A/N: Big thanks to Two Pence for beta reading!
An invisible force slammed me into the concrete. The pavement lit on fire around me, bright, orange, and hot. Panacea's writhing flesh shield sagged, killed by the heat. The flames burnt away fabric and skin. Boiled flesh. Pain. Hot and then cold. Bright and then dark. Colder, colder. Darker, darker.
I reached out for my stamp sense. Nothing.
I was powerless. Pathetic Taylor Hebert. Nothing more.
Shivered, trembled. Then limp. So, so, cold.
Forced upwards. Flying, floating, held up. The sky was like a web of light, a glob? A flicker of the Atlantic, pain ripped through the chest, but temporary. Warmth returned, and thought.
Fighting Glaistig Uaine. No powers. How to get them back? Didn't know how. What weapons I could use without powers? How could I win?
A gentle push. Steel spikes sprouted from the window of a high rise building. A carpet of nails. Closer, closer. Kaiser's ghost observed nearby. I struggled against whatever shade Uaine used to control me, couldn't break out of their grasp, but could wiggle a little. Couldn't see them. Still no powers.
Metal spikes grew closer.
The pepper spray can's cool surface tickled against my fingertips. Tried to grasp it. Did.
A few feet from the nails. Silver and gray and too close. They'd penetrate my eyes, my legs, smaller ones through my gut. Floated forward.
Only had one chance. Who to spray? Who was negating my powers. Kaiser? The telekinetic I couldn't see? Certainly not the Nice Guy ghost. Had to find a way to get to Uaine. Out of time.
Pepper sprayed in the direction of Kaiser. Missed badly.
Couldn't see. Warm wetness on cheek. Nail in eye and spike through the thighs. Painful everywhere. Bleeding everywhere. Hurt.
Thoughts broke. Jumbled, messy.
Coldness, slowness, darkness, promised relief. Escape. No. A piercing sensation through my chest.
Warmth returned. Sanity returned. A flicker of the Atlantic, only to disappear again.
Feet in the air. Body still controlled by evil. Body a prison, a torturer.
Why? Why, why, why?
"Find your crown," chanted a chorus of devils. "And you can join my court."
I was shoved down. To the ground. Sheets of steel burst from the street, uprooting dirt and concrete. The walls constricted around me. Smaller and smaller. Trapping. Squeezing. Bugs and worms from underneath the overturned cement my only company. Flesh shield was no protection. It was dead. Died a while ago.
Covered in blood, bugs and worms crawling and biting, trapped by steel. The walls squeezed, squeezed. Alone and surrounded in darkness.
My fingers scratched against metal. Nails broke, tore, like cheese in a grater. I fought and fought.
A scream ripped through my throat, desperate and broken. I reached out to my power.
And I felt nothing.
Trapped, trapped, trapped.
"Let me out," I cried out for help, pounding on the locker. "Let me out! Somebody, let me out!"
But nobody came.
ooOoo
"Put down the gun," said Sundancer, her hands up. "I'm only asking that you try. I'm not blind! I get it. If this doesn't work, I'll… Just try to heal her, please?"
"Sad thing is," said Tattletale. She'd drawn her glock as soon as her power told her there weren't any capes or PRT officers in the area. They were underground, halfway down a dimly lit hallway in Coil's underground base. "You're going to kill her eventually. There's no fixing a Simurgh bomb, but by the time you realize that a lot of people are gonna die. Millions. Billions. Or I take responsibility. Ames, be a dear and master her. Make her love you."
"I could kill you," said Sundancer. "Both of you, easily."
Tats snorted. Like that would ever happen. "Don't have all day Ames. Sooner we get this done, sooner we can help everyone else out. It might be the difference between your beloved Glory Hole livin' and dyin'."
"No," said Amy. "I won't."
"Don't tell me it's your stupid don't do brains schtick," said Tattletale, rolling her eyes. "Ames, be a dear, and get over yourself."
"I follow Everywhere," said Amy. "Not you. Don't think I don't see how you've used her powers to wrap her around your fingers. But when I do it, it's evil? We'd be better off without you."
