This chapter overlaps with Monster 3.3 and 3.4.
Chapter 6: Riding it out
Hehehehehe hotel.
Okay. I'm. I'm here. Whatever staffguy, stop pretending to be happy while thinking whatever judgy crap you're thinking. Imma. Imma wink at you and smack you with feelings so you suddenly hahaha yeah he has no idea how to interpret me now.
Heh.
Okay. Room. Room key. Didn't lose it, that's good. Open door. In. Clothes off. Bath.
Bath.
Aaaaaaah that... helps more than it has any right to.
...
...
...
I startle awake, but not much time has passed. Urgh. I feel... not good. Bad. Less bad than before I fell asleep in the bath. Wow. Ugh. Okay. Killer is... right. Taylor. Taylor is her name. I think. Yeah, I actually asked at the end there? And she confirmed it. Wow. Out of it.
Right. Taylor is at home. She's... wow, she's excited. I. I didn't really think she was? Is?... something happening? 'cause I don't... I don't think she's that excited to be partnering up with me? She wanted to kill me several times tonight. I.
You know.
I kind of wondered, back when she was going for Daddy, if she wanted privacy because murder-as-intimate-act? And she felt hot for him?
Now I'm kind of scared she is hot for me. Because she's looking forward to ravaging me. And not in the good way.
Okay. But.
...
Uuurghle. Existential dread. No. Hate. I... can do this or... I can... try to find a better answer. Which I keep failing at. Wait, what did I say to her again? Didn't I give some big speech about... killing the greatest threats in the world, becoming kickin' rad famous that way? Something like that. That. I can get behind that, actually. That would be... a goal. Uh. So maybe I can... aim her at people who aren't me? Just. Endless cycle of murders for fame, profit, and funzies. With me happily not-dead. Nononono not endless. Ssss. Don't... Don't think that, Cherie. Makes it sound pointless. Cyclical. Awful.
Goal. We'll. Make the world a better place via murder? Kill the worst. And. Then I find a new goal? Once we hit a threshold? This can be a. Trial run! Practice. Inspiration for how I do it in the future. Better anchoring. Less. Less needy anchoring. 'cause I'm a badass.
Kickass.
Awesome babe.
Yes. Yes, pep talk helping. Yes, this is a... an acceptable plan. Definitely. Good. Great!
Ugh, this bath is gross.
I'm taking another one, after this drains.
Okay, and while this one drains... get my face cleaned up. Makeup off. Ugh, I look horrible. You can even see handprints. Huh. Is that what the hotel staffguy was being judgy about? Whatever. My hair is perfect, of course, like always, but otherwise... gonna wash this off, because wow.
Okay, new bath. Second bath.
Aaaaahhhh.
And this time I don't fall asleep. Ugh, what even was that? Okay, yeah, I was... yeah, I've been up nights and stuff. Wow, my sleep cycle is a mess if I really think about it.
Ugh.
Food. I should eat something. I totally forgot to do that... all day. Ugh, I thought I was done with that. Definitely gonna treat myself tonight.
Not gonna pay for it of course...
I actually do pay the delivery girl in the end. I do the thing of trying to manipulate her and it works, she's so hot for me, but it actually. Makes her more stubborn? That her liking me makes her want me to pay her more? I dunno. Natural-born gold-digger? I just give up and pay her instead of trying to tune her into leaving it alone. And I also make the lust evaporate real fast once she has her money, just 'cause I don't want her bothering me later. (And because it's funny)
I'm trying to have plausible events here that people don't question. Trying to tune her into accepting the lack of pay would be missing the point. Money is less important than staying under the radar. Don't need someone calling the PRT.
Especially not if I might be living here more long-term, to support Killer. Taylor. Ugh, Killer suits her so well. Taylor, though. Practice it, don't blurt out the other one. I don't... I don't want to find out how she'd react to that particular nickname. Don't want her living up to it. At me.
Oh. Right. Meeting her tonight. Hm. Should I try to get more sleep first or not? I'm a pretty light sleeper, hotel has an alarm clock... maybe. Bears thinking.
Need to make a better impression this time. Third time's the charm? I guess? Ugh. Maybe fourth, actually. K-Taylor is... well, she's giving me a chance. Uh. Actually, this... could be an attempt to lure me somewhere she can kill me without it impacting her civilian life. Fffffff.
No, she felt honest. I mean. She caught me off guard with the goddamn face thing. But.
...
Fffffff.
Okay, scout her out. Go for the meetup, if she feels hostile or anticipatory or whatever, nope out. If she doesn't... awesome. Go ahead and hope everything works out. I mean. She didn't kill Aunt Cordelia or the new girl, when she killed Daddy. Hasn't killed Fury or the other jerks at her school. She's got some restraint, come on Cherie. She's not some roving murder machine indiscriminately killing everyone she meets and/or who irritates or offends her.
