A bit of explanation on this. I had been rereading Nemesis by the excellent BeaconHill on Spacebattles. I urge you all to check it out. I was reading away when a brain bug dug in about how fascinating Dr. Danger would find the differences in Bubblebee Taylor's power over his world's version. It would mesh so well with stuff I had planned in my story that the idea grew. I knew BeaconHill seemed to like it when other people wrote Omake for her stories. So I reached out and got approval to craft this.
I set some rules for myself I would treat this like a filler episode in an anime. It would introduce no conflict with canon as seen up to the time of its writing. It could simply be a side adventure that suspiciously never is directly mentioned by anyone as the main story continues. This Takes place between 14: "A Daring Escape!" and 15: "Homecoming" In Nemesis and in Danger Zone: Brockton it takes place after the Leviathan attack but before Dr. Danger is recruited by Dragon to help fortify the research station.
Brockton Bay
8:04 AM Saturday
Earth Bee
In the alleyway behind Fugly Bob's the lights flickered. Flashes of shadow made it hard to make out what was going on in the dim shady alley. A bricked-up door where a remodel had moved the back entry to Bob's started to glow with a white light. This glow could only be seen by those who could manipulate Flux energies. It then briefly opened into a mirror of the alley. In the mirror alley a rail-thin old man with enormous eyeglasses stood with two barely teenage boys. The old man was in a simple brown suit and white button-up shirt. He wore brown leather shoes that looked fancy but when observed closely had sporty soles with sure grip bottoms. An observant person would have noticed he had a shoulder holster under the jacket. A very observant one might notice the in-pants holster. Only the superhuman would find the other weapons hidden on his rail-thin frame.
"Remember you got twelve hours before I can open it again. I can only keep it open for twenty-five minutes so be punctual." the Old man reminded them.
"You worry too much. Pop-pop we'll be fine." The first said
The speaker was wearing black hiking boots, khaki cargo pants, and a black tee shirt with a white button-up hanging loose over it. His eyes were obscured by dark black round sunglasses with side shields. He was pulling on a gray hoodie as he picked up a backpack and passed through the doorway.
The other boy was identical save he was wearing a faded red tee and powder blue button-up with no shades. He gave a shrug to settle his backpack.
"I'll remind Justin he said that when he gets us into trouble." The other boy said
"See to it you do. I don't want to be the one making explanations to your mother if you don't come back in the same state you left. Now go Tick Tick gentlemen." The old man groused as he backed away and the light of the doorway faded into dingy brickwork.
"Where is this place again?" John inquired.
"Leblanc it's two blocks off the PRT building. Not incredibly far from Harry's" Justin explained while pulling out his cell phone and checking his service.
"Right, got eyes on it. Taylor isn't there yet."
"Don't be conspicuous, she won't be there till nine. We have plenty of time to walk it."
"Relax, no one ever pays attention to stray cats."
"A master who controls bugs might. Does it have fleas?"
"They all have fleas, it would stand out if they didn't. I hope they have something other than coffee on the menu."
Leblanc
Taylor was wearing all black with her company apron on. With school being in season the available work hours were limited. Today they needed someone to cover a half shift to give breaks to the other servers so she'd taken the shift. Tattletale didn't have anything specific for her to spy on today. She could still sift through what was said in the PRT building. A lucky break might still earn some money. Keeping up with the general goings-on would help her plan if a specific ask did come up. Her spare bodies entered the office she had to spy on the PRT with and got to typing. Her current one clocked in and started to work.
The door chime jingled as two boys came in and sat down. One was wearing dark glasses the other was not. They looked to be identical twins but they might just be good at making themselves appear that way. It was hard to say with absolute certainty without seeing the others' eyes. They were dressed nearly identical and stored matching backpacks under the table.
They sat in the section Taylor was covering. They picked seats in a corner round booth at a forty-five-degree angle from each other. The one in glasses didn't look at the menu. He just held it up in both hands and idly flipped it end over end. The other examined the menus with a serious look that grew increasingly solemn the longer he eyed it.
"Hi welcome to Leblanc what can we get you today?" Taylor asked.
