"I've reviewed the images you've sent me," said Director Costa-Brown, her voice as commanding over the phone as it was in person. "It is my opinion that, at this time, the self-proclaimed Everywhere is not PRT material."
Armsmaster was glad to hear it, but wanted to ask why. Tattletale's words had stung, because they were- on some level- true. He'd been so sure of himself when he'd been granted his position as head of the Brockton Bay Protectorate. He'd seen colleagues take things too lightly, seen other hero-teams treat the whole thing like a game of cops-and-robbers. He hadn't treated it like a game. He'd sacrificed friends, women, and any semblance of a personal life in pursuit of driving the villain's out of Brockton Bay. He probably wasn't very popular among his team, but he'd done everything in his power to do right by his position.
Dauntless would soon replace him. If not Dauntless, then Miss Militia. If things didn't change, Armsmaster would have no choice but to concede to being unqualified for leadership. He'd never had the charisma to inspire loyalty, so he'd sought to lead by example. But without any major achievements, he could feel his control eroding, the respect of his team waning, which in turn made it harder to coordinate his charges effectively. A cycle of failure feeding on itself, growing larger with every iteration. Brockton Bay was dying, day by day, and he didn't have that one shining achievement needed to save it. The city needed a win, badly. Something to make people believe again; something to make him believe again. Instead a new supervillain would get credit for Lung due to her fortunate timing. Colin had run the simulations, he knew he would have defeated Lung, if only he had found Lung before the self-proclaimed Everywhere. It should have been him. The city needed it to be him. Instead all the glory for toppling Lung would go to an unknown, who at best, was powerless to make proper use of her victory, and at worst would use the prestige of defeating Lung to jumpstart a following of her own.
"It is my opinion that her power is not great enough to overlook the crime she committed. That is not to say that she is never going to be PRT material," said Director Costa-Brown. "If she second-triggers, you will call me immediately, and I will contact the Triumvirate. We cannot allow a situation like Glaistig Uaine to ever happen again. But at this time, I strongly advise that you signal to her a soft-rejection…"
As Director Costa-Brown shared her advice on how to handle the new cape Armsmaster hid a smirk. Advice? Right. Not orders then, just advice. From a woman who could have him fired and blacklisted in five minutes. But not orders, it was all just her opinion. It was all so… petty. Political. More importantly, it allowed the PRT to maintain plausible deniability. He didn't need the lecture from Director Costa-Brown, nor was he offended to be used as a pawn. He knew the organization well. It was standard operating procedure, as far as he was concerned: dishonest, dishonorable, underhanded, dirty, unfair. And necessary.
ooOoo
"...And this is all the evidence we have of her," said Armsmaster, nodding at a picture of a rundown road with smears of blood, puddles of foamy water, and a cute blonde in a skintight black and lavender costume that had Dennis's full approval. "I've consulted with Dragon, and it appears that this new parahuman has some kind of hydrokinesis ability. A blaster as high as seven, but no lower than four. She may have yet unknown abilities. She is to be treated as a hostile villain if you come across her during patrol. Try to bring her in, but call for backup, and only engage if you have the ability to retreat safely."
"Two questions," said Dennis, gently pushing away a halberd that while shelved, was just a bit too close for comfort. "First- that looks an awful lot like the ABB's territory. She have anything to do with what happened to Lung?"
"No," said Armsmaster. "As I stated in the press conference, I engaged Lung alone, but unfortunately overestimated his ability to fault is mine."
"None of the Wards are upset that you killed him, we're just happy he's gone," said Dennis lightly. He didn't exactly like Armsmaster, but he didn't want the man losing any sleep over what Dennis considered a good deed. "Second question- shouldn't you be telling this to Aegis? Isn't he normally the first one to be debriefed on potential threats?"
"That is protocol," said Armsmaster, not looking away from any of the monitors in his workshop. "I've tried to be patient with you Clockblocker. With your power, the ability to stop objects in time, you're the only ward in Brockton Bay with the potential to lead a protectorate branch. I see a great hero in you, Clockblocker, and I see a genuinely good person. But you're immature, and your dedication is half-hearted. If you had Aegis or Vista's drive, you'd be leading the team already. Speaking frankly, even Shadow Stalker has a better attitude."
