"Welcome back Verity, I heard you had a nice walk," Hannah said as Medusa entered the room she had left Tattletale and Hannah in. Though the table between the two of them now had a few boxes of chinese between them.
"It was... a walk." Gorgon said neutrally as she closed the door a bit more forcefully than she'd intended.
She had been hoping that, even if she had no leads to follow, she could at least take out some anger on the non-powered 88 members still causing trouble around the city, and anything else that popped up as they did.
However, this only served to irritate her more as the second she showed up, they either surrendered out of fear or did so the second she did anything to any of them, and while that was nice, it wasn't satisfying after such a fucking day.
"Cleared out most of my stuff from my house, too, since that got burned down." She continued, the reminder of how little she'd actually been able to pull out of the wreckage -which had smoldered and collapsed more in the hours left on its own- only serving to further sour her mood. "So… no, it was not a nice walk."
"Sad to hear," Hannah replied.
"Well at least the E88 as an organization is non-functional," Tattletale added.
"Yes, and now that they are, we focus on the real issue at hand." Gorgon said as she stalked over to Tattletale. "Tattletale."
"Y-yeah?" She asked nervously as she looked up at Gorgon.
"I need to know everything you can tell me about Coil and his operations." Gorgon growled. "Including what you and the Undersiders have been getting up to behind the scenes."
Tattletale swallowed a large lump of spit. "We-we've not been doing anything since the bank robbery, besides helping Bitch with ending dog fighting rings, he has given us no jobs, besides asking me to confirm information for him."
"...And?"
"He operates through his mercenaries he gives stuff he got from Toybox, but he recently got the Travelers on his payroll and has been having them doing the shadier stuff we don't do," Tattletale answered.
"The Travelers, huh…" Gorgon said, thinking over what she knew of them. She couldn't remember most of their powers at the moment, but she did know their general composition- she'd made sure to memorize the appearance of as many potential threats as possible in her short time here. There were five the PRT knew of for sure: Trickster, the leader who clearly had a stage magician theme, Sundancer, Ballistic, Genesis, and Perdition. And if she was remembering correctly, there were likely more members who were kept secret.
And then she remembered what she had heard the previous night.
The Travelers had been the ones to take Squealer's baby, and blackmailed her.
Suddenly, Squealer suddenly and spontaneously dying made more sense as she remembered Trickster's ability to swap any two things of similar size.
"Verity, I think you need to calm down a little," Hannah's voice cut through her thoughts.
Gorgon looked down at her, and realized her head was brushing against the ceiling, before letting out a hissing sigh that sounded more like a snarl as she forced herself to do just that.
No good would come of destroying the Rig.
It did not help her, it did not hurt her enemies, and therefore it was Not Good.
She took a deep breath, and then looked at Hannah. "Sorry about that." Verity said as tiredness began to settle in from a very long day and the fading adrenaline high beginning to catch up with her.
"It's fine it has been a rather stressful day for you," Hannah said back. "Though I think you made Tattler here think you were about to eat her."
Verity looked back at Tattletale, to see her hiding behind her hands and shrunken as far as she could into her chair in just pure fear.
Verity inhaled sharply. "Sorry TT, I'm not mad at you or anything, I've just had a very rough day." She said, bringing herself down to not be towering over the girl. "You've been very helpful and I'm really grateful, and I'm sorry for spooking you there, you definitely don't deserve that."
"You are… a bundle of mixed signals you know that?"
"I like to think that's part of my charm."
"Your charm is shit then," Tattletale fired back as she removed her hands, her face very pale at the moment.
Verity flinched. "Sorry… can I give you a hug?"
"No."
"Fair." Verity said as she backed off and away from Tattletale giving her some space. "...You know, I've been thinking of you as Tattletale, would you mind telling me your actual name?"
"Not here," Tattletale said in a tone of voice that asked if she was being stupid?
"Also fair." Verity said with a nod. "And to be fair to me, I believe my brain has just crashed or is about to, I think I'm going to go check on my family and then pass the fuck out. Militia, does this conflict?"
"Not at the moment," Hannah answered.
"Good, I go bye-bye now, bye-bye~." Verity said as she started to lose higher brain function and left.
A few minutes of near-zombie like movement through the Rig later, she found the people she was looking for.
A large room (she didn't care what it was before) had been set up with beds for the people currently displaced by the events of the day, Taylor and Danny within, talking with Sabah who was back in her fleshy form. Nearby, Cynthia was sleeping soundly, Sophia sitting on the bed and gently caressing her sister's hair.
The moment Verity opened the door, the attention turned to her, most of the attention being on edge before they all relaxed at recognizing her.
