Disclaimer: Worm and Warhammer 40k are not my property.
22/03/2019- Chapters deleted and replaced in order to fix incorrect chapter titles.
'Maybe we should go after the Merchants?' Taylor mused, her tools briefly laid down as she took a short break from working on her power armour. It was almost midday, and technically she should be working to pass the exam that she would be subjected to in just over a week, but…she wasn't. Obviously. It would be easy. And she really wanted to finish her armour before anything else terrible happened.
"HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE PHRASE 'BITTEN OFF MORE THAN THEY COULD CHEW'?"
'You know, that's not really that useful. I tried to limit myself. Not my fault that Tattletale has a good line in sob stories and that Bakuda started blowing things up.' Taylor defended, although it sounded a little weak even to her.
'I don't want to take on Lung again, not until I'm technologically loaded for bear- or my powers return. The Empire is too damn big to bring down without focusing on it. And I can't bloody find Coil!'
Taylor took a moment to take a deep breath, smothering the rush of acid fury that had risen thickly in her chest at the reminder that Coil was still out there. That the kidnapper of a little girl was still out there and there was nothing that she could do. Once she had successfully pushed down the flash of rage she continued.
'So I thought that we could at least take down the Merchant Capes. The gang would probably still exist, but it would be a lot easier to deal with without them. It would let the Protectorate focus on the other gangs.'
"WHAT MAKES YOU ASSUME THAT THE PROTECTORATE WILL BE ANY MORE EFFECTIVE WITH THE MERCHANTS GONE THAN THEY ARE NOW?"
Taylor gave a brief mental shrug.
'I'm an optimist at heart.' She replied dryly. She looked down at the piece of muscle fibre she was currently working on- left arm, forearm- and sighed.
I can't help but think that, useful as armour will be, I'll need weapons as well. Especially when the big boys come to play.'
"WHAT ARE YOU CONSIDERING?"
'Well-hmm. I was thinking about building a laspistol, shouldn't be too hard to build and hide. But then something for me to use with my armour. I know you had your Runesword and Power Claw, but swords aren't really my thing-'
"YET."
'Swords aren't really my thing yet, so I was thinking of moving on from the staff I used. I can build a staff still, but then arm it. I was thinking something like a chain-glaive: it'll let me use it as a staff and if things get nasty it'll tear through almost anything.'
"A CHAIN-GLAIVE"
'Yes.'
"TAYLOR…ARE YOU ACTIVELY ATTEMPTING TO FUEL RUMOURS THAT YOU ARE, INDEED, A POWER COPIER? BECAUSE THE MASSES WILL LOOK AT YOU IN POWER ARMOUR AND WIELDING A GLAIVE AND SEE ARMSMASTER."
Taylor frowned, unwilling to admit that she hadn't thought of that.
'No they won't. There'll be no resemblance in the armours and a glaive is entirely different to a halberd.' She said, trying to convince herself. The Emperor projected an air of complete scepticism, but then spoke again.
"HOWEVER, OTHER THAN MISLEADING THE PUBLIC AS TO THE NATURE OF YOUR POWERS- WHICH IS IN AND OF ITSELF PERHAPS NOT A BAD THING- I DO NOT THINK THE IDEA A BAD ONE. ESPECIALLY AS A CHAIN WEAPON IS EASY TO UPGRADE AS TIME GOES BY, UNTIL EVENTUALLY YOU REACH THE POINT WHERE YOU HAVE TO BUILD AN ENTIRELY NEW WEAPON. A POWER WEAPON, PROBABLY."
Taylor took a moment to imagine wielding an actual power weapon, smiling to herself for a few seconds before shaking her head and snapping back to the present.
'Right. So we're agreed that it's a good idea, I just need to build it.'
She had the plans, both in her head and roughly sketched out, but she would need materials. Once again, her resource poor state struck her hard. The staff would be easy enough, she could forge it from metal, but the actual chainsaw section…well, she supposed that it something was worth doing it was worth doing well. And she at least had the materials to make herself a basic laspistol. That should keep her occupied until she went out tonight.
That evening found Taylor thoughtful, leaning over the sink in the bathroom as she pretended to be getting ready for bed, just before she checked that her Dad was asleep and sneaked out of the house. She had eaten dinner with her Dad earlier and, once again, noted how distant he seemed. How much he seemed like a shadow of the man she remembered, before her mother died.
Taylor sighed, looking into the mirror above the sink in a mournful fashion and remembering, almost wistfully, days when she would stare into the glass and criticise her appearance. When life was simple, if terrible. And before that, when she was young and innocent and her mind drifted back to her father.
'I wonder if he'd ever notice anything. What if I told him who I was, what I could do?' she asked. She thoughtfully tapped her chin as she pondered the answer. The Emperor provided no response.
'He'd want to protect me, wouldn't he? Want me to be safe. To keep my powers hidden, under wraps. To join the Wards, maybe, where I could be trained and protected and all my work could be funded. Like a responsible parent.'
"WOULD YOU OBEY HIM? WOULD YOU BE A DUTIFUL DAUGHTER, JOIN THE WARDS AS HE WOULD LIKE?"
Taylor sighed again and turned away from the mirror, her ponytail swishing faintly.
'I don't know. Not until the time comes. But I suspect-'
Taylor began to walk, a brisk motion as she moved towards her bedroom.
'I suspect that I wouldn't. It doesn't matter what he thinks anymore, I won't join the Wards and let the PRT and Protectorate stifle my powers. Not even for the protection they could offer me, for the training and the funding.'
A brief pause, as Taylor frowned slowly into the mirror.
'Imagine it. The once dutiful daughter, too selfish to let herself be protected. Too selfish to ease the burden on the father.'
The Emperor said nothing in response, and Taylor hummed to herself.
'It's sort of ironic, really. Sofia might have joined the Wards from concern for her family, even though she was- is- a cruel bitch who thought nothing of what she did to me. I'd do the opposite. And yet, I'd say I'm the moral one. I wonder, when does it stop being for the greater good and start being for your own selfish desires?'
She shrugged to herself, her armour already waiting and ready for her. For her to leave the house and leave Taylor Hebert behind and be Circaetus, the hero. Because she simply didn't have the time to wallow in melancholy. Didn't have the time to sit down and talk to her Dad, to work everything out and try to drag him from his slough of despond.
Or at least, that was what she told herself.
The streets were dark- as usual- and for once Taylor wished that it was closer to Summer. It might be nice to walk the dusk-lit streets in costume. It would certainly be more atmospheric. And warmer, probably. Taylor was glad that her armour had enough room for a jumper and that her coat was pretty thick. She had made her way onto the roof of a building- a slightly tricky manoeuvre requiring a dumpster, a fire ladder and a jump- and was knelt on one knee, one hand placed flat on the roof for balance as she concentrated. Her trickle of remaining power was all focused upon the area, spreading out and seeking a target- although there was a good chance that she'd be unable to find anything. A few city blocks was a decent range for her sensing, but crime levels weren't quite so high as to be a certain thing to find.
