Wednesday, February 23rd…

Taylor sat in her office on the Manufactorum's second floor as she read through the various purchasing requests and invoices piled on her desk. Although it was less reading, and more digitally scanning with her cybernetic eye and downloading the information directly into her brain. While the fallout shelter beneath Manufactorum had become Taylor's hub of tinkering and research, the old factory manager's office which overlooked the workfloor had become the center of Taylor's financial and business work. It had also become a place that Taylor dreaded.

With the last purchases she made in order to complete her first Skitarii cohort, Taylor was officially in the red. And with Taylor's latest money making scheme, the ferry, now sunk, she needed a new way to get some income. Otherwise, she would not be able to maintain her operating costs of the Manufactorum in the next month, let alone pay her Guardsmen or maintain her personal equipment. Hell she hadn't even gotten to enhancing her family home with TinkerTech defenses yet. All in all, things were looking desperate, and Taylor was starting to consider equally desperate measures.

Perhaps Taylor could have her Guardsmen begin patrolling the nearby streets. That way, she could collect a fee for protective services from the locals. Her Guardsmen would be a far better deterrent than any would-be gangbanger or beat street cop.

Or maybe she could send her skitarii on a raid. There were many facilities owned by local gangs which could be attacked for supplies. Hmm, perhaps she could go after old Merchant hideouts and supply caches. They would have a surplus of chemicals, weapons, and cash that were no longer being used.

A knock on the door interrupted her train of thought.

"Enter." Taylor buzzed out.

Opening the rickety wooden door, Sergeant Major Merrick entered the office. His face stern and unreadable, he snapped off a salute and said, "Ma'am. You have an uninvited guest waiting for you at the front gate."

Taylor looked Sergeant Merrick up and down. Ever since the attack on the Manufactorum a few days ago, Merrick's demeanor around Taylor had changed. He no longer offered her almost Uncle-ly smiles or called her 'girly' or 'boss.' Now, it was always 'Ma'am,' combined with hardened faces and lack of eye contact.

Taylor's social interaction suite told her there was a 74% likelihood that Merrick was now afraid of her. This was further corroborated by Taylor's own memories of her previous life, where she could compare Merrick's behavior to that of her fellow student bystanders whenever Sophia or Emma assaulted her.

But this number was acceptable, as the same suite told her that it was unlikely that Sergeant Merrick or the other Guardsmen would betray her. Loyalty and obedience was beaten into them by the US military, and combined with the fact that Taylor maintained their cybernetics, meant that they were squarely under her command.

Taking her mind off her Guardsmen, Taylor then thought upon his news.

"Is this unannounced visitor friendly, or shall I have the others retrieve the Lascannon?" Taylor said, her inflection betraying no emotion.

Merrick shifted uncomfortably. "He approached the front door in plain view, and acquiesced to a security check. He's been cooperative thus far, but has informed us that he is an employee of the villain known as Coil, and that he wishes to speak with you."

Taylor raised a brow. "And you didn't just shoot him?"

"Ma'am he did not present any immediate threat, thus we had no justification to do so. So I decided to bring this up to you and see what you decide." Merrick reported, his voice unwavering.

Taking another moment to regard her subordinate, Taylor nodded her head. "Curious indeed. I will speak with him. But do be sure to use the auspex I gave you to search for any Tinkertech on him. I'd prefer not giving Coil any information on this place that he doesn't need to know."

"Ma'am." Merrick curtly replied as he saluted once more and left Taylor's office.

Five minutes and three removed Tinkertech bugs later, a sharp dressed man entered Taylor's office. He was tall, with blonde hair, and a long face that almost looked stretched out. Taylor noted he had excellent posture, walked with an air of professionalism, and by the way his eyes scanned the room, was definitely ex-military.

"Greetings, Tech-Priest. Thank you for seeing me, and by extension opening dialogue with my employer, Coil. You can call me Minor." the man said, standing politely in front of Taylor. He had no weapons on him that Taylor could see, and the only EM waves coming off him were from what was most likely his cellphone.

"An interesting name." Taylor said slowly. "I doubt your parents gave it to you."

Minor's face remained neutral. "I doubt your parents named you Tech-Priest either, Ma'am."

