I think this might be one of the fastest updates I've ever put out. All things considered, that probably says some terrible things about my ability to update regularly.

Taylor tucked her hands securely into her pockets as she walked down the street, mostly ignoring the gaping passers-by. So she was strolling down the street in full costume. There was no need to stare, surely other Capes had done this sort of thing. She was even in civvie wear, such as it was.

Mainly that meant that she had left her staff and right arm gauntlet behind. Of course, the gauntlet was because it was too damaged to bring along, but the staff was because she wasn't intending to do any fighting and it was fairly awkward to carry around. Now that she had her powers back- at least to a reasonable extent- she could defend herself without the weapon in any case. She reached the doorway of the PRT HQ, raising a hand to her helmet as she walked in and strolling up to the receptionist.

"Hey there." She greeted. The woman looked up and gave her a level look.

"Circaetus. Do you have an appointment?"

"With Dauntless, yes. Is he in?" Taylor asked. She had given Dauntless a phone call earlier, but he hadn't been entirely sure when he would be free. The receptionist glanced back down at her computer before she nodded.

"He's busy at the moment, but if you would like to wait he will be down soon."

Taylor nodded, thanking the receptionist before wandering across the reception area. There was a small waiting area set to one side, with reasonably comfortable chairs. For the moment, at least, she was content to wait. She took a seat, leaning back against the padding and folding her arms across her chest.

'So, I had a thought.'

"Oh dear."

'What? Why 'Oh Dear?''

"Not to offend, Taylor, but your last thought led to a prolonged conversation about my mental hangups. I'd prefer not to repeat that."

'Funny. But don't worry, this shouldn't be so bad. I'm just thinking, the Astartes.'

"What about them?"

'Well, they were all male. Because you're male. Does that mean that any I could create would have to be female? Although…can't you change into a female? Could you clone yourself as a female and get a female Primarch?'

"Those are two very different questions. To answer- no. I cannot create a female clone by taking on a female form, my DNA remains the same. Because, of course, the Warp. However, regarding your Astartes worries, it is not impossible for the Astartes conversion process to be altered to the alternate gender. It merely has a much higher failure rate."

'How much higher is much higher?'

"Much. Approximately ninety-five percent of suitable candidates will fail. Seventy percent will be crippled or killed. It is extremely severe, simply because the conversion process is not entirely science."

'Right. It's halfway to sorcery, that's at least part of why gender makes such a huge difference. But in that case, why not create female Primarchs as well? That would double your recruit pool.'

"At the time, I did not consider it worth the effort. Recruits were plentiful enough, with the population of Terra and many other worlds which I anticipated would join me quickly. I did not want to waste the effort and resources required to do more than create the most efficient clones."

'I guess that actually might be the right decision, even in hindsight. I mean, even after the thing with Horus the limiting factor for Astartes recruitment was mostly geneseed availability, not recruits.'

"Correct. The only Chapters which truly struggled with recruits were the ones who had lost their home planets. As it happens, however, I did some work during the Great Crusade in an attempt to alter the geneseed patterns. I managed to bring the rejection rate down somewhat, but not nearly as far as I would have liked - it was still considerably higher than male rejection rate."

'So in that case, if I wanted to build my very own Legiones Astartes I would be better off creating a male and a female progenitor.'

"I believe so, yes, although that would be far in the future. The technology required is vastly beyond the capabilities of this world, although perhaps…I wonder what the true limit of Panacea's powers are? If she can manipulate biology to a great enough degree, we could use her powers alongside our own to create a Primarch, or at least a Custodes level transhuman, from a regular human."

Taylor unfolded her arms and scratched at the chin of her helmet as she thought about that.

'We'd need to do some serious mind control on her to get her to even agree. And on a regular human? I'm not exactly comfortable with taking some random baby and twisting it into a Custode.'

"With our power and Panacea's- once our power has reached a higher level, of course- we may not need to. I was able to regenerate most of Corvus' body, with Panacea providing aid we should be able to entirely rebuild an adult. It will simply take a great deal of time and effort, and perhaps some medical Tinkertech. I can't say it's even possible yet, unfortunately. There's just no way to be certain until we try."

'That old chestnut, eh? Regardless, even if we can't do any sort of super-soldier-ing we can start work on transhuman genetics. There was a broad base behind the Marines and the Thunder Warriors and we've got a bit of a leg up. Things like gene therapy for deadly diseases and the like should make us quite popular.'

"And a hefty profit."

Taylor frowned.

'Vulture. You really think we should try and profit from it all?'

"Money greases a great many wheels. Extortion is below us, but if a machine we build cures cancer and can be reused for years then even at the cost of a years' worth of current treatments it's an excellent trade and will save a great deal of money."

'You know that the healthcare companies won't like that. They make a mint off the sick every year.'

"And you call me a vulture. That, Taylor, is where the court of public opinion comes into play. We announce it, prove that it works and is safe- the PRT could perhaps be persuaded to lend aid in that case- and then we move on from there. The healthcare companies will have to find somewhere else to make their money."

'I feel like this might be easier in a country that has free healthcare. Well, government funded.'

"The art of capitalism is knowing where to sell, as well as when."

'Have I ever told you how much I appreciate your fortune-cookie wisdom?'

"Almost as much as I appreciate your dubiously amusing wit, I'm sure."

Taylor folded her arms again, sighing softly.

'Still, I'd like to avoid the whole Thunder Warrior thing. Flawed prototypes like that, they're not exactly what we want.'

"They were brave men. Good men." The Emperor said softly. He sighed, the sound whispering through her thoughts.

"I always justified it as necessary, you know. A sacrifice that needed to be made. I can't think any differently of it now, but I'm ashamed of what I did. I sent those men to their deaths, simply because I was afraid of what they might become."

Taylor waited patiently, a little surprised that the Emperor had decided to continue. She knew a little about the Thunder Warriors, but not it all.

"I knew from the very start, of course. When the first man underwent the process and came out snarling and frothing, violence unrestrained at the very beginning of his journey, I realised. I had created something terrible. An entire army of beings superior to almost any other, and so susceptible to the influence of Khorne that it filled me with horror. I could suppress it while they remained on Terra, but I knew it was a fleeting solution. Once they had left my presence, once they spread across the stars, they would become mindless monsters. And the force of my presence that kept them in line burned out their minds as surely as time and hate would, a flame too hot for the vessel. No, I knew what I was doing when I altered the specifications to cut short their lives."

Taylor closed her eyes and bowed her head. She had suspected, of course, but to hear it confirmed…The Emperor continued, his tone mournful.

"I should have ceased my work and altered the specifications. I did not truly need the Thunder Warriors. My own might would have been sufficient, the planet united under me given time. But I was consumed by haste, refusing to heed any advice that would slow the conquest down. I felt that I needed to hurry, to forge my Imperium before it was too late, and so I condemned my first and most loyal warriors to destruction."

Taylor remained silent, carefully thinking her way through. This wasn't the sort of thing that could be addressed with a few flippant words.

'If it's worth anything, I think you did the right thing. Chaos was already taking root and other human empires were forming. You needed the Thunder Warriors to be what they were…powerful and disposable. You spent centuries trying to make sure that humanity didn't rely on you alone. Without the Thunder Warriors and then the Marines the Imperium would have been even more reliant on you than it was.'

