It was two hand seals, about ten gallons of water, and enhancing the rotational chakra control of nearly a thousand of hours worth of Rasengen water balloon practice.

Finally, I have my instant-kill attack. A side goal will be getting it down to half a hand seal, like I recently managed with Body Flicker.

Technically, it's a water-release Rasengan, or at least my bastardization of it. An orb of water formed with a simple compression water release shape transformation with the first seal. The second seal separated the entire volume into individual miniscule droplets I could individually rotate through the basket-ball sized orb of water. It was absolute erosion: effortlessly passing through thick steel and reducing everything it touched into nothing but powder that fell out of the orb without a drop of water lost.

In fact, it was devastating enough that I struggled to come up with a use for it. I'm not interested in literally liquefying someone, but I guess it could come in hand if I need to pressure-wash through solid steel?

It was mostly a thought experiment.

Thanks to Shadow Clones with active Sharingan, I mastered waterfall walking and needle walking. I've moved onto the final step: casting a water-style jutsu to turn the waterfall I'm walking up into water needles and walking up them while they're falling. The best way to describe it would be like trying to hover over air, only grasping tiny points of water to anchor my body and move upward me.

It fucking sucked. Half the time my clones would be barely scratched by a needle and just immediately burst. That's not even mentioning that it costs a ridiculous amount of chakra to practice, burning all those shadow clones and water jutsu. Doesn't help that it's hard to see my feet when practicing.

While I was at it, I used Omoikane to learn the basics of water-style jutsu crafting. An incredible decision on my part, particularly when I focused on how to reduce the seal count of the jutsu I was crafting. I doubt I would have been able to compress so much water with only two hand seals before that.

Naturally, I extended my jutsu creation knowledge into my yin release. I expanded my arsenal of illusions and yin-infused mist, once I learned some tricks for better combining yin and water releases.

I walked into Bonesaw's lab and tossed her a flash drive, which she quickly caught as she turned from her inspection of Taylor.

"This is the file?" Bonesaw asked.

"Yep. Are you ready for the operation, Taylor?"

Taylor nodded. "I've gone over it with Bonesaw. I've decided I don't want to change myself too much, but, you know, it would be nice to not be 'attack on sight' when I'm outside."

"What are you thinking of?" I inquired curiously.

"Just some... small things. Some facial features, a little less height... Plus some convenience things like enhanced immune system, perfect hair quality, some hygiene things… Oh, and the artificial neurons are ready, so she'll be doing the brain reconstruction, too."

"How difficult is that going to be?" I asked Bonesaw.

"Shouldn't be much! Two inches is plenty of material to work with, especially if we use that cellular regeneration thing of yours to mold the body. Might need to force-feed her some french fries during the operation for more fuel. Those are in the fridge here, I stole them from the kitchen."

Taylor blinked. "That's where those went? Those were in my section of the fridge. You have plenty of your food!"

"I wanted to make sure you had something you liked!"

"You stole those three days ago! They're going to be cold and soggy!"

"I felt a significant alteration to your diet may be too much of a shock, so I grabbed a supply the moment after you consulted me about the surgery. Though I'm sorry to tell you, and this is coming straight from my noggin, your diet's been mostly stuff that'll kill you in forty years from a heart attack."

I sighed. "Taylor, I'm going to start sending a Shadow Clone to act as a chef for the day. You want something, I'll make it. Fugly Bob's isn't a good choice for keeping up the physicality we need."

"Cook me pizza."

"That's cheating."

The operation was nasty, bloody, and incredibly invasive, but Bonesaw's skill and my active healing combined made it go smoothly. Taylor's pain kill switch was engaged the whole time so she was able to stay conscious and direct us as she wanted (until she realized that she was not prepared to witness the medical process in action), then Bonesaw got to her brain and replaced it with an artificial, enhanced copy grafted with her original Corona Gemma.

She even got some complimentary organ and bone shielding installed when Bonesaw offered it, mid-operation.

Taylor stepped off the operating table, practically a new person. My illusion could no longer touch her, and she was much physically tougher than she used to be. A bioweapon in an unassuming form.

I must say, she's taken to this biological alteration thing almost better than I have. Which reminded me, I need to catch up with the genetic alteration virus Bonesaw was developing. A short conversation post-surgery gave me more details than I really wanted to hear.

