Thanks to syzgzy Halt and Rayndeon - I present:

SoN16

"... Three traitors. And we thoughts bonds were forever. Have they truly changed this much in the years we have not been paying attention?"

"You're sure this doesn't have anything to do with Cauldron?" Weld asked. They had taken the next ship back to the eastern island, and with the wind like this, it shouldn't take too long to reach it. This time though, they received quite a humongous ship, enough that walking across it took a few minutes, the interior allowing everyone to have their own place.

"Not sure, per se," Tattletale said. "But from what I could gather, it seems like Cauldron is mostly out of the picture. They might have made contact with the world, but Cauldron as an organization hasn't existed long enough to significantly influence this entire world so far."

"So it is a Cauldron plot?" Weld asked, again.

"No…" Tattletale sighed.

Taylor could actually see a small grin on the metallic youth's face. It was strange, but considering they spent around two months with each other before they finally met up with the others, it didn't sound too strange. Tattletale must have been playing along as well, because she should have known when someone is joking. Her power was good at that.

Not as much as Clockblocker and Regent getting along well enough that even Miss Militia had voiced her concerns a few times. Imp had been hanging around Grue for a while and Bitch had been mostly alone with the wolves, disliking being on the ship enough to become even more irritable than usual.

Taylor sat next to Miss Militia, leaning against a wall inside of the ship, watching the scene with some amusement.

"You're tense," Miss Militia said. The older woman didn't even glance at her, also focused on Weld and Tattletale deciding on the exact definition of 'Cauldron plot' and their involvement in absolutely everything, apparently.

"When am I not?" Taylor asked.

"Not too long ago, before Grue and Tattletale came," Miss Militia explained. "You were calmer then. Different."

"You don't know me," Taylor said. "How I am, how I act."

"Maybe not, but you are still acting different," Miss Militia said. "I remember how you acted after Leviathan, about Shadow Stalker."

Taylor frowned. Sophia hasn't been on her mind in a while, considering she hadn't seen Iman for that time. She wondered how Miss Militia might react to seeing a girl who looked so similar to the Ward here.

"Yes?"

"He told me about you," Miss Militia admitted. Armsmaster, Taylor assumed. "He's not good with words or with people, but he didn't think you actually wanted to be a villain."

"What I wanted to be doesn't matter anymore," Taylor said. "I'm past that now. What I need to do is what needs to be done."

"And what would that be?"

Tattletale and Weld were still going at it, their voices rising slightly at some points.

"What needs to be done," Taylor repeated. What did need to be done? So much, and with so little time. The Slaughterhouse Nine, Cauldron, the Endbringers. Too much, too little time. "Whatever it takes."

"You'd have made one hell of a Ward," Miss Militia said. "Not a bad leader either."

"I'm not going to lower my guard because you're whispering some sweet words," Taylor said dryly, glancing at Miss Militia through the corners of her eyes. Miss Militia didn't seem like she would actually do things like that.

"Of course not." Miss Militia grinned. "That's not my intention. But I had some time to think, two months, a lot of nights I wondered just what kind of person you are, what kind of people we've shown ourselves to be."

"And what kind of person am I?" Taylor asked.

"You're a punk," Miss Militia said smoothly. "Ruthless and dangerous, you hate authority and everything around it."

Taylor opened her mouth before closing it quickly, the edges of her mouth twitching. "Maybe."

Considering the authority she had witnessed, from Winslow to the PRT, it wasn't a surprise, even if she didn't exactly like it. It was necessary in some places, but absolutely problematic in others.

"I don't like you," Miss Militia admitted,"but you're not what I'd consider one of the worst Brockton Bay had to offer in all these years."

"I'd love to say the same, but you're the only hero I actually like on the opposite side," Taylor said, shrugging.

"Even after everything with the Echidna event and the PRT's involvement with Cauldron?"

"Even after that. The PRT is necessary, I don't think we could do without," Taylor replied. "And Cauldron is just a problem that people can band together to work against."

"Mhm," was the non-committal response of the veteran hero. Taylor didn't say anything.

