Interlude Sophia
She couldn't believe it. That fucking bitch Hebert went and got powers.
And Hebert didn't even do that right.
Teleportation and fire that didn't burn? How much more of a scaredy-cat cat bitch could Hebert be?
She shook her head and tried to find a comfortable position on the hospital bed.
Her attempts fell short as the tinker cuffs pulled tight against the bed frame.
Fucking tinkers.
Fucking Armsmaster.
And fucking Fuck Taylor Hebert!
Pain clenched her stomach and she reflexively curled against the pain.
What had that quack doctor told her? Something about having her internal organs pulped?
Whatever.
If Panacea did her fucking job right then she should have been good as new.
Real fucking typical that the useless bitch had done a half assed job putting her back together.
She tugged at the cuffs again.
Fuck.
Outside her room she could hear the PRT guards changing shifts.
Big fucking deal.
It's not like they could stop her. The damn cuffs were the only thing in this whole damn hospital that was keeping her here.
A knock on the door. One of the troopers entered, phone in hand.
"Fuck off, no pictures." She said.
"I am not here for pictures Miss Hess." A voice from the phone.
"Who the fuck are you to use my name!" She demanded.
"I've never been one for the rules of others. Much like yourself in fact. The difference being, of course, I do not play by the rules of any but my own. Whereas you are still bound by them."
"Fuck you!" She spat.
"The truth hurts my dear." The voice taunted.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"To hire you."
That gave her pause.
"You have skills I want in my employ and you want freedom that I can provide."
"After your little speech about rules? Fuck off." She spat onto the phone.
The trooper drew his side arm and leveled it at her head.
"I urge you to reconsider Miss Hess. Your alternative is so very...final, shall we say."
She couldn't believe this shit. "You haven't even told me who you are."
"No. I haven't." The voice agreed. "Make your decision."
"How do I know this isn't some kind of PRT trap?" She stalled for time. "This whole thing just to make sure I go away?"
"Oh, my dear, you already are being swept under the rug as we speak. Your little run in with Miss Hebert was enough to tip the scales on your probation. All that is left is the performance in court. I daresay that the scripts have already been written and passed to the appropriate persons. All that's left is the show."
He knew about Hebert. While she didn't give a fuck about Hebert beyond maybe putting a bolt in her gut, the fact that this man knew about her showed a dangerous level of information gathering ability.
"What kind of job?" Couldn't hurt to hear him out.
"Whatever I require."
She bristled at the smug tone.
A glance down the barrel of the trooper's sidearm was reason enough to keep her opinions to herself.
No, she would bide her time. She was a true predator and this man on the phone would pay for trying to make her the prey.
"Fine. Just get me out of here,"
.
She was free. Mostly.
On her way to jail after a sham trial, where she was tried as an adult at sixteen, she might add, her PRT escort had stopped the van. They had unlocked her cuffs, opened the doors for her to get out and passed her a cheap cellphone to use as a burner.
It was probably tapped by her new 'employer'
Then the drove off and left her like so much trash on the side of the road. She would show them. All of them. She would make them pay.
Pain gripped her intestines and she doubled over in reflex.
But first, Hebert.
.
"Oh, FUCK no!" Tattletale swore.
She shared the same opinion. She was supposed to help these shitty villains pull off a high-profile bank robbery. "Not any better from over here." She snapped back at Tattletale.
"There is no way the boss put you up to working for us." Tattletale glared at her.
"I don't work for you." She spat. "I don't work for your boss. I'm paying a debt."
Tattletale rolled her eyes. "Keep telling yourself that."
"Fuck you." She literally spat in Tattletales direction.
"Classy." The Renaissance Reject dead panned.
She held her tongue. It wasn't worth it.
"Whatever." Tattletale shook her head. "The boss needs this done so we are getting it done." Tattletale gestured to the rest of the Undersiders. "You can patrol the perimeter and delay or ambush any response we get."
"Why should I?" She asked
"Cause the boss is paying you to and your power is best for running away." Tattletale gave a stupid fucking grin.
She snarled at the bitch, "You calling me a coward?"
"The shoe fits." Tattletale made it a statement rather than a taunting question.
"Why don't we stop there." The skull masked Grue stepped between her and Tattletale. "We'll all know our jobs and now you know yours. Let's get this done and get paid."
She held her crossbow tighter. Grue was the son of a bitch that all but took away her powers. "Fine," was all she said.
.
She pulled out the cheap burner phone she had picked up just for this occasion. The annoying lady on the other end of the PRT tip line read her script. "There a couple of kids dressed funny and wearing masks out behind Brockton Central Bank. I think they saw me I have to go." She hung up and tossed the phone off the roof into the overstuffed dumpster in the alley below. The PRT would track the phone and if she had simply disabled it then the call would have become suspect.