So just... step lightly. She wants to ki- uh, capture? Not sure if serious or euphemism. Anyway, she wants to do that? Yeah, okay, I'll be the best darn assistant ever! I'll go above and beyond, anticipating her desires, better than perfect! We'll just... brush all this initial nastiness under the rug. Yeah.
...
Oooooh, I should come up with some good names! We'll be... uh... wait, shit. I still don't know her cape name! Dangit. That makes this harder. Was hoping to dazzle her with my brilliant name awesomely playing off her own, a complementary pair, a dynamic duo, Batman and Superman! Only hot. Well. Okay, Taylor isn't flush with feminine beauty... or masculine beauty... or androgynous beauty...
... I probably shouldn't mention any of these thoughts when we meet.
Okay, so... I'll just... come up with a huge list of good names for me? I guess? Maaaan. That's boring. And doesn't make me sound clever and brilliant. Makes it obvious I put a lot of time into this. Dangit. Spontaneity is key! I'll just... let the words flow when we meet. Probably. I mean, she's been the skulking type so far... but there's gotta be times where we can talk...
Aaaaanyway. Okay, I already kinda knew about Uber and Leet, never paid close attention because lol they're losers. I do remember Leet was the guy with the gadgets. Uber had... something subtle? Like, he looked basically normal, but wasn't? Hm. Don't remember details, but I'm pretty sure I can be confident neither of them will have ranged attacks outside of tinkertoys. So it's a matter of, uh, Taylor. Doing whatever thing she does. Which. I know she's fast and can jump roofs... really fast... and sometimes resistant to me trying to tweak her... undoes what I do to her sometimes... ugh. Dunno. I sort of hinted at the idea she was, like, that Velocity dude only she's protected from me when she's in Speed Mode, but her reaction didn't jive with that. Urgh.
Ooooh I know what I should be doing. Psych profile. Duh. Wow, I've been discombobulated.
... this means I'm going to have to watch their stupid videos, doesn't it. Yay. Nausea ahoy.
An hour watching bits and pieces of their stupid videos on the hotel computer later, I think I've got the basics. Probably. And a need to lie down, but whatever. The nausea will pass.
Leet's insecure. Not in an obvious way, not a constant hammering at other people of LOOK AT ME I'M INSECURE, but you can see his dismay whenever one of his devices fails, how he tries to hide flinching or shrinking back or whatever anytime someone talks shit about him and he either doesn't say anything in response or he blusters. I should be looking for someone who's nervous, maybe a bit fearful, but doesn't back out of situations that scare them, because otherwise he wouldn't be caping would he? I'm kind of surprised to come to this conclusion, but I think he actually genuinely gets along with Uber, too. I'd sort of figured there was friction and they kept it on the down-low for their show for whatever reason, but in my skimming I didn't catch any little tells like that. Leet trusts Uber to have his back, is totally comfortable with letting Uber get behind him, etc, as far as I'm seeing. Huh. Feel kind of bad for coming after them.
Sucks to be them!
Uber is harder for me to parse. I'm wondering if his power helps control his face or something because he was a lot smoother, a lot more controlled, but still had these occasional moments where he was caught badly off guard and things showed on his face I'm pretty sure he didn't want to show. Seems a lot more confident than Leet, a lot calmer, a lot more ready. But it might just be his power. So I'm not sure how he'd show up to my power. I'm listening in for pairs of people who are showing affection and so on for each other, focusing on cases where one of them is insecure in a low-key way and then looking for more confident partners, but I'm hesitant to actually assume that's right about Uber. I might be ignoring him and not realizing it. So I'm basically tagging a lot of pairs as maybes I want to eliminate and it's frustrating. I was thinking I'd be able to get things down to a half dozen pairs and it's really more like a hundred, more when I'm actually counting the questionable-but-possible ones. Even more when I include people whose affection seems to include more sexual undertones. I mean, Uber and Leet going at it is possible, but I don't get that vibe watching them in action. (Heh, action) So those are 'unlikelies'.
Semi-upside to this ridiculous 'not actually written conventions of cape culture' thing Taylor believes in (Does she still believe in the Tooth Fairy, too? Come on) is that I can eliminate as look-sees any pairs that are currently hanging with other folks (Since she'll be mad if we actually find them hanging out in their civvies), which cuts the number of folks we're going to actually look into by. Like. A lot. Yeah, let's go with that.
Eventually it's getting to the point where I need to actually, like, pep talk myself into actually going to the stupid park Taylor picked out for us to meet at.
Hooooo boy.
Yeah.
Fun times.
...
Eventually I turn to outright going into the bathroom and fiercely telling myself via mirror I'm totes going to do this or else I will be very sad forever and that's obviously unacceptable so go get 'er tiger!
Yyyyyeah I'm awesome!
