starcraft

I'd been covered in scales from the neck down for a while now, but now the scales were thicker, more plentiful, and packed more densely. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was wearing some type of skin tight body suit. I was an inch or two taller, I think, and… I wasn't rail thin anymore. I don't know how, but I had a lot more muscle mass now that I did this morning. I'm not ripped, like a bodybuilder, but I had a much more toned and… Let's say defined figure. I noticed that something was growing over the scales on my forearms. It was a paler color than my scales, more of a silvery blue than the light blue, though I could see the scales underneath. Kerrigan had had carapace in the form she'd shown me, I guess I was growing some of my own. Looking down I could see some growing over my legs, from ankle to knee, and some forming at my collar and over my lower ribs.

Turning around and looking over my shoulder, I noticed more carapace forming all down my spine and from my shoulders down to the bottom of my back ribs. There were these two little spikes coming out from just below my shoulder blades and halfway between them and my spine. Turning back around again, I started doing some simple stretches, and it felt like I was moving easier. I think I was starting to like this body. And then I realized that the Undersiders were staring at me, and I felt heat and blood rush to my face.

"Hey, Taylor" said Lisa, "you didn't forget we were here, did you?"

I turned back to the Undersiders, and I laughed sheepishly, hoping all the while that they couldn't see me blush. "So, um, this is my lair."

Tattletale and Grue had taken my chairs and Regent was sitting on my bed. Bitch was on a bare spot of the floor with her dogs.

"So, let's talk about that job offer. First thing's first: Unmask."

They all looked at each other, and then didn't do it.

"You do know that what you're asking is kind of a big deal." That was Grue. "We all wear masks for a reason."

"I'm serious. You've all seen my real face, know my real name, and have been to my hideout. I don't know if I can trust you or not yet, and if you want me on your team, I need to be able to trust you. Think of it as insurance until I get to know you better. Besides. If we're going to be teammates, I'll find out who you all are then, anyway."

They all hesitated a bit, but they unmasked. Grue was a handsome young black man, Regent was a pretty boy with dark curly Hair, bitch a redhead with gruff expression, and well, Tattletale had only been wearing a domino mask, so… yeah, blonde.

"Names?"

"I'm Brian." Grue.

"I'm Lisa." Tattletale

"Alec." Regent.

"Rachel." Bitch.

"Okay, now that that's through, why do you want me to join?"

"Well," said Brian, "It's really more that Lisa wants you to join. Normally we'd have discussed it as a group before offering the invitation, but..."

"But considering the circumstances, there's not exactly time for that?"

He didn't feel like he agreed with my assessment. That was interesting.

"Well, there's time to talk now. What do you think about me joining"

"I'm not against it."

"Kay, Alec?"

"Eh. Could be cool."

I honestly can't tell if he cared one way or the other, and I didn't want to try to. There's something wrong with him, but that's a question for another time.

"Okay. Rachel?"

"You're strong."

...I'm not sure what she meant by that. Her emotions were confusing."

"And that leaves Lisa. You want me to join you guys and you want it bad. Why?"

Lisa stood up and took a moment. I think she was trying to compose herself.

"There are… A few reasons. You're not a bad person."

That's the last thing I expected.

"So, you want a not bad person to join a group of Supervillains."

"Look, it might not make sense, but we're not bad people. None of us are villains because we want to be. We're villains because the system failed us, or because it's the only way to escape a bad situation, or because we don't have a choice. There are so many inconsistencies in the story the PRT has been spinning about you. Some that I don't think even they themselves have realized. Now, having met you, I can tell that they're completely wrong about you. You've been screwed by the system. You're like us. I'd rather be your friend than your enemy. Besides, compared to some of the other groups in the city, we're practically saints."

I could tell that she meant that, but…

"And?"

"...And you're very powerful, and a lot of groups might try to recruit you if and when they found out how strong you are. Some of them might be more forceful or less concerned with your well being than we are."

"And?"

"...And you're one of the strongest capes in the city and I'd like you on our team for that reason, but that… that doesn't mean the other reasons aren't true."

She seemed sincere about all of that, and she was honest… eventually. You know, someone to watch my back would be nice, but…

"What kind of jobs do you even do?"

"Well, our boss mostly uses us for jobs against other villains--Lung attacked us because we robbed his casino-- and sometimes small crimes. We're not a gang. We don't run or sell drugs, we don't murder people, we don't force people into prostitution. Just theft."

I thought on it some more. They weren't the worst option if I wanted a support group, and they didn't seem to be doing anything much worse than what I was doing already…

"Nobody get's hurt?"

"We try, but sometimes heroes show up or other villains catch us…"

"Hmm… Any job that goes against my morals, I can sit out of."

I wasn't asking. Lisa looked to Brian, then to Rachel and Alec. I can't tell what she saw or they did, but she turned back to me.

"You don't get a cut of anything from jobs you sit out on."

"Deal."

I extended a hand to shake, and she came over to return the gesture. I made a note to ask about their boss later.

Brian spoke up. "We'll have to find a new lair before we do any jobs."

I pointed to the staircase leading up.

"There's an old abandoned apartment building above us. I don't go up there much, but it seems like it's in good condition, the power's still on for some reason, and nobody's using it."

Alec chimed in with a declaration: "That's convenient."

"Yeah," said Lisa. "I can call the boss and see about buying the building in the morning and--Taylor, what's that?"

I looked where she was pointing, to a structure in a corner of the creep covered half of the room and the table full of chemistry equipment next to it.

