why would they? afterall lisa is their queens girlfriend
Bigger and Better Bugs
- Thread starter Istaran
- Start date
- Crossover
6.2
Istaran
Butterscotch Brotherhood
- Location
- Washington State
It was an odd predicament I found myself in at school. Specifically, that I needed to be very intentional with my infiltrators to make sure their grades didn't skyrocket. I let my own grades fly for the sky, knowing the principal would be informed of my Ward status and avoid any untoward investigation into it from going far. And if anyone else inquired, I'd attribute it to the dramatic drop in bullying allowing me to focus more on my studies.
That truly helped a lot, but I also had the advantage of taking a dozen or two classes in any given hour. My brain somehow had no trouble processing all of the information at once, and while most of my drones were pretending not to pay attention to maintain their cover, I was able to process their senses and add to my own academic knowledge. I had some other undisguised drones in the tunnels below the city reading through all of the textbooks, and by now making a good dent on the libraries, both the school's sick sad joke and the public library.
So I cheated on all the tests through the simple expedient of having more hours to study than existed in a day. And that same knowledge was available through me to any drone in my range. So I had to fight the urge to answer everything correctly. I had finally settled on a standing order to my drones for them to ask me the correct answer, then follow their own judgement whether to get things right or wrong on each question, based on their cover.
Meanwhile, Sophia was becoming more and more my friend. In school, she seemed to be torn. She didn't quite own her friendship with me here, it being too much of a whiplash, but she'd dropped her role in bullying me, and started occasionally laughing at Emma's expense when I owned her, and only laughing at Emma's barbs when she managed a truly clever one from time to time.
In the Wards, though, she was all over me. I wasn't trying to encourage anything, but with every prank I pulled, gang banger I stung or even merely threatened into submission, or even simple displays of confidence, I felt her lust for me grow, even spreading into a trickle of rather unhealthy love. There was something broken about her heart that was desperate for… something. Even with my extra sources of information, I didn't understand what. And finding out would probably involve spending more time with her on purpose. I wasn't ready for that.
What I was ready for? Or nearly anyways? The school fashion show. I'd used my bugs to help me recruit girls from all over the school, had Taylor and Rarity work with them to figure out what looked good on them, get their measurements and try things on. I was going to explicitly avoid the cheat of using my own drones as the models. I had, however, replaced Emma's backpack with a drone. Every day I fed her a bit of love when I saw Emma, and got back a report on any pranks she'd been planning on me, helping me subtly avert the worst of them, recover more quickly from others, and most of all, make plans to backfire everything she tried at the fashion show. She had one chance of beating me: legitimately being good at fashion.
She had experience there, connections, money… she would give me a good contest on that front if she would just focus on being the best she could be, instead of trying to come up with ways of sabotaging me.
I was wondering just what was up with that until two days before the event was scheduled. I was at my locker between classes when Sophia visited Emma at her own locker, and Emma's Backpack gave me their whispered conversation as it happened.
"I really like what you're doing, but don't estimate Hebert. She's started to awaken her own inner predator. I can tell," Sophia was saying.
"Just because she's not a total pushover anymore, doesn't mean-" Emma objected.
"I know, but I know… I can't share everything. Ward stuff," she said, basically outing me but not quite. "You know who she's been hanging out with lately," Sophia saved by instead 'outing' me as a ganger. Nice one, teammate. "Anyways… she's really kinda growing on me these days. I think… I'm going to have to choose between you and her soon. But you know how I like winners…"
Well, that was one way to ensure Emma would try her best. Trouble was, I could see from her face she was determined to get nasty, rather than determined to do her best. That was… this was getting out of hand. On all counts.
"That's my girl," Sophia said after Emma whispered something too low for even Emma's Backpack to catch. But she did catch the familiar, perverted sense of lust and affection. "Show me you're the alpha predator, that even a predator like her is your prey. Show me you're the best. Or I'm going to have to leave you and go with the real woman."
Okay, this was entirely out of hand. Also, as gross as it was, a totally wasted resource. I didn't want Sophia's affections, though they were sure to be redoubled if I won now. But I could easily feed several changelings with the stuff if I had a way to collect it.
I needed to make this whole scenario play out just right, which meant I did need to cheat in the fashion show, and I had almost no time to put things together.
Why did high school drama have to be so much harder than conquering gangs?
That truly helped a lot, but I also had the advantage of taking a dozen or two classes in any given hour. My brain somehow had no trouble processing all of the information at once, and while most of my drones were pretending not to pay attention to maintain their cover, I was able to process their senses and add to my own academic knowledge. I had some other undisguised drones in the tunnels below the city reading through all of the textbooks, and by now making a good dent on the libraries, both the school's sick sad joke and the public library.
So I cheated on all the tests through the simple expedient of having more hours to study than existed in a day. And that same knowledge was available through me to any drone in my range. So I had to fight the urge to answer everything correctly. I had finally settled on a standing order to my drones for them to ask me the correct answer, then follow their own judgement whether to get things right or wrong on each question, based on their cover.
Meanwhile, Sophia was becoming more and more my friend. In school, she seemed to be torn. She didn't quite own her friendship with me here, it being too much of a whiplash, but she'd dropped her role in bullying me, and started occasionally laughing at Emma's expense when I owned her, and only laughing at Emma's barbs when she managed a truly clever one from time to time.