Blames mastering her sister on you. Holds you responsible for her villainy. Knows it's bullshit, but doesn't like to admit it.
Duh. Tat's delved deeper.
Jealous. Taylor trusts you, but not her.
Again, nothing new. Nothing she could use. If Ames's self-professed reasons for hating Tattletale were bullshit, then what was the real reason, and why wouldn't she allow herself to see it?
You control her. Anticipate her. Without you, she wouldn't be bound to rules. Would be able to force everyone around her to love her.
"You're wrong," said Tattletale. "I don't control Everywhere. Sucks to admit, but my powers aren't that strong. If they were, I'd have never let you mess with my perfect B-cup tits. I'd have tattled, and you'd be dead."
Amy didn't move. "Oh my god, you still don't get it? I've been around the Undersiders for a month, and aside from Everywhere they're all just as bad as I thought they'd be. And it's all because of you. I've seen how you operate. Finding all our weaknesses, knowing just what to say to drag us down deeper. You were the one who found everyone, brought them together in all this bullshit. You pretend like you're a savior, but the only reason any of us even need saving is because of you."
… Cunt.
"I'd say fuck you, but nobody will ever want to," said Tattletale.
"Hey," said a cutesy voice from behind a door. "No swearing."
White powder shot out of the sprinklers, Tattletale's power vanished, and mechanical spiders leapt out of the doors around them.
Lisa shoved Sundancer backwards, and unloaded her clip into the nearest spider. "Go! Run!"
Sundancer ran. Not far. A spider shot her in the thigh with a dart, the girl fell, spiders swarmed, pulled apart limbs. More spiders massed, blocking that exit. The other was blocked by Bonesaw.
She skipped to them from the end of the hall. Lisa pulled the trigger on her glock, and shot her right through the heart. Bonesaw reached into her chest, plucked out the bullet, and held it out like a prize.
"You shouldn't play around with guns," said Bonesaw. "They're dangerous! If I didn't have a subdermal mesh around my organs that might've even hurt!"
Lisa shot her with a taser.
Bonesaw brushed off the wires casually. "Are you worried about your friend? Don't worry, she's not dead. Better actually, she'll get to be artwork. I promise to make her beautiful."
"I'm sorry," Lisa murmured. She'd been stupid. Shouldn't have wasted her bullets on Bonesaw. Should've put them through Sundancer's skull, Amy's, her own.
"There's nothing to be sorry about," said Bonesaw, twirling, her ringlets bobbing. She pointed at an emaciated vaguely mouselike figure, a patchwork of black and white skin sewed together. Rat frankenstein was holding two bodies. "Family should stick together, right? So, so I'm going to be really nice, Sarah. If you fail my test I'll make sure you and Sundancer are together forever."
Lisa couldn't beat Bonesaw, couldn't even fuck with her without her powers. Worse, Amy's powers were out of commission too… Weren't they? Probably not actually. Poisons shouldn't actually work on her. Unfortunately, Amy was pretty far into the freeze category of the whole fight-flight-or-freeze reflex. Even if she weren't, Tattletale couldn't think of a way for Panacea to do much of anything about Bonesaw's spiders.
Panacea had used up all the flesh she'd kept coiled around her fighting Siberian, so there wasn't much chance of grabbing Bonesaw with a tentacle. Not that it mattered, Bonesaw would be expecting it. Just like Bonesaw had been expecting them.
She had sprung her trap by waiting for them within the PRT. Lisa had assumed that Bonesaw had been near Empire HQ, but why did she need to be? Wouldn't it have been smarter to have her holed up next to Noelle, and share the recording ASAP? Of couse. Noelle already knew she was fucked, which meant their whole plan of executing her had been doomed from the start. Even if they'd managed to master Sundancer, they'd have been eaten anyway.
Could she use that? Maybe feed on Bonesaw's supposed admiration for Panacea?
"Jack was going to feed us to her," said Lisa. "Lure us in close to her, then have her eat us. Noelle can be sweet sometimes, but other times…"
"Nope, that's not the plan." Bonesaw smiled sweetly at her. "Without your powers you're kind of stupid, you know that? Hopefully you're a little smarter so you can pass your test. Mannequin, bring her out!"