"Two quadruple sized double caff espresso, four ham egg and cheese croissants with double meat, and a blueberry muffin. What are you getting John?"
"Get me a Bran muffin, and a glass of OJ to start with. In an hour when I'm done, I'll take a large paradise smoothie. pack it to go with double pineapple, add coconut cream, put it in a jumbo glass, top it with crushed ice, and stir or blend it as smoothly as you can make it. I'll need both a spoon and a straw please."
Taylor gave them a look that was born of wondering if she was being pranked. Both boys grinned.
"Forgive us our culinary oddity, we can pay in advance if that will set your mind at ease." the one in shades said.
"That won't be necessary," Taylor replied.
The coffee order raised some eyebrows from those who saw her filling it. She pondered at what point someone needed to admit they had a caffeine problem and seek help. The equivalent of sixteen shots of espresso. She pondered how close that would be to taking a hit of meth.
She returned to the table and sat down the pair of coffees and a pile of croissants. She then left and came back with a muffin to finish out the one order and sat down the juice and lone muffin in front of the other boy.
The morning wasn't rushed but the orders came at a steady pace. The odd pair of boys stood out as she worked. Both had their phones out sitting where they could see the screen while they ate.
The first one efficiently devoured his pile of food. The other was making a small pile of raisins as he slowly picked apart his muffin.
After an hour Shades looked over at his twin.
"What's the verdict?"
"Honestly not impressed Justin. No poached eggs, only croissants and the sad northern excuse for biscuits. English muffins would raise my opinion. It's best I don't get started on the drink options. The only decent thing I can manage is scraping together coladas or daiquiri out of the smoothie options."
"So? You like daiquiris."
"Maybe but like Grandpa Jacob used to say a daiquiri without rum is like sex when you don't c-"
"Watch it, John. This looks like a family-friendly place." Justin interrupted. As Taylor approached with the bill and to go drink.
"Besides, I know the punchline already anyhow. 'It's frustrating and not very remarkable.' Grandpa Jacob was dirty old lush. This place isn't perfect but, where is? This gets a ninety-five in my book." He continued while eyeing the bill.
"Well, if you are giving it a ninety-five, I guess I'll bump my score up to a Sixty-five. That will average out to an 80." John conceded.
"Cool you get a B. Good for you here, keep the change." Justin said with an amused smile as he dropped a hundred on the table.
"That way too much the tip is more than your meal." Taylor protested.
"No, won't take it back, you enjoy that."
"You should see what we do for an A+" John joked as they both got up and shrugged their backpacks back on.
Taylor put the odd boys out of her mind as she continued her shift. It was a bit monotonous. Working here was more fun when Jess was still working. It seemed to be a slow day at the PRT as well. Hellhound had been raiding Hookwolf's dogfights. They were worried that the E88 had been flooding her usual territory with non-cape members. They were scouting while the capes hung back waiting for them to flush Hellhound out.
The PRT was concerned that Hellhound was volatile enough as it was. If she was cornered by multiple E88 capes the collateral damage could get extreme. They planned to send Assault and Battery to do close patrols around the area. The specter of drawing a Protectorate response might keep the E88 from starting trouble. If they could damper Hookwolf's enthusiasm for pursuing vengeance things might blow over. Kaiser would grow tired of having some of his heavy hitters tied up trying to settle old scores.
Hellhound was an Undersider so Taylor sent Tattletale the details of the PRT plan. Maybe she would find it worth paying for. Even if she didn't perhaps the smug thinker could just keep Hellhound off the street for a while. That would give the plan time to work. Perhaps saving a few people from the crossfire.
With her shift ending Taylor was getting ready to head out when a busser named Matt waved at her.
"Hey, I found your phone between the cushions in one of the booths. You want to be more careful not to lose a nice phone like that." He said offering the device.
Taylor took the phone from him and gave it a once-over. It was a hyper-modern sleek touchscreen smartphone. The wallpaper was a picture of herself that she'd never seen nor remembered taking. It was set for thumbprint to unlock. Burying her worry so it wouldn't show on her face she stashed the phone in her pocket
"Thanks. I didn't know I had dropped it," she mumbled as she tossed her apron into the hamper, and headed out the back door.
