Lisa couldn't remember the last time she'd been so wound up. It wasn't fear, and not necessarily anxiety or excitement either.

Anticipation. Her power supplied. It was fitting that was the feeling she got as she and the Undersiders sat in the black van taking to meet Coil. She still wasn't sure what he wanted, but she was sure they'd be finally meeting him in person. She hoped, fuck she hoped, that he hadn't managed to catch on to what she and the others had been doing. She took caution, never letting anything slip at the Loft, but you could never be sure with Coil. He was the most slippery snake around and there was no way to know for sure what he did and didn't know.

Their communications hadn't slowed, but he seemed more cautious of her as of recently, which probably had something to do with the knots in her stomach. Was it a trap? Could she and Alec properly protect Rachel and Brian? Well, that wasn't necessarily a problem, but she was still worried. She got the feeling if Alec could see her he'd kick her in the shin and tell her to stop worrying and relax. It wasn't like Coil could really hurt them.

Except he could slow them down. Disrupt their movement for long enough that they might not be able to act against him. He still had those EMP weapons he stole from the Empire after all, and she'd seen how they had dropped Taylor of all people even though she let herself get caught by it. Anything that was able to slow Taylor down was scary enough in and of itself because it meant it would actually do something to the rest of them. She'd seen Taylor take damage during training just to prove a point, so if those EMP guns could actually stop her for any significant period of time, they'd slow her and Alec down enough to be a problem.

Her thoughts drifted to Taylor for a moment. Since they'd taken down the Empire a few days ago she'd been a lot more calm. Less on edge. It was hard for most to tell, mostly because she wasn't a typical smoker, but Taylor smoked more when she was worried about something and with the Empire gone she'd dropped from four or five a day to two or three. With Coil being the last major villain in the city, she was content to let Lisa handle it when she would be meeting him. Hopefully in person. Even getting her homeless shelter thing set up hadn't been stressing her out too much between the little bit of studying she did for the Exit Exam. She hadn't started yet, mostly still scouting buildings to use, but it seemed to be going well.

They hadn't really seen or heard from Theo or Kayden during the week, just little bits here and there with how they were doing and how they were navigating the authorities. They'd be bouncing around safe houses for a while until they could figure out something stable since the last thing they wanted was Aster being taken away for Kayden's past crimes.

Vista, or Missy now, was an odd point of contention. She either didn't want to or couldn't go home, so had been staying at Lisa and Taylor's apartment for the week, using Garganta to come and go, and hadn't gone to school as far as anyone knew. Which meant she was spending a lot of time with Taylor talking over her joining the Espada. She wasn't entirely comfortable working with Purity, and that had taken the rest of them a fair bit of time too, but there was also the fact she wasn't keen on committing crime in general. The problem with that, as she, Alec, and Taylor had pointed out, was that she'd already killed Hookwolf. Which none of them blamed her for, the guy definitely deserved what he got, but if she wanted to avoid committing crime, she was several offenses too far with that one thing alone, let alone her current feud with the PRT. It took pointing out that no one expected her to suddenly become a crime lord or even participate in any of the underworld activities at all if she didn't want to, to finally make her completely comfortable with the group.

And the PRT was another thing entirely. If any of them were out in public in costume they had to hope the heroes didn't show up to bother them. Taylor was starting to get tired of the Protectorate and Wards popping up in her territory to talk to her or get Missy to talk to them and Lisa felt like a real confrontation was brewing. Taylor was patient but she wasn't that patient. Eventually, whether it be in a few weeks or months, the PRT would end up pushing her into telling them to fuck off in a possibly violent way.

Lisa's thoughts were interrupted as the SUV came to a stop and the number of people she could sense nearby jumped significantly.

Eighty-four. Her powers told her since she couldn't be bothered to count the number of people she could sense.

A worrying amount of people if they were all equipped with the EMP weapons, but between her and Alec's powers and their range they should be okay. In fact, she new worrying was pointless when she could give people crippling all-over pain faster than they could react, but caution was in her nature. Accounting for every little detail even when she didn't have to was her entire thing.

