3.08

Furor 3.07

"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine... one hundred."

"Can I stop sitting on your back now?" Alec complained. "Your shell is worse than an old park bench and the towel is not helping with the spikes. Seriously, you've taken all the fun out of sitting on a naked girl."

I rolled my eyes and lowered myself down so Alec could just slide off instead of jumping. I shouldn't be annoyed with him, he'd volunteered to help with my exercise routine, since Rachel was busy. Besides, I'm pretty sure he was joking. I think. His emotions are still scary and wrong.

"You need me for anything else?" Alec asked. "Or can I go back to my game? I killed a guy I'm pretty sure was Leet five times last night and I want to see if I can find him again."

I laughed as I climbed to my feet. "Yeah, you can get going."

Alec tried to leave without a word, but I heard a slight zap and him swear under breath when he got to my door. He'd been getting and giving static shocks a lot lately. I couldn't tell why. Was it the creep mat I had down here? Did creep hold up a static charge? I guess that's something to ask Sarah about the next time I see her. I wasn't getting rid of it. It felt great on my bare feet and something about the creep was comforting.

Besides, Rachel's dogs liked it, once they got used to it.

As he left, I did a few stretches. I'd started an exercise routine the morning after meeting with Dad at the cemetery. We'd all gotten together, the other Undersiders and I, and discussed what to do, and decided that we needed to hit Empire back before they could do something else. We'd discussed different ideas but didn't have anything decided on yet. So then we started training together more often… Well, they did. I could sit in on strategy meetings and contribute there, but… I thought to that Agent whose arm I'd torn off. I could watch and learn holds and strikes, but I wasn't going to risk maiming my new friends practicing them.

Once Alec left I abandoned the towel, then sat down for my sit-ups. Honestly, I'd prefer to be running but I didn't think it was safe to go outside alone right now. At least the routine was something to do, I couldn't just browse the internet all day--some of those articles just pissed me off and the number of people on PHO who went from "burn the witch" to "that poor thing" over Victor's desecration at the cemetery was disgusting, especially since it was just Dad's word about what happened there. The PRT had yet to release a statement.

"...Seventy-one, seventy-two, seventy-three," I counted off, "seventy-four, seventy-five--"

"Taylor!" Lisa shouted from up the stairs, "I need to talk to you about something."

"Come on down!" I shouted back up, "seventy-six."

"You know," Lisa said as she came to the bottom of the stairs, "that's not really doing much for you, right?"

"Of course not, seventy-seven," I answered, "I've only been doing it for a few days. Seventy-eight. These things take time, seventy-nine."

"That's not what… Not important," Lisa shook her head. "I've noticed some changes since we've moved in with you."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. She raised a hand and started counting off of her fingers, "Rachel's dogs look different now, and they seem to do what she wants before she gives off her commands to them. Sometimes I've seen them acting without a command at all." She raised her second finger, "Brian's darkness seems… bleaker, or deeper, or I don't even know how to describe it. I mean," she clarified, "it's always been a like being in a void, but now it's like it's far more vast a void." She raised a third finger, "and you've seen how Alec's been shocking the crap out of himself. It's been subtle. I didn't notice Rachel at first since we were a bit pre-occupied at the bank, and I don't think I'd have noticed the change with Brian or put two and two together," she said, "if I hadn't started noticing more things than I normally do. Taylor, I think you're a Trump."

This was happening already? Dad had gotten a power boost, just like Sarah said would happen, though I'm not sure when. Or at least, he'd talked to one of Sarah's friends, so maybe… I smiled.

Lisa took notice. "You knew. You --Holy shit," she said as though she'd hit a sudden revelation, "That… It, it's permanent. It's what your power is really for, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Yeah, tell me, have you had any weird dreams lately?"

"No… Should I be on the lookout for that?"

"Yeah," I answered, "let me know if you do--I'm not sure if the others will believe me if I explain before they've seen it themselves."

"Taylor," Lisa asked, "you're not going to tell me that you got your powers from some drug given to you by a conspiracy that's trying to save the world from some threat, are you?"

"One of three," I answered.

"...how worried should I be?"

"Not very. Apparently whatever the threat is is a lower priority that getting my life back together," I answered, "at least that's what Sarah says."

Lisa reacted to Sarah's name. She didn't show it, but I felt an odd mixture of emotions emanate from her.

"Taylor," she said, "I don't like not knowing things. What's going on?"

"Look, to be honest, I didn't expect this to happen for a while," I stopped my situps and sat up to reply, "I'll tell you what, if any of the others notice the changes to your powers by next week, or have one of these weird dreams, I'll explain it to everyone at once. If no one noticed after seven days from today, I'll explain it to you and you can tell the others if you want." I debated whether or not I should tell Rachel regardless. She was gruff, but by the amount of time she spent around me compared to the others, I was getting the feeling she liked me for some reason. "Does that sound okay?"

Lisa was silent for a good while. "We're not going to change like you do, are we?"

"You shouldn't, no."

"Are these dream people going to fuck with our heads?"

"Not to my knowledge."

She sighed. "Okay, I trust you, just… Not a week. Three days, because this shit is important."

"Okay," I agreed, "if no one else notices in three days, I'll tell them then."

Lisa nodded and then turned to leave. She was halfway up the stairs when she turned and came running back in. "I almost forgot: Brian is going to be here in about half an hour. I talked with him earlier, we think we've got a plan for our counter-attack against the Empire." She seemed a bit sheepish for a moment. "I came here to tell everyone and then I saw Rachel's dogs acting odd and everything clicked."

"Oh, okay." I clenched my fist. I… Revenge wasn't something I normally thought about. If it was, Emma would have been dead months ago. I wasn't sure if revenge was even the right word for what I wanted, but the thought of Kaiser getting away with his temper-tantrum, for desecrating my Mom's grave… it made me feel sick.

"Calm down Taylor," Lisa said. I'd tried not to let my feelings show, but I'm not good enough to hide them from Lisa. "Just… you were on 92 when you let off."

I sighed. "Thanks, Lisa."

She left, presumably to tell the others about the meeting, and I finished my sit ups. I had half an hour till Brian got here, so I started my squats.