In the Wards, though, she was all over me. I wasn't trying to encourage anything, but with every prank I pulled, gang banger I stung or even merely threatened into submission, or even simple displays of confidence, I felt her lust for me grow, even spreading into a trickle of rather unhealthy love. There was something broken about her heart that was desperate for… something. Even with my extra sources of information, I didn't understand what. And finding out would probably involve spending more time with her on purpose. I wasn't ready for that.
What I was ready for? Or nearly anyways? The school fashion show. I'd used my bugs to help me recruit girls from all over the school, had Taylor and Rarity work with them to figure out what looked good on them, get their measurements and try things on. I was going to explicitly avoid the cheat of using my own drones as the models. I had, however, replaced Emma's backpack with a drone. Every day I fed her a bit of love when I saw Emma, and got back a report on any pranks she'd been planning on me, helping me subtly avert the worst of them, recover more quickly from others, and most of all, make plans to backfire everything she tried at the fashion show. She had one chance of beating me: legitimately being good at fashion.
She had experience there, connections, money… she would give me a good contest on that front if she would just focus on being the best she could be, instead of trying to come up with ways of sabotaging me.
I was wondering just what was up with that until two days before the event was scheduled. I was at my locker between classes when Sophia visited Emma at her own locker, and Emma's Backpack gave me their whispered conversation as it happened.
"I really like what you're doing, but don't estimate Hebert. She's started to awaken her own inner predator. I can tell," Sophia was saying.
"Just because she's not a total pushover anymore, doesn't mean-" Emma objected.
"I know, but I know… I can't share everything. Ward stuff," she said, basically outing me but not quite. "You know who she's been hanging out with lately," Sophia saved by instead 'outing' me as a ganger. Nice one, teammate. "Anyways… she's really kinda growing on me these days. I think… I'm going to have to choose between you and her soon. But you know how I like winners…"
Well, that was one way to ensure Emma would try her best. Trouble was, I could see from her face she was determined to get nasty, rather than determined to do her best. That was… this was getting out of hand. On all counts.
"That's my girl," Sophia said after Emma whispered something too low for even Emma's Backpack to catch. But she did catch the familiar, perverted sense of lust and affection. "Show me you're the alpha predator, that even a predator like her is your prey. Show me you're the best. Or I'm going to have to leave you and go with the real woman."
Okay, this was entirely out of hand. Also, as gross as it was, a totally wasted resource. I didn't want Sophia's affections, though they were sure to be redoubled if I won now. But I could easily feed several changelings with the stuff if I had a way to collect it.
I needed to make this whole scenario play out just right, which meant I did need to cheat in the fashion show, and I had almost no time to put things together.
Why did high school drama have to be so much harder than conquering gangs?
6.3
Istaran
Butterscotch Brotherhood
- Location
- Washington State
It was time. The show must go on. It was sad I couldn't leave it as a true contest, but had to make it into a play, instead, but that was what the situation demanded now. You understand don't you Emma? Sophia loves you, and you love her, in your own disgusting, demented ways. It may not be healthy, but it's still filling, like junk food. I'll take it.
The actors all gathered behind the curtains. An extra curtain was set up between them to keep the models from seeing their competitor's dresses. Taylor and her team were stage left, with Rarity's hand-crafted dresses, tailor fit to each girl's body shape and matched perfectly to their natural colors, with just the slightest hint of makeup to bring everything together. My Emma and her team were stage right, with a collection of dresses I'd had to purchase last minute to look like Rarity's, matched as best they could against the girls on that team. They'd all been made up professionally, by a changeling beautician. It was a subtle sabotage, making them look 'good' in a way that was off-puttingly overdone. The real Emma would have realized it, but the other girls weren't professionals and thought it looked good, especially in their current lighting.
My Miss Francine started things off, welcoming the audience. "Welcome, students, parents, friends and family, to Winslow High School's first ever student fashion show! This time, we are having a friendly competition between two long time friends, Taylor Hebert and Emma Barnes!"
She gave time for applause, of which there was a little, as the pair of drones came up to either side of her. "Emma is a professional model with years of experience in the fashion industry, and has brought her professional skills and contacts to bare guiding a team of young models to the finest picks the industry has to offer. She'll be delighting you with a variety of works from the greatest designers she could find. While her challenger, best friend Taylor Hebert, will be showcasing works by a local up and coming designer from right here in Brockton Bay. Please enjoy this debut showing from Rarity's unique stylings! If you'll please fill out the ratings on the cards you've been given, we'll collect them and tally them up at the end of the show to determine our winning team!"
She gave a moment break before getting out a double-headed coin. "Now, the coin flip for which team goes first.. Miss Hebert, would you call it?"
"Tails," Taylor said into the microphone confidently, on cue. The result was of course a foregone conclusion, and soon my drones were heading to the back to guide their actresses for the play.
Emma's first model came out in an elegant emerald gown that she was just a bit too light skinned to really pull off, made that much more emphatic by the spotlights shining on her makeup. It wasn't ugly, per say, though it didn't fit her quite right. The bust was a bit too tight, reducing her cleavage and making her a bit visibly uncomfortable, while it was a bit too long for her, covering her shoes a bit and just looking subtly off. It was a decent start but not a strong one.
