Disclaimer: Exalted is White Wolf's, Worm is Wildbow's (Don't forget to vote.) I'm just playing with their toys.
Accursed Fortune 2.1
Fwoosh. The crumpled ball of toilet paper in my hand ignited, faintly illuminating the darkened bathroom, and breaking the monotonous sound of pouring water. The green fire burned it to ashes in my hand with ease, dropping the room back to darkness. I stuck my hands under the water, washing the ash off, and switched the light back on. On my forehead, my mark had returned, faint.
But I had figured out – somewhat – how to prevent it.
Fwoosh. Another ball burned to ash, and my mark became much more prominent. A prickling on my skin accompanied it. I grinned.
It turned out I had two sources of power; an inner and an outer. When I had been fighting Sophia, I could feel the inner emptying and replenishing, until I finally had to use my outer. The outer felt bigger, but made me glow. And, if my previous experience with my mark had been correct, the more prominent version would disappear within the hour. And if I had used another fire attack, from the outer pool, it would have turned me glowy. I was learning.
Unfortunately, my wound wasn't so quick to heal. It had been nearly half a day, and while it was not bleeding and had scabbed over, it still wasn't healed. Super-healing would have been a nice benefit.
One Sophia probably didn't have. I sobered up. The news hadn't said anything about Sophia, which was either very good or very bad. For her. I still didn't know how it affect me. I had been disguised, so she couldn't point me out, but my powers seemed unique. It wouldn't be hard to connect person who burned Shadow Stalker's arm off with the new cape who used green fire and shadows.
And that I had tried to kill her. Successful or not, I had tried to kill her, without hesitation. Self-defense, maybe, but what did that say about me, that I jumped right to killing her, instead of trying to flee?
Rubbing at the goosebumps on my arms, I left the bathroom, and got back into bed. I didn't sleep easy.
The smell of cooking bacon woke me up. Still tired, I nearly fell out of bed, wincing at pain from my stomach as I stretched my wound. And, with dawning horror, I realized I didn't have anything to wear. The only set of clothes that had actually fit were soaked in blood, hidden in the back of my closet. Even if I could clean the blood off, the shirt had a big hole in it.
A quick knock-knock on my door was followed by my dad's voice, "Taylor? Breakfast."
Pajamas it was then.
Breakfast was a silent affair. So was the car ride. Wearing a pair of khakis with the inner hem cut down, and the next largest shirt in my closet, I dreaded my dad commenting on it. My dad didn't speak until we were nearly there, startling me. "You don't have to go back if you don't want to. I'd understand if you didn't feel up to it."
"Well, if I don't start now, I don't think I ever will."
He stayed quiet until we pulled into a parking spot at school. His hands twisted on the wheel, as he built up the courage to say something.
"Taylor. Yesterday, did... they try something again?"
I resisted the urge to squirm. Oh, they had tried something. One had tried really hard. "Sorta. They just said something that upset me."
"Are you sure-"
"Yes dad. I have to."
"Okay," he replied with an exhalation of breath. He leaned over and hugged me, which I didn't object to in the least.
"You look great, Taylor, and have a great day. I'll pick you up at 3 again."
I exited the car, and as I walked to the door, I waved to him as he pulled out, going back to work.
As he went out of sight, I started off to the public library.
This early in the morning, the library was almost empty. I secured a public computer with a modicum of privacy, and opened an empty journal. I got the feeling I was forgetting something, but I brushed it off.
Opening the browser, I went straight to the news. Still nothing official had been released, but the major sites had news that pre-cogs all over the globe were still having problems, and that capes from the New York branch of the Protectorate hadn't been spotted in the city. Implying they were here.
On Parahumans Online, I searched for Shadow Stalker. No news on her, and nothing important on the message boards. Only creeps, fans, and creepy fans. Pausing in my search, I drummed my fingers. If I couldn't get up to date info on her, I could at least look at the competition.
The Protectorate, the largest American organization of heroes, and the one receiving the most government funding and support, had a fairly large of collection of heroes in the city. Armsmaster, a Tinker, Miss Militia, who could create guns out of energy, and Dauntless, who was oddly similar to me, were the heavy hitters in town. Dauntless could infuse his power into his items, making them stronger over time. The message boards claimed that within the year he would solo Alexandria, but I took that with a grain of salt.
The New Wave, formerly the Brockton Bay Brigade, was a group of capes who had surrendered their secret identities. Consisting of two related families, Lady Photon, her husband Manpower, children Laserdream and Shielder were one half. Lady Photon's sister Brandish and her husband Flashbang had two daughters, Glory Girl and Panacea. Remembering the latter's name, I looked up her page. She was a healer par excellence. Maybe Sophia had been serious about getting me medical attention.
The last major hero group in the Bay was one I knew more about, the Wards, or the Junior Protectorate to be more glib. The members of the Wards graduated to the Protectorate once they hit 18, and basically it functioned as a training ground for heroes. And if I wanted to join, I'd have to demonstrate my powers. Including green fire, which I'm sure they would be very interested in.
Villains; the Bay had two major powers, the Azn Bad Boys and the Empire Eighty-Eight. And the previous cold war between them was heating up. The morning after I had woken up, the Empire Eighty-Eight had bombed two ABB hang outs, and attacked and killed Oni Lee, the lieutenant of the ABB. Leaving the ABB with just one parahuman in their ranks, their leader, Lung. Who had, by the rumors on the board, driven Leviathan off with only minor damage. The Empire Eighty-Eight had a bevy of parahumans; starting with their leader Kaiser, followed by the twins Menja and Fenja, Hookwolf, and a variety of new capes.
In addition, various minor powers such as the Merchants and several mercenary groups rounded out the cape scene. I clicked my pen, hand cramping from filling my journal. I had roughly a page on each parahuman, including their powers and a brief history, of both themselves and their allegiances.
