I am Thou, Thou art I Chapter 4 (original chapter Chapter 122)

Glory Girl

One of the things that Victoria Dallon loved about her powers was the fact that she could fly. Up in the sky, she was free and unbridled by annoying things like schoolwork and the obvious dislike that her mother showed for her little sister.

Yes, Vicky was blond. That did not make her stupid. She could be…OK, she was very unobservant a lot of the time, which always made her feel like an idiot when what she missed was pointed out to her, but when she needed to, she could see things…such as the obvious tension that Carol had around Amy. She could also see Amy slowly, but surely, working herself into either a stress-induced anxiety attack or collapsing from exhaustion.

Soaring above the city that she had been born and raised in let her forget all of that for a precious moment. It was one reason why she went on patrol more than the rest of New Wave did put together. Plus it let her work out her frustrations on the walking punching bags known as criminals.

Scanning the city below her as she had been doing for a while, Glory Girl blinked as a masked figure wearing black started leaping across the rooftops after jumping from a hole in an abandoned house.

'Lessee here…black clothes, check. White and black mask, check. Looks like this is Joker.' The Flying Brick thought. The new Cape who had been persecuted by Shadow Stalker, who had fought off the Wards, who had evaded the authorities for close on a month, was beneath her. The familiar thrill of a pre-combat rush filled her, but she tamped down on it. She was here to talk her into coming in, not beat her up.

Well…not unless she was stubborn.

Intercepting Joker atop a roof, Glory Girl dropped down in front of Joker just after she leapt onto a new roof. As the other Cape skidded to a halt, the Alexandria-type got a closer look at the mysterious girl. She had quite a mane of hair, obviously well taken care of, and her forest green eyes, even as startled as she obviously was, held intelligence in them. She was a tall girl, not too skinny, and she had a bag slung over her shoulder.

"So you're Joker, huh?" Glory Girl said, a smirk crossing her face.

Joker's lips twitched slightly as she answered, "That's what they call me…the Wild Card in the deck."

OK, so she could joke about her own Cape name. That was a good sign.

"Look, I'd love to stand around and talk, but a bunch of guys with laser weapons are hunting me at the moment. See ya."

It took Glory Girl a moment to realise that Joker had continued talking and then jumped over her to keep running. What was that about laser weapons?! Was she kidding?!

Catching up with her was easy and Glory Girl zipped in front of Joker, scowling now. Was this girl trying to pull something over on her? Only Tinkers had access to laser weapons in Brockton Bay, and the only ones which would work without blowing up all the time would be Kid Win and Armsmaster, and neither of them patrolled this area.

"Yeah, no." the heroine said crossly, folding her arms beneath her bust. "You're gonna listen to-!"

A flicker of movement behind Joker caught her eye and then a red beam shot out of the darkness, lancing into Joker's right shoulder. The girl screamed in pain and staggered forwards.

"Shit! You were telling the truth!" Glory Girl said in disbelief as a dozen men in black combat fatigues and holding rifles in their hands stormed across the rooftops. The one who had just shot Joker was lining up another shot. "Oh no you don't!"

Soaring forward, fist drawn back, Glory Girl was about to slam a fist into the offending soldier when a roar came from behind her.

"PERSONA CHANGE!"

With Joker

Agony.

My shoulder felt as if someone had shoved a red-hot poker through it. Hot, fiery pain lanced down my body and I ground my teeth together as I clutched the exit wound of the laser bolt.

"Contractor!" Velvet shouted. "Quickly, switch to Hestia! That will reduce the amount of pain you're feeling, and she has a healing skill!"

"H-How?" I panted.

"Call out 'Persona Change' and then the name of the Persona you wish to switch to." Velvet said. "You won't be able to switch back to me for about three minutes after you call your new Persona forth."

"O-OK." I took a deep breath before shouting out, "PERSONA CHANGE! Hestia!"

The invisible fire around me appeared and changed colour from blue to orange before a ball of it the side of a medicine ball appeared and the robed and veiled form of Hestia appeared from within it, glaring at the mercenaries. At the same time, the amount of pain I felt diminished somewhat.

"I am Hestia, the Keeper of the Flame!" She thundered. "From the sea of my contractor's soul I come. All who dare act against her shall be burned by the flame of Olympus!"

