Taylor found the trip to the Undersiders's headquarters was odd, to say the least. They weren't willing to trust her with the location just yet. She had agreed to join, but she understood that they weren't willing to take that at face value from the start. So they had blindfolded her, told her to get on one of the dogs (Bitch had to pump it up to the size of a super duty truck) and she was given a ride, blind and holding on desperately, to their HQ. During the trip she had plenty of time to think on Tattletale calling her Fenris. She had said that the PRT had given her that name. She could only imagine that it meant that her identity had been made public. Everyone would know by now that she was a violent lunatic who had attacked a pair of school-girls.
When the blindfold was removed Taylor was able to get down and walk on her own. However, she found herself…less than impressed by what she saw. All that was in view was a long abandoned industrial sector. "So, where's the headquarters? All of these buildings look…run down." She noticed that speech impediment again.
It was bad enough that the group was having trouble understanding her, something that she figured was going to become really old really fast. Soon, though, Grue seemed to figure it out. "That's the point," he told her. "We want it to look like any other abandoned building on the outside. It draws less attention that way." As the two spoke, the others began to dismount from their dogs.
Taylor stopped when she heard that and she immediately felt a bit stupid. It made a lot of sense in retrospect. "Oh," was all she eventually managed to say with that harsh, guttural voice she currently had. Seeing that that was all that Taylor had to say, the group kept moving again, though not before Bitch shook her head with an annoyed look.
"Besides," Grue added, "This isn't where our base is. Since we're trying to avoid attention, we're giving Bitch's dogs some time to shrink to their original size. They stand out otherwise." Taylor looked to see that the dogs were beginning to deflate. She simply mouthed and 'Oh' and, without another word, the four of them shuffled down an alley, keeping out of sight and Taylor followed.
Grue turned to look back at Taylor. "We should do the same. It'll stand out if people see a car-sized wolf in the area with four teens in costumes. So, we need to find an alley somewhere where we can change clothes and you can change back."
As soon as he mentioned changing back, Taylor looked away to try to hide her embarrassment. "Uhhh...that's…going to be a problem," she told them.
The group stopped and looked at the giant wolf for a moment. Suddenly, Regent began shaking with laughter.
"What's so funny?" Bitch asked.
Tattletale slapped a hand to her forehead. "It's because she has no clothes. How did I not think of that?"
"So?," Bitch said with a shrug. "A little streaking never killed anyone," was her crude response. Then she turned to look at Taylor with an annoyed look. "Besides, you're already naked, dumbass."
Taylor just stood up straight and crossed her arms in indignation. "That's hardly the same thing!" she insisted. "At least like this I'm covered by fur."
Bitch just scoffed. "Yeah, covered. Keep telling yourself that all you want, your junk's still gonna be out there for everyone to see." When Taylor did nothing but sputter in embarrassment, Bitch just snorted a quick laugh and shook her head.
Before anything else could be said by wither of them, though, Tattletale and Grue stepped between them, with Grue facing Bitch and Tattletale facing Taylor.
Grue and Bitch were having an intense staring contest when Tattletale began speaking. "Look," she put her hands up in a placating manner, "She's just saying things to get to you." Taylor just huffed and turned away.
"It's true!" Tattletale insisted. "Look," she took a step closer. "Just ignore her for now. And as far as getting you into our base undetected, we have some tricks," she looked over her shoulder. "Isn't that right, Grue?"
Taylor looked over Tattletale's shoulder to see that Grue had gotten imposingly close to Bitch and that she seemed to be backing down. By now the dogs looked like their skin was about to slough off, which Taylor found to be more than a little unsettling to look at, and so Taylor turned away. When Tattletale called to him again, Taylor heard Grue answer. "Yeah, it's fine. You and me will wait here until the others go in." At this point he raised his hand and a dark mist started leaking out and his voice became strange and distorted. "Afterward, we'll go in under the cover of my darkness. You won't be able to see, but should be fine. If your sense of smell is anything like an actual dog's, you'll be able to follow my scent. If not, then I'll just have to guide you by hand or something. Sound good?"