Done with my intelligence gathering, I decided to look for anything related to myself. Greek superhero teams yielded a group called the Olympians, with names like Zeus and Hera. Shadow powers and discorporation powers brought up a few, including two in the Bay – Grue and Night – but nothing close to my variety.
Capes who could give out powers were rarer. Most of them were in the Birdcage, including Teacher, who had assassinated several world leaders with empowered mooks. Nilbog, who had taken over a town with enhanced minions created from people – or people enhanced with powers, it didn't say. But no known power-givers were close to the Bay at this point in time. My theory that I was a bit different seemed to be gaining more credence.
I nearly snapped my pen in half as I sat up in surprise. Journal had jogged my thoughts for a damn good reason: I had left my notebooks scattered across the scene of Sophia's attempted assassination of me. I grabbed my journal and moved with purpose out of the library.
Half a mile from where we had fought, I moved off the street, crossing through an alleyway. As I exited, I no longer looked like myself; instead, I looked like a mix of the two female reporters I had seen on the news last night. I had felt my inner pool empty as I cloaked myself, confirming that my powers used the same source.
As I got closer to the site, I could hear the sound of machinery. I stopped, stunned as I saw PRT vans on the street by the building. A crane was up, and police line surrounded the site. I turned away, not wanting to be spotted, with a crunch. Looking down, I saw a piece of notebook paper trapped underneath my shoe. With shaking hands, I picked it up.
The page was covered in my hand writing.
Accursed Fortune 2.2
The rumble of a diesel engine signaled the crane moving, carrying what looked like a large slab of concrete. As I watched, it set it in the back of a PRT vehicle, which then left the scene. Collecting evidence. A piece of which was in my hand. I crumpled it, and stuffed it into my pocket.
"Ma'am?"
I nearly jumped out of my skin. Turning, I saw a PRT officer holding his hand out. His other was resting in between a pistol-shape and a pair of handcuffs.
"I think you have something we need, ma'am."
I burned the dregs in my inner pool, focusing on escaping before I could be questioned, or worse, arrested. As I handed him my crumpled notes, I said in a ditzy voice, "Oh, I thought I was just picking up trash. What happened here?"
"Same as the other one. Now, I'll need you to step back, for your own safety. And in the future, don't mess with crime scenes."
I left as soon as he looked away from me, another power confirmed.
The bus stopped at a light, shaking me from my reverie. What all had I left there? Blood, notebooks, and evidence of my powers. Did my disguise extend to my blood? It seemed to be more of an illusion than an actual physical change. And I hadn't written my name in my notebooks, so far as I could remember. Though, my memory was probably not the clearest at the moment. Panic has a way of blurring things. The green fire that I had ignited with the bolt could still be smoldering, and I had released some form of green energy when I had dodged Sophia's second bolt.
Not good.
Maybe one of those things would be enough to brush off, but the first two would link right back to me. And even with a disguise, if I used my power in public, I'd bring down a serious hammer on my alter-self. So, I couldn't use the green fire, and possibly the shadow-form. My disguise power was still a fair bet, and as was my sensory power. I hadn't figured out quite what escaping one was, but it should be unknown as well. The always on ones; the bleeding-stopper, the fast, silent running, and the increased resilience - After all, I hadn't died to a crossbow bolt – could be explained away or seem unimportant.
So. I should start being a cape as soon as possible, if only to build goodwill, in the worst case of my identities coming out. I couldn't join the Wards, and New Wave wouldn't accept me as I wasn't a part of their families.
I was going to be a independent hero, a vigilante.
The Salvation Army store was almost empty, but for the two employees and another browser. I managed to avoid them, and pick out several trousers, shirts, and blouses, that while not fashionable, were within my very limited budget, and physical requirements.
A black hoodie caught my eye. New, it would have been decorated in bronze lettering, but now the lettering was faded, and had decayed into blocky shapes. Perfect. I added a black scarf, and a pair of black corduroy jeans to my stack. I'd have just enough to get home on the bus.
Tonight, I'd go out.
I dropped my purchases off, out of sight of the back door, and entered my house.
"Dad?"
No answer. I went into his room, the living room, and knocked and entered the bathroom. He wasn't here. I went back out, and practically ran to my room with my arms full. I stuffed my proto-costume into the far back of the closet, and the new clothes to the front. Relieved, I went down to the phone in the kitchen, and dialed the Dockworker's Association.
"Dockworker's Association, how can I help you?"
"Hi, this is Taylor Hebert, and I-"
"Oh, Taylor! It's wonderful to hear you got home safe. Your dad was really worried."
More guilt. Hurray. "It's good to be home, and could you get my dad for me?"
"Sure, he just got in a few minutes ago."
With a clunk, the phone was set down. I curled the cord in my fingers, thinking. I didn't have a name for myself, and I didn't have much of a costume. Of course, I'd be disguised, but I wouldn't have many powers I could use in a direct fight. At least, without glowing.
Power-wise; I had a new pinch of information, and a hunch. The escaping power took less than disguising. If I was correct, my fire also took less, which would be very good if things went absolutely wrong. I still wasn't sure about my sensory power and discorporation power, but I was thinking low and high, respectively. I couldn't be sure with out further experimentation -
"Taylor!" My dad's urgent voice broke my concentration. "Are you okay? What happened?"
I played my hunch, and the trickle that had filled my inner pool over the past two hours was expended. Deflecting away from the truth, I said, "I just couldn't take it at school anymore. Today wasn't easy. I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't worry."
"Okay. I'll be home soon, okay?"
"Got it."
"See you in a few, kiddo."
Dinner was awkward. I had napped until then, so my dad hadn't talked to me yet. At dinner, he kept trying to press for information on what had happened at school today, and I didn't want to waste my inner pool before I went out. My newest power could make me lie very well, and I didn't want to use it on my Dad when I might need it tonight.