Taylor took a few random turns before stopping to pull the phone back out. She examined it again then reached out with her power and moved some bugs around scouting the area. She found the twin boys quickly enough. They were leaning on the wall of a package store called Harry's a few doors back and across the street from Leblanc. Shades was chewing on a candy bar while his brother had another large styrofoam cup filled with some sort of frozen slush. He was petting a stray cat with his left hand and smiling into space. He suddenly elbowed his brother and the two picked their backpacks up again. They turned and walked off into the alley beside the store. Moving her insects around she followed the pair keeping eyes on them as they wandered with no apparent direction.
She didn't want to go back to Kamikaze Zen. She had one of her bodies there discorpate and move to join the swarm she had spying on the twins. The body with the phone thumbed the screen and then looked through its menus. It was set up in a way she found extremely intuitive. A bit of chills crossed her spine as she saw her home phone and dad's office were already programmed in.
The apps were all things she either already used or had thought about using. That they knew so much about her was unnerving. There was no way to learn more without pressing forward. She found a single unfamiliar app called Restaurant Reviews. The icon was a simple Italic A+ in red. Deciding to bite the bullet Taylor tapped the icon. Upon doing so she felt an odd slightly queasy feeling that fortunately lasted less than a second.
The screen changed the app altered to say Exit Mode. the icon was now yellow and said B- instead. The new background was the Bumblebee logo she had painted on the frisbees. Meanwhile, the boys had stopped behind a ruined store.
"You can come out Taylor I know you're watching" John suddenly announced.
"The phone is yours to keep for inconveniencing your day. If you are interested there is more where it came from. Why don't you come out and we'll talk?" Justin added.
Taylor frowned looking at the phone, she glanced at the saved media. There was a picture used as the wallpaper and a video file. She played the video while she mulled over if she wanted to risk meeting with the two boys.
On the screen, an off-putting bug-like mask appeared. A droning voice that mixed insectile buzzing with a slightly distorted human voice started to speak.
"My name is Weaver, you might know me as a villain. One of the ones who has taken over the Brockton underworld in the face of the E88 and ABB's collapse."
Taylor stared in confusion. This wasn't making any sense.
"I've been working to keep the worst villains out. Once I wanted to be a hero, maybe even an antihero. I didn't have much trust in the Protectorate. I think I'm doing better sticking with this. I'm sort of an anti-villain. I do bad things but keep people safe."
A sense of familiarity was creeping up Taylor along with a shiver of goosebumps.
"This is going to be the most shocking part of this for you." The villain in the video said, reaching behind her head.
She pulled the mask off with a quick smooth motion born of obvious practice. She shook her hair out and put on a pair of glasses. Taylor's own face stared back at her.
"Please don't freak out. The people with this video will want to talk to you. You may not have a reason to trust me but you can trust them."
The video ended. Taylor stood feeling creeped out. She set her jaw and discorporated. In a few minutes, she reintegrated her form directly behind them.
"What the hell was that?" She demanded.
"I told you there was just as much steel in this Taylor's spine as ours." John gloated.
"So there is, so there is. In answer to your question, if you are referring to the video, that was our Taylor. She is your Earth A counterpart." Justin revealed
"I caught that much. I mean I know of Earth Aleph. Sounds like you are using a different lettering scheme. You aren't tossing me off-topic. I mean why did she record that message? If you two are from another earth why come here and bother me? How did you know I was watching you?"
"We knew because that would be exactly what our Taylor would do. We stayed inside your range expressly for such a reason." Justin said with a smile.
"Our Taylor triggered with a more limited power set than you did. She controls invertebrate beings within a similar area. She can't reshape their form, use them to semi-teleport, or alter her equipment." John answered
"You hope to duplicate my powers into her?"
"That would be an awesome thing to accomplish and it could help our Taylor with several problems she's having. Even if we can't accomplish such a thing we are first and foremost researchers. Our hearts long for raw empirical data on the differences." Justin said smiling
"Would you be adverse to us doing some inobtrusive scans of you using your power? We can pay you!" John added.