Taylor let out a small snort. "I suppose not. Sit." Minor did as he was commanded before Taylor continued. "You are rather forthright with your criminal connection. Tell me, what does Coil want with me that he would send one of his lackeys to my front door?"

"He only wishes to talk." Minor immediately answered. Taylor's flat stare was more than enough of an answer for Minor. "That is all the information he gave me. If you want to know more, you'll have to speak with him." Minor's voice carried no inflection that said he was lying. It was a practiced neutral tone that made him hard to read.

Out of curiosity more than anything, Taylor sighed and said, "Fine. I will speak with him." She then held out her hand.

Without waiting a beat, Minor reached into his jacket, pulled out a cellphone, and placed it into Taylor's hands. In an instant, Taylor's power and her enhanced intelligence began analyzing and scanning the phone. It wasn't Tinkertech, but did contain military grade encryption. It rang almost immediately.

Taylor answered it and put it to her ear. "Coil." She said, getting the first word in.

"Tech-Priest." Coil said. His voice was smooth, no doubt practiced and rehearsed for talks and negotiations. "Thank you for accepting my call."

"I would say the pleasure is mine, but it is not." Taylor curtly responded. "My last interaction with the villains of this city was less than cordial, so I am rather short on patience. What do you want?"

"Of course, my apologies Tech-Priest." Coil immediately said. "And you have my sympathy for the attack on you and your people. The Merchants were a blight on this city, and gave a bad name to all Capes, not just the villains."

Taylor pursed her lips behind her mask. "You mean the still are a blight on this city. Squealer and Mush escaped following the fight."

"Yes they did. But as much of a degenerate Skidmark was, he was something of a competent leader." Coil countered. "Neither Squealer nor Mush have what it takes to control the gang with Skidmark in custody, and the fact we haven't seen hide nor hair of either of them since reinforces that point." Taylor was silent as Coil continued. "Not to mention my agents in the city have said that the Merchants are splintering into smaller gangs. It's my opinion that Squealer and Mush are now either leading one of these smaller gangs, or have fled the city entirely."

"A reasonable analysis." Taylor conceded, making her response as neutral as possible. "But again, I am not interested in speaking of current events with you. I want to know what you want with me."

"Indeed. I will be brief." Coil took a beat to clear his throat. "I want to extend an offer of employment to you, Tech-Priest."

"Rejected." Taylor almost hung the phone up then and there.

"Two million dollars." Coil said without hesitation.

Much to Taylor's dissatisfaction, her thumb stopped above the disconnect button. Knowing that she was going to regret this, Taylor sighed and said, "Go on."

Taylor could hear the grin across the phone as Coil continued speaking. "Whether you have realized it or not, Tech-Priest, your defeat of the Merchants has solidified your place as a power in the city. This means you are now a target for the E88 and the ABB."

And your organization, Taylor didn't say aloud. "I have defenses for such scenarios. Not to mention I have no desire to get into conflict with them. I am a neutral Rogue."

"A neutral Rogue who has already defeated a villain gang, albeit a minor one, and has made several attempts to sell her technology to the PRT and Protectorate." Coil countered. Taylor opened her mouth to speak but Coil cut her off. "And I have sources within the PRT which have informed me of such. I'm sure the E88 and ABB have insiders as well, and are just as well informed as I am. But regardless, whether you want to admit it or not, you are now a threat to the villains of this city."

"Am I not a threat to you?" Taylor had to ask.

"I would most certainly hope not." Coil replied, his irritatingly smooth voice making it sound like he was talking down on her. "While some may say my methods are too extreme, and yes I break the law in order to achieve my goals, everything I do, I do for the sake of making Brockton Bay a better place. And I would like your help doing that."

This… was not what Taylor was expecting from Coil. "If you want to make Brockton Bay a better place, then why do you not work with the PRT or Protectorate? I'm sure a man of your power and wealth could make waves in the city."

"Indeed I could. But you know just as well as I do how mired in bureaucracy and red tape the PRT is. They are not saving this city, just slowing down its death. They would reject people like you and I because they fear what we can do, and are unwilling to do what we would in order to achieve our goals."

Taylor grit her teeth in frustration. By the Machine God, she was agreeing with a villain. "I do not want to jeopardize my position with the PRT and give them a reason to go after me." Taylor hastily countered.

