1.Y

-- Cherie Vasil --

"What I need you to do is keep them there. No running away, no overwrought panic, no attacking, that's all so boring. Bonesaw's new friend will keep them scared and disoriented, you just need to seal the deal until I can deliver our challenge. Oh, and try to be a little subtle about it. This isn't what I had in mind for your official debut."

"No problem, boss," I chirped back. Got to play the eager, obedient little monster until they let their guards down.

I settled in to wait, safely hidden in an abandoned office two blocks away.

--

OK, maybe there's a little problem. Well, can't say I'm sad to see 'Bonesaw's new friend' go -- that thing was horrifying when it was alive and just had the one power. Seriously, what sort of cape wants to hang out with a power nullifier? I was doing them a favor when I killed him, but no, she just had to bring him back. It, I mean. I saw what she did to its pelvis, though I wish I hadn't. And she had to guarantee it could get me inside its range before I could kill it again, too. Probably that bitch Shatterbird. They put it back together while I was taking her 'test,' the fucking sadist, so I was concentrating on other things. At least it didn't do much until she added in the local. Brain too far gone.

So, like I said, a little problem, but keeping him 'alive' wasn't my responsibility, exactly. And, hey, it'll just make me look better when I pull this off anyway.

--

I snorted. A trap? You think no one's ever tried that before? I swear Jack has the instincts of a precog sometimes. But it wouldn't do to fail to warn him of this completely credible threat. I tapped out a quick message. There, now let's just hit her with some good old paralyzing fea--

What the fuck? Paralyzing! Stop that! No, no anger! Shit, everyone else is running. Uh, you're all really curious about this fight now. That's subtle, right? And you! Where are you going? You should feel frustrated, this fight is hopeless. Nope... Fuck subtlety, you're super depress-- and now she's out of my range. Well fuck. That definitely could have gone bett-- Uh, Jack? You're supposed to be invincible right now, aren't you?

--

"Thanks, guys, this is so kind of you."

I gave the brothers a poorly faked smile, not that it mattered. They grinned back, ever so happy to be helping out a pretty girl by giving her their stuff. Really, isn't this so kind of me? I'm sure they wanted to be generous, deep down. Lefty handed me the keys and I waved as I turned to my new bike. I didn't strictly speaking know how to drive one of these things. Or how to drive a car, for that matter. Dear old Dad hadn't ever gotten around to teaching me. Must have just slipped his mind, I'm sure. Anyway, now was a very good time to figure it out. Confidence turned to fear, briefly, before fading out entirely halfway across the city. I winced. Mannequin too? Fuck, these guys were supposed to be tough. I can't believe I went through all that just for the chance to co-opt such a bunch of losers.

Who's left? Bonesaw, Siberian, and the science experiment, poor girl. Jack was still unconscious, but I didn't have much hope he was bleeding out. The psycho got Burnscar and Shatterbird earlier, and now Mannequin too. Not Crawler, though. No, I'm ninety percent sure the heroes just offered to hurt him and he raced straight to his execution, the unbelievable moron. You know I used to be scared of him? All my illusions are getting shattered today, I guess. Still, there's more than enough of them left to give me a very bad day. I shuddered, recalling some of Bonesaw's 'art.' Fuck, I hope it'd only be a day. Fortunately, I'm their tracker, so it should be as simple as-- Fuck, Guillaume? Hell of a time for you to grow some balls, bro. And, yeah, that's Nicholas too. Shit!

I took a breath. Guillaume couldn't have eyes in the city yet, right? I'd have noticed him in the city. Though, why is he here now if he doesn't know I'm ditching the Nine? Sorry, the Four. The Three-and-a-quarter? Eh, I'm sure Bonesaw's stuck him on some poor bastard's body by now. Paranoia ran through me as I involuntarily glanced around. My attempts to distract myself weren't helping. Fuck, he must have been getting spies in somehow. Hanging out at a bus station outside the city? Whatever, the point was I needed a new plan. It took barely a moment of consideration before the obvious, brilliant answer hit me.

What I needed was someone tough. Tougher than the Nine, though apparently that's not as hard as I thought. Someone who didn't include torture in their interview process. Someone who responded to overwhelming terror with instant violence. (Get fucked, Nicholas!) Someone with a nice big protective side and a proven willingness to adopt wayward Thinkers. Damn, this is perfect!

...Well, it'd probably mean I can't kill Jean-Paul, but I guess I can live with that if the alternative is not living at all.

--

The roof access door was locked. I sighed. Shouldn't I have a Brute to throw at problems like this? What was even the point of being a Master if I had to solve my problems myself? I contemplated the nine flights of stairs forlornly. Hmm, maybe... I gave the roof access door a good rap, boosting curiosity and flattening suspicion. Not too much. People have a tendency to freak out when they realize their emotions are being manipulated for some reason. Nothing I couldn't handle normally, though it's always a pain, but the little terror is fast.

