Edit: Auto-correct did a number on this chapter but I think I have fixed it.
A Light in the Dark 1-6
"Ahhh-chooo!" Ugh I knew I was going to get sick. I sniffed and shuffled my way over to the stove to start boiling water for tea. With any luck I can get ahead of it and keep it from being too bad.
"Taylor was that you I heard?" Dad called down the stairs.
"Yeah." I called back up.
"You sick?" Dad asked as he walked into the kitchen. "I know it has been cold the last few days." He placed his palm on my forehead.
"Supposed to use the back of your hand." I said.
"Huh?" Dad looked bewildered "Why?"
I couldn't tell him cause that was they way mom had always done it, so I just shrugged.
"I'm pretty sure that's just for checking doors in case of a fire kiddo. If your forehead is that hot then I think your hair would have caught fire." He laughed at his own joke.
I just rolled my eyes and turned back to check the water for my tea.
"Maybe you should take the bus to the library this week." Dad put a couple of bills on the countertop. "If the weather doesn't let up, then next week too."
"Dad I have a bus pass I don't need money to ride the bus."
Dad turned to me the ghost of shame in his expression. "Then use it to make sure you eat someething hot for lunch. That's got to be good for fighting a cold."
"Thanks dad." I gave him a smile to show I appreciated his effort. It seemed to perk him up a bit so I'll count that as a success.
Dad grabbed his keys and was about to head out the door when he stopped. "Be careful today Taylor. Kurt called this morning and said there is more gang activity than usual this morning, something about villains and a casino."
I rolled my eyes where he could see. "Yeah dad cause I'm a hero and I'm going to hat up and go all super on the gangs." I thought I would get a laugh or maybe a chuckle at the very least.
All I got was a silent, slight frown. "Just be careful okay?"
"I will dad." Was all I could say.
I decided to skip the library today. Potentially sick or not I wanted to see what the gangs were up to if it was worrying the Dockworkers Association.
This would be the first time I would be going out in daylight as a cape. With the increased visibility I was a little nervous but I needed to see for myself. Needed to feel like I was a Hero.
It was still quite chilly out even with the sun unobstructed by clouds so I would be wearing both my too large hoodie and hideous jacket. Focusing on the roof top I wanted I was off.
It's weird. The city felt so much more open, so much bigger during the day. From where I was I felt like there were more streets, more buildings, more everything. I turned towards the docks. As it was my house wasn't that far from the docks and thankfully out of the reach of the ABB's protection racket.
The Docks. Wasn't that where those lizard dogs were heading? Good place to hide I guess. The docks were a real shit hole in some places. Abandoned buildings abounded and other buildings that were legally condemned still held occupants whom could afford nowhere else. Then of course there was the ABB. Don't get me wrong. It's not as if they go around smashing windows or destroying cars, so long as you were up on your protection payment of course. Word around Winslow is the gang actually maintains a lot of the small stores and apartments in the core of the Docks.
So much the better to keep your money flowing if everyone doesn't move out.
My destination chosen I made the teleporting jumps at a leisurely pace. Ending atop an abandoned brick factory building or some such. All was quiet except I could hear a dog barking inside the building I stood on. Sounded like a medium to small dog. Probably a stray. That made me frown. I like dogs, never owned one but still I like them well enough that seeing one without out a home is sad. Well, best not disturb this one's improvised home, I focused on the next building and made the jump leaving the factory behind.
I came across my first crime in one of the seedier areas. A young man was trying to jimmy his way into a beat up car. I called a ball of fire, electric purple, to my right hand. Purple? That was rare. I almost never get those.
Well I took aim and threw it down into the street near the would be car thief.
The flash of exploding purple fire, only as big as a modest beach ball, plus the noise of it, sufficiently startled the thief. So much in fact he nearly smacked himself in the face with the slim jim.
"Whoozat?" The man slurred.
A drunk? Druggie most like.
I called a pair of fireballs, one in each hand, and used them to get the attention of the thief and illuminate me in what I hoped was an eerie if not intimidating fashion.
The thief squinted up at me. "Tha fuck you want?"
I tossed the fire in my left hand to land in front of the man. The force of it spraying the man's legs with loose bits of grit that accumulated on the sides of the streets.
"Ayyy!" The man covered his face dropping the slim jim. He looked back up at me then at something past me to my left face twisting into an indiscernible expression. "Alrigh' alrigh', I'm goin'" he shuffled off down the street and turned the nearest corner out of sight.
