"Is it just me," Taylor said to Dauntless, "Or are Weld and Flechette weirdly excited to go on patrol? And if you say something like 'well they're looking forwards to working with you' I'll punch you in the throat."
Dauntless stroked the bottom of his helmet, as though he was rubbing at a beard. Taylor scowled at him.
"Really?"
Dauntless shrugged.
"You punt Leviathan through one building and you'll never live it down. It's tragic, really. Although I think Flechette is more interested in something else. Maybe they really are just looking forward to seeing something new and fresh."
Taylor rolled her eyes.
"There's nothing new or fresh about Brockton," she grumbled, picking up her helmet, "You're on comms?"
"Yep. Not sure how much use it'll be, seeing as our best option for reinforcements is pretty much you, but it's protocol. Probably have plenty of paperwork to get through while I'm doing it."
Taylor nodded.
"Any news on Militia?" she asked. Dauntless spread his arms, shrugging.
"She won't be back for weeks, at the best estimate. Maybe Panacea can do something, now that she's recovered. Armsmaster was talking about prosthetics, but he's a bit busy at the moment."
"Just like everyone," Taylor muttered, sliding her helmet on and falling into step with Dauntless. They made their way through the HQ, back to the lounge where Weld and Flechette were waiting. Taylor strolled through the door, lifting a hand in a lazy wave.
"Hey."
They both rose, greeting her in return, and Taylor walked to the centre of the room, where a table rested. She pulled the map she was carrying from under her arm, spreading it out on the table and beckoning them over.
"Alright. This here is the Docks, where we'll be patrolling. It's not a hot-spot of gang activity yet, but there's a good chance that it will be in the future so caution is the name of the game. I know, I can't believe I've been sent on something requiring caution and diplomacy either, but apparently I'm the only one around."
'Tough crowd,' Taylor observed as nobody so much as cracked a smile.
"Or simply a poor joke."
'Ouch.'
"Anyway- we'll start down at the Boardwalk, or what's left of it. Used to be a shopping area until Leviathan dropped a tidal wave on it, so there's been incidences of looting down there. Personally I don't really care if a couple of people want to steal some clothes, the places have insurance, but dissuading that in general is apparently Hero behaviour. More importantly, Kaiser's been making threats about dealing with looters. Armsmaster did some threatening back, but I'm not convinced that Kaiser won't talk himself into thinking it was a bluff so we'll swing by to make sure. After that, we'll head through the whole Docks- there shouldn't be that many civilians in the area, but who knows- and then we'll take a nice, slow walk back to HQ, making sure we're seen. Should help convince people that we're not abandoning the city. Any questions?"
Weld raised a hand. Taylor tilted her head at him.
"If we run into villains, what's the play?"
Taylor looked over at Dauntless, who shrugged.
"Case by case basis. I'll be on comms to advise, but generally speaking we're looking to avoid actual fighting. If it's small fry who insist on fighting, just take them out. If it's someone big, like Lung, not sure. We might have to retreat. I know you might be able to take on Lung, Circ, but it'll level most of the Docks."
Taylor couldn't really argue with that. If it came to it, she fully intended to pick Lung up and see how far out to sea she could launch him, but there was no guarantee.
"If it's the Butcher, retreat and leave it to Circ. She's gotten the best of the Butcher before, we're relying on her to do it again. If Circ's normal ungodly luck holds up and some new villain turns up…just try not to cause too much trouble."
"I'd be offended by the luck comment," Taylor said, "But honestly you've got a point."
Dauntless tipped his head at her in a quick nod. Flechette raised her hand as well.
"Why aren't you wearing your other armour, Circaetus? It looked better than what you're in now."
Taylor leaned back, frowning and thinking before her brain settled on what Flechette was talking about.
"Oh. The power armour? Yeah, it's better than this but the power source isn't that good. I'm saving it for when I really need it. And it's not like this one is gonna let me down, I've been wearing it most of the time I've been a cape."
"You know, I wanted to ask about that," Dauntless said, "What exactly does your power armour need to run properly?"
Taylor shrugged.
"Ideally, it would use a micro-fusion cell. Run for a couple of decades on one of those, but you don't want to be building a fusion reactor in your basement. Not likely to explode like a fission reactor, but there's always a chance. Besides, material's a lot harder to get hold of."
Dauntless tapped a hand on the map, apparently thinking.
"Somehow, your nonchalant attitude makes everything you said more terrifying."
Taylor waved a dismissive hand at him.
"I don't see why you're worried, Dauntless. I could probably do more damage to the city myself than an accident building a fusion reactor."
There was a silence. Weld was the one to break it.
"I hate to tell you this, Circaetus, but that doesn't actually make it better."
"Philistines," Taylor muttered.
Dauntless clapped his hands together.
"Alright! So, getting over to the Boardwalk, we've got two choices. Either you can walk, or Circ can transport you. Which one?"
Weld and Flechette looked at each other, as though each was waiting for the other to speak. In the end Weld took the initiative.
"I guess letting Circaetus take us would be faster? What are the options there?"
"I can teleport you," Taylor said, "Though it won't be comfortable. Otherwise, I can fly and carry you. That also won't be comfortable, but it'll potentially be less dangerous."
"How…how dangerous is being teleported?"
"I mean…it's another dimension that doesn't follow any known physical laws. If you wander away from me, you could get lost for all eternity. If your mind isn't strong enough, you could see how it works and go mad from the revelation. But you'll probably be fine."
Weld squinted at her.
"I could go mad from the revelation?"
Taylor nodded, beaming and spreading her hands.
"Yep! Armsmaster and Myrddin didn't, though."
"The fact that you know it's possible explains an awful lot," he mumbled, just loud enough for Taylor to hear, "What's flying going to be like?"
Taylor rolled her eyes tolerantly.
"You probably won't find it pleasant, since I'll just carry you telekinetically, but the only risk is me dropping you- which won't happen. I don't mind which you choose, so long as you actually do it."
"I vote for teleportation," Flechette said cheerfully. Dauntless and Weld both stared at her, as though they couldn't believe it. She shrugged.
"What? When am I ever gonna get the chance to do something like this again? Come on, it might be fun."
Taylor grinned, despite knowing it was hidden by her helmet, and patted Flechette on the shoulder.
"You, I like. What do you say, Weld? You want to try teleportation, or are you gonna be boring?"
Weld turned his narrow-eyed expression on her.
"I know you're playing me," he said, much to Taylor's amusement, "But alright. We'll do the teleportation."
"Think of it like this," Taylor consoled him, "At least this way we'll know if we can use it for quick movement in the future."
She reached out her hand, fingers hooking and gripping, and pulled. Reality tore, a gaping wound in the fabric of the world that churned and boiled with colour. Weld winced and Flechette made a soft noise of fascination.