Mannequin wheeled out Rachel and Brutus. Restrained, but very, very conscious. Rachel was quiet. Scared.
Hadn't they been halfway across the city? How'd they gotten here so fast? What were the implications?
… Um… Kinda drawing a blank without her powers.
So Mannequin… He um… Colony on the moon, right? Liked to attack people who tried to use their powers for good. Was he pissed off about the whole organs in livestock thing? And Bitch, if she got her power back, then Brutus could transform, and maybe they'd be able to make an escape?
"Murder Rat," said Bonesaw, "Can you lay the subjects out on the floor? Isn't this test the absolute best? Jack says I need to be more personal! Find the touchstone in the mind, and pull it out! Aren't they beautiful, Sarah?"
Despite knowing it was a trick, Sarah flinched when she saw the two men who'd been placed opposite Bitch and Brutus, the faces Bonesaw had given them.
They weren't the same. Close though. Real close. Enough that any differences might have been faults in her memory. The man looked like Dad, and the boy like…
They weren't real. He couldn't be. Lisa had let him die a long time ago.
Bonesaw handed her a rusty saw. "Just remove their masks. At least one. Jack says you're good at it, so it should be easy."
And if she didn't kill the strangers, Mannequin would kill Bitch and Brutus.
"Who goes with who?" Asked Sarah, taking the saw.
"Your Dad for the dog," said Bonesaw. "And Bitch for Reggie."
Sarah was smart. A genius. And she'd seen Tay Tay do this kind of thing all the time. What did she need to achieve, what did she have, how could she make it happen?
What were Tat's win conditions? If Bonesaw touched Amy, or if Rachel got her powers back it meant victory for the Undersiders. What were Tat's tools? She had Amy, but Amy was panicking and kind of hated her. She had to give Amy a hint without tipping off Bonesaw or Mannequin.
"Ten," said Bonesaw. "Nine…"
And if Rachel or Brutus died they were fucked. Which meant she had to saw off either Dad's face or Rex's.
Fuck… Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Sarah was a villain. She was a villain. She didn't care about most people. She didn't care about strangers. If her power was working, she'd have been able to find a dozen things wrong with them. She knew the truth, knew that they were ugly.
Her knuckles whitened against the saw.
Mannequin flicked out a telescoping blade from his wrist and held it to Rachel's neck.
"Eight," said Bonesaw. "Seven…"
Sarah scrambled to Rex, pressed the saw to his neck. She knew the truth. Knew all the ugly little secrets. She'd always known on some level that her Unwritten Rules were bullshit. Mere justifications, to rationalize away her monstrous cravings.
She toyed with people. Hurt them. It wasn't even really Rex. It just looked like him. Even if she normally attacked verbally, she'd done far worse. This would be nothing.
"Six, five, four," said Bonesaw.
She closed her eyes. Sorry.
She pushed her arm forward, and nipped Rex's neck. Some bleeding, but she hadn't put enough force into her cut. She could do this. She'd… Played along with Taylor's games, and she knew she'd let people die where she could've stopped it. She could do it.
Her arms wouldn't stop shaking. The saw clattered on the ground. Shit, she hurried to pick it up.
"Three," said Bonesaw. "Two. One. Zero."
Mannequin stuck his blade through Brutus's skull.
"I'll kill you," said Bitch. "I'll fucking kill you!"
"Ten, nine, eight," said Bonesaw.
Sarah gripped the saw. She had to do it. Had to. Not even about Rachel, if she didn't she'd be stitched together with Sundancer.
Do it, Sarah, just do it!
Another half-hearted attempt to cut off Rex's mask. Another failure.
"Five, four- oh dear, it really looks like she's going to fail doesn't it? Too bad, so sad. Oh wait I know. Big sis. Why don't you help her out? That can be your test!"
A spider stabbed Amy with a needle, presumably to give her her power back.
"You could make her love you, turn her into a psychopath, or, or I could even show you what part of the brain to lobotomize to get rid of her free will!"
Mannequin wagged a finger at Bonesaw.