Taylor's first model came out next, visibly uncomfortable with the situation. She was wearing a nearly identical dress, which she had just noticed as her competitor came out, except that hers was perfectly fit to her. She herself was a bit darker, a brown that complimented the green perfectly, and though she was a bit heavier of a girl and would never be picked as a professional model, the dress fit her curves perfectly, accentuated her features, and showed just enough foot and ankle for her shoes to accessorize it flawlessly.
She was out in the very front when Emma grinned wickedly for Sophia's benefit and pressed a button on a remote control… the sound of a heavy switch coming on was audible, and a blacklight spotlight turned on… to no obvious effect except Emma cursing under her breath.
Emma's next model was wearing a more revealing summer fashion, a top tied together by a lattice of thick strings between the breasts in the front, with similar in the back showing skin, and a short skirt of blue denim, with high heeled boots that helped show off her legs. It was revealing without being lewd, at least until she got out into the stage and the blacklight revealed highlights in her makeup that made it look like she'd been having inappropriate fun with boys and never got around to washing her face. It took her a moment to recognize the catcalls for what they were, and not just appreciation for her beauty. One of my drones in the audience had to actually call out "nice facial!" to get her properly running back in tears.
All according to plan…
Taylor's next model, of course, had a strikingly similar outfit, once more perfectly fitted to bring out the beauty of a less conventionally beautiful teenager. And as her makeup hadn't been sabotaged, she only got catcalls when she decided to shake her butt and give herself a playful spank to invite the attention.
While she played up her part, the final pair were lined up on either side of the dividing curtain, their respective silhouettes barely visible to one another. Checking the alignment of her hidden paint can, Emma pressed the next button on her remote and then gasped in alarm as it tilted toward her rather than away, dumping a load of pee yellow paint on her own model from above.
Her model, Madison Clements in a swimsuit, shrieked out in alarm, and then bolted. This bit was impossible to control or entirely predict, but she made it perfect by dashing onto the stage, shrieking while hopping up and down at the end of the runway in a blind panic, then turning and sprinting back off the stage.
"Quick, hide this in Taylor's backpack," Emma whispered to Sophia, handing her the remote. My fellow Ward hesitated, to her slight credit, then got into motion, knowing time was limited.
Taylor's final model came out, rocking a similar but un-painted swimsuit, this one tailored to highlight what little curves her flat chest had, and using subtle tricks like gradients to give her other curves more emphasis than they'd otherwise pull off. She did a cartwheel down the runway and then a bit of a dance at the end, showing off her ballet skills in a swimsuit that wasn't that far off from her familiar leotard from her childhood classes.
Taylor and Emma were finally invited back out, even as the scores were collected.
"Well.. we seem to have had some… unfortunate incidents here," Miss Francine stated. "Care to explain, Taylor?" there was a soft tone of accusation to the question.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Taylor said.
"I thought I saw her sneaking about my yard when I was unboxing the dresses," Emma accused. "And just now I saw her putting something in her backpack."
"I haven't touched my backpack the whole time!" Taylor insisted.
Sophia used the cue to bring said backpack with a predatory grin. "Here it is, Miss Francine. Look, she's even got a little lock on it, aren't those against the rules?"
"Somebody's stolen things out of my backpack several times this year," Taylor pointed out.
"But this is your backpack? and your lock?" Miss Francine insisted.
"Well, yes," Taylor admitted. The teacher drone demanded my proxy unlock the bag and open it. And right on cue, the remote fell out, the slightest nudge of magic subtly shifting the spin so it landed just right to shut the blacklight off.
"Well!" Miss Francine huffed. "I'm sorry folks, but I'm afraid I have to disqualify Miss Hebert and her team. Thank you all for coming out, I really wish you didn't have to see this blatant example of outright cheating."
"First your friend copies all of my dresses, then all of this," my Emma accused.
"But I didn't!" Taylor objected. "My models had their dresses fitted a week ago! I couldn't have!"
"My models had their dresses two weeks ago," Emma lied smoothly. No one called her on it, though many knew it wasn't true. "And you dropped paint on my dear friend Madison."
"You dropped paint on her," Taylor insisted. "I just… turned the device around…."
"So you admit it was you!" Emma said, pointing a finger at her. "And that sabotage with the makeup!"
"I just swapped the ones you tried to sneak on my side," Taylor objected again quietly.
"See, she admits to that as well!" Emma shouted.
"That's quite enough then," Miss Francine said. "The winner, by disqualification: Emma Barnes!"
Emma took a bow, playing up her victory lap even while the audience murmured uncomfortably, planted drones making sure hints of the 'truth' got around.
Sophia missed the subtext. She walked off the stage with Emma and quickly gave her a fierce hug and possessive grin once they were out of view. But my Emma could already feel her love intensifying well before that, even as my Taylor had felt it ebb away from her. Sophia loved a winner, especially a cheater who will do anything to win. And now she had confirmation as well to report back that I was immune to pranks. At least as a form of battle. But they could still, if played right, win the war.