"Have you ever read Lovecraft?" Dauntless asked, sounding almost idly interested, "The Colour Out Of Space, maybe?"
Taylor snorted.
"My mother was an English teacher, of course I've read Lovecraft. Relax, Dauntless. You aren't going to mutate or anything."
"Well, in the event that he incautiously ventured in he might do so. I suppose it depends…more likely to die, of course. And if he has the correct genes, he might spontaneously become a Psyker, although that seems unlikely to me."
'Really? Humanity here is different to your home universe, you think?'
"I believe so. The veil between the Immaterium and Materium is comparatively weak here, as on my own Earth, but with the Warp as quiet as it is it's unlikely that humanity would evolve to touch it. I've sometimes wondered how thin the walls of reality must have been at the Eldar homeworld, for them to have begun to evolve along the path of the Psyker before the War in Heaven."
Taylor hummed. It was an interesting thought, at the very least. She shelved the conversation for the moment, turning to Weld and Flechette.
"Alright. Basics of travel through there- stay close to me. The dimension isn't solid unless I'm there, but you'd have to wander quite a way to actually fall off the path. Still, don't take any chances. Oh. And I was pretty much joking about the 'go mad from the revelation' thing, so don't worry about it."
In theory it could happen, but Taylor's presence made it all but impossible. With the Warp so quiet, it took very little effort to generate something very much like a Gellar field. In the Emperor's universe there would have been a real threat of seeing something that would demolish the human mind, like a frog in a blender. Here the only risk of that was probably Taylor herself- she couldn't really test it, but she suspected that to a Psyker she would blaze in the Warp.
'I wonder what it looks like.'
The Emperor gave the impression of a shrug.
"I once heard that my presence in the Warp was like the sun rising, although I was veiling my full power. It was unpleasant, at best, for a Psyker to behold my unfettered power in the Warp."
'Like looking in the heart of a sun.'
"Yes. Something like that."
"Come on then," Taylor said, "No time like the present, right?"
She didn't wait for a reply, simply striding through the portal and into the Warp. Her boots crunched as she landed, almost like she was standing on sand. She glanced down.
"That's interesting," she commented. There was a heavy thud behind her before Weld spoke.
"Interesting?"
"Mm. When I came through here with Armsmaster and Myrddin, the ground was spongy, soft. Just feels gritty at the moment."
'Any ideas?'
"The general attitude of the city is probably having an effect. While we're making it solid, the Warp is the Realm of Dreams, and the tens of thousands of souls around us make up the structure of it."
'Huh. I wonder what emotions correlate to which? I guess it doesn't matter, although this is a bit easier to walk on than before.'
"This is weird," Weld commented- Taylor glanced over her shoulder to see that he was looking around, frowning.
"There's nothing here. Just…it's like walking through fog."
"That's how it is," Taylor said, "It changes colour sometimes, but that's it. I don't think there's anything else in here- it's like a dimension of energy."
Sufficiently powerful creatures could alter the Warp permanently, of course- the Chaos Gods and their Daemon Worlds would be the best example- but they didn't exist here. There was a chance that there were creatures native to the Immaterium, beings that had become Daemons after the War in Heaven or simply existed, but Taylor had never seen any. It didn't take long for them to reach their destination, Taylor swiping at the air to open up another rift.
"There'll be a place to stand in here for a few minutes, probably, but I wouldn't risk it," she called over her shoulder, stepping through the portal and into a stiff breeze and cool air. She dipped her chin as the wind squirmed icy fingers under her chin and around her neck, pulling the collar of her coat slightly higher. She squinted as specks of water splashed across her visor- rain in the wind. The sun was starting to set, the broken beams and fallen walls of the Boardwalk shops casting dark and stretched out shadows across the ground.
"Welcome to the Boardwalk," she said, waving a laconic hand around. Weld and Flechette followed the path of her hand, heads turning.
"So this used to be shops?" Flechette asked. Taylor nodded.
"Fairly fancy, yeah, they had their own security teams and everything. Mostly clothes. Heroes didn't usually come here, although I think it was technically part of Coil's territory? Don't know. Dauntless, you know?"
"I think it was Coil, yeah. Either that or neutral," Dauntless said, his voice slightly crackly through the communicators, "I remember that the security teams had a whole fondness for beating homeless people and throwing them out. When I was with the Brockton Police we used to run through every so often to try and dissuade them. Never worked though."
"Well, if that doesn't demonstrate how fucked up Brockton is," Taylor muttered, "So what's happening here, Dauntless? Is it being rebuilt?"
"God only knows. Probably, although I doubt it's got much priority. Could be problems, though, if capes start setting up their own little fiefdoms. It's happened in other cities."
"You think that's likely?" Weld asked. Dauntless made a noise of uncertainty.
"Hard to tell. The Protectorate is maybe a little stronger here than it has been in other cities, but we can't tell yet. And if they're keeping the peace, can we really afford to send in the heavies to break it up? Nobody's sure yet. Well, maybe your friend Tattletale would know more, Circ."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. You only want me for my muscle and my connections," Taylor murmured. Dauntless chuckled.
"Well, at least you know."
"Alright," Taylor said, "We'll head down the Boardwalk- we're at the north end, so we'll head down to the southern end. Once we're there we'll swing west, into the Docks, and take a run through the more important areas, ending back up at the Boat Graveyard so we can take a look at the supply drop site that Dad suggested. Then we'll head back to HQ- it's not that far away from here. You see it, to the North?"
Weld half-turned, shading his eyes.
"Huh. You know, I wondered how far we'd teleported. That's a decent distance when we were only in your other dimension for a minute or two."
"Yeah, it works pretty well," Taylor said, not looking at him in favour of scanning her surroundings.
"The Merchants tried to get a foothold here a couple of times, and I'm not sure what Marque or Lizardtail or whatever he's calling himself is doing now. Not that I think Mush would be much of a problem- he wouldn't give us Mush trouble, if you like- but I don't want to get caught out," she explained when Flechette tapped her arm and tilted her head quizzically. Flechette nodded.
What powers do Marque and Mush have?" she asked. Taylor opened her mouth, pausing as a stronger gust of wind blew through and set her coat flapping. Both Flechette and Weld shivered and she rolled her eyes. You would think they would have worked out the need for warmer costumes- although maybe Weld was just being dramatic, being made of metal and all.
"Mush can pull trash to himself and control it like a really rubbish mech, pun intended. He can be a bit dangerous in a fight, but any decent Brute can punch through it and he doesn't really know much about fighting. Marque…I don't actually know. Weld, you ever heard of a cape called Lizardtail?"
"Lizardtail," Weld muttered as they set off, rubbing his hands together, "Yeah. Yeah, I think so. He's one of Accords Ambassadors, I think he's got a healing power. Not sure what sort of healing exactly, though. It's confirmed that he's Marque, then?"