"No it's not cheating," said Bonesaw. "I'm just combining the tests into one. It's efficient, artistic!"
Mannequin shook his head.
"You're always such a crybaby," said Bonesaw. "Fine. How's this? Sarah fails her tests and we start over with Amy's. As punishment for her failure, we'll replace Sarah's organs with the dog's."
"I'm not out of time," said Sarah. "It would be against the rules."
"Fine," said Bonesaw, stomping her foot. "Three-two-one-zer-"
"Amy," said Tattletale. "Come over here. You've got my permission. Master me. Make me capable."
Amy shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I can't. I can't. I've got to follow the rules, Everywhere set out for me. If I just…"
"Panacea," said Tattletale. "I'm not asking you to break any rules. Trust me, Taylor- even Vicky- would approve."
Amy took half a step forward. Stopped.
"I know you've always had a little hate crush on me," said Tattletale. "I've toyed with your attraction. How fun would it be to reverse that? Turn me into your little pet."
Amy gave her a considering look, then strode forward. Put a hand on Tattletale's head.
Wondering what you want. Worried you assume she's telepathic.
Tattletale almost sagged in relief. Amy had healed her, not taken the excuse to master her. She leaned in, and gave Amy a deep wet kiss. She pointed her tongue in Bitch's direction, and deepened the kiss so Amy didn't give anything away. Amy eventually pulled away, panting.
Didn't enjoy that. Bad kisser. Too much tongue. No longer views you sexually.
Well fine. Good… She was glad.
Working on creating airborne cure to prion attack which disabled powers. Will take five minutes to heal without direct contact.
Mannequin pointed at Rex, but Bonesaw held up a hand. "Don't rush things. Savor the moment."
She tilted her face to the side, and stared at Tattletale curiously with her ever present smile.
Expressions artificial. Emoting done by machine. Cannot cold read her.
"Amy," said Bonesaw. "Do you know what I like about you? Your insistence on your rules. It's important to follow rules. Do you know why?"
Just answer. Stall however you can.
Amy trembled. Scared. And Rachel was nowhere close to being healed.
Tattletale answered for her. "Rules keep her fr-"
Pain like fire spread through her ankle. One of Bonesaw's spiders had stuck her with a needle.
"Rude," said Bonesaw. "I was talking to Amy. Now Amy, why is it so important that you follow rules?"
"I… I… It's because I can't trust myself not to stray," said Amy, closing her eyes, tears crawling down her cheeks. "As long as I have my rules, I can keep myself good."
"It's important to be good," said Bonesaw. "I agree. And it's important to be a good girl. Especially when so many are bad, bad, bad. I hate bad girls. They always think they're so clever, but Jack can always see right through them. I think I'm getting the hang of it too. It's not hard. The last bad girl I met made me really angry, so I put some modified wasp larva inside her, and had them eat their way out of her. It was really artistic, I wish you could have seen it!"
Bonesaw stared at Tattletale's ankle.
"You're not a good girl," said Amy. "Neither am I. That's why we have rules."
Bonesaw skipped to Tattletale. "Have you been the one putting all these horrible thoughts in Amy's head? Bad influences need to be removed."
"N-no," said Amy. "Don't hurt her."
"We're good girls, Amy," Bonesaw smiled and walked to Brutus, scratched him under his chin. "Take the cute puppy with a hole in its brain. To most people it seems dead. But to one of us, we could put it back together easily. Couldn't we sis?"
"You should be thanking me," said Tattletale. "Before she met me, she was just a healer. I was the one who opened her eyes. Got her using her power creatively."
"Sarah," said Bonesaw sweetly, handing her the rusty saw. "Go cut off your brother's face. Since you're mastered and all, it should be really easy."
Tattletale took the saw. She had her powers this time. She'd use it to see what a shitty person Rex was. Not that it was Rex. With her powers, that would be obvious.
She glanced down at the boy.
Clone of big brother. Genetic material gathered from-
Fuck.
That was… Not at all helpful. She still had to do this though. It still wasn't Rex, just his…
Don't think about it.
She pressed the saw against her brother's neck.