Down below in the tunnels I gave Emma's stasis pod a nice hug. I wasn't sure exactly how the changelings managed to extract self-love with these things, but the narcissistic girl was feeding a dozen changelings on her own at this point, never mind what her replacement was harvesting from Sophia and her father. "It's too bad we never got that contest, Emma. But I think you're a bit better for everyone this way."
For a moment, I vaguely remembered promising myself not to use my powers on any of the Trio, and wondered why I had been so foolish.
The actors all gathered behind the curtains. An extra curtain was set up between them to keep the models from seeing their competitor's dresses. Taylor and her team were stage left, with Rarity's hand-crafted dresses, tailor fit to each girl's body shape and matched perfectly to their natural colors, with just the slightest hint of makeup to bring everything together. My Emma and her team were stage right, with a collection of dresses I'd had to purchase last minute to look like Rarity's, matched as best they could against the girls on that team. They'd all been made up professionally, by a changeling beautician. It was a subtle sabotage, making them look 'good' in a way that was off-puttingly overdone. The real Emma would have realized it, but the other girls weren't professionals and thought it looked good, especially in their current lighting.
My Miss Francine started things off, welcoming the audience. "Welcome, students, parents, friends and family, to Winslow High School's first ever student fashion show! This time, we are having a friendly competition between two long time friends, Taylor Hebert and Emma Barnes!"
She gave time for applause, of which there was a little, as the pair of drones came up to either side of her. "Emma is a professional model with years of experience in the fashion industry, and has brought her professional skills and contacts to bare guiding a team of young models to the finest picks the industry has to offer. She'll be delighting you with a variety of works from the greatest designers she could find. While her challenger, best friend Taylor Hebert, will be showcasing works by a local up and coming designer from right here in Brockton Bay. Please enjoy this debut showing from Rarity's unique stylings! If you'll please fill out the ratings on the cards you've been given, we'll collect them and tally them up at the end of the show to determine our winning team!"
She gave a moment break before getting out a double-headed coin. "Now, the coin flip for which team goes first.. Miss Hebert, would you call it?"
"Tails," Taylor said into the microphone confidently, on cue. The result was of course a foregone conclusion, and soon my drones were heading to the back to guide their actresses for the play.
Emma's first model came out in an elegant emerald gown that she was just a bit too light skinned to really pull off, made that much more emphatic by the spotlights shining on her makeup. It wasn't ugly, per say, though it didn't fit her quite right. The bust was a bit too tight, reducing her cleavage and making her a bit visibly uncomfortable, while it was a bit too long for her, covering her shoes a bit and just looking subtly off. It was a decent start but not a strong one.
Taylor's first model came out next, visibly uncomfortable with the situation. She was wearing a nearly identical dress, which she had just noticed as her competitor came out, except that hers was perfectly fit to her. She herself was a bit darker, a brown that complimented the green perfectly, and though she was a bit heavier of a girl and would never be picked as a professional model, the dress fit her curves perfectly, accentuated her features, and showed just enough foot and ankle for her shoes to accessorize it flawlessly.
She was out in the very front when Emma grinned wickedly for Sophia's benefit and pressed a button on a remote control… the sound of a heavy switch coming on was audible, and a blacklight spotlight turned on… to no obvious effect except Emma cursing under her breath.
Emma's next model was wearing a more revealing summer fashion, a top tied together by a lattice of thick strings between the breasts in the front, with similar in the back showing skin, and a short skirt of blue denim, with high heeled boots that helped show off her legs. It was revealing without being lewd, at least until she got out into the stage and the blacklight revealed highlights in her makeup that made it look like she'd been having inappropriate fun with boys and never got around to washing her face. It took her a moment to recognize the catcalls for what they were, and not just appreciation for her beauty. One of my drones in the audience had to actually call out "nice facial!" to get her properly running back in tears.
All according to plan…
Taylor's next model, of course, had a strikingly similar outfit, once more perfectly fitted to bring out the beauty of a less conventionally beautiful teenager. And as her makeup hadn't been sabotaged, she only got catcalls when she decided to shake her butt and give herself a playful spank to invite the attention.
While she played up her part, the final pair were lined up on either side of the dividing curtain, their respective silhouettes barely visible to one another. Checking the alignment of her hidden paint can, Emma pressed the next button on her remote and then gasped in alarm as it tilted toward her rather than away, dumping a load of pee yellow paint on her own model from above.
Her model, Madison Clements in a swimsuit, shrieked out in alarm, and then bolted. This bit was impossible to control or entirely predict, but she made it perfect by dashing onto the stage, shrieking while hopping up and down at the end of the runway in a blind panic, then turning and sprinting back off the stage.
"Quick, hide this in Taylor's backpack," Emma whispered to Sophia, handing her the remote. My fellow Ward hesitated, to her slight credit, then got into motion, knowing time was limited.
Taylor's final model came out, rocking a similar but un-painted swimsuit, this one tailored to highlight what little curves her flat chest had, and using subtle tricks like gradients to give her other curves more emphasis than they'd otherwise pull off. She did a cartwheel down the runway and then a bit of a dance at the end, showing off her ballet skills in a swimsuit that wasn't that far off from her familiar leotard from her childhood classes.
Taylor and Emma were finally invited back out, even as the scores were collected.