Supposedly, the process works by dissolving my cells and restructuring them into stem cells with the intended final DNA, directed by the virus to reform in their original structure. It begins as tiny tingles, slowly spreading into a body-wide itch that's sustained until the process is over, becoming more intense the faster she makes the operation.

It didn't sound very pleasant, but I figured I could just do a quick bit of brain surgery before the operation to disable my sense of touch to dull sensation. I've still got about a week before the process is perfected.

Using Omoikane to see what I would look like once the operation was over was promising. I didn't have any blatant physical alterations I could make out, just the normal dark-eyed Uchiha bitchface.

Everything pointed to it working, and working well. I can't wait.

After the surgery, Taylor and I left for Lisa's. Taylor took her new identity for a spin as we walked through the city and rented a car. She had a hint of pep to her step despite her stiffness in public and slowly adjusting to her new height.

We entered Lisa's home through the unlocked front door and made our way to Alec's 'work' room. Alec gave us a small wave and clicked the send button on a prewritten message to alert Lisa, turned back to his video game, and then rapidly whipped his head back at Taylor.

"I'm taking a shot at a new identity," she told him. "New appearance so I can go in public again."

"You get a remote control for your body? I can't feel a nerve in you."

"Something like that."

"Hm, cool. Anyway, do you want some pizza? Ordered a few boxes an hour ago." Alec raised a box toward us.

Taylor grinned, and nodded.

"You wanna try an RTS today?" Alec offered to me. "Not my usual thing, but since it's not reaction-based it should be fair. It's like a... strategy thing."

"Yeah, I'm down."

"Mind if I join?" Taylor asked.

Both of us looked at her in a little surprise. "Yeah, feel free."

"Hey, Taylor! Love the new look! I'm glad you took my advice on that and stuck to something closer to you!" Lisa entered the room. "Wow, you're kicking their asses. They're both going through multiple stages of grief."

"It's bullshit," Alec grumbled. "Intelligence modifications are totally cheating for strategy games. We need a counterbalance if we play again."

"She's screen peeking with her bugs, which doesn't help us, but that's not a total game changer in this game." I grinned at Alec. "How about we team up for now, make the match even?"

"If you have to team up to take me down, I think that just means you admit that I'm better than you at the game," Taylor sniffed.

"Yeah, but I want to be the one with the victory message on my screen." Alec firmly declared. "I'm in on this conspiracy."

"Let me help you out, Taylor," Lisa joined in. "Two heads are better than one, and all that."

We lost. Taylor won, advised by Lisa. Alec got a little grumpy, but mostly just at Lisa for interfering.

"Alright, we should get down to business now," Lisa decided to put an end to the fun. "First off: I haven't been able to find anything on who leaked your identities. I'll update you if I find anything, but it's not looking like I will. So, let's talk about the big plan, since we're all here."

I want to see who leaked my identity.

A stylized 'C' burned onto the wall. Cauldron? What the hell did I do to them? But now wasn't the time for shocking revelations, and implications I needed to look into.

"Cherish isn't hanging around, and neither is Brian." I pointed out.

"Cherish isn't privy to more important details, she's being digitally monitored right now. Brian… Well, he wasn't a big fan of my idea."

"Your idea?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah. You two are priority number one for the local PRT. If they have the opportunity to team up with some of your targets to capture you, they'll take it. You're going to have to play cautiously from now on: expose no weakness. You also have to maintain a bit of a public presence, or the smear campaigns will run wild."

"And you've come up with a way to do that, that just so happens to benefit you?"

"Of course," Lisa's smile was all teeth. "The PRT's already demonstrated that they don't feel the need to play by the unwritten rules with you, but they still have to play by their own rules. Most A-Class threats are dealt with relatively quickly, but there are a few who've stuck around. You already know Lung, and the Butcher is the other local name."

"Gang leaders," Alec snickered. "They've got territory and people under them, so the PRT has to focus on their operations instead of the capes."

"Not exactly," Lisa gave us a reassuring smile, and I noticed Taylor relax slightly. "The key is they hold territory and offer protection, so the PRT has to both deal with their operations and make themselves look better than the other group. Their last capture attempt? Risky and public, but against a pair of unaffiliated capes, they don't have to worry about looking too bad. After all, you technically were in PRT territory."