I could remember using it to dodge Sophia's bolts as well, fleeing to keep myself safe. It seemed fairly broad in its applicability, but I'd have to play with it a bit before I could classify it. Finally, he went to sleep. An hour later, I slipped my pajamas off, and put on my costume. I wore the Alexandria shirt underneath as half-joke, half-good luck charm. Tying the scarf around my lower face and forehead, I closed the back door with a quite click. Pools full, I stretched, ready.
I started to the Docks.
Accursed Fortune 2.3
The Docks had once been a thriving part of the Atlantic trade routes, one of the larger transshipping ports on the East Coast. But, eventually everything changes, and the Docks took it hard. The people who owned the businesses made it out, but the people who lived and worked in the Docks, in the warehouses, piers, and supporting services stayed. Perfect ground for a supervillan who needed muscle, cheap.
The vast majority of gang activity in Brockton Bay was there; both the ABB and Empire Eighty-Eight, the biggest, were major presences. Previously, the conflict between them had been a cold war, primarily low-level action that only made a blurb in the news or the paper. A drug dealer beaten up, or a prostitute robbed.
But the day before yesterday, the morning after my awakening, Kaiser, the leader of the Empire Eighty-Eight had heated things up. Two ABB locations had been bombed, with at least a dozen deaths, and the lieutenant of the ABB, Oni Lee, a teleporter, had been killed. All the ABB had left for parahumans was Lung. He was strong, and only got stronger in a fight, but even he could only be in one place at a time. Kaiser would be pressing his advantage.
As I crossed into the Docks, I tried a new trick. I split the cost for my disguise in half, half from the inner and half from the outer pool. It worked, leaving at least two-thirds left in the inner. I scavenged behind my convenient alley, and found a mostly intact glass bottle. Only a mark, no glow, and the face I had worn earlier staring back at me. I tossed it away, and started my search for my secondary objective. If I didn't want to use my powers, I needed a weapon. It took ten minutes, but I eventually found a two foot section of pipe, lightly rusted.
Sticking to the shadows and alleys, I stayed out of sight of the denizens of the Docks; on the streets, primarily prostitutes, druggies, and drunks. The local upper class stayed indoors, apparently. I was looking for any sign of the Empire Eighty-Eight. If Kaiser won the war he initiated with the ABB, I was sure he'd try to eliminate or subdue the remainder of the gangs in the Bay, and then he'd essentials be an African Warlord, in a US city. Not agreeable. Even worse, they were a white supremacist gang, and I could only imagine what they would do when they took over.
With the local heroes all standing guard on my hatching spot, and now also probably at my first fight, they would be stretched too thin to decisively stop Kaiser, especially as he would have the initiative. If I could just put one villain out of commission, or even make the Empire Eighty-Eight more cautious, it might help make up for the distraction I had been.
An hour in, I was about to call it a bust. My stomach still didn't feel great, and I hadn't found nary a tattoo nor tag of the Empire Eighty-Eight. If I didn't find anything soon, I'd go back. Every minute could count if my dad woke up and checked on me.
Raucous noise, best described as hooting and hollering, was faintly discernible in the distance. I quickened my pace, breaking into my silent, powered run. I stopped at the corner of a building, looking around.
Two men, both skinheads, were spray painting a swastika on a building. I twirled my pipe, thinking. They weren't really harming anyone, but they were probably part of the Empire. For all I knew, this was gang etiquette between warring parties. Decision made, I broke into a full sprint, silent as a still night. As I got closer, they both laughed, sharing a joke. The left one had spoken last before they broke into laughter.
I hit him with my punchline, sweeping my pipe into his knee. A wet crack, and he collapsed, screaming and clutching at himself.
His partner turned at the sound of metal on flesh, to receive my backswing, slamming right into his groin. He coughed, spraying spit, and hunched over. I brought the pipe up and around in a full swing, double handed, to land on his collarbone with a snap. He went down, holding his groin with one hand and cursing. I sprinted away, still silent.
Two down, I thought, heading north, deeper into the Docks.
I passed two more swastikas, along with a collection of E88 tags as I slowed down to a jog, then a walk. My heart was pounding, and I took deep, calming breaths. I took care to walk as silently as I could, though not as silently as I could run. The dichotomy was an interesting one. Noise-wise, I could hear shouts, this time. I sprinted again, getting as close as I could, peeking around a corner, low to the ground.
A large open area was filled with struggling forms. A melee was taking place between men and women in green and red against men and women without a uniform, barring the frequent shaved heads. With a low-pitched thud, a slab of concrete impacted in the middle, and the knots of bodies separated. A girl, barely older than me, stepped around a corner.
"Fucking Chinks!" she screamed. "Give up, or I'll squish your fucking squinty eyes!"
Lovely. Rune, a telekinetic, who could move and control heavy objects just by touching them. Against unpowered opponents, she was a nightmare.
The ABB members, in green and red, further away from me, looked askance at each other.
I couldn't beat both sides on my own, but if Rune was out of play, and I didn't have to fight all of them -
I broke into a sprint, heading towards Rune's back. Only one man, dressed like a Nazi lumberjack barred my way. A cross swing to the knee dropped him to the other knee, howling in pain. I made it to Rune as she turned around, and swung at her face.
With a blast of dust, she lifted off, riding a new slab of concrete. My pipe hit the edge of it as it rose, ringing, and leaving my hand stinging.
Rune shouted as she rose, "Fucking kill'em!"
Accursed Fortune 2.4
Shit.