All Hail Empress Taylor

It was odd. Hookwolf was clearly dedicated to the security of his operation here, with the number of armed guards and with Stormtiger and Cricket at his side, but at the same time they were just standing there next to an open loading dock and nobody was bothering to look at the roof of the building across the street from their warehouse. To be fair, Bitch, her dog Brutus, and I were laying down flat, they might not be able to see us from the street, but still.

The others were sneaking around from the back and would burst in after Bitch and I did our thing. We just had to wait for our cue.

I heard a gunshot coming from inside the building. I looked to Bitch, to see if she noticed it too or if I only picked it up with my freaky mutant ears. Then I remembered that she didn't emote the way a human did and I couldn't see her face through her mask, making the endeavor pointless.

I turned back to the warehouse. Cricket had gone into the building. I could hear yelling but I couldn't make out what was being said. About five minutes later Cricket was back, and a few minutes later I noticed movement in an alley to the side of the building. Some blonde kid with a torn and bloody sleeve was dragging a garbage bag out to a dumpster. Brutus started growling, for just a moment before Bitch put a hand on him, and shortly afterward the young man left the warehouse entirely.

I focused on the emotions in the area. Bitch was pissed off, as far as I could tell. Hookwolf and his associates all felt various degrees of bored and frustrated--I made sure to memorize their individual signatures. Grue was going to throw up darkness once we were inside and my job was to kick Hookwolf's ass, I didn't want to lose track of him. I could feel the others moving into position on the other side of the warehouse, there were three bored people that had been sitting up the road for the past hour and… there was a determined presence swiftly approaching.

I strained my hearing just as a large van pulled up to Hookwolf and stopped in front of the gathered super-Nazis.

"You got the cash?" I barely picked the newcomer say in a mild Bostonian accent.

"It's inside," Hookwolf answered, "come on Jake you know the drill, you don't get paid until we check the dogs." And there was my cue! I leaped from the roof and began diving towards the shirtless masked Nazi!

...Then the other shirtless masked Nazi raised his fists, pointed them at me, and then I felt an exploding sensation and landed in the street in a heap.

"You need to be more subtle," Stormtiger said. "We've known you were here for ten minutes, you freak."

I jumped to my feet and charged at the gathered group--the dog seller was about to head back into his van but I'd gotten to him fast enough to grab him. I broke the man's arm and threw him at Cricket.

The female villain easily dodged the man, then drew her kamas and charge at me. Meanwhile Stormtiger did the same with what were presumably more of his invisible air claws. Hookwolf was between then but not charging yet. Bostonian dog seller was crawling away, so I paid him no mind. As the two charging Nazis closed in, I pushed out with my pulse, pushing them towards Hookwolf, and then I leaped forward to push all three of the bastards into the warehouse.

I spaced out for just a second but I came back to my senses when the sensation of biting into something bloody and fleshy and full of sharp metal pointy bits. During the struggle I'd taken a bite out of Hookwolf. I could see his muscles, infused with blades and hooks, in the open bicep wound. I was suddenly very aware of the fact that no one was moving to attack me, and everyone was staring at me with various combinations of fear, disgust, and confusion.

"What the fuck?" the Nazi I ate part of asked. "Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Rather than answer, I chewed once, swallowed, and stood up. I, I honestly didn't know what to do next. Luckily, mere moments later Brutus, boosted up to the size of a horse, leaped into the warehouse and suddenly all of the nonpowered Neo-Nazi's turned their guns on Brutus and me.

For one brief moment I felt like Alexandria with the bullets bouncing from me, as they didn't even tickle anymore, but then it started to get annoying again soon after. I took a moment to note that Brutus didn't seem particularly bothered by the gunfire either. He had a few armored plates on him that he didn't have at the bank, and seemed more purple than he was then.

While the storm of hot led continued, I took in the rest of the warehouse--there were some cages against a far wall. There was some blood on the floor in front of one of them, but all but one cage was empty.

The shooting stopped--some of the guns clicked with empty magazines--and within an instant Hookwolf was off the floor and a mass of whirling blades was upon me. I jumped to the left and managed to narrowly dodge Hookwolf's charge. Just as I turned around, I saw a door on the far end of the building burst open and a cloud of darkness billowed out and began flowing into the room, engulfing several of the Empire grunts.

Cricket came to her feet and ran head-first into the growing void, and I heard Bitch shouting "Brutus, sic!" from out on the street just before the big dog jumped at Stormtiger, leaving me practically alone with a whirling ball of sharp Nazi death.

The Empire soldier in question had assumed the form of a massive wolf made of hooks and blades and then jumped at me. Rather than dodge, I met the man-turned-beast head on and punched him--knocking a few blades loose from the metallic monster and pushing him about a foot away from me.

Undaunted by the damage he'd taken, Hookwolf assumed a serpentine form and circled around me. I turned around to head off an attack from the rear, and in doing so caught sight of Regent emerging from Grue's darkness and tasering one of the few thugs who hadn't been engulfed with his scepter. I was unable to observe further because I had to dodge--Hookwolf shifted his mass as he slithered past me and a spiraling growth of blades jutted from his side towards mine.

The mass of blades collapsed on the ground and then, with speed I didn't expect, changed directions and flew back at me. I tried to jump over him, but Hookwolf was too fast and too sudden and the impact hit my legs and flipped me over the other cape and sent me face first into the floor.

I tried to push myself up but Hookwolf managed to get around me and grab my right arm. I could feel the blades trying to cut through my scales and carapace, but the Zerg in my system made them hold firm. I tried to pull my arm from the whirling ball of Empire-brute, but Hookwolf managed to hold on tight.

As I struggled with Hookwolf, I heard Tattletale yell "Bitch, down!" the sound of a body hit the floor, and a high pitched whine combined with a wet stabbing sound. Then I felt the first clear bit of emotion I've ever gotten from Bitch: Unadulterated rage.

"Brutus! Kill!" With that declaration, and a mighty roar, the monstrous dog charged toward what felt like Stormtiger, who for a brief moment radiated pure terror. Meanwhile, I continued struggling with Hookwolf. I was pulled to my feet and the two of us performed a deadly waltz around the visible parts of the warehouse, where I saw Empire grunts running around like chickens with their heads cut off, Regent tasering those who got close to him and making the rest trip and stumble, Tattletale with a briefcase she didn't have when we got here, and Grue's cloud of darkness.