She could imagine Coil shrugging as he nonchalantly said. "Then do not tell them. Although it's not as if the PRT has given you anything other than a pittance of a monthly stipend, given how much of your technology they've thus far rejected. It is a shame though, I would've rather liked to have taken the ferry."

"I'm sure you would've." Taylor hissed, her anger slipping out.

"Unlike the PRT, I have far less compunctions against adopting your technology." Coil pushed. "And I am willing to offer a large amount of money and resources in order to gain it."

Taylor didn't immediately respond. Even without her enhanced intelligence, she knew a Faustian pact when she saw one. If it ever got out that Taylor worked with Coil, the damage done to her reputation would be irreparable, if she wasn't outright arrested. That was something Coil could use to blackmail her with.

But at the same time, Coil was right. The PRT and Protectorate had barely done anything for her. All they've done is constantly reject her and her proposals. The only ones who've accepted any of her tech have been Armsmaster and Kid Win, but apparently they alone weren't enough to influence the PRT to purchase her Tinkertech. Coil, meanwhile, could give her money, and lots of it.

If anything perhaps Taylor could sell to both sides. Arm Coil's men with Tinkertech weapons, raising the danger-level of his organization, prompting the PRT to purchase Tinkertech in return. Taylor almost snorted. Never in her life did she think she'd become a war profiteer. A small part of her wondered what her mom would think of her.

"I will admit Coil, I am intrigued." Taylor said, meaning it. "But I cannot make any deals. I will require some time to think this over." And some time to increase my defenses should you attack, she didn't say outloud.

"Fair enough." Coil said pleasantly. "How does one week sound?"

Taylor nodded her head. "It will do."

"Good. I will send Minor back to you in one weeks time. Goodbye Tech-Priest, I hope to hear good things from you." Coil then hung up.

Pulling the phone away from her ear, Taylor handed it back to Minor. "That will be all." she said, clipped, "Now please leave. I have work that must be done."

Unlike his long-winded boss, Minor gave a curt nod and immediately left, Taylor watching him leave through her security cameras. When Minor had driven off, Taylor stood and immediately began making her way to her personal workshop, the Guardsmen protecting the Manufactorum's main entrance sharply saluted as she passed.

Taylor ignored them as she moved to her underground lair. Opening the fallout sheter's door, Taylor entered her workshop, where she was greeted by the site of her novitiate acolyte, Arcana Land, who was currently working on maintenance of the skitarii. Arcana sat at Taylor's own workbench, fiddling with a rifle, as the rest of the skitarii stood at attention alongside the nearby walls of the workshop.

Like Taylor, Arcana and the skitarii were all dressed in red robes, signifying their allegiance to her. Arcana's robes were similar to Taylor's, a simple full body tunic that could be worn over power armor that needed to still be built. Unlike Taylor, she didn't wear a respirator, but instead had a pair of circular goggles which had multiple functions, such as acting as an auspex to being a pair of welding goggles.

Meanwhile, the Skitarii's appearance were similar to both Capes, but distinct enough to show their differing status. Unlike Taylor, the skitarii were not armored with power armor. Taylor had run the numbers, and maintaining an army of power armor wearing cyborgs was far out of her budget. Instead, they wore slabs of metal armor similar to that of the Guardsmen's flak armor, which Taylor had designed to be more resistant to damage and more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. This was her first iteration of what she was calling the skitarii war plate, and she was sure she could improve it further as time went on. The skitarii then wore hooded red overcoats over their war plate, and covered their faces with respirator-auspex hybrid masks whose circular lenses pulsated with blue energy.

Arcana was in the middle of putting the finishing touches on their weapons, a set of long, slender wooden guns that almost looked like flintlock rifles with a series of steampunk-esque attachments, such as a revolver cylinder on its bottom. Right now however, the weapons, which Taylor dubbed galvanic rifles, were little more than overly specialized semi-automatic rifles. Taylor was in the process of developing specialized Tinkertech bullets for them, but she wasn't sure what they'd do yet. Taylor was thinking of making them explode somehow.