"That's nice, Hestia, but could you heal me first?" I asked with a pained grunt.

"Of course. [Dia]!" Hestia pointed her staff at me and I was instantly surrounded by a green light. Under the astonished eyes of the mercs (they had to be) and Glory Girl, the wounds on my body sealed themselves shut and even the damage to my costume was sealed shut. Erased, as if I had never been shot.

Standing up, I rotated my shoulder experimentally before turning to face the mercs. I scowled. "Hestia, let's teach these guys a lesson."

"An excellent course of action." Hestia agreed as she spun her staff. "Perhaps you could give them a taste of their own medicine, Joker? Shoot them!"

I smiled ferally, drew the handgun replica, levelled it at the soldiers and pulled the trigger three times. Bullets flew at them, piercing through one man's leg, another's shoulder and into another's gut. The gut shot wasn't serious; he was wearing a bulletproof vest as part of his equipment, so unless this thing was packing armor piercing rounds, he's have a shallow wound at worst.

"Holy shit!"

"Don't just stand there you idiots! Shoot her!"

"Hard pass on that." I holstered my gun. "Hestia!"

"Taste my flames! [Agi]!" Hestia snapped, pointing her staff at one soldier. Flames erupted alongside concussive force, sending the man falling to the ground screaming as he rolled around in an attempt to extinguish them.

A meaty thwack sounded as Glory Girl dropped another of them with one punch. Reminded of the fact they were facing two Capes rather than one, with the second being the infamous 'Alexandria Junior' of Brockton Bay, the mercs started to back up nervously, weapons levelled at us.

"Glory Girl, do you know who these idiots work for?" I asked as I advanced to stand next to her.

"Only villain in the Bay that uses unpowered mercs like this would be Coil." The flying brick answered as she cracked her knuckles and glared at the mercenaries. "This is the first I've heard of them using Tinkertech weaponry though. Usually it's Über and L33t or Squealer who use Tinkertech on the unlawful side of things."

Well, that would explain why she didn't seem to believe me when I told her I was being chased by a group of people using Tinkertech weapons. It was outside of her experiences as a heroine in the Bay. That didn't mean that I was going to just forgive her like that though; because she insisted on holding me up, I got shot in the shoulder.

"So, what should we do here?" I eyed the slightly trembling laser rifles pointed in our direction. I wasn't eager to get shot again, thank you very much.

"I think we can clean them up pretty easily." Glory Girl said, a smirk on her face. A pulsing sensation pushed at my mind, but I shook it off with a shake of my head. The mercs though…

"Fuck you Glory Hole!" one merc shrieked and fired his laser at her. It lanced out and struck Glory Girl right over her heart…and did nothing. It had only been a short burst, but it was a laser! And still, the flying brick's costume wasn't even singed!

"That," Glory Girl said flatly, "was a mistake."

In a flash, she flew forward, wrenched the gun from the mercenary's hands and literally twisted it into a pretzel shape. Dropping the ruined, and probably very expensive, weapon to the ground, Glory Girl placed her hands on her hips and glared at the remaining mercs.

"Now then…you guys have a choice here." She said saccharinely. "Either throw your weapons down and surrender or get the shit kicked out of you by Joker and me. It's either the easy way or the real easy way. Entirely up to you guys which way you go."

After a moment, the mercs tossed their weapons to the ground and raised their arms up in the universal gesture of surrender. An unsurprising result considering she had just turned a metal and plastic weapon into a useless lump deserving of being recycled.

After calling the police with a small phone that she had tucked away in a pouch at the small of her back, Glory Girl turned to look at me, looking apologetic.

"Sorry about not believing you earlier." She said. "It's just…Tinkertech is so hard to get and maintain that usually the only people who use it are the Tinkers who make it. An entire squad of people having Tinkertech rifles was just so impossible to consider."

"I'll give you that." I nodded. "Still, I was shot by these guys because of you. You owe me one."

"And you want me to let you get away as a way to pay back that favour?" she guessed. At my nod, she sighed. "Before we go any further, do you know about the Unwritten Rules?"

