Skittering Thoughts
PieceThruWar
Not an eldritch abomination
- Location
- The Server Farm
After the last few days I'd had, I doubt anyone would be surprised that I wasn't in the best state of mind.
Fighting and somehow helping capture Lung of all people on my first night out in costume had been unexpected enough, but then everything else just kept piling on. Skipping class to join a gang of villains, kicking a teammate in the face when she sent her dogs on me, getting brushed off by one of my childhood heroes when I was trying to help, and then the bank happened. I had mixed feelings about the whole incident.
Sure, it was terrible that I had to threaten a bunch of innocent people with deadly spiders, but I wouldn't have actually let them get bit. It didn't help that I felt kind of proud about being able to beat the city's foremost hero. Even with my mistake of telling Armsmaster about it beforehand, I think we could have escaped if it wasn't for sheer bad luck on our part. Glory Girl and the girl who took down Lisa were only there because of Panacea, any other day we wouldn't have had to deal with them. So yeah, I was feeling oddly good in my cell as I waited for whatever happened next. I'd thought my power was weak, but I beat two of the strongest capes on the East coast in less than a week.
Armsmaster tried to intimidate me into a plea bargain and being forced into the wards as an ex-villain. I was quickly losing what little respect I had left for the leader of our local Protectorate, the man was a bully in power armor who thought he could intimidate me into accepting a raw deal when I was just trying to help him! Not something I was willing to do after practically handing him a promotion with Lung, the Asian man's supposed health problems were the Tinker's fault for tranquilizing him, not mine.
Of course, he didn't see it that way. I was being disrespectful and delusional, because what better way to convince people in charge to side against someone than to smear their reputation. I only needed to look at my former best friend to see how well that was going to work for him. Since I couldn't defend myself, it was pretty unlikely anybody would care about my side of things by the time I got the chance to explain myself.
So I spent what felt like forever, but was really barely a day, exploring the PRT headquarters with my bugs to pass the time. The building was a maze of removable walls, offices placed haphazardly, and redundant duct-work, but I had time and numbers on my side. My power might not have let me see or hear anything, but just knowing where everything and everyone was was probably the only reason we managed to escape with our lives when Bakuda went nuts.
We because there was no way I was going to leave the closest thing to allies I had behind to die to the psycho tinker. It was surprisingly easy to short-circuit the door of my cell when the building was exploding and the others were quick to follow my lead as we escaped, even Bitch didn't argue when I explained I had a map in my head. I didn't know at the time which one other than Rachel was a murderer, but leaving them was as good as killing them myself and we made it out just in time to see Assault turn Bakuda into a smear on the street.
I barely avoided vomiting thanks to my insects.
After we somehow managed to avoid the worst of the bombs going off around the city, we decided to go out separate ways and lay low for a few days. Dad was so worried when I made it home that he accepted my lame excuse of a sleepover when he asked where I had been. He still grounded me and told me to call next time, but as long as he didn't pry, I was fine with the punishment. It wasn't like I had anywhere to go.
So things went... well, not back to normal, but close enough. It was kind of surreal to go to school and worry about bullies when I had just been through a crazy amount of violence, got arrested as a villain, and there was a black hole floating above the city. I honestly zoned out a bit thinking about how to improve my armor during one of Emma's 'this is why you suck' gathering.
Which was why I was probably more surprised than anyone else when she got backhanded to the floor by a middleschooler. Well, that and the fact that I knew the middleschooler in question. At first I thought the pink haired girl was there for me. I mean, it would be against Lisa vaunted 'unwritten rules', but judging by the tiny cape's lack of costume as she used arcs of lightning to intimidate the flock of bitches, I doubted she cared about secret identities.
Naturally I ran. I was halfway across the school when it dawned on me what exactly the other cape had been saying. That she was somehow friends with Madison should have been shocking, but I was too caught up with the fact that she was defending me. Did she know who I was? If not, why would she just randomly show up at a school she doesn't go to? People don't just go visit their friend in class, I was fairly certain about that. Intrigued and confused, I ended up going back to search for her and find out what exactly was going on.