"What would that entail? Where would we go?"
"This building, right here. Foxy Boxes. It's abandoned and has plenty of space for our needs" Justin revealed, waving at the rear door.
"You just have to wear this headband and wristband. The sensors will send data to our computers. We can study them later. We would ask you to try a few things our Taylor can do and then to do a few things you have been publicly seen doing with your power." Jon continued.
"No need to give away secret moves or hidden abilities. As for your payment. We have one maintenance-free tinker tech laptop. It's as strong as a small mainframe. It has unbreakable encryption, an untraceable high-speed internet connection, and a disguise mode. All very similar to your phone. Touch this label with your thumb and it will pretend it's a cheap college surplus bargain sale laptop." Justin finished.
"How long did you practice the sales pitch?"
"Long enough to get you to say yes I hope. If not then the answer is not as much as we should have. John answered.
"I was more referring to the seamless picking up of the presentation from each other."
"That's more of a twin thing."
"Lifetime of studying on that."
"Two lifetimes, one for each of us."
"Seldom get to show it off anymore"
"Time constraints, we rarely get to go do things together anymore."
"Yes, quite sad."
Taylor narrowed her eyes as she looked them over. The answer sounded honest. She wasn't sure if she was looking for excuses to say yes or ones to say no.
"Why do you wear shades?"
Justin took his shades off revealing identical eyes to John.
"Look normal don't they? Well if I don't focus on keeping them looking normal they do this."
Both eyes started to change focus and dilation. they did so with unnatural quickness. Also, they were moving quite independently. the results were more comical than unnerving.
"Go on let it out Justin knows what they look like he's had people making googly eye jokes since he got powers. You should get it out of your system now. We don't need you cracking up later."
"It's alright I'm good. One of the benefits of working on comedy, I know things that look funny aren't always humorous." Taylor said with a slight grin.
Justin slid his shades back on and opened the door to Foxy Boxes.
"After you." He offered.
"No no, I insist, both of you," Taylor said, waving them ahead. She didn't yet trust them at her back.
"You missed a golden opportunity the on-off should have been B+ and B-."
"Too on the nose. It scans you checking both your genetics and unique power signature are right but there is no reason to take chances." Justin opined
"We didn't want anything to give you away on the civilian side. Not even a hint." John added.
Both brothers went to work they stacked a few boxes. Then opened their backpacks and started organizing equipment on the makeshift tables.
Justin's table had a Laptop that looked like the one he'd handed her. He plugged it into what looked like a portable hard drive. Then he set up a mouse and pad.
John handed Taylor the wristband and headband. He then pulled out a metal rod that was about the size of a chopstick he waved it about and even pressed it to her shoulder
"Just double checking the data feed looks good."
"Receiving all preliminary readings are inside of normal parameters," Justin responded.
"Are you ready or not?" John asked, setting his empty cup aside.
"Weaver Bumblebee power comparison data set. Starting in five...four..."
"Come on!"
"threetwoonego." Justin finished
John pointed to a spot on the floor and lifted his metal rod. "Gather bugs there and form the geometric shapes I'm projecting on the wall."
Taylor gave Justin a questioning look as she complied
"I like to follow proper procedure. The quality of data might not matter immediately. But, professional behavior looks better if you ever need peer review."
"Spoken like an ivory tower academic. Ok. Reshape the cluster into a loose humanoid form and see if you can get them to chirp and buzz in time to mimic speech." Jon directed.
"Spoken like someone with a Doctorate, my fine Associate of Science."
"There is nothing wrong with an AS when you're not a living computer. That's good Taylor, I'm changing the projection to a target. Take this foam dart gun. Fill the area between you and the bullseye I'm projecting. See how consistently you can hit the center." Jon continued.
"If you ever lamented not having a younger sibling. Remember that. That right there is what you have to deal with." Justin said, waving in his twin's direction.
"How did you two meet this other me?" Taylor asked to change the topic.
"I met her at a bar. There was a villain meeting. The ABB breakdown happened differently than here. She thought I was Justin at the time. I sub for him in some situations." John answered.