I managed to get some momentum going and swung Hookwolf over my head and into the ground, but still the other cape held on. He managed to pull me to the ground with him, and we rolled on the floor until I found myself pinned to the ground by the wrist. I felt his grip tighten, and then something got under my scales. I felt the strange sensation of a scale being torn off, and then redoubled my efforts to pull my hand away--but that only made Hookwolf's grip tighter still. I felt my hearts racing as more of my scales came loose and something started digging into my flesh and with a mighty pull I finally freed my arm from his grip. My heart beats ceased for a moment as I saw the small nub of metal and crystal pocking from the bleeding stump where my hand had once been. I screamed, and the next thing I knew, Hookwolf was crashing into the ceiling of the warehouse with the force of my telekinetic pulse.

Suddenly everything stopped. The sound of a body hitting the floor met my ears, and I could see Grue's dark void clearing up, but soon there was nothing but silence… and then the sirens. I hadn't noticed them before, but they were loud, so the were close, and then before I knew it I could sense that the warehouse was surrounded.

PRT Agents and police officers began flooding into the building just as Hookwolf got unstuck from the ceiling and crashed to the floor. As my friends, judging from their emotions, took a combat ready stance, Armsmaster and Miss Militia stepped into the warehouse. The patriotic heroine raised her ever-present green weapon towards me and it took the form of--there was a sharp and loud, like a cat hissing into a megaphone, and I jumped back, quickly, and landed on all fours. I stumbled due to my missing hand. Bitch whistled and Brutus was next to me in a second, growling at the heroes. People--cops, agents, even my friends--were staring at me, and it was only then that I realized that the hissing sound had come from me.

"Alright," Armsmaster said as though nothing had happened, "You're all under arrest. If you come quietly and behave yourselves," he said in clear reference to my friends and I, "then you some of you might be granted leniency." He then walked to Hookwolf, who'd returned to human form, and checked him over before cuffing the downed villain.

"Counter-offer," Tattletale declared, "we're going to leave, we're going to take that van full of dogs outside, and this briefcase with the couple thousand dollars Hookwolf was going to pay for the dogs with," and some other things, if Tattletale had stuck with the plan. I couldn't see her face, but I got the impression that Tattletale was giving her trademark grin. "And you're just going to let us."

"And why would we do that?" Miss Militia asked in response. She was aiming that contemptible device, the launcher for those fucking grenades, at my friend now.

"In no particular order," Tattletale began, "half the people you brought with you are normal cops. Normal cops armed with Tinker-tech that Empress's father has been providing." When Tattletale said that, I noticed that each cop was carrying a gun like the one Dad had in the cemetery. "Even assuming that none of them think that Empress is innocent of the initial charges you made against her--which the officer behind you is, Miss Militia--do you honestly think that any of them want to piss off their golden goose?" I noted that the police officers and one of the PRT Agents all seemed a bit less sure of themselves than they had been before. "One of your agents thinks she's innocent too."

"The officer's are just doing their jobs," Armsmaster replied. "I haven't had much contact with Bastion, but he didn't seem petty enough to deny services to the police that could save their lives or the lives of the people they interact with just because a few officers brought in a wanted criminal."

"Okay then, how about the fact that you're not supposed to fuck with us if we're not actively committing crimes?" Yeah, that's right. Lisa had said that the PRT wouldn't do anything to us. That's how we were able to have our girl's day out. "All we did was fuck up some villains. Maybe we've decided to go hero?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Miss Militia denied. "Besides, you've all got charges pending against you. Even if you have decided to turn over a new leaf, you'd have to submit yourselves to justice anyway if you want any sense of legitimacy."

Armsmaster crouched down, next to Hookwolf, and retrieved a set of tongs and an evidence bag. "I can think of another reason for you to come with us" He picked up my severed hand and bagged it. "Unless you're harboring the Slaughterhouse Nine, I doubt you have access to either the skill or the resources needed to reattach a human hand, let alone the hand of an organism as advanced as Empress." My skin crawled at the way he used the word 'organism.' "The PRT, on the other hand… Well, surrendering to us is Empress's best bet if she doesn't want to be crippled for life."

I panicked. I couldn't do that. I couldn't let them get me. "It'll grow back!" I half-bluffed. Oh dear god I hope it'll grow back.

"Really now?" The armored hero replied. "So you wouldn't mind if I took this back to my lab and ran some tests on it?"

"Not at all," I said through a forced grin.

"Alright then," the hero said. "Well if you change your mind, you've already been told how to get it back." He turned to Lisa, "anything else?"

"Yeah, there is," Tattletale picked up before Armsmaster or Miss Militia could respond, "do you really want to go to the effort of fighting us? Or do you just want to arrest the..." Tattletale started counting tasered or unconscious thugs. "Arrest the fourteen gangsters, three supervillains, and that animal smuggler you've got handcuffed outside? Letting us go guarantees eighteen arrests, getting a lot of Empire soldiers and three of their most violent capes off the streets with practically no effort on your part." Tattletale was smiling again, I could feel it. "If you fight us, you could add five villains to that total… Or you could catch none of us, get badly hurt, possibly bad enough that you can't take in the people already down, and have wasted time and effort for nothing. Bird in the hand, heroes, letting us go is more efficient."

"Don't patronize me," Armsmaster replied. "All taking the easy way out, arresting villains we didn't defeat without even trying to arrest the villains who did, all that does is make us look like your cleanup crew."

"I suppose so," my friend said, "but what's more important: Looking good, or taking these dangerous thugs," she gestured Hookwolf, and Stormtiger, and Cricket, "off the streets when you've got the chance?"

"You have one more chance to convince me that we should let you go on to commit more crimes," Armsmaster said with certainty. "Any further attempts, and I'll assume you intend to resist arrest and we'll react accordingly." Miss Militia punctuated her cohort's statement by gesturing to each of us with that damned launcher.

"Alright then," Tattletale began, "I lied about not going in any special order, I saved this one for last: You're afraid."

