Read aloud to me alt Taylor

by Kahlil Johnson

Dnd

32. Fairy

The Reaping - Part 1:

I was gasping for breath as I rounded the corner. I had taken up running after...the incident, had decided to get into shape. Even after two months, even with all the improvement that I had seen in myself, I wasn't able to handle this. I collapsed onto the grass, thankful that I had made it to a park before needing to do so.

This might be the worst torture I had ever endured.

"Come on, Hebert. This is pathetic."

I grimaced at the voice. I had been trying to keep my cool all morning, but there was only so much I could take. "Not all of us have Track experience under our belts, Sophia."

"Even without Track, I'd be able to outrun you." Sophia said. "Hell, I've seen toddlers run better than you. No wonder we were always able to catch you so easy."

I felt my grimace grow, and knew I was baring my teeth. Come on, Taylor. Don't ley her get to you. You're better than this. You have to be.

"You gonna get up?" Sophia asked. "Or are you gonna give up...?"

The way she said it, I could pick up the subtext. Are you gonna give up like you always do?

I took a few deep breaths, relishing the feeling of the air in my lungs, and pushed myself to my feet. I took a quick glance at my watch. 5:37 AM. I rolled my eyes. I used to get up at 6:30 for my runs. I had figured that was early enough.

Sophia had disagreed. My new running partner demanded I get up at 5, and run until 6:30. Apparently it was the same schedule she had kept since she had gotten into running.

I hated her for pushing me into her schedule. Among other things.

I could practically feel her own disdain for me as she spoke. "Bout time. Back to it, Hebert. Don't wanna sit still too long and draw gang attention, do we?"

"No gang members will be up this early." I shot back, starting to move again.

"They could be if they didn't sleep yet."

I groaned, and picked up the pace. It was a valid point. We both knew gang members could easily be up at this time. That they could easily try to take advantage of us.

Just as we knew that would be their mistake. We could take them. Any normal gang member, anyway. Easily, too, with our powers. The only issue would be if one of the Capes involved in a gang showed up.

Even then, I knew that wouldn't be that much of a problem. We could take them.

I could take them, anyway...

"Jesus, listen to you gasp for air. You think you can cut it as a hero when you can't even go for an easy run?" Sophia asked.

"This...isn't an easy...run..." I said between gasps.

"Sure it is." I could hear the joy in her voice. She was loving this. Loved causing me any sort of discomfort.

Even after everything.

We continued in silence. Luckily, one of the few things we agreed on what a hatred for small talk. If neither of us had anything to say, we could let time pass in silence.

For my part, I was able to keep a quick, steady pace until we reached the stretch of this route that I hated the most. One of Sophia's little barbs at me. I knew this had to have played into why she had chosen this route.

I looked the other way as we walked past the cemetery. I didn't need the reminders of my past guilt on my head. I had already suffered enough because of my past decisions.

I would keep suffering, too. Probably forever.

Maybe I deserved it.

"You're picking up speed, now." Sophia said.

I grumbled a response. She knew why I was moving faster. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of hearing me say it. Not again.

We fell back into silence after her attempt to provoke me failed. I glanced at my watch as we finally made it back into my neighborhood. 6:21. My dad would just be getting up to get into the shower.

And he would hopefully not notice that I was gone. He hadn't like me running in the mornings at all. He had been ecstatic when I told him I was switching to afternoon runs. Which, to be fair, I had.

I just hadn't given up the morning runs when I did.

"Well, you weren't as pathetic today as you have been." Sophia said.

"Gee, thanks. So kind of you to say." I responded. "I still say your regimen is insane."

"Hey, I didn't ask to be here, you know? If I'm stuck with you, then you're gonna quit being so pathetic."

I looked down at the ground, as we approached my back door.

"Right..." I decided not to point out that I hadn't asked for her to be here, either. It was, as far as I could figure, as much her fault as mine...

Or maybe I'm just trying to lessen my own guilt...

I sighed as I stopped in front of my back steps. They squeaked horribly, and would have been a dead giveaway that I was coming in. I had learned quickly when I started my runs. Coming in, my father would come running when he heard them.

For the last couple weeks, though? They hadn't been an issue. Not since I found out exactly how my power worked.

I shifted into the Shadow state and floated up, past the steps and through the door. I moved silently through the kitchen, and then up the stairs and to my room. I phased through the door, and only once I was safely in my room did I return to normal.

I went to my mirror and took in the image there. I saw myself, the same way I had looked after my morning runs for the last couple of weeks. Completely run down and exhausted looking. Behind me...was the ghostly form of Sophia Hess. The same ghostly image I had seen in every mirror I looked into since our last real altercation two weeks ago. She looked as angry as usual.

"So..." she began, looking at me through the mirror. "How much longer you gonna drag your ass before going out and doing the hero thing?"

I sighed. It had been a long two weeks.

Last edited: May 4, 2017

717

Para_Docks

Oct 28, 2015

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 2

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Oct 29, 2015

#21

The Reaping - Part 2:

-Two Weeks Earlier-

I lifted my backpack and headed out of the classroom. The day had started off...surprisingly well. When I discovered that Emma was out sick, it had felt like a weight off my shoulders.

And then Sophia reminded me why I could never feel safe at school. Apparently, she had decided to make up for Emma's absence and seek me out at any opportunity she could. Most days, I at least got a few breaks. Not today...

And Sophia had decided to be as physical as she ever was. I already had a few visible bruises, and was pretty sure some more were forming.

I had to work to contain myself, keep from losing it completely. It was bad enough when she was just a bully. Knowing she was a cape? That really got to me.

I walked through the hallway toward the rare exit of the school. Very few students used it to leave, since they would need to walk all the way around to get anywhere.

I passed a few other students who were collecting things from their lockers. An act that I had given up since the incident. I knew the school had said that they cleaned it well, but...

I shuddered. There was no way I was going to use that again.

I made it to the rear exit and walked out of the school. There were very few other students out here, as I had predicted. I began walking toward the forest behind the school. I had discovered a little path that cut through the forest one day when Emma and her little gang were waiting for me in front of the school. The path would take me out pretty near a bus stop.

After a few minutes of walking down the path, I felt it. The same sensation I had felt a few times when I was in the hospital, that I had felt during a few excursions with my dad, and that I had felt every day at school since gaining my power.

I turned around and saw Sophia approaching me. I scowled.

"Running through the forest just to avoid me, Hebert?" she asked.

"Following me into the forest just to fuck with me?" I asked.

Sophia shrugged, but her grin gave away that she was really enjoying this. She dropped her bag to the ground and ran toward me. I barely had time to react, but I tried to get out of the way. I still ended up being pushed slightly, falling backwards but not to the ground.

"Why the hell are you doing this? I've never done anything to you!" I said, my anger coming to the surface, a temper that I had inherited from my dad.

"You're pathetic. Always have been, always will be. It's our job to remind you of that."

"You're unbelievable. You...you're supposed to help people."

That gave Sophia pause. Her eyes squinted and she scowled. "What was that?"

"You heard me." I said, walking toward her. "I know you have powers. Wasn't hard to figure out who you were once I figured that out. Only so many capes in this city you could be. And looking for someone who fit your M.O.? That narrowed it down to one, Shadow Stalker."

I knew that was a mistake the second the words left my mouth. I had been dealing with Sophia long enough to know what her response would be. I didn't even have a chance to start working out what to say next when she hit me.

And then I hit the ground.

And then she was on top of me, attacking me more furiously than she had ever before.

"How the fuck did you find out?" she asked between attempts to pummel my face. Luckily I had managed to raise my arms to shield my face after the first few hits.

I began growling as she hit me, and then she started kicking me too. I wanted to end this, to get back at her for everything she had done.

And then I felt it. The same feeling that let me know she was a cape was more...tangible. It was almost as though I could reach out and pull on it. With my mind, at least.

Sophia's attacks were getting harsher, and I felt the tugging happen almost instinctively. Everything slowed down in that instant.

I felt something shift in my mind, and then I noticed Sophia. She had collapsed, stopping mid kick. I looked at her, and saw that her eyes were open, and not closing...that she didn't seem to be breathing.

I approached and checked for her pulse. Nothing.

"Oh shit...oh shit..." My power had done this? It was just a lame power that let me sense capes. It shouldn't be able to...

I stood up fully and turned to run. I wasn't fully paying attention to my surroundings, and found I was about to run right into a tree. I felt something click, and then everything changed.

My body felt light as a feather, and I drifted through the tree. It was...an odd feeling. Looking down, I could see that I was transparent and gaseous.

"This is...Shadow Stalker's power?" I asked myself. I thought on it, and found that I knew how to use it. How to turn it on, how to turn it off, it's weaknesses.

I shifted back to normal, taking another quick glance back to Sophia's body, then started running again, this time paying more attention. I was glad I had taken up running after the locker, since I needed all of the air I could get. I was already on the verge of hyperventilating.

I had just killed someone. One of my classmates. No matter how much of a bitch she was, she didn't deserve that.

Probably.

One of the things that was bothering me the most was that I wasn't feeling quite as horrified as I thought I should. Part of me wanted to chalk that up to all of the torture Sophia had put me through.

Another part just wanted to feel more horrified.

I was on the verge of tears when I finally reached the bus stop. It wasn't helped by what I heard.

"What the hell happened...?"

I glanced around. I was currently the only one at the stop. A bus must have just come. What's more...I recognized the voice.

"Oh great... I'm losing my mind..." I mumbled to myself.

"Hebert?"

I gulped. "It's not really Sophia...it's guilt or something."

"The fuck did you do to me, Hebert?"

"Oh, God. Please stop." Oh God I've killed someone and I've gone insane.

"Fucking tell me what you did, Hebert!"

"You're not real..."

"Bullshit I'm not real!" Sophia said. "Now tell me what happened."

I groaned, and looked around. Still no one around. Might as well embrace my craziness for now. If it would make her stop...

"I...think I used my power on you." I said.

"You have a power?" Sophia asked. "...Is that how you knew I was a cape?"

"Yeah, it is. I can sense capes."

"And? Clearly that's not it."

"I...think I killed you, and took your power."

A long pause passed in the conversation. "You killed me...? And stole my power?"

"Unless you're capable of holding your breath for a really long time, and I've always been able to pass through solid objects."

"Well how the fuck did you do that?"

"I don't know. I felt my power kick in, and I kind of...tugged on your power."

"Well untug it and put me back." Sophia yelled.

I thought about it for a second, wondering why I hadn't tried that. Then I shook my head. "I...don't think I can."

"You better try! I swear, Hebert, I'm going to."

"Going to what? You're probably a figment of my imagination, but even if you're not, then you're...what? Just a voice? You can't do anything to me anymore. You fought me, you lost, I won. I was the stronger cape, so shut up and let me think!"

To my surprise, Sophia's voice actually complied, and left me in silence. A few people joined me at the bus stop after a few minutes. Another few minutes passed, and the bus appeared.

I climbed on, and took a seat. I looked into the mirror, and was shocked to see Sophia reflected there, sitting in the seat next to me.

"Oh, you can see me now, huh?" she asked.

I just nodded. This... was new, but didn't necessarily rule out me being nuts. I squinted my eyes slightly. "Okay..." I whispered. "Prove you're real. Prove I'm not crazy. Tell me something only you would know. Something I can verify."

She looked equal parts annoyed and contemplative. "Like what?"

"I don't know..." I said.

"You know I'm a Ward. You know anything about the PRT?"

"Not really."

"Well, the Director of our PRT is Piggot, fat bitch. Bleach blonde."

"I...could still be nuts and just heard about her or saw her somewhere."

"Are you kidding me Hebert? What do you want here?"

I thought for a second. "Emma. What happened. Why did she stop being my friend?"

"Seriously? Still hung up on that?"

I glared at the image of Sophia in the mirror, and watched as she rolled her eyes. "Fine."

She told me a tale of Emma and her dad being attacked by ABB thugs, Shadow Stalker saving them, Emma returning to the scene of attack and finding Sophia there.

Sophia explaining her fucked up philosophy, and Emma making the decision to cut me out of her life. As a friend, anyway.

It was stupid, but it kind of made sense. Comments that Emma had made did sound a lot like what Sophia had just spouted. I would have to check up on all of that, but for the time being, I relented that I may not be completely nuts. This may be another aspect of my power.

We remained in silence for the rest of the trip. Once I got home, I headed right to my room to turn on my computer and look up powers. I needed to see if anyone had a power like this.

Unfortunately, only two came up that came close. The Butcher, leader of a gang called The Teeth. Each time the Butcher was killed, their power, or powers now, moved to whoever killed them, along with their consciousness. So, there was a precedent for capes popping up in others heads, at least.

But the really scary one was the one who's power mine was most like. Another villain, and a really nasty one with a death toll in the hundreds.

Glaistig Uaine, the Faerie Queen. Apparently, any cape she killed, she could summon as a ghost and use them, and their powers, as she saw fit.

I swallowed at that, The two capes with powers closest to mine, and both were villains. Homicidal maniacs.

And I had already killed someone.

I put my head down and groaned.

"You figure out a way to fix me?"

I lifted my head and peaked into the mirror that I had set up on my desk. Sophia was glaring at me. I knew that she knew the answer to her question already.

I set my head back down on my desk and let out a long sigh.

"How can things get worse?"

673

Para_Docks

Oct 29, 2015

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 3

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Dec 4, 2015

#37

Part 3:

I was nervous as I watched the druggie meandering around. I had been trailing him for the past few hours at Sophia's behest. And, granted, he was the best bet we had for the goal that we had in mind. He, according to Sophia, was pretty high up the totem as far as Merchants went. Something about wristbands.

And now we were pretty sure he had just led us to the current Merchants HQ.

We had made a mutual decision, Sophia and I, that I couldn't just sit around and let her power go to waste.

Well, she had made the decision. By complaining non-stop that I was wasting her powers.

She also brought up the fact that I wasn't fully exploring my powers. She had wondered if I could take in more powers. I was hesitant. I was still feeling guilty enough about what I did to Sophia. I didn't want to add to it.

She justified it by suggesting that we go after villains. And then she suggested the Merchants. People who sold drugs to children and forced people into addiction.

The lowest of the low, in my opinion. I...both of us, had seen a fair number of our classmates fall victim to the Merchants tactics. I couldn't really argue that Brockton Bay would be better off without them around.

"You gonna do this, or just stare at the building?" Sophia asked. I let out a low growl and shook my head.

"We'll go, we will, but..."

She didn't say anything, apparently content to let me struggle. "This is my first time actually planning to, you know, be a hero."

"You haven't done anything heroic yet, Hebert. Save the speeches until you actually do something."

I groaned, but pulled up the hood of my temporary costume. An extra cloak that Sophia had stashed away in a little abandoned warehouse and a cheap mask that covered everything but my eyes.

I knew that I basically looked like Shadow Stalker, and it would draw questions if anyone saw me.

All the more reason to do this sneakily. Do it well.

For once, I was glad to have Sophia around. She was offering me some pointers, at least.

I jumped and shifted into the shadow state, and was able to drift across the sky, landing safely on the roof of the building that the Merchant had led us to. There was a door, which was fortunate. Going through the walls was risky, thanks to the weakness to electricity that carried over to me when I took Sophia's power.

She had mentioned that she had been given goggles that let her see electrical wires through walls. She had also been kind enough to inform me that they were still probably locked up in the PRT base.

We'd have to make due without.

I approached the door and phased through it. The building was quiet. I had expected druggies to be louder.

"Remember what we learned when we were looking these losers up?"

I nodded. The Merchants currently had three capes. Apparently there had been more, but hardcore drug use combined with superpowers didn't lend themselves to longevity.

There was Skidmark, the leader. He was, apparently, as charming as his Cape name would lead one to believe. And if his personality didn't repulse you enough, his power could. He could lay down strips that could push people in a chosen direction.

His two lieutenants were Squealer, his girlfriend, and Mush. Squealer was a Tinker with a vehicle specialty, and Mush was able to gather trash to form an armor around himself.

Mush would be the more troublesome of the three. If my power was touch based...a Striker power, according to the ranking Sophia had gone on about, then his armor would be able to interfere. It would be able to save him.

I moved down the stairs as quietly as I could. I figured I was doing an okay job, because Sophia only mocked my effort a little bit.

When I finally reached the bottom of the stairs, I found myself in what must have been one of the most disgusting bedrooms I had ever seen. Dirty dishes and clothes were everywhere, I could see pipes and needles on the tables, and had to double check before each step to make sure I wouldn't step on one.

Then I saw some slight movement from the bed, a slight shift as whoever was sleeping on it tossed in their sleep.

And I felt the same sensation I had numerous times before. Mainly at school.

Mainly from Sophia.

I swallowed hard, then took a deep breath. I was here, I had already decided. I was going to do this.

I shifted into the shadow state and hopped to the side of the bed. I could see the figure now. A woman. She was just in her underwear, her blonde hair a mess and she still had make-up caked onto her face.

"Squealer." Sophia said.

I nodded again. One of our targets, but definitely not the one I had wanted to run into first. If I had gotten to choose, Mush was top of the list. Catching him off guard could make all the difference in this mission.

Squealer's power wouldn't help me in a fight.

"She's the only one I've ever heard of driving their getaway vehicles." Sophia said. "Could be that she's the only one who can. Tinkers and all."

I let out a low sigh. She was trying to convince me to do it. To take Squealer's power. To kill her.

And she wasn't entirely wrong, either. Without Squealer, the Merchants would have a harder time getting away. Even if they managed to escape today, they would be at a disadvantage in the long term.

And she was a member of a gang that preyed on people. Forcing them into addiction, keeping them under their thumb with the promise of more drugs and other awards.

And, all things considered, they were weak. Bottom of the totem pole. The other gangs barely acknowledged them. They were nothing. No one would miss them if they were gone. They were just animals waiting to be picked off.

I steeled myself, then reached out and placed my hand on the woman's forehead. She didn't react to my touch. I could feel my power intensify. The...thread of her power becoming more tangible.

I took one last deep breath, and pulled.

The sensation was the same as when I used my power on Sophia. Brief light headedness, and then...

Well, that was where the similarity ended. This time, I could feel ideas entering my mind. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, helicopters.

Vehicles of all kinds. I knew how they worked, how to improve them, how to build them from trash that was laying around.

I had to shake my head, to clear the distraction away.

I looked down at the now deceased body of Squealer. At least her eyes had been closed when I had taken her. I could see Sophia step in front of me, and then the ghostly image of Squealer joined her.

"The hell just happened?" Squealer asked. "Am I having a dream, or..." She looked down at her body. "Shit...did I OD?"

"Um, not quite." I mumbled.

Squealer looked like she was going to say something, but then she paused, her eyes focused behind me. "Ooh, hey baby."

I raised an eyebrow, then both of my eyes widened. For her to call someone baby, it would have to be...

"The fuck is going on here? Who are you, little bitch?"

I turned quickly and looked at Skidmark. I was thankful for the mask, that he couldn't see my look of shock and fear. He was less fortunate. I could see the confusion on his face.

"Shadow Stalker? Aren't you supposed to be six feet under? They have some zombie making mother fucker in the pig pen now?"

I shook my head. Didn't want to speak, didn't want to give away anything to this man. I decided to try and end this quickly, and took a step forward...

Only to find myself flying back into the wall.

I had been so distracted that I hadn't noticed him using his power. And now I was sprawled on the floor in the corner of the room, with Skidmark approaching his now dead girlfriend.

Who I had been standing over.

"Shit..." I mumbled.

"You mother fucker..." he said. Any confusion that had been present in his voice was gone. Replaced by anger and sadness. Apparently this situation was able to sober him up.

I watched as he reached into his pants and produced a gun. A pistol of some sort. "I'll kill you, you little ass licking bitch!"

By the time he was turning to aim at me, I was already shifting into the shadow state. Even after being caught, I had an advantage. I had been expecting a fight. They hadn't been. Three bullets passed through me as I reoriented myself, which was no easy feat in my gaseous form. Another two passed through me as I managed to actually move forward. I finally shifted back when I heard a clicking that I knew from TV meant he was out of ammo. Sophia confirmed that thought as well.