She jumped and used her power to glide across the Main Street. She would place another call, this time to Brockton PD. She would report a suspicious vehicle in the alley next to the bank. Maybe she would report people in masks just to get a better chance that PD would kick it over to the PRT.
She settled into a shadowed overhang out of the sun, the main issue with a black costume. She knew she wouldn't have to wait long for the PRT to swing a hero this way. Now it was all a question of who.
.
She couldn't believe her luck. She got to screw over those Undersider assholes and fuck with her old team. Actually, this was the perfect time for payback.
Those fucks wanted to side with Hebert over her? They would pay.
Gallant and Vista stood overlooking the Bank from an adjacent rooftop. The dumbasses were not even checking their backs.
She approached in her shadow form. If they turned then they would easily see her in the broad daylight.
But they would never hear her coming.
She would have to strike fast to get both of them.
A white blue shot over their heads and into the Bank's windows.
"Go go go!" Gallant urged into his radio.
This was her chance.
She increased her speed and phased back into her body. With a leap like she was performing the Long Jump she planted both feet into Gallant's armored back.
It was enough to pitch him over the edge to the street below.
She didn't have time to see the results. She spun on Vista and fired her crossbow.
The steel bolt pierced the protective weave of the girl's skirt and the knee it covered.
Vista fell, screaming. It was probably the first real serious injury the girl had experienced. She kicked her in the head to silence her, uncaring as to the degree of damage she inflicted.
She looked over the edge to see if Gallant was going to be a problem.
He wasn't.
It looked like he wasn't able to control his fall and was now laying immobile on the sidewalk below, rubberneckers gathering around. She recognized the white costumed idiot trying to push his way through.
Clockblocker.
She phased into her other form and floated down towards him. This asshole had it coming. He never knew when to shut his damn mouth.
This time there was no one to stop her from shutting it for him.
She landed behind him just as he reached Gallant.
"Shit G you alright?" Clockblocker bent down to check.
She phased back into her physical form and raised her crossbow like a club.
"Lookout!" One of the damn rubbernecking assholes shouted a warning to Clockblocker. She had to abort her attack to dodge Clock's reflexive swing and use of his power. Now that he knew she was here she was going to have to get creative. A quick pull at the lever of her crossbow and she had another bolt loaded and ready.
"Stalker?" Clockblocker questioned like an idiot. "What the fuck."
They were so close she didn't need to aim. She fired her crossbow from her hip and the bolt struck him in the stomach.
Or it would have if he didn't freeze it with his power as soon as it touched his skin. He was quick with his power she would give him that.
But she knew his weakness.
She knew the short time between uses of his power where he could not use it.
She knew she had roughly five seconds before he could potentially freeze her in place.
She phased out into her other form and flowed past him. She needed his attention on her and predictably her turned to face her. She phased back into her body just as soon as she was past him and shoved into him.
Clockblocker let out a sharp gasp as he was pushed back against the bolt that he had frozen in time. The force of her shove had impaled Clockblocker with the bolt and now he was stuck there. The best part of this plan, in her opinion, was that when the bolt unfroze it would continue on its trajectory with the same force. The mental image of that brought a smile to her face.
Though it didn't last. Wards patrolled in teams of two. Vista had been with Gallant, so who was paired with Clockblocker?
She turned her head to the bank. Whoever it was was likely in the bank.
In the distance she could make out the telltale sirens of PRT vehicles. If they were sending PRT to support the Wards, then chances were that one or two full Protectorate members would show up just in case.
It was time to go. She was reasonably free and living her own life. No reason to risk that now.
The Undersiders were on their own.
Besides she had to plan her revenge on Hebert.
.
Author's Note: Hmmmm I have to admit I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I'm not even sure I want to post it, but I don't want to just throw away the time I spent on it either... maybe it's fine and I'm just having an off day. Feel free and drop me a review to let me know so I can figure out Lisa's Interlude.
In the meantime, I think I will do a conversation between Armsmaster and Dragon as the next interlude. I will wait on the other one so I can get your reactions from Sophia's before I start on Lisa's.
Huge Thank You to those of you whom have Favorited and or Followed. The numbers keep climbing and it's so exciting that I have to remind myself to cool it when writing so I don't go off on some cheesy tangent. Like I had this idea that I thought was really great at the time that basically was a chapter centered around Taylor and Lisa having one of their friend days and running into Dean and Victoria while they are out on a date. Then Vicky gets the idea to do a double date and Lisa, being Lisa, does her thing to make it both amazing and embarrassing for Taylor. Smiles all around really.
Hmm. Maybe as a One Shot posted separately from this one? Let me know what you think!
And so, before I get distracted again, I wanted to thank you guys for all the reviews! Even the ones that are not so positive, you guys are being specific about what you don't like and where mistakes are and I appreciate that. But still the positive reviews are my favorite :)
Thanks Again!
K. Raiden