...
ohmygodi'mgoingtodie
So! Wandering off to a park in the middle of the night in friggin' Brockton Bay.
Have I mentioned this is kind of an ugly and terrible city? It's like Gotham had a child, became very disappointed with it because it wasn't classy enough, and kicked it to the East Coast until such time as it was worthy of returning to the manor, which is never going to happen because it's a coke addict. Those Brocktonites who brought me here are crazy.
Seriously, I have to fend off a purse-snatcher, two guys who try to hold me at knifepoint, and a Thick Chinese Accent Goil who wanted to rape me or something I dunno she was eyeing me and talking up how pretty I was anyway and that was cool but then I got bored and terrified her away. All before I reach the park.
I sure hope Taylor wasn't expecting me to maintain some kind of low profile or something because hahahaha no.
Then I have to wait in the park for like twenty minutes until Taylor does her thing and... climbs up in a tree or something? Gets nearby and stops moving, anyway. Point is two different drunk smoker dudes in black leather jackets try to hit on me. Like. The second one shows up while the first one is still at it. I'm bored and tense and could use some stress relief so I take ten minutes to get them tonguing each other instead as a minor little challenge and then get bored and leave for a different bench while they try to figure out what the hell happened. Hehehe. I made out like I was offended they lost interest in me, partly so neither of them will think I made it happen and partly because it's just funny.
Heh.
Anyway, so Taylor shows up, I start making my way toward her, gauging her. She's anticipatory, yes, and I'm thinking there's simmering murderousness, but I can tell when she spots me and there's not rising anticipation. It's still backdrop stuff. So I don't think she's looking forward to ambushing me, I think she's just looking forward to us finding Uber and Leet so she can kill them. Or capture them, if that's really her intent. I guess.
So.
I keep approaching like everything's cool. Keep it cool, Cherie. Cherish. Eeeh I'll stick with calling myself Cherie internally. This whole 'secret identity' thing is pretty silly anyway. Keep approaching. She drops and holy shit what was that. No seriously, freeze-frame! Back the video up! Instant playback! Why couldn't I be a fuckin' tinker! Well okay I actually like who and what I am but I wouldn't say no to stealing one of Leet's camcorders or something. Or the Snatch. Or was it Sneetch? Anyway, seriously, she dropped and what I saw was larger than she is and all flowing and shit and it's too damn dark for details goddammit.
As I'm approaching I see a hulking shadow right where my power insists Taylor is being all unemotional. Then just as I'm getting close enough to make out more than the suggestions of curves and all, abruptly she's just Taylor in pffffhahahaha her costume is hilarious. But I keep that on the down-low because I don't wanna die. Instead, I wave a hand and greeting and call out, "Heya Boss."
Submissive, subservient, safe. Your will is my command. Stop considering killing me goddammit.
She doesn't really react. Dammit. Instead, she just asks me, "Did you bring it?" while holding out a hand. Uh- oh right! Yeah, I got a couple of scarves. Off the Chinese accent girl. So sue me, I forgot and didn't have much time. And they're nice scarves and she wasn't even accenting her look properly I mean she has no idea how to color-coordinate goddamn. So then I take off the outer one, grinning 'cause fuck yeah I'm awesome! Then hand it over.
Oddly, she tries to pull it apart a couple of times. Uh. Okay? Hogtying is in our future?... I'm down with that.
"Turn around." Er. Wait hold on. Hold on wait. Hold wait on. What? Fuck, is this where she does that ambush-without-feelings thing from before and I end up buried under a river? Is she going to tie my hands and give me to the PRT? (Is this why she only wanted one?) What is this shit?
What I'm getting from her feelings is a bland sort of urgency. She wants to move on and do whatever it is she's actually planning to do, getting kind of irritated at me not hopping to, but there's no... concern or anything. Either she's got no fear I'll catch on and flee (Because she'll just kill me?) or she's doing something else entirely.
Ffffff.
O-okay. I'll... turn around and hope she doesn't kill me and be ready to jam her with insane amounts of -dammit she's gone resistant on me again. Oh god. Just. Be cool Cherie. Don't let it show.
Okay she's wrapping it around my eyes. Alarming, but less alarming than some of what just touched me why is it going down my arm wait what was that was that some kind of respect? Huh. HUH. I mean, you can respect someone and put a bullet through their skull anyway, but that's interesting. And possibly an in? An- goddammit she can't tie a simple knot. I handle it myself. Jeez.
Okay. So. "So Boss, done. Not what I was expecting when you asked for a blindfold, buAAAAAAA!"
What the shit is going on she's doing a horse routine only holy crap is my 'scape changing fast, this is faster than a car on a highway what is up with URK WHY ARE WE GOING UP OH MY GOD I'M GONNA DIE
and then we go horizontal again and I need off ohmygod I'm still kind of nauseous from the videos and the stress and ulp.
Yeah.
Puking.