"Oh, well, the thing in the corner creep tumor. It's not full sized but it's big enough to generate what I need. Next to it is where I've been working on a few things and--Actually, that reminds me."

I walked to it, over the creep covered floor, and checked on a beaker. I'd found some maggots, and I've been feeding them on a mixture of creep, a few drops of my own blood, and some spiders, wasps, and a roach I'd crushed up. If I was right, once the maggots metamorphosed and--speak of the devils, it looked like they were going to finish up at any moment.

The creatures coming out of the beakers were small, like flies, but that's where the resemblance ended. Each of them had an extra set of legs, a stinger and a body plan like a wasp's in a nice purple shade. As they began flying from the beaker of creep, I placed one hand to my temple and the other pointed gently at them. Kerrigan had explained how this worked, and if I was right they should be sensitive enough for me to do this. I focused and tried to feel out towards the mutant flies and, yes! I had them, now just a little expression of will and--Each of the flies briefly flashed a blue color, and I could feel their presence in the back of my mind. It'd take some getting used to, but the experiment had been a success and now I had a way to keep an eye on my lair when I was out.

I turned back to the Undersiders, my new teammates, and Lisa and Brian were shocked and just a bit fearful. Rachel and Alec didn't react as much and their emotions were hard to read, but they seemed a little off put.

"What?"

"Oh," said Lisa, radiating a tiny bit of fear. "You're that kind of Bio-Tinker."

Last edited: 23/7/2016

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Trial Interlude 1

Lung, having long since scaled down, was in a contemplative mood as he awaited the return of Lee and the others. He had already contacted Bakuda. He had much to discuss with his subordinates tonight.

It'd been long since someone willingly jumped into a fight with him, and the new girl, Lilith, had done it twice. The Protectorate pursues her relentlessly. Lung himself had been similarly pursued in his younger years, with constant offers to join the protectorate and later his imprisonment and subjugation by the Yangban. Lung was shaken from his memories by a few arrivals: Lee and his group returned at the same time that Bakuda arrived. He dismissed the non-powered members of his gang with a gesture. When they were alone, he addressed Lee and Bakuda.

"There has been a change in plans. For now, the Undersiders live."

Bakuda spoke: "What changed?"

"The story is long. It begins with Lee and myself defeating the Undersiders and tracking them to their lair to deal the killing blow. As I burned their home, the new cape in town, the one called Lilith, rushed through the crowd and attacked me. Lee did battle with her, but she proved beyond his abilities and he had to use one of your grenades on her."

Bakuda raised a hand, like a student in a classroom. "Which one?"

Lee spoke up: "Agony"

Lung was in an uncharacteristically good mood, so he let the interruption pass… this once."Once Lilith was down, I attacked her with my fire, but she had somehow survived. She was unconscious, however, so I left some men to guard her while I turned back to finish the Undersiders. Within mere moments Lilith was on her feet attacking me once more, even having the audacity to devour my flesh raw. I sent Lee and the other men to create a distraction, and I faced her, thinking her a cockroach that required my personal attention to stamp out. Tell me, Bakuda. What do you think happened next?"

"The Undersiders ran away while you killed Lilith."

Lung laughed.

"No. My assumption was wrong. She was no roach, but a tiger or perhaps even a dragon. She is young and inexperienced, but she is strong, very strong. She was growing stronger, slowly, all through our battle. Had we more time, I have no doubt that I would have slain her, but to kill her before she reaches her potential… It would be wasteful. I want to see her grow into her power, I want to see what she does with it, and I want to fight her when she reaches her peak!

Bakuda stepped back a small amount, shocked. She knew that Lung was violent, that he enjoyed a good fight, but...

Bakuda didn't know the whole story, however.It'd been awhile since Lung had encountered someone he could consider strong in the way he considered himself strong, and the number of parahumans that he could name as such could be counted on one hand. Even though the battle at Kyushu was not quite as others believed it, fighting an Endbringer on even footing tends to skew one's scale of strength, at least when it comes to physical prowess or parahuman ability.. The girl, this Lilith, she wasn't quite on his level yet, but the possibility of her becoming his equal, his worthy rival, it appealed strongly to the dragon within him, the part that craved a good fight.

"And this is why the Undersiders still live. She intervened to save them. Was this a chance occurrence, or is she an associate of theirs? We'll see in the days and weeks to come. Besides, the Undersiders are without a lair. They'll think twice before crossing us again. That's enough... for now."

Lung dismissed Bakuda and Oni Lee, and made to return to his own home. He wondered, idly, if Lilith had Asian blood in her veins.

*Break-Uber*

"Boss, Leet and I have got something to talk to you about."

The boss had been in a bit of a funk since last night. Almost getting to bring his little girl, Taylor, home and just barely missing her hit him hard. The PRT managing to get there first, so he couldn't even track her. They'd already gone through the footage. They'd managed to keep the Sky-Eye on her for a bit, but had lost her when she went into the sewers At least they had a lead on her know. The boss was currently Tinkering on something, some kind of com system… Or at least that's he was trying to do.

He kept stopping and going over the footage again, mumbling to himself. "So close… She's grounded when she gets home... giving me grey hairs. Oh, um Uber. What is it? And where's Leet?"

Uber cleared his throat. "Leet's figured out how to make two similar gadgets, he's trying to make a second sky-eye. Anyway, we want to edit the footage from last night and release it online."

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Why?"

"Your daughter fought Lung. Do you have any idea how big that is?"