"That is a cold comfort in ten thousand years of agony, but I appreciate the sentiment."

'That was all I was hoping for. Moving on from that particular conversation…'

"The Travellers and Raijin."

'Those, yeah. I'm not gonna lie, I kind of want to save Raijin for last. I'm a little bit pissed off about that whole story he fed us, assuming that you're right.'

"I'm very rarely wrong about that sort of thing. He was lying- it didn't happen to him, at least. That he's fled to a base used by the Travellers suggests he's in the pay of Coil, making it even more unlikely that the backstory he gave us was his own."

'Yeah, but that implies that it did happen to someone and he's just using it for his own gain. It makes me want to break his legs.'

"I find breaking arms more satisfying. The helplessness is quite cathartic. And in addition, it makes a more convincing argument regarding self-defence."

'I'm pleased that you're enabling me here. Still, we need a plan to take out the Travellers. Given the whole vision thing, I don't really want to be burned alive.'

"No, we should try to avoid that. Hmm…Trickster, the leader, is the key to it all. He is the one who provides all the support and is the most potent force multiplier. Therefore, we should bring him down first."

'Yeah. Take out the one who allows them to control the battlefield first. But he's got those teleporter tricks, so he's hard to get to. But then…I wonder if he can teleport without seeing, or if he needs his eyes? If it's the second one, then there might be a way…'

"Circaetus?"

Taylor broke out of her reverie, raising her chin from where it had sunken onto her chest. Dauntless stood in front of her, his posture quizzical. Taylor smiled behind her mask and hauled herself to her feet.

"Dauntless. Good to see you."

Dauntless chuckled.

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Just thinking, I'm afraid. I'm glad you could get here so quickly, though, I've- well, I've got a couple of things to ask you."

"I guessed as much from your phone call." Dauntless said. He nodded, apparently to himself.

"Come on, the rooms in the HQ are more comfortable- and more confidential. I daresay you don't want to share out here."

Taylor shook her head and wordlessly followed him, eventually reaching what looked like a break room. Dauntless strolled in, flicking a sign next to the door and gesturing for her to take a seat.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" he asked. Taylor chuckled.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I've not built a straw into my mask yet. So thank you, but no."

Dauntless let out a rumbling laugh at that, taking a seat himself. Taylor sank into the comfortable fabric, once again surprised at how soft it was. Maybe this was where all the PRT budget went?

Worth it, in her opinion.

"Alright," Dauntless said, leaning forwards, "Given that you don't usually contact me, I guess there's something serious going on."

Taylor let out a little laugh, completely mirthless and filled with more weariness than she'd expected.

"Something like that, yeah. Ok, I'll start at the beginning."

She took a quick breath before setting off.

"So, I guess it started when I went after Raijin. I've got a few favours and I wanted to know why Oni Lee would kill Bakuda, so I found out where he was. Tangled with him, pretty standard stuff, and then a couple of others turned up. And- from the aesthetic, I'm pretty sure that the Teeth are back in Brockton Bay."

Taylor was reasonably sure that dropping bad news on someone like that was poor form, but she couldn't be bothered to dance around the subject. From the sharpness of the breath Dauntless drew in she guessed that he didn't exactly appreciate having that dropped on him, but the way he leaned forwards was all business.

"Do you know who they were?"

Taylor rubbed at the back of her head, slightly embarrassed.

"I don't actually know any of the Teeth other than the Butcher, so…"

"It's fine, I can probably get them from their descriptions. Or their powers, at least."

"Well, sure. I can tell you those. Alright, the first one was a woman, a haemo…kinetic. Is that a word? She could control blood, anyway."

Dauntless nodded, a notebook somehow appearing in his hands.

"Haemokinetic, yeah, just like Marquis was Osteokinetic. The Teeth do have one of those, she's called Hemorrhagia. Fairly well known. The others?"

Taylor took a moment to taste the cape name, working around it in her thoughts before mentally shrugging. The blood bender with the complex name. Whatever.

"There was a second woman, didn't get involved in the fighting but I'm pretty sure she was the one throwing up all the forcefields. They were pretty sharp, but not that strong."

"Vex. From what we know she can create weak, sharp forcefields, but she's good at layering them so they're nearly impossible to break through. And any more?"

"Yeah, some guy who provided all the muscle. Could clone himself. Dumb accent."

"Spree. Cloner, his clones decay pretty quick, but they still provide plenty of fodder."

"Alright. That's all that I saw, but I think there were some more approaching. I wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with their back-up dancers too, so I made like a tree while they were distracted."

Dauntless absorbed that in silence, nodding eventually.

"Well it took you a while, but I'm glad you finally learned the value of a sensible retreat." He eventually said. Taylor scoffed at the mild jibe, but Dauntless' posture was serious.

"Really, though. You made the right call, Circaetus. Spree is a high ranking member and Vex isn't small time, the Butcher could well have been close behind. I don't want to sound like I'm doubting you, but the Butcher is in an entirely different class."

"Not just because it's powerful, but because it takes over whoever kills it." Taylor murmured absently. That thought drifted absently before it snagged on the thorny bush of another. An especially thorny bush, in fact.

"So…what happens if the Butcher gets killed by Lung?"

Dauntless curled in on himself a little bit. Taylor almost felt guilty about it.

"I really don't want to think about it. Luckily most Butchers don't seem to be suicidal, so hopefully it just won't happen."

Taylor grunted, deciding that she needed more information.

"So, which unlucky sod is the Butcher at the moment?"

"A woman called Quarrel. Vigilante or villain we aren't sure, but she got into a running battle with Butcher Thirteen in New York. Killed him, turned immediately afterwards. Odds are she was a villain though, given that she was shooting to kill on the Butcher and doesn't seem to have gone irremediably insane yet."

"Yet." Taylor grumbled. She sighed.

"Ok. Butcher and the Teeth. They're a thing. Also, I managed to put a tracker on Raijin so I know where he is, and I think there are others with him. As in, not ABB others."

Dauntless put his head in his hands.

"You know, you could have mentioned that earlier."

Taylor shrugged.

"Thought it'd be better to lead with the teeth thing. Since, you know, they're more of a problem."

"Sometimes I have to wonder." Dauntless mumbled, before he sighed. "Alright. So you used some unknown source to find Raijin, got interrupted by the Teeth and had to let him go, but not before you managed to drop a tracker on him. So. What are you going to do about him?"

Taylor tutted.

"Am I that predictable?" she asked. Dauntless gave her an open-handed shrug.

"It's fairly obvious. You've a history with the ABB, and I can't imagine you were unaffected by the…by the events that followed Hookwolf's attempted escape."

That was a very delicate way of saying that she might be traumatised by seeing a woman die in her arms, Taylor sardonically noted. Still, it was kind of him.

"No. You could say that. I think he might have been the contact between Lung and Oni Lee. I'd really like to find out for sure, so I was planning to…y'know. Go after him. But given that, as far as I can tell, he's in a base that belongs to Coil and I don't know what could be going on there regarding parahumans, I thought that it might be a good idea to get some back-up ready."