Another use of his power sent me into the wall again, but I was more prepared this time. I still hit it hard, but this time I pushed off it and shifted states at the same time, using the momentum to carry me forward. I passed through Skidmark, which was an unsettling feeling, and ended up behind him, in a spot where he hadn't laid his power.

I returned to normal and reached out, grabbing his arm.

He pulled me, and he was far stronger than me, physically.

It didn't matter, though. Once I touched him, it was over.

We both collapsed to the ground, but I was the only one to get up. I released his arm and took a moment to catch my breath. I took a quick glance at the floor, and saw that his power remained. I wondered how long it would take to fade. I felt his power adding to my collection, and suddenly knew that it would last a few hours. It would be useful. Very useful.

"You fucker! The hell did you do to me, shit breather? Put me back in my body now or I swear I'll fucking kill you."

I shook my head and snarled, trying to tune him out. I had a feeling I was going to regret taking him. I exited the room and stepped into the hallway, and was about to ask Sophia if she could interact with Skidmark's spirit when I saw another man entering the hallway from a flight of stairs a few feet to my right. The man had incredibly thin hair, overly large eyes, skinny limbs and a fat stomach.

He also had the same feel to him that all Parahumans did to me.

"Mush..." I said. Despite myself, despite what I had just done and what I planned to do, I grinned. Something about an imminent fight was just...clicking with me.

The man looked at me, clearly surprised, then looked around. Some of the garbage on the floor began moving, gravitating toward him.

I bent down and applied Skidmark's power, allowing it to flow over the spot on the floor that I was standing on. As soon as I felt it start to move me, I shifted to the shadow state and soared at Mush. There wasn't much he could do as I fired myself at him like a cannonball of mist.

I let Sophia's power drop midway through the air, using what I knew of her power. The man had tried to back away, but only succeeded in backing into the door frame. I collided with him, crashing straight into his stomach. My hands felt his flesh, and for the third time that night, I claimed a power and a soul.

This time was different, though. I felt my connection to Sophia weaken. Almost as though she were pushed slightly away. Still there, but...inactive. I tried using her power, but found that I couldn't. The other three powers I claimed were all there, all at my disposal.

I focused a bit, and reached for Sophia's power specifically. As I pulled it, it almost felt as though I was moving it toward a slot that was filled by one of the others. I moved it to Skidmark's, and was relieved to find his shouting replaced by Sophia's.

At least I had grown used to hers.

I stood up, and winced in pain.

"I guess shooting myself at people is a bad idea." I said.

"Really? You think so?" Sophia asked.

"Hey, I couldn't let him use his power." I said, looking down at Mush's body. "It would have been too tough to work around."

"Whatever."

I rolled my eyes, and started walking back to the bedroom. We would leave the same way we entered.

"Though, I gotta give you props, I guess. You took all three of them down. Even if they were high as shit when you did."

I shrugged. "Don't really feel good about it. It's still killing."

"Survival of the fittest, Hebert." Sophia said. "And we just found out a lot more about your power, right? Three at a time, but you can hold more than that."

"True. It's good to know." I said, smiling. It felt good to prove myself. To show that I was worth something.

"And, there powers aren't the worst. They were being wasted on these losers. We just gotta think up some interesting uses. That cannonball move of yours was dumb, but it worked. It's all about...what's that word? When things work well together?"

"Synergy?"

"Right, synergy. You gotta figure out how to synergize these powers."

I opened my mouth to respond, to correct her use of the word, but stopped to think about it. Using her power in tandem with Skidmark's had been quick thinking. And it had felt so...natural. So right to combine them. As I exited the building, I looked up at the sky.

"Maybe you're onto something there..."

Last edited: Jan 11, 2016

696

Para_Docks

Dec 4, 2015

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 4

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Jan 7, 2016

#60

Part 4:

"3 days..." Sophia complained.

"I'm not trying to draw too much attention to myself."

"You don't have to go on a killing spree, Hebert, but not even a patrol? Come on!"

I rolled my eyes. "Lay off, Sophia."

"No. Bad enough I'm stuck to you and can't do anything any more, but now I can't even get the rush of things by tagging along? You gave me a taste and then just go back to being lame?"

"Sophia, shut up!" I said, maybe a bit louder than I should have. I lifted my head and looked around. Fortunately, no one was around. "I'm just laying low. You saw what PHO was saying..."

"Well, no shit the Protectorate Eggheads figured out a Parahuman took down the Merchants. A braindead kindergartner could have put that together."

"Well, considering that most of my arsenal comes from those three recently deceased Capes, I'm not in a hurry to show off right now."

"Yeah, have we thanked you for this situation recently, little bitch?" Squealer asked, eliciting another groan from me. She had quickly become another critic of...just about everything I did.

"Can't you at least call me Taylor?"

We aren't friends!" Squealer replied, venom in her voice. "You off us, steal our powers and us, and you won't even let me see Skiddy."

"That's because he's awful. Honestly, some of the things he says..."

"I've heard worse." Sophia chimed in.

"You should be doing anything we ask you to make up for this shitty situation we're in." Squealer continued.

At least Mush was quiet most of the time.

"Listen, I know it's awful, but..."

"Taylor?"

I gasped and dropped the wrench that I was holding. Fortunately, it bounced off of the edge of the truck and onto the driveway. It would have been a real pain to dig it out if it had fallen into the engine and gotten stuck.

"Yes, dad?"

"What are you doing to my truck?"

I bit my lip as I tried to think. I had been hoping he would stay asleep a bit longer. It was a Sunday, after all. I had figured I had another hour or two to put Squealer's power to work.

I had been wrong.

"Um, I've been reading up about basic car maintenance at school. Heard a rattling when we were driving around the other day, and figured I would take a look." Not complete lies. There had been a rattling. I had fixed it about an hour and a half ago. Then I modified it a bit, allowing it to maintain clean oil longer, increase fuel efficiency, improve the heating system.

Squealer said I was wasting her power by not turning it into a monster truck.

"And were you talking to someone?"

Shit I thought. I knew it was a risk talking to my...well, my victims was the best way to put it. I had been hoping he hadn't heard me.

"Just...talking myself through the work. Trying to remember what I read."

"I don't know if just poking around inside my truck is the best way to try these things." dad said.

Squealer and I each scoffed. No mechanic could compare to her power, and we each knew it. I had to bite down a scathing remark.

"It's just basic stuff, dad. I barely touched it, really." I said. Luckily, he had caught me between execution of ideas. "I was just wrapping up. It should be good to go."

He looked skeptical. I couldn't really blame him. I had never shown an interest in cars in my life. I forced a smile, closed the hood, then dashed to the driver's side door. I had grabbed his keys earlier to gain access. I put them in the ignition, noting that a remote start would be simple to install and incredibly convenient, and then started it up.

To my, and surprisingly Squealer's, satisfaction it started instantly and purred like a kitten. It probably ran better than when it was new.

Scratch that, it definitely did.

Dad looked surprised. "Well, it does sound good." he said.

"Like I said, simple."

"Is this your future? Helping your daddy fix his junky truck?" Sophia asked. I had to work to keep the scowl off my face.

"Thanks for this, Taylor." dad said. "I appreciate it. I didn't know you had this in you."

"What can I say? It's a recent development."

"Well, what do you say I go get cleaned up, then we can test your work out for real. Head downtown? Maybe grab some lunch?"

"Sounds great." I replied, my eyes drifting to Sophia. "Oh, and dad? I was wondering if it would be alright if I went out for a bit tonight."

"Oh? What for?"

"A friend from school wanted me to do something with her." I said. I could see the smile begin to spread across Sophia's face. "I'd be out kinda late, but I could get a ride back."

"It's a school night..."

"I know, but I'd really like to go."

My father seemed conflicted, but finally relented. "Alright. As long as you can get a ride home. And if you need one, you can call me."

"It's all set, dad. I'll be able to get home just fine."

"Okay, sure." he said. "Now clean these tools up and get ready to go."

--

"This might not have been the best night to go out..." I said. Looking in the distance, I could see the flames spreading, the smoke rising.

And as I approached, against my better judgement, I could hear the roars coming from the one who caused the scene, as well as the sounds of the Protectorate and PRT Capes who were trying to put him down.

Lung was a known evil in Brockton Bay. An incredibly strong power, and often considered too much trouble to deal with.

And he had decided to set fire to some old warehouse before facing off with some of the local heroes.

I knew I couldn't fight Lung. I could probably kill him, sure, if I got the element of surprise. But that was a pretty risky maybe. I wasn't sure if his scales would stop my power from working. So far, I had needed skin on skin contact. If I found out he was protected, well...

That would be a bad time for me.

So why, one may ask, was I rushing toward the scene of his latest project? Well, there needed to be a reason for him burning down a warehouse. And if there was someone innocent who could be saved, well...

Maybe that would make up for some of the things I had done in my short career as a Cape.

As I approached the warehouse, the smoke was stifling. Even in the Shadow state. I was counting my blessings that the Protectorate were occupied with Lung, leaving only firefighters and police here to deal with the flames. And it seemed that they were operating under the assumption that the building was empty.

I shook my head. No way to be sure. Sophia and, surprisingly, Mush agreed. Lung didn't go for property damage.

When we arrived, the flames had stopped spreading, but the building was still burning and the smoke was still plentiful. Enough that we were unseen from our rooftop perch.

I dropped to the alley between the two buildings and approached the inferno. The flames were toward the front, where the firefighters were, but had spread to the roof as well. From what I could tell, the inside wasn't too bad, yet.

I held my breath, shifted, and plunged through the nearest window.

The smoke was irritating, even in my altered state. When I turned back, I was instantly thankful for the goggles that I had purchased to go under my mask. They had initially been to further disguise my eyes. Now? Now they were actually serving a purpose.

I glanced around, and didn't see much. The warehouse was mostly empty. A few old machines here and there, a few old tables.

And then I saw them. In the center of the room. 4 figures. They all had pools of blood around them, and two looked pretty badly burned.

As I approached, I could barely make out a few larger figures inside the flames. They had been the targets of the initial fiery assault. The two burnt people were the two closest to the masses of flesh.

As I continued walking, I could feel my power flare up. Two of the bodies had the sensation that all Capes did.

"A cape fight, huh?" I mumbled. I wondered for a moment who they were, what the fight was about.

Then I felt the sensation weaken. In both of the bodies. I looked and saw the ever expanding pool of blood around each of them. The flames had claimed their friends, but the wounds were going to get them.

I stopped directly over them, then knelt down and touched them. I closed my eyes as soon as I made contact. Seeing people like this, and two corpses mere feet away was...awful. It was somehow different from when I used my power. When I did, they just looked asleep. These people? They were mutilated.

"I'm sorry..." I said. "Maybe if I had been here, I could have done something. Maybe...maybe I could have saved your friends. But I can still save you two. Kind of."

I decided to stop explaining when I felt their pull weaken again. I reached out with my power and pulled. I decided, as their powers became mine, to push Squealer and Mush back. Sophia's power was too useful for moving to sacrifice in the face of an inferno.

I felt the powers take hold, and then...

Then I started putting things together. My eyes darted to the heaps of flesh in the flames. Not human, not by a long shot. The shape, the general outline, was canine. I glanced to the two who had been dead when I arrived. If they were all capes, and there were dogs here, then one of them must have been Hellhound, though I also discerned that she preferred Bitch. The other, the smaller of the two was Regent. They were each members of a small time gang that was new to the city. The Undersiders. Then that must mean...

"Woah, you actually did it, huh?" a girl's voice asked. "Wasn't really sure when you started getting all sappy there."

I looked toward my two newest ghosts and nodded. "Tattletale and Grue." I said.

"Yeah, that's right." Tattletale said. "This really sucks."

I just nodded. "Lung...he had it out for you? Because...you did something. Acted against him." I saw Tattletale shift slightly, and then it came to me. "You robbed him...robbed his casino? Are you crazy?"

"Well, actually, we're dead." Tattletale said. I could see the shoulders of Grue, the other new addition to my team/powerset slump slightly.

I looked at their bodies, and breathed a sigh of relief. I began to speak at the same time as Tattletale.

"Nothing could have been done." we both said. I looked at her, and noticed a smirk had adorned her face.

"Oni Lee got us." Grue said, speaking for the first time. "Slit our throats while Lung assaulted the front of the building."

"You tried to have Bitch's dogs fight Lung off so you could try to escape, but he toasted them, and the building, and Lee snuck in and cut you."

"Right." Tattletale said. "We were gonna be gone in about 30 seconds, I'd say."

I nodded. I figured that too.

"And now you're using my power to reach the same conclusions that I'm reaching."

I nodded.

"Well, if you two can stop shooting the shit for a minute, maybe we should get out of this burning building?" Sophia asked.

"Right." I said. "Then we can plan."

"Plan?" Sophia asked. I looked to her, and noticed her glancing at Grue with a hint of hatred. Tattletale's power helped to inform me that there was an old rivalry there.

"Plan for what?" Grue asked, seeming not to notice the look.

"Well you..." I said, pointing to Tattletale. "Want revenge. Not just on Lung, but on someone else. Another villain. A boss? Yeah, that's it."

"Ooh, that is kind of annoying to be on this side of." Tattletale said, though she was still grinning.

I then turned to Grue and pointed to him. "And you, even in death, are worried about someone. A family member? A...a sister, that's it."

His body language practically screamed that he was surprised, but I just grinned behind my mask. I assumed it didn't look too different from Tattletales. I shifted into my Shadow state and left the building, already coming up with some ideas.

727

Para_Docks

Jan 7, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 5

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Jan 11, 2016

#126

Part 5:

"So, you feeling better, Taylor?"

I groaned at Tattletale's voice. Apparently, I had overused her power after getting it last night and had given myself what she affectionately called a 'Thinker Headache'. It was more like the worst migraine I could ever imagine. And, unfortunately, dismissing her hadn't gotten rid of the pain.

So, I had the day off of school to recover.

"You get used to it." she said. "I wrecked myself the first few weeks I had my power, but your mind will adapt to it eventually."

"Great..." I mumbled. In all honestly, it had gotten better fairly quickly. I wondered if it was an aspect of my power. A degree of separation that helped me recover more quickly?

Tattletale's power was fairly certain that was the case. And using it again caused another flash of pain.

"So, should we start planning for how to move forward with? We've got a lot to do." Tattletale said.

"Maybe we should give her a chance to rest up. No point in planning anything if she's laid out all the time." Grue said.

I smiled at his words. He had barely spoken since I picked him and Tattletale up. Her power told me that he responded to stress by shutting down emotionally, falling back on baser instincts.

The fact that he was talking was a good sign. I liked being surrounded by people my own age more than the older, and far more sketchy, Merchants.

"No, no, I think I'll be okay. So long as I don't need to do too much talking." I said. I was still laying down, still keeping my eyes closed, but we could do this.

"Cool, so, first things first. I was hoping you could send little miss psycho away for a bit." Tattletale said, pointing to Sophia.

"What? Why the fuck?" Sophia asked. I had to admit, I was a bit confused too. Especially since I was focusing on Tattletale's power not activating.

"Just, bear with me. It'll just be for a few minutes. Testing a hunch."

I didn't really have it in me to look further into it, so I just decided to go with it. "See you in a bit, Sophia." I said, casting her away and bringing Mush out.

"Thank you." Tattletale said. There was a few moments of silence, which caused me to open my eyes. When I did, I saw Tattletale staring at me. I didn't need to use her power to figure out she was studying me.

"What?"

"I thought so. You're a little different."

"What do you mean?"

"A little more...subdued. Less on edge." Tattletale said. "I think..."

"You think you guys are affecting me. Messing with my head." I said. Her power filling in the gaps against my will.

"I kind of figured. You seemed a little more decisive once you took Grue and me on and ditched the druggies. You notice anything strange about yourself lately?"

I thought about it. After I had taken Sophia, I had felt a bit more...driven. I had more of a need to prove myself. I had fallen into Sophia's training regiment against my better judgement, had bent to her will when it came to going out.Hell, even when I was dealing with the Merchants, I had fallen into fighting and claiming them with ease. I had seen them as less than myself, prey, and had justified my actions that way.

"Whatever connects you to our powers, it also connects you to us on a deeper level. We kind of...leak in. It probably gets worse the longer you stick with one power."

I nodded. I had come to that same conclusion, even though it was causing me pain to do so. I had been connected to Sophia for weeks before going after the Merchants. If it was a time based thing, then that would explain why she had been able to influence me.

"Shit..." I said, closing my eyes again.

"Hey, now that you know, you can work around it." Grue said. "Just cycle out the more unsavory Capes you have."

I nodded. "Seems like a necessity."

"Speaking of, that brings me to my next point. Which I still don't want the nut job hearing, since she's so into the brutality thing."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Our boss...well, former boss I guess, is no easy target. His power lets him decide outcomes. You'll need to be able to come at him from an angle that he can't predict if you want to beat him."

"And do I want to beat him?"

"He's a villain, and he has some pretty grand plans. I'm not sure exactly what they are, but they won't be good. And if you're trying to do the hero thing."

"Alright, alright. I get you. What's the point?"

"You'll need to stock up on powers. Become an unpredictable force. Which, honestly, I would recommend even if you weren't going to go after our boss."

"Why is that?" I asked. I already knew some of what she was about to say, but...

"Well, there's no ignoring this. You've killed people. That's not gonna reflect well on you no matter which way you slice it. It's unlikely the Protectorate will ever be willing to play ball with you."

I nodded slowly. I had more or less assumed that from the get go. My first action as a Cape had been killing a Ward. Even if it was an accident, I figured that would blow any chance of a partnership with them.

"Sure, you could try to join New Wave, but then you'd need to forego a secret identity. And once people know what you can do, how you work...you'll want a secret identity. And that's even assuming that they would accept you onto the team despite what you need to do to power up."

"So I can't side with the heroes. I knew that already." I said.

"Well, just let me explain and we can get through this faster. If the heroes find out about you and what you can do, they'll try to have you shipped off to the Birdcage. Even if you're willing to play ball with them, they'll do it because you remind them of a certain psycho who thinks she's a faerie."

"If any villains find out about you? They'll either try to control you or kill you. Probably kill, ultimately, since all you need to do is touch them to kill them. Now, all of that adds up to you basically going it alone except for us. And we can't really back you up. Not in a physical sense. You're only real choice, if you want to make it in the long run, is to make yourself so versatile that no one can really pin you down."

"And that ties into me helping you?"

"Kind of. What I want will work out for both of us. Now, my plan is twofold. First, revenge on Lung. Second, revenge on my former boss. Take down Lung, get his power? You'll be that much stronger for taking down our boss. Even he doesn't want to mess with Lung."

"I don't blame him. Lung is scary. I'm not even sure I want to go after him."

"And I don't want you to. Not yet. We need to bulk you up, more or less. And I have an idea for who we can go after to give you a boost that should help you hold your own. Against Lung, and in the long run."

I sighed. "More killing?"

"It sucks, I know, but you're already in it, you know. Stopping would be condemning yourself to a lifetime imprisonment or death."

I nodded. "I...I know, but..."

"But, you're trying to be a hero. Which is why my list is villains. All people who more or less deserve what's coming to them. People that the PRT and Protectorate aren't too likely to look into too deeply. And, I think that my first few targets will get us on the right path to helping you solve Grue's problem, too."

I looked toward Grue, then back to Tattletale. "I think I know what you're gonna suggest."

She didn't answer with words. Only a smirk.

"So...the Empire, huh?"

658

Para_Docks

Jan 11, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 6

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Jan 27, 2016

#159

Part 6:

It amazed me how the mundane things in my life became even more mundane after becoming a Cape. I had always liked school, more or less. Learning just resonated with me.

That just made my torment at Emma and her friends' hands even worse. They had turned a place that I enjoyed into something awful. I had gone from enjoying school to detesting it.

But now, knowing the excitement of Cape life? How could school even compare? Add to that Tattletale's power which fed me all of the information I would be learning anyway, and...yeah. School was definitely no fun at the moment.

And neither was listening to Tattletale prattle on while I tried to pretend I was paying attention.

"Well? Are you gonna answer me, Taylor?" she asked, smirking at me.