"Well, I know he's dangerous, but--"

"That's the understatement of the century. This is the Dragon of Kyushu we're talking about, the guy who fought evenly with Leviathan. The guy who came to the Bay and forced all the different asian gangs, who hated each other, to shut up and work together because he said so. He's not just dangerous, he's probably one of the most dangerous capes in the continent, and that's counting the villains in the Birdcage. Surviving a fight with him is a big deal, but she didn't just survive, she kept up with him. she ripped off strips of his flesh, shrugged off most of what he did to her, and he ran away. She's already got a pretty decent reputation in um, our circles--."

The boss interrupted Uber, confused: "She does?"

"Yeah, she does. Think about it. She's been on her own, on the streets, for what? Four months? The PRT has her listed as a serious threat. She's not quite a priority target, but that she's evaded capture for this long on her own? That's big. She also got away with stealing money and drugs from the Merchants. They had a reputation as washouts, but they took their drugs seriously and they've killed people for trying to do what she's done at least four times that we know about. The two together gave her a mid-tier rep."

"You mean a reputation?"

"Yeah. The thing about the Cape scene is that, hero or villain, it's basically a game. Big enough rep, small time villains don't bug you, and small time heroes won't be sent after you if you go villain."

"So, what you're saying is," the boss said with a tone of curiosity, "if it gets out that she did this well against Lung…"

"She'll be a whole lot safer." Uber finished. "Most of the villains in this town know not to mess with Lung, except sometimes Kaiser. If your girl has the reputation of "Girl who kicked Lung's ass," then chances are most of the villains are gonna leave her alone, and she can probably take whichever villains won't. Meanwhile the PRT won't be sending Wards or PRT agents after her. They'll call in the Protectorate, and She can probably take most of them too, if she doesn't manage to get away before they show up."

The boss smiled. "So she'll be safer."

"Exactly."

The boss went back to watching the footage. "What can you tell me about these people she left with?"

"Those are the Undersiders." Uber replied. "They're small time villains, but they've got a reputation for getting out of scrapes and escaping situations that you'd expect would get them killed or arrested."

"So, she's working with villains now?"

"It's possible, We didn't see the beginning of the fight, she might have just stumbled across them, but if she's leaving with them…"

The boss sighed.

"I had hoped something like this wouldn't happen."

"Well, look on the bright side: The Undersiders mostly go after other Villains. Short of convincing New Wave that she wasn't a criminal and having them pick her up, they're probably the best team she could join and have a chance of not being a criminal once this mess gets cleared up. Hell, Leet and I robbed a mint once and you hired us, so..."

The boss seemed to ignore the last statement Uber made. "I'll take your word on that, the kind of people these Undersiders are. Go ahead and release the video."

"We'll get on it. Now remember, your flesh and blood fought the strongest villain in the city and kicked his ass hard enough that he ran away. That's something to be proud of."

The boss was smiling as Uber left him.

*Break-Piggot*

Director Piggot was working on some files heard a knock at her office door. "Come in."

A somewhat haggard agent came into the office. And reported "Director, something's come up in the investigation about the Incident between Lung and the Undersiders the other night."

"Yes?"

"We have proof that Lilith was involved."

This raised the Director's curiosity. "What proof?"

The agent handed the director a slip of paper with a web address written on it. "I have a URL here. It'll take you to a video on Leet and Uber's website."

A moment later, she was watching the video in question, with the game themed Villains narrating over a still image of a burning building.

Uber began, with an excited announcer's tone. "Welcome gamers, to a very special production by Uber and Leet"

Leet picked it up in the same tone. "Now, I know it's been awhile since we've really uploaded anything. We've been busy, and we still don't have a regular episode, but we've got a special treat for all you loyal fans."

Uber again. "Recently Leet's been working on a flying Spy-Camera for use in filming our show."

Leet. "The other night, during a routine test, we picked up a little scuffle between a new Cape in the Bay and the Dragon of Kyushu himself."

Uber "The PRT calls the new girl 'Lilith' but we don't know what she wants to be called, so we're just gonna go with 'New Girl' to keep from pissing her off"

Leet, in a far more serious tone. "Trust us, you do not want New Girl mad at you."

Piggot furled her brow at this. Lilith was dangerous, to be sure, but to call attention to it specifically? The duo spoke in unison for the last line.

"So, without further ado, let's play!"

The still image began moving, and then zoomed out to a scene of Lilith and Lung standing across from each other while the Undersiders stood at the sidelines. The gamer due were narrating, but the Director paid them no mind as she watched the battle on the screen.

She'd had suspicions about Lilith, ever since the students at Winslow had supported Shadow Stalker's story. These suspicions had been supported by security cam footage of Lilith breaking into stores, or of witness testimonials. Lilith's fangs, her claw, the way she moved…

This footage confirmed it. The girl was savage, moving across the ground on all fours, tearing into Lung with tooth and claw, the director could even see blood around her mouth early in the video. The girl was an animal. A monster, plain and simple. Director Piggot's thought turned to days gone by, and of shadows and beasts, of another human turned monster, of injury and of cowardice and betrayal. It wasn't quite the same situation, the two humans turned monster weren't quite the same, but Director Piggot felt that the only reason the city still stood was because the girl was a brute. She couldn't take a city the same way he could.

"Director," interrupted the agent who brought this to her attention, "are you aright? You're shaking."

"I'll be fine," lied the director. "It's been a stressful few days."

"If you say so."