"What's it matter, anyway? The PRT have probably made my identity public by now. It's not like I won't be recognized regardless of how I look."
"That' not what happened. Your identity is safe," Tattletale assured her. Taylor looked unconvinced. "Look, it's a bit of a story and I'd rather not tell it out here. I promise, once we get inside, I'll explain it to you, ok?" Taylor thought about his idea and acquiesced. With a nod, she returned to a quadrupedal stance as it seemed to be a bit more comfortable and it made her a feel a bit better about her nakedness.
Taylor watched as Regent and Tattletale went down opposite alleyways. Bitch stayed where she was and began digging through the flesh of her dogs. Sickened by the sight and sound of the squelching of the girl digging through rapidly decaying flesh, Taylor turned away.
After about ten minutes the sounds stopped and she risked a glance in Bitch's direction. There were three piles of flesh and a happy seeming dog in the middle of each one. It was about that time that Tattletale and Regent walked back out of their respective alleys in normal clothes and each carrying a duffle bag.
Regent was dressed in a plain, blue shirt with black jeans and a red coat with what could only be described as a lazy smile on his face. Tattletale, however, still sported the vulpine grin Taylor had seen on her face for most of the time she had known the teenage supervillain. Now that she wasn't wearing a mask it also became apparent that she had freckles across the bridge of her nose, almost going from the end of one cheek to the other. She was wearing a blouse with a floral print and skinny jeans as well as a black coat.
"All right me, Rachel, and Alec will go in and we'll be waiting for you two," Tattletale said as she pointed to each person in turn. Then she turned to face Taylor. "Also, I'll get you something to wear while I'm in there." She gave Taylor another vulpine grin and sauntered off out of the alley.
Alec just shrugged and followed after. Without turning he called back "See you guys inside." Rachel just brushed past Taylor without saying anything.
As the other three members of the team walked away, Grue turned spoke to Taylor. She noticed that his voice had returned to normal with the absence of the black fog. "It'll take some work to clear out, but we've got a spare room you can stay in."
"Thanks," was the only thing she could think of to say.
Grue shrugged. "It's the same thing we'd do for anyone else on the team." A silence settled between us after that. Taylor wasn't really sure what to say to a villain who had just offered me both a job and a place to stay.
"Brian, by the way," Grue said out of the blue.
Taylor turned to him in confusion. "What?" was the most articulate thing she could think of to say.
Whether or not it was because he was speaking to a giant, talking wolf that did it, Taylor wasn't sure, but she thought he had an awkward air about him. "That's my name. Out of costume, I mean. We actually never got your name, though."
"It's Taylor," the wolf girl rumbled.
Grue nodded. "The others are Alec, Lisa-she's the blond one-, and Rachel. Or Bitch as she calls herself. The PRT call her Hellhound, but she hates the name. Just remember, whenever we're in costume you should only refer to us by our aliases." He then looked up as if he was thinking about something. "Come to think of it, we should probably get you a costume, too."
"Not walking around as a giant naked wolf would be great," Taylor replied.
Grue merely shook his head. "No, I meant for before you enter your wolf form." Then he tilted his head and shrugged. "Although, I suppose a spare for you to change into afterward would be a good idea, too."
Taylor just gave him the closest to a quizzical look she could manage. "Why would I be waiting to change shape? Wouldn't you want me to be as strong as possible from the start?"
"Well, that wouldn't be bad per se," Grue said. "However, we try to operate a bit stealthier. Even Bitch doesn't usually pump her dogs too much until the action starts and I'm assuming that you can't change the size of your form?"
Taylor nodded her agreement. "Then that means you'll draw a lot of attention if you change. Even in a city like Brockton Bay, a car-sized wolf catches attention, so we need you to remain as inconspicuous before and after as you can." An awkward silence fell on them after that.
After a while of waiting, Grue turned and looked down the alley. Taylor caught his movement and looked down the alley in curiosity. She noted that she couldn't see any of the others. The black fog from earlier began leaking from Grue's body again. "Looks like it's time to go. Just stick to my scent trail and you should be fine. And don't worry, I'll know if you start getting lost."