"Welcome back," Sabah was the first to speak up. With the rest quickly following her.
"Hey y'all." Verity said tiredly as she entered, the sight of (most of) the rest of Her People helping her mood significantly. "How's the everyone?"
"Doing fine Verity, just a bit concerned about what happened," Danny said. "Today was certainly one of the city's worst days," His voice was dry as he said that.
"That's good, that's good." Verity said with a nod, feeling the most tired she'd ever been in this body. "Is there any- any- any- any issues of notes that need to be addressed right now?"
"No there isn't dear, you look tired, wanna rest your head?" Sabah asked as patted the bed.
"I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm… yes."
"Then come over here," She added.
Verity nodded and walked over, reaching out to take Sabah's extended hand, and they touched, and-
Good.
Got through again.
Took more effort than I realised.
Three have been conquered now.
Continue on your path.
It is your right and duty.
You may not remember this when you wake.
But know this.
This is the way to defeating It.
And I approve of your partner, my successor.
My *****
—
"Sabs…" Verity mumbled sleepily as she reached for her partner, finding her and in her mostly-asleep state hugging her close.
"Hmnm, Verity… that's lewd…" Sabah responded in her sleep. Followed by her giggling.
"You're lewd…" Verity mumbled back.
"Hrrmm," Sabah hummed back as she pressed closer into Verity's chest.
"See, you are lewd…"
"I like boing-boings," She said back.
"Yeah, cuz you don't got none."
"Aerodynamic…"
"Says the one without wings."
"And you're too heavy to fly with them."
"I'm not fat…"
"Big boned… flotation device…ahhh."
Verity thusly got up before dropping Sabah unceremoniously back on the bed.
And that caused her to properly wake up as she immediately shot up. "Huh? Hah?"
"Meanie."
"Wha?"
"Calling me fat, I can't believe…" Verity muttered to herself, ignoring Sabah as she took in the room.
Sophia and Cynthia were in the room, the latter playing with the former's wolf like ears, no sign of the Heberts, and-
"Oh that's new." Verity said as she registered Sophia was in her newly acquired form. A pair of canid ears from the top of her head, her forearms and legs covered in black fur, and a giant bushy tail coming from her back. "When'd that happen?"
"When I woke up, and are you two done being all… that?" Sophia grumbled.
"Sophi is fluffy now." Cynthia as she went to pet the tail.
"That she certainly is," Sabah stated.
"Yeah, we're done, Sabah's being mean to me." Verity said.
"You shouldn't be mean to your husband, apologize," Cynthia said with all the authority a four-year-old could muster.
"How am I the husband in this situation…?"
"I mean you are the primary breadmaker," Sabah said with a smile on her face.
"Yeah, but she didn't know that." Verity said, before directly addressing Cynthia. "We're not married yet sweetie, just girlfriends."
"Oh, like Sophi, and Emma?" Cynthia asked, which resulted in Sophia's new ears going flat against her head, along with her tail, tickling her sister in the face as it did.
"Oh~?" Verity said, a massive grin on her face as she looked at Sophia. "Really now?"
"No we're not like that," Sophia denied quickly. "Can we get back to my issue?" She asked as she moved her hands in circles.
"What issue?"
"That I am all furry," She snapped.
"I mean, if that's how you wanna live your life, I don't see any issue wit-" Verity was cut off as Sabah elbowed her in the ribs, not exactly hurting but still noticeable.
"Take it seriously," Sabah said.
"-with your new phase in life," Verity continued as if she hadn't been interrupted.
"Can I make it go away like Taylor does? You did the thing to her as well didn't you, and her?" Sophia pointed at Sabah.
Verity went to answer, before holding a finger to her lips and quickly sweeping through the room for any devices that would be spying on them in the room, the only camera in the room having been visibly disconnected, likely to give them a measure of privacy.
She then quickly checked and on the other side, also with nothing overt (or covert) that she could notice, before closing the door and going back over to the bewildered three she'd left there. "Okay, we should be clear to talk about this."
"Okay what about this needs to be secretive… the Protectorate doesn't know does it?" Sophia asked.
"And if you want us to stay off any operation tables, you're gonna keep it that way." Medusa said.
"Shit this is serious isn't it?"
"Deadly."
"Damn."
"That is a bad word," Cynthia butted in.
"That's right, it is." Verity said with a proud smile, trying not to laugh at the whiplash, before Medusa continued. "This is of utmost seriousness, because I'm not supposed to be doing this."
"Oh. Why? It doesn't seem that bad, I just got extra stuff and I know you can hide it," Sophia said.
"Nilbog."