Taylor shrugged.
"Tattletale said so, and I'm pretty inclined to believe her on something like that. Key thing is that if she's right, Marque won't have some powerful ability that we need to be careful of. That's always good to know."
Taylor tapped her fist against her thigh-plate, thinking.
"Since we're talking about the villains that we might run into, guess I'll give you a run-down on the others. Who d'you want to know about first?"
"Lung?" Weld suggested, "I know he turns into a dragon, but that's about it. He was pretty impressive going after Leviathan, but it took him ages to get involved didn't it?"
Taylor nodded.
"Lung. Yeah. So Lung's got a sort of transformative power, he starts off as just a ripped dude and then he gets more and more draconic as the fight goes on. Scales and fire come first- think he's got some pyrokinetic ability, and his scales are pretty tough. Also, he regenerates a lot. And I mean a lot. When I went up against him I hit him with a grenade that turned one of his wings to glass, he just snapped it off and regrew it. It was impressive, but not what you want to see. If he turns up…like Dauntless said, don't try to fight him. If he turns up I'm gonna try and throw him into the Bay while he's still warming up, since it takes him a lot of time to turn into a thirty-foot dragon. But yeah, wouldn't advise taking him on."
She scratched her chin and flexed her wings.
"Other capes in the ABB- just Raijin. He's been sighted in the area, too, so we're actually likely to run into him. He's got some kind of electrokinetic power, he can take in electricity and use it to enhance himself. Also, he has a degree of ability to reflect electricity."
"Do I want to know how you know that?" Weld asked. Taylor shook her head.
"I threw a lightning bolt at him and he threw it back. It wasn't my favourite time. That said, he's not that strong- if he gets juiced he can cut through extremely hard materials with his katana because apparently using katana is the villain standard in the Bay, but if he's not you can just beat him. Battery did it, so the two of you should be able to. Especially you, Weld. There aren't any other ABB capes- both Bakuda and Oni Lee are dead."
"You'd think losing two of their four capes would have damaged the ABB more than it did," Dauntless mused, "Guess it just shows how much Lung carries them."
Taylor, briefly remembering the feeling of driving a knife into the base of Oni Lee's skull, said nothing. Dauntless continued the briefing.
"Next two capes we might meet are Uber and Leet. They're frequent combatants, but not dangerous. Leet is a Tinker, but he's a bit of a one-trick pony, rarely uses the same item twice. Uber is pretty much okay at everything he does, and they have a gaming theme. They shouldn't give you much trouble."
They continued down the Broadwalk- it was almost entirely deserted. Taylor wasn't that surprised, with night clawing its way in, but it was still somewhat eerie. Weld and Flechette flanked Taylor, moving in silence and looking around. As they moved further south the Broadwalk became slightly less ruined, with shops looking as though they were already being rebuilt. There were even lights hooked up in some places, although they were dim- solar lamps that gave off only the slightest light. Taylor paused outside a shop whose front had mostly fallen in as she saw something move.
"Hey," she called, "Someone in there?"
She knew that there was- she could feel their minds. One was much older than the first- parent and child, probably. Her guess was proven right when a tired looking woman in what Taylor guessed was her early thirties emerged, holding to the hand of a kid who couldn't be older than five or six. The kid gave Taylor the wide-eyed stare of childhood awe, and the woman an exhausted smile that was laced with fear. Taylor relaxed her posture, letting telepathic tendrils drift out and gently soothe the woman's thoughts.
"Sorry, Miss," she said, putting her smile into her voice, "Just on patrol, wanted to make sure it wasn't anyone in trouble. Hey, kiddo."
The kid- and she was adorable, with bright blue eyes and a mess of strawberry blonde hair- beamed and waved. The woman, the parent, kept a hold of her kid, but she was less concerned, especially when she clocked Weld and Flechette, lurking in the background. Taylor briefly wondered just how much she'd frightened people, and even why. Maybe it was a power thing? Paranoia? Or maybe- maybe it was because Luna had killed two people in gruesome fashion, and they were looking at her and wondering what made Taylor different from her clone.
Sometimes, Taylor wondered too. When she thought of how she'd put that blade through Coil, she wondered. Was the only difference the side that she was on? Was the only difference who she was killing, and that she never bothered to draw it out? Sometimes, Taylor wondered. But not too often. There were some questions that she preferred to leave unanswered.
"Oh," the woman said, still smiling that sad smile, "I used to work here. I wanted to- I wanted to check if my boss might have come back. But it looks like he won't."
A casualty of Leviathan, probably. Taylor sized the woman up- she wasn't lying, at least mostly. Maybe she'd heard that her boss was dead and was taking the chance to grab some clothes, since it was a fairly high-end clothes store. Maybe she really was just checking if her boss had been there. Either way, Taylor honestly didn't care. The woman looked tired and worn and Taylor had no intention of adding to her woes.
"Of course," she said, "That's very kind of you. Do you need an escort anywhere?"
"We walked here!" the kid announced, smiling in a gap-toothed manner. Taylor chuckled and crouched down.
"That right, kiddo?"
"Yep!" the little girl announced, big blue eyes staring at Taylor, "I'm Anna! What's your name?"
Was it cold of Taylor to think of this as a public relations opportunity? Maybe. Was it going to stop her from treating it like one? Absolutely not. Taylor pulled off her helmet, smiling gently at the kid.
"Anna? That's a pretty name. Mine's Taylor."
Weld was there, good man that he was, smiling at the mother and speaking softly to her. The kid talked earnestly to Taylor, about how their house didn't have power but it was okay because it would be sorted and how their cat, Mittens the Third, had come back the day before. It was very cute, if Taylor was honest. And then the kid looked at her, chewing on her lip, and shuffled her feet. Taylor supressed a laugh.
"What are you after, kiddo?" she asked. Anna put her hands in front of her face, embarrassed, and then ruined the illusion by peeking at Taylor through her fingers.
"Can I touch your wings?"
Taylor didn't manage to muffle her snort that time, grinning.
"Children are so precocious," the Emperor said, although he sounded almost as amused as Taylor was. Taylor stayed on one knee, turning and bending her left wing as far as she could. It didn't go that far, her shoulders too broad for her wings to even begin wrapping around her body, but she tilted it far enough that Anna could plant her free hand on the wing, her mouth open in amazement.
"Aww! It's not fluffy at all!" she said, pouting. Taylor gave in to temptation and ruffled her hair, ignoring the indignant squeak the tot gave.
"Sorry, kiddo. But at least you can tell your friends about it."
That brought the smile back, and Anna clamped onto her mother's leg as Taylor rose again. The woman was smiling more genuinely now, and Taylor winked at her before putting her helmet on. She glanced at Weld.