"Pbbpt." The sound of a someone trying to hold in a laugh was unmistakable.
I turned slowly to find the lizard dogs with three riders looking back at me from the other end of the roof top. I hadn't even heard them land on the roof. I looked past them. The distance between buildings wasn't actually all that far for something the size of the dogs. They may not even had to have needed to do much more than a stretching step to cross.
My confusion must have been evident because one of the riders, a lanky guy wearing a loose white shirt that belongs in a Romeo and Juliet play, and leggings was holding his stomach as he leaned on his dog thing for support as he laughed. If I could see his face behind the mask I would bet he had the beginnings of tears in his eyes from the way he was yucking it up.
"Your the guy-, no, girl we saw the other night." This time it was a slender girl, maybe a young woman, dirty blonde hair wearing a skin tight purple suit that had some sort of design on the chest. I shoved the flash of jealousy of her bust size down. "So what are you supposed to be? A Homeless Hero?" She snarked.
God damnit.
"No not homeless. A hero on a budget then." The blonde tapped a finger to her chin. "So new girl what's your deal?"
I didn't answer I checked out the third rider. A burlish, girl if I had to guess, that wore a plastic dog mask. The girl growled at me when our eyes met. Actually growled. Weird.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" The purple girl waved her arms around to get my attention.
I intended to take a step back but I took a step forward instead.
"Easy there new girl. We're not here to fight." Purple girl explained."What's you cape name anyway?"
"Willow Wisp." I answered simply.
Purple girl tapped her chin again. "Cause of the fire, huh."
"That's stupid" wannabe Romeo snorted.
"Ignore Regent, everyone else does." The girl said offhandedly.
"Fuck You Tats." The boy said without heat.
"Not even to save your life Reg." Was what was most definitely a frequently repeated response. "Anyway, I'm Tattletale and the idiot is Regent. And-" Tattletale waved a hand at the other girl. "That is Bitch. Her choice." She preempted my internal question.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"For you to get rid of the fire for one." Tattletale nodded to my right.
Fire? I raised my right hand to see the fire ball I had previously held had now wreathed my hand in blue silently burning flames.
That's new.
I shook my hand as if trying to get rid of excess water and the flames winked out.
"Thanks." The girl slid down from the dog thing. "So listen capes don't last that long solo and I know you got the hero thing in your head but I want you to think about maybe joining us."
"What?" Bitch snarled.
I can't help but think that cape name is perfect for the girl.
"Hang on Bitch-"
God it had to be cathartic to have a teammate called Bitch.
"-it's just a little recruitment pitch." Tattletale soothed.
"And what if she says yes then what?" Bitch snarled back.
"She won't. She's -"
"Then why the fuck are you asking her?"
"Bitch please- "
Heh
"- just listen to me for a sec-."
Bitch ignored her, "You ain't the leader. If we're not going to fight I'm leaving." She let out a piercing whistle and the three dog things turned and bounded of the roof.
"Whoa-" Regent scrabbled for a grip on his suddenly moving mount, found purchase briefly, then lost his grip and fell in a sprawling roll onto the adjacent roof top.
Tattletale let out a long frustrated breath.
Regent stood up and brushed himself off and sauntered over to the edge of his building and looked over the edge, whistled and stepped back. "Hey Tattletale, I'm stuck over here."
"I hate today." Tattletale grumbled loud enough for me to hear. "Wait a minute." She called back to Regent.
She turned to me placing a strained smile on her face. "Like I was sayin-"
"I don't want to wait."
Tattletale's eye twitched but she ignored Regent, "Care to join up?"
"Hell no." I said like it was obvious. Let's be honest after that performance I was willing to bet I had even odds Tattletale would join me if I asked.
"Thought so, but has to ask. How about a non aggression pact then?" She suggested.
"A non aggression pact?" I questioned.
"It's when two sides agree to not attack each other even if they do not cooperate." She explained.
"I know what it is." I dead panned. "I want to know why?"
"Shit, you are a solo hero. New to the scene, you have no back up, nothing in the way of support, you don't even really have a costume."
Ouch
"Technically the Undersiders, that's our group name by the way, are villains. We out number you and would win a fight."
I tensed up a bit ready to throw down with this girl if I had to.
"But we don't really do confrontations." She continued ignoring the change in my posture. "So here is the deal, you come across us, you leave us alone."
"I'm a hero." I said, though that was true only in that I wasn't a villain.