"Oh… oh… oh shit," Sophia cursed with Cynthia slapping her tail in response to the bad word.
"Yeah." Medusa said. "Or at least, that's what I'm told I'd be treated as if I use that ability. As you can tell, I have not been listening."
"Yeah, I can see the comparison, but I am, Taylor are not mindless monsters," Sophia said.
"See, that's the thing- they don't know that." Medusa said. "Its Thinkers who are telling them that, and in theory might be what happens if I use it on a normal person. But Paras retain full functionality and more, which is just as dangerous to my wellbeing if not moreso because I will either be shot on sight or ordered to enhance every PRT cape."
"Yeah that is America for you, and then you will probably also be hounded by every other organization who wants that, especially the Yangban," Sophia said.
"Exactly, so you need to keep quiet about this."
"Yeah Taylor and I got around by saying it was a second Trigger, but that wouldn't fly with you," Sabah said.
"Yeah, it wouldn't, Armsy's lie detector would know immediately," Sophia said. "I'll keep mum about it."
"Well… I'm thinking I might actually be telling Armsmaster soon."
"Didn't you just say not to tell anybody?" Sophia asked.
"Yeah, you don't tell anybody, but there's a conspiracy brewing, and to earn his trust I think I'm gonna have to tell him the truth." Medusa said. "Unless something convinces me otherwise, but… I think we can trust him. And Miss Militia, she's still watching Tattletale right now."
"I guess out of everyone, they would be the most trustworthy… also conspiracy?" Sophia asked after a second.
"Wait seriously?" Sabah also asked.
"Yes, seriously." Medusa said. "This is something we shouldn't talk about in front of people who don't already know, so to speak."
"Yeah, that is a good idea, no need to burden her with any more," Sabah said with Sophia nodding.
"Sophi is a puppy now," The child said with wonder.
"Yeah, and you have to promise not to mention that to anyone okay?" Sophia told her sister.
"Yeah bad stuff will happen to Sophi and Medu, going to go bye-bye like Momma and Terry," Cynthia said, making Verity's heart break a little. "Don't want that."
"No hiding that," She heard Sophia mutter. "That is right Cynthy, you're way too smart you know that?"
"Yes I am smort."
Verity stifled a laugh at that. "Alright, have you two eaten yet? I know I haven't."
"No, I haven't exited the room since I woke up, something told me it would be bad to go out looking like this, so how do I go back?" Sophia asked.
"Basically, you focus on how you're supposed to be, usually influenced by which form you need."
"I will try that," Sophia said as she closed her eyes and breathed steadily, and Verity saw all the fur, ears, and tail vanish.
Verity clapped. "Nice."
"Awww, wanted to pet more." Cynthia complained.
"You can do that later when… shit… the fuck do we actually do…" Sophia said.
"We'll figure something out, trust me." Verity said. "I think I might as well put together a half-way house at this point… or whatever its called…" She said, trying desperately not to say orphanage.
"Uhm, speaking of house," Sabah interjected.
"Basement was untouched, but everything above was only enough to fill a duffel." Verity said bitterly, having thrown said stuff in the basement last night due to not having anywhere else to put it. None of her pictures had survived.
"Good to know, but not what I was about to talk about," Sabah said. "I called Sensei after you fell asleep."
"Oh no."
"More like oh yeah, because well you can probably guess what she did."
"Please tell me it was something reasonable like getting us a hotel room?" Verity asked, knowing damn well that was definitely not what happened.
"No, she went and bought us a new house Downtown," Sabah said.
Verity pinched the bridge of her nose. "And this is a house, right?"
"Mansion."
"Darnit Ragyo…" Verity sighed. "...how many bedrooms?"
"Mansion."
"...Hey, so, Sophia,"
"Yeah?"
"If you need a place to stay, I think I can accommodate you both now."
"We will take you up on that," Sophia responded with Cynthia nodding vigorously.
"Awesome, Operation: Den of Snakes is finally underway." Verity said.
"...Were you planning on getting a mansion?" Sophia asked.
"No, silly, I was planning on getting a base." Verity corrected. "This is just it being handed to me instead of needing to save up for it myself."
"The benefits of having a su-," Sabah was cut off by Verity's hand covering her mouth.
"Okay, how bout we get some food? I know I'm hungry, you two must be starving."
"Waffle time!" Cynthia said with joy.
"Yeah you can get waffles," Sophia told her sister.
—
"And the room is secured?" Medusa asked for the third time.
"It is," Armsmaster said for the third time.
"So what is this all about?" Taylor asked. "Cause I am confused as to why you want me here?"
Medusa sighed. "Because I've decided to live up to my name and tell the truth, as it were."