Off the scarf goes and let's -we're on a rooftop? Whatever, nearest thing I can lean against and puke over! Which is the rooftop edge! Fuck those two hobos down below! At least I think they're hobos and oh god is this puke nasty. Ew. Ugh. Horrible.
Taylor is weirdly patient. After all that urgency and creepiness and all I was expecting her to get mad. It's what Daddy would do if I inconvenienced him with my autonomous biological functions because he's an asshole. Was. Was an asshole. Whatever. No, she just... sits there. Quietly. Unbothered. Actually, she's not even like low-grade disgusted. Odd. That's not a controllable response. I was assuming her power was, like, protecting her from my power for some reason, but puking is disgusting, end line.
Eventually I'm done. Done with the puking, and dry heaves, and the shakes of an adrenaline high. Yikes. So I turn around and let's get some goddamn answers. "What was that?"
What?
Why is she looking at me like that?
Seriously, what? Now she's all sort of vaguely repulsed and confused? Not when I was puking earlier?
Seriously, stop looking at me like- "Fast travel. Can you track Uber and Leet?" she says.
Fffff obviously you jackass tart. I'm not... er... okay. Actually haven't explained how I experience and track people's emotions. Maybe she doesn't realize I can tell. So why withhold informa- oh. Dammit. She's still not over the trust issues. Right. Fine. Answer her question while she ignores mine, extend trust, then she better goddamn reciprocate. "I can guess, but I can't guarantee anything without having confirmed that a given emotional signature is a given person. I could find you again because I already knew your signature. I've never met them." Don't think I don't sense your disappointment, missy! "However, I can make an educated guess based on their general personality, and see if I can find a pair that fits."
Okay, let's see how you like them apples. And give me an answer goddammit! She nods, a stiff, quick back-and-forth. Looks off. "Would this work better with a stable position, or if we were traveling?"
"Traveling," traveling TRAVELLING oh my god was it fun albeit terrifying. Fun because it was terrifying? Eeeh maybe. I mean. Totally irrelevant to me and my power but oh my god I wanna go some more.
Oh stop staring at me like that, girl. Stop feeling mildly creeped out. There is nothing creepy about having fun. Nothing.
She shakes her head, not sure exactly why. "Blindfold on."
Yeah okay, awesome, we're- oh right uh. Oh! There it is. I rush over and get the blindfold on and stop shaking hands stoppit we're about to have MORE AWESOME FUN.
She does that thing again of getting under me and haha I let out a whoop because hell yeah this is fun albeit terrifying albeit fun albeit FUCKIT I'M HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE HERE!
"So I was thinking -left, go left- I'd maybe be Beauty." No, she doesn't like that. "Yeah OK it's a bit weak, but it's also not taken." Hm. "Well, if you -okay just a little more left no no not that far left yeah straight ahead from here- if you insist. Any particular reason for the mute act, anyway?" Dangit, not even a useful emotional response. "Well, you're not breathing hard..." Actually. I can't hear or feel her breathing at all. "Are you breathing at- yes! That was great!- at all? And what is that noise?" Seriously, it's weird. An intermittent scraping, skittering, chipping sound, like a blade against concrete only muffled a little and I hear splashes sometimes.
Also whatever is going on with her there's some kind of... I dunno. Jello? So weird. Maybe the source of the little wet noises. Weirdly warm, comfy, embracing. Thin enough layer of it I can clutch right up against her Bizarro Body without issue, but thick enough to be noticeable as something more than just a wet surface. But I'm not sure how to bring it up. Don't want the ride to end early because I offended her or something. Adrenalin is a hell of a drug.
I'm only half-paying attention to what we're ostensibly doing. "So anyway maybe Stalker?" Wait shit shit shit! Wasn't one of the Wards named something-or-other Stalker? Was that Fury? Oh god backpedal, shift away, don't let the one-sided conversation risk going there! "No?... oh wait, there's a Ward named, um, Darkstalker or something, isn't there." Also yeah she didn't like the name. Wonder if, like, she subconsciously sees similarities between Fury and her Ward self and yadda yadda associative dislike etc. "Yeah, good point. A little bit to your right. Too edgy for my tastes anyway." Not really, but, uh, now that I think about it Taylor might dislike it because I basically stalked her hahahaha ohgod. "I'm thinking contrast, Beast and Beauty, Fafnir and Damsel-" Fafnir would be a fucking badass name don't you tell me otherwise. And she'd be Damsel of course, because fucking duh. "-Terror and Cherish, not Scary Cape and Other Scary Cape. They're up, you'll need to climb."
"Maybe Dame? No?" Okay that's probably taken anyway. "How about Skirt, like, sneaking about and -no left more left- and like okay fine." Darn it, I liked that one. "Maybe Velvet and Gauntlet?" Iron gauntlet, velvet glove... no. She doesn't like it. Bleh. "I could be Princess, kidnapped by the terrible beast of the night!" I even lean back and make a dramatic swooning gesture and goddammit she's ignoring me entirely.
