Direct copy from Spacebattles so the ire from the author's note isn't aimed at you all, please enjoy what amounted to an hours worth of writing, peace!

So, considering how many people lost their minds over absolutely fucking nothing last chapter I didn't put my all into this one thus why it's so short. That aside, I like this story alot so I'm willing to give it a continued chance so please try to enjoy.


To truly understand the human minds inherent ability to process, accept, and then work around the species ingrained fear of that which lurks in the dark, at the very least enough so to remain relatively functional, one must understand what causes said fear to begin with. Most people when asked 'what truly scares you in the dead of the night?' will give superfluous answers ranging from anything to creepy sounds setting nerves on edge to the threat of werewolves which being blunt isn't such a long shot with parahumans being a thing if that is a malicious cape's shtick.

Also clowns, fuck clowns, ick.

Ask someone who actually understood fear though? Someone who lived through the worst moments of their life, survived it, and then was forced to watch the absolute lowest points of depravity humanity could reach for a week straight and come out of it sane if a bit warped and jaded from it? Well Taylor Hebert had her own personal thoughts on the matter.

True fear, the fear that shackled the heart, stole your breath away, and left you feeling weak and exposed was rather simply described as being hopelessly powerless.

It sounded simple, almost plebeian on the surface, but that really was the defining factor of shitting yourself terror, having absolutely no power to protect ones self from the unseen terrors that life in general tends to throw at you much less the reality of a truly traumatizing event. It's one of the reasons movies like Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Alien, and the like were popular, they were powerless against unyielding horrors, but the lead characters dug their heels in and said 'Fuck this shit if I'm going down I'm taking you with me mother fucker!'

It was riveting, terrifying, and inspiring, and people being people they always came back for more.

So, how does one convince a group of intoxicated idiots that they've reached their limit and stop coming back for more, to make them think that kidnapping young women, forcing them into sex slavery through bathtub brewed drugs just wasn't worth it? That this entire gang thing was in the long run detrimental to their well being?

The answer was simple.

Scare them to near death, and show no mercy.

With Madison at her side, her blades golden glow casting shadows across the detritus of Brockton Bay's denizens Taylor followed up her calling out the leader of the Merchants with a very concise, easy to process statement.

"Anyone who doesn't want their asses handed to them in a humiliating manner and would rather not spend the next ten years in prison, may I suggest running?"

With that the shadows around them exploded with glaring green eyes, grinning serrated teeth, and on a whim she had them begin whispering out 'Mary Had a Little Lamb.'

Madison went from nervous to amused as her shoulders shook lightly at that last bit, for the stoned out junkies they either went one of two routes, they ran which proved they still had functioning brain cells, or they charged her yelling incoherently in the process more often than not. Ah well, Darwinism at work, with a thought the shadows lashed out and as the tentacles and chains of darkness wrapped around the Merchants and they were all quickly entrapped, then much to Taylor's own surprise pulled into the darkest depths of the surrounding gloom.

Madison tilted her head to the side and muttered, "Uh...what?"

Taylor was more or less in agreement with her friend as she tried to process what her power had just done, then blinked in shock as she figured it out, "Umm...Apparently I have shadow supplied hammer space but...I think...oh dear... We should finish this up quickly they're all still conscious and completely incapable of moving while going through full sensory deprivation...that...can't be good.

Her companion shuddered as she adjusted the grip on her blade then quickly nodded, "Yeah, lets just...get this over with."

As they walked deeper into the building Taylor couldn't help noticing the dilapidated finery of the manor; at one point this had been a place of power and elegance, the home of a public official or a well off business man, reduced to nothing more than a hovel for the dregs of society. Fitting in a sick way, the very definition of what remained of a dying society, we were once grand, now see what we have become.

It made her sick, yet oddly also inspired her to try to return her city to its former grandeur.

Thoughts for another day.

Moving on they encountered more merchants and they were taken out with equal ease as to the ones they encountered in the foyer, though several shadow blades did shoot out to destroy various weapons, ranging from poorly maintained pistols, to knives, baseball bats, and broken beer bottles.