And she made for some decent eye candy. Was ole' Armsy trying to offend him? Wouldn't work. He knew the other wards had more drive. That wasn't about to change. He'd mostly joined for the money over any real desire to make the world a better place, and every time he went on patrol he felt guilty that he wasn't with his dad. "I'll try to do better."
"But not harder," said Armsmaster. "Your slacker attitude will need to change. I'm putting you in charge of capturing Geyser."
"Geyser?" Asked Clockblocker critically.
"A temporary name for the new cape," said Armsmaster, waving his hand dismissively. "If you don't like it, think of a better one."
Okay, challenge accepted.
"And Clockblocker," said Armsmaster, typing on his keyboard, not deigning to look up from his monitors. "While you may warn the other wards, do not inform anyone else of the new cape."
"Why?" Asked Dennis.
"Because I said so," said Armsmaster, a hint of a smile underneath his blue mask. "And if you should be foolish enough to leak the classified information, you'll find yourself on extra patrols with Shadow Stalker. My trust is not unlimited Clockblocker. Don't burn it or you'll find yourself sidelined."
"Right," said Dennis, "Consider my lips frozen."
For between two to ten minutes.
"Bruh," said Dennis, to the officer escorting him to the ward dome. "You wouldn't believe what they're calling the newest cape." He shared the best of his names.
The officer spit out his coffee. "They're not really calling her that, are they?"
Dennis shrugged, the very picture of innocent nonchalance. "What? I thought it was a very on brand name- fit with the power, y'know? She shoots jets of water, hence…"
The officer looked unimpressed. "You'd better hope that the new cape isn't too dangerous. That mouth of yours is gonna get you killed, you know that kid?"
Maybe he'd found his calling. He'd enjoyed how his own name had made all the uptight suits get all butthurt, and he didn't care how dangerous the newest cape was, he'd never inspire much fear going by the name Dennis had chosen for her. Maybe it'd inspire the cape to have some fun with her gifts, instead of just using her powers to be a self-important dildo like most parahumans.
Dennis pointed at himself in confusion. "What did I say? Hey, do me a favor, Dimitri. Don't tell anyone. Well, unless you're trying to impress a girl and she's a… I dunno, at least a six. In personality I mean, or looks, I know guys like you are real shallow. Discretion is important and all, but I'll never be a coc..."
ooOoo
"What the hell was that?" Brian asked, he'd finally made his way back to headquarters after his unexpected tantrum. Lisa could admit to being surprised by his reaction. Maybe she shouldn't have been. Her powers had never hinted that Brian was particularly malicious or unethical, and he'd been nothing less than professional as an Undersider. Still, that was a far cry from the bleeding heart he'd been at Fugly Bob's. Maybe becoming a ward to save his sister had really never occurred to him, after all. Stupid, but not everybody could be her.
False. Delusions of superior intellect brought on by insecurity. Insecurity stems from childhood neglect and unwillingness to improve brought on by psychol-
Alright, how 'bout no, power, ya damn wiggly bastard. Brian, we're talking Brian here. Why didn't he join the wards to save his sister?
Had thoughts of joining PRT. Assumes could help with sister. Distrusts authority. Prefers to keep options open.
"She'd have skittered away if we were honest about ourselves," Lisa explained. "And like it or not, we need her firepower."
"Maybe," said Brian. "But I don't like it. The dishonesty is unprofessional. Makes me feel like some smarmy government worker. It's going to blow up in our faces eventually, and we're going to have a cape stronger than Lung after us for a personal slight."
Lying. Confused about girl. Feels connection. Wants to work with her. Wants to grow closer. Afraid of disappointing her. Interest personal. Sexual. Rejects attraction. Fears intimacy.
As if Tats hadn't figured that out on her own already. Good going power, you've got the intuition of a bright middle school girl.
Supposed intellectual feats stem from power. Feats since triggering inconclusive evidence of superior intellect.
"You remember how I warned Taylor about Bakuda? The bitch in her story building bombs for Lung? I was being coy, trying to downplay the situation- you know, not make it completely fucking obvious I'm a cape? No, I suppose Mister Criminal here wouldn't know anything about being circumspect. Well Bakuda changes things. Chick fucking triggered over a lousy grade, tried to fucking blow up Cornell over it. Now the gang she just joined is about to collapse, and if our boss's information is good, Kaiser sent his youngest recruit Rune to her to negotiate a peaceful surrender. Chip on a shoulder like her's, she's going to want to make a splash, show that the ABB's more than just Lung. I'd bet you three months of pay that Taylor and us are her first target. I suspect that most ABB members are going to be armed with her bombs, and Oni Lee- he's a no-brainer," said Lisa, feeling a headache coming on.