"How about Adieu no it's still farther ahead come on keep going. Like." Uh. Like. Uh. Shit. I swear I was going somewhere with that. "Okay never mind. How about Precious?" Lame, she doesn't like it. I mean, it doesn't have shit to do with my power but it'd be hilarious to have her introducing me as Precious and then I make people shit their pants in terror. "Maybe, uh, no no, turn left, and down, no more down, anyway maybe Genteel? It's like- okay I don't actually know what it means shut up it's a cool name fine never mind."
Change tacks, maybe something nastier. Taylor's a scary girl, maybe she'd rather we are Scary Cape And Other Scary Cape. "Harpy! 'cause I'm like. Female? Okay fine." Yeah that's pretty terrible. Uuuuh. "Banshee? Banshee. 'cause they're all about the feels? And 'cause sounds." Er. Wait. Have I mentioned that? Let's not hint at that, actually, never mind. She doesn't really care and pay attention to me dammit. "Fiiiine I'd be fine with Lady. Or. Is that taken- yes it's taken darn. Darn. Is Counte- of course it is why am I bothering to no no no left, then forward, yeah almost there, anyway how about Moll? Like I'm a tough-talking mobster goil and you have no idea what I'm talking about and won't talk never mind."
Uh... "Temperance?" 'cause I change people's temperament. And like, tempering in a forge. I guess. She seems pretty meh about it and I am too so. "Pride, maybe? Mmmmaybe? Okay I'll keep that as a maybe." Not great but not terrible. Probably taken but oh god I'm tired of rejecting names because they're taken, especially when we can't just Google this crap. Oooh, how about- "Kat? No? Aw, come on." She has no taste. Okay... "Shi- no no no, don't turn left now, a little further on, anyway, Shine? Like, you seem to like the night and so it could contrast with like Night and Shine and really come on fine. Fine. This is me pouting."
Seriously. I do pout. I liked that one. Oooh, Rise and Shine would be awesome- ugh. Okay, fine, um. "Radiance? No? Seriously, it's a good theme- fine. Mytho- whoa no you're going past it, we need to go up. Anyway, mythology, Siren! I am totes a Siren the boys are allllll okay fine you can stop with the gross feeling, fine, jeez. Maybe Bewitch- fine. No Master names?" Yes. "You take all the fun out of being a cape, you know that?" Come on, accept the teas- seriously she is just ignoring me.
Okay, um. "Centerpiece? Like I'm the center- oh right no Master names fffffine. Diamond? Like. Something valuable that sparkles in the... ugh. Turn left. Priceless! Because that's me!" Oh fuck you too. "Affection. Like the feeling, but also like pretending. Affectation, affection. No? How about... uh... Waver?..."
Oh god.
I keep going for a bit on pure momentum, but eventually just... give up. Pride. Sure. Fine. Whatever.
Seriously, she has no taste.
In all this crap I also have to have us dodge around capes. Like Fury. Oh god I don't wanna meet Fury. Why is she even up so late? I could've sworn Wards didn't patrol after midnight. Aren't they supposed to have a bedtime like ten or whatever weenie thing is being enforced by the Child Protectors? (Was that their name? Eh) Plus Oni Lee, which is a heart-stopping moment but thankfully Taylor listens to me when I say we need to get down and inside a building now, even though she reacts like I'm being silly. To be fair, I don't tell her I know it's Oni Lee because I'm still trying to decide how much I should let her know I know, but still.
At least she seems to have stopped with being all paranoid and murderous about me now that we're doing something. She's just tightly focused, intense and got her anticipation on a tight leash. Looking forward to it, not wanting to get too excited and end up disappointed, I'm thinking. She was running around pretty aimlessly for the fffffucking week I was trying to catch up to her, so maybe she was looking for them and failing? Something to keep in mind.
Friggin' finally Taylor stops, and I can tell from her reaction we've found them. Or found people she thinks are them, anyway. I'm hearing a couple of male voices, so more likely than half the jerks we've checked tonight. (I'm still embarrassed I misread the one lesbian couple as potentially-Uber-and-Leet. Thank god Taylor doesn't seem to have taken it as a strike against me. I'm seriously hoping she completely forgets) Soooo. Time to have some fun. I whisper, "Oooh, watch this!" and slam Uber and Leet with piss-yourself-fear and get... one... dammit. One of them is blocking me? Seriously? Fucking tinkers, argh come on how does that even work. Oh come on the other guy is zenning himself through the fear! Bullshit! Total, utter bullshit!
"Master security!" Oooh that's Leet's voice! And I don't like those noises, all metal and- he's got robots, doesn't he. Of fucking course.
Okay, well, not a big deal, Taylor is obviously going to-
-get really mad and run.