"Well.. we seem to have had some… unfortunate incidents here," Miss Francine stated. "Care to explain, Taylor?" there was a soft tone of accusation to the question.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Taylor said.
"I thought I saw her sneaking about my yard when I was unboxing the dresses," Emma accused. "And just now I saw her putting something in her backpack."
"I haven't touched my backpack the whole time!" Taylor insisted.
Sophia used the cue to bring said backpack with a predatory grin. "Here it is, Miss Francine. Look, she's even got a little lock on it, aren't those against the rules?"
"Somebody's stolen things out of my backpack several times this year," Taylor pointed out.
"But this is your backpack? and your lock?" Miss Francine insisted.
"Well, yes," Taylor admitted. The teacher drone demanded my proxy unlock the bag and open it. And right on cue, the remote fell out, the slightest nudge of magic subtly shifting the spin so it landed just right to shut the blacklight off.
"Well!" Miss Francine huffed. "I'm sorry folks, but I'm afraid I have to disqualify Miss Hebert and her team. Thank you all for coming out, I really wish you didn't have to see this blatant example of outright cheating."
"First your friend copies all of my dresses, then all of this," my Emma accused.
"But I didn't!" Taylor objected. "My models had their dresses fitted a week ago! I couldn't have!"
"My models had their dresses two weeks ago," Emma lied smoothly. No one called her on it, though many knew it wasn't true. "And you dropped paint on my dear friend Madison."
"You dropped paint on her," Taylor insisted. "I just… turned the device around…."
"So you admit it was you!" Emma said, pointing a finger at her. "And that sabotage with the makeup!"
"I just swapped the ones you tried to sneak on my side," Taylor objected again quietly.
"See, she admits to that as well!" Emma shouted.
"That's quite enough then," Miss Francine said. "The winner, by disqualification: Emma Barnes!"
Emma took a bow, playing up her victory lap even while the audience murmured uncomfortably, planted drones making sure hints of the 'truth' got around.
Sophia missed the subtext. She walked off the stage with Emma and quickly gave her a fierce hug and possessive grin once they were out of view. But my Emma could already feel her love intensifying well before that, even as my Taylor had felt it ebb away from her. Sophia loved a winner, especially a cheater who will do anything to win. And now she had confirmation as well to report back that I was immune to pranks. At least as a form of battle. But they could still, if played right, win the war.
Down below in the tunnels I gave Emma's stasis pod a nice hug. I wasn't sure exactly how the changelings managed to extract self-love with these things, but the narcissistic girl was feeding a dozen changelings on her own at this point, never mind what her replacement was harvesting from Sophia and her father. "It's too bad we never got that contest, Emma. But I think you're a bit better for everyone this way."
For a moment, I vaguely remembered promising myself not to use my powers on any of the Trio, and wondered why I had been so foolish.
globalwarmth
ruining the weather.
- Location
- Polar ice caps
I SEE YOU MR SHYAMALAN
but really what a twist!
I thought Lisa's job was to keep Taylor semi sane, she is making a poor showing of it.
- Location
- Home
This Taylor's totally and completely bonkers, she's on a downward slope and squealing happily all the way. She has absolutely no problems with what she's doing.
She's not bonkers, she no longer thinks like a human, subtle but important difference. Between chrysalids and changelings in her brain its kinda impressive she manages to appear human at all.
- Location
- The North
WHAT A TWIST!
Istaran
Butterscotch Brotherhood
- Location
- Washington State
Changelings are great at appearing pony, I mean human.
I'm glad people liked the twist. I'm curious what you expected instead.
Sorry for the delays getting this out. I had a weird week.
Shulta
Verified Omake writer
- Location
- My room
The problem is... She is completely sane.
6.4
Istaran
Butterscotch Brotherhood
- Location
- Washington State
"You ready to go?" Rainbow Dash asked Amelia as soon as the latter stepped out of the hospital.
The healer was visibly fatigued as she often was at the end of a shift. It wasn't a physical thing, mostly. She was on her feet for hours at a time, but not doing anything truly physically strenuous. It was a mental thing, an emotional thing. She was bored, and felt put upon, and felt unable to complain to anyone because doing this was her duty. As someone with a great power, she had a great responsibility.
"Sure… you don't have to escort me home though. No one would hurt the great Panacea," she mumbled.
"Why wouldn't they?" Dash asked. "I mean, you're the obvious first target to take out." Seeing Amy's look, the changeling quirked an eyebrow. "What, does no one around you have any sense of tactics? We need to get you and your family through a few campaigns of Ogres and Oubliettes to get your brains working."
"Aren't you supposed to be the 'dumb jock'?" Amy snarked.
"Nah, I just play one in real life," Dash joked. "Speaking of which, want a lift?" She offered her arms and flexed her wings.
"You sure those tiny things can handle me?" Amy asked skeptically.
"Only if you really love me,~" she sing-songed. "It'll be fine, I'm full up and ready to make gravity my bitch. If you really want, I bet I can beat your sister's speed record."
