Current Energy: 21
Friday, January 7th, 2011
The Docks, Brockton Bay
'So where are we going right now?' You ask, repositioning yourself slightly so that your Master - who is currently hanging off of your back with her arms wrapped around your neck - will be more comfortable. She had originally been roof hopping alongside you but had eventually given up when you pointed out how much faster you could be going if she would just let you carry her. She wasn't terrible at the practice so much as she simply hadn't developed the knack for it yet. She couldn't even reposition in the air by forming semi-solid sheets of Spiritual Power beneath her feet to leap off of.
...Which is definitely something you should tell her is possible. Later. When she isn't so mad.
'The docks.' She answers, not bothering to elaborate much beyond that. Taylor has been somewhat short with you sense learning of her Father's fate. You don't think she's mad at you, although you're certain there will eventually come a time when she makes the connection between your typical operating methods (Re: run at things screaming), and her technical outing. No, her ire is very clearly directed unilaterally towards the destruction of whoever has dared to strike at her so obliquely. Your current Emulation doesn't know a whole lot about leading - despite being one of the leaders of his culture you might add - but he does know that if you don't want people to walk all over you, they have to have very clear examples of what happens when they try.
'I know that but uh...' You say, scratching slightly at one cheek. 'Which ah... direction is...?'
Your Master stiffens slightly at your question, apparently realizing that you had merely picked her up and continued running in whatever direction you were facing when she had originally taken off. You're fairly certain that if she could set you on fire with her mind right now she would, and you are infinitely grateful that you don't actually have anything like that built into your current configuration.
You get the feeling you're going to piss your Master off a lot over the next several years.
'Just... keep going in this direction.' She eventually says, evidently not wanting to waste any more of her rage on you than is necessary.
You make another leap and then, acutely aware that this is the longest your Master has ever gone without really talking to you in your presence, decide to ask a question that's been bothering you for a little while now.
'So if it wasn't the PRT-' You begin.
'It wasn't.' Your Master chides you before allowing you to continue.
You don't know why she has such faith in that particular organization but you hold your peace on the topic.
'Right. So if it wasn't the goon squad, and it ain't Glory Girl-' You continue.
'Heros don't kidnap people.' Taylor says again adamantly.
Again, you would be tempted to explain the mechanics of the conflict drive all Parahumans possess, driving them to do stupid and - relative to Taylor's beliefs at least - evil things, but you like your current Master and would hate for the Network to punish her by uh... you're not sure what the current punishment is for rogue shards, but you'd prefer not to find out.
Forbidden Information is Forbidden.
'Uhuh. Well if it wasn't one of those two, then who are we dealin' with? Am I finally gonna get a good fight outta this place or what?' You finally manage to finish uninterrupted.
'I'm... not sure.' Your Master eventually admits. 'I didn't plan on researching the local gangs until the weekend.'
'Eh, sounds boring.' You complain.
'It is not! How are we supposed to know what to do if we encounter Hookwolf?' She berates you, a thin veil of annoyance covering her tone.
'Stab 'em' You reply blithely as you touchdown in an area that Taylor indicates, on the roof of a building that is apparently across the street from the address she was told to come to.
'-or Lung? or Kaiser?' She continues, ignoring your statement.
'...Stab 'em multiple times?' You put forth hopefully, causing Taylor to stop and turn to glare at you.
'Emmy, please, please, don't kill anyone? I- I still wan't to be a Hero, even with this.' She pleads with you, and you can't help but turn your head away from her slightly in shame.
Not shame at your bloodthirstiness, but more so, the fact that you have allowed your current emulation to so inconvenience your beloved Master.
Even if you still think killing a problem is the best way to solve it.
'...Sorry.' You answer her finally.
'Emmy...' Taylor says again and you deflate.
'Fine! No killin'! There, you happy?' You grumble, still turning away from her.
'Yes. Can you scout the building to see if Dad is inside?' Taylor says with an audible sigh of relief, turning away from you to examine the building across the street.
It looks innocent enough. Just another apartment as far as you can tell, if a slightly, well no, an amazingly dingey looking one.
'Sure. One sec.' You reply, before entering your Spirit Form and leaping across the street. You can't help but thank past you for configuring in this way. You have no idea how you would be able to help in situations like this if you couldn't just invisibly walk around an area.
The insides of the building are somehow more damaged looking than the outsides. Several of the walls separating apartments have clearly been roughly knocked down to extend areas, and a number of men are moving about diligently shifting around large crates of something. Many of the men are armed, and nearly all of them are carrying a red and green cloth of some kind, either wrapped around there arms or heads or tucked away in a pocket somewhere.
The first floor consists solely of angry looking men moving about in this way. The next few are the same. It is only when you reach the top floor that you find anything besides angry asian looking men with guns, and even then the difference doesn't fill you with confidence. The top floor of the building is the only one where the walls haven't been knocked out of the individual rooms, and simply poking your head through the doors is enough to explain why. Each room contains a girl within it, most of whom have glassy eyed stares accompanied by empty needles nearby. There are, however, a few that do not, and these are mostly crying quietly in a corner of the room - those that are not in the company of a man at least.
