AN: Breaking format a bit for the first segment because it's not long enough for another interlude but the perspective was needed *shrug*.

Apologies for taking so long on this chapter. I have been fairly heavily distracted by RL recently. Anyway, enjoy!

Twilight 01

In his primary universe, Thomas Calvert nodded in accordance with the other personnel in the room. He made several notes on his pad and turned to listen as Piggot laid out her plan for the coming assault.

In his throwaway timeline, Thomas Calvert stood up, pulled his sidearm and fired three shots through the pompous bitch's head.

He dropped the timeline before Armsmaster could bifurcate him. It had been so incredibly satisfying, yet he could never be that blatant for real. If only. If only things could be that easy.

His fist spasmed and his pen snapped, ink flowing over his hand. "No, no, it's fine, leave me be! I have an extra," he growled at the soldier that had stepped up to offer another writing implement. Scowling, he wiped at the ink with a spare sheet from the pad and pulled out a second pen. "Can't we at least get quality tools in this facility?" he hissed. This was going to stain his suit.

"Are you quite finished, Calvert?" Piggot was glaring at him now. Her stare was as harsh and impenetrable as it had been when they were field agents. Her intimidation abilities had improved since then even while her health had failed. Except now, since yesterday, she no longer had the deathly pale pallor - so it was even more effective than it had been in years.

Goddamn fucking Hebert and her fucking minions!

In one universe Calvert got up and shot Piggot again. This time he made it through six rounds before he was killed. Maybe before the meeting was finished he'd find an opportunity to empty the entire clip into dear old Emily's forehead.

"My apologies. We were discussing the makeup of the teams?"

At least something was coming out of this utter disaster. The Empire was going to be completely destroyed before this was through, their power base wiped out nearly overnight. Tattletale's grand plan would serve a purpose. He even tacitly approved of her release of Kaiser's identity. How she had managed to maneuver the timing of it was truly masterful and if he didn't know better he'd suspect she knew his secret.

She didn't of course. He'd been quite…thorough in his questioning.

Thankfully, he'd been able to manipulate the news coverage to muddy the waters enough that her trail didn't lead directly to him anymore. Pointing the finger at Daniel Hebert had been a calculated risk, yet if Purity had just taken the bait and gone on her normal rampage everything would have been fine. It would have been perfect. She would have decimated the majority of the Empire capes in one fell swoop and gone home, never being the wiser about the real threat. The Empire Eighty Eight would have died in glorious hellfire due to the overreaction from a perceived threat to her brood. It was perfectly within character and it was expected. The slightest provocation should have lit that fuse and nothing would have ever traced back to himself no matter what traps his pet had set.

But the bitch refused to attack! NOTHING FORCED HER HAND! Not quickly enough. So many timelines wasted while time ticked away. His pet would never have just thrown Kaiser into the wind without a backup plan. Operating against an unknown, and swiftly closing, window of time…it wasn't enough…

Thomas Calvert was in his element in the boardroom setting with lackeys shoveling his paperwork. Coil was in his element behind a desk with marionettes dancing at his fingers. Neither of his selves remotely enjoyed playing impromptu speed chess thanks to unruly thralls.

He'd had to take too many large steps in order to stay ahead of the clock. And he was going to make sure those sacrifices were worth it!

"We need to focus our efforts on these targets. We believe that the heaviest resistance will come around these two storehouses. They house the majority of the weapons and drugs respectively."

He was going to ensure the Empire was a non-entity after this. It would just be the ABB and the Travelers. He'd use the Undersiders to destroy the Merchants and let the Merchants destroy them in return.

All of this chaos, because his pet refused to stay at his heel. And worse, the racist dwarf was growing a conscience. And even worse, her pathetic, idiotic, excuse of a man would not go home! All his plans had crumbled thanks to one stupid, depressed, little cretin that couldn't even keep his own disorder as a disorder!

What was infuriating was that simply letting Daniel Hebert die had led to destruction far too excessive for his approval. There was no point in ruling over a city in ruins. The two times he had tried letting the Undersiders enact a 'rescue' were almost worse. The little bitch had managed to fully slip her reins once she was within a few feet of either Purity, Hardlight, or Rune. It was infuriating. At least 'Coil' had remained uncompromised when Brockton Bay was burning.

Beautiful flames were infinitely preferable to a tide of projections storming his base or Purity's beams incinerating him.

Leaving Trickster of all people to shoulder the most ideal timeline was embarrassing.

He'd have to devise a suitable punishment for Tattletale. Keeping his pet leashed was more trouble than it was worth. Something was going to have to be done - and soon. With this amount of trouble…it almost didn't even matter if she remained useful. She just needed to be conscious enough to hurt.