"Slow and steady is better. We don't need to rival her crash record either," Amy said, finally conceding and climbing into Rainbow Dash's waiting arms, slipping into the familiar bridal carry position. It was a bit different, given RD's more 'athletic' chest, and the feathery wings brushing her arm a bit as they beat. It still fascinated Amy, especially in contact like this where her power showed what was going on, including the true nature of the alien bug-pony. For some reason she had to move the illusory wings that were a part of her disguised form to make her flight work, yet they were so small and moved so little they barely displaced a percent of the air that would be needed to fly without simply magicking the problem away.
Observing it up close like this, her power sensing the way her cells moved unnaturally, buoyed by a force that didn't make physical sense, it gave her an odd and pleasing tingle in… 'her power' was the best she could phrase it. She got something similar sometimes when touching a parahuman and seeing their power affect them, but with the changelings it was very different. Like the difference between blue and orange: two completely different things sensed by the same sense.
Rainbow Dash grinned with an expression that reminded the healer of her sister, as she slowly and smoothly wound her way past the taller buildings, keeping just under the skyline perhaps to make the whole experience more fun and dramatic. Which also reminded her of her sister.
"I don't mind looking like her if you want," Dash commented. "Especially in private…"
Amy reddened instantly and barely stopped herself from filling Dash's veins with sleep hormones that would have caused them to fall out of the sky and die instantly. "What, no, what are you talking about?!"
"Don't try to deny it," Dash said, still casually winding through the city. "We can sense love you know-"
"Of course I love my sister!"
"-and lust. I'm not judging. You have no idea what kind of weird kinks everyone around you has. Actually, Lisa says that's why she's ace, it creeps her out too much when her power dumps it all in her head," Dash commented casually. "Anyways, it's not really incest if we're just, you know.. roleplaying or whatever."
Amy bit her lip, warring with herself over even thinking about this, much less going through with it. It weirded her out more realizing this was the first she'd thought of doing anything sexual with the changeling. They weren't even really dating, just hanging out on occasion as friends, superheroing together, both mostly as group activities. "I'm not just going to bed one of my friends," she tried.
"A date then?" Dash countered, as if reading her mind. It wasn't entirely untrue, even if her emotion sense only gave certain clues. She'd had a lifetime to practice reading those clues and playing off them, even if ponies and humans weren't quite the same. Changelings were nothing if not flexible. "Tomorrow night. I'll pick you up the same time, we'll start with dinner… I'll have to think of something suitably gushy to do to woo you from there, but I've got time. It'll be a surprise."
Amy blushed a bit again, the whole situation spinning like a whirlwind in her head. "This is a bit fast, isn't it?" Rainbow Dash gave her a look that made her instantly feel stupid for calling the speedster fast like it was a bad thing. "Okay, a date. Nothing sexual, no pretending to be my sister, got it? Now can we talk about something else?"
Dash nodded, then looked away, paying extra attention to where she was going in an obvious attempt to avoid talking about something she really wanted to talk about but was hesitant to broach. Touching her like this, Amy got enough feedback from her own powers to read a fair bit into it, alien or no.
"What is it?" Amy asked gently, with her best bedside manner. It could use work, but it was enough.
"So… we have a bit of a medical… situation… our hive, I mean. Not so much any one of us being sick or hurt, but as a whole…" Rainbow stumbled.
"What do you mean?" Amy asked, concerned. She hadn't touched all of the changelings, and didn't have a frame of reference to compare to, but the ones she touched seemed fine. Fluttershy was odd, but seemed healthy in her own way.
"You know how a lot of bug species have queens?" Rainbow began.
"Taylor's your queen, right?" Amy asked, but she was already starting to realize where this was going.
"Yeeesss," Rainbow Dash said in a way that means 'not really'. "She's certainly our leader, and she's great that way, far better than Queen Chrysalis was. But… there's one important role our old Queen did that our new Queen just can't. Like… biologically. You know what I'm saying? Please don't make me spell it out."
"So having sex while pretending to be my sister is just casual chat to you, but actual reproduction makes you squeamish to even talk about?" Amy probed. But she didn't press too hard as RD blushed and looked away, nearly clipping a building from distraction. "Okay, okay… Hmmm…"
She took a hard look inside her friend, focusing on the bug's reproductive system in particular. There was something there, but it was undeveloped, a vestigial shadow of what a queen would develop into useful organs. Her DNA held the information needed to make it what it should be, locked down by the absence of certain hormones. She caught herself about to make the changes, and returned her attention to Dash's face.
"I think I can help. No promises though. But we should talk it over more, not just the two of us. Taylor, other changelings, the rest of the Super Friends," Amy said. "This will be kind of a big deal. There's more than one way I could do it, and we'll have to decide who's actually going to be the new mother. Or mothers."
"Thanks Ames, you're the best," Rainbow said, planting a kiss on her cheek before setting her down just outside their hideout. She felt a surge of something building in her heart, but tamped it down.. was that what Fluttershy had experienced with the puppies? She wasn't sure, but she wasn't transforming right now if it was. There would be a time and a place for that. First she had to secure this incredibly valuable resource for the hive.
The healer was visibly fatigued as she often was at the end of a shift. It wasn't a physical thing, mostly. She was on her feet for hours at a time, but not doing anything truly physically strenuous. It was a mental thing, an emotional thing. She was bored, and felt put upon, and felt unable to complain to anyone because doing this was her duty. As someone with a great power, she had a great responsibility.