'Nothing. Nothing so far, at least.' Taylor commented, standing and walking back towards the fire escape.
"YES, IT'S A PITY THAT YOUR FRIEND ISN'T PATROLLING TONIGHT. SHE IS VERY USEFUL AS TRANSPORT." The Emperor murmured. Despite herself, Taylor let out a muffled laugh.
'As well as being a good friend and excellent companion in battle?'
"I THOUGHT THAT DID NOT NEED TO BE SAID."
Taylor chuckled softly as she landed back on the ground, silently re-affirming her decision to build a jetpack at some point. It would make travel so much easier.
Also, death from above. Enough said, really.
'Next set of blocks then. I hope there's something going on. Wouldn't want a boring patrol.'
Fortunately, Taylor would get her wish. It took her two more city blocks- and the commensurate time travelling- but she eventually located a group of Merchant minions. Well, maybe not a group. About three. Still, that was enough for her. She just wanted to get some information…assuming they had any, of course.
It was easy enough to deal with them, simply knocking down the two most ragged with her gloves set to stun and slamming the last against a wall. Tapping into the trickle of power she could draw from the Warp Taylor focused, shaping it into a mental effect. A very simple mental effect, but very effective.
Terror.
This particular warp ability was not uncommon among Psykers, manifesting her psychic shadow as a cloud around her and striking fear into the hearts of her foes. Weak as she now was it barely stretched more than a few metres, but it was more than enough.
The Merchant had pissed himself, Taylor noted with disgust, and she held him against the wall with one hand on his chest, trying not to touch him.
"Where is Skidmark?" she asked, quietly, coldly. The man gibbered in fear but shook his head, unwilling to talk. Taylor increased her aura and leaned in.
"I'll ask once more. Where. Is. Skidmark?"
The man talked.
It really was lucky that she'd found that man. He wasn't a Lieutenant or a Merchant high up or anything, but apparently Skidmark had a big mouth even when sober and was nigh incapable of keeping a secret when high or drunk. And Skidmark was always high or drunk. Taylor took her phone from an inside pocket and punched in a number.
"Dauntless? This is Circaetus. I've come across some information that I think you'll be quite interested in…"
"AH, THE DOCKS. THE CLASSIC HAUNT OF SCUM AN VILLAINY ACROSS MANY, MANY WORLDS, REAL OR OTHERWISE. THE SALT TANG AND THE REEK OF FISH IN THE AIR, A FITTING PERFUME TO MARK THE DARK DEEDS THAT INEVITABLY GO ON IN THEIR PRESENCE."
'You can stop waxing lyrical now. I'm aware of how very cliché a midnight meeting on the docks is.'
"JUST WANTED TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU KNEW."
'Yes, thank you for that. But you have to admit, cliché doesn't mean stupid. Nice and quiet for a meeting to take place, and the Docks has plenty of room to hide.'
"WELL, I SUPPOSE THAT IS TRUE."
The conversation was ended by the approach of something moving very…very fast. Taylor hopped to her feet, mentally tweaking the dials on her gloves to a setting a little above the usual stun. Nothing that would kill, but it would put someone in the hospital with just a touch. A little paranoia never hurt anyone.
Whoever was approaching arrived just as she finished turning, a red blur that slid to a halt and revealed a figure she recognised.
"Velocity, yes?" she said, waiting for a reply. The red costumed man nodded, sketching a half-salute in return.
"That's me. Circaetus, right?"
Taylor nodded, winding down her gauntlets and holding out a hand for him to shake. His grip was firm and unhesitating and Taylor decided that he didn't seem like a bad person. Arguably it was a little premature to trust someone based on a handshake, but he seemed like a nice enough person.
"Dauntless said you'd found something interesting?" Velocity asked, glancing around. Taylor nodded.
"Ah- interesting, yeah. That's one way to put it. Is it- just you, or are there others coming?"
Velocity shrugged briefly- he didn't seem to move any faster than normal or be particularly twitchy, which was interesting. Taylor had partly expected a speedster to be twitchy and quick- although from what she remembered Velocity's power acted on the world around him or something, creating a bubble of slowed time? Something like that. Didn't really matter at this point.
"Yeah, I think Dauntless and Assault are on their way. I just got here sooner." He explained. Taylor nodded.
"I'll wait until they arrive before I explain then, if you don't mind. Easier to tell it once." She said. Velocity nodded and leaned against a wall, slipping into silence. They waited in slightly uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, until Taylor sensed two people approaching and heard the soft noise of boots on concrete.
"Dauntless. Assault." She greeted quietly as they stepped into view. Assault gave her a grin and a cheery wave, while Dauntless inclined his head.
"Circaetus. You said you'd had news of a Merchant meeting?"
Taylor nodded.
"I was out on patrol, ran into some goons. One of them was pretty happy to tell me anything I wanted."
"Aww, sounds like you made a friend." Assault teased. Taylor glanced at him with slight bemusement.
"I suppose you could see it like that, yeah. Anyway. Turns out that Skidmark has a big mouth and he's been boasting about meeting a 'supplier' here. Big meeting, as it happens. Thought you might want in."
Velocity let out a soft noise of surprise, while Assault grinned fiendishly.
"Sounds like you really did make a friend." He said. Taylor gave a lazy shrug and briefly checked her watch.
"Anyway, the meeting is supposed to be in about fifteen minutes, and the meeting place is maybe five minutes away. So, you guys in?"
Dauntless gave her an amused glance.
"You know, normally it would be frowned upon to take someone who is probably Wards age into a confrontation with a pair of villains." He noted. Taylor tilted her head in a quizzical manner, attempting to replicate a raised eyebrow. Apparently, Dauntless got the message.
"But I think it would be ridiculous to say something like that to someone who has faced Lung and held their own. So yeah, I'd say we're in. Lead on, Circaetus."
Taylor gave the older hero a quick, brusque nod and led the three through a tangle of buildings, slipping through alleys and small streets until she was nearly at her destination. Once there she stopped, turning back to Dauntless.
"The meeting point is up ahead," she said quietly.
"It's got a ramp into the harbour, but a ship's been pushed close to the harbour by the waves and wind. There's quite a large open space, but I don't know how many Merchants are here. I can find out if you give me a minute."
Dauntless nodded to her.
"Find out." He ordered quietly, turning to Assault and Velocity to confer on a plan. Taylor closed her eyes and blocked them out, stretching her senses out to mark down the Merchants in the area.
"Eight Merchants. Five in one place, three in another. I think the three are Squealer and a couple of goons while the five include Skidmark." She reported after a minute or so. Dauntless nodded thoughtfully.
"Alright. Velocity, you take down the Merchants in the larger group- the unpowered ones. Assault, you stay ready to deal with Squealer if she brings in a tank or whatever. Circaetus, you're technically the heaviest hitter here so-"
"Ah," Taylor interrupted, flushing beneath her helmet.
"I'm not."
Dauntless paused.
"Excuse me?"
"I- um, my fight with Lung kind of burned out my powers." Taylor admitted. She swallowed, hating to admit this but knowing it was crucial.