"Up," A gruff voice, one of the mercenaries ordered. She felt a large hand grab her arm and lead her out of the car. When she was down on the ground the hood blocking her vision was snatched off, revealing a standard underground parking garage. Stone walls, black asphalt, overhead lights, and no way to tell where they were.

"You know, this was pretty kinky for a card ride," Regent said.

"Shut up, Regent," Grue sighed.

Bitch grunted, but Lisa herself was keeping track of her surroundings. She found six camera's in the garage and twelve men were relatively close to them. She wished she knew where the camera room was so she could target them specifically and anyone who got near, but she'd have to blunt force this and hope for the best.

She created an illusion of herself, a perfect copy that, for now, followed her movements while she walked a few feet behind the group. Her powers set off every time she looked at one of the mercenaries, picking up details on how they walked, reasons why, mannerism, desires, hopes. Most of them were in it for the money, some were incredibly loyal to Coil though. They'd have to be dealt with once he was dead.

There wasn't much to take in among the long stone hallways save for the cameras every few feet and the occasional boxes they'd pass by that hadn't been put where they were supposed to go yet. As they got down the last set of stairs to reach Coils office, she felt an intense spike of emotion from somewhere in the tunnels. It shocked her to the point she jumped because rarely could she ever tell what someone wanted without seeing them, even with her new powers. The feeling was a terrible, ravenous hunger undercut with deep desire for death that made her skin crawl. She looked around to make sure there was nothing around that would attack them. It was actually a relief when they finally got down to Coils office and out of the dreary identical looking hallways that Coil seemed to think would protect him.

Lisa felt the feeling of Anticipation spike as they stepped into the office to see Coil standing in front of his desk, his tall and slim form wrapped tightly in his costume. The snake wrapping around his leg and up his body was all anyone would ever need to know about the man and, hopefully, all they'd remember of him after today if they bothered to remember him at all.

"Welcome, Undersiders," Coil said smoothly, taking a step forward and placing his hands behind his back. Lisa could see the greed in his heart in a second. The desire for control and power he had that made it odd he wasn't a Master Trigger. "As most of you don't know, I'm your employer. I invited you all here because you've all more than lived up to my expectations," Coil said jovially. "More than that, with all of the other major gangs gone, that leaves a large gap open, and I want you to take it."

"You want us to take over the city?" Grue asked skeptically. He probably wasn't acting. Lisa had an idea this was where Coil would eventually take things. He certainly was the type of person to want a fiefdom. At least with Taylor it was more about keeping other groups from moving in than having actually control of the city. Not that she cared much either way. She'd be doing pretty much the same things either way.

"Yes," Coil said smoothly. "Of course you'll have my support in all your endeavors. So long as only you are the ones in the know about our relationship."

Lisa was actually a little surprised by how this was going. She was expecting an ambush or something, but Coil, and she could tell it was really him, was far more relaxed than he should be. He'd been the most paranoid man she'd ever come across to the point she was sure those doomsday prep people would call him too paranoid.

"And this isn't something to burn us?" Grue asked.

"Of course not," Coil waved the concern away. "You're all far too valuable to simply toss away for something petty. Especially at this point. But…" He stopped to think, rubbing his hand on his masked chin, "how about I show you I'm serious about this. I'll show you my power. Show you exactly how I'll back you up and have been backing you up on your jobs."

Lisa's eyes widened slightly as he pulled a stack of quarters off his desk. She remembered the first time she'd met a Coil in person. He'd pulled the same trick, every single coin he tossed landed head. If he was doing it again, it must mean this was the real Coil and she'd met him at least once in the past.

"Catch," He said, tossing the coin to Grue.

"Heads," Grue said.

He tossed one to Regent.

"Heads," Regent nodded, flipping the coin himself only for the same result.

Coil seemed ready to toss one to Bitch, but thought better of it. She was already annoyed at having to leave her dogs at home for the duration of this. Lisa stopped her illusion copy from copying her as she noticed a door when Coil tossed the coin to her. It was inconspicuous, but it seemed out of place in the room. Just a regular metal door that apparently led to a separate room.

"So you control probabilities or something?" Regent asked, flipping the coin some more as I walked towards the door.