I couldn't hear their conversation through the surprisingly thick door, but you can get a surprising amount just from the emotions. Still, I barely had a second's warning when a glowing blade stabbed through the gap by the handle and sheared off the bolt. I waited another couple seconds, but the door didn't open. Jean Paul's buddy was crouching off to the side, presumably taking cover while my future minion was hovering a few meters back and up. Steeling my nerve (and un-steeling theirs), I pushed through, sunny smile dying at the sight of the gun pointed at my face. Really? I dampened her suspicion a little more while I raised my hands.

"Hey, just want to talk."

She didn't lower her rifle. It was getting a little awkward when what's-her-name finally provided the exposition. She does realize that's the whole reason people put up with her, right? Well, I can fix her personality later.

"She's not a physical threat to me, let alone you, Argent."

Wow, what a bitch! I work out. Kind of. I look like I do, anyway, Mom had good genes. I mean, I knew everyone thought she was a bitch, but it's a little different to experience it in person. I briefly reconsidered my decision to arrange this meeting while she was around, but no, it had been the right call. Maybe I'd have avoided her if I'd just wanted to point G.I. Jane towards my enemies, but I'll need her on board if I'm going to stick around. Better to get the Thinker first thing, before she can start getting any awkward (and entirely unfair!) ideas about mind control. Instead of the completely reasonable warm and fuzzy ideas about mind control I could give her, I mean. They both relaxed a bit and came in closer so we wouldn't have to shout.

"She's the ninth. The Thinker."

Oh, Thinker? Better than I'd realized. This would be easy. I turned up the interest. Plus a touch of attraction... Wow, nothing? Well, the kid's probably too young and the eggplant is a total bitch.

"Yep! And I'm terribly, terribly sorry. I'm turning myself in."

"You are aware you have a kill order, right? Not that I'm complaining if you want to make this easy," Argent asked, unimpressed.

"Ah, but would you really want to kill a pretty little thing like me? I'm completely at your mercy, surely we could work something else out?"

They exchanged disbelieving glances, then turned back to me, waiting for a real reason. OK, that did not land. At all. Seriously, I was feeling a little insulted. What sort of prude wears a skintight catsuit, anyway? But whatever, we could work on it later. How do you get people to do what you want when you can't just fill their minds with adoration, again? Or even flirt? You'd think the Nine would have given me some practice, but I somehow doubted finding some random people to humiliate and murder would help. They were so fucking weird. Be blunt, I guess.

"I'm useful! I found you here, didn't I? I can give you vital information. And hardly anyone knows I was ever with the Nine. We can totally just ignore that little detail."

"What is your power, exactly?" Argent asked.

Well, this was a little sooner than I'd like to talk about that. I had a pretty good hold on both of them, but not quite as much as I'd prefer. Emotions have a sort of momentum to them, and with some time I can put someone into a position where panic and anger are slow to rise, which makes controlling them a lot easier. Maybe I could dissemble and buy a little more time?

"I can sense emotions. No line of sight requirements, and my range is city wide. I can build a profile for certain people and track them wherever they go. The Master controlling Siberian, for example."

That definitely caught some interest, but I didn't dare push too hard against the Thinker's sudden suspicion.

"Hmm. That's a useful skill, especially if we plan to keep bounty hunting," Argent mused. "The Master controlling Siberian?"

I liked the direction this was going, but Tattletale -- right, it was Tattletale! How'd I forget such a dumb name? -- broke in before I could continue.

"Just sense? That doesn't really sound like the sort of power the Nine would be interested in. And, you know, you remind me of someone. Anything you'd like to add?"

Oh well. I could probably handle this, but in the worst case I could just incapacitate them. If it came to that I'd probably have to kill them so they couldn't hunt me down as soon as they left my range. It would be a horrible waste, but I'll do it if I have to.

"Oh, that's just the most useful aspect. I have some ability to influence emotions at short ranges. Nothing too impressive, really, but with my Thinker power it was enough to get by."

OK, this reaction isn't too bad. I can deal. Just got to quash most of the suspicion before it can turn into anger or fear.

"You're Heartbreaker's kid, aren't you? Regent's sister?"

"Wow, you're smart!" Playing into her little complex couldn't hurt, right? "Yeah. And, you know, he has his own bounty. I could tell you a lot about how he does things. It's not an accident he's lasted this long."

Argent snorted. "I suppose he's not the sort to inspire familial loyalty."

Tattletale still wouldn't let it go, though.