At her shout, I turned, following through from the rebound, and crossed the two steps to a woman covered in tattoos. She blocked my downward swing with raised arms, screaming as my pipe broke at least one of her arms. I turned, and ran straight for the ABB members. They were already charging across the clearing, knives, tire irons, and fists ready. I pivoted a few yards from them, to join their rush. Hoping they would count me on their side. If both joined against me -
I was tackled to the side, surprised enough that I didn't club my attacker. With a boom, Rune's concrete slab impacted were I had been, showering us with dirt. My tackler, a man, an inch shorter than me, but probably twice my weight, hauled me up with him.
"Powers!?" I nodded at his shouted question.
He pointed at Rune, who was pulling a slab of roofing off of her perch. "Get her! We've got them!"
Another nod, and I silently ran towards her. And promptly rolled to the side and forward, as a section of rafters flew towards me. It hit the ground, exploding into splinters.
As I rolled I saw the concrete slab was screaming right towards me, skimming right above the ground. I sprung back upright, running towards Rune, and away from the closing slab. I ran, the whistling of the slab closer and closer until it was about to hit me-
and it hit my shadow as I discorporated, becoming the slab's shadow and reforming on top of it. I could feel my mark on my forehead as I burnt a chunk of my outer pool. A moment before the slab slammed into Rune's building, I jumped up, a burning sensation accompanying my inner pool regaining part of the power I had spent earlier in the evening. I skidded onto the roof, and sprinted towards Rune. She blasted off again, this time riding a rafter like a horse.
A rumbling signaled the concrete slab freeing itself from the wall, and I ran towards the hole she had torn in the roof. I jumped in, and above me, the slab whooshed by.
"Come out, pussy!"
The slab punching through the roof punctuated her statement.
The door facing me was still closed, so I sprinted, burning a chunk of my inner pool to escape, and with a flying kick, it disintegrating around me, my inner pool regaining almost as much as I lost. I recovered, and at full speed, I ran down the alleyway, back towards the clearing.
Two skinheads down had turned the tide for the ABB, and already half of the remaining were either incapacitated or sporting injuries, for one ABB out of the fight.
Bricks shattering signaling the return of the slab, I threw myself into a complete stop. The slab cleared my face by about an inch, trailing brick dust. I recharged a bit, and ran to the clearing, breaking into a quick slide to change direction. Above and in front of me, Rune floated on her rafter, screaming invectives.
I couldn't reach her like this. My shadow form was limited to what appeared to be under half a dozen yards. She was easily floating at 20. I couldn't hit her from here. The slab was taking a beating; already, it had shrunken by half it's size from the damage Rune was inflicting on it. When it was down to nothing, would she flee?
"Stop dodging you fucking slant eyed faggot!"
Probably not.
The slab whirred past me from the front, as I expended a sliver of inner power. A plan came to mind. I turned, running parallel to Rune. The slab came back around, and as it almost hit me, it instead punched through a cloud of darkness, and I was on top. I whipped my arm back, pipe in hand like a javelin, and burning the remainder of my inner pool, the pipe flying like a missile as I kicked off the slab, rolling to a stop.
Rune dodged, surprised, but enough so that the pipe missed her center mass, instead plunging through her right torso. With a scream, she plummeted, and then jerkily flew away. I exhaled, and turned to sprint towards the remainder of the fight.
Only for it to be already over. Two more ABB were down, but the dozen or so skinheads told of their victory. The well-muscled man who had pulled me out of the way of Rune's concrete Taylor-seeker waved me over.
"Jin," he offered, as he held out his hand.
Surreally, I shook his hand, "I don't have a name yet."
He nodded, "That shadow trick was neat. And you saved our asses. Let's pick up the wounded and go back -"
A scream broke his words. At the edge of the clearing, a girl and man stood over one of the incapacitated ABB members. He was clutching his left arm, which ended in a stump, and rocking back and forth. The girl, her curved sword with a spattering of blood, pierced the unattached hand, and flicked it towards us. The man, leaning on a dumpster behind her, seemed to unfold into a thousand blades.
"You shouldn't play with your food," Hookwolf offered with a low chuckle, voice reverberating in his metal wolf mask.
Jin clapped my shoulder, and stepped up beside me.
Cricket laughed, and sliced the rocking man's other hand off, leaving him sobbing, curled into a fetal position.
"All yours. You know I don't like it when they don't fight back."
With a glimmer of metal, the crying ABB member seemed to come apart into pieces, accompanied by wet sounds and a pool of blood.
"Don't worry. I'll take my time with you, when it's my turn. I-" Hookwolf addressed us.
The crash of metal on concrete behind me broke his statement.
"No,"
A blast of fire blew Hookwolf into a dumpster.
"It's my turn," Lung said through his metal mask.
Accursed Fortune 2.5
"I'm surprised you haven't just left," Hookwolf said, breaking the stunned silence.
To my left, Jin said something, quickly and quietly, in a language I couldn't understand. Several of the still standing ABB members took off at a run, retreating. He nudged my hand. I looked down, and saw he was offering me a tire iron. I took it, clenching it tightly in my right hand.
My inner pool was empty, and I had spent enough from my outer that the next power would likely leave me lit up. I couldn't run without leaving the ABB members to probably be killed. The copper stink wafting my way changed that to 'certainly be killed'. Lung and Hookwolf would face off, leaving Cricket, with the sword, to wipe them out. I didn't have any good options.
"You should have," Lung rumbled. His voice was heavily accented, but deep. Scales covered portions of his body, totally up to maybe a tenth of his total surface area.
"Well, at least -" Hookwolf said, before he sprinted forward, a cacophony of metal on metal accompanying him as a tidal wave of blades erupted from his chest. Lung's second blast of fire blew him back off his feet, skidding. The smell of burning flesh joined that of blood. As Hookwolf emerged from the wafts of smoke surrounding him, patches of marred his skin. Or, on second look, flesh was only covering the metal underneath.