As the video finished, with a last question of "How strong does New Girl have to be for Lung to run away like that?" from Leet, Director Piggot dismissed the agent and called for a fe forms to be brought to her. Lilith's threat ratings needed to be adjusted and the Wards and Field Agents needed to be informed that they were no longer to engage Lilith without Protectorate support. This was going to be another long day.

*Break--Lisa*

Coil's men worked fast. It'd only been a few days since the old lair burned down, but now the Undersiders' new lair was bought, paid for, and inspected. Apparently, the building hadn't been abandoned for very long. All that needed to be done was to replace the doors and locks before it was up to code. They'd already had furniture shipped in, and Regent and Rachel had their lost clothes replaced.

Lisa, Brian, and Alec were sitting in the main room of a large apartment on the second floor, which they were planning to turn into a meeting room. Lisa had already checked it for bugs planted by workers under Coil's employ. Brian wanted to talk about Lisa's actions the other night and why she took action without consulting the rest of the team.

Rachel came up into the room and sat down.

Lisa asked her, "How's Taylor?"

Rachel shrugged. "She swallowed a whole thing of pills, then took a nap."

"Okay then," Lisa replied, "we have an hour or so."

Lisa then looked around the room for any sign of Taylor's mutant flies. No sign, even with her power. "We're clear."

Brian stood up and faced the others.

"Okay, Lisa. What were you thinking, hiring a new recruit on your own like that? Especially out of nowhere, that's not like you."

Lisa took a moment. "Everything I said the other night was true. She's been screwed over like we all have, she could use some friends, we could really use someone on her level of power on the team, and it'd be better if we picked her up than some people who only care about her for her power. But, there's another reason."

"And that is??"

Lisa took a deep breath. "Our boss doesn't have our best interests at heart."

The others were confused. Briand asked: "What do you mean?"

"Our boss," began Lisa, "he has a power. I'm not sure what. It could be some kind of long range probability manipulation, or some kind of reality warping, or maybe he works like a videogame and he can save his progress and restart if he screws up. I don't know. What I do know is that he's been using his power to make sure our jobs go well. He could have saved us from Lung the other night, but he didn't."

Brian questioned this. "How do you know that his power wasn't why Taylor ran into us when she did?"

"Because when I called him about bringing in Taylor and buying this place, he was surprised that we were still alive."

"Well," countered Brian, "he might not have known until it was too late, and-"

Lisa cut him off. "Let me explain what kind of person out boss really is. He forced me to work for him at gunpoint and he's said and done things that make it clear to me that he'd torture us for information if he had too or would kill us in a heartbeat if we got in his way. You're working for him because he can fake up a paper trail to make it look like you're earning money legitimately. As soon as that becomes inconvenient for him, it stops. If he thinks you'll be too hard to control, he might threaten your sister."

"...Damn."

"Exactly. And that brings us back to Taylor. She's potentially one of the strongest capes in the country and she's only going to get stronger. Having her on the team makes us significantly more valuable, so the boss is less likely to fuck us over. And, I saw this when she first jumped Lung--She hates bullies. If I told her about what the boss did to me, and who he was, she'd probably try to kill him as soon as she could. I know how to take him down, but until I can figure out how his power works, we're all dead the second I try… Except she might be able to protect us if she get's a little stronger."

There was silence for a moment, and Brian answered her. "So what do we do about..."

"We keep doing any jobs he gives us,"said Lisa "And we do them well, until we get a chance to bleed him dry and drive him out of town. Until then, we can't give him any sign that we know what he's really like."

"So," said Brian, and Lisa could tell he wanted to know even without her powers. "Who is he?"

"I can't tell you, not yet."

Brian tensed up. "If you do manage to take him down. Can you keep the paper trail going?"

"Compared to bleeding him dry in the first place, keeping that going would be a cakewalk."

Brain seemed to relax a bit"...Okay. Now Taylor's one of us now, but just so we're clear, what are everyone's thoughts on her?"

Rachel spoke first."I'm with Lisa. Better to have her with us than against us."

That was odd: Rachel rarely agreed with Lisa. Lisa already knew the real answer, but asked for the benefit of the others: "Why's that?"

Rachel's posture changed, and she adopted a tone as if she was explaining "She's strong. There's something about her. Like a wolf, or a dog, that's so big and strong that it doesn't need a pack. If she wants us to join her, we should. I'm not fighting her."

About what Lisa expected. Brian turned to ask the next member his thoughts "Okay. Alec?"

Alec was hard to read, even with Lisa's power. "I tried to give her a little tug on the way here the other night. When I was um, staring at her ass. I couldn't get a good grip on her and I don't think she even noticed. It's like her nerves are so different from anyone one else's, the way they're shaped, and the way they go through her body. That black stuff on her head isn't hair. The big ones are full of nerves and the little ones are nerves. While I was trying to get a hold of her, I could almost feel her body changing, and then this thing happened. I can't really describe what it was like, but I couldn't even look at her nerves anymore. I can't mess with her body at all. If we piss her off and get into a fight, I'm cannon fodder."

"Lisa?"

"Oh, there's so much that I don't know where to begin." After thinking about it for a moment, Lisa began again. "Rachel's right. Taylor has the instincts of an apex predator. And they were pushing her to fight Lung. Like, she attacked him because she hates bullies and what he was doing to us set her off, but she kept fighting because something inside her was pushing her. She adapted to the damage that he and Oni Lee inflicted on her in the fight, like Crawler of the Slaughterhouse Nine but not quite as extreme as the rumors about him. She seems to have some ability to incorporate traits from what she eats into herself. She got taller and gained more muscle mass after eating Lung's flesh, and I think that the metal from the beer can she ate yesterday was absorbed into her bones and carapace."