"And what truth is that?" Armsmaster asked.
Medusa took a long deep breath. "I've discovered that my secondary venom possesses potently powerful regenerative abilities able to bring back subjects from the brink of death. However, when used on a Parahuman, it also grants them a slew of physical enhancements to their body as well as a secondary monstrous changer form."
And as soon as she said that Medusa could tell that Armsmaster's covered eyes quickly moved between both Taylor and Sabah. "You used it on them? They didn't have a second Trigger due to their near death experience did they?"
"No, they were…" Medusa could remember each scene vividly in her head. "The first time it happened, Weaver was about to die and I was too far from the hospital, and I panicked. It worked, and I put that in my back pocket as a last resort. One I've had to use three times now."
"...Shadow Stalker is the third, isn't she?" Armsmaster asked.
"You used it on her?" Taylor asked in shock.
"She was dying." Verity's voice cracked. "From a gut shot, after watching her mother and brother die in front of her. Of course I used it on her…"
Taylor looked away from her at that.
"And you saved a Ward's life, good job Medusa," Armsmaster responded.
Verity smiled a slight, shaky smile. "Thanks, Armsmaster. I knew I was right to tell you about this."
"Why now? It was a perfectly kept secret, I had no suspicion about it as their forms were not reptilian in nature," Armsmaster asked.
"Because I need you to know I trust you." Medusa said. "If we're going to be taking down Coil, you need to know all the pieces on the board. Including what I've been doing behind the scenes."
"Coil… he is behind all this chaos isn't he?" Taylor asked.
"Absolutely." Gorgon snarled. "He- he is the one behind most of the problems as of late. The Undersiders attempted bank robbery, the kidnapping of Dinah Alcott, the attack on the Forsberg Gallery, and now the Empire 88 identity leak, and that's just what we've confirmed were him. Who knows what else he's been getting up to."
"Damn," Taylor cursed.
"So what can be done to stop him?" Sabah asked. "Even if I am not a hero, I want to help."
"That's where little Miss Tattletale comes in." Medusa said. "I decided to put everything on the table about us first, and now we'll bring in Miss Militia and Tattletale, and we'll get down to the nitty gritty." She looked across the occupants of the room. "Unless there's something that needs to be brought up before we bring them in?"
"I've got nothing at the moment that needs to be mentioned," Armsmaster said. "So they can be brought in now."
Medusa nodded, and a few minutes later Miss Militia came in with Tattletale, who looked a bit disheveled, like someone who'd been in their costume for more than 24 hours straight.
"Damn, are we going to have our own little conspiracy group now?" Tattletale asked with mirth in her voice.
"Anti-conspiracy conspiracy." Medusa said seriously.
"So what is all this about?" Miss Militia asked. "I am still a little out of the loop."
"Thinker villain Coil is manipulating the Bay from behind the scenes across the board, and we need to stop him." Medusa said.
"And why is this not being discussed with the rest of the team and the PRT?" Miss Militia asked.
"Across the board, Militia."
Medusa saw her face pale a little at that. "I see… that is beyond troubling, the PRT has been compromised."
"Yes it has, Coil has several agents working for him, how do you think we escaped so easily when dumbest and even more dumbest attacked your other HQ?" Tattletale asked.
"And this is why I took you into my custody, TT, you've got the inside information on him." Medusa said. "Like, for instance, his physical profile, right?"
"Lanky as all hell, stick thin, that body suit of his hides little, I can draw a quick sketch if you want me to," Tattletale said as she held up her cuffed hands.
"That would be appreciated," Armsmaster gave his approval, which Tattletale gave a smug smile in response to as with a quick movement she removed her cuffs on her own.
"Little weakness in the side that makes them click open if you give the place the right pressure, a common fault in that kind of model."
"I will have new ones ordered then." Armsmaster said back as he handed her a piece of paper and pen.
"Thank you Halbeard," Tattletale said as she sat down at the table and began to draw.
"In the meantime, let's go over everything we know." Medusa said. "First, I am almost certain that Coil is someone in the running to be the next Director of the Brockton Bay PRT. That's why we're having Tattletale sketch up his profile, to narrow down who that could be."
"That sounds like it has to be an important person," Taylor said.
"Yes it requires a certain level of prestige and service to be considered for the position normally," Miss Militia said.
"Exactly." Medusa said. "Which is why I'm trying to maintain utmost secrecy here. While we can be relatively certain he's not a member of the Protectorate, we can't guarantee they aren't already in his pocket, not all at once."
"You think someone on the team could be leaking information as well?" Miss Militia asked with high eyebrows and high concern.