"So what?" Asked Brian. "He had grenades before. We'll just run from him, like we did last time."
"We're smash-and-grab," said Lisa, shaking her head. "Eventually a job will go sideways. What if we get held up by the protectorate, and the ABB hears of it? If one of their goons detonates, the rest of them will know our location. We can't keep hiding forever. Boss is still gonna want us to complete jobs for him… Speaking of which… Don't you think it was too convenient? Boss asks us to take on Lung, and then just like that a new cape appears who takes him down, one we find before anyone else? Boss is a precog. He sent her to us for a reason."
"I still don't like it," said Brian. "I didn't sign up to trick teenagers into a life of crime."
"Cool," said Lisa. "Be a pro, stand up for your principles. Oni Lee tags you with a bomb, smears you across half the Docks. What happens to your sister then?"
Brian glared at her. "Fine. I'll go along with your little game. Until we're done with the ABB."
Lisa shot him a vulpine smile. "Until we've taken out the people actively trying to kill us."
"Then we come clean," said Brian.
"Then we come clean," Lisa agreed.
And like that, she had the vote needed to bring on a new team member. Lisa Wilbourne smiled, and punched in Taylor Herbert's phone number on the Undersiders' landline.
"Aye Tay Tay," Lisa chirped. "You got anything new on the A Bay Bay?"
She'd done some thinkering on the ABB's next move, and she was pretty confident she'd be able to talk Taylor out of any stupid ideas that might get her blown up.
"I do," said Taylor. "I've got a lead. Using a similar strategy as last time, tagging a suspect ABB member and using my stamps to sense large indoor gatherings, I have a stamp near what I believe to be the ABB headquarters. I'll need to confirm the location, get a stamp in the Atlantic, and plant a trap to take out Oni Lee. I've been working on some new applications of my power. I should be able to beat Bakuda in a straight fight even if I don't have access to the Atlantic stamp."
Has found ABB HQ. Unverified. Will confirm tonight.
Stupid.
"Have you worked on using a second set of stamps like Alec suggested?" Lisa asked, shaking her head.
The line was uncomfortably silent for a moment. "I've determined that a second set is neither feasible nor necessary to carry out my goals," said Taylor. "Practicing farther will be unproductive. Also it is… unpleasant, to have a second set."
Again unbelievably stupid, but not the most pressing matter at the moment, at least not to Lisa.
"Hey Tay?" Asked Lisa. "Can you loosen up? You're talking like a robot. You seemed a lot more comfortable at Fugly Bob's."
Another awkward silence.
Trying to sound professional. Wants to be taken seriously. Stiff demeanor operantly conditioned. Authenticity consistently punished for two years.
She tried her best to relate to what Taylor had gone through. Lisa's parents had turned out to be shitty people, shittier than her somehow. She'd run, been homeless, been forced to work for Coil at gunpoint, and still didn't really regret it… She'd been cheery too, upbeat when haggling for her life… Oh.
"I'm sorry," said Lisa. "If I'm being honest, taking on the ABB, knowing Oni Lee might come after me, it freaks the hell out of me. For me, it helps to keep things upbeat and light, makes me feel like I'm in control. But if you want to keep our relationship strictly professional, treat a serious situation seriously, I can do that."
She heard Taylor breathing.
"I tried making the second set of portals work," Taylor said. "And sometimes I can do it. But sometimes it just short circuits my powers, and I go back to being what I was… before."
Unimportant. Powerless. Trapped.
Lisa was sympathetic, but Tattletale was smart enough not to be.
"So it makes you think of being stuck in the locker," said Tattletale. "That sucks. It really does. What also sucks is the fact that if you go to ABB headquarters without having full mastery of your powers you're probably going to die. Oni Lee has been in the business for ten years. Bakuda got into Cornell with a full ride. They're not fools. I saw the aftermath of your fight with Lung, and you left some clues. The blood, the saltwater, but most importantly the location. Your attack was by their headquarters. Now you're planning on attacking them… Right by their headquarters. It's speculation, but I'm pretty sure they'll be prepared this time."