"Look, Piggot is [i]not[/i] the Illuminati, she's actually [i]real[/i]."

"That's what the Illuminati want you to think!"

Clockblocker and Regent joined them inside, deeply embroiled in their own important topic.

Taylor shook her head. This was way too much.

The last few days had been strange. Taylor had barely said a dozen words to Grue the entire trip. But the fact that she actually slept [i]peacefully[/i] the previous night bothered her even more.

While she appreciated the good night's rest, she worried about what the change in the pattern meant.

She hadn't told anyone else, but they probably already knew. Amal woke her up quickly enough, no matter what was necessary, even if that meant waking up drenched in cold water each morning.

Amal was… different too. More distant. Taylor had a feeling that the girl was rather intimidated by everyone, and took great lengths to avoid them when they were together. Especially Grue.

Taylor shook her head, clearing those thoughts away. She was sitting on a 'bed' in the interior of the large ship. Compared to beds in her world, everything here wasn't up to standard, but this one was really bad, hard and uncomfortable.

She sighed. If she just let this stew, she would regret it.

She would try to subtly ask Imp, implying that she knew Imp hadn't been near the portal at all. She would do it on the ship, before arriving near the harbor, so Imp would have less options to escape.

Miss Militia likely knew as well, but hadn't mentioned anything so far. Maybe she thought the same: Maybe they were just unjust suspicions and whatever dragged them here also got Imp for some reason.

Her thoughts were ripped away from her when the ship shook violently, throwing her off the bed and onto the wooden floor.

"Wha-" she managed to gasp out before the ship shook again, slamming her against the wall. Gritting her teeth together, she stood up, ready to make her way out no matter how bad the footing would be…

Only, it wasn't bad.

The ship stood still, not rocking slightly like it usually did. Taylor's eyes widened and she rushed out of the room, towards the stairs and out to the deck. The crew was rushing around, trying to look for the problem, while all the capes stood together. Miss Militia and Tattletale were arguing about what was going on, while Clockblocker looked over the side of the ship, down at the water.

Bitch actually looked a bit relieved that the ship had come to a stop.

"What happened?" Taylor asked.

"No idea," Regent said. "Ship shakes, boom, ship stop shaking. I don't think we hit land."

Taylor's breath hitched as she heard a strange sound, a mix of something ripping and the sound of nails scratching on a blackboard. Her head snapped towards the noise, while the others still looked around confusedly.

"What's that?" she asked. A line, floating in the air. It looked [i]wrong[/i]. Something two dimensional in a three dimensional room, no matter what direction she looked from, it seemed to follow her.

"That doesn't look good," Tattletale said. Miss Militia made a gun, aiming at the line. "I have absolutely no clue what this could be."

The line opened up, ripping through the air as if swallowing all light around it, creating a black hole that [i]hurt[/i] to look at, as if it was taking parts of their vision away. Taylor narrowed her eyes, forcing herself to keep focused on the black hole as she set a few bugs she always had around towards it.

The moment they touched the hole… they were gone. She hadn't felt them die before they disappeared... so they were just out of range instead?

"I think it's a portal," Taylor said. "Bugs went out of range."

"A way back to Brockton Bay, perhaps?" Weld asked. Tattletale shook her head.

"I can't get a read on this, best not to risk anything, just wait until something happens."

"And what if nothing happens?" Clockblocker asked, his hand pointed forward, at the portal.

"You touch it," Tattletale suggested. "Maybe lock it and-"

The portal opened wider, blanketing a part of the ship's deck in the darkness not unlike Grue's. A hand came out, clawed, metallic? A gauntlet. Taylor set up bugs on it immediately, and it continued. An arm, a shoulder… a head.

The face that stared at them was… different. It reminded Taylor of that rogue that went to the Birdcage, Canary. Way too bright eyebrows and eyelashes, shining in a neon green color that was as uncomfortable to look at as the absolute black of the portal. The person was bald, however, and she couldn't quite place a gender to the face.

"A cape?" Grue asked, his darkness creeping towards the portal, slowly.

