Villain? What makes you say that?
One shot of Bank robbery with Taylor who has spent just a little bit too much time online, and due to pushing her emotions into her bugs, isn't quite of sound mind. A fair warning, there are a lot of references in here, but I was trying something different, and I couldn't help myself.
Inspired by "Why The Hell Not Have Some Fun" written by Nemesis 13
Bitch's dogs lead the charge into the room, their nightmarish forms filled with fur, blood, and bone painting a gruesome visage for the individuals inside as they charged through the door. Taylor had mere moments to glimpse the 30-odd bystanders before the lights went out as Grue's cloying darkness filled the room, the frightened bystanders' screams and shout's dying just as they were born.
Taking a deep breath, Taylor readied herself for what she was about to do, the people she was about to threaten. The lives that she may just be about to scar for life. She didn't want to be doing this. In fact, she would rather be doing just about anything else right now. Hell, even going back to Winslow would be better.
But as much as she wished it wasn't so, she was doing this. She was robbing a bloody bank like some cartoon Supervillain. Try as she might, her emotions boiled around inside of her, threatening to spill over in a way that would make her crumble to the floor, in hope that this was just some terrible dream that she would be able to wake herself out of.
But this wasn't a dream, and the firm, purple-glad hand on her shoulder proved it.
"Your move, Bug Girl," Tattletale said, jolting Taylor back into the present.
Lisa was right, she realized as the rest of the Undersiders stared at her. It was her move. It was what she had asked of the others during the planning process when she realized what the mission was. To let her take command of the hostage situation despite her inexperience, all in an attempt to reduce the chances of something going wrong.
Even knowing this, her stomach still threatened to rebel as she forced the urge to gag back down. There was no going back now though, for better or worse, this was happening. So, with self-loathing burning in her heart, Taylor closed her eye and commanded her swarm to unfurl. She sent them flooding through Grue's eerie darkness as she tagged the civilians one by one, soon leaving each of them covered by a multitude of bugs, making doubly sure she had gotten everyone.
"Done," she said, alerting Grue to start the next phase of the plan as he swept his arms forward, parting the darkness around them as Taylor led the Undersiders into the room, doing everything she could to keep her stride steady as she tried to not let her nerves show. She wasn't some teenage girl now, she was a villain, and she had to act like it.
Evidently, it worked, because as soon as the darkness retreated back to the edge of the room, exactly 39 pairs of frightened eyes peered upon her in fear from the floor, the hostages curling in on themselves in fright. A few even started shaking, while a few children and a man began to bawl their eyes out.
Sure, there were a few people staring up defiantly at them, but it was the last individual that struck Taylor to the core, one that she instantly knew she would regret for the rest of her life. Located on the ground by the teller was a man of large stature, his bulk stretching out his clothes in a way that threatened to make them snap. But beneath his fraying, greyed hair sat a perfectly blank face.
It was the face of someone who had seen something so frightening, so terror-inducing, that they had gone catatonic and checked out of existence entirely. His blank eyes, above all else, were what threatened to break Taylor.
"Oh no," Tattletale said, spotting who Taylor was looking at, an expression of regret forming on the parts of her face not covered, not that it helped Taylor any.
Because the look the poor man was sporting was one that she recognized. It was the same expression that threatened to overtake her every time she looked in the mirror as she stared at her thin lips and too-wide mouth. The look of someone who had given in. The look of someone who had given up.
Before she had gained her powers, before the torture that had been her locker, that man's expression had been the one that she did everything in her power to avoid in the face of what she had suffered. And in a few measly seconds, in an attempt to prevent exactly this sort of thing from happening, she had forced that man to the very same breaking point and then past it. Once more her self-loathing surged, threatening to overwhelm her as she drowned in her despair.
But she couldn't let it. Not if she wanted to keep the (remaining) hostages safe. She couldn't break down, not yet, so she isolated her feelings of loathing. Her feelings of regret and self-doubt, and pushed them all away. She took them, and pushed them all into her swarm and away from herself. As a result, an agitated buzzing filled the room, droning at a constant level that, while not actually loud, was deafening in the metaphysical weight it held.
"Oh shit..." Tattletale breathed as she stared at Taylor, gasping in concern, not that Taylor cared.
No, she was too swept up in this new state of mind she was experiencing.
"This…this feels different," Taylor said to herself in wonder, holding her arms out to look at them with an objective eye as she tilted her arms around, staring at the fine points her claws narrowed to and the way the chemically treated carapace glinted in the light at just the right angle.
"It's almost…freeing."
"Ah…you good there Bug?" Grue asked hesitantly from behind her, causing Taylor to blink as she turned to look at her friends, well, colleagues, who were all staring at her with various levels of concern.
"To be honest, I've never better, Grue," Taylor replied easily, finding her mind to be clearer than ever now that she was unburdened by her negative emotions. Sure, enough of her mother's books had said shutting her emotions away like this wasn't healthy, but just shunting away her negative feelings should be relatively harmless…right?
She could worry about the possible side effects later, however, as right now, she had a job to do.
"Let's do this people," Taylor grinned underneath her mask, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she strutted toward the center of the room, every eye in the room focused on her. Unlike normally, however, she didn't feel a crippling level of self-doubt that made her want to stay away from the spotlight.
After all, why shouldn't she be the focus of attention? Her costume was glorious, why should she be the only one to see and admire it?
"Ladies and Gentlemen, and Regent, may I have your attention...please?" Taylor said as she raised her voice, cocking one hip to the side as she ignored Regent's complaint of "Hey!"
"I'm sure what you were all doing was veeryyy important, truly, but I'm sorry to say that your normally scheduled broadcast had been interrupted. In fact, you could say it's been," Taylor jutted her chin out as she made a collection of her flying bugs soar in behind her, surrounding herself in the form of a giant black widow, "bugged."
While many of the hostages shrunk back at the barely veiled threat, one girl in particular reacted differently. No, this girl wasn't frightened at all, she actually had the mental facilities to groan at her (awesome) pun. Taylor took a second to look at the mousing brunette with freckles, committing her to memory. She, more than others, would be the one to cause problems. Especially because before the groan she had been glaring at Taylor, which was fair.
She was robbing them after all.
"Definitely keeping an eye on her," Taylor muttered as she took note of the defiance coming from the girl before she got back into character. It was so much easier now that she didn't have any fear or doubt, a fact which made her wonder why she hadn't done this sooner.
"Me and my spandex-clad associates here, well, I'm afraid we have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
None of the hostages replied, even the defiant girl, so Regent took it upon himself to do it for them.
"The good news!"
"Ah," Taylor made a pleased hum, bringing her hands together in front of her as she tilted her head, her hair swaying like a brown curtain. "Thank you for participation from the peanut gallery."
Grue frowned and asked, "Peanut Gallery?", while Tattletale just put her head in her hands, silently regretting the fact that she had woken up today.
"Well, the good news is that we're robbing you," Taylor said with false cheer.
"And just how, bitch, is that the good news?" The brunette from earlier grunted, uncaring of the bugs currently on her. Bugs that were actually starting to spasm in a way that concerned Taylor, as she didn't actually want to bite anyone, so with her remaining control over them she forced all five to leap off the girl where they were swiftly eaten by their former swarm mates.