"I know it's dangerous," said Taylor. "But what am I supposed to do? Just le-"
"Practice," said Lisa quickly. "I'm not telling you to ignore the ABB forever, I'm not even saying to avoid their headquarters. Just wait until you can get two sets of stamps under control. A set connected to the Atlantic for offense, and another set connected to your home for defense, both paired with stamps on location. If everything looks good, attack, if things go south, teleport home. With some patience and practice, you could be the next Alexandria. That's how strong I think your powers are."
"...Right," said Taylor.
Offended her. Will hang up in twenty seconds. Will not contact you again.
The fuck? How? Why?
"Okay, okay, I was just trying to flatter you. Your powers are kind've lousy," Lisa lied brazenly. "They're inflexible, and if another cape knew their limitations you'd be a C-lister. But Tay, even a C-list power is amazing. You've got fucking super powers, don't just throw them away."
"Right," said Taylor.
Assured you are using her. Relieved. No longer suspicious of manipulation.
Taylor, Taylor, Taylor. Oh Taylor. Of course Lisa was going to manipulate her. Try to save her damn life, but Taylor was too damn stupid to realize it. No, that wasn't fair. Not stupid, just naive. Like Lisa had been, when she'd been caught by Coil.
Ahh… A plan formed in Lisa's mind.
"You're going to go to ABB headquarters tonight, aren't you," said Lisa. "Nothing I can say to stop you?"
"I'm sorry," said Taylor. "And if I never see you again, thanks for helping me when I needed it."
"I get it," said Lisa. "I'm just ops, you're the cape. You get final say. Can you at least tell me where you're going? Even just a proximate location would help the PRT find ABB headquarters if things go south."
"...Fine," said Taylor reluctantly. "By the Docks near the boat graveyard."
"Got it," said Lisa. "And Taylor, if the worst comes to pass, I'll tell your dad what you were trying to do."
"...Thank you."
Strange as it was, Taylor actually meant it.
ooOoo
"Keep your elbow pointed at the target," said Dad, the tennis ball I'd thrown skipped across the road a good five yards to his left. He retrieved the ball, and lobbed it back at me. I struggled not to flinch as it bounced off my glove.
I tried again, this time getting close enough that he actually managed to catch it. Progress. I'd like to be able to throw a little faster, but accuracy was more important. Stealth was my uh, fastball, and direct confrontation was my… um… three pointer? There were three pointers in baseball right? The point was that if I'd been a little more accurate I wouldn't have had to nearly kill myself jumping off a two-story building. Throwing fast would be nice to have as a backup plan if my sucker punch didn't land and I got spotted, but if I relied on it I'd get my teeth kicked in.
Dad threw the ball back to me.
"I heard on the news that there's been a seventy percent drop in violent crime since Lung's disappearance," I said, throwing the ball back at Dad. He had to jump to catch it, but I was pretty much on line. I was learning relatively quickly, pretty soon I'd be pitching in the national baseball league like Tom Brady. "Nobody's wearing red or green at school anymore. In class we talked about how if one of the gangs fell, it would lead to a lot of violence, but things are just… copacetic, y'know?"
"Copacetic?" Dad lobbed the ball back to me. "I'm pretty sure you even used it correctly. Your mom really would have loved Lisa."
I smiled. I'd invited Lisa to my house a couple days after we'd met at Fugly Bob's, the first person who I'd had over since Emma. Dad had been really impressed with her. Her good-nature made her tendency to try to be the smartest person in the room endearing rather than obnoxious. Mostly. And if he knew her better, knew how hard she'd tried to push me to a safer route, he'd be even more impressed. "Yeah."
Lisa had raised a lot of good points. Maybe it would be better to just… wait until I'd mastered my powers. Why not?
I threw the ball back at him. He barely had to move his glove.
"We always talked in class about how making things better would be a lot more complicated than removing Lung or Kaiser," I said. "How the gangs were in some ways good for Brockton Bay. But now Lung's gone, and things are getting better already, so it's looking like all those well thought out reasons to let a monster roam the streets were excuses we were telling ourselves to avoid the difficulty of actually doing something about him. Armsmaster should've taken Lung out years ago."
