Taylor stared blankly at the TV, some inane program buzzing on the screen as her mind drifted elsewhere.
"Hey, hon," Lisa greeted, emerging from her room. "Couldn't sleep?"
Taylor was spending the night at the loft. Convincing her dad hadn't taken much—he'd been so pleased to see her making new friends. The thought gnawed at her, her stomach twisting with every little lie she'd told him.
Lisa settled beside her on the couch, gently brushing her fingers through Taylor's hair. Taylor's stomach twisted even further. Tattletale was turning out to be... well, sweet. Not at all what she'd imagined a villain would be.
"Just," Taylor murmured, "nervous about the job, is all."
Lisa offered her a reassuring smile. "Oh, don't worry about that. You put together a solid plan. Take it from someone who's been making all the plans around here."
And that was the crux of her problem: Taylor was using her skills to help villains, not fight them. Originally, her plan had been simple—find out where the Undersiders kept their money, swipe it, then make her way to the Protectorate to report everything she'd learned about the team.
But that had changed once she discovered they had a boss. Not only could she score a bigger payoff by targeting Coil, but if she brought the Protectorate critical intel on the Bay's most elusive villain, the recognition she would get would be immense.
…Except Lisa had explained the Unwritten Rules. Capes didn't go after each other's civilian lives. If she messed with their personal identities, she'd be putting her own family—her dad—in grave danger. When family got involved, things escalated fast and brutally. Her whole plan had been doomed from the start.
Moreover, after spending some time with the team, Taylor found they weren't nearly as bad as the world made them out to be. Rachel just wanted to care for her dogs. Brian's entire reason for doing this was to get custody of his sister—a goal far more noble than anything she had planned against them. And Alec… well, she didn't know much about him yet. But he reminded her a little of Greg—not in attitude, but in his interests. He was an avid game-player or whatever they called themselves. Taylor had never really cared for video games.
They each had their reasons for going villain. To take that away would feel too much like what she had done. Taylor's jaw clenched as her mind flitted back to red hair, eyes that mocked her, and a smile that betrayed just how much cruelty lay beneath it all. The last thing she wanted was to be reminded of that traitor.
Taylor blinked, only just aware of the arms wrapped around her.
"Why are you still up, Lisa?" she asked, not moving away. "We have a big day tomorrow."
Tomorrow. The 'heist' on the mayor's mansion—the plan she herself had put together for the team. Why had she done it, given her intentions to be a hero? Maybe because she'd already come this far, and there was no turning back. She was going to gain Coil's trust, learn everything she could about him, then take him down with a tidy handover to the Protectorate—and maybe even steal a hefty cut of his money along the way. Hopefully, they'd understand that she was only pretending to be a villain. As for her team…
Lisa rubbed her cheek against Taylor's, interrupting her thoughts. "I'm cold, Tay. You're the only one here who isn't a guy and who won't punch me in the face if I try something like this. So, better resign yourself to being on pillow duty for the rest of your stay here."
Taylor sighed, a reluctant smile tugging at her mouth. She'd cross that bridge when she got there. Hopefully, Coil wouldn't be as redeemable as the rest of her team.
"The plan is simple," Taylor started.
"Then why are we re-reviewing it?" Regent complained.
She bit back a response. She'd learned from Tattletale not to indulge in his proverbial poking.
"Let's just get this over with." Surprisingly, it was Bitch who summed it up. "You guys sneak into the mansion, get to the mayor's room, scare the shit out of him, and then scram. I'll be at the edge of the lot with my dogs, waiting for the signal. Then I pick you up, we all go home, and I can go do my own thing."
"And the money," Taylor added. "Don't forget to threaten him into giving you money."
Tattletale put a hand on her shoulder. "Yes, Bug, we won't forget about the money. Let me take over from here, 'kay?"
Taylor nodded, stepping back.
"Alright," Tattletale said, clapping her hands. "The main goal here is to impress Coil. Remember, we're escape artists first, thieves second. Coil needs capes who can recover from a botched job, not expendables. You're free to take anything light and easy to carry, but don't bank on the mayor handing over much. The threat's mostly for show. I'll be with Bitch, watching through the mini-cams and mics in Bug's swarm, and feeding you info through your earpieces."
"We're actually doing this, huh," Grue muttered, sounding less than thrilled.
"Yep! Bug will tag the guards within her range, but stay sharp—this place is crawling with them." Tattletale's gaze swept over each member of the team. "After tonight, we're in for it. Every Protectorate and PRT member in the city is going to be gunning for us, and they'll stop wearing their kiddie gloves from here on out. Our public image is about to shift, so make sure you're on your best behavior, if you catch my drift."
Tattletale held her hand out, palm down, glancing expectantly at the others. Taylor just stared at her, bewildered, as did the others.
"What... exactly are you doing?" Grue asked.
"Team cheer, obviously!" she said with a grin.
Regent snorted. "Well, there you have it. You're officially the team dork now. Sorry, Humbug, but you'll have to work harder if you want the title back."
"Don't call me Humbug," Taylor spat.
The mansion lay a little ways outside of town, surrounded by acres of land, a flat expanse of green with the building centered like a fortress. It was the kind of setup that made it easy for any sentry to spot an intruder from a mile away. Had it not been night time, they wouldn't have been able to get through this.
With Tattletale's help, Taylor had mapped out potential blind spots, giving them a path to slip inside undetected. Her bugs buzzed through the air, subtly jamming or stuffing the barrels and joints of every gun she could sense within her range, rendering them useless. Grue cloaked their movements in darkness, shadows wrapping around them to blur their figures. Regent added to the subterfuge, using his power to make security stumble or glance away whenever they looked too close in their direction.
"The door to the garage has no keyhole and is protected by a passcode. Give me eyes on it," Tattletale ordered through the earpiece. "Good. Punch in the numbers I tell you, but do it in a rhythm."
Taylor did as she was told and not long after, the door opened. She covered all the CCTV with her bugs and tagged everyone. She noted them quietly to Tattletale.
"That's three more than there's supposed to be. Are they in the guest rooms? And give me eyes on the kitchen."
"Yeah. Based on the blueprints, they are," Taylor recounted.
"Roy Christner invited some friends to dinner and a sleepover. He celebrated his eighteenth birthday publicly a few days ago, so this is probably a more private celebration. A guy's night, from what I deduced. Nothing to worry over. You're good to go."
They made their way to the stairs.
"Man, this is way too easy. Not going to lie, I was kind of hoping we got into some action," Regent muttered behind her.
"Shut the fuck up, Regent," Grue growled low.
"Yeah, shut the fuck up, Regent. Don't go setting up flags out of nowhere," Tattletale added.
He whined, and got smacked on the head by Grue.
They made their way to the top floor. Everything was going smoothly until they walked over the guest room below. One of the guests had woken up. Taylor gestured to stop.
The boys waited as Taylor sensed the figure turned his head upward, towards where she and her team were. They were separated by different floors, so it was impossible for him to have seen or heard them.
"Shit," Taylor cursed. "Cape. We've been made."
"What?! How?!"
"God fucking damn it, Regent," Grue cursed. "You just had to jinx us."
"One of them looked at me through the wall." Taylor relayed what he was doing. "He's now running to Roy's room."
Tattletale fell silent, most likely trying to connect the dots. "Oh… fuck me. They're both Wards!"
Well, Fuck.
"I'm guessing the other two guests are as well?" Taylor asked, hoping she was wrong.
"Yup. You've got half of Brockton Bay's Wards literally under your ass right now."
Double fuck.