"Taylor." Arcana greeted, bowing her head slightly as she stood from her workbench. Unlike Taylor, Arcana's voice was still fully human. In fact, Taylor would say her high pitched voice was almost melodic.

"Arcana." Taylor returned with a rather gentle voice. "How goes the arming of my skitarii?"

Stepping to the side, Arcana showed off her work. "Very well, if I must say so myself. The last of the cohort has been equipped with their war plate, and their galvanic rifles are fully assembled. Per your mission parameters, I have also developed a prototype non-lethal weapon that they could potentially use."

Arcana then turned around and retrieved what looked like a Tinkertech baton, at the end of which were two glowing prongs. It wasn't hard to guess the weapon's function, and when Arcana depressed the trigger on the handle, lightning crackled between its tips.

"A cattle prod." Taylor simply said.

Arcana however, seemed insulted by the comparison. "A cattle prod? Please, that would be like comparing your Lasguns to flashlights. This is a Taser Goad. A single hit would be enough to knock a grown man unconscious in an instant."

"My apologies." Taylor said, meaning it. "It is impressive. So is the fact that you've done all this work so quickly." Arcana preened slightly under Taylor's words. "And tonight will be the perfect opportunity to test both your taser goad and the skitarii, because I have a mission for them."

Whatever good mood Arcana was developing instantly vanished at Taylor's announcement. "What!? But Taylor, we haven't put any of the skitarii through any real combat training yet. They've done the simulations but-"

"The simulations will have to be enough." Taylor cut off Arcana with a pointed look. "We have attracted the attention of Coil, which means the other gangs are most likely on to us as well. These six…" Taylor turned her attention to the skitarii she had created. "They are good. But they are just a start. We need more."

"What about the Guardsmen?" Arcana asked.

Taylor nodded her head. "I've already been working with Merrick to expand their numbers as well. He has recruited more Dock Workers, ones that do not need augmentation but wish to fight against the gangs. But I see no reason not to expand both groups. Redundancy is next to holiness after all."

"A fair point." Arcana conceded. "Well then, the skitarii merely await your order, Tech-Priest."

"Very good. Skitarii Alpha, step forward." Taylor commanded.

At her words, the largest of the skitarii walked forward. Of the Merchants Taylor had recruited from, the Alpha was both the physically largest and in the best health. That, factored in what appeared to be a higher aptitude for combat and tactics learned in street level gang warfare, made him the logical choice to be the leader of her nascent kill team.

"Your new designation is 01-Ryza, the Alpha of Ranger Squad Ryza." Taylor told him.

"Designation accepted." 01-Ryza said in a deep, booming voice made more ominous through the static vox it was emitted through. "What mission do you have for us?"

"Simple, 01. You are going hunting." When Taylor said these words, the masked face of 01-Ryza looked at Taylor, and through her data tethers, Taylor could sense his elation and excitement. "Using what data I have gathered from your previous memories, combined with data I have been able to gather from police servers and online, I have found several locations of what are most likely Merchant bases.

"You are to take your squad into the former Merchant territory and search for resources and potential recruits. Capture these recruits, and return to the Manufactorum with them before dawn for reprogramming. Stealth is paramount, but you may reveal yourselves and fight should the situation require it. Do I make myself clear?"

01-Ryza bowed his head, which looked like he was looking down on Taylor. "Yes, Tech-Priest."

Nodding, Taylor said, "Good. And remember, I am always watching."

Without another word, 01-Ryza turned around and grasped his weapon, the taser goad. The rest of Ryza Squad soon activated and followed suit, grabbing their own weapons. They would wait till nightfall before beginning operations, and once they were unleashed, Taylor had full faith in their capabilities to complete the mission.

Taylor had designed these skitarii, the classification of which dubbed Rangers, to be the perfect combination of foot soldiers and hunters. Their prosthetics and neural enhancements were all designed with both combat and stealth in mind, a utilitarian approach which made them suitable to nearly every mission possible. With legs made of steel and power generators built into their bodies, Taylor created tireless hunters who did not need to eat, sleep, or even rest, soldiers who would always complete their objectives, no matter how long it took.

With luck, her skitarii would clear out a den or two of Merchant holdouts. Taylor hoped for a full maniple of skitarii to supplement a platoon's worth of Guardsmen before she reached her decision on how to handle Coil.