"Excuse me?" The leader of the Brockton Bay Protectorate and his associate asked simultaneously.

"Empress is badly hurt, curled up on the ground, and scared out of her wits of you," wow, thanks Lisa, "but you're not moving to apprehend her even though your boss went on the TV news and called her a dangerous psychopath. It's because you're afraid," Tattletale took a more relaxed stance, "you know what she's capable of. You know that if you fail, then anything you've used against her will have made her stronger, and thus, that much harder to take down next time." Tattletale laughed. "Miss Militia might be able to take Empress down, though the collateral damage of a weapon strong enough would kill us all, herself and Empress included, and destroy the building at bare minimum. She'd never risk it." It was then that I noticed that Miss Militia's anger was slightly spicier and a touch more bitter than anger normally was. For a brief moment, I wondered if I shouldn't catalog the different flavors and sensations of emotions, if only to keep my mind off of that fucking weapon of hers.

"As for you, Armsmaster," Tattletale continued, "you don't have a single gadget that you're sure won't make Empress stronger, at least not yet. You're working on it, but it's nowhere near ready." Lisa touched two fingers to her right temple. "You don't think you can beat her, even now, and you don't want to risk her destroying your tech, or hurting you, or Miss Militia, or any of the agents or officers with you." She laughed again. "You're more afraid of Empress than she is of you--All of you are. I know, because I'm psychic, and so is she." Tattletale turned to me, "you can feel it too, can't you Empress?" At her prompting, I took a deep breath, tried to calm down, and reached out with my senses. Armsmaster… I couldn't read him. There was some kind of interference. Miss Militia was frightened but determined, and the people with them… Fucking terrified! Especially that one agent who kept trying to rub his shoulder.

I swallowed my fear and gave the biggest, most feral grin I could muster. "Yeah! I can practically taste their terror. It's delicious!" The terror of the grunts shot up like a rocket with that.

"So I'll ask, how willing are the two of you to risk your own lives for such a small reward?" Tattletale sounded her most smug. "Are you willing to risk the people with you? I mean, we don't exactly want to hurt you all, but we will if you make us. So, just take the easy arrests and let us go."

The heroes were silent for a moment. Armsmaster turned to look at the cops and Agents with him "Alright," Armsmaster declared as he turned back to us. "Now get out of here before I change my mind, and know that this is your one and only free pass." Miss Militia didn't feel too happy about that, but the scary foam weapon became a knife so I guess she was going along with it.

"Bitch," Tattletale said, "Grue, Regent, and I are going to leave first--I don't trust that Armsy will keep his word once Empress is gone. After we're gone, take Empress back to the base first--she's not going to be able to help with certain things until after she's treated her wound. Once she's dropped off, come meet us at the rendezvous point."

The rendezvous point was Rachel's dog-shelter. Bitch came over to Brutus and I, and climbed up onto her dog. Then she offered me her hand, which I took, and soon I was riding bitch behind Bitch atop Brutus.

As cops and PRT agents cleared a path, Tattletale started making some last minute announcements. "You're going to need to get Stormtiger to a hospital in the next half-hour if you don't want him to die--it's a stroke of luck he isn't already dead and he's probably going to lose that leg unless Panacea is feeling charitable." She turned back to me as Grue left the building and out of my line of sight--towards where I could sense the dog smuggler from earlier. I guess to get the van keys? "Empress," she gestured to Brutus, "I think this counts for that thing we talked about earlier." I looked to the armored plates, extra spikes, and purplish color of Brutus. It was undeniable that Bitch's power had been altered. I nodded, and Tattletale, Grue, and Regent loaded into the van and drove off.

Shortly after, Rachel tapped Brutus and we tore off into the night, heading in a different direction than the van. I couldn't sense anyone tailing us, so I let myself relax and held onto Bitch.

"Are--are you okay?" she asked me.

"...Yeah," I said. "Getting my hand cut off wasn't anywhere near as painful as you'd think. It was mostly just the shock of it all."

"Good."

"Besides," I continued, "it'll grow back." I was going to make sure of it. I didn't want to do it, but I was going to have to create The Cocoon.Furor 3.08

I finished up my paperwork for the day, then left my office to check on how the people in the dockyard were doing. I briefly thought back to before this mess happened, back when we were just normal dockworkers before Taylor was on the run, and before the Merchants had torn this place up trying to, apparently, steal my technology. The place was barely recognizable now, with bunkers and workshops dotting the place in strategic locations and a fortified wall surrounding the yard, a chorus of metal on metal and the heat of furnaces came from the still-in-construction command center and supply depot. It was an adjustment for the workers and an adjustment for our neighbors--more than once we'd been approached with noise complaints, but it was a sign of the transformation of the Dock Workers Association from a dying enterprise to a decently well off force for good in the city. If something like this had happened a few months ago, before the mess with Taylor, it'd have been a dream come true.

I knew that my contractors weren't in today, they'd had that meeting with the district attorney, but… I found a certain newer worker, a young woman, who was a touch twitchy and kept stealing glances at the SCVs, but considering her history I suppose that was understandable.

Everything seemed fine in the yard, and with nothing else needing my immediate attention, I headed over to the main workshop. I think I could get the powered armor ready for testing with a bit of tweaking and maybe get some work done on a little something I had been cooking up to show Empire Eighty-eight my displeasure at what they had done to my family and what they were trying to do to it still.

The workshop was emptier than it had been when we first built it. Where before it'd been a wide area filled with tools and workstations, it was now mostly open. My contract with Dragon had been finalized and the first payment on my end was next week, so we were prepping the main workshop to be converted into a small scale factory for mass production of powered armor. Once I'd gotten the prototype done, that was. That didn't stop us from having the pieces of a chassis of something special here until we needed the space, nor from having the prototype powered armor on a frame nearby. A bulky thing with thick armor and an opaque dome protecting the pilot's head… In truth, my own personal armor was more sophisticated than this, but the Terran Marine armor was stronger and more durable. Less practical for… casual… crime fighting and less maneuverable, but I had the feeling that if the conflict between my daughter and the Empire didn't end soon it would erupt into all-out war, and if this armor was out there it would help the Raiders and I end this whole mess.