"They're coming back, but really slowly. So I haven't got any telekinesis or pyrokinesis."
To Dauntless' credit, he only hesitated for a second.
"Right. Well, in that case, what powers do you have?" he asked, his tone cautiously moderated. Taylor lifted her chin defiantly.
"I'm stronger than I should be. My armour is at the very least as good as PRT standard issue, and my gauntlets go from taser to anti-tank field. In addition, I've got a mild healing factor." She stated flatly.
'And some limited precognition, but nobody needs to know about that.'
Taylor recognised the tune that the Emperor hummed as the opening of a Black Sabbath song, but decided not to comment on it. Some questions were best left unasked.
"Alright." Dauntless mumbled, apparently reassembling his plans even as he spoke. Taylor glanced up at him and cleared her throat, very quietly.
"I am still fairly stealthy, though. So if you can draw attention I can probably sneak up on the Merchants- being able to sense where people are is pretty useful for that." She suggested softly. Dauntless glanced down, one gauntleted hand moving to the bottom of his helmet in an aborted chin-stroking gesture.
"Yes. Yes, that might work. Alright, Velocity and Assault, same as before. Circaetus, how much time do you need?"
Taylor lifted a hand and rocked it from side to side, briefly.
"Five, ten minutes. Five, maybe."
Dauntless nodded.
"We'll keep their eyes on us." He promised. Taylor nodded, stepping back two paces before she turned and strode away into the night. It wasn't hard to work her way around, using the alleys and the shadows therein to hide. It was easy. Keeping her attention and powers active to ensure she didn't run into anyone was a little harder, a strain at the back of her skull, but she endured it easily enough. Once she got into position she crouched in the shadows, eying the Merchants.
"A WRETCHED BAND INDEED." The Emperor muttered. Taylor was inclined to agree. Skidmark looked as ridiculous as ever, twitching as he stood, but Taylor knew better than to underestimate him. Crude as the man was, he ran a successful gang in a city where Lung and the Empire ruled. Considering that even the infamous Teeth had been driven out- admittedly when Marquis still ran a significant portion of the city, but still- that was no mean feat. His goons were twitchy though, strung-out addicts who were about as reliable as a chocolate fireguard. This shouldn't be too-
Taylor squelched that thought before it could be finished. She didn't believe in Gods or fate, but luck was a fickle bitch. Best not to tempt her.
Electricity sizzled and crashed and Dauntless strode into view, shield nonchalantly at his side and Arclance sparking in his fist.
"What the fuck- oh. Oh, it's you."
For a moment Skidmark seemed too surprised to be angry, but then what parts of his face his mask left uncovered contorted in rage.
"What the fuck! What the fuck-loving shit are you doing here, you arse-jumpin' thunderwhore?"
Skidmark got gradually louder through his demand, until her was practically screaming. Taylor was a little impressed. That was some fairly inventive swearing. She particularly liked 'thunderwhore'. Imaginative.
"Skidmark." Dauntless acknowledged, unphased by the cursing.
"Skidmark. I'm a nice guy, so I'm going to give you this chance. Put down your weapons, surrender, you'll get a fair trial and a nice comfortable cell. Don't surrender and- well, you'll still get a fair trial and a comfortable cell. You'll just be a lot more beaten up when you get to them."
"Big fuckin' words for a white-dick hero all alone." Skidmark sneered, his men spreading out around him. Taylor couldn't tell where Squealer and her backup were, but she could sense them shifting. Dauntless shrugged and Taylor could hear the smile in his voice.
"Who said I was alone?"
A crimson blur and a Merchant staggered and Dauntless brought his Arclance up.
"Fucking- kill the bastards! Squeals!"
Dauntless snapped his Arclance out, a Merchant convulsing and falling as lightning flashed to him but Skidmark flicked a hand, bands of red planting themselves onto the ground and a hand went into the ragged coat and came out with a handful of scrap iron and nails. The scrap dropped onto the bands, suddenly accelerating to lethal speeds and Dauntless dropped behind his shield, shield and armour standing against the shrapnel. Velocity blurred into being for a moment, dragging a Merchant out of line- the third of the four goons- before blurring again, spinning around the man with dazzling speed. Taylor bit her lip, trying to decide when to move in.
Skidmark kept moving, dancing on the spot almost, howling insults and curses and flinging more shrapnel at Dauntless as the hero forced forwards step by step, shield high.
"AFTER THE GIRL REVEALS HERSELF. WHOEVER HAS THE LAST TRICK UP THEIR SLEEVE IS THE ONE WITH THE ADVANTAGE."
Taylor growled in agreement, though she ached to charge in while Skidmark was distracted. But no. Better to wait, wait until either everything had gone to shit or until she had the chance to land a final blow. Besides, Dauntless was doing an excellent job of keeping Skidmark hopping with well-aimed and irregular lightning bolts from his arclance.
The roar of an engine filled the air and Taylor noticed Velocity flashing away. All the Merchant goons were down but a massive- a- a massive truck, Taylor decided, burst from the shadows that really weren't big enough to conceal it and rushed towards Dauntless.
"HOW REMARKABLY ORKISH." The Emperor mused thoughtfully, Taylor humming in agreement as she flicked her gauntlets to a much higher setting. The monstrous thing that bore a vague resemblance to a monster truck was covered in thick armour plates, crude but doubtless effective, and carried a rough turret as well as four wide-mouthed barrels set across the vehicle.
'That looks like the sonic cannon Squealer used on me and Glory when we first met.'
"IT WAS AN EFFECTIVE WEAPON. IT IS UNSURPRISING THAT IT WOULD BE KEPT."
'And yet the driver is trying to ram Dauntless, rather than use the cannons. No wonder Skidmark is so foul mouthed, being the brains for an entire gang must be tiring.'
"BEING CONSTANTLY SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS WOULD CERTAINLY EXPLAIN HIS ANGER."
The vehicle charged across the open space towards them. Taylor tilted her head in interest as a single figure walked to stand in front of it.
'Assault. What is his power again?'
"HMM…WASN'T IT SOMETHING TO DO WITH KINETIC CONTROL AND ABSORPTION?"
The truck hit Assault and promptly crumpled against him, hurling itself to a halt with sudden, shocking force and skidding to a halt on its side.
Skidmark turned his head in shock, his attack on Dauntless faltering a fraction. Taylor strode from hiding. One, two, three steps, boot rising before she drove the heel into the back of Skidmark's knee. The villain crumpled and Taylor brought her hands down, crackling gauntlets closing onto Skidmark's cheeks, the bare-skin contact letting electricity flow unhindered. Skidmark jerked and spasmed and fell, stunned.
"Well I'd call that a- move!"
Dauntless cut himself off, flinging himself to one side. Taylor dived in the opposite direction, swearing as she landed hard on her shoulder and bullets screamed overhead.
"How is that thing still working!" she roared, rolling to get out of the line of fire of the stocky gun barrels. At least they weren't turrets, but there were four of them and they were slightly offset enough to cover a lot of space. And the sonic cannon itself was mounted in a turret.