The rests of the person's body came, dressed in an armor that fit the dark shade of the gauntlets, and as the last hand exited the portal, so did a sword. It didn't look very practical, almost ornamental, actually, adorned with gold and gems.

The person tilted their head when it caught sight of them.

"Who are you?" Miss Militia asked, the gun still trained on them.

"Zidane."

Definitely a man. Despite the incredibly androgynous face, the voice was deep, even deeper than Grue's.

Miss Militia hesitated, as if looking for a question she could ask and demand an answer for.

"Where does that portal lead?" Taylor asked. Whoever the youth was, perhaps he knew a way back if he could create a portal such as this. If he did, there was some hope for them.

"Heaven?" Zidane tried. He grimaced, looking around, before his eyes settled on an empty spot between Grue and Taylor. "You will come with us."

"We're not going anywhere until you explai-"

"We?" Tattletale interrupted. An arrow's tip poked its way out of the portal, directly in line with her as it slowly moved forward, as if caught in water. Wasting no time, Weld put himself in front of the villain, fast enough to stop the arrow with his body just as it sped up. It didn't do anything to him, but the dam was broken, and Miss Militia didn't hesitate to return fire.

Zidane used his sword to deflect the volley of bullets, moving at incredible speeds. She didn't miss a beat, transforming her handgun into an assault rifle and pulling the trigger, forcing the man to dodge out of the way, apparently unable to keep using his sword to block the faster bullets now. Some of the bullets hit the portal.

Another arrow flew through, hitting Weld again. The next person stepped out, almost instantly instead of slowly like Zidane. Again, bald, but with tattoos all over their face and head, down to their shoulders. Their clothes were plain, in comparison to Zidane's armor, but this one's clothes were filled out in the right places. Definitely female. She had a few bullets on her clothes, flattened.

Taylor set bugs on her, all kinds of bees and the like she had gathered from around the Sacred City, biting and stinging the girl's body. She didn't react. Bitch's wolves began attacking as well, moving in tandem with each other, two staying back the whole time, circling around. Grue stepped forward, attempting to blanket the next person that stepped through in darkness.

Miss Militia's weapon held strong against Zidane's sword, but she was struggling to hold him back, too close to fire at him at this angle. Things were getting more chaotic by the second. They needed to work together.

"Clockblocker, help Miss Militia," Taylor said, trying to keep track of everyone with her bugs. "Weld, keep protecting Tattletale. Newter, go help Bitch, see if you can knock them out. Regent, do [i]something[/i]."

She almost expected a cry of 'Who allowed you to give us orders?', but they did as she told them to. Grue's darkness vanished, and he cried out in pain as he keeled over. The third one had hair, red in a more natural shade than the bright green she had seen from Zidane. He was holding a bow, a quiver filled with arrows on his back, and his fist deep in Grue's gut.

"Grue!"

A bullet whizzed past them, hitting the boy in the shoulder. Tattletale still had her gun, of course, but the ammunition was limited… He held his shoulder, a pained expression on his face, before pulling apart his bow and drawing them around Grue's neck the moment Taylor was about to focus her bugs on him. She [i]could[/i] hurt him, but he could hurt Grue.

How had he seen through Grue's darkness so easily? How was he so [i]strong[/i]?

Regent waved his hand in the boy's direction, trying to catch him in his power's grip. The boy's hand didn't even twitch.

Taylor didn't have time to think about it. Despite being outnumbered, it looked like the attackers had the advantage, and the ship's crew had retreated away from the fight. Imp appeared, standing in front of the portal.

"Whoa," she said. "I get it, stop being bitches about it, let him go."

The red haired boy glanced at her, while Zidane kept dodging Clockblocker's attempts at tagging him while keeping Miss Militia locked in a fight of strength, too nimble for her to keep him out of reach. One of Bitch's wolves held down the girl, others circling around to close off any path of escape. At the same time, Newter placed his hand against her head, trying to knock her out with his hallucinogenic sweat, but she stayed awake, not bothering to fight back.

Suddenly, the red haired boy smiled. A genuine happy smile, just short of laughter, as if someone told him a good joke.

"Imp?" Taylor said. "What's going on?"