"Well technically, you are a rogue cape. Neither hero nor villain, not even a vigilante yet." She waved that line of thought away with her hand. "Okay how about this so long as we are not hurting anyone or putting anyone in danger then you leave us be, yeah?"
"Doesn't that kinda come with the villain territory?" I asked.
"For some." She shrugged. "But we don't hurt anyone if we can avoid it."
"Then what makes you a villain?"
"PR mostly." She let out a quiet little laugh as if she made a little joke. "But really, out group has stolen a few things. The big one on the hero radar is the ATMs we tore up last month."
"That was you?"
"Well the dogs really but it's kinda a group thing."
I'm skeptical. "How can I be a hero and just ignore it if I see you tearing up a ATM?"
"It's not hurting anyone and you couldn't stop us anyway." She said matter of factly.
"What do I get out of it?" I asked more to stall for time than as an actual question.
"We could pay you for one." She hummed in thought. "but no, you wouldn't take it would you? To close to villainy." She waggled her fingers to put a silly emphasis on the word villainy. "How about I pass you information then. Crimes that we are not a part of that you could stop. Or places with capes that you should avoid stuff like that."
"I don't have a phone."
"Easily fixed. And I will be the only one with your number."
It's not a bad deal. I mean how often would I run into these guys really?
"Okay how about this, if you catch us directly hurting people then the deal is void."
"Alight, fine." It's not I could do anything but harass them if I did catch them doing something illegal anyway.
Tattletale beamed. "Great where do you want to meet so I can give you a burner phone?"
"Burner phone?"
"A cheap ass phone that has a preset amount of call time on it that you can just throw away. Usually you only use it to contact one or two numbers that you would otherwise not call or communicate with." She was all too happy to elaborate. "Just about every cape has one. Most villains have 2 or three."
"Why would a hero need one?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Would you want to hand the PRT your phone number? What if you lost it in a fight? Would a hero want a villain to have a phone with all their personal info in it? Info about their families?"
She had a point.
Tattletale looked around the roof with a frown. "I don't suppose you have a way down from here?"
Too easy, "Jump?"
She fixed me with an unamused look. "Not funny."
I thought about it. I could leave them here. Their teammate would come back eventually. I mean they had too, right?.
"So do you fly or what?" Tattletale asked.
"I wish I could fly."
"Don't we all" Tattletale agreed. "Do what is it? You got up here somehow. Super agility? Wall climbing? Telepo-"
"Teleported." I interrupted.
"I was getting to that." Tattletale huffed.
"I don't know if I can take you with me."
Tattletale frowned. "I guess that's difficult to test when you are by yourself."
I wasn't about to admit that I had hardly thought about it.
"Well I'd just as rather not be picked up by a patrolling hero, or god forbid the Wards." Tattletale feigned a shudder. "How do you want to do this?"
I reach out my hand for hers and when she grasped it I focused on the alley next to the building. Then I was there minus one Tattletale. I focused in the roof again and I was back.
"Hmmmm." Tattletale dragged out a hum of thought. "It felt like you pulled on my hand for a second then nothing, you were gone. Try two hands."
We did. Another failure.
"Okay better." She said. "Proximity based maybe?" She stepped up into my personal space and it took everything I had not to step away. "Try now." She said taking my hands."
I focused on the thought of the two of us in the alleyway. This time I felt it. Like I was trying to carry something without having a proper hold on it. Just slipping out of my grasp. I returned to find Tattletale looking a bit dazed and nauseous.
"I think I almost had it that time."
"Ugh." She rubbed her head. "I think so too."
"You okay?" I asked.
"Serious headache starting up." She gave a crooked smile. "One more try. This time she really freaked me out. Before I could react she pressed her body close, snaking her hands around my torso underneath my jacket, pulling herself tighter against me. Her face so close to mine I could feel her breath on my neck. I was so far out of my comfort zone that I teleported on instinct. Somewhere safe.
A full twelve miles and some change.
To land in my room.
On my bed.
With Tattletale still wrapped around me.
"Shit."
Author Note: No I haven't forgotten I left regent on a lonely roof top. That will be a quick interlude chapter that will probably come out next.
Let me know if the dialogue doesn't read properly. I only gave it a quick look through before posting this before bed. This chapter kinda ran away from me but I like it, so, yay. I know there might be some flak from this but bear with it, it will pan out eventually. Horray and THANK YOU to those of you whom have fav/followed A light in the Dark. I didn't really expect this story to take off so well with in the few chapters it has.