"It is a possibility." Medusa said seriously. "Not one I want to consider, but one we need to consider, at least until we can vet everyone as clear. They may not even know they're doing anything wrong, he could be the secret boyfriend -or brother- of a member for all we know, that kind of thing."
"Not likely, everyone on the team are actually only children with Assault and Battery being the only ones in a relationship," Miss Militia said.
"That's why I specified secret boyfriend, but thank you for cutting off the possibility of a sibling connection." Medusa said. "Most likely, the Protectorate is not compromised, but it is a very real possibility that needs to influence how we go about this."
"Doesn't have to, all our reports go through the PRT," Armsmaster said. "If you control the PRT you control the Protectorate and the Wards."
Medusa sighed. "Alright, sorry for being paranoid here, but I still think we should bring them into this one at a time to gauge their reactions, just in case. I know for all of you, this is just reality as usual, but TT says he thinks of himself as a Bond Villain, and this place is at heart a Superhero Universe. A mole in the team is the kind of twist that someone like that would love in his twisted little game."
"He doesn't have one. Well at the moment," Tattletale said.
"The Druggies?"
"High chance if they don't get sent to prison, which is unlikely as that was their first offense and your Director wants as many Parahumans as possible under her control," Tattletale said. "And done with the pictures."
"...Is that an actual mug he has?" Verity asked in disbelief at seeing the mug that literally said 'Brockton Bay #1 Villain'.
"Yes, yes he does."
"Ho-ly shit, how far up his own ass is this guy?"
"He is a fellow sufferer of Thinker Syndrome, where we think we're constantly the smartest person in the room," Tattletale said. "Though in my case that is 90% true most of the time."
"It is a known thing that Thinkers can become addicted to their own powers, constantly relying on it to do anything, not think on their own, just with their powers," Armsmaster said.
"Which brings us to our next point." Medusa said. "His powers. TT?"
"Pre-cog thinker that can simulate two timelines and pick the one he wants, but can retain any information he learned in the 'other' timeline."
"...So he is a Save Scummer?" Taylor asked.
"Yeah pretty much," Tattletale responded.
"...Wait, does that mean he chooses the results of actions, period, or the two timelines are based on his actions and how they influence things?" Medusa asked, ever keen on superpower semantics.
"His actions, like say the attack on the Gallery, say in one timeline he had the Travelers do it, and the other the Merchants like what happened."
"In the Traveler version, they get curb stomped, and he loses a valuable asset completely since we wouldn't recruit them, unlike with the Skiddy Six, who still get curb stomped, but continue to stay on the board…" Medusa said, finishing the extrapolation.
"Correct," Tattletale said.
"That is quite the terrifying power, as in one he could just not do anything, while in one do it, learn many things about the target, pick the timeline where he did nothing, do it again with new information and keep going until he succeeds," Miss Militia said with dawning horror.
"Like I said, save scumming," Taylor said.
"With that established," Medusa said. "We are dealing with a maniacal, egotistical thinker with a finger in most pies. One who is steadily taking out any competition he may have, either taking them off the board or putting them on his side- thinking about it, the thing with Lung was his doing too, right?"
"That was the mission he gave, to steal from his Ruby Casino, probably hoped we would stall him enough for either you or Armsmaster to take him out before he could escalate too much. But Dragon Man is still active even if he hasn't done anything overtly since you threw him into the harbor."
"And this is where you come in again, TT." Medusa said. "You're going to need to tell us everything you and the Undersiders have been doing for him, and everything and anything you can possibly tell us about his operations… though now that I'm thinking about it, that should probably wait till after we bring in Director Piggot, right, boss?"
"Yes, she would be our staunchest ally in this, and she has already been working on routing out moles since we have confirmed leaks of prisoner transports," Armsmaster said.
"Alright, yeah, so if we're right about the current members not being compromised…" Medusa thought hard, biting her thumb claw. "We should bring the team, and Director Piggot, in sooner than later. Maybe even today. In person, preferably, since any transmission can be intercepted or overheard. In the meantime, TT, you can start compiling a notebook of information for us, keep yourself occupied."
"I'll do that Boss lady," Tattletale said.
"Good. So we bring in the team and Piggot, inform them of what's going on, figure out what to do from there… Miss M, can you continue to watch over Tattletale? We still need someone watching her at all times, unless you have a better option, Armsmaster."
"Can't I just stay at your new place? Me and Parian could make a good base team," Tattletale asked.
"Right, forgot to account for the Snake's Den."
"Snake's Den?" Taylor asked.
"Sensei bought a house for us, her name for it." Sabah pointed at Medusa.
"Yeah that is definitely a Verity style name," Taylor said.