"We taking a detour, Weld?"
Weld shook his head.
"Mrs Samson says she's thankful," he said "But she can get home safely."
Taylor nodded thoughtfully. She took a moment to focus her attention on Mrs Samson, reaching out for the Warp, and called on a touch of prophecy. The future blurred before her, twisting and coiling, and Taylor saw a vision of the woman carrying her sleepy child into a room where a man waited, a chubby grey cat sprawled on his lap and a smile on his lips as he saw his family. Taylor felt a warm fondness spread through her chest as she let the vision go, buoyed by the reminder that there was still good in the world, and nodded to them.
"Alright. Safe travels, Mrs Sampson. Have a nice night, Anna."
Taylor watched the woman and the small child walk away, following them with her eyes until they reached a car and climbed in. Enough of the roads were clear that they should have an easy way home, at least.
"Little bit of PR, Circ?" Dauntless asked through the comms. Taylor let out a small laugh.
"Yeah, something like that. Besides, the kid was adorable. Looked like she'd walked off the set of some wholesome 50's advert."
"She was very cute," Flechette added. Taylor was really starting to like her, so loyal. Dauntless snorted with amusement.
"If you say so. You think they really were just looking for the owner? Or were they looking for some loot?"
Taylor shrugged, fully aware that Dauntless wouldn't actually see it.
"I think that if I ask that question, I'm gonna have to answer it. So, in the interest of a nice and easy life, I'm not gonna even start."
"That's fair enough."
"That said, though," Taylor commented, "We might see some homeless people along here."
"Yeah," Weld added, "The buildings are smashed up but some are still standing enough to provide cover."
"If the Merchants were still around and properly kicking I might be worried," Dauntless mused, "As it is, that's not our problem. We'll try to get better housing set up, but at the moment, if they're safe enough and dry, that's better than being out on the streets in the rain."
As though to punctuate his words a gust of wind blew harshly and rain splattered across Taylor's shoulders. Flechette shuddered again and Taylor rolled her eyes.
"You alright there, Flechette? Weathers coming down, I think. Looking like rain."
"I'll be okay," Flechette said, "Just chilly."
Wrapped in a warm turtleneck, armour and her long coat, Taylor couldn't really relate. Still, she eyed Flechette for a moment, just to make sure that the Ward wasn't downplaying too much- if she needed to move fast being too cold would slow her down. Flechette had hunched in on herself slightly, but she seemed alright enough.
"Looks like you'll need a winter costume," Taylor said instead. Flechette nodded.
"Yeah, I'd kinda worked that out. Thanks, though."
Her tone was just dripping with sarcasm. Taylor smirked under her helmet and twitched her head.
"Come on, then, walking will keep you warm."
Despite saying that, though, Taylor spread out her powers just a little, a sort of telekinetic umbrella to shield Flechette and Weld from the rain. She didn't bother to cover herself- she took a perverse sort of pleasure in the feel of droplets hitting her helmet and thumping into her coat, the rain in the wind. She almost took her helmet off again, to feel the drizzle and the wind on her face but resisted the urge.
"So, the Empire," Flechette said, "Empire Eighty-Eight, right?"
"Right," Taylor said, "Neo-Nazis. I can't see why they'd be so obsessed with a regime that tried to fight everyone and ended up getting the shit kicked out of them, but that's on them. I've got my suspicions about Kaiser, though, since he strikes me as a power-hungry son of a bitch rather than an actual believer. They're probably gonna give us the most trouble if we're trying to fight."
"You think so?" Weld asked, sounding doubtful. Taylor nodded.
"The other gangs have figureheads that are holding them together. Lung, Marque-slash-Lizardtail, even Tattletale. But the Empire have backing from someone else, right Dauntless?"
"That's right," Dauntless confirmed, "The Empire has confirmed links to Gesellschaft, a neo-Nazi organisation in Europe. They could well be funding the Empire- projections are that if Kaiser goes out of the picture the Empire will splinter briefly and then reunite, potentially under a whole new leader."
"Gesellschaft," Taylor muttered, briefly conferring with the Emperor for his knowledge of languages, "They're literally just called 'Society'? Honestly. I don't expect much of fuckers dumb enough to worship a regime that lasted for fewer years than I've been alive, but I expect at least a little bit of style. I mean, Empire Eighty-Eight makes me think that they can't count, but at least it's something."
Flechette coughed. Taylor glanced at her.
"What?"
"Um…the Eighty-Eight thing is, like, a thing."
"A thing?"
"Yeah. Uh…see, the eighth letter of the alphabet is H. So, you know, HH, like heil Hitler, is…"
"Are you shitting me?" Taylor asked, absolutely dumbfounded. Flechette shook her head.
"Sorry."
Taylor didn't even try to muffle her chortles, shoulders shaking.
"Oh. Oh, you don't have to be sorry. Empire Heil Hitler, for fucks sake. What a bunch of dorks. What a bunch of losers! How are they gonna have the balls to say 'hey, we should kill everyone who's not white' but not to call themselves by their stupid boy-scout name?"
"Maybe they thought it would help with getting made fun of," Dauntless dryly interjected. Taylor shook her head, still sniggering.
"I mean, calling themselves EEE like some shitty wrestler knock-off isn't gonna stop me from taking the piss out of them, Dauntless. It might actually make it worse. Empire Heil Hitler. Hot damn, I'm gonna take the piss out of Kaiser so much for that. Could have called themselves the Fifth Reich or something, but no. Empire Heil Hitler. That's the dorkiest, edgiest shit I've ever heard."
Taylor paused, controlling herself enough to put a hand on Flechettes' shoulder.
"Thank you, Flechette. Thank you for giving me this ammunition against Kaiser. I mean, I've got plenty of 'that looks like a Nazi fall' and 'you aren't doing it Reich' jokes, but this is just…golden."
"You're welcome," Flechette told her in a dry tone, "But you and Dauntless were telling us about the Empire Capes?"
"Oh. Yeah, sorry. So, Empire Capes. Kaiser is the big one, obviously, he's a legacy leader. His Dad, Highfather, was the founder- and he must've been high to come up with a name like- well, you get it. Anyway. Kaiser can create metal objects from surfaces around him. He hits alright, but he also runs pretty quick. He's smart enough I guess, but he's not the heaviest hitter. Possible biggest problem is Purity, she's a flying Blaster. She's up there with Legend, not quite as strong but definite artillery. Haven't seen her in a while though."
"Sources indicate that she might have broken up with the Empire," Dauntless added, "But let's not get too excited about that. Also, Circ, Kaiser's father was actually called Allfather, not Highfather."
Well, that was just a waste of a good joke. Oh well. Taylor shrugged to herself, picking up the thread of the conversation again.