Lisa took a moment to breath and think about where to go next. She's been getting more information on Taylor every time she looked at or thought about her, even now. "Taylor's regenerative ability seems to work by fixing damaged tissues instead of making more, that is to say she only replaces tissues when the tissues are gone or unsalvageable. Her body is constantly adapting to the events surrounding it. Lung was the first time she's eaten human flesh. The same instincts that drove her to attack Lung are what compelled her to eat his flesh--They're driving her to grow stronger by fighting strong opponents and consuming the flesh and blood of strong beings, but she herself has more influence on her actions that her instincts do. She's still human in general mindset, but…"

Brian seemed to sense her hesitation. "But?"

"She believes implicitly that she's psychic. She claims that her telekinetic ability, her shaker power, is the same as her thinker ability, and from her body language her mastering those mutant flies she cooked up is another application of the same power. She's otherwise sane, so I'm inclined to believe her when she says she's psychic. In order for her to have legitimate psychic powers, as opposed to a thinker or shaker power that imitates or replicates a psychic power… She'd either need to have significantly more brain matter, a more complex brain structure, a brain that's infinitely more efficient that anything occurring in nature, or a combination of the three." Lisa began, speaking slower than before as she tried to stay focused. "Taking Regent's claim that her nerves were changing, it's safe to say that her brain structure is radically different from human norm. She still behaves like a human, but I'm not sure how long that'll last."

Brian began to look worried at that, but Lisa paid him no mind as she continued. "Growing after consuming Lung's flesh is the first time she's increased in size or put on more muscle mass. She had problems with how she looked and the changes to her body had previously either upset her or were something that she felt nothing either way on, but her stronger, more muscular and more feminine figure seems to have changed that. She likes the way she looks now, and it's improved her confidence significantly. She has developed a great deal of pride in her new appearance. I suspect that whatever her problems with bullies involved her appearance… Shit!"

Lisa clutched her head as she began to experience a migraine.

"Lisa,"said Brian, expressing concern for his team mate. "Are you alright?"

"Thinker headache," replied Lisa before continuing. "New information about Taylor's powers. They don't just change her based on what she's doing or what she's been hurt by. They're trying to fix whatever problems she has about herself."

"Okay then. Do you know why she's using those drugs?" Brian clearly wanted to know if there was a reason for Taylor's habits of if they needed to add "Get the new recruit clean" to the todo list.

"Uh, from what I can tell she's been dosing herself in order to build up an immunity. The same with the beer in her mini-fridge,though it seems that however much she's consumed to become immune has given her a taste for it. She can't even get buzzed from the amount that she drinks, but she still drinks it. Um, considering that last night, when she drank over three and a half liters of LSD in one sitting and only suffered mild hallucinations for a minute, I'd wager that at this point she's practically immune to most drugs and toxins."

"That could come in handy. Have you managed to get anything about her Bio-Tinkering?"

Lisa sighed. "She believes that she can make things whole cloth instead of modifying existing organisms, but she needs to construct some kind of structure first. That's why she asked for those chemical and biological samples when we were talking about things she'd need. She already has ideas for bigger and more numerous organisms. Ordinarily I'd suggest we try to make her minimize the number of creations she makes… But she literally connected her mind to those flies, and while I'm pretty sure that her improved temperament is based on improved confidence from her new body, I'm not going to rule out that she has some need to create and connect to these things… That's gonna cause problems if we can't find out a safe balance between 'enough for her sanity' and 'few enough that the PRT doesn't decide to evacuate the city and glass it to prevent another Ellisburg.'"

There was an awkward silence before Brian responded. "Lisa. I trust you, but if this gets us killed--"

"It won't. I think. Alec, Rachel. You've been quiet. Thoughts?"

"All I'm hearing," said Alec, "is don't piss off the scaly blue chick. I wasn't planning on pissing her off to begin with."

Rachel remained silent.

The Undersiders went their separate ways soon after, Rachel and Alec to their own apartments in the building, Brian back to his apartment elsewhere in the Bay, and Lisa to go arrange a few things. They still needed more stuff for this old apartment building to be a proper lair, and getting it meant going through Coil. Lisa's last thought as she departed, massaging her temples to deal with her headache, it was that as soon as she knew what his power was, Coil was fucked.

Trial 2.03

I'd finished constructing communicators for the Raiders last night, sort of a Tinker-Tech Walkie-Talkie. Once I'd had two to test, it was surprisingly easy to make enough for everyone. I was considering building more for the dockworkers who weren't Raiders, but that was a something for later.

"And this button here allows you to send out a general message to every active communicator on our private channel. It's meant for use in emergencies or if you find information that everyone needs to know." "So," I asked, "any questions?"

The Raiders all responded with nos or shakes of the head, so I dismissed them and returned to my office. I might be a superhero now, but I'm still in charge of the dockworkers association, and that meant paperwork needed to be filled out. I'd been getting behind on it in the last few days, worrying about Taylor… I still couldn't focus on the paper work. There were two more things I could think of to set my mind at ease enough to get back to work. First, I had to go speak with my private contractors.

*Break-Taylor*

"What are you laughing at Taylor?"