"Thank you." Medusa said seriously. "Accounting for the Snake's Den, if it's already fortified enough, we can keep Tattletale there with Parian on watch, and anyone willing to stay there for the moment… we could even have the meeting there under the guise of a housewarming, but I think this is something that needs to happen sooner than later."
"I will start arranging it, the city is still slightly boiling so we need to make sure we can have it without the temperature increasing as it were," Armsmaster said.
"Right, doesn't need to be today, but the longer we have Tattletale, the more time he has to come up with plans, including potentially sending the Undersiders to rescue her or someone less savory to do equally savory things instead."
"Well he is going to be on cooldown at the moment to cement his new assets and situation," Tattletale said. "So I don't think he is going to do any overt actions for the next few days."
"Cooldown…?" Medusa repeated. "Does he have a usage limit on his power?"
"No?"
"Like, you got what you called a 'Thinker headache' from using yours too much, right?"
"Not that kind of cooldown, did you ignore the rest of what I said?"
"No, but I'm also trying to think of any weaknesses in his power beyond not being able to properly predict things like me." Medusa said. "And there's the fact he's done how many overt things in the last week? He's playing speed chess for all I know."
"Well there isn't, his power has no weakness," Tattletale said.
"...Hehehahahaha, ahahehaahaha, AHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHA!" Medusa cackled.
"Honey do you mind letting us in on the joke?" Sabah asked.
"Oh, its nothing, it's just…" Verity wiped a tear from her eye from the laughter. "He absolutely has a weakness. It's a simulation, which I am living proof cannot account for all factors, especially if one of those factors doesn't know what it'll do next. And more than that… you just set him up, TT. And I'm ready to swing."
"Huh?" Tattletale asked completely out of the loop.
"I'll tell you when you're older."
"Don't pull that card on me!"
"I'll tell you when I can trust as far as I can throw you, then."
"That is pretty damn far Medusa," Miss Militia said.
"Exactly, so it's not happening soon."
"Anyway you go and see your new home, I will start setting up a meeting with the Director and the rest of the team," Armsmaster said.
"Right, I'll go secure the Den, start getting things set up there." Medusa said. "Tattletale, you'll be coming with and helping with that, and when we've established that you can get washed up and get some rest."
"Thanks," Tattletale replied in tired gratitude. "That chair was not fun to sleep in."
"You can tell Parian what you want to wear on the way there, I'm certain she can whip something up for you, right babe?" The last part obviously directed towards Parian.
"I definitely can," Sabah replied.
"Great. Weaver, you're free to tag along if you want, but I'm betting you have better things to do for now, right?"
"Yeah I have to go and talk with PR about my debut and… you know… what I did."
"You did the right thing, Weaver."
"She did, but it will be about rules of engagement with her swarm, and what she can and can not use with it," Armsmaster said.
"That," Taylor said.
"Fair." Medusa said, tapping next to her eye. "Know what that's like."
"Though before you leave, Medusa, here is your new communication band, upgraded to compensate for your new… ability, testing will have to be done after the situation has blown over," Armsmaster informed her as he held it out.
"Thank you, sir." Medusa said, taking it gratefully and looking it over. Didn't look much different, but she chalked it up to tinkertech and just put it on. "Anything else that needs to be said before we separate for the moment?"
"No, we just need to plan and deliberate our next move," Miss Militia said.
"Alright. In that case, let's go."
—
"Welcome you two!" Ragyo greeted them outside of their brand new house.
Their mansion.
Mercifully, it looked more like a building instead of a multi-acre complex like Verity had been dreading.
Still a lot bigger than anywhere she'd lived before, but… manageable. Maybe.
And she could see various people driving away as she did, probably carpenters and the like who had probably fixed up the place, since on the way Sabah had talked about it a little more. And had said it had not been in use for a few years due to no-one being able to afford it.
"Hello Sensei," Sabah greeted her back.
Verity simply nodded in respect as a greeting, focused as she was on not revealing Tattletale who was currently hidden in her hair.
"It's sad to hear what happened, but I promise you it is not going to happen this time, the place is much larger and has been upgraded with state of the art security," Ragyo told them.
"I… the only thing I can say about all this is thank you, ma'am." Verity said, almost at a loss for words.
"Oh it's nothing, consider it an early wedding gift," Ragyo said, eliciting a unique noise from both of them. "And I sadly couldn't find anything or make anything bigger on such short notice."
"This is more than sufficient, ma'am, we don't need much space." Verity said.
"Oh, here I thought I could expect many children from you to dote on, and also I've retrieved your things from your old house and bought you all the essentials," Ragyo said.
That sentence terrified Verity in more ways than one.