"Calvert! Am I boring you? Does the PRT need to revisit your consultant contract?"

He made it through 8 rounds in the clip this time before he was forced to divest himself of that timeline.

"I was trying to run the figures for you Director," he said, bowing his head. "I believe if we shift Miss Militia and Clockblocker to Team 3 and move Aegis and Vista to Team 1, the odds of success should increase by a noticeable factor." And it would further lower the chance of Hebert running into Rune by accident during this coming war. He could not let that little lesbian Nazi slip away to the PRT. All he had to do was get to her first. It should be easy. It should be simple. She was his for the taking!

"Armsmaster, comments?"

"If there are any sightings of Rune during the fighting, unless she is actively hostile, attempt to disengage and call for Hardlight or Purity. We are nearly certain that she can be flipped; and every cape we can convince to switch sides from the Empire is worth double at this moment."

He managed 10 shots this time.

I fidgeted as I played with the edges of my cape. Maybe I should go back to a trenchcoat? The cape was only ever intended to be temporary after all…

Sitting in a troop transport was inherently boring, yet this was honestly better than I had expected things to be. When all of the adults had started arguing I was concerned they were going to force me to stay behind originally, yet Kayden had put her foot down and insisted. This was good. I'd be able to help. We were just attacking a warehouse anyway, how bad could it be?

And besides, if things got really dangerous…well I had been practicing with the Overlay minion. It still wasn't pleasant, but at least I didn't feel like I had to constantly sneeze or scratch at my skin anymore.

"You alright, kid?" Assault asked.

"Just debating the advantages of coats over capes."

Assault stared at me, his finger raised and his mouth half opened. Slowly he lowered his finger back down and shook her head. "I actually cannot think of a single good comeback to that. Not one that is clean, not one that is dirty, not even one that is simply an amusing double-entendre. I must be losing my touch. There's a perfect opening in there, I just know it. Why can't I see it?"

Armsmaster sighed. "Must you do this every mission?"

"Banter is good, Halbeard. It's an excellent tool to keep everyone's minds off of the myriad things that could happen; especially the newer folk." He nodded towards me and I rolled my eyes. I wasn't exactly new anymore. I liked to think I lost that title after I no-sold Oni Lee.

"We should be reviewing our strategy."

"Not much of a strategy," Assault shrugged. "Get in, bounce around, beat up the gangers, arrest them, get out. Fight any capes that show their faces."

"If you let me send in my minions first, you wouldn't have to fight nearly as many," I said.

"Yes, but you're supposed to be emergency backup rather than front line. Just like we talked about, kid, fill in as needed when needed. You're versatile, play to those strengths. "

My earpiece squawked just as the van turned a corner. "Armsmaster, I have a visual on the twins. They are protecting this facility just like I thought. If the other teams aren't in position, it's not going to matter in a moment: your car is coming up on their sight line."

Armsmaster looked down, tapped his vambrace and spoke, "Teams 2 through 9 are a go. I repeat, Teams 2 through 9 are a go. Purity, engage Valkyries at will."

"Moving in. Watch over Hardlight for me."

"I can take care of myself," I muttered. All the same I glanced up to Armsmaster and met his - well not his eyes, but his visor. He didn't so much nod as incline his head slightly. He also tapped a small compartment on his left gauntlet. We had discussed it before I got in the van. There was nothing that was going to happen today that would trigger anything. I didn't expect to need it. Even if I did end up needing it, I didn't expect to need him to give it to me. I was perfectly fine on my own.

I could handle my own panic attacks. I didn't need a backup.

Still…it was nice to know I had one.

One day I would figure out how blasts of pure light could create explosions and the world's understanding of physics would improve by leaps and bounds. I suppose Purity's blasts made a bit more sense than Legend's lasers at least…90 degree homing lasers? Really? Whatever gave us all these powers must have either made love to Cthulhu or insulted Reality so badly that the Lady just gave a middle finger in response and walked away.

I wasn't even sure if Purity's battle could be called a real 'fight' with how one-sided it was. Fenja and Menja were strong and their damage reduction was nothing to sneer at, but they just weren't able to measure up. My mother was flying rings around the two and her near constant laser blasts were starting to cause accumulated actual damage. Both of the twins were bleeding and they were getting slower. It had only been five minutes since the fight started too and they were already almost out for the count. I was impressed that they had stayed near the warehouse through the constant barrage. They must really want to protect this place.

Well too bad for them that Armsmaster and the PRT were currently sweeping their way through the facility, arresting everyone. My minions were following along with them, destroying gun stockpiles as we came upon them along with ramming their pointy sword arms into safes and vaults to smash the things open. I wasn't getting enough info from them to be able to direct them without the camera feed from the soldiers so their numbers were limited while I stayed in the van, but it was working well so far.