"Sure… you don't have to escort me home though. No one would hurt the great Panacea," she mumbled.
"Why wouldn't they?" Dash asked. "I mean, you're the obvious first target to take out." Seeing Amy's look, the changeling quirked an eyebrow. "What, does no one around you have any sense of tactics? We need to get you and your family through a few campaigns of Ogres and Oubliettes to get your brains working."
"Aren't you supposed to be the 'dumb jock'?" Amy snarked.
"Nah, I just play one in real life," Dash joked. "Speaking of which, want a lift?" She offered her arms and flexed her wings.
"You sure those tiny things can handle me?" Amy asked skeptically.
"Only if you really love me,~" she sing-songed. "It'll be fine, I'm full up and ready to make gravity my bitch. If you really want, I bet I can beat your sister's speed record."
"Slow and steady is better. We don't need to rival her crash record either," Amy said, finally conceding and climbing into Rainbow Dash's waiting arms, slipping into the familiar bridal carry position. It was a bit different, given RD's more 'athletic' chest, and the feathery wings brushing her arm a bit as they beat. It still fascinated Amy, especially in contact like this where her power showed what was going on, including the true nature of the alien bug-pony. For some reason she had to move the illusory wings that were a part of her disguised form to make her flight work, yet they were so small and moved so little they barely displaced a percent of the air that would be needed to fly without simply magicking the problem away.
Observing it up close like this, her power sensing the way her cells moved unnaturally, buoyed by a force that didn't make physical sense, it gave her an odd and pleasing tingle in… 'her power' was the best she could phrase it. She got something similar sometimes when touching a parahuman and seeing their power affect them, but with the changelings it was very different. Like the difference between blue and orange: two completely different things sensed by the same sense.
Rainbow Dash grinned with an expression that reminded the healer of her sister, as she slowly and smoothly wound her way past the taller buildings, keeping just under the skyline perhaps to make the whole experience more fun and dramatic. Which also reminded her of her sister.
"I don't mind looking like her if you want," Dash commented. "Especially in private…"
Amy reddened instantly and barely stopped herself from filling Dash's veins with sleep hormones that would have caused them to fall out of the sky and die instantly. "What, no, what are you talking about?!"
"Don't try to deny it," Dash said, still casually winding through the city. "We can sense love you know-"
"Of course I love my sister!"
"-and lust. I'm not judging. You have no idea what kind of weird kinks everyone around you has. Actually, Lisa says that's why she's ace, it creeps her out too much when her power dumps it all in her head," Dash commented casually. "Anyways, it's not really incest if we're just, you know.. roleplaying or whatever."
Amy bit her lip, warring with herself over even thinking about this, much less going through with it. It weirded her out more realizing this was the first she'd thought of doing anything sexual with the changeling. They weren't even really dating, just hanging out on occasion as friends, superheroing together, both mostly as group activities. "I'm not just going to bed one of my friends," she tried.
"A date then?" Dash countered, as if reading her mind. It wasn't entirely untrue, even if her emotion sense only gave certain clues. She'd had a lifetime to practice reading those clues and playing off them, even if ponies and humans weren't quite the same. Changelings were nothing if not flexible. "Tomorrow night. I'll pick you up the same time, we'll start with dinner… I'll have to think of something suitably gushy to do to woo you from there, but I've got time. It'll be a surprise."
Amy blushed a bit again, the whole situation spinning like a whirlwind in her head. "This is a bit fast, isn't it?" Rainbow Dash gave her a look that made her instantly feel stupid for calling the speedster fast like it was a bad thing. "Okay, a date. Nothing sexual, no pretending to be my sister, got it? Now can we talk about something else?"
Dash nodded, then looked away, paying extra attention to where she was going in an obvious attempt to avoid talking about something she really wanted to talk about but was hesitant to broach. Touching her like this, Amy got enough feedback from her own powers to read a fair bit into it, alien or no.
"What is it?" Amy asked gently, with her best bedside manner. It could use work, but it was enough.
"So… we have a bit of a medical… situation… our hive, I mean. Not so much any one of us being sick or hurt, but as a whole…" Rainbow stumbled.
"What do you mean?" Amy asked, concerned. She hadn't touched all of the changelings, and didn't have a frame of reference to compare to, but the ones she touched seemed fine. Fluttershy was odd, but seemed healthy in her own way.
"You know how a lot of bug species have queens?" Rainbow began.
"Taylor's your queen, right?" Amy asked, but she was already starting to realize where this was going.
"Yeeesss," Rainbow Dash said in a way that means 'not really'. "She's certainly our leader, and she's great that way, far better than Queen Chrysalis was. But… there's one important role our old Queen did that our new Queen just can't. Like… biologically. You know what I'm saying? Please don't make me spell it out."
"So having sex while pretending to be my sister is just casual chat to you, but actual reproduction makes you squeamish to even talk about?" Amy probed. But she didn't press too hard as RD blushed and looked away, nearly clipping a building from distraction. "Okay, okay… Hmmm…"
She took a hard look inside her friend, focusing on the bug's reproductive system in particular. There was something there, but it was undeveloped, a vestigial shadow of what a queen would develop into useful organs. Her DNA held the information needed to make it what it should be, locked down by the absence of certain hormones. She caught herself about to make the changes, and returned her attention to Dash's face.