When I managed to catch up to the two of them, they had wandered up onto the roof, forcing me to keep my distance so as not to be spotted on the stairs. I couldn't make out any words and was prepared to wait a while in a disused classroom when I heard the sparking of electricity and a pained scream. It sounded like the pink haired cape was torturing Madison up there. Wasn't she supposed to be a hero?
As it turned out after the child cape found me, chased me down, and blinded me with her powers; no, she was definitely not a hero. Oh, she did good things and was generally has a positive effect on the city from what I can tell, but that didn't make her a hero. She was a rogue at best and an anti-hero or disinterested villain at worst. The more she talked and alluded to some rather horrible things she'd done, the more I was inclined to label her a villain.
Then again, with the revelation about Shadow Stalker....
"Maybe real heroes just don't exist." I said to myself as I watched Louise and Panacea talk to one of the doctors.
Like I said before, I really wasn't in the best state of mind and somehow I'd let the pink haired cape drag me off to the hospital. It was good that she did because I probably would have done something stupid when Armsmaster showed up to Winslow to help Sophia Stalker. The raging bitch was a hero that shoved her classmates into toxic waste while I was labeled a villain for trying to help!
If anyone bothered to ask, I wouldn't be able to explain just what I was feeling at the time. Anger, disappointment, betrayal, hopelessness, determination to be better than them? The best answer was probably 'yes' and my bugs were reacting to it all. I'm kind of surprised nobody seemed to notice... other than the not-hero, who waved in my direction.
How was she able to notice when nobody else did, was she a thinker?
Considering the random powers she'd shown so far, I was inclined to say she was like Eidolon. It figured that a kid would get such an overpowered set of powers and choose to just do whatever she likes or sell her healing. Given how the week was going, I wouldn't doubt it if somebody came by with evidence the Triumvirate ghost himself was a alcoholic wife abuser who drowned puppies on the weekend. Okay, so maybe that was a bit much, but it seemed like all the heroes were turning out to be horrible people. Why couldn't I have gotten amazing abilities, I could help so many people with just Louise's healing.
"You look constipated."
Looking up at the tired voice, my eyes met Panacea's. There were dark bags under her eyes and she looked more exhausted than anyone I could remember seeing. At least there was one hero I could still have faith in. If anyone was a genuinely good person, it had to be the one who practically worked herself to death everyday healing people for free.
"Not even gonna reply? Geeze, you're not actually constipated are you? I get enough people coming in for butt stuff." Panacea groaned when I reflexively ignored the joke, causing me to wince.
"N-no, I'm fine." I assured her, not wanting to think about the 'butt stuff' people would come to the world's best healer for. "The last few days have been pretty shitty, so I just have a lot on my mind right now, sorry."
Laying her face down on the cafeteria table, which didn't look very clean despite being in a hospital, Panacea made a sympathetic grunt. "Tell me about it, it seems like every time I turn around, something's gone wrong."
"Oh?" I asked.
"Oh yeah, absolute shit." She answered into the table, not even bothering to turn her head to the side to make it easier. "It all started with that damned bank robbery. You probably saw it on the news, but a group of no name villains decided to go psycho and hold everyone hostage with fucking spiders."
I tried not to look as guilty as I felt about that. Even if I wasn't going to do anything, that probably caused the healer nightmares. Then again, she turned it around on me, so maybe I shouldn't feel so bad about it.
Mistaking my expression for something else, she continued, "Yeah, it was pretty sick, but not nearly as bad as being held captive while a little girl rips out her own guts in my living room."
"What?!" I asked, because what the hell? "Who? When? Why?! Why are you telling me?!"
"I thought we were doing the thing where you try to one up the other's shitty week." Panacea said dryly. I couldn't see her smirk, but I was sure it was there. "Louise freaked out because Armsmaster put tracking nanobots in her food, so she decided that the best thing to do was to cut them out with a steak knife."
I tried to form words, but nothing came out as I looked at the smiling little girl. She was animatedly gesturing to a doctor who was writing something down, cheerfully explaining something or other, and definitely not looking like she tried to die like an dishonored samurai. Lisa had warned us all that the girl was unstable and probably killed people before, but I was hesitant to believe everything she said after the bank. Hell, her unwritten rules speech didn't seem to mean much either, so that was two failures in her power. Or was the second just an assumption she'd made on her own?