"Really? That's boring. But yeah, better to assume that Purity might show, prepare for the worst and all that. Next. Hookwolf and Krieg. Neither of those are a threat at the moment- Leviathan definitely got Hookwolf, and I'm pretty sure Krieg lost an arm. Similarly, Stormtiger and Cricket had a real bad time trying to take on an Endbringer, so if they're alive they won't be combat ready. Fenja and Menja can grow to massive sizes, but they usually worked together- with Fenja dead I'm not sure how dangerous Menja will be. Othala's a healer, Victor…I've no idea what he does."
"He's skilled. Kind of like Uber, he's good at a lot of things but not especially amazing in any," Dauntless contributed. He continued from there.
"Crusader can create ghostly copies of himself. They're solid when attacking, but hard to disperse- he's dangerous if you don't have options. Rune's a telekinetic and has some sort of grudge against Circ, can't imagine why. I mean sure Circ mocks her, beats her in her speciality every time, but she's just such a nice person otherwise."
"You charmer," Taylor said, amused. Dauntless chortled before continuing.
"Alright. The two you're most likely to meet are Night and Fog. They work together almost all the time and they've been sighted on the Docks. Night is a Breaker- when she's completely unseen she takes on a different form. Best description is like a giant insect fuelled by Lovecraft juice."
"Extreme racism and horrifying eldritchness?" Taylor asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. Far as we know she's practically invulnerable while like that, but while you can see her she's a regular human. Now, you might be thinking that's not too bad, since it's pretty easy to see people? Well, guess again. Fog, who always works with her, is a Shifter. He can turn his body into a gaseous form which, in addition to being pretty horrifically corrosive, blocks sight."
"That sounds like…that doesn't sound good," Weld admitted. Dauntless cleared his throat.
"Yeah. Best advice for those two? Circ, blow Fog away and then you all just jump Night and take her out of the fight while she's still human. I mean, preferably don't fight them at all, but you might not get the choice."
"Yeah, yeah," Taylor murmured.
'I wonder if Fog would survive being widely dispersed. Would it injure him, or even kill him?'
"Would you care?"
'I mean, not really. But it pays to think about these things, sometimes.'
"Hmm. True enough. I would suppose that it depends on how his consciousness is spread throughout his fog form, and how it pulls back together. I would suspect that scattering the fog too far would cause his very mind to splinter apart, but Parahuman powers are sufficiently odd that I wouldn't like to bet on it. Perhaps fire would be a better option, simply burning him away. Despite the popularity of the Phoenix in modern culture, few things truly rise from their ashes."
'What a way with words you have. We'll have to try it, if we get the chance.'
"Indeed."
"All that said," Taylor said, "If we're lucky we won't have to fight anyone. While I do like a good scrap, it's not really what this patrol is about."
She elected to ignore Dauntless' stage whisper of 'Are we sure that's Circaetus?' to give a brief report.
"We're about half-way down the Broadwalk, Dauntless. Looks like the wave hit harder here- we're talking less damaged buildings and more heaps of firewood. Doubt we'll see anyone here. What's the weather forecast looking like?"
A bit of drizzle wasn't too bad, but neither Flechette nor Weld was dressed to be out in a downpour. Taylor could shield them, of course, but it would be better if she didn't have to. Dauntless was quiet for a few minutes, soft typing coming through the comms.
"Looks like drizzle, fading near to midnight. Cloud coverage will go, as well. Probably be a nice night once it clears."
"Well, that's better than it could be. Although I hope we'll be nearly done by the time midnight rolls around."
"Yeah, me too. I could do with a decent nights sleep for once," Dauntless muttered. Taylor briefly wondered if he was suffering from being grabbed by Echidna. She hadn't, really, but she was aware that she was a very poor yardstick for that sort of thing. The three of them continued through the Broadwalk, past the rest of the devastation until they reached the end. Taylor waved in front of them.
"Alright. This is pretty much the end of the Boardwalk, so you've seen the better part of Brockton already. Down there, further to the south, we're looking at downtown. Still one of the nicer parts of the city, split between Coil and the stupid name crew last I heard."
Taylor paused.
"Actually, forget that nickname, because 'Azyn Bad Boyz' is nearly as bad. Split between Coil and the Empire. Last I heard the Empire was starting to push Coil back, but who knows what's going on now. Leviathan punched through a whole chunk of the place, so it's not nearly as nice as it used to be. For now we'll head east, into the Docks- this time mostly ABB turf, with a bit of everyone else though it sounds like the Empire is most active in trying to muscle in. In terms of real estate, we're looking at mostly residential areas in the south-west. Most of the rest is like you looked up 'urban decay' on Google: factories, warehouses, garages, some pretty run-down tenements, beaches that are tetanus central, all the good shit. It's a crime-heavy area, so keep a sharp eye out. We're gonna head up and through towards the Boat Graveyard, like I said earlier, so we'll get a good slice of the Docks in, take in the ambiance and everything. Any questions?"
"Have you considered a career as a tour guide?" Dauntless asked. Taylor rolled her eyes.
"Have you considered a career as a comedian? Because if you are, I can tell you it's a bad choice."
'Can't believe he's trying to take my bad jokes gimmick away from me.'
"The nerve," the Emperor said, although he sounded amused. Flechette raised a hand.
"Tetanus central?"
Taylor chuckled.
"Oh, yeah. Dumping grounds all over the shore. If your jabs aren't up to date, I'd advise getting to work on that, especially if we run into Mush. Sometimes I think his biggest danger is giving someone a disease from all the crap he hauls around."
Silence.
"Is she…" Weld started, before trailing off. Dauntless grunted humourlessly.
"I wish. Bastard's a walking biohazard, especially if there's more needles than usual being left around. There's a good reason we recommend against fighting him up close."
Taylor set off walking, with Weld and Flechette following her.
"Yeah, not ideal. He's a bit of a coward though, so he's unlikely to actually fight you."
They passed through, into the Docks, and Taylor immediately felt something in the atmosphere change. It almost seemed to become thicker, darker, more threatening. There was the lingering imminence of violence in the air.
'This place is a powder-keg just waiting for a spark.'
"In that case, better to decide when to set it off."
'You think so?'
"Same principle as bomb disposal. Be as in control of the explosion as you can be."
Sound advice, if not some she would be using at the moment. As the Emperor said, better to be in control.
"If the gangs are fighting," Weld said, "What are we likely to be looking at? Numbers, that sort of thing."
Taylor stayed quiet, waiting for Dauntless to answer.
"Street brawls, probably. We don't have exact numbers, obviously, but neither gang can have many more than one hundred members. In fact, one hundred is probably at the higher end of the scale. There'll be some guns, but mostly melee weapons."
"That cuts down on potential collateral damage, at least," Weld said, "How eager are we to break up brawls? I know some places prefer to let them fight and then arrest whoever's left."