I glanced at her and let out a low groan. She knew full well that I couldn't respond. Not without raising a lot of questions. She let out a little laugh and then rolled her eyes.

"Write it in the margin. I want my info."

I clenched my jaw and scribbled my response. Repeat your question?

Tattletale sighed. "How long has the bullying been going on, exactly?"

I let out a breath as I wrote another reply. About a year and a half. Why?

"Just curious. Want to know more about the person I'm gonna be working with for the rest of her life. Why not do something about it?"

I could feel myself tense, and Tattletale gasped. "Ahh, you did. By accident, huh?" She paused and stared at me before grinning again. "Psycho was one of your tormentors, huh?"

I mentally thanked whatever force had compelled me to keep Mush out today. Usually I let Sophia hang around while I was at school. Maybe I was subconsciously trying to give her a bit of what I had stolen back?

It didn't really matter. Having her and Tattletale active at the same time was a headache. Tattletale and Grue got along with each other fine, since they had been teammates. And Mush was pretty quiet regardless of who was around.

Sophia, Squealer, and Skidmark were the troublemakers, generally. Sophia when she didn't get her way, and the other two...well, always.

"What about the others, though? Why not put them in their place?"

Not worth the trouble. Would draw too much attention.

"Not if you're careful. You shouldn't have to deal with their shit. I mean, even what I've just figured out is awful, and..."

Enough. Don't want to talk about this.

"Fine, fine. You're the boss, I guess." Tattletale said.

It had been like this all morning. Her drilling me with questions, usually when I was unable to answer. She seemed to enjoy playing games like that, on some level.

The bell rang and I slammed my notebook closed. It was finally lunch time, which meant that I could sneak to the library and do some more research. I gathered the rest of my things and hurried out of the room. I barely made it 10 feet down the hall when I heard the last voice I wanted to hear.

"Taylor, you're back."

I sighed and slowed down. There was no point in running. It would just give her incentive to follow me. "Emma, yeah. I am."

"Decided you skipped enough school, huh? I mean, you're not the smartest person around. You need all the education you can get."

It was a line she had used a thousand times before. She attacked my intelligence fairly regularly. It was idiotic, really. I had always been the better of the two of us when it came to school. She knew it as well as I did. That was one of the reasons that I never usually let those comments get to me.

Today, though? For some reason today it was really grating on me.

I wanted to be the bigger person, to just walk away, but for some reason I just couldn't. I felt the need to...posture. To prove myself to be her equal. To be her better. I knew I couldn't just walk away. Anyone else who was around would see me as weak, and I couldn't have that.

And...no one called me stupid.

I let a small grin creep to my face. "I may have been sick, but I wasn't slacking, Ems. Some of us know how to get online and email our teachers for our assignments."

Emma's face twisted. Most people would barely have noticed. Luckily, I wasn't most people. I saw anger, confusion, and...a twinge of happiness and relief.

I thought back to what Sophia told me after I took her. Her fucked up world view. Tattletale's power filled in some gaps for me.

"You can't talk to her like that, Hebert." I glanced to Emma's left, saw Madison glaring at me.

"Oh, Madison. I didn't see you there." I said. "Why don't you head off to lunch? The adults are talking."

Madison looked taken aback for a moment, then began launching into some petty verbal assault. She focused on the same things Emma had been. Me missing school, being stupid, the usual.

And the whole time, I was gathering info. The small part of me that wanted to hold back disappeared as Madison continued prattling on.

"You know, Madison." I said, raising my voice to cover hers. "I would think you of all people would understand someone needing to take some time off of school. I mean, you missed about a week and a half last month. No one attacked you like this when you came back."

I could see her pale, and my grin grew a bit wider. "I wonder, what were you sick with. Hmmm."

"What are you doing?" Madison asked as I slowly approached her. "You don't know anything, Hebert."

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised what I know. I'm pretty quiet, so people tend to overlook me sometimes. And, thanks to you and your little group of terrors, I spend a fair bit of time in the offices and at the nurse. So sometimes I overhear things. Like, a student who needs some...mental health days."

At this point, Madison's eyes were wider than I had ever seen them. I finally stepped right up to her, and leaned close to whisper in her ear.

"So...have you decided who you'll go with? I mean, you're mom is staying here where all of your friends are, but your dad lets you get away with so much more than she ever would... Aren't divorces just the worst?"

I could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes, and her lip start to quiver. It was almost enough to make me feel bad. I probably would have if her, Emma, and Sophia hadn't used my mom's death against me multiple times.

Madison looked to Emma for a moment before taking off down the hall. I turned my attention to my former best friend, who looked shocked.

"What...did you say to her?"

"Don't worry about it." I replied, crossing my arms. "Now, I would love to chat some more, but I have some plans for my lunch, so..."

"What? No, you don't just get to do something to Madison and walk away..."

"Really? You guys have been doing stuff like that to me since we started high school. Seems like something I'm able to do. I also find it hilarious that you're so staunch in your defense of Madison, considering the way you've treated friends in the past."

Emma opened her mouth, but I continued on. "How long, Emma? How long until Madison proves herself too pathetic and weak to be seen with you and you cast her aside?"

To my surprise, Emma actually recoiled. It was almost like she had been struck.

"But...you're pretty and popular. You'll always have plenty of people who want to be your friend, right? Maybe you'll burn through everyone here. They'll realize how shallow and small you really are. You'll either toss them aside or they'll toss you aside. But they'll be more people. Maybe you can fall in with some of the gangs."

"Maybe the Empire will accept you. Of course, if they ever find out you were friends with Sophia, they'll turn on you. The Merchants are basically gone, and you don't strike me as the type to hang out with druggies."

At this point, I was circling Emma. I felt like a shark who had found her prey. "That really only leaves one option, huh? The ABB. Now, they normally only accept Asian people, right? But...I don't know. Something tells me you'd be able to get their attention."

Emma was now wearing an expression incredibly close to the one that Madison had when she ran off, though I could tell that there was more to it. I knew before I even started speaking that I was picking on a very old, very deep insecurity. A trauma that had never been dealt with.

I couldn't really bring myself to care. Now that I had started, the floodgates were open. A year and a half of abuse had led to this. That being said, I did have some things to do, so I decided to end this.

"You know, it's no secret that there are more than a few ABB members here at Winslow. I'm sure if you asked, they could introduce you around the gang. I'd love to help you do that, but I am busy, so I'll see you later."

Emma had gone completely stiff, the look in her eyes was a mixture of terror and shock.

I shook my head and started walking down the hall again.

"How did that feel?" Tattletale asked.

I looked around. Most of the other students had headed off to eat there lunch, so I figured I was safe to talk. "It...felt pretty good. I just...I couldn't take her shit today. When she started calling me stupid, I just..."

"Yeah, that might be my fault." Tattletale said. "I have a bit of a complex about people insinuating I'm stupid. It must be bleeding in because of how long you've had me active."

"There are worse things. Now that you mention it, though, I was also having a tough time thinking about backing down and seeming weak. Was that you, Grue?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't say I can't back down. I just..."

"It was him. He's all about reputation and seeming strong."

I nodded, and we stopped talking until I reached the library. I walked to the back and found an unoccupied computer. I sat down, logged in, and went to PHO. I also plugged in my flash drive.

"So, you called that number I gave you, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that guy...the Number Man. He transferred all the funds to an account for me."

"Nice. You've got the funds of four supervillains at your disposal. You're not set for life or anything, but you should be good for a while. And we should be able to use it to get you an actual costume."

"That can wait." I said. "We should focus on our mission for now."

"Right, sure. But after that you need a better costume than an old cloak and a mask. Now, you know our targets, right?"

I nodded. "Alabaster and Victor."

"Small timers in the grand scheme of the Empire's operations." Grue said.

"Alabaster has a strange form of regeneration. He get's refreshed to good as new every few seconds. Victor is a skill thief. If he finds someone who's an expert at something, he can become an expert at it. He's stolen plenty of useful abilities."

"Having their powers at your disposal would be incredibly useful. Alabaster's power would give longevity, and Victor would let you bolster yourself regardless of what powers you're using."

I nodded, and opened up the files that I had recovered the night before. I had managed to worm my way into some private messages. We had gained some insight into an operation that the Empire was pulling that night.

"The main issue is that Victor usually has another cape, Othala, with him. You may have to take her down too, to get to him."

"She's a trump, able to give other people powers." Grue added. "If she is there, she should be removed from the equation first."

"But...other than them, we should be good. This job is low profile. None of the heavy hitters should be coming out." I said.

"That's the hope." Grue said.

"It's a simple pick up for them, according to the messages." I said. I didn't dare look into the three while I was here. It would be too easy for someone to find that. And with the PRT employing Thinkers to look into things like that...

"What could go wrong?"

688

Para_Docks

Jan 27, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Interlude - The Broken

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Feb 6, 2016

#234

Interlude - The broken:

Nothing makes sense any more.

Emma was walking home in a daze.

It had started with Sophia's death. It had been so out of the blue, and wasn't at all what could have been expected. She didn't fall to a villain, or a mistake in the field. At least, that was the official word from the police, the school...the PRT.

An undiagnosed heart condition. Never caught, despite all of her examinations, despite her being on the track team. Despite her being a hero.

Bull shit.

Something had gotten her. Someone had gotten her.

She had been a fighter. A predator. To even consider that Sophia had fallen to a condition like that? It was laughable.

And the worst part was, beyond the first week, no one had spoken of it, really. Not the teachers, or the other students. Even all of their friends had stopped bringing her up.

Even Emma was guilty. She had justified it to herself. She was a survivor. She couldn't just sit back and mourn. She needed to be tough.

She needed to be strong...

So, she fell back into her old habits. She had hung out with the others, had taken modeling jobs, had tried to move on with her life.

She had fallen back on everything. Even targeting Taylor.

It had been a reassurance, at first. Like a security blanket, of sorts. But her words had begun to have less impact.

And then today, she had...she had fought back. Sent Madison away, crying. And the things she had said...

Could she know?

There was no way. It didn't make sense. How could she?

Who could have told her?

Why was she suddenly developing a backbone now? After all of this time? After almost two years of her trying to prove that Taylor was a fighter to Sophia...

Could that be it?

Had it been Sophia? Had her presence alone been enough to temper any sort of fight in Taylor?

It made sense, in a way. Sophia had been a cape. A natural progression of humanity. Something that normal people could never hope to match.

Had Taylor, somehow, been able to pick up on that? Had she known that, if it had come to a physical altercation, that she could never have beaten Sophia?

It was the same feeling that Emma herself had lived with the entire time she had known Sophia. She had seen the end result of Shadow Stalker's outings. Had known what she was capable of.

It had always scared her.

A bit.

Emma was a survivor, after all.

But, it made sense. If even Emma was slightly afraid of Sophia, then it would only make sense that even Taylor had been able to pick up on it.

And if that was the reason that she had been such a pushover...

...

It didn't matter. Not any more. Taylor had a year and a half of being an outcast, a social pariah. There...wasn't really any way to undo that.

But she also couldn't just let Taylor get away with attacking her like she had. It would ruin her. Threaten to take away one of her last vestiges of normalcy.

But something is different. Taylor's not worried about us. Not scared of us. Without Sophia...

Without a Cape...

A light dawned on Emma as the idea clicked into place. People weren't born with powers, they gained them. Sophia had made a few references to Trigger Events. There must be a way...

Emma's determination pushed her to move with more purpose. She rushed home, and once she arrived, hid away in her room. She went to every website on Parahumans. She brought up college papers, government studies.

She even registered on PHO and began asking questions on there.

She would discover how to get powers.

She would restore balance to her life.

One way or another.

591

Para_Docks

Feb 6, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 7

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Feb 8, 2016

#289

The Reaping - Part 7

I was nervous. Far more nervous than I had been when going after the Merchants. Despite the significant increase to the number of powers that I had.

I had been told for over a week how pathetic the Merchants were. How they only held onto territory that nobody else saw worthy of being fought over. They had been bottom of the barrel. Just barely more trouble than they had been worth.

Prey. Sophia's words, not mine. But when I had all of that information fed to me for all that time, it had been hard not to let a little confidence shine through.

Now, though? None of my ghosts were going to tell me that any of the people were anything less than what they were. Real Capes. Dangerous people.

Murderers.

Not that I doubted that the Merchants had killed, but...

This was different.

Empire 88 was...was real, to me. Everyone in Brockton Bay knew of the Merchants, but people all over the country knew of Empire 88.

And the things they had done...well, I didn't need Tattletale's power to tell me how bad they were.

And I was about to enter a proverbial hornets nest.

Without any real offensive powers.

Sure, I could use Mush to assemble some armor, could use Skidmark to push people around, but...

I really needed some way to actually fight. Which was the point of this excursion, of course. We were hoping Victor would be able to help me gain ways to defend myself. Make me something of a threat.

Like I needed the help with that.

And that was how I ended up perched in the rafters of this warehouse. Some hacking with Tattletale's power had led us here. A mission with my two targets. Othala was to be on the scene as well, but that wasn't unusual for a mission involving Victor.

3 Capes. 2 of whom I wanted to harvest. I had been watching them for about half an hour. Had been there for twice as long. Shadow Stalker's power had gotten me in unseen. Tattletale's power was informing me that they were settling in for a long night. Apparently they needed to watch over their shipment, and couldn't move it. I was willing to accept it. Criminals could act however they wanted.

Victor was standing vigilant while Othala and Alabaster talked. I couldn't make out what they were saying, not fully. Tattletale's power filled in the rest. Apparently they were discussing plans for some sort of gathering.

I still wasn't sure if it was social or Cape related. Maybe it was both.

A shame that the two men in the room wouldn't be making it, one way or another.

I continued watching for another twenty minutes before I saw my chance. Othala moving around more to stretch her legs. She passed by Victor, touching his arm softly as she did. No surprise there, Tattletale's power had already informed me that they were an item. She began to take a lap around the warehouse. For most people, it would be incredibly difficult to decide when to strike. As it was, though...Tattletale and I could each see it perfectly.

"Now..." we each said in unison. Well, I thought it, she said it.

I activated the shadow state and dropped down behind Othala. No cameras were active, and we were out of sight of her two allies.

I activated Grue's power, shrouding the two of us in his darkness. I knew how it would spread, where it would stop. This wouldn't lead to us being discovered. Not until it was too late.

I could see her react, start to try and leave. I couldn't use the shadow state now, it didn't react well with Grue's power. Luckily, though, I had been working out. A more normal workout, recently. Unlike the suicidal one that Sophia had set me on. I was able to catch up to the woman easily. Especially since she bumped right into a large crate.

I pulled the dart from my pocket. Shadow Stalker had hated being relegated to using these. Had felt they neutered her. It was probably because they were her primary weapon. I was far deadlier with my hands than she had been even with her lethal bolts. At least to Parahumans. But right now, I needed the sedative.

I didn't want to kill Othala. She would be too big of a missing piece. Too useful against Endbringers and other large threats to think of taking her for myself. And, I couldn't use her powers on myself if I took her anyway.

I stuck her with the dart and injected the contents. Enough to put her down for a few hours. Enough to let me finish this and get home.

I turned slightly, looking toward where Victor and Alabaster were. I knew what I needed to do. We had run over the plan so many times.

I began circling the warehouse, tracing the path Othala had begun. Only one way in and out of the warehouse was currently open, and my targets were nowhere near it. They had moved their precious cargo further in, just in case of attack.

That would be their undoing.

Once I had myself between the door and them, I began spreading Grue's darkness. It would limit my mobility somewhat, not being able to use Sophia's power, but having sight when your opponents don't was far more valuable.

By the time they noticed the darkness, it was too late. I let Grue's power burst out of me, as though it had been waiting patiently to be unleashed. Victor was the first to react, backing away and taking a defensive stance. As I figured he would. He wasn't my first target, anyway.

Alabaster seemed more unsure. He wasn't as combat tested as Victor. I could tell. He hadn't really needed to be. A constant "refreshing" effect kept him nearly impervious to injury. He could brute force his way through most fights.

But not this one. He was backing into a crate, or so he thought. I placed myself between him and his goal, and reached out. He backed right into me, my hand grasping the back of his neck. I felt the sensation of my power working, and then he went limp.

I cast Sophia's power aside, taking on my newest prize. I could feel it washing over me. As I turned my attention to Victor, I could feel the wave of energy coursing through me, trying to restore me to a previous state.

I also noticed that Victor had drawn a gun. He was firing wildly. A sound that only I could hear in the darkness. I approached him, not bothering to act stealthy, only trying to avoid the shots.

He his a box to my left with one bullet, causing it to splinter. Some of the shards hit me, but the pain lasted only a second before Alabaster's power restored me. More shots rang out, and just as I was about to reach him, he managed to score a shot on my arm.

The pain was worse than anything I had ever felt. It had trumped all of Sophia's abuse, all of the pranks, even the locker. It brought me to tears instantly.

And then, like the splinters, it was gone. I pushed myself back up, having apparently fallen to my knees from the pain. I reached out and grabbed Victor's gun hand. I could feel him tense slightly, trying to pull the trigger. He was gone before he could. Another tally for my body count.

But...perhaps a more deserving one. Two more deserving ones. Murderers. People who targeted others based on their skin color or race.

I allowed the darkness to fade. Alabaster was screaming at me, while Grue and Tattletale congratulated me. I was barely able to take it in. The rush of getting these powers...it was dangerous. I could see myself falling into a trap, losing the part of me that's hesitant to just claim people.

I was still catching my breath, just thinking of leaving, when my world exploded into pain. It felt like I was being ripped apart. Even past Alabaster's, refreshes, the pain continued. I recovered seven or eight times before it stopped. I stumbled away from the source, turning to look at it after my latest refresh.

Staring me down was the form of a giant, metallic wolf. Blades protruded from all over it. I could just about cry when I saw him.

Tattletale and I spoke at the same time. "You're not supposed to be here..."

"Neither are you." His voice was distorted by the sounds of metal grating against metal and chainsaws whirring.

"Well, guess I'll leave then..." I said, stepping back away from the monster. He actually growled at me and lunged forward. A quick swapping of Grue for Shadow Stalker, and I was phasing through the boxes and away from him.

"Well, Alabaster's regeneration and Shadow Stalker's power too, eh?" Hookwolf asked. "How many other secrets you got?"

Not as many as I'd like for this type of fight...

I couldn't stop moving. If I did, he would tear me apart again. Maybe more than Alabaster's power could let me recover. Maybe enough to kill me...

We had already left the warehouse. Passed into the surrounding complex.

I also couldn't really fight him. Letting go of Shadow Stalker would leave me vulnerable. Letting go of Alabaster was a death sentence.

That left Tattletale, but I had become accustomed to her power. And if I tossed it aside, I would potentially miss something that could help me out of this situation. Besides, none of my powers could do much to him. Grue could blind him, but...

I couldn't win this. Not without some incredible luck. I also couldn't really run. Even with my ability to phase through objects, he was keeping up with me.

This might be it...

"Taylor?"

I glanced back, looking at Tattletale.

"My power's not helping you right now. You can figure something out if you let it go, I think."

"What? But you're power will tell me if I miss something, or..."

"Taylor, you took down the Merchants on your own, you just took down two Empire Capes, you can do this. Just...do what you need to. Look beyond my power."

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat, and nodded. I devoted my all of my thoughts to my current problem. I cast Tattletale aside, reaching for another power.

I was following my instincts. Less thinking, more doing. Like using Sophia and Skidmark's powers against Mush.

That's a good starting point.

I stopped running, but stayed phased, allowing the monstrous wolf to run through me. The sensation was uncomfortable, but not outright painful. I had been watching him move with Tattletale's power, knew it would take time for him to stop himself and turn around. A few seconds, maybe?

I didn't like not being sure.

I laid down a track of Skidmark's power, and launched myself backwards, shifting into the shadow state as I did.

I was hoping that Hookwolf would be too large to really take advantage of the strip I left behind.

I really hated not being sure.

Once I landed on the ground, I shifted back to normal and began spreading Grue's darkness. Once the area was liberally covered, I began laying down Skidmark's power, ramping it up as much as I could. I kept Grue's power just around the area I was affecting.