'We need to get close and disable the turret and guns.'
"AGREED."
Taylor pushed off from her crouch, bolting towards the toppled vehicle. She was out of the line of fire of the guns and they were concentrating on the Protectorate heroes in any case, but she still moved as fast as she could before the turret could fire.
The turret swung towards her.
Taylor forced herself into a dive, lunging to her right but the turret swung just enough and a wall of sonic force hit her, bypassing her armour to strike directly at her body. Pain flooded her and she fell, losing her balance as her organs were pulverised, blood already flooding her mouth from the fatal injury as-
Taylor blinked and dived left.
The cannon shot missed her by inches.
'Too close!'
Precognition really was a useful tool. Taylor kept sprinting, not wanting to give Squealer time to fire again. She reached the toppled truck and leapt at it, landing next to the turret and safely out of its field of fire.
"You fuck-"
Squealer reared up from the turret- or reared sideways, really- with a gun in her hand, but she was far too close to Taylor. Taylor snagged her by the face and dragged her bodily from the turret, throwing her to the ground in one direction and her gun in the other before leaving her for the moment. A turn, her gauntlets mentally being turned to full power and a slightly sparkling field of energy materialised around her hands. Precognition didn't show any explosions, so Taylor simply rammed her fist into the sonic cannon, scything her hands through it and letting the crackling energy melt the steel.
'That should do it.' She mused, turning back to Squealer and letting her gauntlets go back to inactive. The Merchant Tinker was on her feet now, but she was bruised and looked unsteady. Still, she lurched forwards, a wrench in her hand that she swung at Taylor. Taylor merely caught her wrist and drove her other fist into Squealers stomach, stepping back as she doubled over in pain.
"Nighty-night, sweetheart." Taylor mocked as she pulsed her gauntlets to stun and tapped Squealer with a single hand. The Merchant went down in a heap and Taylor glanced around, checking that the area was safe before she crouched and lifted Squealer, slinging the shorter woman over her shoulder and walking towards Dauntless.
"So, do we call this a win?" Taylor asked as she dumped Squealer at Dauntless' feet. The Greek-themed hero laughed.
"Yeah, I think we can just about-"
"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Interrupted a cheerful voice. Taylor turned, slowly, being careful not to make any sudden moves.
"I mean, we heard about this whole deal that was going on, and we thought we'd break it up. Maybe take out some Merchants while we were at it, remind the scum of their place underneath the proper people. But then when we got here you'd already done the job for us."
The cheerful voice was coming from a tall man, not bulky but cleanly muscled- something Taylor could quite clearly tell, as he wasn't wearing a shirt. The white tiger mask was quite distinctive. Stormtiger.
'Fucking Nazis.'
The Nazi was still talking.
"And in recognition of that, I'll do you a deal. You leave, nice and easy. We'll break the Merchants merchandise, make sure Squealer and Skidmark are never a problem again, everyone is happy, yeah?"
'Kill Skidmark for his skin colour and brainwash Squealer into a pet Tinker, you mean.'
Taylor let Dauntless do the talking while she shifted on her feet, ready to dive away if there was an attack. Stormtiger couldn't be alone, he was far too confident which meant that there had to be other Empire Capes around. But who? Probably not Othala, she was a healer not a combatant. Victor maybe. Rune wasn't sneaky enough, Fenja and Menja were glued to Kaiser, Purity was about as stealthy as the noonday sun. Krieg or Hookwolf maybe? Hookwolf didn't seem like the type to be subtle but he was the second in command of the Empire. That wasn't a job for an idiot.
Taylor eyed Stormtiger, somewhat regretting her choice to use gauntlets. The were far too close range. Maybe she should look into that later- but for now she would be best served by keeping Squealer away from the Empire. They were bad enough even without a Tinker on board. And besides that, if they took her and Skidmark it would ruin her victory. She couldn't have that.
Assault and Velocity had joined Dauntless and Stormtiger was still alone, though he looked no less confident for it.
"So it's not going to be a peaceful resolution, then?" he asked. Taylor detected a hint of a smile in his voice, a smile laced with predatory anticipation. This was a man who would be quite happy to fight it out, even outnumbered.
Assault shrugged.
"Well, you gotta look at it from our perspective. The two remaining Merchant Capes captured? That's pretty good. An Empire as well? Cherry on top."
"Cherry on top, huh?" Stormtiger mused. A shrug.
"Well then. I'd hate to keep you waiting."
Stormtiger snapped his hands up and three blades of wind went ravening towards Assault and Velocity. The two heroes sprang apart and Dauntless moved fast towards Taylor even as a resounding boom echoed over the grounds and something slammed into the ground near Velocity.
"Sniper!" Dauntless spat, sliding to a halt next to Taylor and holding his shield to cover them both.
"Victor." Taylor said immediately, assuming. Dauntless gave her a terse nod before shouting at Velocity to find Victor.
"I have to help Assault with Stormtiger. Can you stay with Skidmark and Squealer, make sure they don't escape?"
Part of Taylor wanted to protest that she could help in the fight, but she was smart enough that the protest didn't gain much traction. She was handicapped without her telekinesis, it was the truth. Even if it was a bitter pill to swallow.
"Yeah, I can do. Go help Assault." She said. Dauntless briefly touched her shoulder in commiseration before rising and running towards the fight, while Taylor grabbed Squealer and Skidmark by their collars and ran for the shelter of the overturned truck. Once there she dumped them on the ground, flattening against the truck to catch her breath and peeking around to watch Dauntless and Assault brawl with Stormtiger, keeping the Empire cape on the back foot.
"HE IS STILL TOO CONFIDENT. SOMETHING IS WRONG."
'I'm not going to disagree. He must have more backup than Victor, but where-'
The blade went in between her chestplate and helmet rim, driving into her neck before being bloodily torn out and Taylor lurched forwards, spewing blood into her helmet, fingers reaching for the gaping wound-
Taylor hurled herself into a forwards roll, panicking and cursing as she landed in an ungainly sprawl and forced herself to twist upright, spinning awkwardly on her heel to face her attacker.
'What the fuck are those things?'
The girl- Cape- Cricket, she thought- facing her was a little shorter than Taylor herself, with a lean build and a blonde buzz-cut. A strange metal cage acted as a mask, but Taylor was most occupied by the weapons she held. Each one looked almost like a scythe, but in miniature, only as long as the capes forearms.
"I BELIEVE THEY ARE CALLED KAMAS. THEY ARE USED IN SOME MARTIAL ARTS."
'Oh boy, Nazis with esoteric combat strategies. Just how I like it. Although-"
"Isn't using an Asian martial art sort of against the whole 'America is for the whites' ethos you guys have going?" Taylor asked, letting her mouth run as she assessed.
Unfortunately the cape didn't seem interested in pre-fight banter.
'Fuck!'