Shit.
Wait, why is she running? Go in and do your thing! You dealt with Daddy just fine, these losers should be easy! Arghblarghle what even is going on?!
Ooooh boy I don't like how mad she is. And I don't know where we're going. Or what her power is. Do I try to get off this crazy ride while the getting is good? Wait shit if I manage to panic her or something right now she'll just throw me off and I'm going to go splat. This... is not my best plan. Okay no, don't panic. We're pretty far away and she hasn't tried to eat my gizzard or anything, which means either she's trying to find a good place to hide my body (calmcalmcalm ignore it) or she intends to actually talk to me about whatever she's mad about. I mean. That's the only two possibilities I can see, anyway... but she's really messing with my head, swerving unexpectedly. Makes me nervous.
Then we go waaaay up and I feel some relief. Like, okay, sure, she could hide my body on top of some tall building, but it's honestly a pretty obviously poor choice for actually hiding it. It'd make a lot more sense to try to dump my corpse in the bay or something, make it hard to find and encourage rot. I'm thinking she's looking for privacy, instead. Which... might involve yelling and/or hitting me, but is probably not gonna just end me.
Hokay Cherie. Calm. It's okay. This is manageable.
We get up top and she moves to make me sort of slip off and I oblige. She touches the blindfold for a moment, and I get it off, and just look at her while her jaw works under the scarf. I wait. And wait. Aaaand there she goes pacing. Huh. Okay. I back up and sit down on a convenient bit of rooftop whatsit, and just watch her go back and forth. This is different. She's still mad, but she's not... doing anything. Okay. So I was right she's got restraint, that she's not just anger-act on anger. So I can loosen up a little. Poke and figure out what ticks her off without constantly worrying it's going to end with me six feet under.
I can work with that.
"What did you do, exactly?" There's a brief delay before she tacks on, "Pride?"
There's some odd expectation there I apparently fail to match up to. Not sure what. I just answer as honestly as I can. Kinda. "I hit them with fear. I was thinking it would take the fight out of them, leave them helpless." I wait a second and then admit the real reason. "And I maybe thought it would be funny if they pissed themselves in terror." Present it second, make it sound like it was secondary. Not actually lying!
Taylor sighs and goes to touch her forehead, apparently forgetting the bicycle (pffffff) helmet. "This was scouting. I wanted a plan, before they had any idea anything was coming. Now they'll be on their guard for who knows how long." She sighs. "There might never be as good an opportunity again, if they ramp up their security in response to this." Irritation spikes a bit.
"Oh." Not much else to say. She starts pacing. So. "... so we weren't going to hit them tonight?" I was sure we were, with how amped she was.
"No, we were going to hit them tonight, but I wanted to investigate, see if they had any minions on-site, see if I could find some of their security, maybe listen in. Then I would've gone to a nearby rooftop and we would've hashed out a plan. Then we would've hit them, assuming we didn't decide hitting them was a bad idea. Instead, all we've learned is that Leet is immune to you for some reason, and that they have special preparations for capes like you, while they now know someone is gunning for them. They're going to up their security, maybe move to a different location outright, forcing us to start over from the beginning, or worse yet lay a trap for us." She pauses a moment. "Bad things happen when you go in without a plan." Shit! What was that about? Some broody, scared/angry spike. Bad memory?
She's still pacing, though she seems to be trying to fight down the anger. Eventually she asks me, "Can you still track them?"
Heh. "Absolutely Boss, anywhere in the city, for the rest of their lives." She finally stops pacing at that, and I can sense her surprise. Really? Come on, I laid this out already. Let's show off a little. "Right now they're making a sweep of the perimeter and trying to convince themselves they didn't see something scary, that they were spooked by their own stuff. Uber would rather believe there was somebody watching them, he doesn't want to blame Leet. Leet is ashamed. He thinks it's his fault. They're arguing, it's an old argument. Uber isn't willing to listen, I'm getting loyalty here, probably Leet is trying to convince him to split, saying it's for his own good or something." Yyyeaah I'm totes impressing her awesome. Let's keep going. "They've stopped with the perimeter sweep, they're caught up in the argument, Leet is being really pushy and it's starting to piss off Uber." Oooh, opportunity! Maybe she'll forgive the fuckup if I note... "Ya know Boss, if we hit them now I think we'd get them with their pants down, they're on the bottom floor."
Got it in one. I don't even wait for her (verbal) response, cheering and getting the scarf over my eyes so we can go go go, 'cause yeah, she's going for it.
Yyeaaah this is still fun if terrifying! Going straight down a building's side, like I'm falling to my death, but I won't because fuck yeah! Hell yeah! Whooo! Yyyeeea oh Taylor is getting annoyed maybe I should quiet down we are almost to the losers. Alright fine, whispering instructions it is.
Heh.