It was survival of the fittest in her swarm, as she had no use for such error. She'd always been a fan of Darwin.
Besides, it's not like one slightly plump-looking girl with no visible muscles would be hard to take down if she made a nuisance of herself. Hell, even Taylor would be able to take her down with her baton, let alone Grue who could do it without breaking a sweat.
"Note to self, get Grue some tanning oil," Taylor muttered aloud, much to Tattletale's intrigue and Grue's dismay, who was starting to wonder if Taylor hadn't been as normal as he thought. He really didn't want to be the only sane one on the team.
"As for you...I want to saaaayyyy...Jasmine?"
Growl.
"Glad we cleared that up. Anyway, it's good news that we're robbing you, because it means we won't be hurting you. Well, physically at least, no one can be prepared for Regent's fashion sense."
"I have feelings you know!" Regent yelled.
"No you don't!" Taylor yelled as she turned her head to glare at him, seeing that his grin couldn't be wider. He was enjoying this. Ignoring him, she refocused on 'Jasmine'.
"The bad news, Jasmine…is that your bank premiums are about to go up," Taylor continued, pretending like nothing had happened as the hostages really started to squirm. "Oh, and you might get a mild case of arachnophobia, maybe a fear of dogs, and some of you girls may become sexually confused."
Taylor received a series of blank stares.
"I know, I know, that last one's kind of left field compared to the rest, but have you seen Tattletale?" She said, gesturing at the now embarrassed-looking purple-spandex-clad girl with both her arms. "I mean, Grue and his muscles really does it for me, but the instant she put on the purple catsuit…wooh boy!"
Taylor made sure to fan herself to make sure her point got across, causing the audience as one to shift their collective gaze to the red-faced girl, giving her an assessing look. 'Jasmine' *Cough*Amy*Cough* didn't even bother to hide the slight bit of drool that came out of her mouth as she stared at Lisa's curves, her suit doing nothing to hide them.
"Should we stop her?" Grue asked Regent, feeling that the situation was strange enough that Regent might know the answer.
"Fuuuuuck nooooo." Regent denied with an enormous smile, eagerly watching the show Taylor was putting on. It was better than when he even purposely riled Lisa up at the hideout.
"So, to summarise," Taylor continued, "we are robbing you, and if you cooperate, none of you will be harmed. Hell, if you're particularly good, we might even give a few signatures," she mimed winking before turning on one foot, strutting back towards the others as she tossed one final comment over her shoulder.
"Oh, and in case you feel like fighting, don't, because all of you are in my parlor." She reformed the Spider marionette behind her, even making it lunge forward in a vicious bite with a few of the bugs on the giant fangs dropping down to signify venom as her audience flinched.
Needless to say, they got the picture.
"That went well," Taylor said happily once she came closer to the others, holding her fist up towards Regent as he bumped his knuckles against her with a smirk.
"You're damn right that went well. Damn Bug, I didn't think you had it in you, but for your first outing, you're stealing the show," Regent complimented, spinning the cane around his finger in a well-practiced motion. "I'm going to have to step up my game if I don't want to get pulled off the stage."
Taylor made back to reply, enjoying the friendly banter and wondering if this was what friendship felt like, as it had been so long she'd kind of forgotten, but the appearance of a purple hand put a stop to that.
"Just…just stop, please," Tattletale pleaded, rubbing her forehead slightly. "Bug, we're going to have to talk about this later but for now…somehow, you're doing a good job."
"Would I do any other," Taylor grinned as she put her hands on her hips, jutting her (non-existent) chest out, making Tattletale snort as she turned around, gesturing at Grue and Bitch to follow her. "You two come with me, we'll go get the money. Bug, you stay here and keep an eye on the hostages. Regent…"
"Stand here and sit pretty?"
"…Yeah, sure. Let's go with that."
A flip of her blonde hair followed Tattletale as she lead the way to the bank vault, two dutiable companions following her alongside three dogs as Taylor was left with the crudest of her fellow Undersiders. With nothing better to do, Taylor began to walk among the hostages, stepping around the now slightly calmer people as the shock wore off.
"Want to bug the hostages, Bug?" Regent asked, earning a glare.
"That was bad, and you should feel bad. You're still in the parlor as well you know, and if I wanted…"
"You would bite me?" Regent said, not sounding particularly bothered as he grinned under his theatre mask.
"No, that's kind of kinky, you'd probably like that," Taylor mused as she stepped over a woman in her mid-twenties, one of Asian descent that didn't look particularly concerned with the bugs covering her. Apparently, this fact was enough for Regent to comment on her.
"Is it racist that I think she'd enjoy that as well? Because for some reason, I'm getting that vibe from her."
Regent turned to stare at the woman, inspecting her reaction to the comment, as did Taylor. The woman underneath her flushed in embarrassment under the combined gaze of the two supervillains, making Taylor think that perhaps Regent had a point before she moved on to the rest of her little flies.
"Anyway, no, I wouldn't bite you. Instead, I'd wait until you let your guard down, then I'd bite through the wires of your gaming console to destroy. Termites, am I right?"
"You monster!" Regent gasped, holding his free hand up to his mouth. Apparently, this was enough for their most courageous hostage to break her silence.
"Really!? That's the comment that gets you to call her a monster? Not the fact that she's threatening everyone inside here with anaphylactic shock and swelling from hundreds of insect bites, or just plain necrosis from spider venom!?" 'Jasmine' shouted from the other side of the room.
Having nothing better to do, the pair walked over to her, their interest piqued.
"I mean...yes? Supervillain here, remember? The other things are kind of our bread and butter," Regent shrugged.
"I would kill for some bread right about now," A lean-looking woman to the right said, her halter top showing off her six-pack abs. Taylor gave her a strange look but otherwise ignored her to focus on their feisty new friend.
"Well, you seem particularly chatty for someone in a hostage situation. Have a lot of experience with those?"
"Not really," 'Jasmine' shrugged before smirking, "But you seem like you don't have a lot of experience either. If you were anyone actually dangerous, the PRT would have heard of you by now, but there have been no mentions of you among the Undersides, who themselves are considered to be losers. Needless to say, I'm not impressed."
"That is true, I haven't been mentioned by the news," Taylor agreed with a nod before she tilted her head, leaning closer to the point that their faces were almost touching and the only thing stopping it from being awkward was the chitinous mask Taylor was wearing.
"But there's something you haven't considered."
"Yeah, and what's that?" Jasmine asked curiously, not intimidated in the least by the close contact with a Supervillain. If anything, she looked like she was gearing up to strike.
"That the PRT may not have heard of me, not because I lack presence, but because I am new. And new equals unknown, which in their eyes, equals dangerous. None of you know how I'll react to certain things, about what kinds of actions I'll perform, what kinds of crimes I will commit, what kinds of lines...I...will...cross."
To help her little monologue, Taylor reached up and slowly scratched Jasmine's chin, using her talons to ever so slightly tickle her before taking a tight grip on her chin.
'Jasmine' swallowed at the statement, the threat clear. "Oh..."
"Oh, she says," Taylor shook her head with a laugh as she pulled back, releasing her grip on her chin and standing back to her full height. "Lucky for you, I'm not that kind of crazy, so just sit your pretty little ass down, and sit tight."