Not to mention that, between the durability of Neo-Steel and the environmental protection the armor provided, we could sell the surplus for dozens of times the cost to make it and they'd still sell like hotcakes to every emergency service in the country.

It was almost done, really. I just needed to make a few last minute adjustments to some of the servos and double check that the emergency escape mechanisms worked--I'd hate to have to cut someone out of one of these things. It was a personal modification to the design over what my power told me was the pure Terran Original. From what I'd put together, Terran Medics actually would cut wounded Marines out of the armor if they had to, it was cheaper that way, but as much of a shithole as Brockton Bay was it wasn't bad enough that I'd put cost over the safety of the people working with me.

I was only one in the workshop when I arrived and so just went to work. Just as I got to it, my communicator went off. The beep was a higher tone than the normal one, meaning it was a private channel, and that meant that it was-- "Taylor?" I answered.

"Yeah," she replied, "I just… felt like I needed to talk to you. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No," I said, "I'm just doing a bit of tinkering."

"Same here," she replied, "just a little something I've been putting off."

"Please don't tell me it's ultralisks."

"...How much do you know about the zerg?"

"More than I ever wanted to," I replied.

"Well, it's not ultralisks. I don't even have larva yet," she laughed and I was suddenly glad that I was alone in here. Explaining that my daughter was cooking up alien bug monsters… yeah, that would be awkward.

I heard a slurping sound from Taylor's end. Considering her new dietary habits and manner of recreation, I was somewhat concerned. "Taylor," I asked, "what are you drinking?"

"Antifreeze," she answered matter of factly. I was silent for a moment. "Dad?"

"...Why?"

"Uh… this is probably going to sound silly, but… I had a weird dream the other night." She paused. "I was cold, and it felt like someone was poking holes in me. They were talking about something, but all I could hear was the word 'some' and a conversation about getting something neutered. Then I got a lot colder and woke up with the strange feeling that I needed to be a bit more proactive in building my toxin resistance." I heard another slurp. "It's not that bad, actually."

"You're gonna be the death of me, Kiddo."

"Sorry."

"It's alright," I said, "but you're okay otherwise?"

"Yeah," she said. I heard a disturbance of some kind, "um, Tattletale is here, and it feels important. Can you hold on for a second?"

"Yes." It was at that moment that my communicator let out another, deeper beep. "Actually, I'm getting another call."

"Oh, okay. So we'll talk some more in a little bit?"

"Sounds good. I love you."

"Love you too, Dad." she hung up, and I switched calls.

"Boss man here," I answered with my civilian call sign.

"There's a situation down at the gate," Kurt's voice said through the device's speaker. "I think it needs your attention"

"What's going on?" I asked back.

"I don't think you'll believe me until you see it yourself."

"Alright, I'll be down in a second." I ended the call and made my way to the gate while trying not to imagine the worst case scenario.

The first thing I noticed, when I got to the already opened gate, was the leering, fanged mouth on the demonic visage that hid Oni Lee's face. Then I noticed that he was holding a white flag and wasn't… visibly armed. In fact, he wasn't visibly dressed--other than his mask, he was only wearing boxer shorts and boots. It was bizarre, but I guess someone with his reputation needed to be extra thorough when proving that they came in peace. He saw me and motioned for me to come closer.

"Message," he said, "from Lung to Bastion." He held out a folded piece of paper. After a moment, I took the note and the other man turned around, crumbling to ash moments later. I read the note.

"Somer's Rock, 8:00 P.M. Bring any associates," I said aloud, "and there's an address that I'm assuming is for Somer's Rock." I looked to Kurt. "How would you like to test drive the powered armor tonight?"

Long Live Empress Taylor​

Gearshift stopped the transport--an unarmed military-style personnel carrier, albeit one modified with Terran-based armor and disguised as a moving van--about a block from the bar and we piled out and walked the rest of the way. Uber and Leet, just a few hours into their career as legitimate heroes, led the way as they'd been here a few times before. They were dressed in custom modified Raider uniforms, their ghost masks replaced with helmets they claimed were modeled on someone named Captain Falcon but in colors that matched the Raiders' equipment. I'd asked and they'd just said something about Leet getting an 'F-Zero' vibe from something that was apparently meant to be his tech combined with mine. Next was Gearshift, dressed in a mechanic's jumpsuit--reinforced with a ballistic weave--and a mask, with built in rectangular welding goggles, that covered the top half of her face. Her blonde hair was in a pixie cut, completing her transformation. I followed behind her, in my normal sleek powered armor, and my Lieutenant held up the rear, doing admirably in the bulkier but more powerful model he was currently piloting.

Somer's Rock was a nondescript hole in the wall with rusted bars in the windows, the same as most of the other buildings on this street. If it wasn't for the deaf family that owned and ran it, going back generations I was told, it would be utterly unremarkable. My Lieutenant had a bit of trouble getting through the door, but he managed to get in without causing damage to the building. Other than the young woman and the twin men behind the bar, there were four people in the bar, arranged around a clustered group of tables. Sitting on a chair that barely held his massive muscular form was Lung, his dragon's mask askew, so as to show his mouth. He was drinking vodka from a bottle as we entered, rather than any stereotypically "Asian" beverage. Standing behind the tattooed man were Oni Lee and a woman wearing a metal mask, with a gas mask filter, who I recognized from my research into the local villains as Bakuda. She was relatively new in town, it's only been a few months at most since Lung recruited her, and she was completely apparently a mad-bomber style Tinker. Sitting in the chair across from Lung was a bone-thin man in an all-concealing, skin-tight black bodysuit. He turned to face me and I saw the image of a cobra in white upon his face.

"You invited a hero, Lung?" The man said, "I'm quite certain that that's against the rules."

"He's involved," the muscle-bound brute replied, "and I'd kindly suggest that you hold your tongue unless you want me to rip it from your fucking mouth."

"Apologies," the man said, he stood and came over to us. He extended his hand to shake. "Coil."

I hesitated for just a moment in taking his hand, then answered "Bastion. This is my Lieutenant," I said with a gesture to Kurt's powered armored form, "You probably already know about Uber and Leet."

"I'd wondered where they'd disappeared off to," the snake-faced man said.