"I met her shortly thereafter. We were trying to contain the ABB's destructive rampage. Very smart, very resourceful. I made her and Bitch some pancakes afterward. My metabolism runs faster than a human baseline. Sometimes I really tear through the calories." Justin added.
"Explains all the food and coffee. I was worried about how much caffeine you drank."
"More like a cup and a half for me. You seem to have more joy in your life than our Taylor. Keeping up the light-hearted persona in this city isn't easy. I know I tried doing something similar." Justin said his voice slowly turning melancholy.
"I think meeting some new friends and changing schools has made things better for me. Much more so than anything powers-related. I don't know how similar your Taylor's life is. Not having friends or someone to talk to was pushing me down a dark road."
"Maybe we can bring our Taylor a bit of that light. Ok, that's enough of that pull some black widows in, and let's see you weave something." Jon instructed.
The power testing continued for several hours and Taylor finally called a halt.
"We're about at the end of what I'm comfortable showing you and I need to get home before Dad."
"Question, have you talked to Danny about your powers yet," Justin asked.
"No, I haven't told anyone."
"Ahh well no hints there then our Taylor hasn't either. She's working on it." John explained.
"If you need us we'll be in town for a few more hours. After that, you can leave us a message on our number in your phone but there is no telling when or if we'll get it. Complex business inter world data transfers." Justin explained.
The boys started packing their gear as Taylor left. She discorporated her current form while recalling her bodies from Kamikaze Zen. She reintegrated herself at home. With a thought made that body an outlier stretching her power. She moved the center of her power towards the alley. She then moved a few insects to monitor the twins and make sure they weren't up to no good.
She also pondered her chances of seeing or even recording their return home. She hadn't mentioned Caldron and neither had they. Were they with their world's version of Caldron? Was there a Caldron in their world? She has worked out her other self seemed to be a natural cape and Emma wasn't Parahuman. It might be Earth A Taylor triggered because she never got Caldron's offer to enter the Nemesis program.
She settled into a routine of hanging out at home while keeping alert for changes.
Bitch's Territory
6:43 PM
A doorway into space opened revealing a pristine white corridor. A woman in a gray suit and fedora stepped out as the opening sealed. She walked a careful and intricate path through alleys, across streets, and even cut through one yard via a hole in the fence.
She finally stopped and sent a text
Parahuman of interest approaching from the east in twenty minutes. No special instructions. This is a free tip if he is captured while he is supporting E88 operations it would suit our purpose.
She then paused and took a deep breath. The hook was baited. Everything had been set in motion. She just had to wait till it was time for the second text.
Hole-in-the-wall
Arcade and Fun Center
Justin and John were killing time playing MoveXGroove dancing video games. They had racked up the high score in every competitive version here. Now, they were working together to shatter the last unconquered game station, a girly pop anime mecha thing.
"Shit" John suddenly blurted out.
"Cramp?" Justin asked.
"She's here"
"She?" Justin asked, confused.
"Her, man, the one Faultline warned us about."
"Oh, the boogie man. That her?"
"Yeah, that one the woman in the suit. The inescapable bogart." John clarified.
"Where?"
"She's just outside my range. I can access networks that glimpse her on CCTV. Only glimpses, not enough to tell what she is doing."
"Send a cat."
"There isn't any close enough. Bitch's dogs must have run them all off."
"Interesting. That can't be mere chance. Fine, looks like I'm going in."
"Hell no, are you out of your mind? We don't even know what her power is"
Even seeing how she reacts will give us more data than we have. That is an opportunity I won't pass up." Justin declared.
"We leave in just over an hour!"
"I'll set an alarm."
"This is a horrible idea. We should go to the extraction point and bunker down."
Okay, have fun with that! Me? I'm headed to the creek. I hear the fish are biting."
"You're going to get your head bit off."
Taylor had been sitting in the living room with her Dad watching TV when she noticed the boys suddenly explode into frantic action.