Vicky sighed as she continued her third patrol over the area that was once the territory of the Archer's Bridge Merchants. Normally, Vicky loved flying. It gave her a sense of freedom that very few ever got to truly experience. But tonight was different.

First of all, there was an Endbringer attack somewhere along the horizon that no one had an idea where or when it was supposed to hit. Second, she had gotten into a fight with Dean over the fact that she missed their Valentine's Day date, and they wound up breaking up. Again. Plus her Mom was being more crabby towards her and Amy than usual on account of being so stressed over trying to keep Taylor out of prison and out of Protectorate control over the fact that Skidmark and his Merchants almost died during his attack on the Manufactorum.

And speaking of that psychotic Tinker, that wasn't the only problem Taylor was causing Vicky. While Vicky didn't really care too much that Taylor turned the Merchants into red smears across the pavement, after all Vicky wasn't the paragon of restraint, at least Vicky never actually killed anyone. But with how thoroughly Taylor decapitated the Merchants, the E88 and ABB were now out in force, scrambling to take however much of the Merchant's former territory as they could.

She already had to stop a three way fight between the E88, ABB, and Merchant leftovers. And while she was doing that, apparently Assault and Battery had gotten into a fight with Crusader and Rune while Armsmaster ended up fighting Oni Lee a few blocks away. It wasn't to a point of an all out gang war, as apparently both the E88 and ABB knew that the Merchant territory wasn't worth that, but more of a feeding frenzy where both sides were just trying to grab as much as they could before the situation stabilized.

Deciding to take a break, Vicky slowed her speed to a hover as she pulled out her phone. With a rapid series of thumb movements that only a teenager would have, she sent Amy a text.

Hey Ames, how u holdin up?

It didn't even take a minute for Amy to respond.

Sux. Patched up 3 Merchants & 1 skinhead. Goin 2 b long night.

Vicky sighed again. She seemed to be doing a lot of that tonight.

Take a break if u need. Hve u txted Taylor yet?

That was a bit of a cheap shot, but Taylor seemed to be the only thing Amy thought about if she wasn't at the hospital. On more than one occasion Vicky caught her sister staring at her phone, doe-eyed as she waited for Taylor to contact her. Vicky told her sister that she should text Taylor, be the one to initiate, maybe ask her to hang out, but Vicky only received a firm denial. Apparently Amy was concerned about looking too clingy or over eager. Vicky would almost call Amy's actions cute if it wasn't for the fact that Taylor was the intended recipient for her feelings.

God she wished it was anyone else besides Taylor that Amy could've fallen head over heels for. Why not like, Stacey from the basketball team? Vicky was pretty sure she was bi. Or literally anyone from the softball team? Half of them were lesbians. Probably. Maybe Vicky was playing on stereotypes there. But regardless, instead of any of them, Amy had to develop a crush on their local, basement-dwelling, self-mutilating, probably sociopathic Tinker. God and Vicky was encouraging her to go for it. What fucking timeline were they in right now, and what Tinker did she have to talk to to go fix it?

Before Vicky could get a reply from Amy however, there was a scream below her. Swiftly pocketing her phone, Vicky flew right for the source of the scream, and just as swiftly she found her target. Three men, white with shaved heads chasing down a black woman through an alley. It wasn't hard for Vicky to put together that they were E88 scumbags looking to cause some trouble.

Swooping down low, Vicky weaved through the buildings and into the alleyway. Before the three skinheads could corner the poor woman, Vicky landed between them in the classic hero pose, a three point landing that cracked the asphalt beneath her. With her golden hair fluttering over her cape, Vicky met the eyes of the E88 members with a hard glare.

For a second, no one said anything. Taking advantage of the lull, Vicky cocked her head back and looked at the woman behind her. "You may want to get out of here, miss."

The woman was a somewhat tall African American, probably college age, with worn, ratty clothing that marked her as a probable local of this area of town. Victoria didn't have to ask twice as the woman immediately booked it for the exit, getting as far away from the approaching violence as possible.

With the civilian gone, Vicky returned her attention back to the E88. "Now then, my suggestion is that you all surrender, I call the police, and you all get taken into custody peacefully. But I'd actually prefer it if you guys fought back, because I really need to hit something right now." To accentuate her point, Vicky released a wave of her aura.