Meanwhile, Lung had lumbered – the sheer weight of him moving couldn't be called running – to a partial rafter that had survived Rune and I's fight. He carried it in a single hand, and with thudding steps went straight for Hookwolf. They met with a clash of metal and flesh on metal and flesh, with a side of woodsaw. Lung staggered back, bleeding, as Hookwolf flew back for the third time, trailing wood chips. The rafter-cum-baseball bat was but a stump.
"So I get you all? That hardly seems fair," turning, I cursed my inattentiveness. Cricket was only a dozen yards away, sword resting on her shoulder. I had nearly died from not paying attention.
"For you, dyke." Jin spat. Three ABB members spread out to my left and right each, with Jin to my left. "I'm surprised you showed up. Your Jew girlfriend kick you out of bed?"
Her hand tightened on her sword. "Thank you for making this more fun, then."
Lung roared, away from us, a surprisingly human sound of frustration. The crash of metal on metal was deafeningly loud.
She stalked towards us. One of the ABB members on my right rushed forward, and recieved a cut from thigh to ribcage for his impatience. The remaining five stepped back at that. Jin yelled something, in an non-understandable language again, waving his knife. The cut man's screamed warred with Jin's barked commands, and the men to my left and right seemed to waffle back and forth.
"You can run, of course." She said, stopping barely five yards from me. I reached down, grabbing a handful of dirt from behind me. "No takers?"
As I stood up, she rushed Jin and I. I tossed the dirt right for her face, burning outer energy, and her sword skidded off my tire iron, falling in between us. As the dirt impacted her face, an eerie green glow erupted out from me, drawing curses from my allies. Jin instead lunged forward, knife extended to Cricket's belly. She stepped back, bringing her sword up to block. The ABB members rushed her, as Jin recovered from having his knife knocked off course. Another step back, and she neatly sliced a man's throat, and his opposite's knife wielding arm. They fell down, with a gurgling moan and a scream, respectively.
Together, Jin and I lunged forward, his knife coming in for a slash at her hands, and my tire iron in an overhead crush. Again, even with dirt in her eyes, she dodged, left, and cut a third man's thigh open.
Jesus. We were down to four people in a fourth a minute. Jin faked another lunge, and she dodged towards me. I force my outer pool to burn as much as I could, swinging for her -
and nothing happened. The pool stayed at the same level, and I was in her range. My eyes widened, as her sword cut me in half. The fatally injured me came apart, and I reformed behind her, next to Jin.
The field around us was bathed in the eerie green light, now emanating with the strength of a noon-day sun. The shadows had returned, but they only covered the field around us in an inch deep ocean, pooling and swirling, splashing against buildings and people alike. Around us, a titanic bronze form exploded from the shadows, and took position above my head. The giant bronze spider, easily a dozen yards tall, dominated the sky, its legs coming down at the edges of the field.
Oh shit.
All of us still conscious on the field shielded our eyes at the sudden glaring brightness. "Neat tricks," Cricket said, before plunging her sword into the downed man's other thigh. "Not enough though."
She ran straight for me, sword held low, ignoring Jin, and I threw caution to the wind. I exploded into shadows as she thrust into me, and reforming, my tire iron swung at her head. She ducked, spun, close enough that I could see her teeth bared in a parody of a smile, and with an icy cold pain, sliced my middle from ribcage to hip. I gasped, and fell back onto my hands, tire iron skittering away.
Jin slashed at her, before stepping out of the way of a two handed slice, retreating. I pressed my hand to my abdomen, and felt hot blood staining soaking my clothes. Was this it? I tried to stop the bleeding, focusing my will, and it kept slipping away. Was this it? I didn't think I could survive this wound, and even if I could, I couldn't hit her. She had stabbed me right as I shifted out of my shadow-form. How?
How?
I got angry. Angry that I had failed, angry that I was weak, angry that I was going to die here in the dirt, buried as some gangbanger. It seared through my veins, burning my wound shut, and I turned rage to my body, furious that it was so weak. I screamed my rage, a noise more inhuman than Lung's, and sprinted for Cricket. Her sword flicked back, and sliced into my hoodie's arm. It bounced right off the inky black stone arm contained with in. Surprised, she ran away, back facing me. I swiped at her, claws cutting the air.
But every time, I missed, as she twisted out of the way of my swipes. She stopped, twisting to face me, and I matched her crazed grin. I crossed my arms to return the favor, claws posed to disembowel her. I lunged forward, and she sidestepped me, sword coming down in both hands from over her head, and it slammed into my shoulder. I could feel stone shattering, and it cut a divot an inch deep, straight through what would have been my collarbone. I screamed, and lost control of my lunge, rolling across the ground.
"For how many freaky powers you have, you sure suck," She said, boots kicking up dirt as she walked towards me. She stopped, looked up, surprised, and I heard a thud out of my sight. Hookwolf's voice echoed from his mask, a metallic rasp,
"Let's go. Kaiser will be angry if we get – Behind me!"
The night shattered with gunfire, impossibly loud. The dull rings of bullets hitting metal was barely discernible over the portable thunder. It tapered off, and stopped. I looked up, and saw Lung land with louder thud. He was now covered in scales, the largest bigger than my hand. In a voice that sounded tinny after so much gunfire, he barked something unintelligible. Jin responded, pointing, and Lung jumped away.
Jin crossed to me, and offered his hand again.
Accursed Fortune 2.6
I took it, careful not to claw him, and he pulled me up. I winced at my new injuries.
"You okay? You took a pair of hits there."
I nodded, suddenly tongue tied.
"Good. Help us out with the wounded?"
I nodded again, and carefully picked up the man who had been stabbed twice in the thighs. He moaned as I jostled him. Jin waved me over, a man slung over a shoulder. I followed him, slowly under the weight of another person.