Eventually I managed to choke out, "How long ago?"
"The morning before yesterday. It happened when she came over for breakfast... my family's kind of pissed at Armsmaster right now." Shrugging, still not lifting her head, she asked, "So what's your problem? Other than being dragged around by a pink haired munchkin, I mean."
Well, I wasn't going to answer that honestly. "My dad grounded me?"
Panacea looked as unimpressed with my response as I felt with myself. Seriously brain, was that the best you can do? I could blame everything I'd been through and my mood whiplash, but I probably would have fumbled that one anyway. Shrugging, I tried to look nonchalant as the subject of our conversation approached.
"I return with good news!" The girl chirped in what I was sure was an act. Her overly cheerful demeanor was too much of a contrast with how she was at school and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Imagining her covered in her own blood caused me to equate her with another cheerful child parahuman and I didn't quite manage to hold back a cringe. Comparing her to Bonesaw would probably irritate her, but I couldn't help but think I wasn't the only one to make the connection.
She was just creepy in a lot of ways.
Louise continued as if noticing, or more likely not caring about, my reaction."Doctor Bailey says the PRT are finally pulling people from the black sun's orbit, so there's going to be a lot of wounded people coming in the next few hours!"
"Woooo." Panacea deadpanned, looking like she was about to slide off of her seat and sleep on the floor. Just how long had she been working?
"I guess that's good, that means more people survived Bakuda's bombs than we thought." I was trying to be positive and give her the benefit of the doubt.
"Correct, which means I should be able to afford more on my list of items to buy." Comments like that were making it hard, though. Pausing with her mouth opened in a comical 'o' shape, she slammed a fist into her palm before rooting around in her pocket and pulling out an expensive looking cellphone. "I still need to do the number exchanging thing with you both. Madison insists it's what friends do."
"Friends?" I blurted out without thinking. How did she figure we were friends? She'd all but kidnapped me after assaulting me with powers and this was after she'd gotten me arrested!
"Of course, silly." She stated, giving me a threatening glare that was completely at odds with her jovial tone. Since I didn't like my odds against her if we ever met again, not without backup and a plan anyway, I decided just to accept it. Maybe I could even get her to heal what she did to Lisa.
Fighting and somehow helping capture Lung of all people on my first night out in costume had been unexpected enough, but then everything else just kept piling on. Skipping class to join a gang of villains, kicking a teammate in the face when she sent her dogs on me, getting brushed off by one of my childhood heroes when I was trying to help, and then the bank happened. I had mixed feelings about the whole incident.
Sure, it was terrible that I had to threaten a bunch of innocent people with deadly spiders, but I wouldn't have actually let them get bit. It didn't help that I felt kind of proud about being able to beat the city's foremost hero. Even with my mistake of telling Armsmaster about it beforehand, I think we could have escaped if it wasn't for sheer bad luck on our part. Glory Girl and the girl who took down Lisa were only there because of Panacea, any other day we wouldn't have had to deal with them. So yeah, I was feeling oddly good in my cell as I waited for whatever happened next. I'd thought my power was weak, but I beat two of the strongest capes on the East coast in less than a week.
Armsmaster tried to intimidate me into a plea bargain and being forced into the wards as an ex-villain. I was quickly losing what little respect I had left for the leader of our local Protectorate, the man was a bully in power armor who thought he could intimidate me into accepting a raw deal when I was just trying to help him! Not something I was willing to do after practically handing him a promotion with Lung, the Asian man's supposed health problems were the Tinker's fault for tranquilizing him, not mine.
Of course, he didn't see it that way. I was being disrespectful and delusional, because what better way to convince people in charge to side against someone than to smear their reputation. I only needed to look at my former best friend to see how well that was going to work for him. Since I couldn't defend myself, it was pretty unlikely anybody would care about my side of things by the time I got the chance to explain myself.
So I spent what felt like forever, but was really barely a day, exploring the PRT headquarters with my bugs to pass the time. The building was a maze of removable walls, offices placed haphazardly, and redundant duct-work, but I had time and numbers on my side. My power might not have let me see or hear anything, but just knowing where everything and everyone was was probably the only reason we managed to escape with our lives when Bakuda went nuts.