I had researched Hookwolf. Knew he was ruthless. Had been Birdcage bound multiple times, and been broken out before reaching the place.

He wouldn't let someone like me just leave. Not after taking out 2 of his Capes.

I watched from inside the darkness as he approached, running at full speed. His front legs fell onto my trap, and sprang back toward him.

In a beautiful domino effect, his wolf face struck next, also sailing backwards.

His shoulders struck after that, finally launching him back in the direction that he came from.

All in all, it took a few seconds for him to be launched. Once he was launched, it took about ten seconds for him to get back up.

By that point, I was out of view.

He circled the area. Looking for any trace of me. I had fallen back on my old standby, though. Sophia and Grue could keep my hidden, and Tattletale could tell me where he was heading to look. I was able to keep a step ahead of his efforts.

It took him about twenty minutes of searching before he gave up. I watched as his blades began to fold in, pulling into himself as his human form returned. His muscular form with his long, greasy looking blonde hair. He looked the part of a Nazi warrior. He had wanted revenge for his fallen teammates, but he had given up after losing me.

And I wanted revenge for the pain he had inflicted on me. He pulled out a phone and dialed a number. I approached, keeping behind him, and keeping as quiet as possible.

As I approached him, I could hear him.

"...ot Alabaster and Victor, for sure. Didn't find Othala. I can double back and check."

He paused, listening to the person on the other end. Kaiser? Most likely.

"Yeah, seems like some sort of power thief. At least, she was able to use Alabaster and Shad..."

Luckily, I reached him before he could finish. Ripping his power and his life away. I was still breathing hard from all the running and the obviously near death experience. I could hear a voice coming out of the phone. Definitely Kaiser.

I let out a low growl, too tired to even consider dealing with this. I focused on my new power. My arm folded apart, turning into several long blades. I impaled the phone, annihilating it.

"Got an extra one..." Sophia said. I nodded as I pushed Hookwolf back and brought Grue back to the front, losing access to the blade power.

"Not exactly as we planned, but it could have gone worse. Hookwolf had a good power. It'll be useful." Tattletale said.

"I suppose." I said, quietly. I knew that using his power would be an instant giveaway. Anyone seeing it would recognize it.

"Hey, not to intrude or anything, but..."

I turned to look at Grue. He had been fairly quiet since I had taken him on. He had only really weighed in on combat situations.

"What's up?" I asked. I was beginning to feel exhausted. I considered whether Alabaster's power would help me feel more awake. I somehow knew it wouldn't.

"I was wondering if we could try to do something about my sister tomorrow?"

I looked around. the warehouse was torn to shreds. Three people were dead, even if they did deserve it, and one may have been hurt in the ensuing fight.

Being able to help a girl who was in a bad situation? That would feel good.

"Yeah, let's do that tomorrow."

703

Para_Docks

Feb 8, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 8

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Feb 10, 2016

#367

And I just keep posting, cause I have so many ideas. Whooo?

Part 8:

I yawned as I walked down the street. After my late night, I had been hoping to sleep in. That was what Saturdays were for, after all.

Grue had argued. He basically forced me to set an alarm to get up early. I could understand, on a level. If I needed to rely on someone else to watch over my dad once I was gone...

Well, I didn't want to think about it. Tattletale had also decided to take advantage of my early morning. Had helped walk me through a costume design, and had me send it to some costume maker she had heard of. We had ordered extras, just in case they were damaged. They had been expensive, but I had the money from 4 up and coming criminals padding a bank account now.

And I was soon going to have a costume. One I hadn't been completely on board with, but one that Tattletale had convinced me would work well. And, it was supposedly made out of high quality materials. Slightly armored.

Not that it was completely necessary, with Alabaster's power. But, I supposed it would be reassuring to have.

And those would be delivered in the next few days. Hopefully discreetly. I didn't need my dad finding them and asking questions.

"We're here." Grue said, shaking me from my thoughts. I looked up at the building that we were standing in front of. It was run down, definitely in the lower end of the city.

"You sure she'll be here?" I asked.

"No, not at all. She's got a pretty nasty habit of running off when things get tough."

I nodded. He didn't need to go into more detail. His death would be trying for his family. It wasn't even my fault, but I still felt a bit guilty about it.

I entered the building and followed Grue's directions to one of the apartments. I took a deep breath and knocked, waiting for an answer.

And I waited.

And waited.

And after a few more minutes, I sighed. I put my ear to the door and couldn't hear anything on the other side. I took a quick glance around the hallway, and saw that I was alone. I swapped out Alabaster, who to my joy was pretty quiet, at least for now, and brought Sophia back to the roster.

Switching to the shadow state, I phased through the door. Once I turned back to normal, I was hit with the smell of the apartment. It reeked of spoiled food and body odor. Tattletale's power was practically screaming at me. The things it spelled out about the occupants...

I shook my head. Needed to focus.

"Nice to see mom is still the same." Grue said.

"The more things change..." Tattletale replied.

"This is your mommy's place, huh? No wonder you became a two bit villain." Sophia said.

"Fuck off." Grue said. "Let's just see if Aisha is here."

I nodded, and started wandering the apartment. It was small, which just made the mess worse. The front door led right into the kitchen, which was crawling with cockroaches. Beyond the kitchen was a split. To the right were what I assumed were the bedrooms, and to the left...

A living room. With two, barely dressed people sleeping on the couch. Tattletale's power hit back at me, harder this time. The woman of the pair was Grue's mother. No doubt about it. The man she was with...definitely not a one night stand. The set up was too comfortable. Too familiar.

On the coffee table in front of the couch was an assortment of drug paraphernalia. Some light stuff, some...much heavier. It was also obvious that they had been using it pretty heavily, with how out of it they were. No visible signs of overdose, though.

It occurred to me that this was likely the way that Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush had lived. I wondered, idly, if the merchants had been suppliers for the couple. It was likely. And if so, it was also likely that some of the old members were still handling it. They wouldn't disappear, after all. Not immediately.

I turned away from the pair, and paused. Something...something had seemed off. I couldn't be sure of what, but...I could have sworn I had seen something, just out of the corner of my eye.

Probably a trick of the light. I rationalized. For some reason, though, I couldn't shake it. My mind clung to it.

Shaking my head, I moved toward the bedrooms. The first door that I opened was clearly the mother's room. Just as trashed as the rest of the apartment that I had seen, and no Aisha.

I opened the other door, and saw...a surprisingly well kept room. Oh, it was messy, but not like the rest of the apartment. Just a teenagers standard of messiness.

I entered and began looking around. It was clear she wasn't here, but...

I paused, getting that sensation again. The feeling that something was off. Tattletale spoke up this time.

"You too?"

"You're feeling that?"

"I am. Something...little things seem off."

I nodded. "I keep thinking I'm seeing something."

"Seeing something? I don't know about that one." Tattletale said. "Something is tripping me up, but I'm not seeing anything."

I frowned. So much for that.

"She doesn't seem to be here, Grue."

"Damn. I was hoping..."

"Could she be with your dad?"

"Unlikely. We can check, if you don't mind, but..."

"No, it's fine." I said. "I don't have anything else planned for the day. And if you can think of any other places she'd go..."

Grue nodded. "Yeah, I'll try to think of something."

--

It was nearly 7 PM when I finally got home. We had wandered all over the city, Grue leading us to places that he thought his sister may have gone. All of them had turned up empty.

I mumbled a hello to my dad as we entered, and then headed up to my room, his voice following me to tell me that dinner would be ready in about half an hour.

I was barely even hungry. Just tired. I had been walking around for over 10 hours.

"I can't believe we didn't find her." Grue said as I began up the stairs.

"We can try again tomorrow." I said. "She has to be somewhere."

"I'm sure she is, but...I don't know where else to look."

"Well, we'll just go back to the same places then. She'll show up eventually. And your dad seemed nice enough."

"Yeah, sure." Grue said. I wasn't sure which comment that was to. Maybe both.

I opened the door to my room and stepped in. "Once you have your costume, and don't look like a Shadow Stalker wannabe, then we can look around at night, too." Tattletale said.

"We could look around at night now. Even without my costume."

"And what's wrong with looking like me? If she's gonna use my powers, she can at least pay..."

"Homage." Tattletale and I both said, each picking up on the word just as Sophia began to stumble. That just elicited a groan from the former hero.

"I'm still not sold on the costume, either. It's not...really my style."

"That's kind of the point." Tattletale said. "You want to disassociate your two personas from each other. Try to keep things simple. Cape life and civilian life, separated."

"Not to change the subject, but..." Grue began. I raised a hand to stop him.

"Grue, I promised I would help you find your sister, and I'm going to. After a good nights sleep, we'll head back out and find Aisha, alright?"

There was no reply. Just silence. I raised an eyebrow, and was about to speak again when I heard a voice from behind me.

"You always talk to my dead brother when you think you're alone?"

I spun around so fast that I almost fell over. Sitting on my bed was a girl, maybe a year or so younger than me. I didn't need Tattletale's power to fill me in here. I had seen both of this girl's parents today, spoken with her father, and I had her brother on retainer as one of my powers.

"Aisha." Grue said.

"How...did you get in here?"

"I've been following you all day." the girl said. I was still taking her appearance in. A stripe of purple was dyed into her hair. An act of rebellion and a cry for attention. The former aimed at her father, the latter at her mother. She had a black eye. An assault. Fairly recent. She was shaken from it, though she would try to hide it. She was smiling. Not an act. Not really. She knew something.

And then my power kicked in. My real power. I could feel her power. I could also see a slight glow around her. Golden in color. A word came to mind. Forget.

"I think..." Tattletale began. "There might be more to your own power than we thought."

I nodded, but didn't answer her. I turned my attention fully to Aisha. "You're a Cape."

"You too. Or just a nut who buys costumes. And can walk through doors. Probably a cape, though."

"You...were in your mom's apartment."

"Guilty." she said, smiling. "It was pretty funny watching you wander around. Then you started talking to yourself, and then you mentioned Grue, which was my bro's villain name."

"She knew?" Sophia asked. "You told your sister you were a villain?"

"She figured it out." Grue said.

"I wasn't talking to myself." I said, ignoring the bickering. "I...can kind of collect Capes. I found your brother and his teammates. Two had already died, he and the other were on their way out. There...was no saving them."

"So...you have him? Right here, with you now?"

I nodded, slowly. I couldn't be sure how she'd react. She displayed a hundred emotions at once, on a micro scale. Sorrow, happiness, relief, anger, and so many more. She literally didn't know how to feel.

"He asked me to find you. To help you out of your...situation."

"How, by killing me and adding me to your utility belt?"

I shook my head. "We didn't even know you were a cape." I said. I then continued. "When did that, happen? Grue wants to know."

"Well, you can tell Brian that it was the other night. I went for a walk to clear my head, after...after the funeral. Some guys came out of nowhere, tried to start shit with me. One of them hit me in the eye. After that...they just kind of wandered off. Took me until a couple of hours after I got home before I realized no one could see me."

I nodded, slowly. "Okay. Well, I'm not going to take you. I only target people who deserve it."

"So...okay, what now?"

I looked at the girl. She was a mess. Emotionally, anyway. After seeing her parents...

The mom who was so burnt out that she barely even registered the death of her son. The father with such repressed emotions that he would never let any grief show. And a young girl who needed someone to hear her out, to support her.

I walked past her, toward my door. "Stay here for a minute."

I walked down the stairs and headed into the kitchen, where my dad was still cooking.

"Hey, Taylor. Say, did I mention that my truck is running better than ever? You must be a natural at repairs."

I smiled a bit at that. "That's great, dad. But, um...can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, what's up?" he asked, looking concerned.

"I have a friend upstairs, and she could really use some help right now..."

711

Para_Docks

Feb 10, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 9

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Feb 11, 2016

#403

Part 9:

Dinner was...a little awkward, honestly. I was constantly thanking whatever forces of the universe that I had Tattletale's power and Grue feeding me information. I was able to make it seem like I was much more familiar with Aisha than I was.

I also silently thanked her for playing along and acting shy. Everything I had learned about her from my two sources had screamed at me that she was anything but. She was, however, able to play the part fairly well.

Once we had eaten, and my dad agreed to let her stay with us while she 'worked past her issues at home', we excused ourselves to my room. I had barely closed the door before she began.

"So, now that your pop is all taken care of, care to explain why I shouldn't be freaking out about you?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but couldn't come up with anything. "I...can ask Grue stuff about you? Tell you things only he knows?"

"I...she's been kind of flighty the past few years. Not sure how much I could tell you that I haven't already." Grue said.

"Oh, like what? I mean, if what you say is true, he must have already shared a bunch. You showing up at mom's and dad's, all the other places you went, all that stuff you said downstairs."

I nodded. "True, he says there's not really much else he could tell me."

"And why were you looking for me? You didn't say that to yourself all day." Aisha asked, plopping down on my bed.

"He asked me to. He...he got into a bad situation..."

"Because of his job. Him being a villain ended up with him getting..."

"Killed? What a shock. Being a stupid criminal gets you on people's shit list." Sophia said.

"Shut up, Sophia." Grue, Tattletale, and I all said. Aisha looked concerned. "Don't worry, just one of my...partners mouthing off."

Her eyes narrowed. "How does that work? I mean, I can't see them, they don't seem to be able to do anything. How do you know you're not just nuts?"

"I...they tell me things. Things I couldn't know."

"Maybe you just get some of their memories. Maybe you're just a psycho."

I looked at the floor. "Maybe I am..."

Aisha let out a breath. "But...if what you say is true, then you...kind of...in a really fucked up and roundabout way, saved my brother."

My eyes shot up in surprise. "What?"

"Look, if you're telling the truth, which I can't be one hundred percent you are, then he was dead anyway. You kind of...preserved him. He would still be around, if you're telling the truth."

I nodded. "I...I am. I just don't know how I could really prove it."

We sat in silence for a moment. Finally, Aisha stood up. "Where is he?"

I pointed toward Grue, who was standing next to the doorway to my room. She walked over, stopping when I motioned for her to. She turned toward him.

"Brian...can you hear me?"

He sighed. "Yes, Aisha, I can." I relayed his message.

"You're an idiot. Look at what you went and did."

"I was trying to protect you. Make enough money to get you out of mom's..."

"Yeah, and you got yourself killed doing it. It's really fucking mom up. Like, more than she had been. And dad..."

"I know. He...he didn't seem great."

Silence loomed over the room again. "This is stupid."

"Shut up, Sophia." I groaned, casting her aside and bringing Mush out. My experiments throughout the day had revealed that he was one of the better choices. Alabaster wasn't awful, so far, but he was still an Empire cape.

Hookwolf and Victor were terrible. I had been called dozens of awful things in the short few minutes that I had each of them out.

They would be staying in timeout until I needed them.

"I was just trying to protect you." Was Grue's response, when he finally found the ability to speak again.

"Well, now look at how things have turned. Looks like I'm gonna need to keep an eye on you."

"What do you mean?" The question was equal parts Grue and myself.

"Well, I'm assuming you and your teammate aren't the only ones little miss reaper here has 'collected', right?"

"Um, no...there have been a few others."

"Were they on their death beds like Brian and...?"

"Tattletale."

"Like Brian and Tattletale?"

I hesitated, which she seemed to take as an answer. The grin she was wearing was almost as bad as Tattletale's, though there was also some trepidation there. She was nervous. She knew what I was capable of. What I could do with a touch.

"Thought so. Well, if you get your butt taken down, then Brian goes with you, right?"

"I...guess so." I said.

"Well then, looks like I'm gonna have to make sure you stay safe, so he stays safe."

She then shrugged. "Well, as safe as a ghost can be."

"Ask her what she means." Grue said. "How does she plan to keep you safe?"

"Aisha, how do you plan to..."

I blinked. Had I been talking to someone? I looked to Grue, Tattletale, and Mush. Grue and Mush seemed more confused than Tattletale and I.

"Something...just happened." Tattletale said.

I nodded. Something was off, I just had to...

I jumped as I felt hands grab my shoulders, and I was face to face with Aisha.

"That's how. I heard you talking about a costume earlier. You're gonna go out there, do the Cape thing..."

I nodded, slowly. Still trying to shake the disorientation of suddenly remembering her.

"Great, hero or villain?"

"Hero." I said.

"Really? With this power you're gonna...? Alright, whatever. I don't care, not my place to judge for that." Aisha said, letting go of me and backing away. "I guess that means I'll be going out with you. Acting as your back up. You could probably use some back up. At least, some that can actually do something."

"Tell her no." Grue said. "I don't want her in danger."

I opened my mouth, but hesitated. She...had a point. Having someone watching my back...it would be a good thing.

"Taylor." Grue said, sounding angrier. "Tell her no."

I sighed. He was right. "Aisha, no...you can't. It's too dangerous. People will be after me. The Empire, for one..."

"And I can make them forget about me if I'm ever in danger. Hell, I'm probably infinitely safer than you."

She was right. Her power was a neat absolute defense. There were probably blind spots, weaknesses, but it was strong.

The possibilities were already forming in my mind. Combining it with Tattletale's power would allow me to gather information at my leisure, and a lot more. I could get anywhere.

Add Shadow Stalker in, and...

I shook my head. A dangerous road to go down. "Your brother doesn't want you in danger..."

"I didn't want him in danger." Aisha said, sadness dripping out of her voice. "Look, I have powers. I'm gonna use them. One way or another. We can do it this way...us watching each other, backing each other up...or I can strike out on my own. Maybe become a vengeful vigilante. Go after the people who killed my brother."

"You would try to take down Lung? Alone? That's..." I stopped, considering that that was more or less my own plan.

I was also stopped by the look she shot me. I reached the conclusion at the same time as Tattletale, a few seconds before Grue.

"That's not really fair..." I said.

"Neither is telling me all of this then turning me away. But if we work together, maybe we can get the real killer. And keep each other alive."

I heard Grue sigh, and turned to see him fold his arms over his chest. "What do you think?" I asked. Aisha looked like she was about to respond, but realized I wasn't talking to her.

"I...I don't like it." Grue said. "But she's the kind of kid who would actually go out and try to do what she's saying. I don't like it at all, but I think having her here, where we can watch her is better."

"I agree. Plus, she can take some of the stress off of you. Be an extra set of eyes. Watch your back, all of that fun stuff." Tattletale said.

I nodded again, and turned to her. "Alright, you're in."

Aisha smiled, and then broke out into a laugh. Well, not really a laugh. More like...a cackle.

I didn't know people actually did that in real life.

"Great, so...I'll need a costume. And probably some weapons, since I don't have the power to kill people with my bare hands. Oh, and..."

I turned my attention to Grue as she continued rattling off items she would need. "This is going to be a bit of a headache, isn't it?"

"Probably..." he said.

I turned back to the girl. She looked more animated than she had since she first appeared. Tattletale's intuition was quick to fill me in.

She had never doubted me. Had assumed my...condition since she first saw me and overheard me.

She had been building up to this. To her pitch.

Both to act as a Cape and be close to what was left of her brother.

I felt myself smile. She was a bit devious, pretty cunning.

Hopefully, I wouldn't be leading her astray...

Last edited: Feb 11, 2016

717

Para_Docks

Feb 11, 2016

View discussion

1 of 7

Next

Last

Threadmark

A shorter one today, but another update should be coming sooooon.

Part 10:

"So, Aisha's parents haven't had a problem with her staying with us?"

I shook my head at my father's question. "No, they're fine with it. They each have their own things going on." I said. It had been a few days since she showed up. We had been getting along well. Mainly, I knew, because she was getting a taste of a far more exciting world than she had been before.

My dad nodded. "Sure they do." he said. I could hear the judgement in his voice. We had given him a bit of a rundown of her actual family situation. We hadn't even finished explaining before he said that she would be welcomed.

"And...I'm sorry, I can't recall. How did you two meet?"

I hesitated for a moment. We had glazed over that, initially. "Oh, I met her and her brother through Emma and a friend of hers."

Not an exact lie, really. If not for Emma and Sophia, I wouldn't have become a Cape.

"Ahh, that's nice." he didn't sound entirely convinced. Which made sense, I had basically been a shut in until very recently.

