Finding the Way
Part 13: Buildup
"Wait, what again?" asked Taylor, looking dubiously at Panacea.
Panacea looked at Director Piggot. "Wait a moment," she said. "You never told them?"
Piggot looked uncomfortable. "Not the details, no."
"Details are good," said Danny. "We like details. As many as possible."
Panacea looked at them. "The Director has asked me to give you both a general tune-up; tone the muscles, remove excess body fat, deal with any health problems."
Taylor looked at the Director. "Why all this? Why for us?"
"Because you two are possibly the most useful and versatile recruits we have ever gotten," said Piggot bluntly. "I cannot emphasise this enough. I'm authorising this, building up a large debt of goodwill toward Panacea and New Wave, in the hopes that you will continue to work with us and for us for the foreseeable future."
"Oh, okay," said Danny. "That sort of makes sense. I guess." He paused. "Oh, one more thing. You fixed my eyes, in the hospital. Could you do the same thing for Taylor?"
Panacea nodded. "As easily as snapping your fingers. Easier, actually. I never got the hang of that."
The Director looked at them over her desk. "So, Danny, Taylor. Panacea's told you what she intends to do. Do you agree to go through with this?"
"I have one question," said Danny. He turned to Panacea. "What do you get out of this? I thought you didn't do requests."
Panacea smiled. "I ... owe you ... just a little," she said. "I'll tell you how and why, later. But for the most part ..." She grinned. "Having the PRT owe you a really huge favour is a nice thing to have in the bank for a rainy day."
"I can imagine," agreed Taylor with a return grin.
Panacea smiled. "Okay, who first?"
Taylor raised her hand. "Me?"
Panacea looked at Danny, who shrugged. "I can wait," he said with a grin.
She reached out to take Taylor's hands. "Ready?" she asked.
Taylor nodded, suddenly nervous.
Panacea breathed in deeply, then breathed out again. Taylor felt ... she wasn't sure what. Her eyes were suddenly blurry; the glasses putting everything out of focus. The rest of her body ... it was like warm water had just washed through her, changing everything ever so slightly. Or maybe it was her imagination.
She reached up, removed her glasses. Everything was crystal clear.
""Wow," she murmured. "This is awesome."
"You can get fake ones to wear in public," said the Director. "Keeps you in character as yourselves."
Taylor nodded. "Such a small change ..." She looked at Panacea. "And everything else went through okay?"
Panacea nodded. "Everything," she confirmed.
Taylor nodded. "Well, I feel fine. Dad, your turn."
Danny stepped forward and allowed Panacea to take his hands. With a perfectly straight face, he said, "Please, be gentle with me. It's my first time."
Panacea stared at him, then burst into a fit of the giggles. They were so strong that she had to sit down and recover before she was able to continue. Taylor started laughing too, and even the Director could not conceal a smile. But Danny was also soon given the treatment. He didn't even feel a thing.
"Well, if there's nothing else you need," said Taylor, "we can be going now."
Director Piggot nodded. "We'll forward the next batch of missing persons to your smart phone."
Taylor smiled. "Sure. I'll be sure to let the local police know where they are, if they're in trouble."
"Every little bit helps," agreed the Director.
"Ready to go, kiddo?" asked Danny.
Taylor smiled and turned to him. Purple-brown smoke billowed up to hide them, and when it dissipated, they were gone.
"Thank you once again for your assistance," said Director Piggot to Panacea She paused. "So .. why did you agree so readily to help them out? What debt is this that you owe them?"
Amy cleared her throat again. "Let us just say ... seeing them, how they nearly lost each other .. they gave me the incentive to take a certain step."
Director Piggot looked at her searchingly; she saw Amy's eyes cut across to the office door, where Glory Girl was leaning, chatting to the receptionist.
Vicky felt Piggot's gaze on her, turned, and said "What?"
Director Piggot looked back to Amy, who blushed.
"... nothing," said the Director.
She watched the pair leave, then closed her office door firmly. Thank goodness Panacea fixed my kidneys, she said to herself as she opened the bottom drawer of her desk. Otherwise this might have killed me.
She took out the bottle of bonded whiskey, poured herself a strong shot, and knocked it back. It burned all the way down.
Panacea and Glory Girl. Christ all-fucking-mighty.
Vicky was at breakfast the next morning when Amy came trotting down the stairs. She wore a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, and a very cheerful expression. Sitting down next to her sister, she dived into her breakfast like she had been starving for a week.
"Morning, Vicky," she said happily. "Ready for our da-"
Oh Christ, thought Victoria, she's gonna call it a 'date' in front of everyone.
Amy giggled internally. Wouldn't Vicky flip if I called it a 'date'?
"-y out?" she finished saying.
Glory Girl smiled at her sister. Crisis averted. "Sure, Ames," she said. "So what have you got planned?"
Amy grinned. "Everything," she said, rather extravagantly.
Mark nodded, from the head of the table. "Good. Enjoy yourselves, girls. We'll call if we need an assist at anything."
Amy smiled at him. "Thanks, Dad," she said. "I'm so looking forward to this."
So am I, thought Victoria. How about that?