Not 30 yards away, behind the building Rune and I had fought on, a line of pickups and sedans sat. ABB members were helping injured into the backs of vehicles, while others stood around, wielding both melee weapons and a motley collection of guns. An unarmed man and woman came up, and took the injured man from my arms. They placed him gently in the back of a truck, on some blankets, and the woman started compressing his cuts.
Of course, this was all illuminated by the now dimmer green glow extending from around me. It was dying down from mid noon to early morning in intensity. The light washed out the bright colors of the cars, and seemed to twist shadows into strange shapes, all around us. I needed it to go down, fast.
"Stone-girl?"
I turned to Jin, as he leaned on the rear end of the car in the front. He was wrapping his wrist, which had a minor cut. I hadn't noticed he'd been injured. At least one person had died tonight, and probably more would. Rune by my own hand. And who knew how injured the skinheads were. I suddenly felt exhausted, especially as the adrenaline wore off. I had gone out to help end the gang war, and I had probably only escalated it.
And the Empire Eighty-Eight probably – certainly – thought I was a member of the ABB. Luckily, my disguise still functioned, the scarf still secured around my false face. Even if it had slipped, it wouldn't help them ID me.
Unless they watched a lot of TV. And thought two reporters – both female – had a child. I nearly giggled, delirious.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Tired," I said, faintly.
He nodded. "Hold up, I've got something for you."
He reached into the open trunk of the lead sedan, and over his shoulder I could see a collection of tools, guns, and duffel bags. He threw something over his shoulder at me. I caught it on reflex, my claws splayed like a baseball glove. My eyes nearly bulged out of my head. A roll of money, a hundred dollar bill on top, wrapped in a rubber band sat in my hand. I carefully pinched it between two claws, and brought it closer.
It was more money than I had ever seen in my life.
"That's for helping out."
I looked back up in surprise. He must have read my body language, and elaborated as he got in the passenger seat of the sedan.
"You saved our asses. Rune would have killed us, and Cricket too. The boss will be pretty impressed. I'll spread the word. Just tell one of our boys you're the stone girl, and we will talk business."
I nodded absently, still stunned.
"Drop on by, then?"
I nodded again, this time jerkily at the invite to a gangster's hideaway.
With a wave, he said something to the driver, and they pulled out in a convoy. I waved back.
I started towards home, gently placing the roll of money in my jean pocket, pushing it in with a knuckle. I might even make it back home before my dad woke up.
I moved through the silent Docks. The gunfire and light show had scared everyone off, or at least inside.
It wasn't just the Empire Eighty-Eight who thought I was part of the ABB; they thought so too. Or, at least that I would make a great member. On examination, it made sense. They were down in manpower, and aside from their boss, who, admittedly counted for a lot, had no other parahumans. I may not have beaten Cricket, or even drawn, but I had beaten Rune, and intervened in their favor to start with.
They didn't know that I had only done so to keep the odds in my favor. I hadn't intended to support them at all, aside from a temporary alliance of convenience. And now they had paid me for my assistance. Apparently, I was also a mercenary now. Another giggle threatened to break out. I suppressed it. It would look odd for a girl made of stone, hands clawed, glowing green to be giggling.
My change hadn't receded. I could feel it like a second skin, different from my disguise. It was more like an imaginary muscle tensed, compared to wearing a cool suit. Another power learned, or earned. I still hadn't figured everything out yet. My glow finally sputtered down to the dim glow of embers.
I reached the last street that separated the Docks from the rest of the city. I was almost there. Even that curb across the street wasn't part of the Docks.
I tripped. Surprised, I caught myself, claws digging into asphalt. I pushed myself up, and saw the curb was now a few dozen yards away instead of a few. On the curb itself, a girl younger than me, wearing a white and green suit, alternating in wavy lines, with a skirt. Vista. Damn. I burst to her, at full speed. I knew she could change the actual distance between two points, crossing a block in a step, or making a step a mile. But she had no defense. I rushed forward, to catch her before she could get too far away.
The curb was getting farther and farther away. Even at a full, silent sprint I was being pushed back. It wasn't working, and I debated discorporating out of her affected area. I would gain a few yards, and then could take off at an angle- A hand on my shoulder startled me and -
- and I fell back, chained, and covered in a foam-like material. I looked up, and saw my captors, standing in front of a van. The glow of my mark had disappeared. Vista and a young man stood across from me, with two PRT officers aside them. He wore a skintight white costume, with a faceless white mask, decorated with clocks, some moving, others still.
Clockblocker.
Accursed Fortune 2.7
Oh no. Oh nonononono.
I was caught. I struggled, futilely. The foam didn't give, and I couldn't even hear the chains around my wrists rattle. Only my face was clear.
"She's awake," Clockblocker said. "You can stop moving."
I ignored him, trying to free my arms. I could burn part of it off, but several cubic yards of it? I didn't know.
"It won't do anything, so stop." He added.
Dawn could only be an hour or so away, and with it my dad waking. Would he wake to see my bed empty? Would he have to claim me from the PRT, who would say that 'Your daughter is in a gang, and tried to kill people last night'? Would Sophia be there? She had already tried to kill me before. If I was imprisoned, I'd be an easy find. I didn't have any inner pool, and my outer wasn't even close to full. I had one, maybe two uses before I went glowy or worse, super glowy with a big honking spider announcing to the world where I was.
"Let me go," I pleaded. I could almost feel the foam closing in on my head.
He shook his head. "You need to calm down, and then we can talk. You were talking to yourself back there."
"Please, let me go. I have to go," I repeated, urgently.
"Look, we do need to talk. And the last time you were free, you attacked Shadow Stalker."
"I attacked her? She attacked me!"
"And we can figure that out afterward. Just sit tight."