Wanting to focus she told Danny she was getting sleepy and sent the body she had in the house to bed. She then released control of it so it would appear to be asleep. Unanchored from it she shifted her point of view so she could follow the twins as they raced down some back streets. They stopped at a secluded spot and Justin started stripping down.
Taylor's puzzlement was abated when she saw he had a black bodysuit under his clothes. The glasses he was wearing morphed into a more rigid pair of tight-fitting goggles. He pulled a respirator out of his jacket and snapped it into place. It locked tight to the goggles. His boots changed appearance next. The laces vanished and the outside became sleek. He then pulled on the neckline of his bodysuit. It stretched up becoming a tight hood that meshed with the face covering forming a seal.
A utility belt, a pair of holstered pistols, and a rifle that somehow locked onto his back joined the ensemble. He then took off running to the west.
John took off through the alley and headed in the general direction of Lord's Market. As John was heading closer to where the center of her control was, Taylor followed him. She had a feeling she would be able to find Justin again.
He made it to the Market and found a locked booth. He opened the lock like he already knew the combination and ducked inside.
Taylor formed a body and sent some bees in around the door. Inside John was sitting in the chair next to the cash register. He looked like he was passed out. A mottled orange cat sat in his lap.
"Hey, wake up, what is going on?"
Taylor's phone rang just as she got the words out of her mouth. Keeping her eyes on the unresponsive teen she answered the phone and put it up to her ear.
"Sorry, John can't multitask like I can. Sup Taylor."
"Justin? What are you two doing? I thought you said you were going to kill time and leave without a fuss."
"Right well something came up. A cape we recognized from our world showed up. She's part of a global conspiracy that kidnaps people for experimentation. In our world, she's never come this close to us before. So I'm headed out to see if I can catch her."
"There are numerous differences between dimensions. You can't be sure this cape has the same power, motivation, or even membership she had in your world."
"Maybe not, maybe so, we'll find out if I catch her. Even if I don't we have zero data on her so anything revealed is a net positive."
"That sounds remarkably risky. You don't have any preparation or a solid plan. This could be a trap."
"The best way to deal with a trap is to disarm it and wait for the hunter to come back and check on it."
"That isn't a plan, it's an excuse for taking risky actions. You have no idea what they can do. You could be putting the city at needless risk. It's just too dangerous!"
"Well, Dangers is the family business."
"What?"
"Oh, sorry it's our last name. Yeah, I didn't set that lineup beforehand. My bad. Too late to turn back even if I was inclined. Parkour, super boots, and hitching a ride atop a few cars have given me good time. I'm most of the way there. Entering Bitch's territory."
"You mean Hellhound?"
"No, not if you know her. Oh hey, Assault is out here. I have to go, Taylor. Maybe I can talk him into helping." Justin said, ending the call.
The cat was watching and reacting to the whole conversation in a very human manner. Deciding John had to have a similar master power to the other worlds Weaver. She looked straight at the cat addressing it.
"Your brother is reckless. The Protectorate is patrolling for Empire troublemakers out there trying to stop a dust-up with Hellhound's dogs. Everyone is on edge and he's wearing all black all he needs is red highlights to be sure he gets mistaken for a Nazi." She fumed
The cat sighed and laid back down. It looked very tired of dealing with the world.
Taylor exited the booth and started moving towards the trouble. She might be able to intervene but she damn well wasn't going in without a plan. Scout first then act. Honestly, did the influx of hormones make all teen boys idiots?
Bitch's Territory
Assault had seen the cape first. Battery had diverted their patrol based on a tip from a private contact. Assault was a bit mistrustful of tipsters. Having been a villain he knew such informants could be coerced into helping disrupt had started running alongside this kid. They leapt from rooftop to rooftop at a pace that would take a car to keep up with.
Battery was coming from a different route when she saw them. Coming to a split decision Battery decided she had to risk putting a stop to this. If Cauldron wanted this cape they'd go to lengths to get him. Best he ended up in custody before something more extreme happened.
With a surge of speed, she streaked up a fire escape on the building they were nearing. She lept and kicked the unknown cape in midair. This sent him into a two-story drop. He landed on all fours both arms and legs bending to absorb some of the impact. His gloves and boots glowed with a blue light.