I winced. Dad's throw had hurt to catch.
"I don't like it," said Dad. "How long until he decides that Skidmark should be taken out? Kaiser?"
I threw the ball back at him, finding some extra velocity. "What's wrong with that? The gangs have been ruining Brockton Bay, you've said so yourself. Wouldn't it be a good thing if they were gone? Maybe it's a good thing that somebody's finally taken things into their own hands."
"Somebody? So you believe the conspiracies," Dad said. "A part of me hopes they're true. Armsmaster has always struck me as a decent fellow. I'd never have bought you his underwear if I thought he was the type of fellow to publicly execute people he didn't like."
I threw the ball back at him. "Lisa thinks the ABB is planning something. She thinks the Empire called a truce so the ABB could take care of the new cape."
"Good," Dad said. "We've already got Kaiser. We don't need another warlord in Brockton Bay."
It should've hurt more. My own father hated me. Thanks to a year-and-a-half of enduring Emma, I just felt numb.
"Maybe," I said, I lobbed the ball at Dad. "But Lisa doesn't think the ABB knows who took out Lung, just that it wasn't Armsmaster. They're going to go after a lot of innocent capes. Who do you think those capes go to for protection?"
"Let me know if Lisa ever needs a job." Dad chuckled. "I haven't even heard anyone say that on the news, but she's absolutely right. That's a damn genius way of forming a powerbase. Maybe that's why the PRT is calling him what they are. Hard to be taken seriously with that name. Still, I wonder what the pitch will be from the new cape this time. Drugs? Prostitution? Sexual slavery? White supremacy?"
"Or maybe just a better Brockton Bay. We haven't heard anything about the new cape, aside from that stupid name and some dubious reports on her power," I said. "Maybe she's not so bad."
"Kiddo, I love that you're still so eager to see the good in people after everything you've been through, but they killed Lung unprovoked," said Dad. "Some people are just evil. Whoever they are, however they justify it to themselves, they're a killer. Nothing more."
I put a teleportation stamp on the tennis ball, hurled it at Dad as hard as I could, and teleported something small from my bedroom. It hit Dad right in the face.
Dad yelped, and clawed at his face for a moment. Interesting. So if I teleported something at rest onto a moving stamp, the object previously at rest gained the speed of the moving stamp. That'd give me some decent offense if I were forced to abandon my stamp in the Atlantic.
"Taylor," said Dad. "Did you just throw a mouse at me?"
I rolled my eyes. "No."
I'd teleported one at him.
"Right, right," said Dad. "You're right, I'd have seen it leave your hand. Right, sorry, it just seemed to come out of nowhere, and I've never had one jump at my face like that. Can mice have rabies? I'm pretty sure mice can have rabies right?"
"Did it bite you?" I asked. I wasn't going to force Dad to get a rabies shot. I could feel the mouse scurrying about with my stamp.
"No," said Dad, shaking himself. "Just… I didn't expect it was all. We can keep practicing."
His next throw skittered on the pavement. I scooped it up and lobbed the ball back at him. "How do you know things were so simple? What if the new cape was justified in killing Lung? What if she did it to protect people?"
"Then why is she hiding?" Dad asked, throwing me a fastball. "Or he. Whoever they are, if Lung was self-defense, or if he was planning something really horrible, why hide what they did? Capes should make themselves accountable to the public."
"That's like saying she should join up with the wards," I said sourly. I threw my ball low, so it bounced against the pavement. "I've heard some terrible things about Shadow Stalker and Glory Girl, from people in the know."
"Friends of Lisa?" Asked Dad, fielding the skipping ball easily.
I nodded. "And Armsmaster took credit for something he didn't do and has everyone calling m- Calling the new cape some stupid name. He's just another fraud."
"I get what you're saying," said Dad. "The PRT isn't perfect. I'm sure some of the protectorate are jerks, maybe even psychopaths. But the protectorate and the wards are still far better than the villains, because they're held accountable. If they break the law they'll go to trial. They're beholden to the same laws as the rest of us. That's a tenant of modern civilization. Maybe the cape who took down Lung is a good person, I don't know the guy. That's not the point. There's nobody to hold him accountable."
Accountability?
Cold fury overtook me.