Then someone did something incredibly stupid, they attacked Madison.

A construct comprised of whatever garbage it could find slammed through the wall and slapped Madison to the ground, she let out a yelp of pain but rather then giving into it she slashed out with her burning gold blade and cut it's right hand of while bellowing, "FUCK YOU!"

Atta girl.

Taylor glared at the hulking form that had to be Mush and growled out, "I am giving you one chance and one chance only, surrender now or be prepared to endure a nightmare world of which you will never recover from, where I will torment you to the point of madness and then leave your pathetic, broken body for the cops to deal with, your choice."

Mush stared at her a moment, then swung his left hand down to crush Madison who was thus wrapped in shadows and drawn back to Taylor's side who for her part sneered out, "I hope you like nightmare worlds."

Madison raised her blade in a shaky hand and the shadows firmed up around them, then Taylor smiled as literal hundreds of tentacles shot out and tore the construct apart in seconds, walking forward she slid on one of her grandfather's old heirlooms that hadn't seen use since the second world war and proceeded to repeatedly punch Mush in the face with Papa Charlie's knuckleduster. Once the Merchant cape stopped moving Taylor wiped the blood off the brass knuckle on his shirt, stuffed it back into her pocket, and then absorbed his comatose form into her shadows with the rest of the still terrified gangsters stuck in her own personal purgatory.

Moving on they sort of went through a rinse and repeat process, most of the Merchants were, to the last, completely strung out on something and thus didn't put up much of a fight. Eventually Madison asked what Taylor had been thinking for the past few minutes which was kind of a relief for her because this was verging on the line of ridiculousness.

"Ok...how the hell are these guys still in operation? I mean...shit...give me access to some decent computers, a few Erector Sets and medical grade sedatives and I could have taken these idiots out in a week on my own."

Taylor just shook her head while muttering, "Mads I have no idea and I have no counter argument considering I'm in full agreement."

Madison frowned and whispered back, "We really should have chosen cape names before we did this."

Yeah...whoops, Taylor glanced back the shorter girl then smirked, "well how about Beacon for you? It fits, light in the dark and all that, plus you keep me centered so yeah."

Madison scoffed in return, "Cheesy much? How about you? Your power is sort of an absence of light, how about Void?"

Taylor shuddered, "Ever lurk on PHO? The hell was his user name... void cowboy? I really don't want to be compared to him."

Madison's nosed scrunched up as she made a noise of disgust, "Yeah...right...err...how about Umbra? Deepest part of a shadow?"

Taylor shrugged at that, "Works for me, and oh hey looks like we've reached the main event."

Madison and Taylor entered a room that at one point must have looked extravagant, her time spent with her dad on various construction and demolition jobs told her that the floor had once been highly polished oak, the walls had been lined with mirrors and expensive wallpaper, and at one point a chandelier had been the centerpiece to a series of directed wall sconces. Now though the floor was uneven and broken, the wallpaper long ago yellowed pealing off the walls, the chandelier now resting on the floor, and every mirror in the room shattered.

Taylor could not help cringing at the sight of the corpse of elegance displayed before her, what a travesty...

"Well well well, what do we have here?" Glancing up at the balcony Taylor took in the visage of a man she could only assume was Skidmark.

He was black, which really didn't mean a fucking thing to her since hey, she wasn't E88 after all, gangly, which was very much not her thing, and quite obviously intoxicated as he bellowed out, "You fucking cum slut whores don't know what you fucking got yerselves into! I'mm fuck you bitches up so bad that ain't no one gonna wanna have anything to do with your asses!"

Taylor cocked her head to the side a moment, then muttered, "Ma-Beacon...what did he just say?"

Madison smirked slightly while whispering, "I am a bad bad man who needs to be punished Old Testament style."

Taylor perked up at that, "Oh! Well I shouldn't disappoint the audience should I?"

Her companion shook her head ruefully, "Would be a detriment to your reputation Umbra."

Giggling Taylor called upon the shadows as countless glowering green eyes and gritting serrated teeth appeared from the darkness, "Welp, time to make absolutely terrible things happen."