Assault was easier to help with; him I could actually see. Continually refreshing my minions as they died to Crusader's ghosts was getting supremely annoying, but it was simple enough. Assault was doing pretty well against Cricket too. I winced as her blade slashed out at him again. Christ the woman was vicious. If that had been anyone else out there, that would have opened half his chest.

Well, anyone but Aegis, or Glory Girl, or the power armored capes, or…Okay, so maybe Cricket wasn't quite as bad as I initially thought. That only really held up if she switched to less lethal weapons against less squishy targets though. I mean, I wasn't sending my Swordmasters to slice into her was I? Nope, I was sticking to safes and ghosts and threatening displays.

I sighed and sent another minion on a suicide charge into yet another ghost. Where the hell was this jerk?

"Armsmaster, none of the drones are returning anything for Crusader," I snapped, a scowl spreading over my face as I flipped to a different display on the datapad in my hands. "This visual field is too small. I'm requesting permission to go out there directly!"

"Are you still able to hold the tide, Hardlight?"

"Yes, I can counter him fine, but I'm not able to do much else at the moment. I don't have a good enough sight line or a close enough distance to send a random roamer pack of minions out and even if I did, if they got close he'd kill them and I wouldn't be able to refresh them fast enough to get them back to the right spot before he moved. I need to get closer!"

"Negative."

"I can help! We can capture him here!"

"Hardlight you are a minor in a warzone, and your family already has a target on their back. Stay in the van!"

"But - "

"I am almost finished ensuring the building is clear. Once we're assured there aren't any surprises waiting I'll be joining Assault and we can - " The line cut off in a grunt and an exclamation from one of the troopers.

My eyes widening, I snapped my gaze to the correct monitor. Snarling, I sent one of the Swordmasters into a leaping dive. It caught the edge of a blade of air thrown out by Stormtiger, the form flickered, yet held. It didn't hold against the second blast right behind the first, the minion popping as it was struck again. It was still enough time for the trooper to lunge to the side and escape the rest of the weaponized wind. If that attack was strong enough to pop my minion, it likely would have bisected that man.

Stormtiger looked like he had jumped down from the final office just as we got near. His first attack had knocked Armsmaster to the side while his second had scattered the agents. His third and fourth were the ones that had nearly killed that guy behind my minion.

As Armsmaster levered himself to his feet, several of the PRT members had already tried to level containment foam guns towards Stormtiger. The sprays were quickly redirected around him however, leaving three of the agents trapped in their own foam and the rest diving for cover again. I sent two minions to attack him at the same time that Armsmaster lunged, halberd first.

"Hardlight, support the PRT!" Armsmaster ordered. His halberd crackled with electricity as he swung in towards Stormtiger.

I nodded, realizing half a second later that he couldn't see it.

"I have Swordmasters watching their backs. My visual isn't good enough to directly assist you, but the two minions with you are on autopilot now. If you need specific behavior shout and I can adjust."

He didn't fully reply but I heard a grunt of acknowledgement.

And then my attention was grabbed by a commotion on the street outside.

"Get that fucking piece of rock down here right now dyke, or I will gut you myself!"

"You can fly! Come up to me, asswipe!"

My eyes narrowed to slits as I searched the skies for Rune. She had to be close if I could hear her. Where was she? Where was she?

"The little bitch and the limp dick are keeping me pinned! Pick me up right now, Rune! Get! Down! Here!"

Assault kicked at Cricket, finally managing to just barely clip her. Even the glancing blow was enough, it sent her rocketing away into a brick wall, against which she promptly crumpled to the ground upon impact. Turning to the sky, Assault cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Rune! We can help, you don't have to listen to them!"

"Armsmaster, are you and the PRT okay if I pull the minions back? I need to swap types."

He grunted. The PRT team lead responded instead, her voice jumping onto the network. "Stormtiger is nearly pinned, Hardlight, and most other resistance has already been pacified. You're good to withdraw, we'll support Armsmaster ourselves from here."

I popped the minions and jumped out of the van, landing on my new Pegasus. I pulled out 6 more and sent them to surround Assault, ensuring that Crusader couldn't try to attack him while I was distracted. Then my mount kicked the ground and we soared into the air.

There was no way the incredibly tiny wings on this unicorn would be able to actually support flight, but I was growing increasingly convinced that a great deal of what my minions could do was related to what I thought they could do. Did I think a warden could heal? Then it could heal. Did I think a Throne could hover? Then it could hover. I'd have to explore this mental belief thing whenever the city calmed down.