"Anyway, what should we do? Aisha won't be back until later tonight." I said. She had gone to her mom's to pick up some of her things, and then she was going to swing by our drop spot to get her costume. It had taken a lot of discussion to settle on something she was happy with, and that fit the theme that Tattletale had helped me decide on.

"We could go catch a movie, then an early dinner?"

"Sounds nice to me." I replied. "That new comedy looked good. About the couple who are both Capes. One's a hero, and the other's a villain."

My dad chuckled. "I saw a few trailers for that, it did look good. Guess we have our plan, then."

It had been a hectic few weeks. It was nice to just sit back and relax, fall back to normalcy.

"...a hectic day for crime yesterday. Brockton Bay Central was robbed by The Travelers, a roaming gang of villains. The resulting battle between the Travelers and the Wards resulted in injuries to multiple people on the scene, including Panacea, who was in the bank at the time. Her injuries are reported to be relatively minor, and she should be able to resume regular service with New Wave soon."

"At the same time, a break in resulted in the death of two individuals, and the disappearance of their child. The Alcott's, who are relatives of Mayor Christner. Authorities have stated that Mr. and Mrs. Alcott seem to have been killed immediately upon invasion. Their daughter, Dinah, was missing from the scene, and no sign of any struggle was found in her bedroom. It is assumed, at this time, that she was taken, though the reason for that is unknown. We now go to Mayor Christner, who is issuing a statement."

"Taylor, are you okay?" my dad asked, shaking my attention away from the TV that we had been passing.

"Um, yeah, I just..."

He glanced at the TV. The report had looped. Apparently this was these were the top stories today. "Just awful..." he said. "I don't understand how things like this can happen with the PRT and Protectorate in the city."

I nodded, but my attention was still on the TV. I still had Tattletale out, was still drawing on her power. Pieces were coming together.

My dad grabbed my shoulder and pulled me away from the TV. He was trying to protect me from the horrors that were being reported. But I was already filling in gaps that I wasn't sure the authorities even knew. Connections between the events, some strange things stuck out.

I would need to research some more about this, look into the family and the Travelers, but...

I would need to do something that I had been putting off for a while. I would need to go to someone who could actually deal with the Travelers, and their boss.

Coil... one of my targets. Tattletale wanted revenge for him forcing her into service.

I had no doubt that the Travelers were brought to Brockton Bay by him. I just needed to learn how...and why. And then...

Then I would need to bring it to the heroes.

I hoped Aisha wouldn't be out too late. It looked like her costume would be getting some use sooner than we thought.

574

Para_Docks

Feb 23, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 11

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Feb 24, 2016

#501

Part 11:

"You gotta chill out."

I shook my head. "Can't. Too stressed to even consider chilling out."

"Really? For real? The grim reaper of Capes is scared to walk into a room full of Capes?"

"Aisha, come on...you know this could go wrong about a dozen different ways."

"Should you be calling me by my name while we're in costume?" Aisha asked. I could hear the grin in her voice and I hated it. "Also, only a dozen ways this could go bad? That seems low."

"I'm being optimistic." I said.

"Is that what you call this?" Sophia asked. "Sounds like being a little whiny bitch."

"Shut up Sophia." I mumbled. I could hear Aisha giggling at that.

"I agree with the girl. Inferior as she is, she raises a good point. You are being quite insufferable."

"You're not helping, Alabaster."

"Just don't pay them any mind." Tattletale said. "A psycho and a nazi are not the people you want to listen to."

"Says another villain." Sophia replied. "She should listen to me on principle, since I'm the only hero."

Tattletale wiggled her hand back and forth. "Only in name, really. Let's not fool ourselves."

"She should listen to me, in any case, since my associates and I are the most moral of all of her victims." Alabaster said. "Between Shadow Stalker herself and Tattletale's partner...and let's not even mention the Merchants."

"I swear, if your power weren't so useful..."

"I'd still be alive?"

I groaned. I missed the days when I didn't get sass from people who were, essentially, living in my head.

"Hey, crazy pants, we doing this?"

I looked toward Aisha and sighed. I wasn't sure whether to consider her a step above my ghosts or on the same level. "Yeah, do your thing."

We had worked out a plan. The best way to go about this meeting. It required her to...

I shook my head. What was I just thinking about? I knew it was important, something to do with this meeting. Tattletale's power was trying to fill me in. Something to do with...backup?

I shook my head. I needed to trust that whatever I had worked out would go ahead as it should. I activated Sophia's power and floated down to the ground.

I was fortunate that I had figured out what I had when I had. As a result of the bank heist, the heroes were meeting specifically to discuss the Travelers and their presence in the city. Of course, the meeting was taking place at the PRT headquarters. I had been waiting for about an hour, and New Wave was just arriving.

I landed across the street from the building, in an alley, and opted to walk the rest of the way. I wanted to seem as nonthreatening as possible.

I adjusted my costume as I approached. It was a fairly intricate outfit. A white hooded cloak that ran down to my knees and separated into strips of cloth at my waist. Underneath that was a dress that looked like it was made of bandages that were wrapped around me, tightly up top and looser on the bottom. The look was completed by a mask matching the design of the dress, a pair of grey tights, and some grey flats.

Tattletale had helped me come up with the design. She said the color choices would help me seem neutral, and the over all look would be mysterious. I worried that it would send a message of self importance.

Or draw parallels to Glaistig Uaine. I had seen some pictures, of course. Her costume was...not dissimilar to mine. A tattered black cloak. Hopefully the color and intentional design of my own outfit would be different enough.

I was noticed fairly quickly by two capes that I recognized from my earlier research. Assault and Battery, of the Protectorate. What struck me about them, or Battery at least, was what my power showed me.

Everyone else that I had seen so far had a golden glow around them. It was how I was able to know who was a Cape and who wasn't/ Battery's glow, though, was silver.

I...didn't know what that meant. Tattletale's power told me that it meant something, a different sort of power? A different source?

Too little information to go on.

And the pair was staring at me. Soon joined by Lady Photon and Brandish. I could tell they were uneasy at my approach.

"Remember to stay in character. We practiced this." Tattletale said.

I wanted to nod, or say something, but I wanted to avoid them all thinking I was crazy.

Assault was the one to approach me. Battery was close behind him, with Lady Photon and Brandish watching from where they had been standing.

"Hey there." Assault said, looking up and down the street. "Who are you?"

I took a deep breath. I needed to act confident. Needed to seem like I knew what I was doing.

I looked right at Assault, meeting his eyes. "I go by Elysium. I am a new Cape in the city, and I have information pertaining to the robbery and home invasion that took place yesterday."

At that, Brandish approached. "You know something? How?"

I glanced to her. Her body language screamed concern and anger. Made sense. both of her daughters had been at the bank. Panacea had gotten the worst of the attack, but Glory Girl had been injured as well.

Apparently the Travelers were pretty heavy hitters.

"I have my ways. Would it be too much to be allowed into this meeting?"

Assault and Battery looked to each other, and the latter stepped away.

"She's gonna go call it in. I...don't think it'll be a problem." Assault said.

I nodded and waited. After a few moments, Battery returned. "Armsmaster said to let her in."

Assault nodded, and led me and New Wave into the building. Many of the PRT officers inside watched me suspiciously. I supposed I couldn't really blame them.

We were led to a conference room, and I was surprised to find Armsmaster waiting inside for us. Brandish and Lady Photon took seats on one side of the table, and I took a seat on the other side. Armsmaster was joined at the end by Assault and Battery.

His attention was solely on me. "Elysium, I take it?"

"Correct." I said, nodding. The slightest movement from him. He was analyzing me. He had something...

A lie detector in his helmet. I would need to be careful.

"The gathering place of deceased heroes in Greek mythology." Armsmaster said. An internet browser, too? This was why Tinkers were considered the most adaptable Capes by many.

It kind of made me want access to more Tinker powers. That was a dangerous thought to have, though.

"Any particular reason for the choice of name?" I could hear the accusation and worry in his voice.

"It seemed to fit." I said. I knew this was likely to come up. The heroes would want to know who they were working with...or potentially against. I let out a light sigh as I pressed on. "My power...it allows me to commune with the dead."

I could see everyone in the room stiffen. They had all jumped to the same conclusion.

"When you say that..." Battery began. I raised a hand to cut her off. Confidence. Tattletale said to be confident.

"I am able to speak with, and draw upon the powers of, some Capes who have fallen since my trigger. I am aware of your concerns, but I assure you that I am not a risk of becoming another Faerie Queen."

They were all still afraid. I could see it. I could practically feel it.

I felt something in my hand, and looked down to see a piece of paper. I unrolled it and read the note, and then smiled. "If it will help you to feel more at ease. My associate will be able to vouch for me."

"Associate?" Armsmaster asked. I could hear the tension in his voice, see it in his movements. He was ready to attack. I just had to hope he had enough sense not to.

Everyone gasped at the appearance of Aisha. Her costume was a black bodysuit with a dark blue wave pattern on it, and a dark blue mask with only eye holes.

"Allow me to introduce Lethe."

Armsmaster was, once again, the one to break the silence. "The river of the forgotten in Greek mythology. I'm noticing a pattern."

"Teams do tend to have a thematic tie to each other, do they not?"

"Yeah, I was never all that into myths in school, but I guess the name fits." Lethe said, kicking her feet up onto the table. She was contrasting the attitude that I was displaying perfectly. Almost as though we had planned it.

God, did I wish we had planned it.

Still, the tension did drain from the room. The Faerie Queen had never worked with anyone. She had appeared, murdered, and then been whisked away to the Birdcage.

Just by merit of me having another Cape that I was working with, it would offer a degree of separation between me and her.

"You...you said you had information?" Brandish asked.

"Indeed. When I learned that the assault on the Alcott household and the bank robbery occurred at the same time, it set off a few alarms. I decided to look into it further."

"And...what did you find?" Battery asked.

"Yes, what could you have found that we haven't?" Armsmaster asked.

"Well, firstly, I believe I know who brought the Travelers to the city."

"They could have come on their own."

I could hear Tattletale scoff, even as I grinned behind my mask. "Unlikely. Their appearances in other cities tend to coincide with long standing disputes suddenly finding resolution. Two gangs fighting in a city? If the Travelers appear, there is likely to be only one before they leave. A robbery of an item a long standing villain wants may occur. So on, so forth."

"You're saying they do jobs for other villains? Why?"

Lethe shrugged. "Does it matter? They're hired help. They follow, not lead."

I nodded. "As she says. They seem to move from place to place, taking jobs and then moving on."

"And you believe you know who their employer is?" Armsmaster asked. He was taking notes, somehow. A recording software, most likely.

"Correct. Pictures of Trickster revealed that it was unlikely that Empire 88 would hire them. They would also be more likely to fold a new group fully into their organization, rather than simply hiring them. Similarly, the ABB is unlikely to approach them for the same reason. They don't fit with them. With the Merchants gone, that leaves only one other power in the city. One who's well known to hire soldiers."

"Coil..." Assault said.

I nodded. "It would be a logical step to assume that he would expand his operations to move beyond simple mercenaries, and into the field of Parahumans."

"Still, with no proof..."

"Does it matter? He's a villain. I know I'm right. You can investigate it as you wish. I know I will be." I said.

"You haven't mentioned anything about the Alcotts."

"Ahh, yes. A quick search of school record revealed that Dinah Alcott had missed a number of days of school recently, complaining of incredibly severe headaches. She also made claims that she had been able to see the future."

"She triggered?" Lady Photon asked.

"A precog..." Armsmaster added.

"An ability that many people would do quite a bit to get access to." I said.

"And I'm betting it's not just for lotto numbers." Lethe said.

"Depending on how her powers might have manifested, it could make anyone with access to her untouchable." Battery said.

"If this is true..." Armsmaster said.

"It is. I am 97% certain." I said.

"I'd take that bet." Lethe added.

Silence reigned over the room for a moment.

"Did one of the...fallen, you mentioned before tell you all of this?" Assault asked.

"They did assist me in my discoveries, yes." I said. "And Lethe, of course."

All eyes went to Armsmaster. He was looking right at me. "You believe you're telling the truth about all of this Coil business. We'll look into it." he said.

The way he said it, though. He believed me about Coil, but not something else...

My eyes widened slightly, despite my effort to control my expressions. Tattletale's power was feeding me information, and I could see her as she appeared in my line of sight. She looked as concerned as I did.

He suspects. I thought. He can't prove it without seeing me use my power, but he suspects I played a part in the deaths of all of my ghosts.

693

Para_Docks

Feb 24, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Interlude: The Protectorate

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Feb 27, 2016

#588

Interlude: The Protectorate

They all watched as the two girls left. The conversation hadn't lasted long after they had divulged what they claimed to know about Coil's involvement in the heist and the Alcott case.

They had departed with a promise that they were on the same side, and they would continue to forward any information that they learned.

New Wave left at the same time, claiming they wanted to visit Panacea before it got too late.

"What do you think, boss?"

It was Assault who spoke. He had a knack for being a go-getter in the most stressful circumstances.

"I'm afraid I need you to elaborate." Armsmaster said. He was sure his grimace could be heard as easily as it could be seen.

"Well, I mean, we've been looking into some of the...suspicious deaths lately. A cape...dressed like that... who claims she can 'commune with the dead?"

"Do you think she...could be like her? That she could..."

"Difficult to say. Her careful word choice was telling. If she drew upon powers of random deceased Capes, then she could assuage concerns by using one who did not die under suspicious circumstances."

"All of the recent deaths in the city have been suspicious." Battery said.

"True." Armsmaster said.

"You've been tracking all of them, right? Keeping tabs? There were the Merchants, some Empire Capes..." Assault began, then hesitated, looking to Battery.

"The Undersiders, but that was undoubtedly Lung." Battery continued. "And that just leaves..."

"Shadow Stalker." Armsmaster said. "The first one."

He and Dragon had poured over all of the available information after Sophia Hess' death was reported. All they were able to find was that her heart stopped suddenly. There were no immediate signs of foul play.

And then they found the Merchants. Their deaths had been...not unexpected. He knew there was a pool around the PRT HQ on which of them would be found having suffered an overdose first.

But...that was the surprise. They hadn't overdosed. At least, not apparently. Again, their hearts had just stopped. Their blood had been tested, and while drugs were present, it shouldn't have been a lethal dosage for any of them.

And then the Empire Capes...Victor, Alabaster, and even Hookwolf. One of the lieutenants, a man thought to be nearly indestructible. Very few of the established heroes in the city could go toe to toe with him.

And he was dead, killed under mysterious circumstances. Potentially claimed by that girl.

"Boss...how do we handle this?"

Armsmaster sighed. So few of the current Capes really knew what it had been like when the self proposed Faerie Queen had been active. He hadn't actually faced her, but he had reviewed all of the files on her. What little footage there was of her fights.

"I'll have to meet with Director Piggot and discuss this. Dragon too, perhaps. For the time being...remain hands off."

"What?" Battery asked.

"She's extended an alliance for now, and if she is behind all of the mysterious deaths, then she's been primarily targeting villains."

"That's not..."

"I'm not defending her actions, but if our suspicions are correct, then she's incredibly dangerous. Targeting her may result in her responding in kind, and each potential confrontation could result in her becoming stronger. That's not the kind of fight we want on our hands right now. Not with Lung acting out lately, and not with an Endbringer attack quickly approaching."

Assault and Battery nodded, and then walked away. Armsmaster was already making notes, scheduling meetings with the director and Dragon, noting the recently deceased Capes to look more into what was known on their powers, and potential ways to counter Elysium's partner.

He sighed. He had already been up for too long, and it seemed he was not going to get much sleep tonight either.

630

Para_Docks

Feb 27, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 12

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Feb 29, 2016

#659

Part 12:

I sighed as I pulled out the disposable cell phone that I had purchased and checked it again. Aisha and I had each gotten some when we decided we would be going out in costume together. Better to be able to communicate.

And, it hadn't taken much brain power to figure out that she was skipping out on school pretty regularly. Since she was liable to so that anyway (Even Grue had agreed) we decided to put her to work.

We had gotten the idea after our meeting with the Protectorate and New Wave. She had stuck behind to listen in on their thoughts. It had been risky, but it had worked.

We learned that I was considered dangerous. Too risky to start a fight with, but not exactly trusted.

That was partly Tattletale's fault. She had helped design my costume, had played into the references to the Faerie Queen's costume.

Though, I wasn't free of blame. I had gone along with it.

But, I supposed, it did have the desired effect. I could use their weariness, build a trust. Aisha and I...or Elysium and Lethe, rather, had been doing just that over the past couple of weeks. Busting up muggings, drug deals, any crime we happened upon. And always delivering the perps to the police.

And, we had avoided other Capes at all costs. Partly because I didn't want to be thrown into the spotlight. I didn't need more attention.

Aisha had learned that the Empire was, in fact, at least partly aware of me. I wasn't sure how villains interacted with each other, but I had to play it smart, and assume all of the gangs would know of me, on some level.

I wished we could know for sure, but the ABB generally didn't have any way for me to gather information from afar, and Coil seemed to be obsessively upping his security constantly. I was able to catch glimpses of some of his dealings, but operating on the outside was a major disadvantage when dealing with him. At least, according to Tattletale.

And I wasn't going to send Aisha to search into their dealings. If something happened to her... I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.

I had been relying on Grue and Alabaster, mostly, in the field. And keeping Tattletale active, of course. Shadow Stalker had been on regular rotation as well. I had also used Victor a handful of times. Thanks to his power, I was now proficient with small firearms, speaking Japanese, Cantonese, and German, and had even picked up some medical skills and some martial arts.

I hated that some of my most useful ghosts were Nazis.

And now, despite all of my powers, all that I had gained, I was sitting in the cafeteria at school, hoping for an update from Aisha in regard to her patrolling on an E88 warehouse. They were the gang most aware of me, so they needed to be the most prominent on my radar.

I shoved my phone back into my pocket and shook my head, trying to put my attention elsewhere. I glanced up to see someone approaching my table. I recognized her...

"Hey Taylor." the girl said.

"Charlotte." I responded. I knew I sounded suspicious, but I had a right to. This girl was...okay, not one of Emma's inner circle, but she had been a hanger on. Not participating directly in my torment, but not helping me.

I relied on Tattletale's power. Reading into her every slight move. She was clearly nervous, bordering on outright uncomfortable. She practically had shame pouring off of her, and she was struggling to say something...

"Oh hell." Tattletale said. "You really not getting this?"

I wanted to roll my eyes at her, but restrained myself. She knew I understood. "Did you want to sit, Charlotte?"

She relaxed a bit as she nodded and sat down.

"What can I do for you, Charlotte?"

"I...I just wanted to come over and..."

I could hear Grue chuckling. He couldn't even read into her body language like Tattletale and I could, but he could see where this was going. I imagined it was partly his fault that I was actually enjoying this so much.

Ever since my little display with Emma, there had been something of a...paradigm shift. People had been more hesitant to mess with me, even as early as the Monday following the scene. A few members of the inner circle of bitches had tried it, but after a few choice words, they had backed down as well.

Madison was still avoiding me like the plague, and I was thrilled to find that her little cutesy act had faded away a bit.

Emma...she had seemed more disturbed by the event than Madison. Which made sense. I had gone after a far more personal scar when I targeted her. Something that had impacted her deeply and caused her whole view on the world to change.

She had become despondent in class, almost flagrantly ignoring the teacher's in favor of her phone. Of course, she had gotten away with it.

But, for the last week, she hadn't shown up at all. I had dug into the school's emails, and saw that her parents were excusing her each day, so I hadn't pushed her to doing something too terrible. As much as I hated her now, I didn't want her death on my head.

So...combining the sudden vacuum in the school's power structure, and me using Tattletale's power to help me pick out some better clothes, and I was suddenly garnering a bit more attention than I had before. Nothing too intense. A tighter pair of jeans and I had lost the baggy sweatshirt. Brockton Bay was warm anyway, and the early May weather was already showing signs of a nice spring.

I had to be careful, though. I didn't want my sudden surge in confidence to coincide with the sudden appearance of a dangerous new cape. That would be a really stupid way to get outed.