We because there was no way I was going to leave the closest thing to allies I had behind to die to the psycho tinker. It was surprisingly easy to short-circuit the door of my cell when the building was exploding and the others were quick to follow my lead as we escaped, even Bitch didn't argue when I explained I had a map in my head. I didn't know at the time which one other than Rachel was a murderer, but leaving them was as good as killing them myself and we made it out just in time to see Assault turn Bakuda into a smear on the street.
I barely avoided vomiting thanks to my insects.
After we somehow managed to avoid the worst of the bombs going off around the city, we decided to go out separate ways and lay low for a few days. Dad was so worried when I made it home that he accepted my lame excuse of a sleepover when he asked where I had been. He still grounded me and told me to call next time, but as long as he didn't pry, I was fine with the punishment. It wasn't like I had anywhere to go.
So things went... well, not back to normal, but close enough. It was kind of surreal to go to school and worry about bullies when I had just been through a crazy amount of violence, got arrested as a villain, and there was a black hole floating above the city. I honestly zoned out a bit thinking about how to improve my armor during one of Emma's 'this is why you suck' gathering.
Which was why I was probably more surprised than anyone else when she got backhanded to the floor by a middleschooler. Well, that and the fact that I knew the middleschooler in question. At first I thought the pink haired girl was there for me. I mean, it would be against Lisa vaunted 'unwritten rules', but judging by the tiny cape's lack of costume as she used arcs of lightning to intimidate the flock of bitches, I doubted she cared about secret identities.
Naturally I ran. I was halfway across the school when it dawned on me what exactly the other cape had been saying. That she was somehow friends with Madison should have been shocking, but I was too caught up with the fact that she was defending me. Did she know who I was? If not, why would she just randomly show up at a school she doesn't go to? People don't just go visit their friend in class, I was fairly certain about that. Intrigued and confused, I ended up going back to search for her and find out what exactly was going on.
When I managed to catch up to the two of them, they had wandered up onto the roof, forcing me to keep my distance so as not to be spotted on the stairs. I couldn't make out any words and was prepared to wait a while in a disused classroom when I heard the sparking of electricity and a pained scream. It sounded like the pink haired cape was torturing Madison up there. Wasn't she supposed to be a hero?
As it turned out after the child cape found me, chased me down, and blinded me with her powers; no, she was definitely not a hero. Oh, she did good things and was generally has a positive effect on the city from what I can tell, but that didn't make her a hero. She was a rogue at best and an anti-hero or disinterested villain at worst. The more she talked and alluded to some rather horrible things she'd done, the more I was inclined to label her a villain.
Then again, with the revelation about Shadow Stalker....
"Maybe real heroes just don't exist." I said to myself as I watched Louise and Panacea talk to one of the doctors.
Like I said before, I really wasn't in the best state of mind and somehow I'd let the pink haired cape drag me off to the hospital. It was good that she did because I probably would have done something stupid when Armsmaster showed up to Winslow to help Sophia Stalker. The raging bitch was a hero that shoved her classmates into toxic waste while I was labeled a villain for trying to help!
If anyone bothered to ask, I wouldn't be able to explain just what I was feeling at the time. Anger, disappointment, betrayal, hopelessness, determination to be better than them? The best answer was probably 'yes' and my bugs were reacting to it all. I'm kind of surprised nobody seemed to notice... other than the not-hero, who waved in my direction.
How was she able to notice when nobody else did, was she a thinker?
Considering the random powers she'd shown so far, I was inclined to say she was like Eidolon. It figured that a kid would get such an overpowered set of powers and choose to just do whatever she likes or sell her healing. Given how the week was going, I wouldn't doubt it if somebody came by with evidence the Triumvirate ghost himself was a alcoholic wife abuser who drowned puppies on the weekend. Okay, so maybe that was a bit much, but it seemed like all the heroes were turning out to be horrible people. Why couldn't I have gotten amazing abilities, I could help so many people with just Louise's healing.
"You look constipated."
Looking up at the tired voice, my eyes met Panacea's. There were dark bags under her eyes and she looked more exhausted than anyone I could remember seeing. At least there was one hero I could still have faith in. If anyone was a genuinely good person, it had to be the one who practically worked herself to death everyday healing people for free.