"Just lay it all out," I sighed, not a bit fan of where this was going.

"I want you two to pull a Parian. Claim territory, offer protection. I'll back you up from the shadows and subvert the PRT with my mercs, while you two act as figureheads."

"This sounds more like painting a target on our backs, than not exposing weakness," I pointed out.

"Oh, it absolutely is painting a target, but not on yourselves. If they have a target to aim at, your territory, they're going to be a lot less interested in targeting you."

"It would be a way to actively protect people..." Taylor nudged me at the sight of my frown. "I think we at least hear her out."

"Fine," I sighed.

"You've set up the pieces perfectly already," Lisa continued. "Lung is the only one left in the ABB, and Hookwolf is pissed but has his tail between his legs until he can break his Lieutenants out. The Empire's been mostly neutered without their most powerful capes and Purity's leadership, but they still like to present themselves as a threat.

"You swoop in, crush Lung, and declare that the ABB's territory is now yours, and that you'll offer genuine protection to anyone within, regardless of race. Indra is Asian, so the ABB will most likely bow to him if he stomps Lung, and suddenly the PRT isn't dealing with a stray pair of capes. They're dealing with a territory holder publicly declaring himself a protector of anyone from the overwhelming Nazi threat in the city, actively dismantling most of the gang's criminal activities."

"You want me to become the leader of the ABB?" I asked incredulously.

"No, I want you to dismantle the ABB, and build something new from the ashes. Direct the fighters over to me, I can fund, arm, and train them into enforcers of your territory. We'll make it a glamorous role, a defender against Nazis and protector of the weak. Destroy a gang and create an organization that protects people. You can only do so much as individuals, after all."

"That doesn't sound much better," I argued. "I understand we aren't countering much on-the-ground crime. I know it's selfish, but I don't want to stick out my neck, not when everyone is lining up to drop a blade."

"I like her plan, actually," Taylor said.

I paused, turning to look at her in surprise. She shrunk slightly, then stiffened and sat up. With a deep breath, she began to speak.

"You're right, it is safer. But we can't be perfectly safe at all times, not if we actually want to do something. We've been playing it safe all this time, and we really haven't changed that much. Other than Coil, every other gang we've been fighting is still standing. The first day we met, we defeated Lung. Now, we can finally make it stick."

Lisa and Taylor looked at me expectantly while Alec watched me with mild amusement and curiosity. I leaned back into the couch, chewed my lip, and mulled the idea over.

I definitely don't want to agree. I've delighted in my anonymity, only appearing when I feel the need to make a move. It's given me plenty of time to focus on learning, all while enjoying a relatively sedentary life.

I'm comfortable. Enjoying my obscurity. In my lane.

"I know you don't want this, but I don't think this'll be as bad as you think," Lisa broke me from your thoughts. "We both know you can deal with Lung, even if you've gotta pull out some stops to make it work. After that, you just have to scare a few grunts. Give 'em the eyes of terror, or whatever you call that fear thing you can do. If you still have trouble, toss in some agony or get Taylor to send some bugs up their legs."

"And once I do that?"

"Business as usual. I manage the fronts and direct you to any threats to our new territory. As long as you keep up appearances, do whatever you want. You can live like a king, fight for the masses, and become a protector of Brockton Bay."

"I don't care about recognition," I bit back. "Give me a better argument than that."

Lisa nudged Taylor with her foot, blatantly indicating for her to speak. She did.

"Look, Indra. You brought me into this group when we killed Coil. I didn't want to do that, but you told me that it was needed to make the world better. I agreed, and I still do. So let me ask you this now: does going along with this plan make Brockton Bay a better place?"

It would be a sacrifice. A sacrifice of obscurity to provide protection. Would it really matter? Only one way to know for sure.

I want to see how many more people this would help.

The room instantly filled up with people, packed to the brim and spreading out the door. Mostly Asian, Black, and Hispanic people. Prime targets for the Nazis that still mostly ran the city.

Lisa's insufferable smirk was already plastered on her face before I could speak. "See, I knew you'd see reason."