Taylor staggered back as Cricket crossed the open space in a sudden springing leap, one kama snapping up from below in a move designed to disembowel as the other sliced horizontally towards her throat. Taylor lurched back, trying to work out how she was supposed to manage this but she didn't have time. Wing it then.
A straight punch, snapped out towards the chest in a feint that brought time for an uppercut that was meant to give her space both went wide as Cricket danced aside and brought her blades to bear, one whispering through the air an inch from Taylors' mask as the other caught the sleeve of her coat, just under her shoulder. The material parted under the steel but it was barely a scratch, so Taylor ignored it. Cricket was a blur, moving faster than any normal human could and keeping Taylor on the defensive with a whirlwind of steel. An overhanded blow came down swinging towards her head and Taylor caught it, the blade locking against her gauntlet and utterly failing to cut through.
Taylor seized the chance, launching a blow towards the stomach with her free left hand but Cricket just stepped away, letting go of her kama for a moment before stepping sharply back in, snatching it as it rotated and fell from Taylors' arm while the other came up, a blow designed to hook under the rim of Taylor's helmet and plunge into the soft flesh of her chin. Taylor dipped her chin and leaned back just enough, a horrible screech sounding as the blade scraped and grated on the plasteel of her helmet. Taking her chance she grabbed Cricket by the arm, holding her in place just long enough to drive a blow towards the stomach.
The punch connected with satisfying force, doubling Cricket over but the Empire Cape knew fighting and used the motion to twist and squirm and grabbed Taylor in turn, twisting and flipping Taylor over her shoulder. Taylor managed to turn enough that she landed in a roll, skittering away as she stood and eyeing Cricket warily once the distance was open.
'Damn. Damn, she's good.'
"AT THE RISK OF REPEATING MYSELF, I GIVE THE ADVICE I GAVE AGAINST GRUE. SHE IS FASTER BUT YOU ARE STRONGER."
'Grappling again? She's pretty good at it though.'
"DO YOU HAVE ANY CHOICE?"
Taylor grinned under her mask.
'Not any that I care for.'
Taylor pushed off, lunging towards Cricket and throwing a rapid combination of attacks, dialling her gauntlets further up. They weren't quite at the stage of tank-busting, but any hit would almost certainly incapacitate. One hit, that was all she needed.
Cricket seemed disinclined to allow her that hit. The Empire villain danced between blows, lashing out in return with quick, precise movements and the more Taylor exchanged blows the more she became convinced that Cricket had some form of enhanced reflexes. Cricket wasn't faster than possible for a human, but she moved with far too much efficiency and dodged with far too much alacrity.
Taylor really needed to find some way to enhance herself without her powers.
Cricket stepped, cut, stepped and Taylor shifted just enough that she took the blow on her vambrace, swinging with her other fist and silently bemoaning her choice to use gauntlets. She should have built a staff, she wasn't good enough in unarmed combat. Oh, certainly The Emperor had been skilled in it, and those skills had somewhat passed on to her, but there was a world of difference between the kind of fighting styles available for a seven foot man who was built like he was auditioning for the lead role of Conan the Barbarian and a girl who, though tall for her age, was still well under six foot and fairly slender.
Didn't help that Cricket was clearly practiced against the sort of mixed bag brawling style that The Emperor had favoured. Better for bar brawls, really, and Taylor wished that she had a sword or staff.
Cricket kept swinging, both of them still exchanging blows that either missed or skated off armour, a pointless stalemate that would only be decided when someone made a mistake or grew too tired. Taylor fell back a fraction, feinting. Cricket didn't take the bait but Taylor was moving again, lunging forwards and predicting movement with a flicker of precognition. A blade came down and Taylor closed her fingers around Crickets wrist, bemoaning the fact that her gloves wouldn't shock properly when gripping like this. According to her vision the other blade should be coming down to-
Cricket drove a knee into her ribs and Taylor grunted in pain, glad that the impact was mostly soaked by her armour as Cricket tried to hook her free blade around and behind her neck. Taylor twisted, trapping the free arm with her own and bringing her helmeted head inches from Crickets own. Out of options, Taylor went for a headbutt.
The hit landed but Cricket did something the moment before, a static noise reverberating through Taylor's skull. Instant nausea and Taylor barely managed to throw Cricket away and stagger away, wobbling for a moment and barely repressing the urge to vomit. At least Cricket didn't seem to eager to get up and resume the fight.
Taylor really needed a weapon. In fact…
Taylor skated back, clearing some space and getting next to the fallen truck. A hard thrust of her fist and a grip and Taylor grabbed a pipe, using the higher setting on her gauntlets to slice through the metal and pull the makeshift staff from the vehicle. She spun it in her hands and looked at Cricket, who was standing with a wariness in her stance.
"Round two then, Cricket."
The two of them started circling, neither to eager to rush in. Taylor ran through her options and concluded she needed to bait a rush. And what better way to do that than her old favourite, taunting?
"So, Cricket. That's the name of a tank, right? German, World War 2?"
The Emperor had an excellent memory for useless trivia. Well, useless to a point.
"And then there's Stormtiger. Well, Sturmtiger, another tank. But then Hookwolf? Where's the connection? Maybe he should call himself Jadgpanther or something, then you can be Krieg und der Panzers. Your very own neo-Nazi band, right? Then again Stormtiger already looks like a boyband member, what with the shirtlessness and the jeans. Well, either that or a male model. Is that why he and Hookwolf go around topless, they like flaunting themselves? I thought your ethos was against homosexuality-"
Cricket attacked. Honestly Taylor was surprised it had taken so long, she had gotten talking rubbish at people until they attacked just to shut her up to an art. But that wasn't relevant: the fight was. Taylor whirled her staff, using it with swift, precise movements to keep Cricket at bay. Fancy hand-scythes were all well and good but now Taylor had better range and she intended to use it ruthlessly. Sweeps and jabs whipped out, all of them aimed to incapacitate because Taylor didn't care how tough Cricket was, a broken limb would sure slow her down and a shattered collarbone would definitely put a cramp in her style.
"Come on, Cricket. What's the matter, lost your edge now that you're not the only one with a weapon?"
Cricket responded with a swift, leaping attack that pressed Taylor hard and Taylor was glad for her armour as blades scraped against ceramite and plasteel where Cricket managed to pierce her defence. They broke apart for a moment and Taylor gritted her teeth.
'Take one to give one, then.'
She snapped forwards, throwing a lunge aimed at Cricket's ribs before converting it to a vertical sweep towards the chin. Cricket leaned back, letting the end of the impromptu staff pass her face and bringing her scythes in but Taylor spun the staff in one hand, blocking one staff and letting the other grate across her chestplate as she swung her free hand in response.
Her fist hit Cricket in the ribs with a satisfying crunch.
The bubbling noise in her eardrums was back and Taylor was suddenly seeing double. A boot caught the side of her left knee, not badly enough to break it but enough to buckle her leg and a knee met her chin and pain blossomed in her upper right arm as a scythe cut her coat and hooked the very tip into her torso, just a fraction of the steel sliding between the gap between her breast and backplate before Taylor's blind, swinging counter forced Cricket to leap away. Taylor forced herself upright and staggered, cursing as her head spun and pounded.