Afterward? After what? Would Shadow Stalker be there? Would Sophia take another shot if I was stuck in this foam? I had to get away, away from here, away from them-
I discorporated, Clockblocker shouting in surprise as I reformed with a green glow behind Vista. My left hand clamped like a vice around the back of her neck, and I positioned my right pointing right at her throat. My claws seemed to gleam in the light, the same shade as my fire.
"Stop!" I shouted.
All three of the stopped, Vista standing stock still.
"Stop," I repeated.
"Hey, calm down. If we can just calmly -" Clockblocker said soothingly, motioning his hands down.
"Shut. Up. Here is how it is going to go. You two, PRT officers. Take off your helmets."
They looked to each other.
I scratched Vista's cheek with my left thumb, and she gasped in surprise and pain. Oh please don't push me.
"Do you think I am joking!?" My voice was higher pitched, sounding slightly maniac.
They complied, rapidly. Surprisingly, one was a woman. I jutted my chin towards her.
"You, pick up your foam gun." She complied, picking it up.
I saw the muzzle swaying closer to me as she picked it up, "Away from me!"
"Keep trying, and you will see how long Vista takes to die without a throat. Is that what you want? Answers!"
All three of them said "No," Vista adding a watery one a second later. Oh god.
My voice now eerily calm, I jutted my chin again at the woman. "Now, if you follow my instructions, I'll leave, and let Vista go, unharmed. Woman, foam Clockblocker."
The up-teched supersoaker sprayed an off white liquid, which expanded into a yellow-white foam that engulfed him up to his armpits. I knew that it was resistant to parahuman's powers, and it should keep him stuck as I made my escape.
"Hands too," I ordered. A pair of quick sprays covered them, inflating, turning him into a demented snowman.
"Now your partner, and then yourself. Up to the necks."
As she sprayed her partner, Clockblocker spoke, "You don't have to do this, we just want to talk- "
Another scratch from my thumb, and Vista shrieked. Talk, after they sucker punched me? No. They had finally caught me, and only luck had saved me from encountering a heavier team. He fell silent with Vista's shriek.
"I don't believe you and I don't want to hear it."
The woman finished her partner, and held the gun above her head, spraying down her front, eyes on me the whole time. I nearly shivered at the anger and hate I saw there. Finally, the gun was absorbed into its own spray, jutting out by her head like a flag pole.
"Now, I am leaving. With Vista." She gave a sob at that, "If I see anyone pursuing me, I will tear out her throat with these," I shook my right hand for emphasis.
"If I so much as hear Armsmaster's motorcyle, you can tell Vista's parents that you were stupid, and got her killed. You will not call this in, and then Vista will be found this morning alive. Understand?"
They all stated their agreement, and Vista started crying softly.
I turned, tucking her under my arm, and sprinted in the direction of home. Silent but for Vista.
Nearly two miles away, I slowed to a walk. Vista had fallen into sniffles long ago.
"Please, you don't-"
"If you be quiet and don't struggle, you'll be fine," I cut across her, trying to be reassuring.
I think I failed.
I found what I was looking for: A dumpster set farther away from the wall. Someone had moved it out, and tagged it with graffiti. I lifted Vista up. "Open the lid."
She complied with shaking hands, and then with a shriek of surprise as I threw her in. I dropped to a squat, and straining, flipped it on to its back, the flaps forced shut against the building. Trash shifted, and Vista shouted inside.
Exhausted, I sprinted away, running on fumes.
I made it home, unseen. The kitchen door was still unlocked, and as I walked through it I shed both my disguise and armor. I nearly collapsed in relief, as the clock showed 5:12 am. On heavy legs, I stumbled into the bathroom. I couldn't use the shower without waking dad, so I stripped, and wiped down with wet toilet paper, removing the dried blood down my front. The dent in my shoulder was a much deeper but thinner cut, and it bleed profusely until I stopped it.
I looked at myself in the mirror. What had I done tonight?
I shuffled out of the bathroom, my feet feeling like lead weights. I dropped my stained, bloody costume in a pile, and kicked it out of sight of the door. I flopped on bed, wearing a towel, and promptly passed out.
CHAPTER TWO: END
Interlude 2.
A set of teenagers in colorful clothing shuffled into the lobby of the PRT building. Various burns, cuts, and scrapes covered them. They were quiet, not even talking among themselves.
Director Piggot, Clockblocker and several PRT officers met them. Together, they walked, still silent, past a security checkpoint and into a large dome shaped room. The Director strode to a closer alcove, and collapsed into a chair with a sigh. In front of her, the various Wards quietly scrambled for seats in an orderly fashion, leaving a red suit young man standing.
"Aegis, debrief." The Director spoke, gesturing towards the table. Aegis, who's red costume covered the majority of his body, nodded. His face, however, was visible, and the majority of it was covered in burns. He leaned up against the table, and gestured at his throat. A slight discoloration marred his suit.
"Your throat?"
He nodded again.
"Triumph, you will do the debrief then. Now, as I'm sure you are all wondering, Vista is fine."
The subtle tension that had permeated the room released, and the Wards relaxed a fraction.
"We found her in a dumpster, by tracking her phone after we freed Clockblocker and Officers Meloni and Hargitay. Aside from a pair of scratches on her cheek, and being covered in trash, she is fine. Physically."
Clockblocker, at her right hand, slumped farther into his seat.
"Mentally, she is still shaken up. But she is expected to make a full recovery."
She paused, looking at Clockblocker.
"I will say that you two, and my officers, made the right decision with the knowledge you had. And now we have more knowledge about her, and we can count this one as a draw. Had Lung and Hookwolf not drawn every other cape in the Bay, you would have had support right away."
Clockblocker looked up, relieved.
"In the future, do a be a bit more careful, though. You did get very lucky that she didn't attack you. Now-"
The steel door to the room opened with a hiss of air, and Miss Militia walked in. She nodded to the Wards, and leaned against the wall behind the Director.