"As if there ever is," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. The ball stung as it left my fingertips, sliced a little to the left. Easily the fastest I'd thrown all night. "Accountability. Consequences. Maybe it exists for you and me, but it doesn't if you've got enough power. It's all just a front Dad. They're just pretending, like the school. If one of our so-called heroes commits a crime, it'll just get swept under the rug. I understand what you're getting at, you're afraid of capes taking over like they did in Africa and Asia, of society going back to feudal rule, with everyone stuck under the thumb of the most dangerous man. We already have. With capes around, there's no getting around it. It's trickled down all the way to the bottom. The laws are a joke, and we're all so busy pretending that they aren't to actually do anything to fix them.
"The PRT's peace is a comfortable lie. So long as looking good is more important than doing good, things will only continue to degrade. In your heart of hearts, do you actually believe the current path is the right one?"
"I…" Dad faltered. "It's still happening isn't it… I knew something was off, even before… Even after the locker… I couldn't… I wish I had been strong enough to protect you."
He seemed smaller. Thinner. Weaker. Hollowed and beaten. He blamed himself for his failure to stop the bullying. It wasn't his fault. I can honestly say that I'd never blamed him. Emma, Sophia, Madison, their hanger ons, my classmates who did nothing, my teachers, the principal, but never Dad. He'd always been in my corner. Yes he hadn't noticed, but what exactly could he have done if he had? Not a damn thing. His only faults were not having more money and not having the knowledge necessary to file a lawsuit. It shouldn't have mattered. But it did. In Brockton Bay, it really fucking mattered. Emma could get away with attempted murder because her dad was a fucking lawyer and could protect her. So yeah, I didn't exactly think the problem was my dad not being strong enough. I had a big problem with that entire line of thinking.
"Brockton Bay is dying," I said. "And the PRT can't save it."
"Taylor," said Dad. "I'm glad you're trying to join the softball team.
ooOoo
I peeked through a window in the warehouse's side. Bakuda had finally started wearing a mask. Not nearly as disturbing as the fully visible brain of an old Korean man lying on an operating table. It was all the proof I needed. This was ABB headquarters. I felt bad that I didn't have a stamp in the Atlantic already. The sooner I took down Bakuda, the better. Following Lisa's lead, I'd done some research, went to the library and looked at some old newspapers until I'd found something in the New York Times. Bakuda was a new cape, who'd tried to blow up Cornell after getting an A- on a Final. A tinker with a specialization in bombs, terrorism, and crippling insecurity. I think she may have actually been more insecure than me, which wasn't a thing I had thought was actually possible. Killing her would obviously cause mass casualties of what were probably innocent people. Not killing her would obviously result in even more innocent deaths. Maybe her killswitch wouldn't trigger from the bottom of the Atlantic. Here's to hoping, because my path forward was clear. I had to kill her as soon as possible, before she put more bombs in people's brai-
A hand gripped my shoulder. I spun. Oni L-
"Found you," whispered a smiling blonde girl wearing a skintight black and lavender costume. She wore a domino mask, which left her mouth and forehead uncovered. She looked white, so I probably didn't have to worry about her being a member of the ABB, even if I was talking to an idiot. Seriously, what kind of moron thought a domino mask was sufficient to protect their identity? Any classmate or acquaintance could unmask her. "I've been looking for you, Everywhere."
"Um…" I whispered, uncertainly. "I'm sorry, are you a new ward?"
"I'm Tattletale," said the girl, her vulpine smile fading just a bit. "A key member of the infamous Undersiders!"
"Um…" I said. "Who?"
Were they a new hero group or something? I couldn't imagine a villain wearing a costume beyond what I was wearing. Gray nondescript sweater, so loose you couldn't tell whether I was a boy or girl, a mask that could be bought for ten dollars at Walmart, loose fitting sweats, it was all designed to make it hard to identify me. Someday I hoped to augment it with a bulletproof vest under my sweater, but I didn't have the money for the purchase, not to mention the near certainty that it would unmask me to any government agency. Tattletale's outfit just screamed: look at me, which would be really stupid if you were a villain. Not that I was a villain myself or anything, it was just that I'd expect an actual villain to be dressed a lot like me, rather than a suburban preteen's childish conception of a bad guy.
Tattletale scowled. "We're a menacing team of supervillains. And we've been around for an entire year. C'mon, we robbed a frickin' casino! It was all over the news!"