'What the flying fuck was that?'
"SOME KIND OF SONIC ATTACK?"
'Yeah- heh. Sounds bad.'
"CRICKET IS CERTINLY A CHIRPY ONE."
'I think I'd appreciate that more if my head wasn't ringing.'
Taylor shook her head, trying to focus her scattered thoughts on not getting eviscerated by the Empire cape. At least they had a little pause before the fighting started again. She'd have to use the time to strategize before they got back into it, find some weakness that she could exploit. She shot a glance around, suddenly noticing that Skidmark and Squealer weren't where she had left them. In fact, Skidmark was out of her vision while Squealer was standing near an alleyway with a very large gun in her hands.
'Oh.' Taylor commented, already trying to work through plans and thoroughly tired of being blindsided. She wished her powers were back into useful shape already, particularly the ones covering special awareness via locating minds.
That was sort of irrelevant, honestly, especially as Squealer was shouting something.
"Hey! Faggots! Why don't you just suck on-"
Whatever Squealer intended them to suck on would never be known, as the shadows behind her suddenly turned to silver light and a churning mass of metal in the vague shape of a wolf crashed through.
Squealer didn't even get the chance to scream before the rotating, whirring blades fell upon her. A horrendous crunching, grinding sound filled the air and Taylor watched in sudden shock as scraps of torn flesh and splinters of bone were spewed from the tearing grinder that Hookwolf had become, accompanied by a fountain of crimson blood. Dyed a gory red Hookwolf continued his rush, charging towards the rest of the Capes even as Skidmark let out an unholy shriek of rage.
Taylor didn't wait to receive the same grisly fate as Squealer, diving out of the way and sprinting to clear the area, getting away from Hookwolf and Cricket both. Skidmark, addled by drugs and anger and maybe even loss was not so sensible. Howling in rage he began to fling whatever he could at Hookwolf, pointless and useless but at least his layers of acceleration or whatever they were had appeared under Hookwolf and the bestial Empire Cape couldn't make any further progress over the ground.
Taylor suddenly realised that Cricket was right behind her and tripped, rolling and somehow turning the motion enough to fling her staff at the pursuing Empire Cape. Cricket apparently wasn't expecting it and her hasty dodge allowed Taylor to gain some ground, getting closer to Dauntless and Assault. Taylor hit her feet near Skidmark and swore as she saw Stormtiger, smirking, arm raised to unleash an attack at her.
The air howled and split under the Nazi Capes power.
Taylor wrenched herself around just enough. The edge of a wind claw hit her chest, driving the breath from her lungs but not quite penetrating the armour, a glancing shot that spun her half around and left her looking towards Skidmark. The Merchant was not as fortunate as she was, and the rest of the aerokinetic attack slammed into him.
Skidmarks' right side came apart in a welter of shredded meat, a burst of blood spraying from the mangled flesh. The pain or the shock made him lose control of his power and Hookwolf, suddenly freed from the opposing force that had trapped him in place, pounced. He bore the Merchant to the ground, claws gaining a fresh paint of blood and viscera before the massive metal jaws closed and the screaming stopped. Taylor gave Hookwolf a hard, wary look, stepping back until she felt a solid presence at her back and a gauntlet touched her shoulder.
"You alright?" Dauntless asked softly. Taylor shook her head to clear it of the last lingering nausea and dizziness and nodded.
"I've been better. But I'm not out of the fight yet." She replied, just as quietly. Dauntless grunted an affirmation and stepped forwards, standing next to her. Assault joined him on her other side and they stared down the Empire capes, the hulking form of Hookwolf flanked by Cricket and Stormtiger.
For a moment Taylor contemplated making a sudden attack, a single leap with her gauntlets tuned to full. Hookwolf wasn't too far away and she might be able to take him down. A flicker of precognition and-
Taylor leaped, crossing the open space in two lightning strides and flinging her fists forwards. Her left fist met Hookwolfs arm, the crackling aura vaporising the metal and clearing a path for her left fist to plunge deeply into the metal body, pushing in for a moment of glorious, elated success before the blades behind the gauntlet closed and tore into flesh, chewing through her forearm armour and spearing into flesh, tearing and ripping and dragging her in as she cried out in sudden pain and was dragged into a blender just like so many others who-
Taylor blinked herself back to the present. Pre-emptive attack not a good idea then. Yet another strike against using gauntlets instead of a staff or sword. Or a gun, but guns were a little less PR friendly.
Maybe she should start ignoring PR. It didn't seem to be doing much for her.
"So," she said, feeling an overwhelming need to break the silence,
"Who's the bad, who's the good and who's the ugly?"
Stormtiger laughed softly, a slightly choked sound that almost sounded like he hadn't been expecting it. Hookwolf shifted slightly, metal grating and scraping on metal and Cricket said nothing. Taylor was beginning to wonder if the female villain was mute. Quite besides that though, she needed to make a decision. These Empire Capes were deadly and skilled and her gauntlets were not nearly good enough. And yet, she had a laspistol at her back, just waiting. She had refrained from using it before because- well, because it was deadly. Anything near a torso shot and Cricket and Stormtiger would both be dead. She hadn't wanted that, not to try and save Squealer or Skidmark. A murder charge was not something she would flirt with lightly. But if the fight continued, if Dauntless or Assault or Velocity were in danger…
Well, she could call it self defence and be believable. And if she wasn't believed, if the PRT or Protectorate saw it as a chance to strong-arm her? Well, she wasn't reliant on them. Not on anybody. They'd soon regret turning her against them.
Hookwolf crouched a little, blades crunching and grinding. Tylor tensed, unsure if her laspistol would fell the lupine monstrosity before her but willing to try. And then Stormtiger spoke.
"Well, it seems our business here is concluded. The filth are dead, there is no reason for us to fight."
"You're a murderer. You're going to prison." Dauntless responded tersely. Stormtiger smiled.
"Are we?" he asked, his tone heavy with amusement and Taylor noticed that Cricket had pulled something from behind her back and-
"Flashbang!" Assault yelled and Taylor threw her arm up, squeezing her eyes shut on sheer instinct. Sound rocked her and the flash was visible even through her visor and closed eyelids and when she opened her eyes it was to a thick murk of fog. She pressed a hand to the bottom of her mask, holding her breath as she lurched forwards and cleared the smoke but there was no sign of the Empire capes. Taylor let the exhaustion of fighting wash over her and sagged, dropping to her knees and slamming one fist into the hard ground in sheer frustration.
'What an absolute fucking clusterfuck. So much for an easy, successful return.'
When Taylor returned home that night she was in what could best be described as a truly foul mood. Not only had she failed to bring in any prisoners but she had been forced to go through a debriefing with the PRT, which- of course- included another attempt at recruiting her. This time it had been Triumph, the newest Protectorate Cape, giving her the talk about how 'Tinkers are more at risk.' Well, fuck that. She'd said no before, she'd say no again and she wished they would get the fucking message.