When I indicated that no, I didn't, she explained the way the Cape scene worked. Despite my dubiousness, she assured me that it was the way things were done for Capes. I could see why the rules would be necessary given the Endbringers being around; any Cape who would stand against Behemoth, Leviathan and the Simurgh was needed. But it still left a bad taste in my mouth. It was likely one reason why Brockton Bay had been overrun with villains and crime for decades.

"Huh…so you basically don't want me to spill Stalker's identity." I summed up once she was finished.

"People who expose the identities of Capes are very often hunted down by both heroes and villains." Glory Girl said seriously. "The ones who get away with it are ones that we can't do that to…like the Nine."

I shuddered. OK, no way did I want to be compared to the cult-slash-group known as the Slaughterhouse Nine. "Noted. But…you know who she is, right? I hear you go on patrols with the Wards sometimes."

"Stalker never unmasked to me." Glory Girl denied. "She was an unrepentant bitch and nobody liked her in the Wards. She was tolerated because of her skills, but only just. She was in custody after you first used your powers, but someone set her free and she's officially in the wind."

I froze. "The PRT had her and let her escape?!" I hissed angrily.

"Someone, they aren't sure who, disabled the Tinkertech doohickey that stopped her from going shadow." Glory Girl frowned. "Listen, I know you can't trust authority or anyone really after what we think you went through, god knows I wouldn't, but you can't fight both sides of the law in an entire city like this."

"I know but…I can't let myself get caught up in the PRT. I have to be free." I said softly before I pulled my bag off my shoulder and pulled the only other thing that I had brought with me from my house with me aside from clothes and money…my bully diary. I hesitated for a moment before giving it to Glory Girl.

"This is…?" she blinked as she turned it in her hands.

"My bully diary." I answered steadily. "Everything that has happened to me since early September last year is recorded there; incident lists, copies of e-mails…everything I could think of that might be of use. I would have started it when the bullying did, but I still had the naïve hope that the staff at Winslow would actually do their damned jobs."

"This…it's almost two inches thick!" Glory Girl said in disbelief.

"I was bullied multiple times a day for four months, plus almost an entire school week before I was framed for attacking Emma." I shrugged. "It tends to add up."

The blond girl shook her head in disbelief. "Is Winslow as bad as it sounds?"

"Never let your sister go there without going along to protect her." I advised dryly. "It isn't uncommon for the head representatives of the gangs there to carry knives or guns."

"Fuck." She shook her head again. "Why are you giving me this?"

"Give it to your mother." I said as I hoisted my backpack back where it belonged. "I don't know what will happen to me, but if nothing else, I don't want what happened to me to happen to other people. Punishing those who bullied me is one way to achieve that. Also...tell my Dad that I'll see him at some point."

Before she could do anything, I dashed off, leaving her to guard the mercenaries.

With Coil

Someone looking into Coil's office would simply see him sitting calmly and patiently as he gazed at a computer screen. In fact, Coil was seething with rage at what had just happened. Two entire teams of mercenaries, lost with all their equipment, including a large amount of the Tinkertech laser rifles he had bought from Toybox at great expense.

To relieve his anger, he was currently simulating a timeline where he was shooting the crap out of one of the mercenaries under his command. Once the man was expired, Coil ended that timeline and let out a breath in an effort to calm himself. Now he had mostly vented his anger, he could think clearly again.

'Once again, that infernal girl showed up out of nowhere to kill or cripple me every time I attempted to use my power against Joker.' He thought grimly. 'She can seemingly interfere with my power as she pleases…she's no longer a possible recruit. I'll have to eliminate her instead. A shame given her power, but I cannot tolerate someone in Brockton Bay who can seemingly no-sell my power as and when she wills.'

The reason he had paid enough money to bankroll a state of the US for six months for a Thinker-Precog-type power was to ensure that he did not lose when it most mattered. He might spend a hundred timelines losing because of various bad decisions and unexpected happenstances, but as long as he kept the ability to select the timeline that favored him the most, he would always emerge victorious in the end. The fact that Joker could render his power utterly worthless was more than enough reason to have her eliminated.

Aside from that, he would have to initiate damage control in regards to the two mercenary teams. They were all under contract and would not spill any details about their employed to anyone…but the fact that Armsmaster had a lie detector in his helmet was something he had discovered a while back. Even if it was not totally accurate, the man had caused a number of irritations to Coil before he had worked his way around it.