Coil: Universe A
"So what's my role in all this again?" asked Miss Militia.
"Basically, to let her know we're serious," said Taylor.
"Also, to provide backup in the unlikely circumstance that this goes pear-shaped," added Danny.
"In civilian clothes?" said Miss Militia.
Taylor smiled. "We're going to talk to Tattletale, remember. You could be wearing a burqua and she'd know who you were."
Miss Militia nodded. "In that case ... call me Hannah."
Taylor smiled. "Thanks for helping us out with this."
Hannah shrugged. "The Director has given your requests a priority rating. And to be asked to a meeting with Tattletale has certain connotations; we want this to go smoothly."
Taylor nodded, and frowned. "I wonder why she hasn't called yet?"
Lisa struggled against her bonds and screamed.
"It will do you no good," said Coil, stepping forward. "You may as well save your breath for when I am actually asking questions."
Lisa gritted her teeth and struggled again. She wasn't a telepath; she knew she wasn't a telepath. All the same, she tried very hard indeed. Compass Rose, for God's sake, look for me. Please.
On the table before her lay a row of hypodermic syringes; the contents were generally a variation on the straw-yellow of blood serum, but she knew what each and every one of them would do to her. And she was utterly terrified.
Coil, of course, knew this. This was why he had had these needles laid out for her inspection. For anyone else, he would have had to explain, in detail. For her, he merely needed to hint. Her power filled everything else in.
"So," he said. "the questions. You have recently encountered a pair of new parahumans called Pathfinder and Compass Rose. They invaded your base, with enough force to capture you all, and yet left you alone and alive after the fact. And just two days ago, you contacted them, asking for a meeting."
He leaned close to her. "I am very curious about these two. Please tell me all you know about Pathfinder and Compass Rose. Most especially, any points of leverage which I may find ... useful."
Lisa spat in his face.
He wiped the spittle off, and then turned to the guards. "Bamboo slivers, I think. Under the fingernails. Take your time."
Lisa screamed, uselessly.
Coil: Universe B
The picture was small and grainy, so he could not get a good look at the faces, but Lisa was definitely sitting down with two people who fitted the body types of Pathfinder and Compass Rose, and one other, a dark-skinned woman. He didn't know her.
This was the irritation at trying to get around Tattletale's power; if he tried to get a minion any closer, or used a larger pickup, she would get a hint, and it would be all over.
But he knew she was meeting with them, and knowledge was a lever.
"I never wanted to be in the Undersiders," said Lisa.
"What?" asked Taylor. She sucked at her milkshake. "Why don't you leave, then?"
"One reason," said Lisa. "Coil."
Taylor's eyes went unfocused as she tried to get a read on that name. Suddenly, she had it; crime lord, never did anything big himself, contracted out to others.
"Tall, skinny guy, wears a black costume with a white snake on it?" she asked.
Tattletale looked at her with respect. "Christ, that was fast."
Taylor smiled slightly. "You do some pretty amazing things too."
Lisa shrugged slightly. "Can you get a read on his location?"
Taylor grinned. "To the metre. He's in some sort of base. I'm getting the impression of metal catwalks."
"Well, he had me coerced into the Undersiders at gunpoint. He knows what I can do. If I try to leave, he'll have me killed. And I'm terrified he'll just kidnap me one day and keep me prisoner to answer questions for him."
Danny, sitting at the next table with Hannah, blinked. "Christ. That shit happens?"
Hannah put her hand on his. "More often than you would think, Danny."
Danny blinked again, this time at her hand, resting on his. Then he looked at her face.
She smiled slightly at him.
"I –" he said lamely.
"Yes?" she asked.
He didn't answer. But nor did he withdraw his hand.
"Oh hey," said Amy. "There's Taylor and Danny."
"Who?" asked Victoria. She was wearing a brightly-coloured sundress, and holding hands with her sister, as agreed.
It was a nice feeling, to be honest. To be out on a carefree day with the person she loved the most – in a platonic sense, of course – and who loved her, to have fun, to enjoy the sights. To hold hands.
She knew at the end of the day that she would be giving Amy a kiss. She accepted this; it was a not too onerous price to be paid for a fun day out.
They had already gone through the merchant stalls; ice creams had been purchased and consumed, and Vicky had bought Amy a necklace comprising of coloured seashells of various types. Amy had gotten for Vicky a pair of earrings, each with a brass "G" dangling from it. Each wore the other's present proudly.
Giving things to each other was fun.
Taylor looked up as she saw Amy waving. Sitting up, she waved back.
"Have you met Amy and Vicky?" she asked. "Panacea and Glory Girl?"
"Not officially," said Lisa with a grin. She turned to look at the pair just arriving, and blinked.
Whoa, she thought. These two have changed things up a bit.
"Hey, how's it going?" asked Amy as she came up. Taylor stood, and they hugged warmly.
"Really good," grinned Taylor.
"Excellent," said Amy happily.
The Dallon girls chatted for a little while longer, then said their goodbyes and headed off, still hand in hand.
Coil: Universe A
Lisa's voice had gone from screams of agony to whimpers of pain, and she was slumped over in her bonds. Blood trickled from under her nails.