"No idea." Imp grinned. It looked strained. "Those are not the guys I dealt with before."

Taylor saw Tattletale react as well. Grue was wheezing, looking up from where the bladed pieces of the bow were pushed against his neck. "Aisha…"

"Had to help you somehow," Imp said. "That monster girl really did a number on you…"

"You will not continue to speak," the red haired boy said. "Enter the portal."

"IMP!" Taylor shouted. The girl didn't even turn around and jumped through, and Grue tried to rip himself away from the man, oily darkness spreading out from around him. The boy slammed his elbow into Grue's face, knocking him down. One of the wolves tried to jump the red haired boy, but he went through the portal in a quick leap.

Taylor sent bugs towards the girl's face, some crawling into her nose, attacking her from within.. She coughed lightly, as if only mildly perturbed by the insects wriggling inside her nose. Despite that, the girl's face actually showed some discomfort, her eyes watering slightly as well. It had an effect on her, but not as violently as Taylor would have expected.

"Zidane," the girl said through the coughs, her voice rather strained as the wolf pressed its fangs against her chest, strengthened by Bitch's power. Miss Militia kept pushing against the armored man, pitting her strength against his. Then he suddenly disengaged, sending her stumbling forward, carried by her own momentum as she no longer had anything to press against.

He reached the wolf, his sword raised as Miss Militia regained her balance, aiming towards him but hesitating, unable to shoot while he stood near Bitch, Newter and the wolves. The sword came down, ripping through the wolf as if it was nothing but a sponge, sending an arc of blood over the wooden floor of the deck, before grabbing the girl and running towards the portal again. Her bullets weren't quick enough to stop him from entering, and the portal closed behind him, quicker than it had appeared.

Taylor shook her head, clearing her thoughts. The portal was gone, and Grue lay motionless on the ground. Bitch tried to tend to the cut wolf, bleeding profusely on the deck, its breaths labored. As bad as it was, she needed to get a handle on the situation.

"Tattletale," Taylor said, turning to the girl. "What was that?"

"I have a theory, but do you think this is the right time?"

Miss Militia, turned in place, training her rifle on Tattletale.

"A traitor in your ranks," Miss Militia said, the accusation evident in her voice. Taylor wouldn't call blackmail and kidnapping 'treason', but the words Imp had said before… Taylor didn't actually need Tattletale to tell her what happened.

"Something offered to heal Grue from the coma after Echidna grabbed him," Tattletale said quickly, confirming Taylor's suspicions. "[i]Probably[/i] the same person that grabbed us through the portal."

Bitch was ignoring the standoff, growling as she tried to use her power to heal as much damage to the wolf as possible, but it was futile. If that sword had cut any of the others, it might as well have killed them. At least...

At least it was a wolf, and not them? For Bitch there was no difference. Taylor felt bad. She moved to help Grue while Weld put himself between Miss Militia and Tattletale.

"I knew too," Weld said. Taylor felt her headache growing. "As did you."

Miss Militia narrowed her eyes at the Case 53, but didn't say anything.

Grue was still breathing, his eyes slowly opening. "Shit, what hit m- Aissssshh…."

He slurred, his eyes closing once again. Taylor wiped away the blood at the side of his head, where the boy had hit him. It didn't actually look bad—it'd heal quickly, but if he had a concussion…

"Miss Militia," Clockblocker said, breathing heavily, glancing at the wounded wolf. "Please."

The woman looked angry, but lowered her gun before nodding. "Alright."

Clockblocker sighed in relief before approaching Bitch. She glared at him, but he didn't stop. When she actually stood up and grabbed him, he froze her.

"What the hell, Clockblocker?" Taylor asked. He moved to the wolf, as the other wolves around them growled loudly. He grabbed the wolf, and the world suddenly stopped making sense, everything now cast in brilliant hues of white and blue, inverting dark and light colors with each other.

Taylor's eyes were fixed upon the bright white sphere that appeared in Clockblocker's hands, widening as it spread out. For one moment she thought it was the false Grue, the Echidna clone, spreading the strange whiteness and blanketing over Clockblocker and the wolf, concealing them from view. Like a yo-yo, it snapped back as quickly as it had spread out.

