as if giving them any help would somehow destroy the civilization. Seeing the look on his comrades' faces, he could see that they felt the same. "But we are doing everything we could."
He shut down the projector, then said one last thing.
"For now, Oni Lee is the highest priority, and after we dealt with him, then we will focus our efforts on the Merchants. Dismissed."
He watched as they all left the room, with Weaver waving him goodby, then sighed. Holding these meetings were always a chore and a little useless. Colin always felt that the time he spent in these meetings would have been better served if he spent it Tinkering. But his ambitions demanded this sacrifice so made due.
Sadly, he still had to brief the Director…
With another almost inaudible sigh, Armsmaster also left the room.
Max looked out of the pristine, giant windows of his office and quietly sipped his drink while he thought about the situation.
While they've lost Cricket, it wasn't the worst loss, and Kayden's participation in the battle against that asshole Lung, who was so weak to be caught by the Nine, could be spun into a positive PR, but Max wasn't so sure.
Granted, the city was better off without Lung, and the world without the Nine, but that made it so that the city contained a parahuman who could simultaneously take out almost the entire Nine, including the Siberian who even defeated the Triumvirate.
From the tales that Stormtiger told him, he didn't even want to face what the woman considered a pet.
Strangely, Hookwolf was heard considering asking Weaver out after seeing the giant rock wolf the woman somehow produced.
If the end result wouldn't have been a dead Hookwolf, he would have simply told his subordinate to go for it, just to watch the fireworks, but as things stood, he needed every warm body on the ground.
There were already whispers from other gangs that saw the opportunity and were aiming for the spot that ABB and Lung filled in, and if some of the rumors he heard were true, he doubted the jubilant feeling that seemed to be enveloping the city recently would last long.
He needed to prepare and do it fast.
He placed down the empty glass on the high-quality desk, making sure it was placed on the coaster, and then pushed a button and began speaking.
"Jessica, be a dear and call a meeting."
"Yes, sir."
Lisa hated Brockton Bay.
She hated Coil even more, but as of now she was pretty sure he was dead and somebody else was using his network, and giving her and the Undersiders instructions.
While the unknown was clever, there were some patterns that they couldn't really hide from her power. Not when she made sure to study those patterns in the hope that she somehow could escape Coil.
And now, after the Nine, she had enough.
For a while, she was content to play along, get paid, do what the mysterious person who took over the network wanted, but she knew that the peace won't last long.
The city seemed to be a magnet for the crazies, and she had no wish witnessing what the Butcher or, more likely, the Fallen going after Weaver would do to the city infrastructure.
So, she made sure to hide her money, got a proper ride out of the city, left a friendly message for the rest of her team, and began packing her apartment.
As Lisa held several blouses in her hand, heading for the suitcase in her living room, she froze on the spot as her power went into overdrive.
Suitcase moved
Someone moved it
No sound made
Expert infiltration
More than likely parahuman
Not Shadow Stalker
No marks
Nothing else moved
Only purpose is to let you know they are here
Not wishing to kill you
Maybe wanting to kill you
Maybe setup for a performance
Could be…
Then, as her power seemed to be starting to spiral, trying to figure out the mystery, there was a crisp snap from the kitchen, and her head cleared and her body unfroze from where it was.
She mechanically turned towards her small kitchenette and was rather surprised to see Weaver in casual clothes, slurping rather obnoxiously a large cup of frozen Slurpee.
Weaver was also wearing a rather peculiar hoodie.
On it was text that read: 'Shh! I'm hwunting #&?!:°%'
The moment she saw the last word, an insanely strong migraine struck her head, causing Lisa to hunch into herself and grab her head as it attempted to split in two.
"Ow, what the fuck, Weaver?!"
There was one last slurp, then she briefly saw a green light flash and her head cleared up once again. She cautiously looked back at the heroine, but the text that caused the headache was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a simple graphic of a cute griffon-like animal.
"Sorry about that," spoke up Weaver, her voice familiar from press conferences and interviews, calm with a hint of cheekiness.
Lisa gave the older woman a deadpan glare, inwardly freaking out about her power vanishing, but trying to project a calm demeanor.
Of course, Weaver didn't care about it.
"Don't worry about your power. I just disabled it while we talk. Some of the Thinker powers go bonkers with me, so I wanted to make sure I don't have to re-solidify your liquified brain."
Lisa stared at the woman for a second, trying to figure out if she was joking, but without her power, the woman in her kitchen was too good at hiding her body language.
In the end, she decided that there really wasn't anything she could do, so she just mentally shrugged and prepared for the confrontation.
"So what does my new employer want with me?"
It was half a guess and half a hunch, but she doubted there was any other reason why Weaver would approach her.
"Not yet, my young friend," answered Weaver, still in the same position with the Slurpee mysteriously vanished from her hand between two blinks, and an equally mysterious smile on her face. "I noticed you were ready to move on, so I wanted to hire you properly."
Now that was surprising.
"And what if I say no?" Lisa asked, hoping that this time it would be different than with Coil.
Weaver frowned, but she sensed no hostility from the woman.
"Nothing," came the simple reply.
"That's it?"
"Yup."
Lisa eyed the other woman in front of her, contemplating telling her to get out of her apartment, but in the end, her curiosity got the better of her.
"What would be the job about? I don't do murder."
Weaver, for some unfathomable reason, giggled, then within two blinks, she was in front of her, holding out a very stereotypical beige file stuffed with papers to her.
Lisa recoiled, thinking it would be an attack, but after a few seconds, she managed to calm her erratically beating heart, but she didn't take the file.
"I've read Goethe, and you've met with Coil. I don't do deals without knowing the details."
Weaver completely ignored her a rather blatant accusation, but nodded in understanding and with a serene smile, gestured towards the living room proper.