I flicked on the Sharingan as I looked into her eyes, granting her the wonderful experience of what reality would be like if she had rubber bones. Her smirk and posture lost form as she began to flop around on the couch, unable to reconcile her inputs in her floppy bones illusion with the motor control of her real body.

"Stop being a pain in the ass," I grumbled, then released the illusion. "Fine. We'll be your figureheads, if that's what Taylor wants. Not right now, though. This is a big deal, not something I can rush head in for. Give me a week, then I'll be ready."

"You wait a week and it won't be as easy," Lisa warned me after she regathered herself. "I don't have as much PRT insight as I used to, but some channels have opened up. Prisoner transports for Menja and Stormtiger are in a few days, and Hookwolf will have busted them out and be baying for your blood."

"I didn't say that I'd be doing nothing during that wait. Besides, I'm sure that Dragon would suddenly be more interested in preparing defenses for those two if I expressed some interest in ensuring they stay captured myself."

Lisa thought it over for a second. "I could start some rumors. Anyway, I can send you the details later."

"I'd appreciate it. If we're going to do this, we're going to do this right. I want you to figure out what we can do to stack the deck in our favor before we act. Call it a test of your ability to be the puppetmaster you want to be."

"Oh, I can handle it," Lisa nodded confidently. "I've got some ideas. Mainly, cutting off the Nazi's arms supplies."

"Oh?" Taylor tilted her head.

"Both gangs get their arms from Gesellschaft. Nasty folks, but more than willing to sell to their fellow Nazis. They've got a big shipment coming in, and we need resources for our new organization…"

"Rob an arms dealer?" I grimaced. "Already want to make some enemies, I see."

"Gesellschaft don't have the reach in America to do much other than tell the Nazis already gunning for you to take you out. Besides, there's more to it than that. I know when and where the meeting is taking place, and if you get in and out with as many weapons as you can undetected, it would cause a nice bit of tension between the two groups."

"Alright," I sighed. "I'm in. Get me the details."

Alec coughed, gathering our attention, and then he smugly stretched his open hand out toward Lisa. "You put one hundred on him agreeing, but not fully committing. I think you owe me some money."

Lisa sighed and handed over the bill. Alec grinned.

"Who wants even more pizza? On Lisa, of course."

I walked in on Bonesaw constructing some amalgamation of a microscope and centrifuge, knocking on the counter to catch her attention.

"Hey, sis. Sorry to interrupt, but I'm going all in on the genetic alterations. I'll help you prepare it as fast as we can, I want to be fully altered before five days are up."

Bonesaw grinned. "You're going to help with the testing! Yay! That'll be so fun! You'll love the noises the monkeys make, it's hilarious!"

I grimaced.

"So, what's got you so excited to alter yourself?" Bonesaw asked curiously. "Not that I don't understand, I love to mod myself."

I patted her on the head, hiding my frown. "I guess your big bro is going to become a warlord. Gonna need some serious power to smack people around with when something inevitably goes wrong."

"Oh, that sounds fun!"

My mind flashed to Cauldron, and their sudden interference in my life.

"Yeah. Fun."

Two days of my full effort were put towards accelerating the development of the genetic alteration process. I relied heavily on Omoikane to perform and assist Bonesaw, eating through the reserves I usually used to produce Shadow Clones, all while Bonesaw casually worked on a level I could barely comprehend.

We finalized the basic structure of the programmable virus when my phone buzzed. It was time to intercept the arms deal.

"Alright, I've got something I've gotta do, so I'll see you later. You want me to grab anything for you while I'm gone?"

"One gallon of cotton candy ice cream!" Bonesaw smiled up at me.

I blinked, then shrugged. "You got it, little lady."

I snuck onto a private airstrip outside of the city, once again donning my old disguise as a crow. An unassuming private jet pulled in, painted dark colors and traveled almost silently through the dusk. Its landing wheels lowered down as it neared the ground, touching down and grinding to a stop as it cruised down the airstrip.

I flew up into the branches of a tree and transformed back into myself. My earpiece crackled as I reconnected to Taylor's broadcast, and her voice spoke into my ear.

"Alright, I've eyes inside of the plane," she informed me. "Pilot and copilot in the front, six armed mercs in uniform in the cargo bay. Can't see anything in the building by the strip, I think they've blasted it with insect killer. Better prep against us than these new guys."