"Sensei you can't say stuff like that," Sabah said, her voice cracking in sheer embarrassment. embarrassment.
"Of course I can, I just did. Anyway I have to get you situated," Ragyo said smiling and looking very much amused at their fluster.
The tour was awkward for Verity, but even still she couldn't help but be amazed at her new home.
More bedrooms and bathrooms than she could keep track of, multiple living rooms, rooms she didn't even really know what they were for, an incredible master bedroom (with Egyptian Cotton Sheets, as Sabah noted in awe), the master bathroom having what was apparently called an 'omni-directional shower' and being more than big enough for both her and Sabah to get ready in the morning at the same time.
Two separate kitchens, fully stocked already (with her surviving pans being in the smaller one). An office for each of them, with Sabah's being connected to an extensive workshop.
Something in which caught her attention- an innocuous spool of dark red, shiny thread.
"Uh, j-j-just, quick question, what type of material is that?" Verity had asked upon seeing it.
"Oh that, that is my husband's invention, he calls them Power Fibers, it is a powerful thread that can strengthen clothing, I thought it was time for Sabah to start learning how to work with it as all Revocs clothing will have a thread of it in it soon." Ragyo explained.
"Aheh, I see, I've got to meet your husband some time, he seems like a cool guy."
"That my Isshin is, though sometimes he spends too much time in his lab," Ragyo replied.
"Well I can't wait to work with it finally," Sabah said, Verity noting mentally to have a conversation about that later.
Afterwards, they headed into the basement, which was a full media-entertainment area, with a home theater as the main attraction, but also having other things like games like billiards and darts, and even a Street Fighter II arcade machine? For some reason? Verity didn't ask, but she was pretty sure it was yet another casual flex by Ragyo.
"Well how do you like it?" Ragyo asked as they entered the main living room. "Need any changes? I can get a better home for you in a week's time if you want."
"No, no, this is more than enough!" Verity said. "The only thing I'd change is putting my logo on the house, but I think we need to figure out a combined one for me and Sabah."
"Oh yes, that would be the cherry on top, there is nothing like slapping your logo on a building to tell everybody you own it," Ragyo said with a smile that could maybe be called sadistic.
"Yeah Sensei this place is perfect you really didn't need to do this, we could have lived with a hotel room for a bit and then a smaller house," Sabah said.
"Yes I did, Sabah I consider you my fourth child and so you and your lover deserve the best you can have," Ragyo said. "You are one of my pride and joys and most certainly the best apprentice I've ever had."
"...Thank you Sensei," Sabah said as she wiped a few tears away.
"Now before I leave can I see the one you have been hiding in your hair, Verity?" Ragyo asked.
"...Respectfully, no."
"Okay then, now Sabah dear, your new shop will hopefully be up and running by the end of the month," Ragyo said.
"That is good to hear," Sabah replied.
"Well that is all from me, here are your new keys, and the instruction manual to the security system," Ragyo said as she pulled said items out of her purse and handed it to Sabah. "Talk to you later."
At that the woman left.
Silence rained for a few seconds before Tattletale spoke up from within Verity's hair. "She is the scariest person I have ever seen."
"I know, right?" Verity agreed as she opened a 'door' for her to step out. "She's awesome."
"Yeah she is the embodiment of Boss Bitch," Sabah said in agreement.
"And also a monster, like my power was going nuts when I could see her, like Verity if you two were to fight, there is a high chance she would win," Tattletale said as she dusted herself off.
"So, you've seen the whole place now, any weak points according to your power?"
"No, she covered her bases," She answered. "Like this place is a fortress with that wall fence combo, and I am pretty sure if you checked the manual you'll find instructions on how to deploy the automatic turrets that are in them."
"Automatic-" Verity started, rapidly leafing through the manual, before looking in shock at the confirmation. "...Sab, you're extra mom's crazy."
"Yeaahhhhh," Sabah said in agreement.
"Also since I know your name it is only fair I do this," Tattletale said as she removed her mask. "The name is Lisa Wilbourn."
"Lisa? That's such a cute name."
"Thanks I chose it myself," Lisa responded with a vulpine smile.
"Oh we are going to get on like a house on fiiiiiiiuuuuuummmm never mind about that one." Verity said, realizing the idiom was probably inappropriate at the moment. "Welcome to the family, Lisa."
"Thanks, already like it more than the previous one," She responded.
"And I am guessing you changed your name because of it?" Sabah asked.
"Yeah, I ran away from home due to my parents abusing me for my powers to game the stock market," Lisa answered.
"Well there went my idea for your college fund." Verity joked.
"Don't need it, got lots of money from scamming rich old men," She said.