Taylor cut off her mental rant by sharply standing from her table. She had returned to her lair at the first chance she had, stripping off her armour to check the wound that Cricket had given her. Luckily the cut was narrow and not too deep. Her healing was taking care of it already. Her armour, similarly, was nigh undamaged, just a few scratches to mark the blows of Cricket's scythes.
'Well at least the armour got a proper stress test. Fucking Cricket. Fucking gauntlets.'
"PERHAPS IT IS TIME THAT WE RETHOUGHT OUR WEAPONS."
'Revisit the plans, you think? I suppose. But we tried to get a staff to work, we couldn't get the materials to make the field shape properly.'
"WE CANNOT MAKE A PROPER POWER WEAPON WITH OUR CURRENT RESOURCES, TRUE. BUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT, PERHAPS SOMETHING MORE LIKE A SHOCK MAUL?"
Taylor considered.
'Plausible, I suppose. We would need more materials though.' She concluded, assessing what remained of her loot from Bakuda's stash. She thought it through. She knew that new Tinkers were in danger simply because the gangs kept watch on the scrapyards and tracked Tinkers down.
Taylor briefly considered the implications of hunting down and forcibly recruiting Tinkers regarding the whole unwritten rules of 'Don't try to find out civilian identities' but then dismissed it as more hypocrisy that would never be admitted.
'I think we're capable of taking out a few guards and grabbing what we need. There's a scrapyard not far away.'
"AND THE NIGHT IS STILL YOUNG, SO WHAT DO WE WAIT FOR?"
'Absolutely nothing.' Taylor replied, picking up her armour. She might still need it.
Honest John's Salvage was a big, dark place that Taylor was actually fairly suspicious about. For one, the owner was called Luke. And Taylor was quite certain that he had strong links to the Empire.
At least, the way that all of the watchmen had Empire tattoos seemed to indicate that-something Taylor learned when she half-stripped their unconscious bodies to look for loot. Or hidden weapons. Mainly the second one, of course. She wasn't just looking for cash. Honestly.
Anyway. Taylor being an upstanding member of the superhuman community who was also an excellent role model for younger heroes aside, she had a job to do and things to find and the choicest loot would almost certainly be found in the main office. Corruption made stuff like that predictable.
As it turned out, Dishonest John or Imperial Luke or whatever he was called was in the main office, working late. He was disappointing in his commitment to the Empire cause, squealed almost immediately once Taylor turned on the intimidation aura and got even mildly graphic in her threats. It was pretty sad, really, but it meant that she got herself access to the best stuff and left scot-free. And even better, there was no way he was going to tell anyone, just because who would believe him? Taylor left with a sack full of goodies, some handy-dandy information on the dog fighting rings that Hookwolf liked to run and an interesting debate with the Emperor on the morality of using her powers to intimidate and injure.
The debate was difficult.
It was hard to argue coherently when both people were fundamentally on the same side.
Taylor took a day to build her new staff. In many ways it was like the shock maul favoured by the Imperium police force, but in a lot of others it was far less deadly. She had never been able to create a true force weapon simply because she couldn't get the field to shape around the blade- hence the gauntlets, which required far less finesse. In this case Taylor simply lowered the power requirement by leaving the staff at a maximum far below her gauntlets: it wouldn't punch through armour but it would put out a shock that she estimated would drop a good number of Brutes. More than good enough.
'Power source. These cells are too big.' She mused. The Emperor, fortunately, had a solution.
"THERE IS NO NEED FOR ONE. A CAPACITOR IS WELL WITHIN YOUR ABILITES TO MAKE AND WILL BE SMALLER. THE ONLY TRADE WILL BE THE ABILITY TO HAVE IT RECHARGE IF WE ARE EVER FORCED AWAY FROM OUT BASE FOR A LONG TIME. AND IN THAT CASE-"
'We would have far more to worry about than a staff that's run out of power. Actually, a couple of capacitors is a good idea. Because with capacitors, we can add a little something that release all that energy at once. A lovely little corona of energy. And anything that's within that energy, well…that anything is fucked.'
"YOU MIGHT BE WELL ADVISED TO ADD SOMETHING TO YOUR ARMOUR IN THAT CASE. A SET OF RUNES TO CANCEL ELECTRICITY."
'Those exist? Why aren't they used more?'
"A COMBINATION OF BEING QUITE COMPLICATED AND NOT WORKING VERY WELL. YOU GET ONE SHOCK OF PROTECTION AND THEN THEY BURN OUT, NO MATTER HOW STRONG THE SHOCK. A GOOD STATIC SHOCK COULD BURN THEM OUT, IN FACT."
'Well, I suppose they're better than nothing. You can guide me through?'
"OF COURSE. AS I ALWAYS SHALL."
Taylor spent the next day working on her new weapon, trying to ignore a niggling doubt that had started in the back of her mind. It was nothing she could pin down, something deep within that itched at the back of her consciousness and caused her to try and bury it in work. She had worked on her staff. She had even put together a basic voltmeter, testing it with the sparks of lightning she could generate in order to assess the rate at which her powers were returning- she and the Emperor had concluded that her powers were actually returning at an increasing rate, but the return was currently so slow that the increase was negligible. But that hadn't taken long and really there was nothing that could quite drown out the niggling feeling which was why, even after she finished the staff, she sat listlessly at her work desk and stared blankly into space.
'Something is wrong. There's something I've forgotten.' She thought.
"THERE USUALLY IS."
'Yeah, but this time it's important to me. Personally.'
Taylor briefly reflected on how selfish that was before shrugging it off. It didn't matter. Besides, it was just about time for dinner. Her Dad should nearly be home by now.
It wasn't a long walk home. Quickly wash and change, make it look like she had been studying all day- the tests that Principal Blackwell had pushed upon her were only a few days away. She was confident she could ace them, though. The topics were far from difficult.
Taylor clattered down the stairs, a smile crossing her face as she walked into the room and saw her Dad looking more cheerful than before. The food was takeout, but it wasn't terrible. As Taylor smiled and chatted with her Dad, though, she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
'Is it just me,' Taylor thought slowly, 'Or is my Dad acting oddly?'
"HIS EMOTIONAL RESPONSES ARE STRANGELY MUTED FOR CERTAIN TOPICS. HE'S AS PASSIONATE AS NORMAL WHEN IT COMES TO MOST THINGS, BUT-"
'He's not reacting normally to me.' Taylor concluded, her unease solidifying. She almost had a theory but she needed to test it. Which meant…
"It's amazing how fast this Circaetus has become a big hero. It's almost suspicious." She said, not quite casually. That should have elicited a reaction, but all she got was a disinterested murmur. Taylor carefully kept the frown off her face, her suspicions increasing. It couldn't be.
She kept trying to draw him into conversation, but every time she tried to get into a conversation about a topic that was anywhere outside the ordinary he simply lost interest.
'The- that isn't normal. That isn't normal at all, what's happening?'
"TAYLOR."
The usual monotone was still there, but the voice was quieter, softer somehow.