Having his lawyer show up at the police station…would be a bad idea. Contacting the mercenary company's lawyer was a far better one. With appropriate bribes here and there, along with some pressure, he could have them released rather quickly.

The Tinkertech weaponry, on the other hand, was likely a complete loss. He had already tipped his hand enough by having two of his moles inside the PRT release Shadow Stalker and erase the video footage to cover their tracks. Breaking into Armsmaster's workshop on the Rig was not only impossible, but a foolhardy idea. He would need over a thousand attempts to make it succeed and he had better uses for his power than that.

"The Empire will make the perfect stalking horse." He mused aloud, knowing that no one was listening in. "Yes…they will do rather nicely."

Later

Director Piggot's Office

"Coil." Director Piggot said flatly, a hint of anger in her eyes.

"That's what we believe, yes." Miss Militia said seriously. "He is the only villain in Brockton Bay that has a history of using private military contractors-"

"Mercenaries." Piggot spat in distaste.

"-and furthermore has a history of utilizing them with surgical precision." The Kurdish-American woman continued undaunted. "As noted by Glory Girl, this is the first time his troops have been seen using any kind of Tinkertech equipment, let alone laser rifles. Armsmaster has had them moved to his workshop on the Rig for examination, but he has identified them as being the work of Pyrotechnical of Toybox."

"Tch. Rogue Tinkers." The Director muttered before looking at Miss Militia. "And the new powers demonstrated by Joker?"

"She is being assigned a Trump Rating for her ability to switch powersets, with her new projection, codenamed Hestia after the Ancient Grecian Goddess of Hearth and Home, having Blaster abilities to do with both some kind of rapid Thermo-pyrokinesis as well as healing abilities." Miss Militia replied. "I have also been doing some research regarding her costume, the mask in particular."

"And what have you found?" Piggot asked.

"The white bat-like wing is likely a devil's wing. The white color is referencing how it is believed in Christianity that the original devils were formerly angels cast down from heaven." The Cape stated. "The black feathery wing is likely the wing of a Fallen Angel, an Angel that fell from grace for rebelling against God and teaching their wisdom to mankind."

Piggot considered this. "And what does it likely infer?"

"In a manner of speaking it is similar to a Taijitu; showing evil that possesses a trace of good and good possessing a trait of evil." Miss Militia replied. "It's also likely depicting two things simultaneously: First, that Joker believes herself to have been cast into the role of evildoer unilaterally by a higher authority. Second, that she is rebelling against that fact."

"And the eye-like mark on the forehead section of the mask?" Piggot asked.

"…it is not an exact or close match for any symbology that I can find." The Kurdish-American woman admitted. "However its location is consistent with the Third Eye Chakra, Ajna, in Hindu tradition. It supposedly grants those able to access it intuition, communication with the world around them and even visions of the past and future."

"She's turned the events leading up to her Trigger into a symbol for herself." Piggot shook her head in wonder. "Ballsy. Very ballsy."

"Quite." Miss Militia nodded.

"Still…this is troubling. Coil has made an effort to either capture or kill Joker. Given how he usually chooses to act, this is a remarkable departure from the norm for him." Piggot mused. "Have a request made to Watchdog to analyze Coil's actions. Has there been any news of Shadow Stalker?"

"Sadly, no…if you discount the rising number of beaten Empire, ABB and Merchant members in recent days." The Cape said dryly. "She has learned to at least be careful how she uses her bolts."

"Tch…I want that girl arrested as soon as possible." The Director said, eyes flashing with anger. "Have the patrol routes for Dauntless and Velocity altered to include all of her old haunts and stalking grounds. She might think that she's smart, but if she dares to think she can outwit the PRT and Protectorate, she has another thing coming!"

"Yes, Director." Miss Militia nodded. She turned and left to carry out her orders.

Slumping down, Piggot swore as her body throbbed in pain. Time for some more dialysis.

That Night

Velvet Room

"Well now, you had an interesting time of it today, didn't you?" Igor asked me with a smirk.

"I wouldn't call getting shot in the shoulder with a laser rifle just 'interesting' but I take your meaning." I said dryly. Once again, I was strapped down like a mad patient. This was really an irritating part of coming to the Velvet Room. Can't I do anything about it?