"Now," said Coil. "Let us see if the needles will be of any use."
Taylor's phone rang. She snatched it up. "Tattletale?" she said.
"No, this is Grue," she heard. "You know, the darkness guy?"
"I know who you are," said Taylor, his image filling her mind. "Why are you calling? I'm waiting on a call from Tattletale."
"She's disappeared," he said, his voice full of worry. "And she left a note; if she vanished, to call you."
Taylor's hand gripped Danny's as her eyes unfocused.
"Oh Christ!" she blurted. "She's being tortured!"
She stood up, dragging Danny with her. She dropped the phone; it puffed into smoke, reappeared in Danny's free hand. He dropped it on the desk. She grabbed Miss Militia's arm with her other hand, drove the knowledge of a location into Danny's mind. They appeared next to Grue, who was still holding the phone to his ear. Danny grabbed him. They went again.
Coil held up a syringe, tapped it with his fingertip. "You know what this will do," he murmured. "Tell me, and all the pain will go away."
Lisa sobbed, not even able to hold her head up. Her fingernails hurt terribly. The guards had been thorough. "Compass Rose and Pathfinder ..."
He stepped closer. "Yes?"
In the corner of the room, purple-brown smoke billowed. Almost instantly, darkness washed out to fill the room.
"Are here," grated Lisa, lurching forward to sink her teeth into his wrist. He screamed and dropped the syringe.
Miss Militia could not see. But she felt Taylor grab her hand. "Pistol," said Taylor. There was a pistol in her hand. Taylor guided her aim, squeezed her hand. Miss Militia squeezed the trigger. Again. And again.
Six muffled pops, six men went down, each shot in the centre of the face.
"I've got Coil!" snarled Grue. He could see perfectly, of course.
Coil wrenched his wrist clear of Lisa's teeth. He considered drawing his pistol and shooting her, but she would just lean out of the way.
And then a battering-ram smashed into his face.
Coil could not see, did not know what was happening. His best guess was that two or three men, all experts in martial arts, were using him as a practise dummy. But it was just Grue. Trained in boxing, fighting mad.
He got Coil up against the wall of the cell, even as Taylor got Lisa out of the chair, and proceeded to coldly and scientifically beat him to death.
Coil: Universe B
Coil shut that universe down.
What the fuck just happened? he asked himself.
He recalled sudden darkness. Grue.
The muffled pops of shooting. No-one can see through Grue's darkness except him. He must have had a gun.
The hammer-blows that rained on him, beat him down, gave him no respite. Grue again.
How did he get into the cell?
Compass Rose and Pathfinder?
He was suddenly aware that he knew far too little of the situation.
And there, on the screen, Lisa sat, talking to them.
What is she telling them?
He had no idea.
He began to feel very worried indeed.
"Would you come with me, to speak to Director Piggot, about Coil?" asked Taylor.
"What, like this, unmasked?" said Lisa.
"If you intend to leave the Undersiders anyway ..." said Danny encouragingly.
Lisa tilted her head. "You pose a valid point. Let's go."
Coil watched them stand, clasp hands, and disappear in a billow of smoke. But there was something, just before they had vanished ...
He played it back.
Fuck, she knew he was there all the time.
"Why did you do that?" asked Taylor curiously.
"Do what?" asked Lisa innocently.
"Give the finger to midair, just before we went."
Lisa grinned. "Oh, no reason."
They entered Director Piggot's office. The Director looked up. "Your meeting was – oh."
"Director Piggot," said Danny formally. "This is Tattletale."
"Otherwise known as Lisa Wilbourn," offered Lisa.
"Interesting," said the Director urbanely. "The name we had for you was Sarah Livsey."
Tattletale looked at Taylor. "Compass Rose indeed, huh?" Taylor grinned at her.
Director Piggot frowned, covering papers up. "Did you have to bring her here?" she asked. "She's a highly dangerous Thinker."
"She's offering us Coil on a plate," said Miss Militia. "Or rather, the names of his men."
"Which we can use to pull them out and dump them in cells," said Taylor. "And Coil himself, too, of course."
"So what do we need her for?" asked the Director.
"I know stuff you don't," said Lisa with her fox-like grin.
"Such as ...?"
Lisa shook her head. "Play ball. Give me something to go for. I don't want to be an ex-Undersider. I want something to move into."
Piggot sighed. "Fine. A provisional membership in the Wards. Good enough?"
Lisa nodded. "Good enough. His real name is Thomas Calvert. And he's got men all the way through the PRT."
The Director's eyes went very wide indeed. "You had better be fucking kidding. I've known Calvert for ten years."
Lisa shook her head. "Total disclosure. That's his name."
Director Piggot looked at Taylor. She blinked twice, and said, "It's him. It's Coil."
"Shit," snarled the Director. "All the stuff he knows ... who and where are his men in the PRT?"
"I don't know their names," said Tattletale, "but I'll know 'em when I see 'em."
"And I'll know where they are and what they're doing," put in Taylor.
Piggot smiled coldly. "Well then," she said. "Let's see how good you two are."
She pulled up the personnel files for the local PRT and turned the screen toward them.
And thus the war began.
End of Part 13