Dauntless stared at her.

"You think Raijin is working for Coil?"

Taylor shrugged.

"I wouldn't like to speculate." She admitted, before sighing. "But, my…contact…says that Coil does employ Capes, through middlemen, and it seems awfully convenient that a new Cape showed up just in time to pull the ABB back into the game."

Dauntless nodded.

"Yeah, can't argue there." He said, falling silent afterwards. "While Coil is somewhat lower priority than the rest- especially with the Teeth in the Bay- grabbing Raijin would be good. He hurt Assault, taking him down would show that the Protectorate has the strength here to avenge ourselves, so to speak. So if you're looking for support, I could probably argue Armsmaster and the Director into giving some. When were you planning to go?"

"Tonight." Taylor said softly, having taken the time to think about it. There was a risk- a very real risk- that Raijin would be gone before then, but rushing in would do her no good. She needed time to prepare, and the day would give her that. And even if Raijin had fled, she would deal a blow to Coil, maybe even capture the bastard himself. But she didn't want to rush in. There was something- she was uneasy about it. Not just because of her vision, days ago, but for some other reason, nebulous and fleeting. She just couldn't quite pin down the reason, but it meant that support would be welcome. Glory would probably jump at the chance, but…stupid as it was, Taylor wasn't ready to throw her at the Travellers. Not after the vision. No, better to have the Protectorate on hand.

"We'll have to talk to Armsmaster about this, he's the leader here." Dauntless warned her. Taylor shrugged.

"Be convincing." She told him, completely deadpan. Dauntless grumbled under his breath.

"If we can't convince him, will you just go on your own anyway?" he asked. Taylor said absolutely nothing in reply, and he grunted.

"Yeah, thought as much. Come on, kid, better try and catch him as soon as possible."

Armsmaster had been surprisingly easy to convince, all things considered. It had taken some smooth talking by both Taylor and Dauntless, but they had argued him into agreeing to a raid on the base, especially when Taylor had volunteered all the information she knew. Fortuitously, it was the same base that she had wormed the information on from the mercenary that she had interrogated. It had been an awkward negotiation, but eventually they had settled on five Heroes: Armsmaster, Miss Militia, Dauntless, Battery and Taylor herself. Taylor was a little iffy, as it were, on taking both the two leaders of the Protectorate team and Battery, who clearly had a grudge against Raijin, but had declined to argue any further. They were professionals, they could look after themselves. And Taylor suspected that there would be several teams of PRT officers backing them up, so that should help. At least a little. But before that, she needed to repair her equipment. She would have liked a nap as well, but she didn't need much sleep anymore so repairs came first.

Unfortunately, her gauntlet was absolutely ruined.

Well, that wasn't quite right. The gauntlet itself could be salvaged, but the electricity pouring through it had ruined the actual power fist part. It was, at the moment, just particularly bulky armour, and still damaged. The repairs it would need would take longer than she had, which meant that she was going to have to just replace it. The white armour gauntlet that she had built as part of her white and gold armour didn't have the power fist built in, but it was in better repair. It would have to do.

'Do you think I can re-route the power to the left-hand gauntlet? It's already decent, but if I put the whole battery pack into it I should be able to push it further. Seems like overkill for the Travelers and Raijin though.'

"Overkill only exists in hindsight. Better to have it now and not need it than need it and not have it."

'Ah, the condom principle.' Taylor absently agreed, busy working. There was a long pause before the Emperor eventually replied.

"Moving on. More than your gauntlet, you should repair your pistol. I would have liked to take the glaive as well, but without the armour it's too heavy."

'Hmm. Yeah, I see your point. I wonder if I could build some sort of claw into the- no. It'd take too long. Wouldn't even be that useful. The pistol, right, better get that done first.'

Besides, as cool as adding a blade to her gauntlet would potentially be, it just didn't have all that much use. It wasn't as though she did much maiming and killing. Although if she had been going after Raijin alone she might have been tempted. But with the Protectorate team there, it would be a lot harder to hide a homicide.

'So we agreed that Trickster is the most dangerous member of the Travellers from an overall viewpoint, and we came up with an idea to deal with him. What if it doesn't work? I mean, what if we can't get the time to create a flash? Is there any other way to blind him?'

"I'm going to assume you mean temporarily."

'Yeah, assume that. No fingers in the eye-sockets kind of stuff.'

Unless it was a last resort, of course.

"With Miss Militia there, you should have a plentiful supply of flash grenades. She can create those, can't she?"

'You know, I'm not actually sure. You think we can make some?'

"In the roughly four hours we have left? Not very well. But we can still temporarily blind him. Most ways require getting close, but a good handful of dust in the eyes should keep him occupied and we can direct that quite easily. I would be more concerned with the shapeshifter, Genesis."

'Maybe. But it isn't that tough. Crash it through a few walls, that would slow down any monster. Or even better, just leave it to the others. Leave all the Travellers to the others and just beat Raijin like he owes me money.'

"Your similes are becoming less ridiculous. You must be getting tired."

'Ha. Ha. Super funny. I just can't be bothered to be ridiculous at the moment. Something feels…off.'

"Off?"

'Yeah. Something just feels wrong. Like a gut feeling. Something's going to go wrong.'

"A premonition, you think?"

Taylor hesitated.

'I…I dunno. Maybe? I just feel like I should go in armed for bear even though I can't. Might just be the aftershock of Raijin throwing my lightning back at me. Didn't expect something like that to happen.'

"Maybe. But I think we should be wary, nonetheless. Coil- if the Travellers and Raijin are indeed working for Coil- is not to be underestimated."

Taylor nodded in agreement, forgoing the conversation to focus on her equipment. Her pistol was nearly repaired, a replacement battery pack carefully slotted in and the alterations that would make it far easier to power it from her backpack already prepared. That done, she went over all of her armour, meticulously checking it for damage. Her breastplate had some minor damage from the Teeth, but it was just cosmetic, much as the ragged tears in her coat were cosmetic. Annoying, but minor. Otherwise, all her gear was in good condition, just as she feared it would need to be. Sighing, Taylor left her clothes and armour in place and relaxed into her chair, eyeing her still unfinished power armour with a frown. So close, and yet so far. Maybe she should try and finish it now, but…she wasn't in the mood. She was nervy, fidgety. She was worried, about too many things she dryly noted.

'Maybe I should have just stayed away from Capes and built myself a nice company.'

"And then just come out of nowhere to destroy the Endbringers and the parasite?"

'The hero always arrives at the last minute, you know. And mysterious heroes are always the best.'

"You would miss the battles."

Taylor chuckled deep in her throat, leaning back in her chair.

'Yeah, I guess that's true. There's something about the thrill of it…and at least it isn't boring. Just wish it wasn't so. You know. Morally awkward.'

"You mean Canary?"

'I mean especially Canary. Maybe Tattletale too, harder to tell. But Canary doesn't deserve to go to the Birdcage. I'm just repeating myself, though.'

"But the thing that bothers you is that you would happily sacrifice her to the Birdcage if it meant keeping your relatively privileged position with the Protectorate and the PRT." The Emperor said. Taylor scowled.