Seeing that 'Jasmine' had been properly cowed, Taylor turned away, taking a couple of steps more on her circuit of the room as Regent caught up to her.
"Damn, Queenie's got some claws," Regent laughed, leaning his weight against his cane as he came to a stop, causing Taylor to do so as well.
Taylor helpfully splayed them out, showing off their fine points as she held them closer to Regent's eyes.
"Indeed, I do," She nodded happily before pulling them back, looking over her shoulder at 'Jasmine's' downed form. "Still, I can't help but wonder, does she seem familiar to you at all? Because something about her sticks out to me that I just can't put my finger on. It's like it's on the tip of my tongue."
Taylor paused as she tilted her head, pinching her two elongated fingers together to extract the spider she had hidden in between the two molded jaw pieces, letting it dangle on her fingertips as she held it out in plain view, making many of the hostages grimace. "Never mind, it was just Charlotte here."
A shudder ran down Regent's spine before he grinned as he studied 'Jasmine's' face for a second before his smile turned shit-eating.
"I'm sure it was, but I think your right. Jasmine here is far too comfortable with the situation to be a nobody, and now that I'm looking at her," he leaned forward, tilting his head and squinting. "I think I know exactly who she is, and why she's so comfortable. Queenie, let me introduce you to the illustrious healer that is Amy Dallon, Panacea of New Wave."
A flicker of worry appeared in Taylor's mind before it was swept away with the rest of her worries.
"Of New Wave, you say? Interesting. That does explain why she's so confident. I would be too if I had a superpowered barbie doll as my backup."
"Wouldn't we all," Regent said in a wistful voice, earning a smack on the back of the head.
"Ow! Hey, watch the claws, they're sharp!"
"I know," Taylor said, the smirk clear in her voice as she turned her attention back to the newly revealed superheroine before her.
Truthfully, Amy's presence did pose a bother to the Undersider's plan, as it meant that as soon as they exited the bank, one of the bay's heaviest hitters would be there beside the expected wards. The only one among their little team who could even hope to stand a chance against her would be Bitch, and she was kind of their getaway plan.
No, that just wouldn't do.
"I hope you know that you pose a bit of a problem for me, my dear," Taylor said, allowing a hint of annoyance to show in her voice, "one that we hadn't envisioned when we were planning this operation."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm messing the plan up of the edgy bitch holding me hostage, how will I ever forgive myself?" Amy snarked with venom in her voice as she stared up at them condescendingly.
"Apology accepted," Taylor nodded, pretending to not notice her attitude, "but that still leaves me to deal with you seeing that Regent is useless. What to do, what…to…do." She tapped her talon against her mouth guard in thought.
"You could just let me walk out of here, Vicky wouldn't have any reason to attack you if I wasn't here."
"Yes, aside from the fact that she is a Superhero while we are Supervillains holding a bank full of pedestrians hostages. I can't think of a single reason why she might go after us," Taylor drawled, making Amy blush slightly at being caught out ta the poor lie.
Matching sarcasm for sarcasm was only fair play.
"I could always threaten to cover you with bugs, but somehow I don't think that would work judging by what you were doing to them earlier," Taylor muttered in thought, looking at Amy quizzically.
The smirk that had been slowly growing on Amy's face disappeared.
"And while I could do something to your house, the unwritten rules kind of prevent that, so I can't go full Prince of Egypt on you either."
"What, not going to send the pestilence and the plague into my bed and into my house, into my streams and into my streets, into my drink and into my bread?" Amy said innocently as the eyes of the room all swung to her in astonishment, even the hostages.
"What?" Amy shrugged with a hint of embarrassment, shrinking other their gaze. "It's a good movie."
"Agreed, even if you messed up the lyrics," Taylor nodded as she searched for something she could use to cowl Amy. Unfortunately, nothing was coming to mind. Drat.
Damn it, where was her creativity when she needed it? She'd already mentally killed Emma, Sophia, and Madison over a thousand times, each of them in unique and ironic ways, but this feisty little girl was stumping her.
Luckily, Regent had his own idea.
"Just a thought here Queenie, but the Unwritten rules are a bit vague on vehicles, not to mention they're a bit looser for New Wave considering they outed themselves to the world. While I wouldn't suggest doing any permanent damage, you could always fill her mother's cars with bugs or something, maybe web up her gear shift."
"Oh, I would love to see that." Amy chuckled, making Taylor stare at her with confusion. "No, I really would. If you do end up going for it, make sure to notify me in advance so I can record Carol's reaction."
Interesting how she referred to her as Carol. A strained relationship?
"Well, that plan's clearly a bust as well. Clearly, Amy here doesn't exactly share the strongest relationship with…Lady Photon?"
"No, no, that's her aunt, her mother's Brandish." Regent corrected, making Taylor stare at him.
"What? Alongside Tattletale, you got to have some appreciation for the older beauties like Purity and Photon-mom. I love me some MILF's."
A few of the men scattered around the room nodded in agreement, making the ones with female companions scowl at them, momentarily forgetting their fear.
"Only so long as I'm allowed to appreciate Manpower, DILFs need their appreciation too," Taylor replied, holding out her hand as Amy began to gag.
"Deal," Regent smiled, this time honestly as he took the offered hand and shook on it.
"And the fact that both of you are clearly underage?" Amy interjected, making Taylor and Alec share a glance and shrug.
"They're the ones with public identities, not to mention being adults. They'd be the ones who'd get in trouble, not us," Taylor replied flippantly.
"Yeah, and again, Villains," Regent agreed while pointing at himself with his thumbs, making Amy slump her head and sigh.
"Speaking of trouble though, what's this thing going on with your Mum? From the sounds of it there's no lost love there," Taylor asked.
Amy gave Taylor a weird look.
"And just why would I open up to you about that?"
"Because it's better than opening up to your Family?" Taylor offered, knowing that fact from experience. Every time she thought about opening up to her dad it was just…no.
"That's a good point," Amy muttered under her breath.
"Not to mention it'll prevent me from going around intimidating the other hostages, thus fulfilling your role as a Superhero. So, spill."
Amy continued to stare at Taylor for a moment before she sighed and nodded.
"Alright, fine, you've twisted my arm. But can you let me up?" Amy said, holding her hand up in Taylor
s direction. "It's uncomfortable on the floor, and it's not like I'd be able to outrun you. Stupid short legs," she muttered under her breath, giving Taylor's long ones a glare.
"Rightyo!" Taylor chuckled, grasping the offered hand and heaving her up, feeling a momentary squeeze around her wrist that caused Amy to frown when she had no reaction. Trying to use her power on her? Jokes on her, Taylor had used enough chemicals dying her stuff to kill a horse.
Even if Amy was trying to do something to her, however, she was wearing a full-body suit, so deciding to go for broke, Taylor threw her arm over Amy's shoulder, pulling the girl in as she began to pat the shorter girl's head.
"Now, tell Mamabug all that ails you."
"Are you sure, that could take a while," Amy huffed, glaring up rather cutely from her position in Taylor's arms.
"Nah, we don't have time for your life story, let's just skip to your parents. You've already said that your relationship with your mother isn't great, so how about your father, what's he like?"
"Well..." clearly, Amy was hesitant. Not a great sign. "He's fine when he's, you know, there, but he's got depression, and often forgets to take his meds. I'll just say that Mark was a better father when I was younger and leave it at that."