I want to see into the building.

The wall of the lone building by the airstrip faded away, allowing me to see inside. I pulled out a small audio transmitter and pressed the button to speak.

"Looks like eight people in the building. All armed, but four look more like manual labor than fighters," I responded.

"Probably the people moving the shipment. Oh, you'll love this: idiots on the plane don't have anything blocking their eyes."

"Really?" I chuckled. "People in the building are all wearing black glasses."

"A weak link, then. Keep that in mind if you have to subdue anyone." Taylor decided. "You can hide in the landing gear compartment if you're quick. Plenty of space."

I turned back to the plane, flashing the dog hand seal and body flickering into the landing gear. Then, I waited.

My radio crackled on again. "Got movement from the building, the four armed ones are moving out. Flashlights and assault rifles, they're… Shit—they're checking the landing gears. Hide!"

In a flash I clapped my hands together and transformed into a tiny black beetle, landing on a piece of black rubber. I squeezed myself against the rubber and held still, right as a pair of flashlights began to shine into the compartment and search.

"Looks clear," one of them decided, shining his flashlight into the darker corners and completely missing the beetle closer to the actual landing gear. "Could've sworn I heard something in here. Must have been... I don't know. The fucking wind, I guess."

The other tugged on his partner, ushering him away. "You always think you've heard something. Sick of your damn lollygagging."

The pair left and I silently reverted to my usual body, radio once again crackling and connecting to Taylor's input.

"You're back? Good. The other four have an SUV, they're driving up to the plane. People in the plane are preparing a ramp and opening the door."

"What's the move?" I whispered into my transmitter.

"The only entrance is the one door. We'll wait and see if there's an opportunity."

"Keep me updated, then."

I heard the car drive up and park, leaving the engine running as four doors opened and four pairs of feet hit the ground. The airplane's door hissed open as the cabin depressurized, and I heard a thump.

I peeked my head out of the landing gear compartment for a split second, identifying the thump as the plane's landing ramp. One of the men from the car held a large bag, presumably filled with money.

"Four of the six inside are heading out, two are staying in. Pilots aren't paying attention, and the two in the cargo deck are watching the ramp from the cargo…" Taylor paused and I heard the four men step down and begin talking to the rest of the men. "Flicker just inside the door, stay crouched, and look to your left."

I flashed the hand seal and blurred out of the landing gear, up the ramp, and silently landed in a crouch in the cabin of the plane. The two German men on watch fell under Genjutsu before they could make a move.

I molded Yin Release while flashing through hand seals as I approached the frozen men. My hands glowed with my dark green chakra as I pressed my two index fingers to each of their heads, knocking them unconscious and wiping the last five minutes of their memory.

I unfurled a storage seal the size of a large poster and placed it on the ground, then began to rapidly open large cases and dump them into the paper on the floor. Bullets, guns, grenades, knives: Every weapon you could ever want, and enough ammunition to keep going for hours.

Halfway through the cargo, my radio hissed back on. "They're done talking, heading toward the ramp!"

I snatched up my storage seal, tucked it halfway into a pocket, and body flickered out the doorway. I flew out of the door faster than anyone could perceive, maintaining my momentum and flying into the nearby woods.

I landed on the side of a tree in a crouch, the wood beneath my feet cracking and shifting, but holding firm. I patted the storage seal still in my pocket and flickered toward Taylor's hiding hole.

"Looked like a lot of guns," Taylor nodded at me. "Think it'll be enough?"

"If this doesn't satisfy Lisa, I don't know what will. Maybe a nuke?"

Taylor laughed as I packed up her radio gear into a smaller storage seal. "What now?"

"Want to stop for some ice cream on the way back?"

The gallon of cotton candy ice cream thumped onto the counter of Bonesaw's lab.

"Here you go, sis."

"Thank you!" Bonesaw gave me a quick hug, snatched the handle of the bucket of ice cream, and tucked it into a freezer of frozen biological specimens. "Still got time to help me out?"

"It's like, nearly midnight," I considered. "Is what I would say if I was a responsible adult. Ah, hell, why not? Down for an all-nighter?"