'Stop that intuition bullshit. And I wouldn't do it happily. I'd be very unhappy about it. But…yeah. Being able to operate pretty much unmolested, being able to go out and get back-up, all that sort of stuff…being a criminal would make this whole thing a whole lot harder. It's not exactly moral to say that Canary's freedom means less to me than all that, though. It's pretty selfish, really.'

As Taylor might have expected, the Emperor was implacable.

"While her punishment may be excessive, it is hardly unjust. She caused considerable harm to her boyfriend, both physical and mental."

'Her abusive ex-boyfriend.'

"Even so, it doesn't negate what she did. I do agree, however, that the Birdcage is pointless. Any villain worth sentencing to it is worth killing. It achieves much the same thing in a much shorter time-frame."

Taylor muttered an agreement, still thinking.

'You think if something goes wrong we can get away with changing ourselves and vanishing? Like, we change our looks and body type and go do something other than vigilante work? Is isn't like we don't have time.'

"Assuming someone can deal with the Endbringers, at least. But yes, assuming we can somehow avoid the imminent destruction of the human race then it would be entirely possible for us to simply go into hiding and re-emerge years later. I've done it before, in fact. It's amazing how easy it is to return years later, with a slightly different face, and claim to be your own child or grandchild."

'Why do I feel like you did that purely for your own amusement?'

The Emperor merely laughed. Taylor smiled, shaking her head and reaching across to her desk to fiddle with her clock, setting an alarm. Talking was all well and good, but she wanted to be rested for tonight. She was fairly sure that she'd need to be.

At least it wasn't raining, Taylor thought as she made her way through the falling shadows towards the meet point they had agreed earlier. She was a good ten minutes early, but she suspected that she would be the last one there. The others were professionals and all, after all. She kept her powers stirring, just enough to make sure that there was nobody around her. Nobody suspicious at least- there would always be a scatter of homeless or night wanderers around in Brockton. She slid through an alleyway, crossed a street with quick strides and ducked into the shadows of a small park, incongruously sat just off the street. Limp trees and unhealthy grass, she noted, but it was shadowed and quiet. Four figures were already present, lurking in the darkness and she smiled, a little smug at having predicted that they would be there.

"Circaetus." Armsmaster acknowledged, emerging from the darkness that blended surprisingly well with his armour. Taylor nodded cordially in reply- he seemed to think that was sufficient.

"We intend to move in from here," Armsmaster said as he turned away, apparently continuing a briefing that he had begun earlier. Rude, but not something Taylor particularly held a grudge over. She wasn't sure that Armsmaster would notice a rebuke, in any case.

"The five of us will infiltrate the base in order to ensure that the self-destruct device indicated by Circaetus' information cannot be detonated. Once we have that, our follow-up teams will enter the base, taking prisoners as we can. We'll proceed from there." Armsmaster continued, laying out the most basic plan possible. He turned his head to Circaetus.

"Circaetus, you can locate people with your powers, correct?"

Taylor nodded, clearing her throat and giving a verbal agreement shortly after.

"In that case, we'll need you to act as an early warning. I will be able to gain access to the base systems once we arrive. Dauntless, Miss Militia and Battery will provide protection. Stay together, stay alert. We don't know what could be in there, so be careful."

Receiving nods from the entire group, Armsmaster turned and held something out to Taylor.

"Here, Circaetus. An earpiece, so that we can communicate if we get split up."

Taylor rested her staff against her leg and took the small item, tilting it to the light and inspecting it. It was a flat disc, small and narrow.

"Just press it to the side of your helmet." Armsmaster told her. Taylor nodded to him, reaching up to press the disc against the temple of her helmet. It adhered immediately, sticking with surprising tenacity. She slid her fingers over it, finding no purchase to pry it off if needed.

'That could be a nuisance.' she mused, taking a moment to try it out with her power. Worst came to worst she could abandon her helmet, but hopefully it would just come off when they were done here. If not- well, she could always peel away the layer of ceramite it was glued to.

"Can you hear me?"

The voice was Armsmaster, but it seemed to come from inside her helmet, whispering in her ears. Taylor blinked, disorientated for a moment, and replied in a whisper.

"I hear you."

"Good."

Now that was some A-grade Tinker Bullshit. Slap a disc on the outside of a helmet and get full surround sound communications? It made Imperium communications look like caveman technology.

Admittedly Imperial Guard vox transmitters pretty much were caveman technology, but Astartes gear was significantly better. Regardless, this would help.

"Let's get going." Armsmaster whispered through the communications, setting off. Taylor picked up her staff and went after him, every sense open just in case. She couldn't feel any sort of suspicion being directed onto them, but just in case she extended her reach and blanketed them in the lightest notice-me-not field. Not nearly as powerful as the one she usually used on herself, but enough that their presence would be seen as unremarkable. It didn't take long for them to reach the right building, a warehouse at the edge of the Docks. The entrance to the base, Taylor knew, was in the security kiosk: the five of them drew to a halt outside of the bright lights at the kiosk.

"Two guards in the kiosk. Three more just below." Taylor said softly, barely more than a murmur.

"Agreed. Thermal vision indicates the same." Armsmaster replied. Taylor carefully felt out the emotions of the guards, just to be certain. Bored. Tired. They weren't expecting any trouble. The question was, how to deal with them? On her own, Taylor could have gone into her bag of tricks and knocked them all unconscious with the right application of telepathy, but she wasn't quite willing to pull something like that here. Still, she presumed that Armsmaster would have a solution. The Tinker in question was crouched next to her, fiddling with something on the inside of his forearm- Taylor thought she caught a glimpse of a tiny screen before he lowered his arm.

"I've hacked the cameras and disabled the automatic alarms." He told them, looking up. Taylor nodded, though Miss Militia was the one to speak up.

"And manual alarms?"

"They could still be intact. We'll have to do this as fast as possible, before they get a chance. Circaetus, how good is your telekinesis?"

"What do you need?" she asked rather than give a direct reply. Armsmaster didn't seem concerned by her reply, holding out a handful of tiny pellets to her.

"Some kind of gas pellet?" she guessed. Armsmaster nodded.

"Effective, but not the easiest to deploy in this situation."

Taylor inclined her head to him, holding out her hand and slowly rotating her wrist. The pellets rose from his palm, clustering before they spread out into a loose cloud, harder to see.

"I can manage that."

The pellets descended to the ground, skimming the concrete as they flowed towards the security outpost.

"How close do they need to be to work? And what do I do if the doorway to the base is sealed?" she asked. Armsmaster replied almost immediately.

"Within two feet if possible. The door should have enough of a gap for the pellets to pass through, but if it doesn't then we will have to try something else. This base appears to be built to Endbringer Shelter specifications, however, and therefore the initial entrance should not be airtight. The airtight locks are further underground."

Taylor murmured an affirmative and concentrated, sliding the pellets into the guard kiosk and settling them under the two guards. Manipulating them through the miniscule gap at the bottom of the base door was harder, but she was able to slip them through and scatter them around the three others. There was no alarm from them, she noted. Taylor let her hand curl and return to her side, whispering to draw attention.

"They're placed."