"We don't really do that here," Dauntless said, "Mainly because capes tend to turn up to fights big enough to be worth it. The Empire's got numbers and Lung's got power, so we try to break it up without engaging too heavily. It usually works, but they might be fired up by now."
"Understood," Weld murmured. Taylor glanced around them- they were getting past the residential areas and into the abandoned factories, the roads closing in, getting darker and heavier.
"Dauntless, might be best to move to rooftops. This place is a maze of derelict buildings and back-alleys, I don't want to get jumped."
"You're patrol lead, Circ. Your call."
Taylor glanced at Weld and Flechette, thinking. In theory she alone could take to the air, flying above to keep watch for threats, but that would make them obvious. Her main concern was Weld. Depending on how much he weighed he might crack right through some buildings, and he didn't have Taylor's ability to catch herself.
"I'm fairly heavy," Weld said, "But I've done some roof-hopping before."
"I can make sure you don't fall," Taylor said, deciding, "And it'll be safer. Alright. I'll carry you both up- come here."
Weld and Flechette closed in on her and she pulled them closer, wrapping an arm around each of their waists.
"I'll mostly be carrying you telekinetically," she explained, "But people tend to feel more comfortable like this. You ready?"
When she got two nods she encased them both in a web of telekinetic threads and took off with a heavy sweep of her wings, carrying them up to the roof of the nearest building. An old warehouse, the roof creaked loudly as they landed but didn't give way, and Taylor cautiously let go of her colleagues.
"There we go. I'll do the same thing when we're moving between buildings, keep the high ground. Dauntless, you got any hotspots for us? Or should we just keep moving?"
A thoughtful hum came through the comms.
"I might have something, Circ. I'll give you the instructions as you travel."
Taylor quietly acknowledged him, setting off and making sure to stay close to Weld and Flechette, just in case. They followed the instructions for several blocks, until Taylor could feel a cluster of minds that throbbed with tribal fury and the primal desire to harm. There were three other minds as well, quieter, almost muffled. One was filled with sharp amusement and cruelty- Raijin. The other two were curiously stunted, as though they barely had emotions. From the descriptions of the Empire capes earlier, Taylor suspected it was Night and Fog. All three Capes who were supposed to be in the area. That was convenient, Taylor thought, although she was still slightly concerned with the odd nature of Night and Fog's thoughts. Psychopaths. Or sociopaths, she still wasn't sure which was which. Just like Regent, now that she thought on it.
"There's two groups of people up ahead," Taylor said softly, crouching next to Weld and Flechette, "ABB and Empire. Raijin's with the ABB, I think, and I'm pretty sure that Night and Fog are lurking nearby."
"Think you can defuse the situation?" Dauntless asked. Taylor hummed thoughtfully.
"I'll certainly do my best to."
"Well, I guess that's all I can ask."
The three of them crept closer, staying on the rooftops until they could see the gathering. Taylor estimated that there were maybe thirty gang-members, standing on either side of a road. Raijin was in front of his men, sword in hand and gesturing. Night and Fog were nowhere to be seen, but Taylor could feel their presences, lurking in a nearby alleyway. She raked her eyes across the non-capes, cataloguing weapons while hastily forming plans with the Emperor.
"Fog will be the most dangerous of them," he said, his opinion weighted with years of experience, "He enables Night and can inflict severe damage. Once he transforms, we should scatter him to the winds. That will also cripple Night, allowing Weld to engage her while Flechette assaults Raijin. Further, it will allow us to remain on standby to assist either one, should it be needed, and chase away the gang members."
'Alternatively, we turn up, make a few threats and the fighting doesn't happen at all.'
"Are you really planning on that?"
'No,' Taylor admitted, 'But it would be nice if it would happen.'
"Alright," she said, quietly, "We'll head out and let them know that we're here. If it does turn nasty then Flechette, you're on Raijin. I'll deal with Fog. Weld, take Night once you can, don't bother being gentle. Hopefully shouldn't happen, but let's not be too optimistic."
"Understood," Weld whispered. Flechette seemed uneasy, but she acknowledged it as well.
'She's uncomfortable. With violence, you think?'
"Not everyone has your insatiable appetite for battle."
'I know, but it's weird that a Cape would be like that. You'd think people would have noticed and taken her away from this sort of combat-likely duty by now.'
Taylor straightened on the roof, settling the positions of Night and Fog in her mind before she wrapped Weld and Flechette in telekinetic tendrils and stepped off the roof. She floated down, landing with a soft thud of boots on concrete, and stepped forward.
"Well, well, well," she drawled, loudly enough that everyone could hear her, "What do we have here?"
Raijin whirled, his sword snapping up to a readier position. Taylor gestured for Flechette and Weld to stay back and paced forward, until she was directly in the middle of the two sides.
"You might as well come out Night, Fog. I know that you're there."
She felt them move, walking slowly out into the open. Raijin drew in a breath, his emotions spiking with nervousness. Taylor flexed her fingers, then her wings.
"You would think," she said aloud, "That in the aftermath of an Endbringer attack people would pull together. Put aside their little rivalries, little prejudices. The human spirit, you know, flourishing in disaster."
She glanced over her shoulder, at Weld.
"Weld. You think this looks like two groups getting over their hatred in pursuit of a greater good?"
Weld pretended to consider.
"It doesn't look like it, Circaetus."
His voice was deeper, she noticed, his chin lowered. Weld was expecting a fight. Raijin shifted slightly. Taylor briefly wished she'd had time to build a new staff, since taking on a sword with just her hands wasn't the easiest thing. Of course, she would probably just telekinetically yank his sword away and throw him through a wall, but that was sort of boring.
"Our business doesn't concern you, Circaetus," he said. Taylor shook her head, very aware of Night and Fog, now behind her. She turned slightly, moving so she didn't have her back to either group.
"When you're about to start a gang fight it does, Raijin. If you want a fight, I'm right here. Otherwise, do the smart thing and walk away."
Night and Fog had moved through the Empire members, into clear space. Taylor quickly revised her plans- if she could injure Fog immediately, it should take him out of the fight. A fireball to the face, maybe, although that had a level of brutality that might be slightly excessive.
"Kaiser has told us," Night said, "Of the threats made to him."
Her voice was soft, breathy, and dead. There was no emotion in the slightly-German accented English, not even a quiver of feeling. Whatever was wrong with her, she didn't even attempt to sound like a functioning person.
"And? You want to try to take me out, protect him?" Taylor asked. She felt Weld, Flechette and Raijin tense, the air seeming to thicken in preparation for a fight. Night's voice didn't waver when she answered.
"No," she said, finality in that cold tone, "We do not. Come. We are leaving."