Actually, I may have heard about that. It had been in the backpages of the Brockton Inquirer, the third largest newspaper in town. Had the article mentioned that capes had been involved?
"It did mention that capes were involved," said Tattletale impatiently. "And it also mentioned our group's name, Undersiders, but only because I let them. The only reason our thefts ever become public is when I choose to let them, for the notoriety. You should actually be more impressed that you haven't heard of us! Anonymity is a lot harder to pull off, and a lot safer. It's a skill you could do to learn, Everywhere, being safe."
She pointed lazily at the ABB Headquarters. "Coming here. Really, spectacularly, incredibly dumb. You got lucky. If Bakuda weren't so busy preparing for her coming-out-party, you'd be dead. As it is, you've given away your powers. They'll know you're a teleporter, they'll know you don't rely on line-of-sight. They probably won't figure out your weakness, but they might. I have. Killing you wouldn't be particularly hard."
Tattletale waggled a handgun at me. "My powers give me remarkable aim. I could've shot you from three-hundred feet easy. Wait for you to get distracted, then shoot. Simple. That's not how they'll kill you, but I'm sure that with a little thought you'll be able to figure out how they plan to do it on your own. I've pretty much spelled it out for you."
I thought about it. Thought back to Lisa's words. Not all the villain's in the city were publicly known. Tattletale had gotten far closer to killing me than Lung. She could be quiet. The Undersiders weren't trying to be famous. That made her far more dangerous than the ABB. If I wanted to save Brockton Bay, I'd have to take care of villains like her.
"No, no," said Tattletale, holstering her gun. "You've got me all wrong. I'm a villain, yes, but I'm not a bad guy. My team and I, we commit small-time robberies on large targets that can afford it. That casino we robbed, the money was insured, nobody got hurt. Besides, they were backed by the ABB, they weren't exactly good people. For a villain like me, the whole thing is like a game of cops-and-robbers. I follow the unwritten rules. The heroes understand that too, and maybe they don't treat us as harshly as the real monsters like Bakuda here."
Insurance as an excuse? Get that sophmoric bullshit outta here. The insurance companies wouldn't take a loss lying down, they'd hike up the rates of every company in the Bay, which would put small businesses in the red. Perhaps Tattletale was telling the truth about only attacking targets which could afford it, I doubt the business owners knew that. If even a large casino with known ABB connections could be robbed, then what hope did a legitimate business without gang connections have? Why, as a business, would you want to stay? Why, as a business, would you ever come here? Robbery was against the law of every known civilization for a reason. The Undersiders and their ilk weren't as culpable to Brockton Bay's rot as the ABB, but there was no mistaking that they were a part of it, whatever delusions about unwritten rules Tattletale told herself.
"Oh please," said Tattletale. "I'm a puppet of a puppet of a master that bows to the alter of utilitarianism. I operate within the designs of a system doing exactly what it's intended to do. You want to look at the true rot, look into the PRT. Look into Madcap. Look into Shadow Stalker. Look into that, then tell me it's not all a game."
That was the third time she'd appeared to read my thoughts. Telepathy was supposed to be impossible, but she clearly had some kind of mental power which gave extreme insight into people. I'd be a fool to seriously consider anything she said.
Tattletale sighed. "Only if we were enemies. The night you took out Lung, we were dealing with Oni Lee. That's why you didn't see him. As it stands, we're on the ABB's hitlist, same as you. I don't see why we can't work together. You've probably realized, just talking to me, that taking on a Thinker is almost impossible. We're not like other capes. A confrontation with us won't be physical. Most will take you down before you ever even know about them. As it stands, there does in fact happen to be another Thinker supervillain in Brockton Bay, and unlike me he's fully comfortable remaining anonymous. You want to clean up the city right, take out the major villains? I basically want the same. Become a member of my team. Join the Undersiders."
"Who is he?" I asked.
"Join us," said Tattletale. "I mean really join us, and I'll tell you."
"You can read my thoughts," I said. "Manipulate me into any actions. If I were to join you, every decision I thought was my own would be one of yours. And you robbed a casino. I can't trust your ethics."
"Last I checked, murder is worse than theft," snapped Tattletale, irritation clear in her voice. "Are you so sure you can trust your own?"