"Man, this sounds really familiar," Taylor muttered, trying not to interrupt Amy.
"As for Carol, she's always been very…critical, of me. Like I was never doing enough to satisfy some preconceived notion she had about me. And it's not just that she was a strict person, because she went far easier on Vicky. Seriously, she breaks Grandma's vase and only gets a brief scolding while I stay home without going to the hospital because I was tired one day and I get the third degree."
"Well, that…blows. Sucks to be you, I guess." Taylor sighed, continuing her patting motions as Amy began to lean into it, enjoying the strangely pleasant sensation. "I won't say I know how it feels, considering you're you and I'm me, and I'm a Supervillain, which is just a little bit different,"
Amy snorted,
"but I do understand. I can't really do anything about it, so how about we discuss how I can inconvenience Brandish's day? I was thinking spider-web patterns on her car that proclaims her love for My Little Pony."
"Oh, she would hate that," Amy laughed, making Taylor smile. "Can you do color? Or would it just be grey?"
"Just grey I'm afraid, I used dyes for my costume."
"Shame," Amy replied, clearly thinking about something that Taylor couldn't figure out. Where was Lisa when she needed her?
The pair stood there for a minute, falling quiet for a moment as Regent hummed, begging to go through a series of elaborate tricks with his cane that he had clearly practiced.
"Shit," Regent cursed when he dropped it mid-spin, causing the taser to hit him in the foot as his limbs seized up, the teen falling on his face.
Clearly, he hadn't practiced long enough as the bemused girls watching him snorted.
"Excuse me," A nervous-sounding voice called out to Taylor, causing her to look over to it to see an elderly-looking woman clutching nervously at her shawl. "Is this going to take much longer? I was expecting this to be a short trip, and I need to use the restroom."
Taylor blinked, finding the peculiarity of her asking that to a villain strange. To be fair though, she was still hugging Amy to her chest, so she wasn't at peak intimidation factor right now.
"It shouldn't take much longer Ma'am, probably another couple of minutes. Just be patient."
"Oh...okay," The woman said, frowning. Taylor turned away, but it didn't stop her from hearing the scoff she gave off.
"Back in my day, bank robbers actually got the job done quickly. Why can't the youth of today be more like them? Nowadays they are just lazy."
Really, lady, you're going to go there? Suppressing the urge to be petty, Taylor refocused her attention on Amy and the way she was trying to hide how she was fiddling with her phone.
"So, a quick thought Amy, if you will?"
"Hmm," Amy muttered in surprise, pretending to be drawn away from watching Regent make a fool of himself as she stuffed her occupied hand in her pocket. "Yeah, what is it?"
"I'm sure your sister already knows you're here; she might even be waiting for us outside, right?"
"…probably." Amy nodded slowly. "What about it?"
"Well, it's just a thought I had. When I first started out, before I decided to become a Supervillain, I looked into my options and saw that one of the requirements to become a member of the Wards was an extensive training course on all the parts of superhero life. Is that correct?"
"Yeah, they do. Vista complains about it a lot, actually, something about not wanting to be a walking mascot. Why the curiosity?"
"It's just, you and your sister, you're both members of New Wave, which is a separate independent hero organization, correct?"
"Again, yes, we are," Amy replied, starting to sound annoyed. "Once again, where are you going with this?"
Taylor smirked, not that anyone else could see it. They could feel it though, as Taylor was giving off smug vibes normally reserved for Tattletale.
"Did Glory Girl ever receive any training for how to handle a hostage situation? For that matter, did she ever receive any training on how to breach into a room without, oh, I don't know…knocking down a load-bearing wall and bringing the room down on top of all of us?" Taylor tapped her chin, distractedly looking over the Regent.
"Remind me again, what was that unfortunate nickname she got stuck with a couple months back?"
Regent smirked, seeing where she was going with this. "Oh, you mean Collateral Damage Barbie. Yeah, I'd like it if she didn't do that today, thanks. Hell, she might end up costing the bank more money than we did through repairs, and if she's particularly unlucky, inflect more harm them we do as well. We wouldn't want that."
"No, we wouldn't," Taylor tilted her head in a way that she knew to be intimidating, having practiced it in the mirror until she got the correct timing and angle, "would we Amy?"
"Yeah, I don't think I'd like that either. So far, these guys seem like they're alright, even with the bugs scattered on us," one of the male hostages agreed, calling out to the group of capes. "Maybe tell your sister to hold back until the Villains make for their escape? You know, where we won't be in the crossfire?"
Similar murmurings came from the rest of the room as an embarrassed flush came over Amy's face, joined by a paling expression at the thought of just what her sister was capable of.
"Yeah…maybe I better tell her not to," Amy practically squeaked, bringing out her phone as she began to frantically text on it. From her position around her, Taylor could watch as the smaller girl typed.
[A: Hey Sis, maybe hold back on coming in? Wait till the Undersiders make their escape.]
It didn't take long for them to get a response.
[V: Da FCK dym? Are you OK? Are they threatening you?]
"Well that's not good," Amy muttered, making Taylor nod her head from above. "Any ideas? Cause I got nothing, and unless I say something soon, she'll burst in in any second."
"Ah crap," Regent muttered, clenching his fist tightly around his cane while Taylor searched her mind for an answer. She didn't exactly communicate meaningfully with many people aside from her dad.
Ok, she didn't meaningfully communicate with anyone right now, although she could possibly see herself doing so with Lisa. And while it would be good if she were here, since Taylor was certain Lisa would know what to say, she wasn't.
It was just her, and Regent, and he was useless.
"Maybe try saying we're hamming it up? Pretend we're like Uber and Leet?"
"Wouldn't work," Amy sighed as he chewed on her fingernail, scrunching up her nose. "It'd just make her come in sooner, she's got a bone to pick with them, and a proxy like that would be too tempting of a target."
"Okay, maybe not that then," Taylor agreed, searching her mind again. She could feel the metaphorical ticking clock sound, a noose slowing forming around her neck. She didn't have any good ideas, so she just said the first one that came to mind.
"Say that you're flirting with one of the Undersiders, if Glory Girl is like any other teenage girl, she won't want to cock-block you."
Regent guffawed as Amy stiltedly tilted her head upwards, glaring up at Taylor as a red flush colored in the skin around her freckles.
"Really?! Is that the best you can do!?" She shouted.
"Right now, yeah!" Taylor shouted right back.
"Fine!" Amy huffed, not having any other ideas herself as she typed out the response.
[A: One of the Villains is flirting with me, and I want to see where this goes. Aside from a risk of minor embarrassment, I'm in no danger.]
[V: They are? LUCKY! Alright, I got you fam, I'll hold back. Is it Grue? He seems like he's packing some serious muscles under those leathers. TTYL.]
As both Amy and Taylor read the instantaneous reply, they both gave a sigh of relief, the tension diffusing from both of them as they slumped into each other.
"Well…at least it worked," Amy said, looking around the room and trying not to meet anyone's eyes. "But now I'm going to have to deal with Vicky badgering me about the fake flirting. How am I meant to respond?"
"I'd don't know, maybe say Grue was suave or something?" Taylor suggested. "Off duty, he's pretty cool about things, and he'd probably be willing to play along."