"Hold on! This kid isn't-" Assault started
Battery couldn't pause if she listened her excuse would crumple. The pretext of mistaken identity was thin enough as it was. With a blur of speed, she rushed the black-clad cape and unleashed a flurry of blows.
Assault was momentarily stunned wondering what had gotten into his partner. The kid ducked weaved and deflected. He had Parahuman reaction time but not enough speed to match his foe. He turned each blow into a glancing hit but he was going to have a hell of a set of bruises in the morning.
Coming to a decision Assault rushed in he'd get between them and pin or confoam the kid till this could be sorted out. He had seen he was faster than the new kid. He zipped away in a J pattern coming in behind him. As he did he noticed something odd. In the places Battery had stuck the kid, sparks of color were arcing along his suit. It was slightly similar to Battery's costume's circuitry. Battery's charge was expended. The kid hit the deck and pushed with his hands. The blue glow about his boots flared as he slid like a pat of butter on a hot griddle. He passed right between Batteries legs.
Assault changed his charge into a jump. He vaulted his partner and came down right beside where the kid's slide ended. With a kick, he sent him into a pile of garbage cans. The kid hit the wall, his gloves glowing as he absorbed the impact.
Battery was now recharged. She rushed after him. The kid rolled back in a reverse summersault away from both heroes. And came up holding twin pistols. He fired at both heroes. A sudden flash from the barrel and an electric buzz in the air. Assault felt static in his hair at the near miss. He glanced to check on Battery. She had thrown herself clear as well. The kid dashed up the same fire escape she had used to ambush him originally.
"What was that? The kid said he was a hero he was here looking for a villain."
"You couldn't see his other hand he was going for his gun!" Battery countered
A slamming noise came from the top of the building. Assault ran straight up the side of the building. On top he found Crystalia floating above a truncated cone of crystal. As he closed with her Battery zipped up the fire escape.
"What happened? Why are you here you and Clockblocker were supposed to be sticking to the edge of the area for containment." Battery asked.
"Sounded like this situation needed containing. It's a revision of the move I used on Bumblebee just no confoam inside. It's got slick sides you can't climb it's angled inwards and there is a hole in the top so he doesn't suffocate. If this guy cooperates I can shatter it. If he refuses I toss in a grenade and we wait for the PRT trucks." Crystalia smugly stated.
"Honestly that sounds pretty clever. But where is Clock?" Assault said turning to look down to street level.
"You should be able to see him down that way. We could see the roof from where we separated."
"Not sure splitting up but wise but it worked this time. Go ahead and toss a grenade in there. He's already attacked us with a laser of some kind. What is that?" Battery stopped mid-instruction to look back toward the crystal prison.
"Music?" Assault answered.
"What is he playing the world's tiniest violin in there?" Crystalia joked recognizing the sound of the instrument.
More instruments joined in. Then with a resonating wail, the crystal fractured and opened like the petals of a flower. Assault and Battery dodged out of the way. The crystals harmlessly passed through Crystalia.
The orchestral rhythms became syncopated as a heavy bassline joined them. Six softball-sized spheres flew out from where the Cape was standing. Each was pulsing and flashing while pumping out dark tones and electric fuzz. A wave of intense nausea flowed over all three heroes. Lines like neon squiggles crossed the black suit where once there were only sparks.
The pistols fired again one targeting Crystalia and one aiming for Assault. The blast heading for Crystalia hit a freshly produced crystal. She shielded herself with her power. the electricity struck the crystal causing it to illuminate with intense fluorescence. The blast headed for Assault stuck him in the belly. Battery saw for a brief second the laser beam with electrical current swirling around it strike her partner. Assault collapsed to the pea gravel coating of the roof.
Furious she charged. Anger helped her fight the seemingly rocking floor and desperate need to upheave her last meal. The speed of the beat and flashes of light sped up as she and Crystalia counter-attacked. Crystalia sent wave after wave of heavy crystals at her foe. Her aim was ruined by the sickening effect of the music and lights. Their size and speed however helped counter the poor aim.