"Yep! We should get this finished by morning, and then we'll have plenty of time to sleep. Speaking of, I'm thinking we just add a coma symptom that lasts until the kill agent. Don't want to test what happens if you stress your body mid-redevelopment. Also, the whole full-body itching thing doesn't seem like it will go away, so just knocking you out seems like the best option."

"Damn. Numbing the nerves didn't work?"

"Turns out it's more of a brain thing. I say we stick to the original designs my thinker thought of, and just put you to bed."

"Sounds good to me," I gathered my hair and tied it back into a ponytail with a black band, keeping it out of the way while we worked. With a few hand seals, I produced a Shadow Clone. "He'll grab Curious George; We'll implement that coma feature and see if it helps."

I breathed a satisfied breath as I stared down at a mostly red vial.

I want to see a brief description of this item.

A sheet of paper appeared below the vial, imprinted with words.

A vial containing a gene-altering virus is suspended in a translucent blood substitute. If injected into an individual, it will restructure their body into a genetically modified artificial lifeform based on Indra Uchiha, modified with Uzumaki chakra pools and autonomous regeneration, the bone manipulation of the Kaguya clan, and seamlessly integrate the Ketsuryan's mind-controlling illusions and dissolved iron control into the Sharingan of the original eyes. The process will last around thirty-two hours, during which the user will be put into a coma.

So simple, and so promising.

I want to see any negative consequences of injecting this.

The paper changed.

Your chakra will fundamentally change and grow greater than you are used to controlling, significantly but temporarily hampering your chakra control.

I let the paper vanish as I deactivated my Sharingan.

This would finally make me powerful. Not just powerful, but almost too powerful for me to handle.

I've certainly been strong up to this point, but strength is relative. There's a big difference between manhandling grunts and tangling with the truly powerful people in this world. I doubt I'd be able to Alexandria for long if she suddenly decided to track me down, much less something like Leviathan.

I've never had that hatred that made the strong Uchiha strong. The closest thing to power through hatred I've experienced is the moment of fury I experienced toward Burnscar as she cooked me alive.

I've been reliant on others, which isn't an inherently bad thing, but it is a limit that can be exploited. Even my Mangekyo was arguably only mine because Leviathan chose to play with his food. But this will change that. This beautiful little vial is my key to punching with the best of them, not just pretending I'm on that level and then retreating into my cave.

Taylor entered the lab and walked over to the bed I'd moved into the room, sitting down next to me. "So, it's done?"

"It is." I smiled. "By the way, I'd like to invite you to my re-birthday party. It's happening in about thirty-two hours, and I'd love for you to be there."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Rebirth is a bit of a stretch, but I'm happy you're excited for this. Thirty-two hours, then?"

"Re-birthday party?" Bonesaw giggled across the room, "And thirty-two hours is the best guess we have. Haven't been able to test the final product on account of it requiring a human to test but he's convinced it's fine. Probably right, too. I do good work. I want to keep him in the lab to make sure he doesn't turn into a puddle of goo."

"Speaking of, I'll be unconscious for that time. Taylor?" I looked her in the eyes. "Would you watch over me while I sleep? Doesn't need to be in person if you don't have the time, maybe just with some of your swarm. I'm not the biggest fan of leaving myself vulnerable for more than a day and I'd feel safer with a guard."

Taylor's posture shifted from a slouch to sitting up straight. "Of course. I'll make sure you're safe."

"Thank you," I smiled. "Alright. I'm ready to go, sis, put me under."

Bonesaw scurried over from the other side of the room and snatched the vial from my hand. I shifted on the bed, laid down, and exposed the inside of my elbow while Bonesaw drew the liquid into a syringe.

She poked the needle into the vein with barely a glance, slowly pushing the dropper and filling my veins with a cold chill. The needle emptied and was removed, and the little hole in my vein quickly scabbed over.

A sudden rush of static hit my head and I inhaled sharply, my grasp on reality distorting. Taylor's hand found my shoulder and I refocused, looking at the two girls watching over me. Taylor was slightly worried and Bonesaw was cheerfully waving me to sleep.

Everything went black.

Interlude - Taylor and Lisa

"So," Lisa intuited, "He's finally drunk whatever juice he's been using Bonesaw to create?"