"Not even gonna reply? Geeze, you're not actually constipated are you? I get enough people coming in for butt stuff." Panacea groaned when I reflexively ignored the joke, causing me to wince.
"N-no, I'm fine." I assured her, not wanting to think about the 'butt stuff' people would come to the world's best healer for. "The last few days have been pretty shitty, so I just have a lot on my mind right now, sorry."
Laying her face down on the cafeteria table, which didn't look very clean despite being in a hospital, Panacea made a sympathetic grunt. "Tell me about it, it seems like every time I turn around, something's gone wrong."
"Oh?" I asked.
"Oh yeah, absolute shit." She answered into the table, not even bothering to turn her head to the side to make it easier. "It all started with that damned bank robbery. You probably saw it on the news, but a group of no name villains decided to go psycho and hold everyone hostage with fucking spiders."
I tried not to look as guilty as I felt about that. Even if I wasn't going to do anything, that probably caused the healer nightmares. Then again, she turned it around on me, so maybe I shouldn't feel so bad about it.
Mistaking my expression for something else, she continued, "Yeah, it was pretty sick, but not nearly as bad as being held captive while a little girl rips out her own guts in my living room."
"What?!" I asked, because what the hell? "Who? When? Why?! Why are you telling me?!"
"I thought we were doing the thing where you try to one up the other's shitty week." Panacea said dryly. I couldn't see her smirk, but I was sure it was there. "Louise freaked out because Armsmaster put tracking nanobots in her food, so she decided that the best thing to do was to cut them out with a steak knife."
I tried to form words, but nothing came out as I looked at the smiling little girl. She was animatedly gesturing to a doctor who was writing something down, cheerfully explaining something or other, and definitely not looking like she tried to die like an dishonored samurai. Lisa had warned us all that the girl was unstable and probably killed people before, but I was hesitant to believe everything she said after the bank. Hell, her unwritten rules speech didn't seem to mean much either, so that was two failures in her power. Or was the second just an assumption she'd made on her own?
Eventually I managed to choke out, "How long ago?"
"The morning before yesterday. It happened when she came over for breakfast... my family's kind of pissed at Armsmaster right now." Shrugging, still not lifting her head, she asked, "So what's your problem? Other than being dragged around by a pink haired munchkin, I mean."
Well, I wasn't going to answer that honestly. "My dad grounded me?"
Panacea looked as unimpressed with my response as I felt with myself. Seriously brain, was that the best you can do? I could blame everything I'd been through and my mood whiplash, but I probably would have fumbled that one anyway. Shrugging, I tried to look nonchalant as the subject of our conversation approached.
"I return with good news!" The girl chirped in what I was sure was an act. Her overly cheerful demeanor was too much of a contrast with how she was at school and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Imagining her covered in her own blood caused me to equate her with another cheerful child parahuman and I didn't quite manage to hold back a cringe. Comparing her to Bonesaw would probably irritate her, but I couldn't help but think I wasn't the only one to make the connection.
She was just creepy in a lot of ways.
Louise continued as if noticing, or more likely not caring about, my reaction."Doctor Bailey says the PRT are finally pulling people from the black sun's orbit, so there's going to be a lot of wounded people coming in the next few hours!"
"Woooo." Panacea deadpanned, looking like she was about to slide off of her seat and sleep on the floor. Just how long had she been working?
"I guess that's good, that means more people survived Bakuda's bombs than we thought." I was trying to be positive and give her the benefit of the doubt.
"Correct, which means I should be able to afford more on my list of items to buy." Comments like that were making it hard, though. Pausing with her mouth opened in a comical 'o' shape, she slammed a fist into her palm before rooting around in her pocket and pulling out an expensive looking cellphone. "I still need to do the number exchanging thing with you both. Madison insists it's what friends do."
"Friends?" I blurted out without thinking. How did she figure we were friends? She'd all but kidnapped me after assaulting me with powers and this was after she'd gotten me arrested!
"Of course, silly." She stated, giving me a threatening glare that was completely at odds with her jovial tone. Since I didn't like my odds against her if we ever met again, not without backup and a plan anyway, I decided just to accept it. Maybe I could even get her to heal what she did to Lisa.