"Quite the opposite. I control destiny," Coil said. "I can decide the outcome of given actions, no matter the place or person."

"That's broken," Regent said.

"Indeed," Coil said smugly. "Now, let's get to those details, shall we?" Coil asked.

Lisa tuned them out as she stepped through the door to find a medical bed with a small girl hooked up to it.

Her powers went into overdrive as she stared in horror at this little girl strapped to a bed. She was twelve. Kidnapped for her precog ability and drugged to keep her complacent. The girl had been here for about a month, give or take a few days and whatever Coil had her on was extremely addictive.

Lisa felt rage boil up from inside her. Not necessarily for what Coil had done, but because it was like looking in a mirror. If she had triggered a few years earlier, if she'd pissed Coil off enough even now, before she got her new powers, this would, could have been her. He'd have her chained up in some basement using her powers for him until she either burned out or died. And he was doing it to some little girl because her power was useful to him. Because she gave him an edge. She was the reason he seemed so relaxed. However strong her precog abilities were, it gave Coil a peace of mind he never had before.

"He'll pay," She ground out, clenching her fists as she turned back towards the door. She didn't hesitate to snatch Coil by his suit and yank him to his knees, her sudden appearance clearly a shock. The guards in the room turned towards her the second she appeared, but she was quicker. "Rhapsody!" She ordered, before Coil had hit the ground.

The guards dropped, whatever he'd done to them, be it cutting all their senses or just a few, it was effective.

"What are you—,"

"Shut up!" Lisa shouted. "You'll pay you bastard! I've been waiting for this!" She felt a compulsion to see his face, though she didn't know why. Grabbing his mask she yanked it off to look him in his eyes. When their eyes met, she understood. She could see all of his sins. Every horrible thing he'd ever done. And she could use it against him. She could make him burn for it all. This was how she'd make him pay.

It didn't take long for the screaming to start, but it was quickly silenced by Regent cutting his ability to talk. Coil clawed at his face, neck, and chest. Anything to make the deep pain he must have been feeling stop. Or at least to make it burn less. But it was no use. She'd caught him and she would make sure he'd suffer as long as she could make him. Finally he dropped and she stumbled back, catching herself on his desk.

"What the fuck was that?" Grue asked.

"Set his soul on fire with his sins," She answered.

"What the fuck?!"

"What?! I want that power! Trade with me!" Regent said.

"We can't trade powers, Regent."

"Such bullshit," He sighed.

"Since when can you do that?" Bitch asked.

"It's new," Lisa said, straightening up. "Now, I've got some work to take care of. Grue, Bitch, you two should head home. Regent, I'm going to need you to help with these mercs."

"Of course I get more work," Regent threw his hands into the air.

"Stop complaining."

—

Getting all of Coils things together and looking over them took hours. When that was done I had to talk to the mercenaries, which actually went rather well. All of the ones in it for the money didn't really care as long as they were getting paid. The ones actually loyal to Coil took a bit of extra work, but between mine and Alec's powers we were able to either convince them or prepare them for getting shipped off somewhere else.

Not literally shipped, much as she would have liked to do that, but it was more trouble than it was worth. After that was done she was back to analyzing Coils files, which showed his connections to the PRT as well. Consultant Thomas Calvert, huh? Oh, did she now have some juicy information on her hands. The only question was what to do with it. Sending it to the PRT would probably earn the Espada some points with them, but at the same time having info on their movements would be more than helpful.

Lisa stretched after finishing another batch of files, feeling bone tired from her lack of sleep more than anything else. She checked the clock to see it was a little past ten, meaning Taylor would be getting off work soon and she could call her to come help deal with the kid. Nothing was happening until she was clean, which meant she could probably catch an hour of sleep before she needed to do anything else.

As she sat back in the chair to get comfortable a low whine loud enough to be heard even wherever this bunker was snapped her back to full wakefulness. She sat up ramrod straight, looking at the opposite wall for a moment. She knew that sound despite the fact she'd never heard it up close and personal like this before. Everyone did. It was the sound of the Endbringer Siren. Lisa sank back in her chair, her hands over her face in lamentation of what would be her day after everything that had already happened.

"Fuck."