But, well...it was nice not having to dread school every day.

"Look, Charlotte, I'm past all of the bullying stuff, okay? You never really did anything to me, so while you didn't really help me out, you didn't add too much."

I could see her flinch at my words, but she nodded. "Yeah, I...I know. I should have done something, but Emma and Sophia, they just..."

"I get it, Charlotte." I said. "I don't want to talk about this any more, alright. Consider your conscience clean."

"Oh...okay." Charlotte said. She took a bite of her food, clearly looking for something to say.

"You should send her away." Victor said. "She's clearly a Jew. You could make a better breed of friends. I mean, you're already hanging around with that n-"

I dismissed Victor, barely able to hide my grimace, and called Sophia back out. She could be a pain in the ass, but at least she wasn't racist.

I glanced back at Charlotte. She was actually trying, which was more than most of my fellow classmates had been doing. "So, what did you think of that math test the other day?"

She seemed pleased to actually be engaged in a conversation.

"You're actually chatting with her?" Sophia asked. "She's a sheep, Hebert. A follower. Prey."

I tensed my muscles a bit and made a sign under the table. I could visualize Tattletale's face as she spoke. "Taylor would like you to maintain silence for the time being, Psycho Stalker."

"Fuck off, Tattletale, you don't get to boss me around."

"True, I suppose, though I can see that Taylor's considering bringing one of the Nazi's out over you, so..."

"Bull shit! No way I'm getting packed away for one of those skinheads again. Tell her, Hebert."

"Taylor? Are you okay?" Charlotte asked.

"Hmmm? Yeah, I'm fine."

"You...don't look fine. You look really angry, actually..."

I had to take stock of myself. I could feel the grimace on my face. Damn it.

"Sorry, Charlotte, just...thought of something unpleasant." A hurt look crossed her face, and I mentally sighed as I backpedaled. "Not because of you or anything you said, just...something I was thinking about before you came over here."

"Oh...is there anything I can do to help?"

"I don't think so. It's not a big deal, really. It's just..." I paused as I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled it out of my pocket and scanned the text that Aisha sent me.

It was coded, so that only the two of us could understand it. And it was not the greatest news.

I stood up and grabbed my tray. "Sorry, Charlotte. I need to go." I said.

"Oh...okay. Are...is everything okay?"

"Just a bit of an emergency." I replied. "But I'll be fine. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

I left the confused girl behind, dumping my tray on the way out of the cafeteria.

--

"So, what's the plan, spooky?"

"Do you need to call me that, Aisha?"

She cackled and flopped back onto my bed. "Um, duh. Of course I do. It bugs you. Anyway, we know now that the Empire of Douchebags are planning on making a move on you."

"Right. I wish we knew how they knew as much about us. I mean...they know about you, and both of our names."

"Those goons down at the warehouse didn't know where it came from. It's probably only with the higher ups. Now, if you wanted me to, I could track down Kaiser and..."

"No!" Grue and I shouted at the same time. "Too risky."

"So, what then? You gonna touch of death them?"

I shook my head. "Not going to do anything to draw extra attention. I have enough powers for now."

"Really? You can't think of anything that you could do with Kaiser's power?"

I could. Easily, actually. My mind practically whirred with ideas any time I thought of what would happen if I added another Cape to my collection. I could use Kaiser and Grue together for absolute control over a battlefield. Or if I combined his power with Sophia's, then...

I shook my head. "Not the point. I'd rather stay off the Protectorate's radar. I don't need Kaiser's power so badly that it's worth turning every hero against me."

"Could just go after Lung too."

I sighed. She knew that was the plan, eventually. "We will, but it's tough to go after him when we can't find where he's hiding. And that new Tinker of his is a problem."

Bakuda, the ABB's newest recruit, had decided to make herself known in a little show of force with New Wave. Apparently, she had developed grenades that emulated the concussive force of Flashbang's attacks.

The ABB had gotten a pretty decisive victory that day. Since then, she had been kept on the back burner, but...

"She could mix things up in a bad way."

"I could sneak in and steal some of her bombs."

"No way. Stealing a Tinker's work is too dangerous. Could have tracking devices..."

"I wouldn't be hanging onto them."

"And you wouldn't know what they do, necessarily."

"You're no fun."

"Yeah, well, we're not going after them until we're ready." I said. "No reason to attract the rage of a dragon if we don't need to."

"Don't need to piss him off if we sneak you in and you just touch him and..." she made a grabbing and pulling motion.

I shook my head, even as Tattletale laughed. "Not yet. The Empire is our first priority. And even then, I only want to engage them if we need to. No..." I imitated the yanking motion that Aisha had made.

"So lame." Aisha said. "You could become, like, the empress of the city."

"Not what I want, Aisha." As it was, I was already fairly content. I had fixed my problems at school, more or less. My grades were improving, I wasn't being bullied. I had made friends with Aisha, my dad didn't seem as down as he had been, probably as a result of me being more upbeat. I had quite a bit of money at my disposal.

And I was using my powers to help people. We hadn't done much, yet, but...we had saved a few people from bad days and potential injury.

I wasn't in any rush to do anything that could upset that balance.

"Are we clear? No starting anything with the Empire."

"Yeah, yeah. I get you, 'mom'."

"Good. Then let's get some sleep. Not every night that we'll be able to rest up."

--

I was shaken from my sleep by the sound of knocking on my bedroom door.

"Taylor, Aisha, you need to get up!"

My dad's voice was frantic. It took me a moment to actually register that. But once I did, I started taking in everything. The sound of rain pounding on my windows, the sound of the sirens in the distance, cars honking and people yelling outside.

I jumped out of bed and ran to my door. I saw Aisha had done the same.

"We need to get to a shelter. Come on, we need to get to the car." my dad said. "Grab some clothes, and let's go."

I looked to Aisha. Her eyes were wide, I could tell she was scared, but she nodded.

We each turned and entered our rooms. I grabbed my backpack shoved some clothes into it. I took a moment to listen, and could hear my dad rustling in his room. I used Sophia's power to move quickly and silently to the basement, and retrieved my costume. Aisha would already have hers.

I didn't want to do this...didn't want to worry my dad, or risk him doing something when he learned we were separated, but...

I couldn't ignore this. Couldn't just sit back and ignore it.

Leviathan, an Endbringer, was attacking. Heores and Villains would be out, risking their lives. And I would join them. I had to.

I was shaking, and as much as I told myself that it was just nerves, apprehension, I couldn't ignore what I felt.

A twinge of excitement.

654

Para_Docks

Feb 29, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Interlude: The Broken (II)

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Mar 3, 2016

#701

Interlude: The Broken (II)

Emma sighed as she paced back and forth. She had been out here for hours, on the edge of town, waiting.

It had taken surprisingly little to convince her parents, once again, that she was staying at Madison's house. They assumed she was taking solace in one friend to recover from the passing of another. They never even questioned whether she could be up to something else.

They had asked some questions when they received her bank statement and found all of her savings had been drained. It had actually resulted in quite an argument. A few thousand dollars just disappearing would do that. She had claimed she had needed it for an emergency, refused to elaborate further.

They had relented with just grounding her for a week.

It hadn't stopped her from getting to her...'meetings'.

And now she found herself standing in a field, waiting. She was tired, she was getting antsy, and it was starting to rain.

She pulled out her phone and looked at it. A bit after 6:30 in the morning. She Hadn't been able to sleep at all. A mixture of excitement and nerves...and not having a place to sleep that she would have been able to sneak out of.

It should be any minute. she thought.

6:45. Just a few more minutes.

Her phone was nearly dead. She couldn't even distract herself with games or music. All she could do was wait in the cold. And the rain was getting worse, and...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sirens going off. She had heard them before, when tests were conducted.

This didn't feel like a test.

From her vantage point, high on a hill that was overlooking the city, she could see everything. It was amazing how quickly people leaped to action at the noise. Even as she was registering what must be happening, she could feel the rain worsening.

She felt a gust of wind from behind her, and turned quickly to see the now familiar doorway. The Doctor stood just inside of it.

"Good morning, Sophie."

Emma didn't respond. Partly because she felt like an idiot for choosing a false name so close to Sophia's. She could practically imagine the other girl's sneer. "Miss me that much?"

Partly, she was in shock at how unsurprised the Doctor was.

"Is...is what I think happening down there really happening?"

The older woman leaned slightly, apparently trying for a better look. "It would appear so. It seems Leviathan has chosen to strike this city."

"Did you know about this?"

"No. We knew an Endbringer attack would occur soon, of course, but we are never aware of their targets or any other factors."

Emma looked down. She supposed if anyone had the foresight to know an attack was coming, they would do something to stop it.

"Are you ready? We should proceed."

"What? But...everyone here...my family."

"There is little that you would be able to do with your current capabilities." The Doctor said.

"But, with the procedure, I could...?" Emma didn't even finish her question before the doctor was shaking her head.

"No, you will not be able to participate in this battle, barring incredible unforeseen circumstances. You will not have a grasp on your power, and will be drained. You'll likely sleep through the entire battle."

Emma felt like she was going to cry. Her family, her friends...they could all be dead in a few hours, and she couldn't so anything.

"Sophie, do you want to proceed with the procedure? Keep in mind that there are no refunds."

Emma nodded before the question was even fully out of the woman's mouth. She wanted powers, was willing to give anything for them. She could help in the future, if she had powers.

"Then I suggest we proceed. And, you should attempt to clear your mind. I'm sure you're concerned for the well being of your loved ones, but worrying could impact the effects of the formula."

Emma glanced back at the city again, then nodded. "Right...I'll try." she said, walking toward the door.

The Doctor began going over the procedure again as she led Emma down the halls. Emma wasn't listening. She was still thinking of what she had seen. The evacuations starting, the rain worsening.

It might have been a trick, but she could have sworn she saw the monster's silhouette.

She was led to a room, and sat in something similar to a dentist's chair. The Doctor was still talking. Going over how psychological factors could impact the results of the formula. More information she had already received.

She had given so much to get here. All of her money, and a promise of more. Servitude, of a sort, as well. 5 favors that could be called in at any time. A potential deal with the devil.

Which, made sense. It had been almost too easy. A couple of days of furiously searching for ways to gain powers, to induce a trigger event. She had been contacted when she had almost given up hope.

The Doctor and her staff had confirmed what she had thought. Emma lacked the ability to trigger on her own. She could never naturally gain powers.

But Cauldron could supply her with some. She didn't have much say in the power at all, due to her lack of funds. But if it made her strong? She didn't care.

The woman was still talking. Still wasting her time. Emma's mind continued to drift. She knew the risks, knew that this could go horribly wrong, turn her into a monster. The Doctor had assured her that their process was improving, that the risk was fairly low. She had to hope it was low enough.

She thought of her friends, her family. People she may never see again. Leviathan could wash them away, take them from her while she was still powerless.

If he did...she would make him pay when next he showed his face. She would have the power to...

The Doctor handed her the vial. It felt cold to the touch. She could see the cooler it had been removed from behind the woman.

She was holding her destiny in her hands. Pure potential in liquid form.

She tried to clear her head as she drank.

She failed. Two thoughts arose as she drank. The images of the two people that had helped her get to this point were prominent in her mind.

Sophia had called her strong, seen her for the survivor she was. She had taught her the way the world truly worked. But that had been where it ended. She hadn't done anything to help push Emma to be stronger. She had been content to know that she was a survivor. Even she had stagnated, gotten sloppy. She was caught being too rough with criminals, forced to join the Wards. If it hadn't been for her and her dad, then Sophia could have ended up in Juvie. Sophia had stagnated, a bit. Emma could see that now. She had been a hunter, true, but she hadn't been at the top of the food chain as she would have others believe.

And, when Sophia had fallen, Taylor had stepped up. With Sophia absent, and the threat that she naturally presented to Taylor as a hunter far above her, Taylor had grown bolder. She had actually started to stand up for herself. But, it had been at Emma's expense. Taylor boosted herself by tearing Emma down.

And, it was in this way, that Taylor had pushed Emma to become stronger. The same way Emma had intended to push Taylor.

As Emma's consciousness was carried away, shown a vision she couldn't comprehend and wouldn't remember, she thought of the two friends that she had held closest in the past...

I will be strong. Strong enough that I'll surpass what Sophia was. Strong enough that Taylor won't be able to think she's stronger than me.

...

Please...please let me be strong.

579

Para_Docks

Mar 3, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 13

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Mar 7, 2016

#797

Part 13:

I looked down to the streets and saw all of the people crashing against each other. Hampering one another in an attempt to get to safety, or out of town all together. If not for Shadow Stalker's ability, I would be down there with them, trying to force my way through.

As it was, even moving by rooftop was difficult. The rain was pouring down, far worse than I had ever seen before. My visibility was down, everything was slick.

The fight hadn't even started yet, and I was feeling my stress beginning to mount. I could see why casualty rates could be so high during an Endbringer fight.

I had to hope that Lethe was able to keep up. She didn't have the same mobility that I did.

I shook my head. Needed to focus. A wrong move, one misstep, could lead to me missing a jump. Losing time, which I may need. Luckily, I had gained practice jumping across the roofs of the city over the past couple of months.

"I've been to an Endbringer fight, before." Sophia said.

"Have some words of wisdom for us?" Tattletale asked.

"Yeah, so shut up and let me talk, big mouth." Sophia shot back.

"Hookwolf has been in a few Endbringer battles as well." Alabaster said. "And, it's likely he's seen more of the front line than this little..." He quieted himself as the three of us glared at him. A sigh escaped his lips, and he shook his head. "He'll be able to offer more than she can."

"He's also very difficult to deal with." I said. "More so than Sophia. What have you got for me?"

"So, they split everyone up into groups based on what they're good at. I was on search and rescue. Not much I could do to hurt Behemoth." Sophia said. "They also have ranged attackers, up close attackers, healers."

"Ranged is out." I said. "We could maybe toss stuff at Leviathan with Skidmark's power, but I doubt that would do much. We can't heal, either."

"So you gotta figure out if you want to do search and rescue or get up close and personal. I think you know where my vote is." Sophia continued.

"Ooh, what a shock. The psycho wants you to have a boxing match with Leviathan." Tattletale said.

"You disagree?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, no. With the powers you have, you could make a huge difference on the front line. Hookwolf and Alabaster alone could help you keep his attention...probably indefinitely. Maybe add Mush for some added defense..."

I shook my head. "No, Mush's power would get in the way, it doesn't meld. Hookwolf is offense and defense, enough." Using Mush would draw in debris, garbage. It would get caught up in the blades. It would basically be me tripping myself with my own trap.

"Well, Grue's out. Using his power would cause more problems than it would solve, too. Squealer won't contribute here, and you already tossed Skiddy out."

"Might switch him in and out. Could be useful depending on the circumstance."

"Sure. Victor's out for the same reason Grue is. His power won't contribute, and may just hurt our side. So...me and Psycho Stalker?"

"I hate you."

"Love you too, Soph."

"Yeah. Probably leave you in the most, Tattletale. Can't hurt Leviathan if I'm phasing around, and we may be able to pick something up..."

"You're really gonna bench me for this? I fought Behemoth."

"I'll be using you as I need to, but...information could help us. Could be invaluable."

I could hear Sophia grumbling, but apparently the promise that she wasn't really being benched was worth something.

I took one last, long leap and glided down to the street, landing just in front of the Protectorate building. A few people jumped as I did. I glanced around, seeing no sign of Lethe. Fortunately, I knew she wasn't using her power at the moment, which hopefully meant she was doing alright.

"Elysium..."

I instantly tensed at the voice. I turned slowly to face the speaker. "Armsmaster."

"We were curious as to whether you would come out for this."

"well, I wasn't going to..."

I was stopped as he raised a hand. "I'd like to talk with you. Privately."

Tattletale appeared in my vision, looking as nervous as I felt.

Armsmaster turned and entered the building, apparently just expecting me to follow.

"He's not likely to just let you join the others if you don't go along with his shit." Sophia said.

I sighed and entered the building. Armsmaster led us to a meeting room like the one that the meeting where I had introduced myself. As we entered, Armsmaster closed the door. I turned to look at him, and noticed him taking his halberd into his hands.

"Are you planning on attacking me? Not exactly in keeping with the truce. And it's a little odd that you'd just choose to attack another hero out of the blue..."

"Enough. Give me one reason why I shouldn't have you locked up until this battle is over."

"And remove a capable hero from the field?"

"A 'hero' who has a questionable history and a potentially horrifying power."

I sighed. "I've been working with you. Me and Lethe. We've been busting gang activity..."

"And the mysterious murders within the city have dropped off since you made yourself known to us, which is as suspicious as them occurring in the first place."

I stared at him for a moment. I was trying to take everything I could in, look for some way out of this. "You brought me in here to accuse me of murdering capes?"

"And to prevent you from taking advantage of this battle. When you approached, I made note of you utilizing Shadow Stalker's power. If my assumptions are correct, then you also had a hand in the deaths of the three Merchant Capes as well as Alabaster, Victor, and Hookwolf of Empire 88."

There was something there. Something beyond the obvious denial. I was thankful for my mask when it came to me. A quick switch of my powers, and...

"I can understand your apprehension, your nervousness. My power, on the surface, does resemble Glaistig Uaine's. It's part of the reason I was hesitant to come forward." I said, allowing Grue's darkness to begin rolling off of me. As it began to appear, I could read the surprise in Armsmaster's body language.

"But to bring me aside, and call me a murderer when I came to you and supplied you with information to help you solve two issues facing the city, after me and my partner have spent weeks assisting with keeping the city safe, and after I came here, risking my life, to fight an Endbringer? That's low. I haven't done anything to earn this treatment."

I took a breath, then continued. "If I'm such a suspect, then explain this. Grue's ability to generate darkness. I've read the stories, know the reports. Lung killed the Undersiders."

A silence rang between us. Armsmaster was confused, faced with information he hadn't been expecting. I would need to push to get out of this situation. "Now, if it's alright, I'll be joining the others and trying to prepare for my first Endbringer fight." I turned away, reaching for the door.

"Elysium."

I turned slightly, just getting Armsmaster into my vision.

"If you do anything today to take advantage of this fight, if I have any reason to suspect our theories on you are correct, the Endbringer Truce won't protect you. The Capes of this city are my responsibility."

"Noted."

I opened the door and stepped into the hall.

"So, no new friends today?" Alabaster asked.

"I wasn't planning on it anyway." I said.

"We're going to need to be careful around him." Tattletale said.

I nodded. I doubted my possession of Grue's power would dissuade him for long. I would need to do something to keep him off my back.

But we could worry about that later.

646

Para_Docks

Mar 7, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 14

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Mar 14, 2016

#898

Part 14:

"He's cheerful." Tattletale said.

"Yeah, well...he can be however he wants. I just want to stay away from him." I said, rushing down the hall. A few PRT officers were directing other Capes who were coming in further into the building. I followed the crowd, and soon found myself in a gathering room. There were windows lining the room, allowing us to see the city and the bay.

And it was full of Capes. Some I knew...New Wave and the local Protectorate members.

And then there were the ones I hadn't met who I recognized. It was easy to spot the Empire 88 Capes. Kaiser, in his full armor, with Krieg and Storm Tiger at his side. I also recognized Night and Fog just behind them.

Purity was standing a distance away. My research had shown that she was trying to go solo, become a hero. People still associated her with the Empire, though. I felt bad for her, really.

I knew how tough it could be to be seen as a hero.

I noticed the ABB was missing. Strange, given the rivalry they had going with the Empire. Would Lung really sit back and let Kaiser gain the rep from showing up to this fight?

Turning away from the Nazis, I spotted the Travelers. It was interesting that they would show up here, despite being nomadic. If I was right, it may have been Coil telling them to show up.

I turned from them and noticed the three heroes that I knew, above all else, would be at the fight. Legend, Alexandria, and Eidolon. The Triumvirate. Every Cape dreamed of being counted among their ranks.

Even getting the chance to speak with them would be amazing.

As I was looking at them, I began to notice something. It had caught me off guard when I saw Battery for the first time that her...aura, for lack of a better term, had been silver instead of gold. But looking at the Triumvirate, they were the same. Looking around the room, there were a number of Capes with the different aura. All of the Travelers, Triumph...they all had that silver aura.