I could see how Tattletale might leave someone in knots through words alone. As it was, she just reminded me of Emma. My voice became cold.
"Why?" I asked, circling Tattletale. Why shouldn't I kill her here and now? It would be easy enough. Teleport away her gun, place a stamp on the tennis ball in my pocket, place a stamp on the ground, throw the ball in the air, teleport her up to the ball, let her die from the fall. That would alert the ABB of my presence of course. Bakuda's costume had armor. Killing her would be harder, especially without a portal in the Atlantic. I still might be able to do it. Letting someone as dangerous and unbalanced as Tattletale walk free seemed out of the question. I believed what she'd said about Thinkers, now that she knew I wasn't some gullible little puppet, she'd disappear. I'd never find her. Maybe she'd approach me as a civilian, discover my secrets, then leak my identity. It would be easy for her to destroy me, take over the city, and rule from the shadows. It seemed almost inevitable. Unless I killed her, right here and now, and took my chances with the ABB. Oni Lee would kill me, of course- I had no counter for what he could do, but maybe I could take out Bakuda first. If I was able to get Bakuda and Tattletale before Oni Lee got me, it would be well worth my life.
Tattletale shivered. Looked terrified. Glanced briefly at an abandoned building a block away, and shook her head. An act, obviously, designed to throw me off balance. As if a victim like me could scare anyone. "You want a reason? Fine. I've got a deadman switch. You're Taylor Hebert. Your father is Danny Hebert. Kill me, and-" She stopped suddenly, and covered her mouth.
"Say it," I said coldly, as I continued to circle her. "You'll have your teammates kill him. Enough games Tattletale, enough pretending you're any different than the other villains, say it. Say it."
"You won't be able to take Bakuda," said Tattletale, her voice quivering in an obvious ploy to gain my sympathy. I'd seen Emma manipulate a teacher like that once. Pathetic. "She's armored, and she's got enough bombs that she'd blow you up, along with half the Docks."
I frowned. Maybe I'd misjudged her. No, Tattletale had some kind of social power. She'd only retracted her threat because she'd known it would make her look honorable. If she actually had a sense of decency she wouldn't have leveled it against me in the first place.
"So I'm not allowed to be terrified," said Tattletale. "Jesus Tay, as a cape you scare the shit out of me. You threatened to kill me, and thanks to my powers I knew you weren't bluffing. I just blurted out the first thing that I thought might protect me."
"You could have told me you'd shoot me," I said, circling her. "Used your power to tell if I was making a stamp. But no, you went straight to threatening my father. You like to hurt people, don't you?"
"I…" Tattletale hung her head. "Would you believe me if I said that it just didn't occur to me?"
I wasn't sure that I could. It seemed so obvious.
Tattletale twitched. "I fight with words. I'm not a dumb thug who takes out her pent up aggression on anyone she deems an acceptable target. You really, really need to get a handle on that Taylor."
Taylor. An obvious ploy. Use my civilian name, try to get me thinking like a civilian instead of a cape.
"Fine," said Tattletale angrily. "I panicked and made a stupid decision. Happy?"
I shook my head. "His name?"
"..." Tattletale hesitated. "Coil… His name is Coil. Coil, Coil, Coil. Fucking Coil. He can make a decision to split a timeline and choose which one he prefers. Forced me to work for him at gunpoint. I'd lost before I ever even knew his name. That's a Thinker battle for you, but it's not over, he just got lucky. Took me out before I was ready. Do me a favor and don't go after him on your own. He'll kill you, and know that I sent you… He'll confine me to a room. Get me hooked on hard drugs so I can't leave. Possibly cut off my feet. Oh and don't tell the PRT. He's infiltrated it."
I nodded. "Your name?"
"No," said Tattletale. "I've told you how to destroy me. We're square. You'll get my name after you've taken care of Coil. I know you're not going to kill me. Not now."
"Not yet," I whispered, and teleported back home.
I checked on Dad. Nothing had happened to him. Lucky for Tattletale. She got to live for a little while longer.
I sensed her fleeing from my stamp. I took a vicious pleasure in frightening her. She reminded me of Emma. Every good cape needed a nemesis. I think I'd just found mine.
Someday, I'd turn her into a bloody smear. And unlike when I'd killed Lung, I'd fucking enjoy it.