"...What kind of scamming, Lisa?"
"Oh you know, getting them to respond to certain questions to get all the info I need about their accounts before draining them, sadly that was how Coil found out about me," She sighed. "Thought I was covering my tracks well enough, but I wasn't."
"Well, you're obviously not allowed to do that any more." Verity said.
"Aww."
"Hey, I'm not saying you can't ruin white-collar criminals, just that as a member of the Protectorate, I cannot condone straight up theft." Verity said. "...Regardless of my own kleptomaniac tendencies."
"I was about to say," Lisa said. "Well working for you is better than working for Coil, but first I need shower, then coffee, then non-fast-food food, then sleep."
"And we can start on establishing house rules at the food stage of that." Verity said, mind awhirl with plans. "Pick a bedroom that isn't the master or the one to the left, that's Vista's room."
"You're a real Mama Snek," Lisa said with a laugh.
"Why does everyone keep saying that…?" Verity asked. "Is that like my editorial name or something…?"
"Because Mama Bear doesn't fit obviously, you have a large lack of fur on your person," Lisa said which made Sabah laugh.
"Ahhh, okay that makes a lot more sense then." Verity said before laughing. "Oh, what is my life becoming that that makes sense?" She asked rhetorically.
"The best kind of life," Lisa said as she walked away from the two of them.
A moment passed before Sabah spoke. "Well she is certainly going to shake up the homelife."
"Like the rest of them aren't?"
"The rest of them?" Sabah asked with raised eyebrows.
"Well, there's Vista obviously." Verity started. "Then there's Sophia and Cynthia, and Taylor's probably going to be hanging around here, and then there's the rest of the Undersiders…"
"Why the rest of them?"
"I've talked a bit with them, they're all from bad households or don't have anywhere else to go." Verity said. "And from my experiences with them so far, the only one that I think will be trouble trouble is Bitch and her dogs, by virtue of the fact they are car sized monster dogs, and the thing with Taylor, but already there's going to be issues with all of them… we might want to hire a live-in thera… oh that's what I can do, I can finally get a therapy license so that I can actually help these kids, there we go."
"You were working on that before?" Sabah asked.
"Nope, not in the slightest!" Verity said with a smile. "But it's something I've been thinking about since… god I haven't been here two months, but since I woke up here."
"That is going to take some effort then, probably better to get Sensei to hire somebody confidential," Sabah suggested.
"Or we hire someone like that so we don't owe her even more."
"Yeah, despite how giving she is, I don't want to abuse that, which is why I wanted to handle my first place on my own," Sabah said. "So what do you think of this place?"
"Big." Verity said. "A bit too minimalistic for my taste. But otherwise, more than I would have thought to ask for, or could have, even."
"Yeah, but trust me if she could have gone bigger? She would have." Sabah chuckled. "But I think it's great."
"Yup." Verity agreed. "And we're gonna make it ours together."
"Definitely," Sabah said as looked around. "Going to have to go shopping tomorrow."
"For sure… and I'm kinda gonna need like, an entire wardrobe again, so put the material for that on your list."
"Oh I will, oh I definitely will," Sabah said with a smile that spoke of 'sinister' intentions.
"...Why do I suddenly have a feeling your going to- the thread!" Verity's joking comment was cut off as she remembered. "Sabs, that weird red thread: that's the thing, the Life Fibers. Do not use them until we have Lisa tattle it for us, okay? Just in case."
"Oh shit it is?" She asked. "But Ragyo calls it Power Fibers."
"She can call it figgy pudding for all I care, do not touch that stuff, like literally do not physically touch it, until we confirm it's not alive, okay?" Verity sinsisted. "This is- I've almost started to trust Ragyo, especially with this, but you need to exercise caution with this, at least for now, okay?"
"I will, dear," Sabah replied.
"Good. With that established, I'm gonna go check out the kitchen and make lunch."
"You do that, dear," Sabah said as the two parted ways for the moment.
As they did, Verity thought about the current situation.
She had been non-stop active or passed out for most of the last 24 hours, and now was the first time she'd had to actually process anything of what was happening.
Sabah.
The kids.
Coil.
"We need to retaliate…" Gorgon growled.
"Perhaps." Medusa agreed. "But we still have our duties as a hero to consider."
"And the kids." Verity said. "We can't forget about the kids."
"Coil hurt Sabah. Hurt the babies." Gorgon said. "All of them. We need to make him pay."
"And he is a major threat to the city, if not the world at large." Medusa concurred. "We need to take him down."
Verity sighed. "True, but… god, this is all just so fast."
"We're faster."
"We're stronger."
"Yeah… yeah, we are."
"We are."