As did all of the mutated Capes. The Case 53's, as they had been dubbed. Faultline's crew had a number of them present. I saw one boy with metallic skin.

All of them. Did it mean something? Tattlerale's power was telling me there was, but I didn't know what. I was missing something.

I turned my attention back to the Triumvirate. They were among the strongest in the world. Did the silver aura denote a higher potential?

Kind of. All of the silver aura Capes did seem stronger than average, but no...there was something else.

Then I noticed Alexandria. She seemed to notice that I was staring at her. She barely reacted. A slight twitch of the eyes and a slight twitch of her mouth into a smirk.

"Intentional." Tattletale said, mirroring my own deduction. "She knows your watching, is reacting carefully to you."

"Why would she do that?" Grue asked. "Trying to let you know she knows your reading her?"

"Maybe? I mean, yes, partly. But there's something else."

I was still watching her. She was good. Was keeping herself in near perfect control of her reactions. But a bit slipped through. Maybe it was all intentional, but it didn't really matter. Either way, I had the info.

She knows about the different auras. Or the reasons behind them, anyway.

"Hey there." I nearly jumped as a voice called from behind me. Turning around, I saw Aegis, the current leader of the Brockton Bay Wards. "Sorry. You looked a little lost. Figured I would come over and see if you needed help."

I was trying to regain my composure, to calm myself down. The combination of what I had been learning and being scared by Aegis had knocked me off kilter.

"Aww, you're gonna show us around? So sweet." Another slight jump as I turned to look at Lethe. I could tell she was grinning behind her mask.

"Yeah, well, we all need to stick together in times like this, right?" Aegis asked.

"Yeah, right." I said.

He held up two devices for each of us to take. "Looks like you'll be needing these. They're armbands made by Dragon. They allow us to coordinate. They'll update us to Leviathan's location, let us communicate, and let us know when..."

He didn't need to finish. It would let us know when someone died.

We each snapped the armbands on.

"Please speak your names and allignment."

"Lethe, hero."

"Elysium, hero."

The armbands confirmed our names, but my attention had shifted back to Aegis. Another benefit of Tattletale's power, I had seen him tense slightly when we spoke our names.

He had been briefed on us. Of course he would be. Armsmaster had seen us as a threat. He would probably tell the Wards to avoid us.

To his benefit, he barely let it show. "So, you want to meet the rest of the Wards?"

"Sure, sounds like fun." Lethe said. "Right, boss?"

"Don't call me boss. We don't have a chain of command." I said.

Aegis chuckled. "Come on, I can introduce the two of you."

Lethe was following right behind Aegis, while I followed a bit behind, still scanning the room. I caught Armsmaster as he entered. His eyes were on me, and I could tell he wasn't happy to see me with Aegis.

I turned my attention back to the boy and caught him mid sentence. "...Lethe and Elysium."

"Hey, Wards." Lethe said.

"Hello." I mumbled. Looking around the group, I could see that they were all here. Gallant, Clockblocker, Vista, Kid Win, the new recruit, Browbeat.

And they all seemed a bit on edge, with the exception of Gallant. Things were making more sense now. Information filling in.

"Armsmaster warned them about you. Told them you were a threat." Tattletale said. "They saw you come in, and Gallant read your emotions, told them that you had no intention of attacking anyone here. That you seem good, more or less. Aegis decided to extend the olive branch, so to speak. They're still on edge, but they're not overtly worried."

"So..." Clockblocker said, looking at me. "You been active long?"

"Not too long. Only about the last month, maybe month and a half." I said. "Lethe joined me not too long after I started going out."

"That's right. Saved her butt from trouble more than once." Lethe said.

"Always nice to have someone watching your back." Gallant said. "Out of curiosity, have you two considered the Wards? It's a pretty good program."

I shook my head. "No, I...don't think I'd fit." I said. He was still reading me. I could tell.

"Where the boss goes, I go." Lethe said.

"I said, I'm not your boss." I grumbled.

"Hey, this a gathering of the Wards?" I turned and saw the metallic boy and a girl wearing a purple costume with white armor.

"Weld, Flechette. How goes it?" Aegis asked.

"Well, could be better." The girl, I took her to be Flechette, said. She was glancing out the window.

"These two some of yours, or are they from some other city?" Weld asked.

"We're from here, but we're not Wards." I said. "We're independent."

"This is Elysium and Lethe." Aegis said. "They're pretty new to the Cape scene."

"Well, nice to meet you." Weld said, extending a hand to each of us. Lethe shook first, then I did. I noticed the concern pouring off the Wards as I shook his hand. That hurt. They had no reason to think I was going to slaughter people here.

"So, what can you guys do?" Flechette asked. "I mean, we all know each other, but..."

"I disappear." Lethe said. "Elysium does a lot of things."

"Jack of all trades? A bunch of minor powers?" Weld asked.

"Not minor."

"Shut up, Lethe." I said. "I'm able to call upon a number of powers. That's...all I care to say right now."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group for a moment. Luckily, Weld broke it.

"Fair enough. I know how important the element of surprise can be. I'm sure we'll see a bit of what you're capable of soon." The beginning of his sentence was lighthearted, the end had an edge of seriousness to it.

"Right." I said.

The Wards continued chatting, but I zoned out a bit. Tattletale was glancing around the room, Grue was looking at Lethe. Alabaster was, thankfully, being quiet. He was looking toward the Empire capes.

I could see some shifting, and Legend seemed to make his presence more known. He cleared his throat and began a pre-battle speech. He told us that Armsmaster and Dragon had been able to see this coming in the time necessary to let us prepare. That one in four of us would not survive the fight...

Even still, even with the seriousness of the subject, hearing him speak was inspiring.

He then started dividing the Capes into groups. The first would be led by Alexandria and Dragon. These were the Capes who were functionally invincible. I hesitated. Did I fit in with this group?

I could still be killed. It was just tough. Alabaster made sure of that.

The second group were up close fighters who didn't fit into the first group. They would be led by Armsmaster and Chevalier.

Aegis and Weld began moving forward.

"I think this might be you." Lethe said.

I nodded. "You gonna be okay?"

"I'll find my spot. Just don't get yourself drowned."

"You too." I said, following Weld and Aegis.

Armsmaster's eyes were on me as I approached the group.

HE headed me off, keeping me just out of hearing distance from the group.

"Are you sure you belong here?" he asked me.

"I don't think I'm invincible enough to fit into Alexandria's group, but I should be able to do some damage."

He seemed displeased, but why...?

My eyes widened. "You...you're planning something." I said.

I could see him tense.

"You...think you can do something...something big. You...think you can kill Leviathan."

My words were quiet, to ensure no one else heard.

I glanced to his halberd. "A new weapon."

"Enough." he said.

I looked at him. I knew what his answer would be, but I needed to ask.

"Do you really think it'll work?"

He hesitated for a moment, then one quick nod affirmed it.

Another moment of silence passed between us. Finally, I spoke.

"Can...can I help?"

He hesitated again, then shook his head. "Just do as you're instructed."

I lowered my eyes as he turned and walked away from me. I walked over and joined the group, staying near Weld and Aegis.

As the last of the Capes were being split up, I heard shouts. I could see forcefields being put up as a wave crashed into the building. A yell for Strider to carry us all outside.

The air was pushed from my lungs and I was suddenly ouside.

The group leaders were trying to organize everyone. I rushed to Armsmaster and Chevalier, looking around as I moved.

We could all see him. Leviathan, standing above the remains of the boardwalk. His monstrous form was more horrible to behold than one could ever imagine from images and videos.

"Get ready!" Legend called.

As if responding to Legend's call, Leviathan moved. He was incredibly fast. So fast that I didn't even have time to take a breath before he was in the middle of us. Blood was already mixing with the water.

The armbands were calling out already. Carapacitator down, CD-5. Krieg down, CD-5. WCM deceased, CD-5. Iron Falcon down, CD-5. Saurian down, CD-5.

611

Para_Docks

Mar 14, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 15

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Mar 16, 2016

#956

Part 15:

There are some things that one just can't understand until they experience it first hand. Every time that I've gone out in costume had reinforced that belief.

Leviathan's speed? His sheer power? Those were incredible. He inserted himself into our group and injured numerous people so quickly...

But his water echo was something else. The torrents of water that were flowing off of him was truly unthinkable. He had the ability to 'throw' it at people. He didn't need to here. The amount that was pouring off of him, even as he just stood there, was enough to knock some of us off balance.

I was knocked down completely, falling onto my back. I tried to stand, but the pouring water and the weight of the cloak I wore was making it far more difficult. I was about to swap to Sophia when I felt a hand grab me and pull me out. I felt myself being pulled by the same hand.

Once enough water cleared from my eyes, I opened them and saw Aegis. He had a forced grin on his face as he looked back at me. "Having a rough time?"

I nodded as he released my hand. I shrugged off my cloak and let it fall into the water. It felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted from my shoulders.

"Gonna come back for that later?" he asked, looking down the road.

I shook my head as I turned to look where he was staring. Leviathan had progressed a bit. Moved ever so slightly further into our front line. "I have extras." I said absently.

Aegis whistled. "Must have been expensive to buy multiple costumes."

I shrugged. "It wasn't a big consideration." It had been Tattletale's money. Well, all of the Undersiders, except for Grue. I had given what funds he had earned to Aisha. "Kind of a shame, though. The costume loses a lot of the effect without that. I just kind of look like I'm doing a mummy impression." I added, looking toward Tattletale slightly. She had been the driving force in the design of this costume. I didn't know what reason she had for wanting the top half to look like bandages wrapped around me, but...

I shook my head. It didn't matter now.

"Well, we should get back to it." he said. He sounded unsure.

"Have you...done this before?" I asked, rolling my shoulders.

He nodded. "Search and rescue during the last Behemoth fight. Even with my power, I couldn't get near him."

I nodded.

"This, though? Leviathan...if we can take any of them down, I think it's him. He doesn't have the kill field, or the scream..." he looked at me and grinned. "I think we'll kill him. Maybe not today, but some day. And then we'll move on to the next."

I smiled under my mask, and nodded. I wasn't sure he was right, but I could hope.

The smile fell from his face a bit, replaced with a more serious expression. "See you over there?"

I nodded, looking around the street. A plan was already forming. "Yeah, I'll join up in a minute."

He flew off, not waiting for a further response. I switched Grue out for Sophia, shifting into the Shadow State to move more easily through the water. I then jumped into the air and landed on the fire escape of one of the buildings nearby. Once there, I continued my ascent.

"I'm taking so much in." Tattletale said. "So much information here."

"Yeah. It's...kind of distracting."

"You can take me out of action. Use someone else?"

I shook my head. "No, might need the info. Just need to turn it somewhere more applicable."

I reached the roof of the building and started running across it. Leviathan was four buildings down. I could reach him easily if he didn't move.

I could see capes flying around. Aegis was easy enough to spot. Alexandria, Legend and Eidolon, too.

I could see Kaiser's twin capes, Fenja and Menja as well. They were matching Leviathan's height and attacking him with everything they had. He was bleeding, acting defensively.

But the wounds were superficial. One of the tidbits I was picking up with Tattletale's power.

My own power was actually kicking in and feeding hers a bit. Leviathan had an aura, traces of gold and silver here and there, but predominantly black. And it was...different than the Capes. Closer to his body than theirs extended, had a different feel. That alone wouldn't have set me off, completely. Everyone knew the Endbringers were something extraordinary. But with the intuition I had...

"He's not human. Never was. None of them were, I bet." Tattletale said.

"He's connected to Capes, but isn't one. Not really. Something...wherever our powers come from is connected to them, but...they're not the same."

I reached the rooftop closest to Leviathan. He was still a ways off. I could make it to him with a well timed jump...

"You just come up here for a better view, Hebert?" Sophia asked.

"No. Thinking. Shut up." I said. I was looking over the scene, trying to formulate the best plan.

I could see far more of the battle from here. Plenty of the Empire Capes were right in the fray. Kaiser was summoning blades to impale Leviathan's leg. I could see Night, standing a distance away.

Kaiser turned his attention to her for a moment, and I could make out the barest of nods. Walls of blades rose around her, blocking her from view. It created a path, a sort of hallway, that led right to the leg Kaiser had been assaulting.

An instant after it formed, Leviathan reacted, forcing it's leg through the blades and away from the woman.

She was already retreating, once again in her human form.

An interesting synergy. Not the way I would have gone about it, but...

My eyes jumped to Alexandria as she flew past Leviathan. Other Capes were backing away, making room.

I had seen clips of Endbringer fights on TV. I knew what she was doing. This would be my chance.

I cast Shadow Stalker away, pulling out Hookwolf. I could feel his aggression as he appeared.

"Your friends are down there." I said. "Kaiser, Night, all of them. If you feel any sense of camaraderie with them, just keep your mouth shut and let me do what I need to do."

I turned and glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. I could feel his anger, but he didn't react.

I turned myself back to the fight, feeling his power start to wash over me. I approached the edge of the roof as Alexandria began to rear up.

I had seen this particular tactic used against Behemoth. Tattletale's power filled in a bit of info, let me make an assumption on how this would work against Leviathan, given the difference in their sizes.

Alexandria flew forward while Legend fired lasers from behind her. He wasn't trying to do damage, just distract. He would stop when she made contact.

Which she did, like a missile. The sound was almost deafening. Even still, I jumped into the air just above where Leviathan would stop skidding, from my estimates.

As I took to the air, I pushed Hookwolf's power into overdrive. I hadn't really experimented with it. Using his power would draw a lot of attention. In this situation, though, there wasn't much of a choice.

I did have a choice, however, over the form I took. Hookwolf was partial to his namesake animal as a form. I didn't have the connection to that that he did. I was more willing to change it up than he had been. If I wanted this to work, I needed to be able to really get a grip on the creature.

And, given the amount of deceiving I had been doing lately, the form of a serpent was somewhat appropriate.

Tapping into this power now was like I had finally let it out of it's cage. It practically screamed to be used to it's full effect.

I was happy to oblige, in this case.

The feeling of the change was...strange. My flesh was pulled into a core, and blades replaced it. The blades, however, felt as 'real' as my true body did.

I took advantage of the berth that others had given to allow Alexandria her attack and landed directly on Leviathan. I allowed the blades that my body was now made of to propel me around him, tearing into him anywhere that I touched. I could see, barely, people reacting to my presence. Word of Hookwolf's death had spread pretty quickly. For people to see his power, now, would raise questions.

Hopefully people would wait to ask them.

Leviathan shook off any surprise he may have felt pretty quickly, and started grabbing at me. His claws were able to grip and shatter some of my blades. Luckily for me, Alabaster's power made sure that the damage didn't stick.

I was able to get a solid minute of attacking off, with Legend and some of the other blasters taking shots where they could. Finally, water rose around Leviathan and exploded outward, forcing me away from him. As I flew through the air, I shifted to grow legs and stuck into the wall of a building. I clawed my way down to the ground, only shifting back to normal once I noticed he was gone.

People were shocked, but only a handful continued staring at me. The rest moved on, trying to find Leviathan.

Kaiser was one of the few still casting me a glance. I could see the resentment, the hatred, in his eyes.

Tattletale's power said he probably wouldn't try anything here.

60% sure.

I cast Hookwolf aside for Shadow Stalker, and took to the roofs again. I looked around, but couldn't see any sign of fighting.

"You did a number on him."

I turned and saw Kid Win on his hoverboard. He was apprehensive, scared. Not just of Leviathan.

"I tried." I said. "Any sign of him?"

"No, not ye..." he trailed off, and I turned just in time to see our target rise out of the water about 4 blocks away.

"Right." I said, shifting into the shadow state and taking off. He would recognize it, but I had already shown my hand, and they had their suspicions about me. Using this power wouldn't be any more damning than any other.

Kid Win was able to reach our destination before me, but not too much faster.

I could see the remnants of my attack. Gouges all over the Endbringers body.

Even these wounds were superficial. I was learning more and more as I viewed it. It became denser the further toward it's center you got, harder to hurt.

It was currently going toe to toe with Chevalier and Myrrdin. I could see Kid Win floating near Aegis. Glory Girl was nearby as well.

Alexandria was back in the fray as well.

Too many people, too close. I wouldn't be able to use the same tactic as before.

I brought Hookwolf back out, sending Shadow Stalker away again. I shifted, this time taking a smaller form. Feline, rather than canine. I still wanted to distance myself from Hookwolf as much as possible.

I wanted to wait for the best opportunity, but as I watched, he swatted Glory Girl away, knocking her into a building. Kid Win was knocked away with the afterimage of his swipe.

When he grabbed Aegis and started squeezing, I realized I likely wouldn't have an opportune time.

I sprung into action, gripping the creature's arm with claws made of hooks and scythes. I started ripping into him again.

Another wave of water saw me removed from him. Even with all of the blades to help me grip. I jumped at him, only to be knocked further into the air by his tail. Before I could get my bearings, I felt something else strike me with incredible force.

It took me a moment to realize what had happened. What he had thrown.

A long moment of my bladed body slicing into Aegis' already battered form.

I forced myself to change back. Even knowing the pain that was coming.

To our benefit, we struck glass instead of steel or concrete. Luckily for Aegis, I struck first.

The pain was awful, but only lasted a moment. I was refreshed before I hit the floor.

The pain of skidding against the floor at such a speed was dealt with similarly.

And then Aegis colliding with me at the same speed.

If not for Alabaster, I'd definitely be out of the fight. Maybe even dead.

I stood up, shaking the glass from my costume. Even with the pain gone, I was still beginning to feel mentally exhausted.

I heard a gurgling, and looked down. I couldn't help but to gasp at the sight.

Aegis was crushed from the chest down. The noticeable imprints of Leviathan's clawed fingers across his body. Deep gouges also existed where my own power had struck him.

"His power is trying to help him." Tattletale said.

I shook my head.

"It's...I don't think..."

"No." I said, kneeling down. "There has to be something..."

"You don't have any powers that can help him...he has maybe a few minutes before even his power gives up, and then..."

I lifted my armband and pressed in both of the buttons. "I...I need a healer." I said. "Aegis, he's...he's in really bad shape. If he doesn't get help, he'll..."

"All of our best movers are out of commission." a voice said. "We can get a flier to your location. ETA is five minutes."

"We don't have that long, he'll...he's gonna..."

The voice didn't respond. The silence was as damning as anything else. They had given up. Accepted this.

I let go of the buttons. No one could help now.

"Taylor, listen...it's not your fault. This is a risk that people know about going into these fights..." Tattletale said.

"Would he be dying if not for me? If I hadn't been right there? Using Hookwolf's power?"

Tattletale went silent, now. Just like the responder on the armband had.

"I'm not guilt free here..." I said. "I thought I could do good here, but..."

None of my ghosts spoke. This would be a prime time for either of the Empire Capes to take a shot at me, to kick me while I was down.

They didn't, though.

I looked over Aegis. I could make out what was happening. Organs trying to take over the jobs of others that had already failed, even as they themselves were failing. Muscles trying to take on the support role of bones that had been crushed.

None of it was working. He was barely conscious now.

I could feel tears coming to my eyes. I had seen death. I had caused it, multiple times. But this...

He didn't deserve this. Didn't deserve to be crushed, and then sliced by someone who should have been an ally.

"Listen...I...I know you know about me. Kind of, anyway." I said. I didn't even really know if he could hear me. "I...I can't save you. Can't keep you alive. I...I don't have the power. But I can preserve you, kind of. I didn't want to, but it would keep you around, in some manner. And I...just give me a sign. If you don't want me to, that's fine. I understand, but if you do."

I heard a gurgling sound. It was maybe just some death throes. But I was fairly certain that I knew what it meant.

"I'm, like, 66% sure of what that means, and if I'm wrong, I'm so sorry."

My costume had been designed very intricately, my fingers left exposed. Just in case.

I touched his hand, and squeezed.

I felt his power pass to me as the life fled his body.

Aegis deceased, CD-7.

I sat for a moment. More alerts were coming in. I couldn't pay them any mind.