"WHEN YOU GAVE THOSE PYSCHIC ORDERS TO YOUR FATHER. WHEN YOU IMPRESSED UPON HIM THE SUBCONSCIOUS INSTRUCTIONS, WHAT DID YOU USE?"
'I- I used a variation of my notice-me-not impression. I made sure that he wasn't going to interfere. That he wouldn't pay undue attention to anything out of the way. And I repeated it to insure that-"
Taylor stopped, suddenly horrified. Oh. Oh, she had…
'I impressed it on him again and again, thinking that I needed to so that he wouldn't lose it at some time. But…but it's…'
"IMPRESSED ITSELF UPON HIS CONSCIOUSNESS UNTIL IT IS NIGH PERMANENT. IT IS BLINDING HIM TO ANYTHING UNUSUAL."
Taylor hastily made excuses and left the table, hurrying up to her room. Her horror increased as he just murmured acknowledgement, uncaring.
'How can we fix this? Can we fix this?' Taylor asked, her panic receding as she took a deep breath and forced herself to think. The Emperor was silent for a long moment.
"I DO NOT THINK IT IMPOSSIBLE. BUT WE WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL OUR POWERS HAVE RETURNED PROPERLY. THEN WE CAN ENTER HIS MIND AND STRIP AWAY THE LAYERS OF COMMAND."
A pause.
"I AM SORRY, TAYLOR. THIS IS MY FAULT, PERHAPS EVEN MORE THAN YOUR OWN, FOR NOT SEEING IT."
Taylor shook her head, resolute.
'No. You aren't responsible for what I do, you had no reason to think I was enforcing it too strongly or that it would have such lasting effects.'
Her expression hardened.
'Besides, this might be a good thing. We could make a mistake and have to leave at any moment, and this way it won't affect him. He's been sunk in apathy for years. A little more won't hurt.'
The Emperor said nothing. Taylor picked up her bag containing her clothes for heading out and moved to the stairs again. She had villains to deal with. Her Dad would just have to wait.
The dog fighting ring was a mess when Taylor arrived. The doors to the warehouse hung askew, torn bodies lying about. Taylor looked around her, taking a firmer grip on her staff and proceeding cautiously.
Her caution was well founded. As she entered the warehouse a rumbling snarl split the air and a massive beast charged from the shadows, heading right for her. Taylor brought her staff up and out, stepping sharply to one side and dealing a brisk blow to the beast of exposed muscle and spiking bone. Electricity crackled and jolted and the thing went down, letting Taylor inspect it.
'One of those dog-lizard-rhino things. Hellhound is here. That might make it more interesting.'
She continued, still cautious and dealing with a few scattered Empire men and one other dog-beast. It was easy enough: it looked like most of the dogs and Empire men had slaughtered one another, or at least been injured enough that they were no threat. The arena wasn't far in, a concrete pit surrounded by a few tiers of steps or seats, like a Roman gladiator arena in miniature. Taylor entered undetected, felling a better dressed man and taking the pistol from his hand as she observed the arena.
Three huge corpses lay haphazardly about, each one steaming gently as meat began to slough off them in a grim parody of decay. Hellhound was leaning against a wall, her mask askew and her arm bloodied, her body langage defiant but afraid. A cornered rat. The main attraction was in the very centre of the room.
Hookwolf was, by any measure, impressive. Fearsome in his wolf form of shifting metal, he was scarcely less intimidating as a man. Tall, with blonde hair flowing blindly behind him like some barbarian hero. His chest was bare and rippled with muscle. One arm was slowly receding back to flesh, metal sinking into skin from the blade it had formed and his stance was that of a conqueror, a warrior standing triumphant over a vanquished foe.
'The big man himself. What a prize that would be.'
"THIS IS A BAD IDEA. HE IS STRONG AND SMART AND YOUR POWERS HAVE BARELY EVEN BEGUN TO RETURN. TO FIGHT NOW WOULD BE BEYOND RECKLESS."
'I know. Oh, I know. But I can't just walk away. Can't just leave. It's not who I am.'
"IT IS STUPDITY."
'Stupidity, bravery. It's a fine line, but the glory is the same.'
A long, slow sigh.
"THEN BE STUPID. BUT BE CAREFUL ABOUT IT. DO NOT LET YOUR PRIDE GET US KILLED. WE ARE NO USE TO ANYONE TORN TO SCRAPS."
Taylor smiled for just a moment before she brought up the pistol and shot Hookwolf three times, each in the chest.
The boom of the pistol and the accompanying rattle of the bullets bouncing uselessly off the steel that lay just under the skin was still echoing as Taylor dropped down into the arena, next to Hellhound. She didn't give the other Cape time to speak, instead pressing the end of her staff into Hellhounds' ribs and stunning her. She shoved the body into the recess in the arena wall, where a tunnel led in, presumably to the cages where the dogs had been kept. Hopefully that would keep the mad dog out of the way.
"Sorry about that interruption, Baskerville. But you and I have business to settle and I'm not a patient girl." Taylor said, letting her smile slip into her voice. Hookwolf eyed her, not bothering to hide the churning mass of steel under the rips in his chest. His response was in a low, gravelly voice, but it was laced with amusement.
"Straight to the fight, eh? I have to respect that in an enemy. No frills, no fancies. I like that about you."
Taylor laughed.
"Well, you know what they say. A girls gotta have fun…now c'mon, Hookwolf. Unless you've got more to say?"
The reply was a booming laugh that transposed to a gratingly metallic snarl halfway through and Taylor whirled her staff in one hand as she pushed the gauntlet on the other to full, armour melting force.
And then the fight was on.
Ah, cliffhangars. I really am fond of them. It's some sort of character flaw I think. More seriously, this chapter was initially intended to cover the Hookwolf fight as well, but it was getting intolerably long and so I cut it.
Taylor's new staff is sort of wandering towards an Imperium style Staff of Light. I don't really know where it was going, but the gauntlets encountered the unfortunate issue of writing based on Rule of Cool: it hits reality. They just weren't working out, hence the staff.
Discussing Taylor: she's selfish. That's intended. She's not the best person in the world a lot of the time, and she knows it, which is why she doesn't want to kill anyone. Slippery slope, similar reasoning to what is sometimes used with Batman. Of course, there's every chance that it would just be that one time, but she doesn't believe in herself. Plus, of course, her paranoia that the PRT will find out and try to strong-arm her. Paranoia doesn't have to be justified.
On another tangent, I saw a description of this fic that read something like 'The Emperor rides shotgun in Taylors mind. He makes bad puns. I should clarify, this is not a crackfic'.
Somehow, that description pleases me. Also, on the subject of crack- this is not Stormtiger/Taylor, Hookwolf/Taylor or Cricket/Taylor. There are no pairings planned. No matter how amusing they promise to be.
Also, I could name every chapter 'Taylor is a dick to people' and it would probably be true. Oh well.
Finally,
As always, I hope you enjoyed and would appreciate reviews. And I apologise for the long author note, but I had a fair bit to say.
Thanks for reading.