Battery picked up a thinner shard of crystal to use as a staff. She flashed by attacking on the run so she wouldn't remain close enough to Crystalia's target zone to get clipped.
Crystalia conjured a larger crystal to shield her as she leaned over to throw up. Battery rushed to provide a stronger offensive. She couldn't let their foe have time to capitalize on the distraction. The vertigo sent her off target and she ended up falling. It looked bad she was sure she was about to get shot. Then something interposed itself between the dubstep-empowered cape and two heroines. Bees, very large, very angry bees.
"HEY! This is a working-class neighborhood. People and BEES are trying to sleep out here mister! Now quiet down before I have to Bee-rate you further!" the familiar voice of Bumblebee called out from atop a truly massive bee. She had Clockblocker nestled behind her on the largest of the giant Apid.
The voice of Nicolas Cage joined the baseline "Not the BEES!" it started repeating with distortion as he turned to run. He lept over a staff strike from Battery only to be forced to back away from the edge of the roof by a wave of Crystalia's crystals. That was the perfect setup for a pair of large bees to head-butt him into the path of Clockblocker. The time-freezing Ward had leapt down from the bee and charged. He reached out to touch and capture his foe.
The strange cape dropped his left gun and caught Clockblockers hand. White light ran through his glove then across his suit to his other glove where it vanished into his gun. He fired a white beam out that hit Crystalia who was again shielded inside of one of her crystals. The crystal and presumably heroine herself froze in time. The cape turned his head to look at Clockblockers surprised face. He didn't have much time to look however as a yellow and black boot intersected with his cheek. He fell back, arms pinwheeling for balance as he fell off the roof. The floating orbs streaked after him. The fallen pistol stuck to one as it passed by.
"Holy shit!" Clock exclaimed racing to look over the edge.
"He fell off this roof before he won't be dead," Battery said getting herself up.
"He's gone..." Clockblocker said mystified.
"Gone? What do you mean he's gone?" Battery exclaimed rushing to look for herself. The mystery cape was nowhere to be seen.
"Umm, not that I don't want to help. But I am a villain and I need to be out of here before Miss Grumpy wakes up from being Clockblocked," Bumblebee interjected.
"Your help will not go unreported. Could you use your bees to lower Asault to the ground? I have an ambulance coming." Battery asked.
"Sure, I'll have him down in a jiffy. Oh, I checked just now he has a strong pulse I think he was just stunned."
"Thanks still not taking any chances," Battery replied.
"Look out Bee-low" she called as she and her giant riding bee made for the street. Battery and sped down the fire escape next followed much slower by Clockblocker.
"Thank you for the assist." Battery said after checking on her partner.
"Hey, crime is one thing jerks who won't turn their music down is just the worst sort of Bee-havior. Got to run tell miss meanie I said Bleh!" Bumblebee said in parting as she and her giant riding bee took off.
Out back of Fugly Bobs
A visual distortion rippled through the air. The six drones dropped their holographic camouflage. A sore and tired Justin tore off his mask as he limped over to his brother. John was leaning against the wall near the bricked-up doorframe.
"You look like shit."
"Unanticipated variables cropped up."
"Yeah, I saw. Thanks for the save, Taylor."
Justin turned to see she was again behind him.
"Yes thanks, Taylor you were a lifesaver."
"Do me a favor if you ever decide to do any caping, hero or villain, in my city again. DON'T '' she told him with a grimace.
"I made several posts online about the new hero DJ Wubs. He has decided his first night out hunting Nazis was rather more exciting than he'd planned. He is reconsidering the whole Cape thing." John said with a grin.
The white light of the doorway opened. The very old thin man looked at the three. He then settled his gaze on Taylor who he figured was the most likely to give him a straight answer.
"They decided to try catching this world's version of some villain from your world. They made a glorious mess of it all," she explained to the very disappointed-looking old man.
"You're a rat," Justin said as he stepped through the portal
"Sorry, he ended up bugging you, Taylor. I'll take it from here" Bocephus said giving Justin a stern look.
John just laughed as he exclaimed "Till next time Taylor!"
"There better not be a next time!" She called after them as the doorway vanished.