"Go on," said Bonesaw. "Kill him. What's the matter Tats?"
Tattletale steeled herself, closed her eyes, and pushed the saw f-
A crash, Panacea had rushed for Bitch. Jig was up. Tattletale smashed Bonesaw with the saw, and sprinted for Amy. Bonesaw slid across the pavement a few feet, and-
Cover neck with saw.
Bonesaw shot two needles from her fingertips, buried them in the old saw, little droplets of venom leaking from their tips.
Mannequin stabbed Panacea's hand with his wrist blade, and pinned it six inches into the concrete.
Panacea growled, Brutus was growing fast. Mannequin extracted another blade from his wrist, and lunged at Bitch. Tattletale flung her saw at Mannequin, just enough to throw off his aim. Instead of disemboweling her, he only sliced Bitch's side. He pulled back, lunged again, but this time Tattletale had enough time to tackle him. She went low and twisted, a perfect form tackle that would've made Grue proud.
Dodge right.
Mannequin's blade missed her by centimeters, and the fucking plastic headless freak was on top of her. She dodged a couple of his thrusts, until he just stapled her fucking hand to the concrete. She couldn't move, but…
A pair of strong jaws clasped around Mannequin, shook him up like he was a ragdoll, and then, and then…
Bonesaw pressed a button and Brutus fell. Tattletale strained against her staple, fighting through sharp twinges of pain. No luck. No way out.
Rusty saw within reach. Tear off fabric. Saw through wrist. Apply pressure to stop bleeding.
Fuck, fuck. She reached for the saw. One of Bonesaw's spiders crept next to her, stopped with a needle next to her neck. Another spider sidled next to it. She felt a dozen needles against her skin.
"Sis, I want you to know that I don't blame you, even though you broke the rules and failed my test," said Bonesaw. "Because you really care about them. So I'm going to use that in my punishment."
"You're going to make me choose," said Amy, her voice flat.
"No silly," said Bonesaw. "I'm going to measure your love. Does it last minutes? Hours? Days? How long until you just get tired and give up? So let's start with Tattletale. Then Bitch. Then the dog. And on, and on, and on. Isn't it so beautiful? You're going to know the exact amount of time it took you to break."
A needle in her neck filled her veins with fire. Tattletale gasped out a breath, and Panacea was by her side, curing her, soothing her.
"Now Bitch," said Bonesaw, sending Panacea running. "Now the cute little puppy."
A needle stuck in Tattletale's neck, and she felt coldness spreading. Mannequin stabbed Bitch in the side of the neck.
Will bleed out in seconds. Will die by poisoning in two minutes.
Bitch first. She had to communicate that somehow.
"Hurry," said Bonesaw. "You can still save them both if you make the right decision."
Panacea put down Brutus, assessed the two with her exhausted brown eye, and rushed for Bitch. Bonesaw sawed Brutus in half with her rusty saw.
"Heal the dog," said Bonesaw. She giggled when Panacea sprinted to Tattletale's side. "Correct, I didn't say, 'Bonesaw says heal the dog'."
The numbness faded from Tattletale's veins, and Panacea was off to heal Bitch again. Mannequin shove a blade through her stomach.
On and on it went. Bonesaw, her spiders, and Mannequin took turns murdering them, forcing Panacea to heal, heal, and heal some more. How many times? Thirty, forty? Five? It felt like months, but it may have just been a few minutes or a few decades. Panacea had dulled her nerves. Spared her the pain, at the cost of all sensation. Everything felt distant, faraway and unconnected to her. She felt a tug, somewhere deep, a little push onto existence itself.
Second Trigger. Increase in power correlates with increase in trauma.
And just like that the sensation was gone.
"This feels a little familia-" Bonesaw gaped down at a small hole in her chest. "What the fuck?" She rushed for Rex, reached into his chest, and shoved one of his organs into the hole. "Why didn't the fucking mesh block it?"
"Because you don't have a Clockblocker to keep you from unwanted penetrations," said a chirpy voice. Flechette. Another bolt punched through Bonesaw's stomach, and another went through Mannequin's head.