Vicky could tell her words and her aura were having an effect, as the two skinheads in the rear became visibly nervous. The one in the front of the pack, the obvious leader however, only seemed to get angry as he snarled. "Fuck off super-cunt. You don't want the kind of heat we can call in." He then reached for his pocket and pulled out a phone.

Vicky almost snorted. "Oh please. When you're on the same team as Lady Photon and Laserdream, you can tell me what heat really is. Now why don't you all get on the ground and put your hands behind your head, before I put you into the ground?"

It seemed that this time, Vicky let a little bit too much of her aura out, and the backup goons lost their nerves, turning around and sprinting away. With a small roll of her eyes, Vicky flew forward with a burst of speed, catching one by the scruff of his shirt. When she saw that the second continued to run away, uncaring that his comrade was captured, Vicky had an idea.

With a small, self-satisfied grin, Vicky threw the skinhead she was holding into the back of the fleeing one. The two collided and collapsed into a heap of limbs. Vicky didn't think she hurt them too bad, after all it was a light toss. They'd probably just have some road rash and bruises, maybe a broken bone. Not like they didn't deserve it anyway. A small groan from both of them confirmed they were alive.

Floating back up, Vicky turned back to the leader and said, "So, how about that surrender?"

"Fuck you, bitch!" The leader screamed as he reached for the back of his pants with his right hand.

It was a classic maneuver, and one that Vicky instantly recognized. Vicky exploded forward, extending out her own hand as she caught the skinhead's hand mid-pistol draw. With a squeeze of her hand, Vicky crushed the pistol, alongside several of the skinhead's fingers. The skinhead screamed, but Vicky didn't feel too particularly bad for him. Sure, Vicky had her forcefield, but two lucky, consecutive shots in a row would be enough to hurt her. And she wasn't exactly feeling like taking chances tonight.

The skinhead dropped to his knees, clutching his broken, bleeding hand as he went into shock, the cellphone in his other hand clattering to the ground. Vicky did actually grimace at how fucked up his hand looked, but she shoved it down. If things got too bad, she could drop him off with her sister.

"You should just give up already. This is getting pathetic." she sneered at him, pressing her aura to its maximum.

Through a face paling from pain and blood loss, the skinhead looked up to Vicky and said, "You know, I think we said something similar to your aunt."

Vicky's next move was a gut reaction. A visceral reflex as she felt a surge of anger towards this fucking scumbag who dared bring up the name of her aunt. Vicky backhanded him. Hard. And since Vicky had the power to lift a car with ease, the speed at which the skinhead went flying shocked even her.

The skinhead went from his knees to airborne, body ragdolling as he spun through the air in a corkscrew, rotating several times before he ultimately impacted a nearby dumpster, denting the entire side several inches. The man's body slumped to the ground, limbs twisted in strange ways and blood pooling beneath him.

Vicky's eyes widened. "FUCK!" Vicky swore. She didn't mean to hit him that fucking hard. Why did he have to piss her off like that?

Flying over to him, Vicky checked if he had a pulse. He did, which was good, but he was otherwise completely fucked up. She was pretty sure spines weren't supposed to bend the way his was. Pulling out her phone, Vicky quickly brought up her sister's number and called, and then felt her heart drop when she saw she had no service.

What the actual fuck? Vicky should have service everywhere in the city. Hell she had it when she was only a few hundred feet away in the air. Thinking quickly, Vicky went back for the skinhead's cell phone that had fallen on the ground. When she grabbed it however, she saw that his similarly had no service.

Okay, that was too weird to be a coincidence. But whatever, this man needed Amy otherwise he was going to die. Vicky bent down to pick him up and was prepared to fly him all the way to the hospital. The sound of metal landing on concrete behind her stopped her.

Vicky spun around, and the first thing out of her mouth when she saw her newest guest was, "Tech-Priest?"

But Vicky immediately knew she was wrong. This new cape in front of her had a similar motif to Taylor, a set of TinkerTech armor underneath a crimson red robe, and a face obscured by a gasmask with a pair of glowing blue synthetic eyes. But this cape was obviously male, both taller and broader than Taylor was, and lacking the robot factory claws that Taylor used in her armor. Instead, he carried what looked like some kind of Tinkertech cattle prod in his hands.