"Yeah, we're legit now," Uber interjected. "Paid off some fines, talked to some lawyer's, worked something out at the DA's office. As of today, it's all official."

Leet grumbled something about an "arm and a leg". I'd been informed that a lot of those fines had come out of his tinkering budget.

"Is that Squealer!?" shouted the woman behind Lung.

"It's Gearshift now," the Raider's latest Tinker replied.

"Leaving your boyfriend for the guy who crippled him and put him in prison?" the other woman mock-asked, "that's cold." I could practically taste the rage Gearshift was directing to Bakuda.

"Excuse me," came a new voice in a tone dripping with sarcasm, "you're blocking the door." Coil returned to his seat and my team and I cleared the door for the new arrivals. Entering behind the skull-helmed young man and the purple-clad villainess I'd encountered in the cemetery came a young man in an effeminate but regal outfit and a Venetian mask, who I assumed to have made the comment, and a girl with a fur collar and a plastic dog mask. Grue looked at the masked boy in what I assumed to be a glare. Finally came my daughter, clad in only the scales I'd forced myself to accept were her only costume and--

"What the hell!?" I shouted, looking Taylor in the eye.

I'd startled her and she stumbled back. "You had to have known," she said, "besides, it's not like anyone can see anything."

"Not that," I said, and pointed to the bandaged stump where her right hand was supposed to be. "When were you planning to tell me that you'd lost your hand?"

"Oh," she said in a completely flat tone. "Completely honest I kind of forgot about it." I wanted to question how someone could forget that they lost a hand, but… "It doesn't hurt and it's gonna grow back, so really there's nothing to worry about."

"How?"

"It got caught inside Hookwolf while the rest of the team and I were robbing him," she answered matter of factly, "but he's in jail and I'm not so who got the last laugh?"

I exhaled and tried to calm down, just in time for more people to come in. Dressed in an odd outfit that couldn't decide if it was a dress or riot gear was a woman with a long black ponytail, accompanied by an obese, pale man with bits of spiraled shell stuck upon his skin, an orange boy with red hair and a tail wearing only shorts, both with matching "U" tattoos signifying that they were case 53s--the Boy's above his heart, the man's on his arm--as well as a girl in a green robe and striped mask and a girl in red and black with a gas mask. I recognized the leader as Faultline, but I'd admit that I'd lost interest in her group when I'd learned they were mercenaries who often operated outside of the city and didn't investigate further, preferring to prioritize the major gangs.

The ponytailed woman looked over all of the people who were standing, then looked at Tattletale in what I could tell even through her mask was a sneer. She began walking around the standing crowd to the group of tables. I noticed Tattletale tap Taylor on the shoulder and whisper something in her ear. I noticed her slip a bill into Taylor's good hand.

"Hey, Newter," Taylor said, "will five bucks buy a kiss?"

"...Yeah," the now named Newter said, "but it'll have to wait unti--" The orange boy was cut off when Taylor grabbed him by the wrist, swung him around, and open mouth kissed him right in the middle of the bar. The boy yelped, causing his employer to turn back and attracting the attention of the other gathered villains. I saw Grue palm his helmet when he thought no one was looking. Then Taylor released the young man, handed him the bill, stepped away, licked her lips, and then started licking her palm she'd held him with. The young man blinked. "What just happened?" he asked in a confused tone.

"I'dunnah, purple-ferret-man," Taylor said in a daze, "but--my hand'z goon! Gun. Gone, that za'one" Taylor was staring at the hand that she hadn't lost.

"Whoa, Newter, your spit must be some good shit," said the renaissance dressed boy--Regent. "I've seen her drink a gallon of LSD--like a literal gallon out of a milk jug--like it was nothing. Then chase it with a brick of hash and a tablespoon of raw heroin. Still, like it's nothing." The young man seemed so utterly serious. "And then wash it down with an entire bottle of whatever liquor she had on hand. Still, like it was nothing. Then she ate the bottle. Like, mild hallucinations at the absolute worst."

"The Merchants were so pis… piz… mad the day I stole that stuff," Taylor let out. Then she giggled, and then she noticed Gearshift. "Speaking of… sorry about throwin' that dumpster at you."

"Apology accepted," Gearshift said with a gulp. I noticed that she was inching away from the table and the still crowded entrance of the bar.

I sighed. "I'm standing in a bar full of supervillains and reformed supervillains. My fifteen-year-old daughter is naked in public, and she just kissed a boy who as far as I know she just met tonight. She is currently higher than a kite and has apparently picked up one hell of a substance abuse habit. Normally I'd have flown into a murderous rage right now, but after the last few months..."

"It's okay da'," Taylor said in a slur, "I only like him for his secreesh… sectrios… juices."

The young man, Newter, immediately placed himself behind the rest of his team. Apparently, he thought I was about to give him the shotgun speech.

I turned and with a sigh took a seat at the side of the collected tables so that I could see both Coil and Lung. Faultline took a seat one away from Lung, while the rest of her crew took to a booth behind her. The Undersiders, with Tattletale leading Taylor by the hand, took a booth opposite Faultline's group.

"Not you," Lung suddenly declared when Grue tried to take the seat next to Coil. He pointed past the helmeted young man towards my daughter. "Empress."

"I'm not the leader," Taylor said back from where she was sitting… with no trace of daze or slur. Tattletale smiled in Faultline's direction. "Grue is," Taylor continued.

"And Grue and the rest of the little shits would be dead if you had not interfered in my vengeance," Lung replied, "and I burned down the loft they hid in that night--they moved in with you, didn't they?" Lung didn't wait for confirmation, "You didn't join them, they joined you." Strangely, the girl in the dog mask, Bitch, nodded in apparent agreement. Lung finished the vodka he had and moved his mask back into place. "And they're only alive because you're more interesting than killing them is, how can you say that he's still the leader?"

"I think the fact that she defers to my authority despite what you say is proof enough," Grue interrupted.

"I wasn't talking to you," Lung said dismissively.

"He's right though," Taylor said in a display of loyalty, "I'm not the leader because I respect Grue and his authority, because he is still the leader, not me. Even if I wanted to be in charge, I'd probably just fuck it up, I've only been at the villain game for a few weeks."