She blinked, and the world's colors were normal again.

Clockblocker fell backwards as the wolf stood up, unwounded.

"I suppose there's been a few secrets everyone has been keeping from each other," Tattletale said.

"Not me, I really was in jail," Regent said. Bitch came back a few seconds later, about to punch Clockblocker until she caught glimpse of the wolf. She bent down, checking the spot where the wound was.

"Thanks," she said, and Clockblocker chuckled a little.

"I don't suppose you can help him as well?" Taylor asked, glancing at Grue.

"Yeah, sure… just give me a minute, it's... " Clockblocker was wheezing, almost tripping over his own feet as he stood up and scrambled over to Grue.

"Clockblocker," Miss MIlitia said, "don't push yourself."

"It shouldn't be that bad with a small wound," he assured his superior. "That guy really did a number on the wolf, just… give me a minute."

He grabbed Grue's face and the same disorienting color inversion happened, just as the white sphere around his hands enveloped both him and Grue. An instant later, the world returned back to normal, with Grue on his feet and Clockblocker on the ground. The boy was breathing heavily, staring at the sky.

"You alright?" Regent asked. If it wasn't Regent, Taylor would almost think he was actually concerned.

"Yeah, just… let me lie down for a bit…"

His wish wasn't granted as the ship suddenly moved forward, sending everyone to the ground with the unexpected acceleration. After a few moments, Amal came up from below, stumbling slightly as she caught her balance, looking towards them in concern. Grue was the first on his feet.

"Where is my sister?" Grue asked, moving towards Tattletale, his shoulders flared and his jaw set. Weld once again put himself in front of her. Taylor wished she could crack a joke about his protectiveness if the situation wasn't so dire.

"I got no idea!" Tattletale said quickly. "I didn't even know if my theory was right!"

"What theory?" Grue growled.

"That she's in cahoots with whatever grabbed us here in exchange for you to be healed from the Echidna ordeal?"

"And you just told me [i]now[/i]?"

"Everyone!" Taylor shouted. "Calm down."

"They have my [i]sister[/i], Tay… Skitter. I won't just stand here and-"

"You're on a ship, so right now, you're not going anywhere," Taylor said, shutting him down. His eyes narrowed, but he didn't retort. "I know you're concerned about her, but they didn't attack her, they must've wanted her unharmed, so we still got a chance to find her, right?"

The question was directed at Tattletale, who was looking off to the side, her lips pursed and her eyebrows scrunched up with concentration.

"Yes, right, unharmed," Tattletale glanced to Miss Militia. "Not like they couldn't if they wanted to. My bullet actually hurt the red guy, but the other one, Zidane, was too quick, and the girl probably could've ignored it. They were capes, right?"

"Presumably," Miss Militia said. "Movers and Brutes?"

"I don't know, I didn't get the same [i]feel[/i] from them, if you get what I'm saying, I… I need some time to process all this."

Taylor shook her head.

If they weren't capes, and this sword that Zidane had used wasn't some kind of Tinker-weapon that could easily rend bones…

She glanced at Amal, who was approaching her, praying.

"Could you copy them, Grue?" Tattletale asked.

"You lied to me," Grue said, ignoring her question. "All of you."

"I didn't know," Taylor said. "I just…"

"You suspected her." Grue accused them. "You suspected me too. Look where that got us."

"That's not how it happened," Tattletale said. "And you know that."

"I don't know what to believe anymore." He shook his head. He looked so disappointed, so… so defeated.

Taylor felt sick. She was right, keeping this hidden blew up in their faces… just a lot earlier than she expected.

Weld looked towards Tattletale. "Are you sure these weren't from Cauldron?"

"One-hundred percent sure," Tattletale said, mirroring their conversation from the last time, their tone a lot more serious now.

"Man…" Clockblocker gasped out. "How could we lose like this?"

"Fucking capes, man." Regent lay down besides him. "Say, can you use that power to cure alcohol poisoning?"

"Fuck," Clockblocker began, before breaking out in coughs. "You."

A