Okay, we're here... Boss is stalking, I think... Uber and Leet are having some big blubbery reunion, gag me... er wait what's Taylor doing? We're right there! I can hear them, there's gotta be an entrance, why are we going elsewhere eep! No seriously, what? Oh. Okay, Taylor's feeling amped up, ready to go now. Sneak attack, I guess? Okay, sure -and she wants me to get off, I can do that. Easy peasy. Heh. This is gonna be fun. Actually, this has been fun! I'm really enjoying myself when Taylor isn't threatening me. Neat.
And... off... she... goes!
Uber startles for a split second and then he's down. Huh. Is that unconsciousness? Wow, I guess Taylor was serious about the capture thing. "Surrender." (Leet's digging his heels in, I can tell) Wow. She is serious about the capture thing. (And sounds hilarious. Is that supposed to be, like, authoritative? 'cause it's so not) Hm. Okay, Leet, let's see if... nope. Nothing. Just a tiny bit of concern/annoyance on his part. Tinkertech letting him know? Or something about Taylor's stance? Hmmmm.
"Never!" Wooow Leet. So melodrama. Hm. I wonder if that camera of theirs is around, him playing to the crowd? Does he think Taylor is someone who's going to play along with his doofiness? You know what, I should come in. Maybe I can give him a shove or something, speed this up. To take off the blindfold or not, that is yadda yadda joke. Eeeeh. Heck, let's try not. Just to see how they react.
Okay, feeling out... yeah, window edge. Oop, careful, still some glass in it. Okay, carefully climb in -dangit, I made a noise, and Taylor is reacting (Little surge of pleasant surprise! Because I kept the scarf blindfold on? Because I'm coming in to help?) and Leet is all startled, too. I think he thought Taylor was alone. Okay, I can't make out exactly what's going on, Leet trying to do something and getting frustrated when Taylor interrupts it, and he gets knocked down, and there's some nervousness on Leet's part for a moment and then-
-uh?
?
What the fuck is going on with Leet?
Argh the braintwisting! He's here, and he's moving, but actually he's not moving, and my power is insisting he's both still a few feet away but also much, much further out than my range actually goes and aaarghblargle.
Oh and there's a bunch of battle noises or something, but I'm just trying to make the headache go aw-
skurtch
... uh. Now the-Leet-who-is-here is gone. But there's still a Leet waaaaay outside my actual radius I'm somehow detecting. Okay, seriously, what?
"What happened?" I ask because oh god what. Seriously, what?
... aaand she's totally ignoring me.
"Seriously, Boss, come on. I know a thing happened, it happened with Leet. Heeeeey. Boss. Boss. Come on. Boss. Booooss." Take off scarf or no?... eeeeh. If she was pleased at me keeping it on earlier, I think I'd rather keep it on for now. And pester her. Not that she's being annoyed, really, she's waaaay focused and ignoring me. "Don't make me sing the song that never ends." Heh.
Okay, fine, I'll leave her alone. For the moment.
... okay now Taylor's feeling concerned, some dread. Odd. And. Now she's waiting... wow. This waiting is going on forever. She's got some kinda anticipatory thing going on, but whatever it is the payoff doesn't hit, I think. She just gets all bothered and vaguely annoyed and frustrated and then Uber moans -huh, not as unconscious as I thought?- and that aggravates her for whatever reason and then WHOOP THERE GOES MY SCARF.
"Jeez, give a girl some warn-"
She keeps on with the ignoring. "Do you have a cell phone-" Yes! "-not affiliated with your civilian identity?" Dammit, no. And she's a teeny bit disappointed with me. Dammit. "That's fine, just go find a public pay phone and use that to call the PRT and let them know Monster-"
Wait, seriously? "You're calling yourself Monster?" I thought she was like trying to be heroic or something, with all this insistence on captures and killing a couple of Big Bads and so on and so forth and she's named like someone in the Slaughterhouse Nine?
"-and Pride have captured one cape, while another cape is likely dead. Make sure they're clear we consider the death unfortunate, too." That is some clinical language right there. I'm sorry authorities, we accidentally-possibly-intentionally murdered a dude, and that's totes unfortunate we definitely feel kind of bad honest. Not that she does seem to feel bad. Does she not realize how distant and uncaring that sounds? I mean, if she doesn't want me to fake being all upset I won't... but I'm a wee bit confused here.
Okay, do I ask what the fuck happened with Leet or?...
She gets irritated. "Just dial 911, you don't even need to pay, ask to be connected to the PRT."
Okay fine whatever.
I wander off to do exactly that. Not that I have any goddamn clue where any payphones are, so it takes a stupid amount of time and I have to fend off some grabby drunk (By 'fend off' I mean 'hit with terror until he's convinced I'm a demon and flees while I don't even break stride 'cause I'm a badass mofo like that') and aaaargh. And the 911 lady is all, "What's your emergency," and I have to be all, "It's not so much an emergency as two capes beating down two other capes, now hook me up to the PRT so they can bring the live one in," and then there's a moment of silence (Ooooh is that her? Yeah, I think I've pinned down her current location via her surprise and mild horror. Finally someone sane in this stupid city) and then she's all, "One minute," and elevator music plays and oh god why is this my life.