"It seems Dragon found herself in need of staff with particular talents, and, well, your talents seem to fit the criteria."
As Lisa followed the parahuman woman and sat across from her, she couldn't help but be surprised.
"That's nice to hear, but isn't Dragon a hero?"
"Yes, she is."
"And I'm a villain."
"Villian-ish," responded Weaver with a cheeky grin. "Any yeah, you are. But don't worry, nothing a little old-fashioned money wouldn't solve." Here Weaver's smile increased. "And wouldn't you know, I just received a rather substantial amount of money… Soooo, what do you say?"
Lisa shivered at the reminder of why the parahuman in front of her received so much money, then tried to repress those memories and think about the offer.
"What would I be doing?"
Weaver's smile transformed into something reminiscent of a shark, and Lisa suspected she made some kind of mistake.
But before she could dwell on it, Weaver opened the file (Lisa was pretty sure it was for show) and began to look through it.
"It says here that they need someone with information processing powers…"
Lisa looked for a moment into the eyes of Weaver, sparkling with mischief, and then sighed.
"Let me see it…"
"… presently, it is unknown what Weaver is planning to do with the rest of the funds she received thanks to all the bounty placed on the Slaughterhouse Nine members, but similarly to Armsmaster, Weaver also donated 95% of the amount to various charities around Brockton Bay, America, and the world.
"Currently, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the donations is Dragon's international fund that helps provide technologies that provide improvements to locations that have a serious lack of them. For example, water filters, solar panels, and such…"
Taylor turned off the holographic scene in her room that was connected to the television and returned her attention to her work on the device in front of her.
The money she received would have been mind-blowing when she was fifteen, but after a good decade or so adventuring around Tyria and some adjoining dimension, and having a rather successful company, it was a rather paltry sum.
And as she didn't really plan to stay on Earth Bet much longer, it would be rather useless to her. She, of course, thought about converting it into precious metals and other materials that had worth on Tyria, but in the end, she felt she would be robbing the dimension if she did that. Plus, Earth really had nothing worth that they didn't have on Tyra except for entertainment and ideas.
Those she would be blatantly copying and distributing in Tyra. Taylor was pretty sure Rytlock would love Spartacus and Ben Hur. She even managed to get the first edition 'The Raven and Other Poems' from Poe for the Raven spirit in the hopes that it would finally buy her a chance to acquire a raven form.
She was about to return to her work and research when one of her spells went off. Taylor immediately shut off the device she was working on, closed her eyes, and focused.
After the disaster with the Nine, she made sure to set up spells and protection around the city of Brockton Bay that would warn her if someone wanted to do nasty things to the people of the city or her specifically, entered said city.
And it seemed her paranoia was validated because currently, several rather well-known figures were settling into a warehouse. Observing them for a while with scrying, she made sure they weren't planning anything to do at the moment then began preparing.
Taylor didn't really have to think about their motivation or goals, and if she acted now, worrying about their method would be useless.
Quickly she donned dark armor, not wanting to advertise her presence, then, after making sure her father was asleep and nothing else dangerous was happening that would inexplicably need her to abandon her targets, she vanished from her room.
After all, why would the Fallen be in Brockton Bay?
"How are you with the decryption?"
"It's amazing, Taylor! I learned soooo much! I had to invent at least a dozen new devices just to get started!" replied Taimi, with her characteristic voice.
Taylor simply smiled back, as she was caught up in Taimi's excitement.
"So?"
"Oh, yes! Yes! I'm very close!"
"Estimate?" she asked with a grim voice.
Taimi pondered a little with her small hand on her chin, looking in the distance, as if doing some calculations in her head.
"Not much now. Maybe a week or more. Depends if I make any other breakthrough. Then another week to make sense of the decrypted data. But!" She then dramatically raised a hand, pointing towards the heavens.
Used to her friend's behavior, Taylor just raised an eyebrow.
"You never play along, Taylor…" muttered Taimi in a pitiful voice, but then the next second the sadness vanished and she was beaming again. "But I managed to figure out a few things about the data."
Taylor hummed thoughtfully.
"Based on your tone, it's nothing good…"
Taimi just shrugged.
"Can't say either way."
"So, what did you find out?"
Taimi hesitated for a second, then looked directly into Taylor's eyes.
"It's combat data, Taylor."
Taylor 'stood' in the Mist, suspended by nothing, standing on nothing yet not moving from her position even as the winds of the Mist rampaged around her, and the target of her observation.
Looking at Earth from the Moon was a beautiful sight (she tried it for the novelty) but watching the planet from the Mist from the same distance was much more different.
The planet was gray and colorless as if something was missing. The Mist around it avoided it and what made contact quickly evaporated into the ether, almost as if it was refusing to touch Earth.
However, the most concerning were the reddish-black, ever-expanding, and almost infinite seeming tentacles that seemed to stretch into and through Earth, reaching into dimensions beyond her current sight.
And she knew if she followed those tendrils she would see them going through the heads of the parahumans of Earth (and if she saw it correctly, then not just Bet but other dimensions). Sometimes, one tendril was connected to one person, or sometimes one tendril was linked to multiple people.
Also, there were thin, almost emaciated tendrils, while others were thick, flowing with something that Taylor would hesitate to call life. Maybe purpose…
Things in the Mist weren't always clear…
And her purpose, rather self-appointed task, was finding the source of this infestation, and hopefully getting rid of it. But Taylor, after living the life she lived, knew it wouldn't be that easy.
So, she began molding her magic, directing towards her senses, and focused one of the thick tendrils and began moving in the Mist, while standing still, as the planet before her spun and moved, sometimes even changed as she followed the tendril towards its home dimension.
She wanted to get on with her life, and no interdimensional parasite would stop her.
Or else!