After he said that, Taylor's vision was quickly obscured by the encroaching blackness. Not only was her vision completely obscured but she had been rendered almost deaf. However, that was all that the fog did to affect her senses. Her senses of touch and smell were still in full effect and she was easily able to follow Grue's scent trail.
Her route was mostly clear of obstacles thanks to Grue's path, but her sheer bulk and the imprecise nature of her lead meant that ended up bumping into alley walls and dumpsters all along the way. "How much further?" she asked. When she did she noted that she could barely hear her own voice despite her enhanced hearing. She immediately felt foolish. "Dammit, of course he can't hear me," she muttered to herself. If she could barely hear herself, how could Grue hear her from who knows how far ahead he was.
It couldn't have been more than five minutes, though, before Taylor found herself stepping out of the obscuring fog and saw Grue standing in an open doorway. Without wasting a moment, she rushed into the doorway and out of sight, being sure to avoid Grue. After she was in, Grue closed the door.
"See? Easy." His voice had a tinge of the same oddness from before, though it had disappeared by the end. "And while my fog obscures everyone else's vision and hearing, I can still see and hear perfectly inside it. Now, head on upstairs. I think Lisa's already found something for you to wear."
Without another word, Taylor walked up the stairs, with them groaning in protest at every step, and soon saw Lisa standing with a bundle of clothes in her arms, still wearing that same vulpine grin. The next thing that Taylor noticed was that the upstairs looked surprisingly homey for a villain hideout. If she hadn't known any better, she would have sworn it looked like the kind of loft apartment you would expect a solidly middle class citizen to be living in. The place was well furnished with several couches. There was even an armchair and they were all pointed to look at a large entertainment center adorned with more gaming systems than she had ever seen before.
Taylor heard someone clear their throat and she turned to see Lisa with a concerned look. Every step she took made the floor creak dangerously. "Maybe you should wait until after you've changed before you go looking around. I'm not sure how well the floor is going to hold up." She walked over to an open door and set the bundle of clothes down just inside. "You can change in my room and, after we get one of the storage closets cleaned out for you, feel free to look around all you want."
"Sorry," was all Taylor mumbled. She was still a bit overwhelmed by her current situation. A snort drew her attention to Rachel sitting in the corner with her dogs. Without her mask on, it was clear that the girl wasn't what Taylor would call 'pretty.' In fact, she thought that Rachel's face matched her aggressive personality well. Hers was a face accustomed to anger and confrontation. The entire time Taylor watched, the brutish girl was giving her a nasty look.
Taylor quickly ducked into the room and closed the door. She closed her eyes and, with a sigh, she returned to her original form. The battery of sounds and smells that had been cluttering her mind disappeared and the ravenous hunger was muted. Not gone, but much less insistent. When she opened her eyes she was greeted with a full-length mirror. She could see that her hair, something she had endeavored to take care of as it was really her only feminine feature, was in complete disarray and was full of tangles. She also noticed that, while she had always been thin, now she was downright scrawny. She'd say she was almost malnourished and that was only after five days of being in her changer form.
Taking a look around the room, she found clothes strewn about, all of which smelled a bit…used. Up against one wall was a desk with a laptop, something Taylor had only ever seen at Emma's house. She also saw an unmade bed and a dresser with its contents in disarray. She also saw a corkboard leaning up against the wall. She couldn't tell what, if anything was on it, as it was also turned to face the wall. All in all, the room looked like it belonged to a normal teenage girl, albeit one with a fair bit of money to throw around.
Getting herself back on track, Taylor got dressed quickly. She may have been inside, but it was still cold. She found that, on top of the shirt and pants, there was a set of underwear still in the packaging. Even from where she was standing, Taylor could confirm, by smell, that they had never been worn. After getting dressed, she was standing in a light blue, long-sleeved shirt with a floral print as well as a pair of jeans held up with a plain, white belt. She left the bra where it had been placed as it wasn't even close to fitting. The shirt and pants were too big, too, but that could be dealt with.