I pulled the Pegasus to a stop in midair next to Rune's platform. She was kneeling on a large chunk of concrete, her head bowed, her hand on the floating chunk below her covering the center of the signature of her power. She didn't even seem to notice I was there. I heaved a sigh. Getting my Pegasus to neigh would've been awesome and oh so dramatic. Why couldn't my projections speak?

"Rune?"

She jerked to the side, nearly falling over as she scrambled to face me, her hood snapping up. That had to have some tinker tech in it, there was no way a simple hood would stop people from looking at the face underneath, especially in broad daylight, yet I couldn't see anything except a vague impression of hair and a blob that might have been her face.

"Hardlight! You're - you can't be up here! Crusader - "

"Is being managed. I'm a hard counter for him. I can't use as many Pegasi as other minions, but their horns are just as sharp as my Swordmasters swords so they can kill his ghosts all the same."

"Uh, I don't think the flying horses had horns in the myth…"

I rolled my eyes and lifted my hands in exasperation. "Of course they didn't! I'm not summoning an actual Pegasus, Tammi! I'm making a damn flying horse with a modicum of combat capabilities so I don't have to touch down to keep fighting!"

"Oh…Yeah, that…That makes sense. Taylor, nothing's changed…I have to…"

"Fuck that! You don't have to do anything!" I pulled out two more Pegasi and sent them down to suicide against Crusader's attackers that were lunging towards us. "That asshole was just threatening you, Tammi! Come with me instead. All you've done since I've met you was complain about and curse the Empire. You're not even actually helping them now. Stop pretending like you don't want this and come with me!"

"I…I can't," She dropped to one knee shaking her head and wrapping her arms around herself. "I can't go back!"

"You don't have to, I promise!" I kicked my Pegagus and it flew closer. Four more minions were dispatched to pacify Crusader. I caught sight of Assault rushing towards a nearby building below me and I made sure that the minions surrounding him knew to follow along and protect him no matter what. "Tammi, listen to me. The PRT isn't going to send you back to jail. They're willing to work with you. They'll give a second chance, a place on their team. You'll have to change your cape name obviously and probably get a new uniform, but leaving the Empire doesn't have to mean going back to your personal hell."

She looked up at me. I was close enough to hear her breath hitch now as she started to speak. She had to try twice more before she could get the words out. "You can't know that for sure."

"Director Piggot herself told me and Kayden. I have a signed letter in my bag in the van."

Tammi shook her head. "I know what happens to people who go to the Protectorate. The Empire talked about it all the time. No one ever sees them again. They disappear. It's pretty words for a gilded trap."

I scowled. Fucking Empire and their fucking poison. "Tammi, they lied. They lied to make it even less likely that you would run away to someone else."

"No that's…I saw it happen! I know I saw it happen." She shook her head hard enough that if her hood hadn't been clipped it would've flown off her head. "Madcap! He broke people out of Birdcage transports. I think we even contracted him once. The Protectorate caught up to him and he just vanished! I don't even know what his power was, besides being really fucking strong and bulletproof, but I know he never showed up anywhere else!"

I blinked. Well that was a nice coincidence, but…Could I blab something like that?

"Assault," I muttered.

"Kinda busy, kid," he grunted back. I heard crashing over the line before the mike switched back off.

"Real quick then: Rune is saying Madcap disappeared and is worried the Protectorate is going to make her disappear the same way."

There was a brief series of swears before Assault came back. "If there is any other way to talk her down, I'd really appreciate it, kid. If you absolutely have to, go for the nuke. I'll deal with the fallout later."

"Understood. Do you need more minions? I can tell two have died."

"Got it covered. Hey Crusader! Duck fucker!"

The line cut off again and I turned back to Tammi. Flying closer to her, I reached over and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Tammi, I have proof that you're being paranoid and that they've lied to you. I can't really say because it's not my secret to share. But if you really don't trust the PRT then how about a compromise?"

"What sort of compromise is there, Taylor? I'm either a villain or I'm gone." Her voice cracked and I had to bite my tongue to avoid jumping off of the Pegasus.

"If you don't feel safe joining the Wards, how about you join me and Purity?"

"What? But you're - I mean, you're with them."

"No, we're not. We work beside the PRT yeah, but I'm not a Ward and Kayden isn't in the Protectorate. We're Independents."

"I…I don't…"

My Pegasus folded its legs so that I was at eye level with her. "Tammi, you said the other day that you were going to fight for me. But that's not a battle that has any competitors. So don't fight for me. Fight with me."

She stared at me, and despite the haze inside her hood I knew I was meeting her gaze. A shudder ran through her body and the entire platform rumbled along with her. I gripped her arm harder.

"Okay."