Then to Vicky's further surprise, 5 more capes of identical costume appeared as well. They were all armed with Tinkertech rifles, but none had them raised.

The leader regarded Vicky for a moment, his goggles scanning her up and down until he finally said, "Victoria Dallon. You are known to the creator."

Victoria winced at the heavily artificial voice laced with static. Yep, definitely something made by Taylor. "What are you?" Vicky asked as she warily looked over all of them. "Some of Tech-Priest's battle droids or something?" In any other situation, this would actually be cool as Hell to see.

The leader paused again, considering what to say. Eventually, it spoke. "We are skitarii. Servants of the Tech-Priest and the Omnisissah. Your appearance here is an anomaly, and has been logged and forwarded to the prophet."

Vicky's mind blue-screened for a moment as she processed everything the skitarii said. Omnissiah? Prophet? But more importantly, they logged her appearance here! "Wait, are you telling Taylor I'm here!? Please, you can't!" Fuck she couldn't believe one of Taylor's drones caught her red handed nearly killing a man.

"It is already done." The lead skitarii said. "The prophet now wishes to speak with you." The skitarii stood ramrod straight and began mumbling, "Commencing phylactic communion. Engaging neural congress. Uploading…"

Then, in an instant, the robotic, masculine body language of the lead skitarii shifted, almost shrinking in on himself as he took on a more dainty, hunched over stance.

"Hello Vicky." The skitarii's voice said, but through mannerisms Vicky could tell it was Taylor speaking. "Made quite the mess here, haven't you?" The skitarii shifted its head to look at the E88 member Vicky just put into a dumpster. "A broken back, neck, fractured skull, a multitude of smaller wounds. That man will die soon without proper aid."

Vicky winced at Taylor's words. "Fuck, Taylor I know! I didn't mean to do it! Please, you can't tell anyone one about this. And are you the one jamming the cell phones? Stop and I can call my sister, she can heal him, and we can all just forget about this!"

Taylor didn't say anything at first. She just continued staring at Vicky while the man bled out on the ground. Vicky was about to speak again when Taylor cut her off and said, "I will not deactivate the jammers." Vicky felt her heart drop as her hands trembled anxiously. Taylor continued. "However, I won't say anything about what happened here in exchange for two things." The skitarii then held up its index and middle finger in a V sign.

"What do you want? I'll do anything!" Vicky hurridley said, not thinking of what Taylor could potentially ask of her.

Despite not seeing an actual face, Vicky could somehow see Taylor smiling behind the skitarii. "First, you also agree to not speak of this meeting. That none of my skitarii were also here tonight, and you know nothing about their existence. They are something I wish to keep up my sleeves."

That wasn't too bad, so Vicky nodded her head.

At her response, Taylor continued, "Second…" Taylor then pointed to the three unconscious E88 members. "You will allow my skitarii to take custody of these men."

Vicky almost immediately agreed, but her mind violently stopped her. Unlike what her detractors on PHO said, Vicky wasn't dumb. Hell, she was taking a lot of AP classes for Pete's sake! Taylor wanted to take these skinheads prisoner. And it wasn't a hard leap of logic for Vicky to guess why.

Looking back at the skitarii, one, overwhelming fact screamed at Vicky. One that, in the heat of the moment, Vicky completely forgot about. Taylor wasn't a robotics Tinker. Taylor was a cybernetics Tinker. The skitarii in front of her weren't combat drones or battle droids… they were people.

The horrifying realization only seemed to compound on Vicky, as she remembered hearing how a number of the Merchants that attacked Taylor's base were never found, assumed to have escaped.

Fuck… Vicky debated what she should do. Could she really just let Taylor's skitarii go after her epiphany? I mean, sure, Taylor was only taking out criminals, but even criminals had rights! What Taylor was doing was beyond messed up. It was inhuman. Hell, it could even be kill order worthy.

But at the same time, could Vicky even take down Taylor and her Skitarii? Tinkers were after all, the most versatile of Capes, and Vicky had no doubt in her mind that Taylor could make something which could bypass her force field and put her down. Maybe if Vicky got all of New Wave, or even the Protectorate involved. There was no way Taylor could stop all of them. But… then Taylor could tell everyone about what happened here.