I stopped chuckling and got back to work" It's just that I never thought I'd see the day when it'd be easier to put the nails in by hand then it is to use a hammer."

Rachel wanted to convert part of the basement--the real basement, not my sub-basement, into kennel space, so she could have some of her dogs close to her. Brian and Lisa were out and Alec was in his apartment doing god knows what Since I've got nothing better to do right now, I volunteered to help. Rachel shrugged in response to my statement, and I took another nail and forced it in place.

I stepped back and looked at the bit of drywall I'd finished installing. This wasn't going to be a big or fancy kennel, just a few gated cubicles for individual dogs. "You're not much of a talker, are you Rachel?"

"No," she said, as she went over to a corner where her dogs were sitting, waiting for her, and pet one of them--The rottweiler, Brutus.

As she did that, I went over to where the rest of the supplies were. We had cuts of drywall, wooden frames, dog beds, and those little gates you put in doorways to keep dogs or small children from wandering out of a room. Like I said, this was a pretty simple kennel.

I picked up one of the dog beds and placed it inside the kennel… cell? Cage? Neither word fit, it was pretty sizable and and this bed certainly felt comfortable. "I think this one is ready."

Rachel gave a signal and brutus stood up, and she walked him over. Another signal and the dog sat upon the dog bed. I think he seemed comfortable, but dog emotions didn't feel like human emotions. They were off and… Oh. I tried feeling Brutus's emotions, then Rachels and… Okay, that made so much sense.

"People are hard, aren't they?"

Rachel looked at me, but she didn't say anything.

"There are just so many rules to talking to people, and-"

"Shut up!" I didn't need my psychic powers to tell how irritated she is.

"I'm sorry. I'll..."

She didn't say anything. She just walked over to the supplies to get one of the gates.

After about a minute, I could sense her starting to calm down but now I felt fear and regret from her. Was she afraid of me? To change the subject I gestured to Brutus. "Can I pet him?"

She looked at me, then at her dog. She turned her head inquisitively, and didn't feel as scared anymore. "Let him smell you and get your sent. If he let's, you can pet him."

I presented the back of my hand to the dog, who gave me a sniff. After a moment he was rubbing his head against my hand. I took that as a sign that he was okay to pet, so I gave him a pat on the head, taking care to keep my claws pointed away from me. Rachel was hard to read, but it's obvious that she loved these dogs more than anything in the world. I don't doubt for a second that she'd never forgive me if I hurt one of them, even by accident.

"Whats with you?" Rachel seemed confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You just met us, but you're already talking like a friend. Trying to get us to tell you stuff. What's with you?"

Ah. That make sense. I stopped petting Brutus and turned back to Rachel. "It's simple. I can feel your emotions. I know you're not planning to hurt me, so it feels safe to be open with you. I know we just met, but it feels like I can trust you. Besides, if we're gonna be working together and living together, we might as well be friends."

Rachel didn't respond, though her emotions shifted in ways that were hard to read. She came over and put the gate down by the kennel, then started petting Brutus. "Dogs are so much easier than people. Dogs don't want anything big. They just want food and walks and to be petted. People are hard."

"I get it Rachel. I don't understand people sometimes either. The stories I could tell you about someone I thought was my friend…" I sighed. "Let's make a deal. I won't lie to you, and if you want to know something about me, I'll just tell you. No tricks, no games." I didn't think she'd ask, but if she did I'd tell the truth. I don't want her being scared of me. I'd rather be friends.

Rachel didn't say anything else, but… well she didn't smile, but her mouth kind of curled upwards just a bit. It's a start. She got back to work, and so did I.

*Break-Danny*

It was late afternoon when I was finally able to get away from the dockyard long enough to head to the headquarters of my independant contractors. "Uber, Leet. Can I have a word with you"

Leet looked up from a device her was working on--Another one of his flying cameras from the look of it, and Uber was on the far end of the room.

Uber cracked his neck as he walked over to me. 'What do you need, boss?"

I cleared my throat. "Look, this might be a lot to ask, but ever since the night of the fight, we have a general idea of where Taylor is. Could, could I bother you to look for her when you have the time? I know that's not covered under our arrangement, but--"

Uber cut me off with a raised hand. "I get it. You're worried about your girl. It's not that hard to take a walk through the docks for any sign of her, and I think Leet can have one of the Sky-eyes set up around where she disappeared around. Right?"

Leet wasn't paying attention he seemed so utterly focussed on the Sky-Eye in front of him that--and then he switched it on. It floated up, and he grabbed a tablet and started making the eye maneuver around the room we were in, doing several complex twists and turns. He even made it do a barrel roll. When it landed safely, he jumped from his seat and began jumping up and down laughing like a lunatic on amphetamines. "This proves it! Hahaha this proves it!"

I looked to Uber, but he shrugged, so I turned back to Leet. "Proves it?"

Leet pointed to his sky-eye. "This makes four. Four, exactly the same. They all work perfectly. Nothing malfunctioned. Nothing blew up. Hehehe!"

I got it now. I knew his reputation, and I've known him for a few months. He's the tinker who can make anything once. If he could build the same thing four times….

Uber spoke up. "Anyway, Leet, our boss is asking us if we'd mind keeping an eye out for his kid. You think we can dedicate a Sky-Eye to keeping an eye on places we know she's been?"

"Oh, yeah that's really easy! You want a Sky-Eye, you can have it." Leet then picked up the one he'd be working on and handed it to me. The villain in my employ seemed quite manic.