I cast Hookwolf aside, and brought Aegis out. He seemed disoriented, out of it.

I could feel the slightest change to my body as his power set in. I looked at him, determination filling me. I remembered his words, from right after he pulled me from the water.

"I think we'll kill him. Maybe not today, but some day."

I wiped some tears from my eyes, even though it was pointless. More would come, and even if they weren't, the rain would still be dousing me.

I stood up, my shoulders still hunched, but my eyes were locked on Aegis'.

"Let's go get that fucker."

Last edited: Mar 17, 2016

686

Para_Docks

Mar 16, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 16

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Mar 23, 2016

#1,038

Part 16:

I blasted out of the hole that had been made when Aegis and I had been thrown into the building. I had only possessed it for a moment, but I could already appreciate how useful flight was.

I soared into the air, and scanned the battlefield. Leviathan was easy to spot. In addition to his size, he was currently being attacked by a number of ranged fighters. I saw Purity's blasts, a miniature sun courtesy of Sundancer. I headed that way.

"So...it really is true, huh?"

I cast a quick glance back at Aegis. "...yeah."

He didn't say anything else. He looked to Tattletale and Alabaster, but remained silent.

I ignored it. I was already feeling guilty. His reaction wasn't helping.

Sophia had been a mistake, the Undersiders had been an attempt to preserve them. Give them some degree of life back after what Lung had done.

The villains...it was still fishy, hard to justify, but they had been bad people. The Merchants forced drugs on people, the Empire Capes were racists.

Aegis had been the first hero I had intentionally taken. And he had only been in the position he was because of me, and Hookwolf's power. He might have survived if not for me.

I stopped above Leviathan, shaking myself from my thoughts. I couldn't allow myself to be distracted. I took in the scene. Leviathan was swatting away the Capes who were attacking him. Sundancer and Purity, the two heaviest hitters were down. I saw the remnants of cloth creatures scattered around him. The cloth using Cape, a Rogue if I remembered right, must have been fighting him as well.

And as I looked at the creature, more information flooded into my mind, and a sickening fact presented itself.

"None of this is actually hurting him." Tattletale mumbled. "All the damage is superficial, at best."

Calculations were appearing, density, how much stronger he became the further in he got.

I shook my head. It didn't matter. We couldn't just stop. They had run before, when they got hurt enough. I rose into the air, stopping about 20 feet above him. There were other fliers in the area, and people on the ground. A momentary ceasefire while everyone weighed the options.

I didn't need to anymore. I cast Aegis aside, pulling Hookwolf back out. As I fell, I shifted into a mass of blades, the serpentine form as I had before. I launched into my attack the second I made contact, encircling and cutting into him.

He tried to fight me off for a moment before ducking away as he had before. I fell to the ground and shifted back to my normal form. It was easier to gauge everything in my normal form. I switched Hookwolf for Aegis again and took to the air. My armband announced Leviathan's latest location, and I took off.

There were more people near him in the new location. They had likely fallen back, tried to gather what was left of a real force. I landed and took in the current scene. More of the cloth creatures were engaging the Endbringer. Buying time?

I nodded. There was something going on. A plan being formed.

I saw Armsmaster, Chevalier, Myrddin, Alexandria, and Legend gathered tightly. They were at the crux of whatever was coming. I took a step forward, wanted to offer my assistance. I stopped as a blast of flame flew in front of me. It landed less than a foot away, causing the water on the ground to erupt into steam. More than a few eyes turned in the direction that the blast had come from.

I saw a man in a gray hooded costume. His hand was aglow with flame. I could see satisfaction in his body language. Next to him was a woman that I recognized easily.

"Othala...Fog...what the hell?"

"Apologies." Fog said. His voice was eerie. Something seemed...off about it. "It seems my aim is lacking. this is not my usual venue of attack."

Lies. He wasn't sorry, his aim wasn't lacking. The only truth was that this wasn't how he usually attacked.

And I could also tell that he was put up to this by Othala.

I glared at her. "Attacking people here? Now?"

"You killed them. We suspected the second we saw you, that you were the one Hookwolf told Kaiser about. But...Hookwolf, Alabaster...my Victor..."

I shook my head. "Now's not the time for this." I said.

Othala shook her head. "I don't care. I'll..."

She stopped as I floated over to her, splashing into the water as I landed. She packed up, placing Fog between myself and her.

"Yes, I slighted your gang, attacked you and them. Part of that is the dynamic, right? Hero against villain. There are risks associated with that. It was just as likely that I could have died, going out against you all. I didn't I was lucky, they weren't." I growled out. "And I spared you, so that you could be around for something like this, offering your help."

I looked down at my hands, lowering my voice a bit. "And if I hadn't...if I had taken you, then I could have saved a life a few minutes ago. I glared at her harder. "And now you're attacking me? Sure, I deserve it, but not here and now. We can hash out our problems later, once this is all over. If you're not going to play nice, then maybe I should take away your ability to play at all..."

Othala's expression hadn't changed. She still looked filled with hate, but I could also see tears in her eyes. "Why...why take him? Why my Victor?"

Oh, great...they were together.

I looked down. "I...won't bother trying to rationalize it. It doesn't matter, does it? Nothing I say will make it right to you. I know that." I said. "But...not here, not now."

Othala took a step forward, but Fog held out an arm, stopping her. "A fair request. It would be in all of our interest to avoid breaching the truce. Many eyes are on us, after all."

I looked around, and saw that he was right. Our little exchange had drawn a bit of attention. I could even see Armsmaster and Alexandria glancing our way.

"I'm sure we'll see each other again. Our message was received. Farewell for now."

I shook my head as the man led Othala away. I wanted to follow, to take out some of my aggression on them. The knowledge that there was a bigger threat stopped me.

And, almost as if on cue, a ripping sound brought my attention back to the fight. I turned just in time to see one of the fabric monsters collapsing to the ground. I turned my attention back to the small group of heroes. With the Empire Capes gone, I could turn my attention back to them. I approached slowly, and could hear the tail end of Alexandria speaking.

"...sure it'll work?"

"So long as I'm working with known variables, yes." Armsmaster said. "I'm confident that I'll be able to..."

He trailed off, noticing the others reacting to my presence. He turned his attention to me. "Elysium."

"Armsmaster, I...I wanted to help. Is there anything I can...?"

"No, your assistance is not needed here." he said.

I looked around, taking in the battered Capes. Even he, Myrddin, and Chevalier looked to be in rough shape. I, on the other hand, was still in good shape thanks to Alabaster's power. "But I'm still in good shape. Not tired or hurt. I can distract him, and I can use Hookwolf's power to..."

He shook his head. "No, you'd just get in the way. The best thing you could do is stay out of the way." he said, drawing his halberd. It had a strange glow to it.

Some sort of nanoweapon. Something that would rip things apart on a molecular level.

Shit...

Another tearing sound corresponded with the other cloth creature falling. Alexandria and Legend looked to each other. "Seems like now's the time, Armsmaster."

The man gave a curt nod.

"We'll go, then. I hope you're right about this."

His plan...he thought his weapon could kill Leviathan. Something else was fueling him. Another invention that would let him go toe to toe with the creature.

The four other heroes left, and Armsmaster rolled shoulder and started walking. I ran over and stepped into his path.

"Get out of my way, and leave the area."

"No, you need to listen...your weapon, it won't work."

He paused, looking at his blade. "I've tested it extensively. It won't malfunction."

"That's not what I'm saying. It won't work. It won't kill him. The Endbringer's, they're too touhg. They get more resilient the deeper you cut. That blade, no matter how good it is, can't kill him."

Another pause as Armsmaster stared at his weapon. Finally, he looked back to the creature that was now tangling with some members of New Wave. "Noted." he finally said. "Now, vacate the area and don't interfere."

My mouth fell open, and I could feel my anger rising. "Seriously? You...you're walking into a deathtrap. He'll rip you apart..."

"If you don't leave, I'll have you removed. Truce or no."

I shut my mouth, my jaw clenching against my will. "Fine. Can't say I didn't warn you." I said, turning and walking away from him. I took off and landed on top of a building overlooking the scene.

Capes began backing away, leaving Armsmaster to approach Leviathan. The monster took notice, tilting it's head as he approached.

I shook my head as I watched him, only stopping when I noticed the others.

Chevalier and Myrddin fell in step behind Armsmaster. Legend and Alexandria floated above him.

Tattletale's power was filling me in again. Missing pieces were becoming apparent.

His other invention was some sort of prediction software. It would allow him to see Leviathan's attacks coming.

And the other 4 Capes had faced Leviathan numerous times. Enough that there would be plenty of data on them as well.

I couldn't help it, a grin came to my face. It was clever. The 4 others would just do what they had done in previous fights. Armsmaster would use his program to step around them all, landing hits where he could. He may also have been directing the others...

Scratch that, he definitely was.

And that was why he wanted me gone. I was an unknown element. Even with known powers, my execution would be different.

I sat on the edge of the building. This was going to be something to behold.

674

Para_Docks

Mar 23, 2016

View discussion

Threadmarks Part 17

View content

Para_Docks

Para_Docks

Apr 4, 2016

#1,119

Part 17:

"This is idiotic." Alabaster said. "5 against Leviathan isn't going to work. Whole groups get wiped out by him no problem."

"They wouldn't be doing this if they didn't think it was worthwhile." Aegis said. His voice was low, he still sounded a bit distressed. It made sense, of course, but...

"It's an interesting idea." Tattletale said. "I don't know if it'll work, but it's interesting."

"Armsmaster's no slouch. He can be abrasive, but...he's a good leader. And a strong Cape." Aegis said.

"I think they're starting." I said.

Sure enough, the scene was shifting slightly. Leviathan, who seemed almost like he was watching the scene, had shifted slightly. He was in a more predatory stance. Even still, his focus wasn't entirely there. The waves that Eidolon was still fighting off was proof to that.

Turning to the heroes, I could see Armsmaster shift slightly, could tell he was speaking, and then they started.

Alexandria blasted forward, followed quickly by some blasts from Legend. The blasts peppered Leviathan a split second before Alexandria nailed him with a devastating punch. She backed away as Leviathan began to retaliate, sending a wave of water her way. It had nearly reached her when it was sucked away by Myrddin.

Leviathan turned his attention to the wizardly Cape when a huge sword struck him. Chevalier's blade sunk into the creature's back, and he pulled it out. Leviathan kept his attention on Myrddin, even with the assault.

That was when Armsmaster sprung into action. He moved forward, taking confident steps. His pace was perfect to allow him to pass to Leviathan through the attempted attacks of the monster and Chevalier. Fortunately, he was able to draw attention away from Myrddin by doing this.

He struck with his halberd as soon as he was in range, causing a mist to erupt from the Endbringer as it connected. He managed to land a few hits before backing off just in time to dodge a strike from the beast. All the while, Chevalier and Legend continued their assaults.

Leviathan lowered himself into a slightly crouched position again, clearly intending to charge forward, only to be met with an overhead strike from Alexandria. He was pushed closer to the ground, and in the moment that it took him to begin to recover she was able to wind up and strike again while Legend continued his barrage.

And Armsmaster was able to slip in and begin his assault again, this time targeting Leviathan's face and upper torso. More of the mist spread into the air. It was almost too brutal to watch.

If not for the fact that it was an Endbringer being targeted, I assumed some people would have turned away.

"All superficial." Tattletale said, shaking her head. "Not good enough. They're wasting time. Diminishing the damage they could be doing."

"No one's died yet." Aegis said.

"But if they can't hurt him..." I mumbled.

None of my ghosts spoke. They knew where I was going with that thought. Endbringers only left when they sustained enough damage.

Or when they won.

My attention turned to Myrddin, who was drawing more water away while allowing blasts of...something to emerge from another dimension to strike Leviathan. Even through that, Armsmaster was remaining untouched. How often had the man used that trick in that specific way?

I could hear murmurs from the people nearest me. They were already talking like victory was in sight. Like these five would be able to push Leviathan back by themselves.

None of them noticed me standing from my spot. None of them could pick up on what I could.

The assault was the same, the attack at the same intensity as it had been at the beginning, if not more. But Leviathan wasn't reacting now. Even to Armsmaster's bizarre weapon.

Another swing, one which would have easily connected a moment earlier, was caught in the creature's hand, cutting into his palm. The mist fiercly billowing from the wound, until it just...stopped. Leviathan wrenched, pulling Armsmaster in a jerking motion. Even from where I stood, I could tell his shoulder was dislocated right then.

Before the force from the pull had even been halted, Leviathan's tail swung, and an echo of water sprung from it. It connected right at Armsmaster's shoulder, severing his arm instantly.

"Hyper dense water." Tattletale said. It was more for the other two ghosts than me. She knew I had gotten the information at the same time she did. "If he had thrown a wall of it, it would have been like concrete striking him. With it shooting out the way it did...it's like a blade."

"He's switching things up. Lured them into a false sense of security, then started using new tricks." I mumbled. No one was really paying me any attention, but I didn't want to risk being overheard. I didn't need anything else pointing to the 'the new cape is crazy' camp.

Armsmaster fell to the ground, and was instantly pushed away by the torrent pouring off of Leviathan. It was more forceful than normal, another newer trick for this battle. On top of the amputated arm and the bleeding that accompanied it, Armsmaster would have some broken bones. And that was on the light side of the potential injuries.

Walls of water sprung up behind Myrddin and Chevalier, almost as though Leviathan could hear Tattletale and was taking her advice. The water walls struck the men, knocking them forward and past Leviathan. I could tell that they would be in only slightly better shape than Armsmaster. Myrddin, anyway. Chevalier's armor...well, it was hard to tell exactly what it could take, but he was in a better position. That might be why he was pushed further away.

Alexandria was grabbed out of the sky by Leviathan's tail, and expertly tossed toward Legend. Water from his tail propelled her forward faster than she should have gone, and Legend was struck. He transformed into his light form, allowing Alexandria to pass through. The water continued to carry her away from the scene.

The people who had been watching began to stir into action. Some were panicked, some begrudgingly accepted the necessity of them rejoining the fight.

I lifted into the air and flew down to where Armsmaster had landed. A few others were already attending to him, which I assumed meant he was still alive. I nodded to myself, and then headed toward Leviathan.

"Okay, so they might be sadistic." Tattletale said. "He was fucking with them. Letting them think they had a chance. Then he ripped them apart. Except for Alexandria and Legend, but that's to be expected."

"I hope Armsmaster is okay." Aegis said.

"Yeah, me too." I said. He was a jerk, but he was a hero. He had done a lot of good. Had saved a lot of people. And, I had looked up to him as a kid. I just hoped it wouldn't be a foolish mistake that took him out.

As I approached Leviathan, I could see him sending walls of water at people who were attempting to attack him. Apparently, he had grown attached to this tactic. As he saw me, he raised his tail in the same way he had when he attacked Armsmaster. I swapped Tattletale out for Hookwolf just in time for the blade of water to strike me. I was sliced clean in two from under my right arm to my left hip. For a moment, blades and other metal hung loose from my new wounds. Then Alabaster's power kicked in, restoring me.

I landed, and cast Aegis aside for Tattletale. I felt my blades emerge as I shifted into a serpentine form and rushed forward. I slipped between people, though most were quick to get out of my way if they were able to. Once I reached my target, I shifted to a feline form and began to strike. I cut deep, targeting areas where he had been injured already when I could. He tried sending walls at me, but I was able to slip around them easily enough.

After a few moments, he grabbed me from both ends and tore me in two, tossing each half as far as he could. My power restored me to where my top half landed. I poised myself to strike again, looking for an opportunity to slip in through all of the attackers.

I heard some shouts, and turned to see a massive wave coming. One far too big for Eidolon and the others to stop. It would have been too much to stop even at the beginning of the fight.

"Jesus..." Alabaster whispered.

"Guess playtime's over." Tattletale said.

Then we heard a clapping noise, and the wave just...stopped. I turned to Leviathan just in time to see a golden beam strike him.

I let out a breath I hadn't been fully aware I was holding. Scion was here. Someone who was guaranteed to push Leviathan back. A guaranteed win.

I had stopped paying attention to the calls of the injured and the fallen, but...this couldn't be one of the worst battles.

I turned to take in the strongest hero on Earth, seeing him in person for the first time.

Then I stopped. My brain locked up upon seeing him. My power...one of my actual powers, kicking into overdrive. My sight, which allowed me to see Capes, to witness their auras. He had the same golden aura many Capes did.

His was massive. Far larger than any I had seen before. And it was connected to every other golden aura. Even my own. But that wasn't all. He had another line, unlike the one going to us, but it just trailed off into nothing. It disappeared.

Something was strange. Tattletale's power was struggling to tell me what. I watched as he continued blasting Leviathan. My eyes were glued to Scion.

I cast Hookwolf back and brought Aegis out, and floated into the air to be able to see more of the fight.

I was so close to putting it together that it hurt. I just had to keep looking, if I could just...

"You can see it, can't you?"

I jumped, pulled from my thoughts by the voice of Alexandria. A mix of surprise and being star struck kept my tongue tied.

She smirked slightly. "I figured you could see powers. Wondered what would happen if he showed up."

I looked back to Scion, who was still in the midst of thrashing Leviathan. "He...he's where our powers come from, isn't he?"

Alexandria's smirk widened a bit as she nodded. I turned my attention back to her fully. I wasn't going to get my answer at this point. Not with her here.

"But not you. Or Legend, Eidolon, Battery...your powers are unconnected. You got them somewhere else."

"Correct." Alexandria said. "And I would ask you to keep all of this secret. Scion and us."

My mouth fell open. It took me a moment to close it, and another to consider the words I wanted to speak. "Why...? People have been trying to figure out powers for years. Where they come from, how to get them...and you know. You know all of it. Why keep that knowledge from people?"

"We have our reasons. I'll need you to trust that they're important reasons." Alexandria said. Her eyes were on Leviathan and Scion. A quick glance showed that Eidolon had joined in.

I narrowed my eyes. I didn't like it. The idea of sitting on something like this.

"We can explain. But not now. Not yet."

"'We'?" I asked. "Not just the Triumvirate. An organization other than the Protectorate..."

"Cauldron. You'd figure it out with a bit of digging, I'm sure. No point in trying to hide it."

Cauldron. I thought. I made a note to look up anything on them later.

"When can you explain? If you're going to ask me to keep something like this in blind faith..."

"I can't tell you, exactly. It won't be too long."

"What, you'll come looking for me?"

"Not at all." She held out her hand, and I saw a small device in it. I took it and eyed it curiously.

"A pager, of sorts. Type a message at the right time, and we'll provide answers."

"And how will I know the right time?"

I was getting sick of her smirk. She acted like she knew exactly what was going to be said, and already had answers prepared.

"I'm told you'll know exactly the right moment."

I turned my eyes back to the device, looking it over.

"No tracking devices or anything like that. We have no interest in hunting you down at home."

I looked to her, and after a moment nodded. I stuffed the device into a special pouch that was installed in the back of my costume. I had been assured it was waterproof. I hadn't actually tested it yet, but the fact that it still felt dry was a plus.

Alexandria began floating off, apparently not seeing reason to say anything else. I turned back to see Scion chase Leviathan as he retreated into the water. Some of the connections began to fade from my sight, but I could tell they were still there.

I sat on the nearest building.

Scion is where our powers came from...but why? And how...

It had been some time since I last felt unsure of something. Since I didn't know the answer to something.

I didn't like it.

"An interesting day." Tattletale said.

"To say the least." I replied.

The rain was already stopping. That alone was a relief.

"I should probably get back to the shelters. Try and meet up with dad ASAP."

"You're not going to stay and help? With the clean up?" Aegis asked.

I opened my mouth to reply, but couldn't.

"They won't open the shelters for a bit. You have time." Tattletale said.

I smiled behind my mask.

"Alright, let's go see who can use our help." I said, standing up and taking off.

Last edited: Dec 9, 2017

698

Para_Docks

Apr 4, 2016

View discussion

First

Prev

2 of 7

Next

Last

Threadmarks

View content

You must log in or register to reply here.

Share

Worm

Style chooser

Contact us

Terms and rules

Privacy policy

Help

RSS