"Now, Triumph, debrief."
Triumph cleared his throat, and brushed some dust off.
"About the time that spider showed up in the sky, the Protectorate received calls from citizens that some sort of parahuman fight was occurring. We don't know the original participants, but we know it was between the ABB and the Empire Eighty-Eight. At some point, either Lung or Hookwolf arrived first, or they both arrived at the same time. Regardless, they started fighting each other, and as the collateral damage mounted, we arrived on the scene."
He grimaced. "And we were unable to capture Lung; His fire blasts hit Aegis dead on, and Armsmaster ordered us back. At that point, all of us – Protectorate and Wards – focused on Hookwolf. We were able to bury him in containment foam after Miss Militia used a rocket launcher to stun him."
Director Piggot interrupted, "And he was captured – he is in a containment cell right now. Very good, Triumph. It'll be a shame for the Wards to lose you. Now, on to Clockblocker."
Clockblocker, who's head had been in his hands, looked up. He seemed lost for a moment, before he straightened in his seat, and spoke.
"We were on our way to support against Lung and Hookwolf, when we saw a girl walking. She was glowing green – the same green as all of the lights – and most importantly, she had the same mark that Shadow Stalker talked about. A black disk that sucked in light. We called in for reinforcements, and were informed that none could be spared at the moment."
"So, we drove up half a mile ahead of her where she was walking, and laid a trap. I hid across the street from Vista, and when she was halfway across, muttering to herself and looking down, Vista warped it so she had a football field to go. She started sprinting towards Vista, so I followed the plan, and tagged her as she focused on Vista. It was over quick enough that the foam was only sprayed on after she was out and chained."
He sighed. "And then, when she woke up, she started freaking out. Saying that she had to get out, and when I said we had to keep her down because she had attacked Shadow Stalker, she said the opposite had happened. After that, she turned into shadows, and grabbed Vista from behind."
Kid Win interrupted, "So no shadow clones?"
Clockblocker shook his head. "No, only her. My guess is that she did the same stunt right in front of Shadow Stalker, and so she thought that what was a bunch of shadowy smoke masquerading as a human was actually the girl reforming behind her. Also, she was made of stone. Black stone, claws included, from what little I could see of her face and hands."
Kid Win queried again, "So not a Striker/Master?"
"Not that I could see. I'm thinking she shifted her hand into fire, and was able to move it into Shadow Stalker's wound."
The phone in the middle of the table rang, interrupting his explanation. At the Director's nod, Kid Win hit the answer key. "Wards HQ."
"Guys?" Vista's voice answered.
"Vista!" The room answered in a shout. A series of quick looks between the seated Wards decided priorities, and Clockblocker spoke,
"Vista, how are you?"
"Alright, just a little shook up. And smelly." A few quick chuckles, and the room seemed that much lighter.
"We were just discussing the girl's powers. So far we've got the shadow form, made of stone, claws, the fire, anything else?"
"She did flip the dumpster fairly easily. And she ran, fast, even when carrying me."
"Thanks, Vista. We are all really glad you are okay."
"Me too."
Director Piggot interjected, "Same from us, Vista. Now, we will classify her as a Changer 6, Striker 4, Breaker 3, Shaker 1, Brute 1 to start with. We do need a name, however."
"And if she is a villain or not?" Kid Win added.
Clockblocker supplied, "Shouldn't she be, though? I mean, she was coming right from the ABB and Empire Eighty-Eight fight. Her light popped up right there."
Triumph countered, "But we don't know, and for all we know, she could have intervened in the fight."
Clockblocker retorted, hotly, "And grabbing Vista was just a game between friends, than?"
"Or maybe she was upset after getting sucker punched," Triumph snapped.
"Gentlemen." Director Piggot silenced them with a word. "Clearly, we don't have enough information, and we can't make a decision at this time. We won't call her a villain, but we won't call her a hero. I'll make a note of it. Now, name?"
"Eyesore? Landfill?" Clockblocker offered.
Kid Win raised his eyebrows, "I get the first one, but why the other?"
"Because every place she goes, everything dies and turns rusted or bronze."
Triumph snorted. "We can't give her a crappy name after she got the jump on us, right back at us."
"Skitter?"
"No, aside from the giant spider, not close."
Vista mumbled something over the open line.
"What was that?"
She repeated herself, to general agreement from the room.
ATTENTION: TO ALL PRT OFFICES
PARAHUMAN REPORT:
NAME: DEFILER
REAL NAME: UNKOWN
SEX: FEMALE/?
MEASUREMENTS: UNKNOWN/?
CLASSIFICATION: CHANGER 6/STRIKER 4/BREAKER 3/SHAKER 1?
ALLEGIANCE: ?
HISTORY: (Warning: Information has not been verified)
First appearing post-Event BB-Zero, and currently believed to be the party behind BB-One and BB-Two. Approach with caution, as intentions are unknown, and -
- And at that, was named and classified.
POWERS:
Defiler appears to be able to shift into different forms of matter, so far demonstrating a human form, see below, a smoke form (which allows a form of short-ranged teleportation by rapidly changing back and forth), and a form of solid rock, with added claws.
The claws could indicate the ability to change shape in addition to matter. If so, her ratings will increase accordingly.
In addition, she is able to emanate a green glow, which can increase in intensity to roughly mid-day sunlight, at which point a large bronze shape appears (Current theory- spider. Unconfirmed.)
She is also able to run at peak human speeds for at least 15 minutes, and lift a dumpster with sufficient leverage afterwards.
Finally, she has some sort of short range pyrokinesis. It is unknown if she bypasses the Manton Effect, but entirely possible at this juncture.
[Classified, Directors Only]
Theorized to be the cause of the precog-interrupting effect centering on Brockton Bay.
If so, Thinker rating non-classifiable at this time.