When a PRT person -yes, actually in the PRT HQ, pretty sure- gets on the line I basically end up trying my damnedest to be as outrageous as possible without actually lying or anything, just because the fellow's bored monotone (And if I'm pegging the signature correctly, that is his honest experience) is soooo making me want to make him do something, anything emotional at all, but he just takes it all in and says, "A truck will be with you shortly," without inflection after I've told him where I'm at. (And then he hangs up on me! Jerk)
Which was a mistake because it means I have to then wait there and drag them over to where Taylor is waiting over Uber's drooling body why didn't I memorize the street names for there argh. (Also scare off another girl who doesn't understand boundaries while I'm waiting for the truck)
So then they show up, PRT starts loading everything up, and Taylor and I are answering questions, me with the scarf over my eyes because Taylor liked that, right? Oh wait shit I should be calling her Monster, shouldn't I? Dangit, secret identities are stupid. And annoying. Okay, so I'm standing behind Monster, partly 'cause I'm sort of hoping no one looks at me and goes Vasil! and freaks but mostly because let's set up the Boss as the Boss. Pay no attention to the beautiful and badass girl behind the curtain, focus on the somewhat unattractive but badass girl staring you down and contemplating eating your heart.
(Okay not really, but Ta- ffff, Monster is all upset at the very bland way the PRT trooper lady is handling this whole thing, 99% sure, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's some kind of fantasies being entertained, but she's not actually all murderous and stuff like that)
I make a point of calling T- argh. Boss. I make a point of calling her Boss. A lot. To drive home the point. And also because pfffff she named herself Monster? Yyyeeeah let's just go with Boss. Maybe it'll catch on, like a disease of awesome. And... fuck. Paperwork. I've gotta fill in paperwork. Explaining my powers. (Fffff gotta describe 'em so it's plausible that I've done what I've done but without making it obvious I'm one of Daddy's kids and oh god) And my costume. (Let's just go with, um, poofy dresses and blindfolds? I don't actually have a costume right now...) Label myself... uhhhhhhh let's go with Indie Hero? I think that's what the Boss is trying to be. Fuck, can't ask her. And what is your experience with the PRT? is doofy as fuck. Let's just write up something about... uh... it was satisfactory? Yeah, satisfactory. Nice and bland and not entirely wrong. Okay, team or other affiliation... Monster's. Yeah, that sounds right. She's got no team name, yeah?
(At some point she leans in to look at my paperwork and there's a little stab of irritation and I have no idea why but nothing comes of it. Aaaargh)
Eventually we are finally done with all this bureaucratic hoop-jumping nonsense and we can go back to having fun!
... which the Boss promptly ruins by going to a roof and being all whingy. Not aloud, not for a while, and in fact one time she opens her mouth and just stops, but it's pretty clear she's all upset. Still about the trooper? Eh. Whatever. Still an overall good night.
"Che-" She stops. Huh? "Pride." Oh. Right. Yeah, seeeecret identities. That. She gets all mad at herself. Eeeeh. Not a big deal. I wanna wave it off as exactly that but she's faster than me to talk. "How do you... uh, feel, about... tonight?"
Amazing, that's what! "Fantastic, Boss." Fuck. She doesn't like that response. Why? We got the thing done! Two harden- pffff, okay, two complete losers have been dealt with. And it was fun! And easy! What's there to feel bad about? Why should it being great be bad? Ugh. And here I was thinking about asking about the Leet thing, and now I'm all worried it'll set her off worse. Okay, divert, distract, change the topic! "You tired? I'm exhausted, and you've been doing most of the work."
She's not. Not reeeaaaally meant to be a genuine question, just an out, an escape. (Also I am totes exhausted, whew, been a long day, followed by a long night...) Not sure why she's not tired, but she isn't. 99% sure. Not surprised at all when she lies with, "Yes. Yes, I think I am."
She is so bad at lying. So bad. I might need to get with her on that if we do go long-term. I mean, seriously. I get to cheat and I'm better than her at this.
There's a momentary pause where she turns a bit away and then catches herself. Huh? "Do I need to drop you off somewhere?" Oh. Oooooh. She almost left me! Jeez. Okay, uhhhh... fuck, where was that little tea shop located?... right. Okay. I name that spot's streets. Not too far from the hotel.
Last ride of the night. Little too tired to properly appreciate it, but seriously, going this fast, wind blowing and all... 'tis fun. 'tis nice.
I basically just collapse into bed and sleep, when I get back to my hotel room.
It's all good.