"'Nothing too impressive,' you said? No way his second-gen isn't a primary Master. You're manipulating us right now, aren't you?"

Ugh, that made things harder. She couldn't quite manage an accusatory tone, but the words were damning enough. Come on, it's just a little emotion tweaking. What's got you so upset, Argent? Maybe a bit of protectiveness for your new friend would help?

"Of course not! Believe me, you'd know if I were, it's not subtle."

"Bullshit, you're--"

Yes! Argent cut her off with a raised hand.

"I don't sense anything. Let's hear her out, at least. Tell me about Siberian's controller."

Tattletale glanced at Argent and felt a new spike of suspicion, which quickly morphed into realization and acceptance. Perfect! Argent herself had settled into calm determination, though I did have to keep suppressing some unpleasantness.

"Happy to! I can't sense her at all, so I think she's just a projection. The master is a man. Middle-aged and thin. Doesn't take good care of himself. Spends most of his time driving around to keep close to her. I think he can use her senses when he's close, and he gets some sick thrill out of it when she does her thing. Let me join your team and I'll point you right to him."

"Done. Where is he? What does his vehicle look like?"

I shrugged. "Never saw it myself. Too dangerous to draw suspicion. But he's stationary, in a parking lot I think, maybe a kilometer that way." I pointed. "I think the projection is keeping Jack and Bonesaw company. They're nearby. Fly me there and I can show you the right car."

"I don't think that'll be necessary."

Confused, I was about to respond when she moved. There was no hint of a change in her emotions but suddenly there was something in me, in my chest and it was cold and it hurt and I wanted it out. And then it was out and I was falling but I couldn't feel that and I couldn't breathe and it hurt and I wanted to turn off the pain but I couldn't remember how and I heard voices and maybe they could help? I tried to focus.

"How'd you do that? Break the Master effect?"

"I stabbed her. Hard to concentrate when you're dying."

Dying? No, no, that can't be right.

"I can see that, Tanya. I meant how did you stab her despite her control?"

She was amused? This isn't funny! You need to help me!

"You think I need to be angry at someone to kill them? I mostly kill people for wearing the wrong color clothes. I don't do it because I enjoy it, I do it because it's my job. It's a matter of discipline and professionalism, so I can understand why capes have so much trouble figuring it out."

"Yeah, OK, Tanya. You know, even given that, I'm a bit surprised you didn't take her up on her offer. She'd certainly have been useful. Weren't you thinking a lot of the same things about me?"

The other one took a while to respond. It was getting harder and harder to think. Like I was getting sleepy, but somehow awful and terrifying. I tried to stay awake but it didn't matter. One last line floated through my mind as I faded out.

"You didn't come with a fat bounty on your head. And some things just can't be borne."

A\N: Sorry to those of you who wanted a redemption arc. Cherie is an interesting character with lots of room for development, or at least she could be if you do a good job filling in the gaps, but there's just no way Tanya's going to tolerate someone meddling with her emotions. So much so she's even willing to admit she didn't kill her purely for the bounty.

Why didn't Tanya sense her power? That'll be addressed in-story, but I want to let you know you actually have all the pieces to figure it out on your own if you look at my supplemental posts about magic mechanics.

If you think I undersold her power, two points: First, she wasn't going all out on Tanya at any point, aside from a quarter second after she grabbed the bomb and before she flew up out of range. When she wants to manipulate someone in a manner that keeps them useful when she's not actively controlling them, she needs to use a lighter hand. She would have brought the hammer down if she figured out what was happening, but she didn't have enough time. Second, I think she's actually just kind of shit at understanding most people. How often would she really need to? When she wants something from someone she just uses her power. The main exceptions, her home life before she got her power and her time with the Nine, sure wouldn't have prepared her for dealing with normal people or even people who are fucked up in different ways. So she just completely missed both Tanya's plan and Lisa's recognition of it, despite having all the facts in front of her.

How do you feel about skipping the fights with Shatterbird, Burnscar, and Mannequin? I had some ideas to make them a little interesting, but not enough to justify the screen time, I think, especially when it seems like a lot of you are tired of S9 arcs in general. I am planning to give a little more detail in the next chapter, and I could potentially expand that if there's interest. Cherie is completely right about Crawler, by the way. If you don't recall, that's literally what happened in canon, too.

Do all my non-Tanya perspectives seem same-y? I am trying for different voices but I want to maintain a certain tone. And they are all similar in some ways, too, especially Lisa and Cherie, as cynical and manipulative social Thinkers. It's the sort of thing I think I struggle with. Taylor's perspective would be the real test, I guess, because she should definitely sound nothing like these three. And my tentative plan for the coming PRT interlude is a mid-thirties grunt who's a fly-on-the-wall in the interesting meetings, so that should be different, too.