"Good." Armsmaster muttered in reply, bringing his arm up and tapping at the forearm. Some sort of built-in computer, Taylor thought. Armsmaster rose into a half crouch, the others moving with him.

"Move in on my signal. Three, two, one…go."

The gas was incredibly effective, Taylor noted as they ran across the empty space. There had been no alarm, barely even an instant of realisation. Five men had been bored and awake one moment and unconscious the next.

'If this is the sort of stuff the Protectorate can break out, maybe we should get to work on the toxin filter part of the Astartes augmentation.'

"I daresay that it's not as common as you might fear, but you make a good point."

They quickly cuffed the men, hauling them out of the way of the camera. It only took Armsmaster a minute to break the security keeping the shelter door closed and it hissed open to reveal a short flight of stairs. There was a table at the bottom, three men slumped around it. They too were quickly secured.

"So, I have to ask- why don't you use that gas more often?" Taylor asked. Her initial response was silence and she thought she wouldn't get a reply, but eventually Armsmaster spoke.

"The gas is only effective on someone not expecting it. Any sort of heightened adrenaline level can cause it to fail."

Well, that made sense. And by that Taylor meant that it was some of the most finicky, overly specific Tinker bullshit she had ever heard of. It was absolutely ridiculous and the fact that Armsmaster had some on him when they were expecting probable combat indicated a level of preparedness more like rampant paranoia.

Because she occasionally had tact, she merely nodded.

"Pity."

Armsmaster just nodded in reply, before indicating the corridor that led away from the entrance.

"The base has multiple levels. I've managed to disable the self-destruct as well as the cameras, but we need to make our way to the control centre in order to make sure it can't be activated manually. Circaetus, you and I will lead: keep your sensing sharp. Dauntless, take the rear with Battery and give Miss Militia room in case we are caught. Are there any questions?"

'You think he'll let me wander off and beat the Travellers into a coma?'

"I think you would have more luck attempting to convince him to kill Coil on sight."

'Yeah, I suspected as much. You think he'll be suspicious if we cause Coil to have a heart attack right as he's being arrested?'

"Suspicious, yes. With proof? Very unlikely."

'Oh good. I really don't trust the bastard to stay comfortably in a cell.'

"Don't get ahead of yourself. We haven't caught him yet."

'Yeah, I know. But it's nice to plan these things.'

"No questions." Taylor said, her voice steady and even.

They moved quickly through the corridors, following the path Armsmaster showed them. It was somewhat winding, but they encountered no-one on their way. Taylor kept her mind open, tracking the others in the base: The Travellers, of course, and Raijin, but also more mercenaries. Twelve, maybe. There was another presence, much deeper in the base, but it was obscured. Uncertain, as though the normal blurring resistance of a Parahuman had been amplified to a vast degree. Coil, perhaps, although Taylor had to wonder…what about Dinah Alcott? She kept that concern behind her teeth. She had more things to worry about, particularly the way that Battery was all but twitching with the desire to charge off and look for Raijin. Hopefully the woman was professional enough to hold it together until they were done. Once this was over and Coil was safely dead, Taylor would be more than happy to hold Raijin still while Battery broke his bones. But not before then. They still had things to do first- and speaking of which, Armsmaster was talking.

"This is the control room. Circaetus, how many do you think are inside?"

Taylor didn't really need to focus, but she pretended to anyway. Just like a magic trick.

"Two. Neither facing the door."

Armsmaster nodded, his voice coming quietly through the communicator a moment later.

"Circaetus, Battery, keep watch. Miss Militia, Dauntless, take down the guards as soon as I open the doors."

Taylor shrugged and turned away, gazing down a corridor in pointless pretence of watching. She knew where everyone in the base was, but she didn't think Armsmaster would really care to have that pointed out.

'The things I do in the name of friendship and unity.'

"Whatever happened to not taking orders from the Protectorate?" The Emperor asked, though his tone was more mildly teasing than accusatory. Taylor still rolled her eyes.

'There's plenty of difference between doing whatever they say like a good little minion and accepting reasonable orders from a team leader in a joint operation.'

"I didn't know that you'd swallowed a manual on military tactics."

'Coming from the man who enabled Perturabo and his tactics of throwing men at every problem until the problem hit its kill counter and shut down that seems a little like jealousy.'

"In my defence, I was attempting to deal with the ostracization Perturabo felt before it became a problem. I just didn't expect him to be so…"

'You didn't expect him to be such a prickly, sulky, egotistical shithead?'

"I expected him to be able to act like an adult, just as I expected of all my children given that almost all of them were fully grown and in positions of influence by the time I found them. In hindsight that might have been a mistake."

'Yeah, who would have thought that a group of super-beings custom created to be reasonable, sensible superhumans would proceed to act like fucking five year olds a significant portion of the time? We should probably shelve this soul-searching discussion for later, though.'

"I would certainly prefer that."

The door hissed open behind her, but Taylor resisted the urge to turn and look. Two grunts and thuds indicated that the guards had been handily dispatched and Armsmaster proceeded into the room. There was silence for a moment, presumably as he fiddled with the computers before his voice sounded through her communicator.

"The computer files indicate that the Travellers are renting the base from Coil. Nothing on Raijin- Coil may not be present. In the event that he is not, Raijin is the priority target, the Travellers are secondary. It would be best to split up, in order to cover more of the base. Dauntless, go with Circaetus. Miss Militia, take Battery. I will remain here to provide communications and overwatch using the base cameras."

There was very little expectation of being disobeyed in the voice and even less uncertainty, Taylor noted. Whatever else could be said of Armsmaster, he knew how to command.

'I would have expected that he would want to be in the thick of the fighting, though. It would fit his personality more- he seems to have a little bit of a complex about proving himself.'

"Perhaps, but he knows well enough that the lustre of a successful operation will mean more on his record. In that case, his ability to control the flow of the operation will be worth more."

'I guess that makes sense.'

Dauntless crept past her, one hand tapping her on the shoulder. Taylor turned just enough to give him a brief nod as he indicated a path down the corridor.

"Stay close, Circaetus. Raijin might be the target, but the Travellers are dangerous enough on their own."

Taylor nodded before she quickly spoke again.

"Dauntless, I don't know if you're aware but- Raijin seems to have some sort of electricity-manipulation ability. Be careful if you end up engaging him."

Dauntless nodded.

"That fits with what Assault said. How did you learn about it?"

Taylor scowled.

"I threw a lightning bolt at him and he threw it right back."

"That doesn't sound like fun."

"It wasn't a day at the races, that's for certain."

"Attempt to maintain radio silence unless necessary. Thank you for the information, Circaetus." Armsmaster interrupted. Taylor rolled her eyes but went quiet. He had a fair enough point, she supposed. They proceeded in silence for several more minutes before Armsmaster spoke again.

"Dauntless, Circaetus. There is a barracks room just beyond your position, containing five men. We need them to be subdued."

"Subdued. Got it, Chief." Taylor muttered, Dauntless echoing her with slightly more respect. Armsmaster seemed unphased by her phrasing.

"Good. I have disabled all alarms and have camera control- you do not need to be concerned about alerting the base."