"Yeah, I don't think so," Amy grimaced, not making any move to shift from the embrace Taylor had her in. If anything, Taylor believed she might actually be leaning into her embrace/ "He's not really my type. Not to mention the fact that the Undersiders aside from you have all been encountered before, and none of them came off as flirty. Assholes, yes, but not flirts."
"I'll have you know I'm more than an Asshole, I'm THE ASSHOLE, thank you very much," Regent replied hotly, looking slightly agitated before he calmed down with a smirk. "Besides, I think I know just how to solve the problem. None of the rest of us here have come off as flirty, but this is Queenie's first mission, so she's effectively a blank slate."
"And since I'm a blank slate, they can say whatever they want about me," Taylor groaned as she finished the train of thought, holding Amy a little tighter but making no move to let her go. It had been a long time since she'd had positive physical contact like this, and it wasn't like she was embarrassed. She was (urgently) physically incapable of it.
"Alright, fine."
"That…could work," Amy said just a touch too quickly, making Taylor loosen her grip as she refocused her attention on the girl in her arms. She didn't look physically uncomfortable at all, which was weird considering she was in the arms of a villain.
Really, if she had been in her position, having her head buried in the chest of a total stranger would be quite uncomfortable. But Amy? She was as happy as a pig in mud.
"Huh."
"What?" Amy asked, curious at the sound.
"I think I just realized why you don't like Grue but could appreciate Tattletale."
"Eep!" Amy squeaked, turning around to bury her head out of sight, which just so happened to be in Taylor's barely developed chest. A small part of her wondered if she could get into Amy's good books so she could change that. Thoughts for later.
"There's no shame in it, Amy, plenty of people are like that. Hell, I'm pretty sure Regent's gay."
"I'm WHAT?! Hell no, I ain't gay." Regent protested hotly, slamming his cane down sharply.
"Then why do you dress like it?" Taylor asked, tilting her head as she stared at the oversized yet exposing shirt and tight pants he was wearing.
"Because they're fashionable!"
"Yeah…still not helping your argument there," Taylor muttered, making Amy chuckle into her chest, the vibrations creating a soothing sensation for Taylor.
It was just at this moment that Taylor felt the presence of Lisa, Brian, and Rachel returned, two of the dogs burdened with multiple large bags of money.
"Hey Bug, everything good out here?" Tattletale asked, making no comment on Taylor's position as she moved closer, even if Grue gave her a second look.
"Yep, it's been all quiet. Well, with the exception of Amy here, but she didn't prove too much of an issue."
"Amy?" Tattletale said in confusion, staring at the mousy girl for a second before groaning and bringing a hand to her face.
"Fuck, it's Panacea! That means Glory Girl isn't far off!"
"Yeah, and we've also got other problems!" Grue shouted as he stood beside the darkened window, staring at something the rest of them couldn't see. "Tattletale, you said there would be three or four Wards at most! I count six Wards out there with Glory Girl likely to be close by!"
"Yeah, that's my bad," Tattletale winced, looking through the gaps that Grue had made when they walked over. "In my defense…it was an educated guess?"
Not the right thing to say, girl.
"If we get out of this in one piece," Grue hissed, the visor of his helmet staring at Tattletale with a soulless gaze "we're going to have a long conversation." Tattletale winced again but didn't make any other moves, knowing that there were other things to worry about right now, which was something Taylor could agree with.
Hearing that they were potentially seven Parahuman opponents outside the bank wasn't exactly the most comforting thing Taylor had heard today, especially seeing as this was only her second Parahuman fight.
Sure. her first one had been Lung, and you could argue this was still better, considering the worst that would happen here is imprisonment rather than death, but it still wasn't great.
Of their little club, the only one aside from Taylor who wasn't freaking out, because she couldn't, was Bitch.
"I can take 'em. Just let me go all out."
"We're not going to fucking risk killing anyone," Grue told her in a strained tone. "We're not maiming either. The plan stands. We have the money, we run for it."
"I agree," Taylor said, speaking up as the rest glanced at her, even Amy who had been enjoying how the others had been freaking out. "While this isn't exactly ideal, we're still low-hanging fruit compared to the likes of the Empire or the Neutered Dragon."
"Neutered Dragon?" Amy interrupted curiously, making Taylor pause as she turned to her. "Long story, message me on PHO later if you want the details."
"The point," Taylor continued, looking back up at her teammates, "is that we don't want to risk jeopardizing that because if we do, the kid gloves will come off. Luckily, we don't actually need to fight them. Our goal is to escape, not throw down to see who's top dog."
"Get to the point!" Bitch hissed, frustrated at the lengthy explanation.
"The point...is while Grue's darkness is good for an escape, he's limited in how large of an area he can make it. Lucky for him, he's not the only one who can act as a distraction." Even as she spoke ideas came flooding to Taylor's mind, the kinds of things she had only ever dreamed of doing, and now that she had the opportunity to pull some of them off, she was going to take it.
"Ah, right, you can swarm them, and we can make our escape as we do," Grue realized, sounding a touch more relaxed now that they had some sense of a plan.
"Oh, I can do much more than that. I wonder, have you ever heard the phrase: If you can't beat them, baffle them with your bullshit?"
"I…no?" Grue said, looking towards Lisa whose eyes flickered, her lips twitching as she coined on to just what Taylor was saying.
"Oh my god, you can't be serious!" Lisa laughed, the amusement in her voice clearly present. "That's ballsy Bug, real ballsy. Luckily for you though, I'm pretty sure it'll work, and everyone else's reaction is going to be far too amusing to not go for it. How can I help?"
Taylor smirked under her mask at her teammate's approval. "Glad you agree. And if you want to help…do you have your phone on you?"
"I do. What do you need?" Lisa replied, pulling it from her side from one of the pouches on her hip.
"Would you mind hooking it up to the speakers to play something appropriate? It'll help with the distraction."
"I'd be more than happy to," Lisa smirked wickedly as she lowered her head, navigating through various menus that Taylor had no idea how to use. Luckily, she didn't have to as she turned to the next person of her plan.
"Regent, the biggest threat to our plan is Vista, so, if she tries, would you mind disrupting her concentration whenever she moves to intervene?"
"Sure," Alec shrugged, having no reason not to and not enough energy to care.
"Grue, you'll be making darkness as you know," Taylor continued, earning a nod from him, "and Bitch, you'll be our getaway."
Rachel grunted but didn't show any other signs of disagreement, so Taylor took that for agreement as she moved to the last part of her plan.
"As for you Amy…how would you like to fuck with the other Wards and your sister?"
Almost immediately, Amy opened her mouth to refuse the request, but before she could a thought struck her as her disagreement with the idea lessened. "Would...would anyone be hurt?"
"Nope, just us if we get caught," Taylor replied, gesturing in a circle at her teammates.
"...Okay," Amy nodded hesitantly, unable to fight a grin off her lips. "That honestly sounds like fun."
"Oh, it will be," Taylor replied confidently before turning back to the hostages, withdrawing all of her bugs off of them as they slowly got back to their feet. "As for the rest of you, how would you like to be a genuine pain in the ass to the government that regularly fucks you over, with exactly zero consequences?"
She didn't even need to ask.
…
Taylor had some of her bugs located outside the bank for general surveillance. Not a lot, granted, but enough to get a general feel for what was happening. Like, for instance, the six colored costumes of the wards and a couple of squads of PRT standing with them.