"And a whelp is still a dragon," Lung said. "I know your kind, Empress. It's right there in your name. You won't be satisfied with a subordinate role forever." Lung looked directly at Taylor, ignoring everyone else who was present, and finished. "Skip the bullshit and take your place at the front now."

Taylor did not reply. She turned from Lung to the deaf waitress, who apparently was not aware of the tense discussion around her, and Taylor wrote something on the notepad the waitress handed to her. Only then did she say "You might be right," she said without looking at Lung, "But right now I'm happy where I am and I don't like you disrespecting my friend and teammate."

"I hope we're not interrupting anything," came a new voice, and several people turned to the door. I turned to look as well and saw a team dressed in various variations of red and black. A masked young man in a top hat, a girl with a sun motif, a heavily armored figure with a square mask, and what seemed to be a giant humanoid octopus in a black robe with a red mask, proportioned for a human, over its head but not obscuring its face.

"You weren't invited," Lung said after a moment.

"I invited them," Coil interjected. "The Travelers are a nomadic group who came into town just a few days ago. I figured it was only fair to let them know it was happening."

Lung looked at Coil in silence, then simply turned to face forward. With apparently no further objection, Grue took his seat. The masked young man with the Travelers took the seat on the other side of Coil. After a few moments of silence, where the waitress took orders and brought drinks--from the corner of my eye I saw Taylor lifting her teacup with a hand that wasn't there, without even seeming to realize she was doing it, and I smiled--Lung spoke up. "Now unless another uninvited guest decides to come in, that should be everyone..." I couldn't help but feel like there was a threat in that sentence. "I have called this meeting," the man said, "because I'm feeling generous. Thus, I think it's only fair to make sure that everyone knows that Kaiser has lost his fucking mind and the Protectorate is too busy hiding from a young girl or else cleaning up after her messes to do anything about it."

"Are you going to tell us something that we don't already know?" Grue asked. His tone was certainly professional, but something about his phrasing led me to believe that he was a bit put out at having been treated so dismissively earlier.

"I do have to agree with the young man," Coil added, "it's quite apparent that Kaiser has become obsessed with destroying Empress, but how is that anyone else's problem? I mean, she's certainly got the situation in hand." Trickster laughed at the perceived joke. He must have seen Taylor's bandages.

"You've certainly seen it, Bastion" Lung said without looking in my direction. "Every bit of Empire territory near the docks has seen increased activity." I'd seen it, yes, but… "The rumor on the street is that Kaiser has stopped selling guns, but guns are still coming into the city."

"We've seen increased Empire activity outside of their turf," Faultline added, "and we did see Night and Fog a few nights ago..."

"And my own sources say they've vanished from Boston," Coil continued, "and if they're back here in the Bay, that would mean that Purity--"

"Is working directly under the Kaiser once more," Lung said with a tone that indicated his displeasure at having been interrupted. Bakuda glanced between Faultline and Coil in what I assumed was a look of pity. "And if Purity and her old team are once more active within the Empire, then the bastards are preparing for war, and if you think he's going to stop with five children..."

There was a long moment when no one responded. "Okay," Trickster said, "I think that just maybe we came to this city at the wrong time." The young man stood up, his team following suit, and left without another word. From the corner of my eye, I caught Tattletale frown and then whisper something to Taylor.

"So, what is it that you want to do about it?" Grue asked.

"Nothing. If Kaiser dares to attack my borders I will fight him and I will win. Otherwise, I'll simply enjoy the carnage from afar." Lung said bluntly. "I'm more interested in what everyone else is going to do."

"We're mercenaries," Faultline answered. "We do what we're paid to do, and if no one is willing to pay we'll just hole up and wait it out. We only came to this meeting because Lung's messenger said there might be a job for us." She turned to the Undersiders. "And honestly I'm not buying that Kaiser will come after all of us when he's just gunning for one girl… Sorry kids, unless you can pay our fee you're on your own." Faultline didn't sound particularly apologetic.

"I suppose that I'll deploy my resources and protect my assets," Coil added, "but I doubt I'll employ my forces against the Empire directly. At least," he continued, "until I see evidence that Lung is right about the Empire escalating beyond his grudge with the Undersiders."

Everyone was looking at me and my group now. I thought about it. I wanted to come out and say that I'd have Taylor's back… but if the PRT had proof that I had contact with Taylor or direct knowledge that I'd aided or abetted a villain or "villain..." They might start treating me like just another gang leader, and that could jeopardize the situation I was in with the city and Guild and prevent me from helping Taylor in the future. I wanted to think that she was a big girl who could hold her own against Kaiser and his band of bastards… But she'd already lost a hand to one of them. What if she loses something more important next time? What if she's wrong about it growing back?

"I'm a hero," I said after a moment. "I can't be seen helping or working with villains. Even coming to this meeting is a huge risk." I sighed. "I'm sorry to say that I can't openly contribute to any war effort." 'not that it's going stop me from helping my daughter under the table or stomping Kaiser's ass as part of my "normal heroics" if I get the chance' I thought. Taylor was psychic and sitting next to a girl who can either read minds or easily fake it. One of them had to have picked up on my thoughts or at least caught my hidden meaning.

"Damn," Bakuda interjected. "The big bad Nazis are out for your mutant blood, and not even your daddy is going to help you." She looked right at Taylor as she said it. "That's gotta hurt."

For a brief moment, Taylor's eyes flashed with blue and purple light, causing the mad bomber to back up, but no one else seemed to have noticed. Whatever Taylor was going to say was cut off, however, by Lung speaking up once more. "There is… something that could be done. A bit of assistance I can offer. Protection. Training."

"Really now?" Grue asked.

"Not to you," Lung said dismissively. "Empress, you have… potential."

"Potential?" Taylor answered with apparent non-interest.

"You were able to keep up with my power for a good long while," Lung began, "and to be honest our battle was quite enjoyable--despite your… obvious lack of combat experience." I was beginning to get uncomfortable. "I let you live, those weeks ago, because seeing what you'll become is more interesting than spilling your blood." My fist clenched.