Taylor glanced at Dauntless.

"Fast and loud?"

"So long as you don't wake the whole base."

Taylor grinned, rolling her head and relishing the faint popping of joints in her neck.

"Don't worry about it." She told him, pressing her hand against the door. Dauntless sighed.

"I don't think you did a very good job of reassuring him."

'I must get that from you.' Taylor snidely retorted, an instant before a telekinetic battering ram blew the door off its hinges and she stormed into the room. There were five men inside, spread out: three sat at a small table, one lying on a bunk-bed, one standing. Taylor went for the three at the table, snapping her left hand out.

The man in the middle caught the telekinetic push in the chest and went sailing across the room, efficiently out of the fight for the moment. The one furthest to her right rose quickly, the table spilling over but Taylor was too quick, vaulting the table and cracking him across the skull with her staff. He went down like a sack of potatoes as she turned on the last, smacking her hand against his chest and pinning him against the wall with a wall of force. Dauntless was just as quick, darting towards the other two. The lance in his hand jabbed at the man lying down, a flicker of lightning darting from the tip before it struck the mercenary and left him convulsing. The second opened his mouth to yell something just before Dauntless brought his shield up and caught him across the jaw with a heavy blow. Taylor let her staff slip from her fingers and held out her second hand, pressing the first man she had attacked against the wall just as she held the other.

"If you don't mind, Dauntless." She muttered. The two men were fighting her grip and she didn't want to waste more power than was needed. Dauntless gave her a quick nod, moving swiftly over to each man. A brief jab of his lance put them both down, and he wasted no time in securing them with handcuffs.

"Armsmaster, all five are down." He reported. Armsmaster replied immediately.

"Good. Leave them and move on- Miss Militia and Battery have dealt with another group."

Taylor shifted her staff so it leaned against her side and touched a hand to the communication device on her helmet, out of some sort of habit. Spawned from years of action movies, probably.

"Armsmaster, I can only sense a few others in the base. Do you have any identification on them?"

Armsmaster paused for only a second.

"The cameras in their general area are few or inactive. However, the computer files indicate that the Travellers are leasing this base from Coil. There is a strong possibility that they are present."

"Any advice on them?"

"Trickster is a teleporter. Sundancer is a pyrokinetic- she is also the only female. Ballistic possesses the ability to accelerate small objects to extremely high speeds, and Genesis appears to have some form of Changer ability- expect a Brute form from her."

Well that was absolutely useless. Taylor could have told them all of that. Maybe the PRT and Protectorate didn't know as much about the Travellers as she had hoped? Still, she could take them. Hopefully.

"Alright. I assume we're free to engage?"

"Delay if possible. I have located Raijin. Miss Militia, I will direct you to him. Circaetus, Dauntless, move to the others but do not engage until Raijin is eliminated."

Big ask, Taylor thought doubtfully. Raijin was a dick, but he knew his business well enough. Still, so did Miss Militia. The wildcard would be Battery- as well as Genesis, come to think of it. The Changer could have any kind of weird senses. Still, all she could do was follow Dauntless along the corridors towards the Travellers. Taylor strained herself a little harder, pushing to get a better view of their mentalities. Calm. Fairly relaxed. They weren't expecting anything, she surmised.

Just how she liked it. The surprise was one of the best parts. Ahead of her, Dauntless held up a hand, fist clenched. Taylor stopped moving, dropping into a crouch and mentally shaking herself. Time to get her head in the game.

"Armsmaster, we're outside the room. Are we in the right place?"

"Confirmed. Miss Militia and Battery will engage Raijin shortly. Remain in position until-"

Taylor felt the spikes of rage and alarm a moment before the alarm went off, wailing through the air.

'Looks like our cover's blown.'

"Raijin tripped an alarm. Engage the Travellers now." Armsmaster ordered, his voice hard and level, the alarm cutting out a moment later. The wailing echoes were still drifting on the air when Taylor glanced at Dauntless, saw him nod and blew the door down.

"Knock knock motherfuckers, who ordered a beating?"

Not the most conventional warcry, but the horrified surprise of the Travellers was honey-sweet and the rush of impending violence in her veins was an icy peppermint thrill and that was more than enough for Taylor. She went right at Trickster, ignoring all subtlety in favour of a brute force attack.

The fact that she immediately found herself halfway across the room and slamming into a table indicated that brute force might not be the best option. Well, not unless she went all-out and made Trickster have an aneurysm or something, but that sort of mental attack took time. Too much time. Plan A it was then, she thought as she rolled with the impact and sprang back to her feet. Taylor darted towards the nearest Traveller, a guy built like a brick shithouse, staff in hand but, as she moved, she split her concentration long enough to begin gathering her power. She wouldn't need much, just enough for a good spark at the right time- but for now she needed to look as though she was off-kilter. The big guy- Ballistic- brought a hand up in a sudden movement, a ball bearing whipping at her and Taylor whipped her arm, his hand wrenching to the side.

The ball bearing left a noticeable dent in the wall.

'Hey, that's pretty good.'

Her admiration didn't slow her for an instant. She leapt, left knee rising to crash into Ballistics breastplate, the impact meaningless through her armour and his breastplate but knocking him off balance for a crucial second, just long enough that Taylor could crack her staff across his left knee and slash a fist at his chin. He slapped at her fist with his left hand, right swinging across in a clumsy haymaker but she twitched her fingers, staff leaping from her hand to crack against his knuckles before she caught his chin with a vicious uppercut. She heard his teeth clack together, saw him stagger and drew back her right fist, staff whipped away by a tendril of power and the world shifted and a shield crunched into her helmet hard enough to send her staggering.

"Circaetus!" Dauntless gasped but there was no time to respond before a creature bigger than she was, bigger than she had expected landed on her, paws smashing into her chest and bearing her to the ground. Taylor snarled, right fist smashing out and catching the damn thing in the chest before her splayed left pushed against it and a telekinetic heave smashed it into a wall with a pained yowl. Taylor flipped to her feet, the thrill in her blood augmented now by bubbling anger, thick and rich. She snapped her head around, seeing Dauntless assaulted by Sundancer and Ballistic but Trickster was right there, right in front of her and she lunged for him. He teleported himself, her fist smashing through a table and Taylor caught a brutally hard blow to the back, staggering and tripping over the table. She flipped herself, landing on her back and holding up a hand as Trickster leapt forwards with a hefty cane in hand.

The spark in her soul came to full strength.

Taylor jammed her eyes shut and snapped her fingers.

The scream was piercing, a shouting screech of pain and shock as she surged to her feet, triumph boiling in her. Trickster was staggering back, hands raised to his face and cane discarded and Taylor reached out, caught him by the lapels and flung him into the wall, letting him spin so he faced her, a predatory grin spreading unseen across her features as she closed in.

Was it sane to enjoy taking revenge on a man for an act he had never committed?

No, but she was going to enjoy it anyway. Her staff slapped into her outstretched hand and Taylor moved in for the kill.