She couldn't see Glory Girl, but Taylor knew she was around from Amy's texts, meaning she was probably flying up somewhere in the sky and should probably be expected to drop in at some point.
"Alright, here goes nothing," Taylor muttered, standing crouched beside Brutus, one of Bitches buffed-up dogs. Waving an arm, Bitch directed Brutus to knock the Bank's doors open, letting Grue's darkness spill out of it.
The next part of the plan occurred quickly, with the eight strongest runners among the hostages charging out of the bank like hell was on their backs. Which it kind of was considering just what she had attached there, but she wasn't going to point that out.
"Everyone leaving the bank! Get down on the ground, now!" Aegis yelled from behind his borrowed mask as he reacted to the movement, but he was too late, because as he shouted, more of Grue's darkness spilled out onto the street, blanketing it to create a localized night sky, one without a moon to illuminate it.
It forced Aegis and the other wards to retreat several paces, re-joining the line of PRT officers just as Taylor had hoped, because, with the Ward's retreat, Taylor now had enough room to work with. Focusing, Taylor brought the eight small hives located on the runner's backs into 3 slightly larger ones, forcing them to create three floating balls obscured by the low level of light present in the environment.
"Well...well...well. What do we have here?" The chittering, horror-inducing sound of her bugs speaking asked, as Taylor had received a flash of inspiration with the hastily scraped-together plan she had made. Even if she'd failed, which she hadn't, it still would have produced an eerie sound.
This was far better.
"Why, can it be? The Wards and PRT Soldiers, do I see?"
"Ah, guys? Is anyone else getting a little freaked out?" Kid Win said nervously, his eyes darting around.
"It's not just you, Kid," Clockblocker said from inside Aegis' costume, his limbs twitching slightly under the new presence. "This…this is new for the Undersiders. Darkness, that's known, but the voice of Cthulhu? No clue."
"Great, a new player, that's just what we needed," Aegis groaned from inside of Clockblocker's costume, reaching up to pinch his nose as best as he could through the segmented timepieces across his brow. "Look! I don't care who you are! Just release the hostages and come quietly!"
Wrong thing to say, boy.
"Oh, I never come quietly." Taylor's bug voice purred, putting on the right level of seduction through her otherworldly voice to make several soldiers shudder. "It makes things more…exciting, for my partners if I don't. Is that going to be you today?"
Seeing as Taylor had bugged them with a few of the critters around the PRT vehicles, Taylor heard the small gagging sound Vista made as well as the interested hum that came from Aegis, making her note that down as personal gossip.
Strange, she would have thought that Clockblocker would have been the one to do that.
"Look, stop trying to creep us out! Just come out with your hands up so we can arrest you villain, and no one needs to get hurt!" Aegis yelled again from Clockblocker's suit, making Taylor wonder why it wasn't coming from Aegis' white super suit
Could they have swapped costumes? Possibly. Either way, she was glad for whoever was wearing Aegis' suit, as they had given her the best setup line she could have asked for.
"Villain? Nooooo, no, no, no, I'm not a villain."
That was Tattletale's cue, as Taylor began to hear the sounds of a song's opening riffs. Barely audible for the moment, but building ever so slowly.
"Yeah?" Vista called out, stepping forward with a flow of her emerald skirt. "Then what else should we describe you as? You've taken an entire bank's worth of people hostage, robbed the bank of its money, and are now obscuring the Wards and the agents of the PRT. I don't know what world you come from, but in this one that spells out Villain!"
"Psh!" Taylor scoffed, finding amusement in just how well that sounded coming out of a bug's mouth. Still, this was go-time, so back in her safe little spot at the bank, she nodded toward Lisa to signify that she should be ready. At the same time, she sent the rest of the bugs she had gathered out into the street, doing so as quietly as she could even if she was sure that some of her foes would be able to see the shifting shapes of her swarm.
"Little girl, a villain is a common crook, one that goes about threatening people with guns and violence. No, I'm not a villain...I'm a Super Villain!"
"Really?" Vista called out, a hand on her hip as she flicked her hair at her teammates as if she was asking if they could believe this crap.
Kind of rude, in Taylor's opinion.
"And what's the difference, Superpowers?"
Just a few…more…seconds. Lisa appeared right next to her, phone in hand next to the sound scroller as she offered it to Amy.
With pleasure, Amy touched the circle waiting for her moment.
"Presen-tation!" Taylor yelled, flying every single one of the flight-capable insects she had been stealthily gathering up and out of the cloud of darkness, combining them together into a single, bus-sized black widow, one that flared its legs out as Amy turned the volume to full, the thunderous scream of music filling the air.
"~You're Crueeeeel, Device. You're blooooood, like ice.~"
This was where the rest of the hostages came in, every single one of them walking out the doors to stand beside the bank's doors, the eight earlier hostages joining them…you know what, let's call them accomplices. All of her accomplices stood against the bank walls, singing along to the lyrics of Alice Cooper's Poison to whatever lines they knew as the song blared throughout the area.
"Alright people, let's hoof it!" Taylor yelled to be heard over the bank's surprisingly loud speakers. She then turned to the girl in her arms, leaning down until her mouthpiece was beside her ear.
"You still alright with helping us escape?"
"What?" Amy asked in slight confusion before shaking her head. "I mean…yeah, sure, you guys seem alright for villains. Let's go."
That was enough approval for Taylor as she confidently led the way despite Grue's ability to actually see where he was going. Rolling with it, Grue walked on her left with Regent one further along, while Lisa stood to Taylor's right with Rachel next to her, her three dogs walking behind them in formation.
Even Rachel understood the importance of image despite the fact that no one should be able to see them.
"Gah!" Gallant yelled in surprise, throwing his arms out in shock. The rest of the wards were no better, each of the reacting in various ways in shock.
"~You're poison run-ning through my veins~!"
"What the FUCK is that!?" Kid Win screamed, pointing his arm up at the giant spider. Deciding to have some fun with him, Taylor had her creation mime walking towards him, making it look like the dissipating black cloud was solid as it strode towards him, one enormous leg at a time in beat with the song.
"~You're poisooooooon~!"
"And why the FUCK is it coming toward me?!" Kid Win yelled in an unnaturally high voice as he simply turned around and proceeded to run, joined by about a third of the PRT soldiers.
"~I don't want to break these chains~!"
"Come back! It's just bugs!" Clock-Aegis yelled, trying to reassert some order into the situation. Which Vista proceeded to ruin as she joined Kid Win.
"Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!" Vista yelled as she strode away, her steps covering far more distance than they should have.
"You know, you're not exactly helping your mission to get us to treat you like an adult Vista!" Clock-Aegis tried one last time, only making her pause momentarily before she continued on her way, making him sigh.
"Well, I guess it's just us three then," he sighed, turning to Aegis-Clockblocker and Gallant.
"Do we have to?"
"Yes, you do," Clock-Aegis replied instantly, making the pair of boys sigh as they stared at the massive collections of insects in despair. Neither of them had anything that could affect such a large number of foes, Gallant having a thin emotion beam that would be less than useless and Aegis-Clockblocker requiring touch to be useful.
Unlike their contemporaries, however, the Undersiders were having a great time.