You relay all this to your Master as you leap back towards her, taking up a stationary position behind her.
'ABB. Has to be. So... Lung took Dad? Why?' Taylor says in confusion, carefully tamping down the disgust and outrage that had been steadily building within her from the moment your report began.
'The hells a Lung?' You ask, already quite tired of having to ask questions like this. Life would be a lot easier if you could tell the difference between someone's assumed name and a random object or body part. Verbal communication was so damn inefficient that way.
'He's the strongest Parahuman in the city-' You snort 'And we really don't want to fight him.' Taylor finishes, ignoring you.
'So what now then?' You ask, gesturing at the run-down building.
'I'm going to go in. Dad might not be here but... I can't let them get away with this.' Taylor says angrily, jumping from the building with a burst of neon blue light. The effects of her sudden appearance are both immediate and comical, as the men nearest the door succumb to her mere presence, falling to their knees gasping for air.
You shift about behind your Master as she moves forward, and are about to enter the fray yourself when she shakes her head at you in the negative.
'I need to practice fighting actual people Emmy. I don't think they can actually hurt me, and you're here in case anything goes wrong so just stay invisible for now.' She explains, marching up to the front door and lifting a foot to crash into it.
The foot, of course, goes straight through the door, which Taylor obviously wasn't expecting as she nearly tumbles over in surprise.
'Doors don't-' You begin but she cuts you off.
'I know! Shut up!' She hisses in embarrassment, whipping her fist out to smash the doors lock and then pushing it open normally, only to be met by a hail of gunfire from up the stairs in the entryway, evidently from men too far away to be affected by her aura.
Despite the fact that a few bullets have already bounced harmlessly off her, Taylor takes the threat seriously, and opts to evade line of sight by leaping sideways through an adjacent wall. It would have been impressive if she could become intangible like you, but since she can't the result is a cloud of drywall dust obscuring the hall, and a terrified group of gangsters in the nearest room to her.
Barely missing a beat, Taylor sprints past each of them, swiftly clocking them on the back of the head and knocking them out, before narrowing her eyes on the stairway where men are swiftly charging down towards her.
You can feel her terror in that moment. Her heart thumping in her chest, her senses stretched to their limits, and her life falling apart around her. And you are reminded, however briefly, that your Master is really just a very unfortunate teenage girl.
Then your Master, who is also a very resourceful teenage girl, crouches down, covers her eyes, and leaps upwards as hard as she can, sending her rocketing through multiple floors of easily torn apart building, and out through the ceiling past a single terrified prostitute who she only just missed as she flew by.
"Shit shit shit!" Your Master curses as she realizes how far up she is - easily several times the height of the building she was just standing in.
'You can make platforms with your Spirit to land on! Oh! We can train later by-' You add, seeing a good moment to make a suggestion, already envisioning ways to teach your Master the technique. The tallest building in the city should be a good place to-
'Got it!' She shoots back at you, taking a shaky step on thin air, then bouncing slightly, arcing downwards with each bounce until she is on the roof of the building again.
After that, the cleanup is basically trivial. No one caught in your Master's range can really fight back, and so all of the thugs are forced to flee out into the streets, where they are easy pickings for your still quite angry Master.
"Now what do I do with you guys..." She says aloud several minutes afterwards, eyeing the dozen or so prostitutes that are shivering in a corner of the much abused building.
"Nothing. They are mine." A voice calls out from behind you, and you turn around slowly, feeling your Master looking through your eyes at the threat behind her.
The man standing behind you is... well he doesn't look nearly as stupid as the rest of the local idiots, but just... why the dragon mask? You were with him all the way up until that point. Dragon tattoos? Awesome. No shirt? Been there, so you can respect it. But metal dragon mask. Just... why?
"What did you do with my Dad?" Asks, whirling around on him with her aura at full blast, clearly expecting the man to fall to one knee.
Instead, he merely trembles slightly before steadying himself and growing about an inch or two in height.
"I am not here to speak to you. Bring me the man of my people you have empowered, and we shall trade." The man in the mask says dismissively.
You hold your metaphysical breath as your Master absorbs that singular sentence. You can practically see her mind spinning around the fact that her Father was used for something that could just as easily have been done via phone.
She steps towards the man, her aura intensifying into the vague outline of a skull-like shape, and scowls at him, practically willing him to yield to her, but not daring to openly attack him. Again, the man shudders and grows slightly, and the air around him begins to shimmer with heat.
"Oh? You have spirit. But you are no dragon. Bring me the man, bring me 'Line Drive' and you shall be free to go." He says with a rude chuckle the reverberates slightly through the metal mask he is wearing.
Your Master stares at him for a second, then smiles a too wide smile that matches this Emulations to an almost uncanny degree and speaks merely one word.
"Ok."
Then you appear. And for just the briefest of seconds as you allow your full presence to wash over him, the man, kneels.