Trickster wasn't a fighter. Even if he could see he wasn't a fighter, not like Taylor, and now he couldn't see. Taylor broke his nose with a straight left, whipping the blow home and relishing the crunch, a brief imagination of thick and salty blood running down the face before she snapped her hand out, her staff flashing from her fingers and ramming into Ballistic, knocking the man off his feet as he aimed a hand at Dauntless, the hero locked in combat with Genesis as Sundancer tried to come to the aid of her leader. Turn back to Trickster, throwing short, quick punches with brutal force, solar plexus to sternum to stomach, turning back to fling out a negligent hand so a whip of force lashed out and slashed Sundancer across the eyes, before Taylor kicked Trickster back into the wall as he tried to stagger away. Trickster slammed into the wall and rebounded and Taylor drove her elbow into his jaw, hearing the crack and watching him fall without care, knowing that he was blinded and pained enough to be out of the fight.

One down.

She turned her attention from him immediately, turning and twitching her hand to Sundancer, pulling at the air and the flesh. Sundancer was yanked off her feet and came flying towards her, ripped from her feet and sent hurtling through the air. Taylor met her with an outstretched arm, swatting her from the air and sending her crashing to the ground. Sundancer landed hard on her back but rolled over and scrambled to her feet. Taylor chuckled, edged with malice.

"Come on, Sundancer. Give me a better fight than your boss did."

Sundancer came to her feet and swung blindly at her. Taylor scoffed, leaning away from the wild haymaker and returning a vicious punch to the nose. Sundancer staggered back and Taylor stepped in closer, kicking her in the leg so that she stumbled to one knee. Sundancer swung up but Taylor caught her weak punch and drove a fist into her collarbone, bone cracking under the punch. Sundancer screamed and Taylor grabbed her head, pulling her forwards into a savage knee strike that cut the scream off. She let the limp form of the Traveller collapse, turning to survey the field again.

Two down.

Genesis broke away from Dauntless, sending him staggering with a swipe of one clawed paw before it lunged towards Taylor, directly into a sweep of Taylor's arm that sent a wall of force slicing across, slamming the Chimera in the right side and hurling it into the wall once more. Dauntless bent for a moment and came up with his lance in hand, charging at Genesis like some monster-slayer of old.

"Get Ballistic!" he shouted through the comms, Taylors grin widening.

"My pleasure." She purred, wasting no time in sprinting at Ballistic. A handful of shrapnel came up and slashed towards her, hitting the wedge shaped barrier she raised before her and deflecting off to patter harmlessly on the ground and walls as Taylor closed the gap in a leap, slamming a raised boot into Ballistic and driving him into the wall. They both rebounded, a fist glancing off her armour as she raised a defensive arm and converted it into a strike at the throat, swift and savage as a striking snake. Ballistic gagged, eyes widening and Taylor rammed a fist into his chest, the impact with his armour rattling her arm through her gauntlet but it hurt him, his breath further stolen as she turned the blow, brought her elbow up into his chest and saw him stagger, eyes unfocused, a step away from the wall before she pulled him close and rammed her helmet into his, the impact knocking the stunned man back. Taylor let him bounce off the wall before she raised her boot and slashed his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor. She bent down as he tried to push himself up, grabbing his helmeted head in both hands. She ignored the hands that clawed weakly at her wrist as she lifted him just a little higher before she drove her arms down, crashing the back of his head into the floor.

Helmet or not, he was already stunned and the impact was plenty to knock him to the very edge of consciousness. Taylor let the faintest flicker of power drift through his mind, all resistance defeated by the damage done and Ballistic slumped, completely unconscious.

Three down, and Taylor turned to Dauntless and Genesis. A thought trickled across her mind and she quickly moved back across the room, to Trickster. The Traveller leader was slowly trying to rise and she drove a boot into the side of his head, knocking him back down. A quick rifle through her pockets located a strip of black cloth, more than enough to quickly wind about his head and tie in a complex knot. Even if he awoke from his fight, he wouldn't be able to see- or get the knot undone in time. That took care of the biggest threat. Now for the toughest member of the team.

Dauntless was moving fast, staying ahead of smashing, clawed hands and a lightning quick tail that whipped a barb at him. He still had his lance, but his shield was abandoned on the ground, the gargoyle-like monster pressing him hard and not giving him a chance to regroup. Taylor eyed it, picking her moment, a breath, two and then she twitched her fingers and Dauntless' shield sailed through the air like a frisbee designed by a madman. The gargoyle thing caught the edge of the shield across the jaw just as it leapt, the crunching crack audible from feet away as it went crashing to the ground. Dauntless snatched his shield out the air and darted back, ducking behind his shield as Taylor raised her second hand and pointed both at Genesis, power surging under her skin like quicksilver.

Lightning burst from her fingertips and crashed down upon Genesis as it tried to rise, the creature thrashing and screeching but still forcing its way to its feet and Taylor frowned. That wasn't the reaction of something with an independent mind, she realised, and there was something wrong with the creature. Some sort of projection, maybe? She could just about follow the path of the thread between the creature and its creator, she realised as she cut off the lightning- it was thin, tenuous. She couldn't do anything to the creator, but that was something interesting to know. It wasn't human, eh? If only she didn't have an audience who wasn't aware of that.

In all fairness, going all out against Genesis would probably be a poor idea in any case. She wasn't pushing her limits yet, but she wanted to be conservative, save her best for Raijin and the other mind she could still sense. It could be the creator of Genesis, perhaps, but just in case it wasn't…regardless. She had Dauntless here, it shouldn't be too difficult. The beast threshed its way out of the lightning, snarling incoherently as Taylor cut off the crackling, scintillating show and brought her staff back into her hand. She settled into a ready stance, eyeing the creature as it snarled and shook its wings.

"Armsmaster, any idea how to take this thing down?"

"Sufficient brute-force trauma should eliminate Genesis." Was the dry reply. Taylor grunted an affirmative before she sighed.

"Dauntless, can you distract him?"

"For how long?"

"A minute, maybe."

"You got it." Came the prompt reply, before Dauntless darted forwards, shield up and lance sparking. Taylor gripped her staff in both hands, taking a deep breath and readying herself. Power stirred in her bones, drifting sluggish and slow through her. The Warp writhed and whorled, her mind touching the edge of that infinite pool of energy, drawing and siphoning. She felt the jewel on her chest, the amplifier pulsing in time with her steady heartbeat as she leaned upon it to insulate her. She let it come, let it build and her eyes snapped open.

"Lead it back!"

Dauntless came sprinting across the room, moving at a rapid clip with the creature hot on his heel. Taylor widened her stance, letting her staff fall so her was holding it horizontally.

"Dauntless, get down!"

Dauntless slid like he was making the last base at a baseball championship and Taylor slashed her staff through the air, letting the gathered energy burst from it in a solid wave.

The rippling bow of the wave caught Genesis across the chest and carried the thing back across the room, ramming into the wall. An instant later the energy caught up and Genesis crashed through the wall, the force enough to raise a cloud of choking dust and leaving Taylors ragged coat flapping in the breeze. She let go of her staff with her left hand and brought it to the ground, leaning on it just a little.

"Holy shit." Dauntless commented. Taylor turned and offered him a hand up, hauling him to his feet with just the lightest application of telekinesis.