Taylor let out a breath she hadn't been sure she was holding as the Empire goons dispersed, Fog and Night slipping back into the gathering darkness of the abandoned area. That left Taylor looking at Raijin, his support already starting to slip away themselves.
"Dauntless," she said softly, "You want me to try for a capture?"
Dauntless was quiet for a few seconds before sighing.
"No," he replied, just as softly, "It might provoke Lung. Better to let the dragon sleep, for now. If he fights, take him in. If he leaves, let it go."
Raijin was a lucky boy, Taylor sourly thought, but Dauntless had a good point. Lung was capable of doing too much damage before someone capable of stopping him got into the fight.
'Maybe Lung should be our next target, after the Butcher. Take him out and the ABB will roll over, or at least splinter back into its constituent gangs.'
"Quite likely. Before you do, however, make sure that the fall of the ABB wouldn't make room for more troublesome foes."
"You think I'm frightened of you?" Raijin snarled, "I'm not! I'm not afraid of you!"
'Remember that little sob story he had, about his dead family? I think it's fair to say that that was a lie.'
"I did tell you so."
"Words are cheap, Raijin," Taylor said aloud, "If you're going to make a choice, make it now. Before I do it for you."
Just to add to it, Taylor lifted a hand and clenched her fist, strands of invisible force wrapping around the blade of Raijin's katana and bending it to the side. Raijin grunted, straining against the force, but he couldn't prevent his sword from being pulled slowly to the side. He struggled for a few moments before another snarl left his mouth.
"Fine! Fine. I give. I'll go."
"Good," Taylor said, "Tell your boss the same thing as I told Kaiser. The Butcher might be my priority, but I'll make an exception for anyone causing trouble."
Raijin stepped back as Taylor let his katana go, the snarl still present despite the roiling fear that Taylor could feel in him.
"You'll overreach, brat. You'll overreach, and it'll be the end of you."
Taylor rolled her eyes and waved a hand at him in a dismissive motion.
"I've been told that before, Raijin. But as a prophecy, it's never come true yet."
"One day, it will," Raijin said, glaring at her, "One day."
"Sure thing, Nostradamus. Now get out of here, Raijin. I'm sick of hearing you talk."
Taylor watched as Raijin retreated, glaring at her all the way, and shook her head.
"I feel weird," she said aloud, "Actually defusing a situation. Is this what diplomacy feels like? I don't like it."
"You're a real oddball, you know that Circ? Anyway, good job on getting them out of there. At least we've got real confirmation that the ABB and Empire are making moves in the Docks now. I wonder why, though? Why would the Empire be trying to muscle in now, when they're so heavily weakened?" Dauntless said. Taylor shrugged.
"Being weak is something they can get past, if they keep it together. Looking weak will see them dying. Or something like that, right?"
Dauntless grunted in agreement.
"Probably something like that, some dumb shit. Alright. You going to finish your sweep through the Docks?"
"Yeah. I wanted to take a look at the Boat Graveyard anyway," Taylor said, setting off, "And since it's dark I can try and lift the tugboats that are in the way without embarrassing myself if it doesn't work."
"You? Embarrass yourself?" Dauntless asked as they started walking again, returning to the rooftops. Taylor grinned.
"I'm very shy and retiring, Dauntless. Isn't it just obvious?"
"Yeah, sure. If you say so, Circ."
"Circaetus," Flechette interrupted. Taylor glanced at her, tilting her head, and Flechette pointed down to a wall. Taylor crouched and squinted through the deepening dark to where she was pointing and hissed through her teeth.
"Cut that clean, had to be Raijin. And there's blood splatter," she said, "Dauntless, we've got a warehouse here that's lost a wall. Looks like the bricks were sliced clean. Evidence of actual fighting in the area, then. This would be a real bastard to fight through."
"Urban area," Weld added, "Lot of tight corners and hidden areas."
"Sure is," Taylor grunted, rising to her feet, "Come on. Let's keep going."
The rest of the Docks was similar. Already dilapidated, it was now riddled with bullet holes, fallen buildings and, rarely, fallen bodies. Taylor shook her head when they reached the edge of the Boat Graveyard.
"So," she said, "You two enjoy your trip through the Docks? What'd you think of it?"
Weld stretched his arms.
"Would you be offended if I quoted Alec McGuinness?" he asked. Taylor chuckled, although it was almost humourless.
"Nah. It's a real shithole place. Maybe we'll manage to clear it up a little, but there just isn't the will in the city to knock all these buildings down and rebuild. Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and Lung will go on a rampage, flatten most of the place for us."
She sighed, looking around.
"Alright. The Boat Graveyard is just up ahead. There's a scatter of docks, jetties, that sort of thing. Mostly it used to be a harbour, before Leviathan started being a dick to pretty much all large ocean-going ships and a whole bunch of companies went bust. There are all sorts of ships hanging around there, most of them are half-sunken. Always rumours that there's all sorts of good stuff hidden away in the holds, but I wouldn't put much stock in them. Anything that was left behind has probably been long looted by now."
"You can see the HQ from here, too," Flechette noted. Taylor nodded.
"Yeah. Wild to think that this place is a pretty short walk from the HQ and the Boardwalk, right? I know where we're going next, at least. This way."
They headed through more abandoned warehouses, sticking to the ground this time, although Taylor made sure to keep her senses alert. Night was very close to falling now, the gangs would probably be out, but unlikely to be here. There just wasn't anything to fight over. Taylor followed her mental map to the site her Dad and Armsmaster had arranged. There were two crumbling warehouses and a wide, open unloading yard, with a scatter of tugboats blocking a sloping path down to the dark water.
"Alright Dauntless, we're here. Place is pretty wide- knock down a couple of warehouses and it'll be pretty easy to stage in. Looks like the water is all but clear further out too…hmm. Harbour itself isn't as secure, I know that, we'll have to look into that. Now, the tugboats. Probably pull them out with a crane, but let's see if I can do something about that."
"You think you can lift them?" Weld asked, "Or just push them?"
Taylor shrugged, spreading her hands in a broad gesture, power already gathering in her frame. Her next breath fogged slightly, vapour mixing in a creeping from under her helmet. The steady, miserable drizzle turned harder on her coat as the temperature dropped several degrees, water drifting towards slush.
"Let's find out," she said, lifting her arms in front of her and curling her fingers. Tendrils of power snaked out, wrapping around the closest boat in a binding, cocoon. Taylor's feet left the ground, her wings beating slowly as she anchored herself in mid-air, power slithering and coiling along her bones, warmth starting in her wings to counteract the cold spreading from her fingers and her breath. Taylor closed her eyes, centring herself, and lifted.