"You, you're quite chipper today, Leet." It was actually a bit frightening, and that's coming from another Tinker.

"Why wouldn't I be? This is… This all happened since I worked for you. If you need a tool you can't make, you can ask and if I can do it it;s yours. If you want a dozen sky-eyes they're yours. You want the BFG from Doom or some Spartan Armor, it's yours. You want a Giant Robot… Excuse me" Leet then ran from the room. I knew the feeling. He just got an idea for some kind of gadget and just had to do something with it before he lost it. It'd happened to me before, and from my understanding it happens to all Tinkers.

I put the flying camera down on the Table Leet had been working from. "Okay. That happened."

Uber laughed. "Well, he's got a lot to be happy about. He's spent years having stuff blow up in his face or losing gadgets forever in freak accidents. Now he doesn't have to worry and he can tinker all he wants on whatever he wants. He got the idea for the Sky-Eye after we started working for you, and he thinks that his problem was some kind of mental block. He thinks that working for you has something to do with overcoming that block. Anyway, it shouldn't be too hard to keep an eye out for your girl. I'll remind Leet about the cameras later, and I'll take a look in person in a bit."

I sighed. "Thank you." A handshake and an exchange of pleasantries later, and I was on my way back to the dockyard.

*Break-Taylor*

"So what's this one do?" I was playing a videogame with Alec. A multiplayer shooter. It was just something to pass the time, and well, I really should try to get to know him even if he… Kind of gives me the creeps.

"Well," he said, "That's one's probably one of the easiest class to get used to. You've got the highest defense, the most health, and the big gun. Really all you do is shoot and soak up damage. The others have their tricks to them and you need practice to play them well." Then he shifted in his seat.

"Well, I guess I'll take this one then." I hit select and then we had to wait for the last guy out of nine on our team to pick his. Alec had chosen his, a guy with a flamethrower, and… God damn it. "Alec, really, it's a bit flattering, but I'd appreciate it if you'd stop looking at my boobs."

Alec stumbled in his seat. "Well, um… You know, if you didn't want people to look you could cover up some."

I traced a claw across the now opaque carapace on my lower ribs--It even kind of looked like ribs now. All my carapace was a nice, solid, and shiny bluish silver. I'd put on a bit more muscle mass over the last few days, and gotten like, half an inch taller. The claws on my toes had grown out nicely too."I'm still growing and changing from the other night, and I only really had the one complete set of clothes. I don't want to get something, only for it to be too tight the next day or get torn by a spike growing on my arm." Besides, it's not like anyone could see anything particularly interesting anymore.

"...Okay, whatever." Alec went back to focusing on the game, and the last guy on our team picked his character.

We played in silence for a bit. This game was actually pretty fun. It of a challenges running around corners, falling back at just the right time to get healed or pick up more ammo. After about ten minutes I figured I had the hang of it and went off ahead, deeper into enemy territory to draw their fire and shoot them up and… "And I'm dead. What happened?"

"You got cocky," Alec said. "You went off on your own and got outnumbered by more experienced players. What you tried might have worked if you'd played more, gotten a better feel for how your guy plays, or unlocked some of his better alternate gear. But since you're a total newb, you got yourself killed."

I thought on that for a bit, but then I respawned and got back in the game. We played for another few minutes, but then the session was over. I stepped up from the couch to stretch for a bit,and I looked over at Alec again and… Damn it.

"Look, I'm sorry if this comes out bad, but Alec… What's wrong with you?"

He set down his controller. "What do you mean?"

"You know that I can feel emotions," I said as I gestured vaguely around my head in a way that I hoped would make it clear that I was talking about being psychic… His laugh told me that I was wrong. "Your emotions, they feel wrong. Every time I focus on you in particular, I can't help but notice how wrong they feel and it creeps me out. I wasn't going to say anything, and playing this game with you was fun so don't get me wrong, but… What's wrong with you?"

"Oh," he said. "I'm a sociopath." H then picked his controller back up. "The next session is about to start."

"...What?"

"It means I don't feel emotions as strongly as other people do. Some I can't feel at all. I really don't like talking about it."

I was a bit freaked. I'd seen the movies. A sociopath was… "What?"

He rolled his eyes. "Look, this isn't like the movies. I'm not some psycho who kills people and tortures bunnies for fun. I don't particularly care about most other people, but I'm not going out of my way to hurt them. Even if I did get off on that stuff, it's just not worth my time when I can just turn on a video game.

Was that why he played these games? I blinked, and he continued. "Look, you don't have to worry. Even if I was some psycho killer, you're cool. Even if you weren't cool, I know better than to piss you off. Now can we get back to the game? Seriously, I don't like talking about this."

I took a deep breath and went back to playing. Learning he was… like that was a bit of a shock, and his emotions were still weird and scary and wrong, but as far as I could tell he didn't mean me any harm so I just kept playing. It was a bit weird, but after a bit it started being fun again, so.

*Break-Danny*

I'd just finished my initial sketches for a set of surveillance cameras better than anything non-tinker on the market--Just a little something to help clear my head, when I heard a knock at my office door. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Mr. Hebert" Uber.

"Come in, Mr. Dabney"

The villain in my employ stepped into my office, dressed in civilian garb. "I um, took a stroll though a certain part of town. Nothing on the development you're looking for, but some stuff you should know." He was speaking in vague and general terms, in case of bugs or eavesdroppers. I didn't think it was too big a risk, but he's been a villain longer than I've been a parahuman at all, so if he thinks it's a risk...