"The base structure remains stable. Is Genesis still combat capable?" Armsmaster asked. Taylor and Dauntless carefully advanced, ready to fight. There was no need for it: Genesis lay in a crumpled heap, one arm clearly broken. Taylor leaned down just enough to see that the creature was slowly breathing. Interesting.

"I'd say the answer to that one is no." Taylor commented. Dauntless grunted an agreement.

"Can you lift it back into the room?" he asked. Taylor nodded, curling her fingers in order to wrap a telekinetic cocoon around Genesis and levitate the body back into the room. She laid the shattered frame of the beast in the clearest space possible, glancing at Dauntless.

"Well, that's the Travellers. What about Raijin?"

"Raijin has broken away from Miss Militia and Battery and is approaching your location. Be prepared." Armsmaster snapped over the communicator. Taylor sighed and turned slightly, spending a moment to locate and track Raijin. She pointed to the door he was quickly approaching, and Dauntless dropped into a defensive stance. Taylor herself simply rested on her staff, waiting.

Raijin came through the door at full speed, shouting. His mask was cracked, half his armour missing, but the sword in his hands was bright and stained with flecks of crimson.

"Wake up, the heroes are-"

"Already here." Taylor announced. She had the absolute pleasure of seeing his eyes widen, his mouth open in horrified surprise. He raised his sword and Taylor twisted her hand, tendrils of force snaking from her fingers and wrapping around his arm, holding him in place. Barely a second later Taylor saw a scintillating sparkle of blue as Battery raced down the corridor just behind, seeing the heroine leap.

The sudden resignation in Raijin's eyes was all the revenge Taylor needed as Battery's boot impacted with Raijin, hurling him several feet forwards and sending him crashing to the ground, unconscious.

"That was dangerous. You could have killed him." Dauntless said, his tone carefully neutral. Battery looked up, a livid bruise on her jaw.

"Just repaying a few favours." She growled. Perhaps wisely, Dauntless said nothing more as Miss Militia limped into sight, left hand clenched over her right upper arm. Red tears rolled down the flesh, leaking from a long cut, and there was more crimson on her left thigh. Dauntless went to help her immediately, while Armsmaster spoke.

"Secure the Travellers and Raijin. There is one more target, regroup before advancing."

"Do we know who it is?" Taylor asked, striding over to Ballistic and taking a pair of handcuffs from Battery to secure him.

"No. The records have been recently purged- according to the computer files, this base is leased to the Travellers by Coil. No connection between Coil and Raijin."

"That's convenient." Taylor growled, cuffing Ballistic and turning just in time to see Trickster lurch to his feet and slap at a button near him.

"Noelle! Noelle, they're-"

Taylor whipped her hand and a chair rammed into the back of Tricksters' legs, sending him tumbling with a cry of pain. Battery dropped Raijin in order to dash over to Trickster, dragging him away from the intercom even as Taylor went for Sundancer, hauling her to her feet.

"Who was he contacting?" she snarled, shaking Sundancer. The fear that spiked through the Traveller was raw and unfeigned and Taylor felt a creeping unease start to return, slithering through her spine.

"Noelle." Sundancer whispered. Taylor scowled, letting Sundancer slide to the floor and looking at Battery.

"Who the fuck is Noelle?"

Another base- several hours earlier

Coil looked down upon the small figure of his darling Oracle, a smile twisting thin lips behind his mask. He spoke to her gently, sliding a hand under her chin so that she looked up at him.

"Just a few questions, darling, then you'll get your candy." He promised, seeing the question in her eyes. Her lip trembled for a long moment but she nodded, slowly.

"Good. Good child…tell me…what is the chance that Raijin will be followed?"

"Ninety-eight percent."

Ninety-eight percent. Circaetus was certainly persistent, Coil thought. He was beginning to wonder if it would be easier to eliminate her entirely. She didn't seem like the type to be suborned.

"Ah. Thank you. Now then- what is the chance that there will be an incident with Noelle if Raijin is followed?"

"Eighty-six percent."

Eighty-six. Concerning. Still, there was always the next two questions.

"What is the chance that a Noelle incident will lead to a catastrophe for the Protectorate and PRT?"

The trembling lip firmed slightly, edging towards a pout, but his darling Oracle simply curled in on herself and answered.

"Eighty-Eight percent."

"Eighty eight percent? That's good, darling, very good."

"My head hurts."

Coil tenderly caressed the small blonde head, smoothing an errant lock of hair away from eyes that were scrunched shut in pain.

"One more, my dear, then you can have your candy and a nice rest." He told her. The girl curled in on herself even more but gave the tiniest of nods. He smiled again, hidden from her.

"Tell me, darling, what is the chance that I can rise even higher in the PRT following a catastrophe caused by Noelle?"

"Ninety-one percent." Came the whispering, quavering reply. Coil let his smile become a smirk.

"Good, child. Very good."

If he had learned anything over the years, it was that not all investments paid off. And more than that, most of them would never pay off in the way you wanted. This one had been a long shot even to begin with, but- now, well.

Maybe the creature would prove useful after all.

I'm pretty sure people can guess broadly where this is going, right? This should be fun.

Don't take my word on the Primarchs as gospel- I'm biased, and the Emperor definitely is. Still, some of them really do act like children. I've always thought it funny that one of the most common Emperor memes is that he was a terrible dad, when most of the Primarchs were ruling whole planets when he found them and the one Primarch he definitely had a hand in raising- Horus- was generally considered to be one of the nicest and most competent of the lot.

On a less pleasant note-

So, just thought I'd give a heads up- from now on I intend to start deleting Guest reviews if they're particularly stupid. Before I've been happy to just let it lie, but since last chapter I got one that apparently thought Taylor had a "Super high tech alien battlesuit" in chapter 3, alongside my new crowning jewel of dumbfuck reviews. I've deleted it, but to give a quick rundown it compared Taylor being willing to sacrifice Canary- in the unlikely event it came to that- to maintain her highly useful position with the PRT and Protectorate to rounding up escaped Jews in WW2. I'm not sure how Canary- who, lest we forget, would be guilty of at least Actual Bodily Harm and Sexual Assault in my country, probably more- equates to an entire group of people whose only crime was to be born, but this guy presumably has some reasoning. That said, he also couldn't spell Circaetus and thinks that Skitter would be a better name despite Taylor in this story having absolutely no relation to bugs, so I'm assuming he's just stupid.

As such, I'm bringing in the policy above. You want to bitch and moan, you do it with an account so I can call you out. I can deal with the constant crying over Taylor not stepping out of the locker at full Emperor power, killing everyone who so much as thinks of her funny and rebuilding the fascist dystopia that we all know and are horrified by. It sounds like it would be incredibly boring both to write and read, given that every fight scene would be "And then Taylor gave her opponent an aneurysm and they died", but I can deal with it. I cannot deal with the constant rock-bottom idiocy that are negative guest reviews, and I don't intend to have them littering my review section any longer.

It seems a little disingenuous to give my usual 'all reviews are appreciated' thing after that, but...well...I do genuinely appreciate most reviews. It's just stuff like the above that get to me, especially when they're anonymous. Regardless of my whining, I hope you all enjoyed and, as ever, I'll update when I update. Until next time.