"This is a lot easier than I was expecting it would be," Regent admitted in surprise, looking towards the chaos as the group strolled to their pre-set extraction point. "When I saw how much Tattletale had fucked us over, I was just about ready to turn around, bend over and spread 'em, but surprisingly Queenie's idea worked."
"What do you mean surprising?" Taylor huffed with Amy still attached to her arm as she stared at the chaos in amusement. There were no actual injuries occurring, so her conscious was clear as she watched the birth of a dozen arachnophobes. "Provide a group a large, visible threat, and everyone's attention is going to be drawn towards it. It's a basic evolutionary instinct that we inherited from our ancestors when we were still swinging through trees."
"An alpha predator demands attention," Rachel grunted in agreement, sounding pleased as she looked at Taylor with strangely approving eyes. Taylor didn't know why; an hour ago she'd looked at her in disdain.
"~I hear you calling and it's needles and pins~!"
"Oh, I wouldn't know about getting away scot-free," an amused-sounding voice called out, one from in front and above them.
Tilting her head, Taylor watched as a white and gold form floated through the darkness, the last wisps of it curling around the costumed hero as she floated toward the ground, touching down as her over-the-shoulder cape fluttered around her, looking resplendent in the dawning light.
Combine this with the golden tiara atop her platinum blonde hair and the one-piece dress that ended at her mid-thigh, Taylor had only one thing to say.
"Fuck that costume makes you look good."
Apparently, it was the right thing to say as a happy grin formed on her face, Vicky running her hands down the front of her dress. "It does, doesn't it?"
"Vicky!" Amy yelled from her place at Taylor's side, making Vicky snort.
"Right, right, no vanity on the battlefield. Still, I think I can tell who you were flirting with, judging by how you're glued to their side. And…" Vicky blinked as she stepped closer, looking Taylor up and down as the rest of the Undersiders tensed up.
Taylor didn't bother, it would make no difference with how close the flying tank was.
"Amy?" Vicky said, not looking towards her.
"Yes, Vicky?"
"You didn't tell me you were gay," Her voice was unnatural level, clearly in an attempt to not come off as accusatory.
"~I wanna kiss you but your lips are ven-o-mous poisoooooon!~"
Right, that was enough of that Taylor thought, even if the music was timed oddly well.
"Tattletale, can it with the music would you?"
"Can do!" Tattletale saluted, her movement a touch jerky due to her nerves as she brought out her phone to press the pause button and disconnect her phone. The silence that beckoned afterward was almost deafening compared to how loud the music had been, and it occurred just in time for the last of Grue's smoke to disappear, leaving them out in the open.
Out in the open with Glory Girl, three normal wards and three embarrassed-looking ones, and countless PRT soldiers who were digging their fingers in their ears. Apparently, they hadn't enjoyed the music. Seeing no need for her construct now, Taylor commanded it to evaporate, the millions of insects flying and crawling back toward her position as she conversed with Vicky to buy time.
"As for the whole gay thing," Taylor shrugged, squeezing Amy's midsection slightly. "It can be a highly personal decision on whether or not to tell family members. She might have been afraid of your reaction, or she may have just wanted to keep it to herself to not have to deal with the hassle of coming out."
"Ah, yeah…that." Amy was hasty to agree, her head nodding up and down rapidly like a bobblehead.
"You don't seem very shy about it right now, you're new friend there is practically wrapped around you. I guess things went well with the flirting then?" Vicky smirked, her blue eyes flashing victoriously even as she accepted the reasoning.
"What can I say, tall, dark and mysterious is alluring to some people," Taylor shrugged as she detangled herself from Amy's embrace, patting the suddenly pouting girl on the head.
"But like she said, perfectly safe, even if I somehow doubt that Brandish will approve of Amy's new acquaintance."
"You got that right," Vicky laughed as she held her hand out to shake. Seeing no harm in it, Taylor wrapped her clawed fingers around the shorter blondes, pumping up and down once.
"I have to say, you're far more pleasant than most villains I've met. More pleasant than all I've met if I'm being honest."
"And how hard would that be, exactly?" Taylor drawled as she held up a closed fist, raising a finger with each point. "One's a sexist racist, because why else would a Nazi surround himself with women like that, the other is rage dragon who enslaved girls to make them sexually please people due to not getting any when he was younger, one is so drugged out of his mind 24/7 that I have doubts on if he knows what year it is, let alone the day, Coil lacks any visible presence, and Uber and Leet…well their just a disgrace to the Super Villain name."
"A very good point…" Vicky replied with a nod, trailing off with the realization that Taylor hadn't given a cape name she could use.
That was unfortunate because even with her new sense of confidence and lack of decency, she still didn't have any ideas on what to call herself. While this whole dramatic villain thing didn't sound so bad, she still wanted to be a hero one day.
"Yeah…I'd give you my cape name, but I'm kind of lacking at the moment. None of the ideas I had seemed appropriate without being…comically bad or overly villainous. I'm not trying to be the next Butcher after all."
"True, true. Something appropriate to do with bugs would be hard," Vicky nodded, leaning her chin into her hand as she thought about it, floating slightly above the tarmac for some reason as she bobbed back and forth. Experimentally, Taylor reached out and poked her, applying a soft pressure that moved Vicky 30 cm away.
This caused Amy to snort in laughter as she forgot her embarrassment for a moment. "Yeah, she does that sometimes when she gets lost in thought. Just give her a minute."
"Really?" Taylor questioned, thinking that absentmindedness was just plain stupid on the field before a group of villains. Such stupidity should be punished. She tried to resist the call of course, but...
"...Anyone got a pen?"
Much to Taylor's surprise, it was Amy who nodded as she rummaged around in her purse, drawing out a couple of curious items like a lighter and a small bag of weed. The main reason she had recognized it was that she had seen plenty in her time scouting the merchants. And that's the only reason.
"I have to say, you're a lot more interesting than I thought you would be," Taylor said, sounding a touch forlorn as she pointed at the little green baggy. "It's a shame that you're a hero while I'm a villain, else I might have enjoyed being your friend."
A tinge of sadness appeared on Amy's face as well as she withdrew the black marker, placing it into Taylor's outstretched grip. "Yes…that would have been nice. Of course, if you suddenly encounter me on the street and take me", she formed air quotes, "'hostage', there's no reason I couldn't disappear for a few hours."
Taylor popped the cap of the pen, touching it down on a white section of Vicky's nice dress as she began to scribble on it without any reaction from Victoria. "And the reason you'd feel comfortable hanging out with a Villain is…"
"I need…friends," Amy admitted after a pause, looking down at her feet. "All of the people I currently hang out with are either the Wards or Vicky's friends, not mine. It would be nice to have one of my own."
"Well…perhaps that can be arranged," Taylor mused, thinking that having any friends would be nice, even if it would feel strange. What if they wanted to hang out, would she just walk up to her family home, knock on the door, and when asked about why she was there, say:
"I'm here to kidnap your daughter. Could you let her know I'm here?"
Somehow, Taylor didn't see that going over so well. She didn't let the stray thought distract her from finishing her small doodle of a brick wall with a hole in it, however, with a cartoonish fist poking through.
"Oh, that's mean." Amy laughed, taking back the offered pen and adding a caption to it before putting it back in her purse.