Bonesaw's spiders swarmed around her, and fled. A bolt took out one of Mannequin's ankles, but it didn't slow him much. Grue caught Flechette's shoulder, stopping her from pursuing.
Flechette whirled on him. "We've got them on the run. We have to take them out while they're vulnerable."
"Too risky," said Grue. "Could be leading us into a trap, and it's not why we came here."
Bonesaw is tinker. Incapable of filling the sprinkler system with prions without prior access. Likelihood of more boobytraps 98.3%.
She should probably say something. But… That meant going back out there. Fighting the Slaughterhouse. The monsters.
"Even if you kill them, Glaistig Uaine will just bring them back," said Clockblocker. "We can't win the battle unless we take her out."
Panacea healed Tattletale, moved to Bitch, and then ground above them shook. Muffled explosions. Taylor?
Taylor!
Fuck. Coil had used Taylor as bait for Glaistig Uaine. Alexandria couldn't stall Glaistig Uaine because her power was fully developed and Uaine would just kill her quickly. Not Taylor. Taylor could be safely harvested for a second trigger. She was safe as long as she was alone.
Stupid.
She'd almost lost her mind, and that was with Panacea dulling her nerves. Without that, with someone actively torturing her… Maybe Eidolon would arrive in time, but at that point what would be left of Taylor?
Tattletale would never allow Taylor to second trigger.
"Grue's right," said Tattletale, forcing herself to be present. "Bonesaw has turned the PRT HQ into her lair."
"Right," said Flechette, shooting Tattletale a shy smile. "I don't condone what Alexandria pulled to get you guys to join, but I'm happy you're on the good side now. That stuff you figured out about Siberian was crazy, that's better than anyone else has done."
Finds you attractive. Testing waters. Flirting. Coping mechanism.
Panacea huddled next to what was left of Sundancer. Wasn't pretty. Her arms and legs had been hacked off.
Stabilized.
"Grue," said Tattletale, locating Taylor with her power, and forcing herself back into Jack Slash's torture chamber. "Carry Sundancer. We've got to find Everywhere before she gets added to Glaistig Uaine's collection."
"No 'thank you'?" Asked Flechette, as they jogged out of PRT headquarters and into the land of skyscrapers. "Nothing for saving your pretty little ass? Now that you're one of the good guys, you should learn some good manners."
"Bonesaw and Mannequin were having a contest to see who could get closer to murdering us," said Tattletale. "Panacea probably saved my life fifty times. She's the amazing one."
"I saved your life four times," said Panacea. "I wouldn't have made it to fifty. I probably wouldn't have made it to nine."
"Still pretty good," said Flechette. "I've heard of you ever since your debut with New Wave of course. Admired you. Felt like you'd betrayed us when you joined the Undersiders. But after what Alexandria pulled, maybe I can give you the benefit of the doubt. I still think you're a hero, deep down."
"Thank you so much for that," said Panacea. "The only reason I made the change was for your approval."
"Snippy much," said Flechette. "Understandable, you did just have to live through the Slaughterhouse. But we're both batting for the same team now. We should stick together. I protect you from the bad guys, and when I get roughed up you heal me."
Panacea scowled.
"What's wrong?" Asked Flechette.
"Nothing," said Panacea.
"She doesn't like being in the frontlines," Tattletale explained, perking up a little. "Doesn't think she's very good at it."
"You stood up to Bonesaw," said Flechette. "That's better than a lot of people."
"Seconded," said Regent.
"Thanks Regent," said Panacea, smiling. "It means a lot."
Flechette huffed.
Oh for the love of god.
Lisa got Amy's attention, and mimed the words, 'Shoot your shot.'
Amy frowned, and glanced at Flechette. 'Really?' She mouthed.
Lisa nodded, and Amy gave Flechette a considering look. She frowned and shook her head.
Imagines girlfriend will have looks of a supermodel. At least 5'8''. Rich and famous and beautiful and will be absolutely devoted to her. Failing that, wants to be with an S-rank cape, with above average beauty, and a net worth of at least ten million dollars. Doesn't consider Flechette girlfriend material.
Really Amy?