The boat was glued into place, sunken into mud that was reluctant to yield. Taylor strained, a blood vessel pulsing in her neck, teeth clenched as she fought the stubborn grip of earth and water, heaving, lifting, and she heard a noise of amazement from Flechette, a soft whistle from Weld and a rushing, sucking noise of water as the tugboat stirred, hauling itself from a watery grave and lifting into the air. Blood thundering in her temples from the exertion, not reinforced by her staff or armour, Taylor moved her hands, the tugboat following until she could let it settle slowly, slowly, listing on the concrete in front of the warehouses with a soft, rippling creak of metal and wood and the whoosh of water as it poured out of the listing vehicle. Taylor let herself sink to the ground, boots crunching softly on fresh ice, and smiled.
"Well," she said, just a little out of breath, "I guess I can tell Armsmaster and Dad that their little supply idea might work after all."
A few hours later, Taylor was starting to regret lifting the tugboat. Her Dad, having apparently found some sort of kinship with Armsmaster- Taylor had no idea how that had worked, and she didn't really want to know if she was honest- and was therefore more than happy to haggle a price for Taylor's assistance.
To Taylor's mild amazement, both Director Piggot and Armsmaster were willing to pay. The only issue was the price. As far as Taylor was concerned, if they kept letting her use the laboratories to build some of her own gear and gave her maybe half the scrap to do what she wanted with, it was all good. Her Dad was of the opinion that she was a key part of the operation, and therefore deserved monetary compensation as well. Taylor was pretty proud of him.
'So you did all sorts of this sort of thing back in the day, right? How did you manage it?'
"Amazing what you can negotiate when you have mind-control powers."
'Are you…no. Stupid question, of course you're serious. Didn't anybody notice?'
"I was a little more subtle than that. Slight pushes, getting people to reach the price they actually think you're worth earlier, that sort of thing. A brute force approach might have worked early on, but during the Dark Age of Technology Psykers were becoming steadily more common and countermeasures were evolving commensurately."
'Huh. I wonder if we could- is that a phone call?'
Taylor tilted her head down as her phone buzzed in her pocket, slipping it out of her coat to see the name. Theo, it read, and her heartrate spiked a fraction. She'd talked to Theo earlier, after getting back to the PRT HQ, just to make sure that he was alright. He and his half-sister were staying with Purity still, and Theo had assured Taylor that they weren't in danger. Still, the threat of the Empire's identities being revealed was ever-present, and Taylor had told him to call her if there was any trouble. She quickly excused herself from the meeting, retreating to the hallway and answering the phone.
"Theo?"
"Circaetus," he whispered, "I need help."
Every nerve in Taylor's body buzzed with adrenaline, the hair on her neck standing up.
"Theo? Theo, what's happened?"
"The- some people from CPS," he whispered. Taylor swore.
"Hang on a moment, Theo," she said, barging back into the room. The three people there looked up at her intrusion and she quickly clicked her phone onto loudspeaker.
"You need to hear this, Armsmaster. Theo? Go ahead."
"They, about fifteen minutes ago, two people came to our apartment, they said they were from Child Protective Services. They, they knew that Aster was Purity's daughter, they came to take her away but then the Teeth turned up and killed them and they're chasing us," Theo rattled out, his breathing quick and voice panicky but low.
"Jesus Christ," Piggot hissed. Armsmaster had pulled out a tablet and was frantically typing at it.
"Where are the Teeth now?" Taylor asked. Theo coughed, a little noise that was part shortness of breath and part fear.
"They, I, I don't know. I just…suddenly, I had powers. I managed to escape with Aster, get to my phone, but they're tracking me down! They're…oh God. Oh God, no."
"Nowhere to run, little baby!" called a teasing, mocking voice- Vex.
"Yeah, brat. Come on out and we'll make it quick. Make us wait and Daddy'll need a closed casket funeral," Spree added. Fury, that familiar companion, writhed in Taylor's chest.
"The Empire identities were leaked an hour ago," Armsmaster growled. Taylor barely even listened.
"Theo. Where are you?" she asked. He made a quiet noise of despair, tinged with the faintest hint of hope.
"We're- at the top of the apartment. One floor below the roof."
Taylor was already rising, turning.
"Circaetus!" Piggot called. Taylor paused for just a second, waiting. Piggot nodded to her.
"Take Weld and Dauntless. The Butcher needs to live. The rest of the Teeth are expendable."
Taylor bared her teeth and teleported, directly to the break room she knew Dauntless and Weld were in.
"The Teeth are attacking Kaiser's kids," she barked, "Are you coming?"
Dauntless sprang to his feet and snatched up his lance and shield in one smooth motion, Weld only a second behind. Taylor's hand ripped across reality and they were moving without hesitation, sprinting through the Warp to a point that Taylor had all but memorised.
"Piggot says she doesn't care if the Teeth live or not!" Taylor called over her shoulder, getting two grim acknowledgements, "But leave the Butcher to me."
'Looks like we'll get our score settled after all.'
"Don't forget that she's dangerous. In this case, calling on illusions might aid us again- make her think that we're slightly across from where she expects, and cut her down. Be ruthless."
'I said that I was going to break her back over my knee, didn't I? I don't intend to renege on that promise.'
The pace Taylor set was blistering: she could tell that it was hard work for Dauntless and Weld to keep up, but they held the pace just slightly behind her. Taylor looked ahead, seeing reality through the walls of the Warp, and found her mark. A hand lashed out, reality loomed before them and Taylor burst through into empty air, just as Vex reached out a hand and the air rippled with forcefields.
Taylor came from her right side, taking her completely off-guard. She grabbed Vex by the side of the head, gauntleted fingers digging into flesh before she drove Vex's skull into the wall opposite with brutal force. Vex's skull met something hard, brick, and Taylor felt bone splinter under the impact, consciousness vanishing under the blow. She made sure of it by turning, grabbing Vex by the throat with her right hand and crushing her neck before hurling the corpse or soon-to-be corpse at the onrushing wave of Spree clones. Metal clanked behind her and lightning cracked as Weld and Dauntless landed and Taylor turned, drew her left fist across her body, clenching her fingers before she swept her arm back and sent a crushing wall of force down the corridor, smashing clones down and to the side and revealing the other members of the Teeth, Hemorrhagia and Spree hiding behind a wall of bodies.
"I'll say this only once," Taylor rasped, voice loud and harsh in the sudden, choking silence.
"Where. Is. The Butcher?"
I know I said that we'd get Taylor vs Butcher Round Two this chapter, but the patrol took longer than expected. Next chapter for certain though.
The single weirdest thing about this chapter was calling CPS Child Protection Services, since where I'm from it stands for Crown Prosecution Service. It's why I only used the acronym once. And yes, it is suspicious that they both knew and acted so quickly- we'll get an explanation for that next chapter, too.
As always, reviews are appreciated and I hope you enjoyed. And, as ever, I'll see you in the next chapter.