I blinked. "Go on."

"Well," he started, "the Azn Bad Boys… You'd think after what happened to Lung, they'd be itching to prove they were still on the top, but they all seem to be watching and waiting for something. They haven't even been reacting to the groups of Empire Eighty-Eight thugs sneaking around through their territory. I'm just a little worried that sooner or later things are gonna get heated and since the ABB have territory on the docks…"

"The fight might spill over into the dockyard." Shit. This all just kept getting worse. "Anything else?"

"No."

""Okay, thank you. If you could-"

"Keep an eye out. Got it."

"Thank you again, and goodbye Mr. Dabney." Uber showed himself out. It looked like I'd need these surveillance cameras more than I thought.

*Break, Taylor.*

After a long day of helping Rachel and hanging out with Alec, I figured it was time to check on my latest project. Down in my sub-basement, in my little experimentation corner, I had a small structure growing. I didn't exactly have enough room for a full sized structure down here, but the pillar and hooks of this downscaled version were forming well. Just in case, though I grabbed a beater and scooped up some creep from the floor by the tumor, added some crushed up beetles, and poured the mixture over the miniature hatchery.

"Taylor? You down here?" That was Brian coming down. I didn't think that he or Lisa would be here at all today.

"Yeah, I'm down here." I placed the empty beaker on my table. "What do you need?"

Brian was coming down the stairs as I turned to see. "We've got a job. Everyone else is already in the meeting room but I want to make sure on you're on board with it."

I didn't like the sound of that. We'd already talked about the kind of jobs I'd be willing to do. If he wanted to check if I was onboard, well, we probably weren't robbing Nazis. "What job?"

"Well, Taylor. Our boss wants us to rob a bank." He wasn't looking at me as he said it.

"I don't feel comfortable doing that job. I think I'll be sitting this one out."

He was looking at me now. "Yeah, and that's what we agreed to, but… There are some other concerns that might change your mind."

I raise an… Well, I don't have eyebrows anymore, but the general area an eyebrow would be I guess. "Other concerns?"

"This is the first job we've gotten since you joined. We all think the boss wants to see how well you do on a job."

"Really now?" I said. That made sense. "Anything else?"

"You've got a reputation now."

That was surprising. "I do?"

"Yeah. Uber and Leet had a camera in the sky. They caught the tail end of your fight and it's all over the internet. By now the whole country knows you as the girl who beat Lung so bad he ran away."

"That's not what happened." It wasn't. Lung called a draw when he heard the sirens, if that had gone one for another minute I'd--Brian cut off my train of thought.

"Yeah. I know. I was there. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that everyone in town thinks that's what happened. If the Undersiders get caught robbing a bank and we don't get out in time, we're either getting New Wave or the Wards. The second it gets out that the girl who thrashed Lung is with us..."

I saw where he was going. "The Wards get called back and they send in the Protectorate"

He nodded. "And we can clear out in the confusion. "

Okay, that was a good reason, but… "The people in the bank?"

"That'll be your job." He gestured to my arms. "You stand there, make a big speech about how if nobody moves, nobody gets hurt, and then stand there and be intimidating. With your emotion sensing you'll know if someone is going to try something before they try it."

"And that way, no one gets hurt. They just lose their hard earned money." Yeah, this was sounding better, but still…

"Not really. We're not taking money out of people's hands or draining the accounts. We're just going after what's in the vaults. Banks have insurance for that. Only the bank loses money on this. Banks have plenty of money and they screw over the little guy all the time. I figure losing a few thousand every now and then isn't that bad."

He was trying to convince me that robbing the bank wasn't that different from robbing criminals. I could feel it in his emotions, but there was another reason why he wanted me on this job. "What else? You really want me on this job. Why?"

He sighed, and he clearly didn't want to tell me this, but he did. "Look, the reason I do this is because of my sister. My Mom's a neglectful crackhead, my Dad's not fit to raise a teenaged girl. I'm trying to get custody, but for that I need all sorts of things that need money. The only way to get enough money for all of that is villainy. Our boss is the only guy in town who can pay out enough and fake up a paper trail to make it all look like legitimate respectful work."

'

Ah. Okay, I got that. It's a good reason to want me to go, but… "That doesn't really answer my question."

"Lisa… Lisa didn't want to tell you the whole story yet, but our boss isn't a good person. I don't know all of the details, Lisa's our line of contact, but the most important thing is that the second we get inconvenient, we're gone. The best case scenario is that the money and paper trail both get cut off and my sister stays in a bad home." Brian looked at the ground. "Worst case scenario, our boss kidnaps her and uses her to control me. If you come with us on this job and show off, we become more valuable, and the boss is less likely to screw us over. At least that's what Lisa said."

I took a moment to pick my jaw up from the floor. "Why-why do we work for someone like this?"

"Well, we didn't know he was this bad when we were hired. Now we're kind of stuck. Lisa has a plan to take him out, but she needs more time. Until then, we keep working for him."

He was telling the truth. About all of that. But… "What's your sister's name?" Shit, why did I ask that?

"Her name is Aisha."

God damn it. "Okay, I'll do it. Just… Promise me that, that we'll try not to hurt anybody."

He extended his hand to shake "I promise." I took his hand and we shook on it.

"Okay," I said as I started heading upstairs. "I'll do it, this one time. And I want the full story on this guy we're working for."

"You'll have to ask Lisa," Brian said as he himself began to climb, "She's the only one who knows the whole thing."