Lisa mouthed the words, 'Look in a mirror.'
Amy huffed indignantly. 'Why should I have to settle?'
'Life's not perfect.'
'It's not what I really want.'
'Life's not perfect.'
Amy considered.
"Hey Flechette," said Amy. "Want to um… Go um… Would you like to um…"
"Could you show me around the city?" Asked Flechette.
"Great thinking Felchettio," said Clockblocker. "But I doubt your linguistics will be enough to get Panacea batting for the right team again, no matter how cunning. Fugly Bob's is the place to be, and then you can-"
A muffled, animalistic scream stopped the banter. Taylor. Grue coated them in darkness, and they closed in on the fight.
"I've got eyes on Glaistig Uaine's back," said Grue. "She's hovering above the skyscrapers, maybe a hundred yards up. I think Taylor's down below, trapped in a metal box. Flechette, do you think you can hit Uaine?"
"Sure," said Flechette. "Part of my power is perfect accuracy. But if she sees it coming she can dodge or block."
"Take the shot," said Grue. "It's risky, but so are all our other options. We've only got one chance to take her by surprise."
Something was off.
Metal box can't trap Taylor. Power nullifier present.
"Grue, what's near Taylor?" Asked Tattletale.
"Nothing important," said Grue.
"Let me see," said Tattletale. A hole in the darkness appeared, allowing Tattletale to survey the battlefield. Nothing was really out of place, surprising little damage to the roads and high rise buildings. Little Miss Necromancer was in the sky, but was still immune to Tattletale's powers. There were two ghosts near Uaine. A trump/blaster and a healer, but no sign of a power nullifier.
Grue was right. The only thing next to the locker was a friendly ghost, a nice guy.
Ghost is power nullifier.
That couldn't be right. The ghost was nice. He would never harm anyone.
Ghost is a combination of Nice Guy and Hatchet Face. Former Slaughterhouse members.
Tattletale frowned. But the ghost couldn't be a threat.
Ghost is a threat. Stranger effect.
Bonesaw must have broken something inside her. Turned Tattletale into a sociopath, hungering the blood of innocent ghosts.
Just a ghost. Even if friendly, would weaken Glaistig Uaine to revive.
That was… True. That was true.
"We've got some stranger danger," said Tattletale. "Flechette, I need you to shoot where I point. Grue, keep the darkness up in front of her, if Flechette sees the target she won't be capable of hurting him due to his power."
"Or you can let me take down Uaine," said Flechette. "If we take her down we'll have plenty of time to save Everywhere later."
"We save Everywhere first," said Tattletale.
"You're emotionally compromised," said Flechette. "Probably exhausted. We can't beat Uaine in a protracted battle. You think it's a trap and it probably is, but it's still our only chance at-"
Amy's hand was on Flechette's cheek. "Do as Tattletale says."
Flechette nodded with a blush.
The power nullifier ghost vanished. Which left her to choose between two paths. Kill Glaistig Uaine or save Taylor Hebert.
Lisa pointed at the locker.
"Fire."
Without turning, Glaistig Uaine sent a barrage of lasers at them.
"Clock, shield."
Clockblocker froze an oversized umbrella, and lasers turned the street around them to rubble.
ooOoo
Out of the locker. Arms wrapped around me. Trying to strangle me. Suffocate me. I scratched, clawed, but they held me tight.
"A wise decision, Dotish Negotiator," chanted the chorus of devils. "But wiser still would have been to run from the battle, rather than save the Crownless Administrator. It is foolish to risk the Princess Shaper for a common faerie. With the Waifish Sting under your control, I have little choice but to collect your faerie's before they've reached maturity."
Saved? Crownless?
They'd come for me. I'd pushed them away, tried to take the devil on alone, but they'd saved me when I'd needed them the most. It anchored me, brought me back from madness.
I returned my best friend's hug, and turned to stare up at Glaistig Uaine, floating in the sky, surrounded by dead puppets. She had one of the strongest abilities in the world, and it blinded her to the obvious reality. My power, the one that really mattered, had gotten me out of the locker she'd stuffed me in.
The Undersiders were my crown.