It was easier to talk to Lisa than most people. It was a little irritating, to have someone who could interpret you before you said anything, but for someone as socially awkward as Taylor?

Well, she enjoyed the chance to have someone around who understood how she felt.

"Yeah…" Taylor frowned. "Not sure how to feel about it."

"You understand the desire to change your body, but you're worried he might be taking it too far," Lisa nodded. "Then you started feeling hypocritical, and it started the inevitable depression rollercoaster your brain likes to take you on?"

"Yeah," Taylor sighed, "I'm sure he has his reasons for it."

"He probably does," Lisa agreed, allowing a short silence to fall over their table.

"Lisa?" Taylor asked cautiously. "I'm committed to what we're planning now, but I want to know exactly what I'm getting into. If we're going to try and make Indra the effective ruler of this city, I feel like I need to know what he'd do with that. And not to cast blame, but…"

"But, Indra is one of the shadiest people I've ever met, and keeps his secrets as a result," Lisa smirked. "Trust me, I know. You've definitely got a right to be suspicious of him."

"So he's…"

"No, he's not a terrible person," Lisa shook her head at that train of thought. "He's… well, he's more like Alec than anyone else I've met. They're detached from reality to some extent, to cope with their pasts and how their powers affect their mentality."

"I doubt they're that alike," Taylor asked, dubiously. "They get along well, I guess."

Lisa snorted. "Yeah, he's not as bad. He's got some fundamental behavioral similarities, though. The full explanation is a little long, but so far I've been able to glean that he had a near-death experience that shifted his perspective of life to survival mode. Part of his paranoid tendencies. He's got some emotional issues backing it up, and a pretty constant effort to disassociate himself from reality."

"What exactly do you mean by disassociate? He's always seemed pretty cognizant."

"More of a veneer, really. I mean that he tries to separate himself from the situation he's in to try and achieve better results. Good for objective thinking, bad for your mental state. He doesn't trust his emotional impulses, I think he's got a genetic emotional disorder. As if that wasn't enough of a powder keg on its own, I think his power is addictive."

"Addictive?"

"Mildly, at worst," Lisa reassured. "Two reasons why. The first is sensory overload. He gets an absurd amount of visual data and focus when he uses his red eyes, to the point it's essentially an on-demand stimulant. Second is the more base greed for power. He's got a bit of innate vanity, even if he tries to keep pride out of his life. He likes to feel like he can make an impact, and his powers permit that. Simple as that."

"...So, you think he'll make a good leader, or not?"

"No, not at all. Remember what I said about him being like Alec? The big shared feature is their primary goal: entertainment. Indra's main forms of entertainment are training his powers, experimenting, and spending time with friends. Running a gang? He'd hate the effort and would rather be doing something he finds interesting. That's why I'll do it, and he's perfect as a figurehead."

Taylor had grown a bit more callous as she interacted more with the hero world, but this was the situation that really made it hit home. She was sponsoring her teammate as a gang leader in a bid for control of the city, supported by an underground organization.

But now, she understood what Indra told her that first night she joined him. Sometimes, there's just not a better option.

"Damn," Lisa muttered. "You're scarily good at justifying your actions to yourself."

"Of course I am," Taylor nodded. "Otherwise, how would I know what I'm doing is right?"

Lisa sighed. "Anyway, there's a whole dissociation factor to it as well. Indra already sees his body as a weapon, and he treats his eyes with genuinely reverent behavior. What exactly is he doing to himself, by the way?"

"Not sure, exactly. Some sort of gene change that will make his powers stronger?"

"Yeah, I could see it. Would probably consider a major genetic overhaul an easy option: an optimal use of Bonesaw's skillset to enhance himself. The thing is, he's probably right. Will definitely stir up some biotinker fears. That's fine, though. I can work with it. Anyway, what are your thoughts? Still going to go through with the plan?"

"Yeah. If there's one thing I don't doubt, it's that he wants to do the right thing. Almost too much at times, and not enough at others. I think I understand where he's coming from, the need to do whatever it takes to protect what he's attached to, and I think that's what we need to fix this mess."

Lisa chuckled. "And in that way, you're alike. Anyway, enough of that boring stuff. You wanna spy on people with me?"