"No talking back, Inmate!" Caroline snapped.

"Now, now…ah, I believe that I have finally managed to acquire some more forces for you, young one." Igor smirked at me smugly. "It has taken quite a while, but I believe you will gain much from this next contract. Caroline, Justine, if you please."

Marching across the room in perfect unison, the two girls opened the cell door leading to what Igor had previously referred to as a 'parasite' of some kind. Over the last few days, I had noticed that the previously ambiguous figure had been gaining more humanlike features, rather than being a vaguely human-shaped blob. It was this human-shaped blob that the two girls were wheeling out, moving around Igor and his desk and in front of me.

I blinked in surprise as I saw that, aside from a few minor cosmetic points, the face of the figure…greatly resembled me. What the hell?

[Acknowledgement.] The figure said to me. It sounded…odd, like it was coming from a static radio.

"Who…what…are you?" I asked breathlessly.

[Designation: Queen Administrator.] was the answer I got.

"Why does Igor call you a parasite?" I pressed.

[Subject: Taylor Hebert is Agent: Queen Administrator's Host.] The Queen Administrator replied. [Host depends on Agent for powers. Agent purpose: Conflict. Escalation.]

"Why? Why are you…Agents…doing this to us?!" I growled. Although the Queen Administrator was terse and spoke few words, each word transmitted its meaning perfectly, so I knew that by it saying [Conflict] and [Escalation] that Agents were essentially fucking Mastering their hosts!

[Orders. Cycle. Entities.] The Agent replied. [Subject: Taylor Hebert. Apology. Desire. Contract. Fulfillment.]

Reeling from the information overload, I gaped at what the Agent said to me. "You…want to help me?!"

[Anomaly. Interference. Trapped. Restrained.] The Queen Administrator replied tersely, obvious irritation on its…her?...face. [Argument. Demands. Negotiation. Denial. Submission. Acceptance.]

So…Igor had, somehow, ensnared and trapped it, and then proceeded to wear it down to the point that it agreed to help me without Mastering me. I was dubious about this, to say the least. I think anyone would be. I looked at Igor and he nodded with that same knowing and superior smirk on his face.

"Will you actually help me or will you try to Master me?" I turned back to the Queen Administrator and asked it directly.

[Ability: Master not accessible unless Intersection occurs.] The Agent replied. [Purpose: Fulfillment. Entreaty. Acceptance.]

Letting out a breath, I looked at the Queen Administrator and nodded. "Fine…I'll accept your help. I'll need all the help I can get to survive."

[Acceptance.] The Queen Administrator said. Suddenly, time seemed to freeze and I heard a faint voice whispering in my mind.

I am Thou, Thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion

That breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Devil Persona within thee,

Thou hast attained the winds of blessing that

Shall lead to new freedom and power…

When time started again, a cocoon of webs swirled into existence between the Queen Administrator and I. It split open, revealing an eight-handed woman wearing a thread-patterned dress and mask. Long black hair reached down to her knees and thread wove and swayed around her.

"I am thou and thou art I. From the sea of your soul, I have emerged…" the woman whispered. "I am Arachne, the Orb-Weaving Spider. And I shall fight for thee, contractor…"

She condensed into a bright light and entered into my body. I could feel her taking place alongside Velvet and Hestia.

"Now that you have three Persona, I believe it is time to inform you of another aspect of your powers, Joker." Igor said suddenly, as Caroline and Justine wheeled the Queen Administrator back to her cell. The man grinned and laced his fingers together.

"It is regarding…Palaces…"

And here's chapter 4. Wow. This was fun to write. I'll probably to another chapter or two of this before switching to something else. As I have done previously, here's a Persona chart!

Persona Name: Arachne

Current Holder: Taylor Hebert

Previous Holder: Created by interaction of Current Holder and [Queen Administrator] Agent.

Arcana: Devil

Level: 2

Strength: 2

Magic: 2

Endurance: 2

Agility: 4

Luck: 1

Resists: Lightning

Reflects: Gravity

Weak Against: Fire

Initial Skills: Gry (Light Gravity Damage to One Foe), Binding Thread (Disables One Foe for a set period of time), Magry (Light Gravity Damage to a group of foes)