"Oh… Is this the 'join me and together we'll rule the Galaxy as blah blah and yadda' speech?" Taylor seemed so bored. "Are you going to use some metaphor involving some legend about a carp swimming upstream as part of your pitch?"

"No--"

"Besides, even if I wanted to 'trade up,' " Taylor said with one handed air quotes, "I'm not Asian. You can't tell anymore, thanks to the scales and armor that adorn my beautiful new body, but I'm as white as it gets. I'd never fit in."

"There's a legend in Vietnam, albeit a recent one," Lung began, "that involves a fire-breathing dragon. Leaving behind the cultural appropriation and fruit origin aspects of the legend, the important part is that once the dragon was slain the soldiers who did so ate it's flesh and gained a portion of its strength. I turn into a fiery dragon and you went from a twig to an Amazon after eating my flesh. That would be enough if I didn't suspect that there was more to it."

Taylor looked down at her own body, then looked back up. "You're laying the flattery on a bit thick. I bulked up, but I'm far from an Amazon." She started picking at her fangs with a claw. "By the way, a piece of one of your scales has been stuck in my teeth ever since." A lot of people were starting to look at Taylor like she was insane. To be fair, I was still coming to terms with her apparent lack of a cannibalism taboo myself, even knowing it was a zerg-influenced aspect of her power. "I fail to see how that changes anything, no matter what else you think there is 'to it.' "

"Why do you consume the flesh and blood of your enemies?" Lung asked. "The Dallon girl won't shut up about you drinking her blood and the rumor is that Hookwolf is missing a chunk of his arm following the thrashing you gave him."

"Are you going somewhere with this?" Grue interrupted.

"Answer the question, Empress" Lung said, ignoring Grue.

"It's part of my power," Taylor said. "When I eat something, I gain its properties."

"Or in other words," Lund finished, "My flesh is now part of you--meaning that part of you is Asian."

"You're stretching," Taylor replied. "Look, you see something in me you like and want to help? That's fine." She finished her tea, "but I'm not going to leave my friends. I told you, I'm happy where I am."

"And I don't appreciate you trying to poach one of my teammates," Grue said. "It's very unprofessional. As is not reprimanding your minion for speaking out of turn." Grue pointed to Bakuda, who in turn seemed to glare at him.

"You can't have Empress," Bitch said, speaking for the first time since the Undersiders arrived, "she's ours."

"If that offer of help was genuine," Grue continued as though Bitch hadn't interrupted him, "then you'll give it on our terms or not at all."

"Or I could just kill you all now for your insolence," Lung said a heated tone. Bakuda took a step away from the table.

"And break neutrality at a meeting you called yourself?" Grue replied, "are you prepared for the fall out of that?"

"He has a point," Coil said deliberately, "I'd have thought you would have thought of the rules before you went wagging your tongue, after your threat to mine earlier."

"And you're outnumbered," Faultline picked up. "Even discounting people without weapons or powers they can use in a fight right now, that's still eleven on three." She sounded angry. It made sense, she was a mercenary, they needed rules like the ones here to have any sense of legitimacy.

"Eleven on one," Tattletale corrected. "Lee and Bakuda aren't armed. In a fight on Lung's scale, they're dead weight."

"We've fought you before," Grue continued, "we only had trouble the last time because you got lucky. Every other time we fought, we either came out on top or got away unscathed."

"Unlike you," Taylor added, "I don't get weaker when the fight's over. I'm a great deal stronger now than I was at the end of our last fight, while you'd be starting from your base and scaling up to my level, and I do not appreciate you threatening or disrespecting my friends."

"And if you somehow managed to hurt her," I interjected, "I'd kill you and have your corpse stuffed to use a prop to demonstrate what happens to people who hurt my family." I hadn't planned for Kurt to slam an armored fist into an armored palm, but it punctuated my statement perfectly.

Everyone turned to look at me. "Are you sure you're a hero, Daddy-Empress?" Regent asked. "Because that sounded like something a villain would say."

"So, Lung" Tattletale picked up, "what would bruise your ego more? Starting shit at a meeting you called and getting your ass beat, or backing off when everyone points out that you've stepped out of line?"

Lung let out a deep, rumbling laugh. "You've all certainly got balls," he said. "There's still business to attend to" he continued in a deadly serious tone, "but it can wait until the dust settles. Lee, Bakuda, we're leaving." Lung stood and made for the door. "My offer still stands, Empress: Protection and training, for you and you alone, if you're willing to admit the folly you've made here today." And with that, the tattooed man left, his minions in tow.

Shortly after, drinks were paid for and people left. Soon it was just my group and the Undersiders. "About earlier," I began--"

"I caught what you meant," Taylor interrupted. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Standing up to Lung like that," I shook my head, "you're going to give your old man a heart attack."

"If you need a transplant, I've got an extra." I laughed at her joke, and she continued "honestly, Tattletale figured Lung was gonna try something like that, from the way the invitation he sent us was worded."

"So we rehearsed a couple of responses ahead of time, for what we thought he might try," Tattletale picked up, "though we did get thrown for a loop a few times."

"That bit at the end was complete improve," Regent added. "I don't know about anyone else, but I wasn't really expecting everyone to turn on Lung the second he got mad." Tattletale gave a noncommittal sound at that.

"But yeah," she continued, "in hindsight, this whole meeting was a pretense using Kaiser's hateboner as an excuse. Lung wants to know what Empress is going to turn into--I think he wants to fight her again--and this whole meeting was an attempt to learn more about her and either get her under his thumb so he can shape her growth..."

"...Or piss us off enough that we start shit and I have to fight every other villain in town at once and adapt to it," Taylor finished. "Which I think is why he let Bakuda run her mouth. Kind of backfired on him there at the end."

I made a mental note to prepare for a fight with Lung once the Empire had been dealt with. If that son of a bitch was going to obsess over Taylor like that.

"But it's getting late, and we've got more to discuss amongst ourselves," Grue said, "Empress, I know you'd probably like more time with your dad but..."

"I understand," Taylor replied, "I'll call you in a bit Dad."

I nodded and the Undersiders left.

"So," Gearshift said after remaining silent the entire meeting, "your kid's a drug addicted cannibal, and the two most dangerous people in town are obsessed with her?"

I sighed, "it's a long story."