Sure they'd stop Taylor, but Vicky would not only be killing her own superhero career, she'd probably also see the inside of a cell for what she'd done here tonight. And Vicky couldn't do that. It wouldn't just destroy her life, it'd destroy her family's reputation, cripple the entirety of the New Wave movement.

With a shaky breath, Vicky asked, "Do… do you turn anyone innocent into your… skitarii?" Vicky knew Taylor could just lie to her, but Vicky needed to know where Taylor stood.

For her part, Taylor almost seemed repulsed by the idea. "No. I only take the dregs and parasites of society to uplift. Like the Merchants, or those E88 members. I take them in and turn them into a force of good for the city. To save the city."

Vicky thought that Taylor really needed to reevaluate her definition of "good." But if Taylor wasn't hurting anyone who didn't deserve it, then maybe Vicky could compromise here. It was like the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction from the Cold War that she learned about in history class. Both sides had a weapon, or in this case a secret, that could destroy the other. And to avoid said mutual destruction, they'd have to talk and negotiate, using their secret as a deterrence against the other.

Biting her lip so hard she tasted a little bit of blood, Vicky felt a piece of her soul die as she said, "They're all yours." Vicky then stood aside and moved away from the skinhead.

Taylor, or the skitarii, or whoever was in control, didn't respond vocally. The skitarii only gave a small nod as they walked forward and began collecting the E88 members. They were not gentle with their work, even on the man with the multiple broken bones.

As they shouldered the gangsters, Vicky had to ask, "Do you think what you're doing is actually going to help the city? It's not what a hero would do."

The lead skitarii paused, then turned to Vicky. "The actions of heroes… are what led the city to its current state. I am not here to be this city's hero, Victoria Dallon. I am here to be its saviour. Think upon that difference." Taylor began to walk away, skinheads in tow. Then she paused, and glanced at Vicky one last time over her shoulder. "And by the way, if you ever need to hide evidence in the future, give me a call." Then the Skitarii ran off into the night, disappearing from sight.

Vicky stayed in the alleyway for a while longer, hovering off the ground as she processed what just happened, her only company the buzzing of the streetlights above her and the ambient noise of the city.

She then broke the silence as she yelled out, "Fuck! Fucking fuckity fuck FUCK!" Out of anger and frustration, Vicky lashed out her fist, swinging it at a nearby brick wall. She stopped herself at the last second, her knuckles pausing inches from the brickwork.

Shit like that… is exactly what got her into this situation. Running in, guns blazing, and letting her anger get the better of her. If she punched a hole in that wall right now, people would ask questions, and she'd be getting hit with a destruction of public property charge. Fuck. Amy always told her she needed to control her temper, but she never expected anything like this to happen. Every other time Vicky had gone too far, she'd been able to get her sister to come in and save the day.

But now, Taylor knew what she'd done. And she'd known what Taylor had done. Fuck. If this wasn't the most fucked up situation she'd ever been in, she didn't know what was. And to make matters worse, it was her own fault. If she actually restrained herself, like Amy has constantly told her to do, she wouldn't be getting blackmailed by fucking Miss Frankenstein.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Vicky began to float out of the alley and into the sky once more. She couldn't do anything about the Taylor situation right now. She'd have to think about how to handle that with a clear head. Or if she'd even try to handle it. But what she could do something about was her own actions. She needed to be smarter, to think more before acting. What if it wasn't Taylor who caught her but Kaiser, or Coil? They wouldn't hesitate to release the info on what happened here to destroy her and her family's reputation and clear out more heroes from the city.

At the very least, Taylor would keep quiet about this. To ensure that, all Vicky would have to do is keep quiet about Taylor's cyborg slaves. Fucking great. And so, as Vicky flew off into the night sky, she silently swore to herself not only to never speak about tonight to anyone, but to also use her head more. No one was going to catch her in a situation like this ever again.

A/N, 3/28/22: I like to compare Taylor's building of forces to someone starting a collection of Warhammer minis. She starts with one squad, realizes it's pretty cool, and decides to just keep adding more and more to the collection. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!