Once Taylor was out of the room she took a look around. She found Alec laying on one of the couches watching a movie she didn't recognize. Looking at one of the corners revealed Rachel laying with her dogs. She found Brian by the fridge, still in his costume except for the helmet. She found Lisa sitting at what she assumed was the dinning-room table. She walked over and addressed the blond girl. "Thanks for the clothes."
Lisa just shrugged. "Not a problem. We'll be getting you some clothes as soon as we can. However, for now, we need to lay low, so you'll need to stay here for the next few days."
"So…" Taylor said with hesitation. Then the words began to flow freely. "You said that my identity was still secret. How? I smashed a school and Shadow Stalker knows who I am! Isn't that the kind of thing that gets your face plastered on every news channel around the country?!"
Lisa held her hands up in a placating manner. "Like I said, things haven't turned out as poorly as you expected. If the PRT knows who you are, then they have declined to release the information."
Taylor interrupted in her hurried explanation. "How wouldn't they know!? How wouldn't anyone know!? Sophia is the kind of bitch that would tell everyone just to ruin my life?!"
Taylor's latest statement grabbed the entire team's attention. Even Rachel looked up in surprise when she realized that the girl had revealed the Ward's name.
Alec was quick to get off of the couch he had been laying on. "You probably shouldn't talk about that anymore."
Taylor turned to look at Alec with an incredulous look. "What? Why not!?"
"Because," Brian said, as he advanced toward her, "That would be breaking one of the Unwritten Rules."
"The unwritten rules?" Taylor asked in confusion. At this point, Rachel lost interest and went back to interacting with her dogs. Alec went back to laying on the couch now that the discussion had lost his interest.
"Yes," Lisa explained calmly. "The fact that they're unwritten and, for the most part, unknown to non-parahumans, means it's not surprising that you would blurt out something like that. But, if you go around revealing people's identities like that, someone is going to end up bringing the hammer down on you. And if you do it to a Ward, it's going to happen sooner rather than later."
"So what am I supposed to do? Wait for her to break this rule?" At this point Taylor was gesturing wildly.
Lisa just maintained her calm demeanor. "The way I see it there are two parahumans who know each other's secret identities but neither one has been made public. Seems pretty even to me. One of the worst things you can do right now is to change that situation. Like I said, if the PRT or Protectorate do know your identity, then they have decided not to reveal it. I'm not sure why, but the most likely reason I can think of is that they're reluctant to burn that bridge."
Brian took the moment to insert himself into the conversation again. "Look, I think the first thing that we should do is go over the Unwritten Rules. They're going to be a very important part of your life from now on."
Taylor seemed to deflate a bit as the wind was taken out of her sails. "Alright."
"Afterward, I would also like to talk about how we run things around here. You know, talk about ground rules," Brian added.
"Hey dork!" Alec said without getting off of the couch. "As much as Shadow Bitch deserves it for ruining the best couch we've ever had, don't go spreading around her identity."
"How did she ruin your couch?" was the brunette's response.
Brian just sighed. "She's developed a bit of a hate-on for me ever since she found out that my powers mess with her powers. Well, one day, when the Wards responded to a job we had been pulling at the time, she decided to switch her tranqs out for actual bolts and I ended up with one right in my side. I ended up bleeding all over one of our couches and it was ruined. And Alec's right, it was a really comfortable couch."
"But isn't that against her probation?" Taylor asked.
"Yeah, but that doesn't seem to matter much to her," Brian said. Taylor opened her mouth to ask why Brian (as Grue) hadn't said anything to the PRT. She closed her mouth almost immediately, though, having realized that it would be a villain's word against the word of one of their Wards. The least reputable Ward, yes, but the only proof he'd have is a crossbow bolt that he could have just bought. Before she sat down for the talk about the Unwritten Rules, Taylor took a glance over to Rachel. She saw the brutish girl giving her a dirty look once again. Seeing that she wasn't going to stop, Taylor turned away and braced herself for a long few days.