Up until now, the rest of the Undersiders had been pretty content with waiting quietly, the lack of conflict negating a reason to act, but after seeing the exchange Tattletale finally couldn't take it anymore.
"I'm sorry, is it just me or is this situation fucking bizarre? Because a Supervillain and a Superhero just had a conversation about potentially hanging out while doodling on another superhero, who is trying to think up a name for the Supervillain, while at any moment other superheroes and officers could come rushing in to arrest the Supervillains?" Saying this without a pause, Tattletale was forced to breathe in deeply after she finished her mini-rant.
Amy and Taylor shared an amused look as they shrugged. "Sounds about right."
"I got it!" Vicky snapped her finger, grinning proudly with herself. "You can call yourself…Arachne! After that spider-woman from Greek mythology."
"That's…" Taylor trailed off as she tried to think of a reason not to use it. "That's fucking brilliant! Thanks, Vicky." Pushing her luck once more, she gave the blonde a hug, one that was returned before she moved back beside Amy.
How come she hadn't thought of that? She had so many classic novels at home, hell she was fairly certain one of them told the story of Arachne!
Now it was Amy's turn to give Vicky a weird look.
"I didn't know you read Greek literature."
"I don't," Vicky replied with a ditzy smile, making Amy frown.
"Then how did you know about Arachne? The only reason I even recognize her is that I'm taking English Lit and the poem about her was one of the assigned texts. I know you took the easy option of English Studies, so unless you're magically a genius, spill."
All Glory Girl could do was shrug.
"Saw an image of her while browsing online and I was curious about who the lady with a spider's body was. Can you imagine a guy seeing her just from the waist up and being attracted to her, and then seeing the rest? His reaction would be hilarious."
"Of course you did, why would it be anything else," Amy sighed, looking back to Taylor. "Well, congratulations on the new name, Arachne. Try not to waste it."
"I promise," Taylor, now Arachne, said as solemnly as she could, placing her hand across her breast. "I will be the most dramatic, eye-catching villain you have ever seen."
"As you should be," Vicky nodded grandiosely before breaking down in laughter. "Only the best can be named by me."
"Yeah, they feed on your own drama," Amy muttered quietly, smiling innocently as Vicky rounded on her.
Through her bug senses, Taylor saw that the Wards had regrouped, having spotted the Undersiders standing next to New Wave and were now rushing towards them. And boy did they look nettled. Super nettled.
"Not to cut this short, it's been lovely girls, but we need to be like the banana, and split," Arachne said, earning an amused glance from Vicky and an assessing one from Amy.
"Oh, and just what makes you think I'm going to let you go?"
Taylor pointed at Vicky's stomach, poking it slightly. "This cartoon Amy drew on you while you were zoned out."
"Zoned out?" Vicky blinked, pulling her dress away from her body to let her see what was written, revealing her abs to the world. Luckily for her, she wore shorts underneath.
"Collateral Damage Barbie: Call me if your neighbor's fence has been bothering you! It won't be intentional, but it'll still be gone. Alongside the neighborhood."
Vicky fell silent as she read the caption, letting it digest. Without saying a word, she let her dress drop.
"Amy, I'm going to give you five seconds."
"Five seconds?" Amy asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Run."
Suddenly realizing that she had a pissed-off power barbie with a reason to be annoyed at her, Amy took off, sprinting away as Vicky began to fly after her.
"I'm so-rry!" Amy yelled, dodging under Vicky when she swooped through her previous position in space. "I thought it'd be funny!"
"Yeah, real funny! Just like it'll be funny when I leave you stranded on the other side of town naked from the waist up without your phone!"
"I only drew the caption!" Amy pleaded, sounding a smidge desperate. Taylor wondered if that was her fault. "Arachne did the…"
They trailed off here, too far to be heard.
"And like that, we're free to skedaddle, although not for long," Arachne said, dusting her hands off as she turned to look at the rapidly approaching Wards.
"Not for long at all!" Arachne yelped upon seeing how close they were, jumping up onto the back of Angelica as Lisa hopped on behind her, Brian and Regent hopping on Judas while Bitch hopped on Brutus.
Bitch whistled to get the pack moving, the enhanced dogs swiftly jumping onto the roof of a building that continued on into town. Before they rode into the sunset, however, Taylor couldn't resist one more joke at the expense of the embarrassed heroes.
So, gathering her bugs back together, Taylor formed the same giant spider as she had before, only this time it had the upper half of a human woman where the bulbous head should have been. This made the spider smaller of course, but whether it was the size of a bus or the size of a minibus, it was still quite large.
It also helpfully provided another distraction as Bitch's dogs fled away from the scene of their crime, their passengers and loot secure.
"You will always remember this as the day you almost caught the Undersiders and their newest member…Arachne!"
Taylor had the construct bow, forming a facsimile of a grin on its horrifying face.
"Thank you, and good night!"
As a final act of showmanship, the construct Arachne disintegrated back into the millions of bugs that had made it up, its constituent parts disappearing through the alleys and sewers.
The last thing Taylor heard before the bugs were out of range was the vicious cursing of the Wards and PRT, epically Aegis.
"Piggot is never going to let this go."
With a happy grin under her mask, Taylor refocused her attention on holding onto Angelica's fur, trusting her to keep them safe.
From behind her, Lisa gave Taylor a tight squeeze around the middle.
"Wow, you're just bringing out all the memes today, aren't you?"
"It felt appropriate," Taylor shrugged, finding the shifting plates of bone and fur in between her legs to be quite uncomfortable.
"You're going to find it a lot less appropriate when you let go of whatever technique it is that blunts your embarrassment," Lisa replied, sounding quite smug.
That was a good point actually, as pushing her emotions away constantly didn't sound like a healthy thing to do. Mentally sighing, Taylor ceased pushing part of her emotions away, returning her mind to the full emotional spectrum.
Which includes embarrassment and horror.
"What have I done!?" Taylor squealed pitifully, unable to comprehend just how far off the rails she'd gone while using her new technique. She'd said so many things, and done so many things that she'd normally never do. Like, fuck, she'd complimented Lisa on her outfit, seduced Panacea, and that thing with Glory Girl…
They're all going to think she some kind of pervert!
"Oh God, someone kill me now."
"God's not here Taylor, it's just me," Lisa replied, satisfaction just rolling off of her. "I can't wait to see what PHO will think of all this."
On the bright side…at least she hadn't hurt or killed anyone, which is what Taylor had mainly wanted, so she supposed it could have been worse. Didn't stop her from wanting to go die in a hole somewhere, but it was a nice token nonetheless.
*SOMEWHERE ELSE*
"…Presentation!" The screeching voice of countless rubbing legs and wings proclaimed, sounding slightly staticky due to the microphone of the phone it had been recorded on.
That wasn't important, however. What was important was just who was listening to the recording.
"Well now, that just won't do," Mouse Protector said, shutting the screen as she pocketed her phone, placing it into the belt of her costume. "There's only enough room for one television super person, and that's me! Mouse Protector, awaaaaay!"
She then proceeded to leap off the stone ledge she had been perched on with a flip, having been unable to find a gargoyle.
*THE END*
AN: I put a lot more effort into the quality of writing on this one, even giving it a second proofreading a month after I finished the first proofread. Let me know if it's done anything or not.
Ervin.