"I think I can help. No promises though. But we should talk it over more, not just the two of us. Taylor, other changelings, the rest of the Super Friends," Amy said. "This will be kind of a big deal. There's more than one way I could do it, and we'll have to decide who's actually going to be the new mother. Or mothers."
"Thanks Ames, you're the best," Rainbow said, planting a kiss on her cheek before setting her down just outside their hideout. She felt a surge of something building in her heart, but tamped it down.. was that what Fluttershy had experienced with the puppies? She wasn't sure, but she wasn't transforming right now if it was. There would be a time and a place for that. First she had to secure this incredibly valuable resource for the hive.
globalwarmth
ruining the weather.
- Location
- Polar ice caps
Oh noes! On the other hand they kinda are becoming less evil? Hope dies last I guess...
dracklor
Beyond the Frontier
- Location
- Texas
Doubt the Changelings bother Coil anywhere near as much as the Chrysalids, and those are reproducing with the help of the local sea life.
Interlude 6
Istaran
Butterscotch Brotherhood
- Location
- Washington State
"The numbers in Brockton Bay don't add up," the Number Man said. If anyone would know, it would be him.
"Meaning?" Alexandria prompted him, once everyone had finished shifting to a more 'attentive' body language.
"In the past six months, utility usage patterns and other passive indicators suggest there has been a drop in the city's population of approximately 1% which is not otherwise explained," the Man said. For his own comfort, he presented slides full of charts and numbers, but it was a prop and barely that. Sure, the data on the slides was true and accurate, it just went over everyone's heads aside from his explanation of them. Still, clicking through them helped pace things. "This coincides with a dramatic drop in crime rates across the board, particularly gang related crimes. Predictably, this includes a dramatic reduction in missing persons reports and otherwise inexplicable disappearances. I've checked, and every resident of Brockton Bay has their identity and location verified or explained at some point in the last month. And every month before that."
"I'm really not sure what you're suggesting," Legend said. "Are they there, or not there?"
"Yes," the Number Man replied. "There are over three thousand fewer people total, but each individual person is present, or at least accounted for. As I said…"
"... the numbers don't add up," Alexandria finished his sentence. "Do you have a working theory as to what's going on?"
When Number Man shook his head, people turned instead to Contessa. She frowned deeply and shuddered. "I've tried a few ways of phrasing my Path to Victory request, but it keeps concluding with the message 'BAD END'. Wait, I think I've got one, sort of."
"Well?" Alexandria prompted.
Contessa dialed the conference table's built in phone, and everyone waited a moment while it rang, then stayed stark silent when someone picked up on the other end.
"You know who," Coil answered, presuming correctly without giving anything away on his end.
"What does BAD END mean," Contessa asked curtly.
"You say you'll owe me a favor?" Coil asked with false joviality. "Well, I suppose a bit of advice…"
Normal people might be confused, but the conspirators knew enough about what was what to make sense of it, even Legend who was normally left out of the cloak and dagger stuff. "Yes…"
"Don't ever play pranks on Honey Bee. She could out-prank Nilbog," Coil replied, then hung up on the world's most powerful conspiracy of capes.
"Honey Bee?" Eidolon questioned.
"The newest Ward in Brockton Bay," Alexandria filled in from her eidetic memory. "Civilian name Taylor Hebert. Suspected joint trigger with new villain The Monarch. Some kind of close relationship with the independent heroes known as The Super Friends. Powers include remote mastery of bees and wasps, as well as alleged immunity to pranks."
"What does that even mean?" Eidolon asked.
Alexandria shrugged. "It's in her file. Details were not included."
"Why Nilbog?" Legend asked. "I mean, he didn't seem like the pranking type…"
"Do try to keep up," Doctor Mother criticized. "He's saying she's an S-class threat, and if we try to take her out it's likely to end up like Ellisberg. Given his power, he's probably tried."
"So wait, are we thinking she's evil then?" Legend asked.
"Perhaps not," Doctor Mother concluded. "She is a hero, after all. But things would go very poorly if someone pressed one of you three too hard. If we press her too hard, she may do something unfortunate."
"We could just, you know," Eidolon made a gun shape with his fingers and pantomimed firing.
"She hasn't even," Legend began.
"She made three thousand people disappear, without anyone noticing," Number Man said. "How much more must she do?"
"BAD END," Contessa pointed out. "Killing her leads to a BAD END."
"Do you have a Path to a GOOD END?" Legend asked exasperatedly.
Contessa pondered. "Maybe.. my power insists this will work, but I'm skeptical and I certainly don't know how it works."
There was a long debate over it, but Contessa's power didn't offer anything substantively different, and over Legend's objections they finally decided to go forward with it. Once more, Contessa dialed a number, this time an old payphone.
"Wrong number," Jack sing-songed into the receiver when he answered.
"Funny," the Number Man said. "Someone in Brockton Bay is trying to beat your high score."
The line clicked dead, and the conspirators looked around the room at each other.
"What have we done?" Legend asked, forlorn. It was rhetorical, but he kind of wished someone would have answered it.
"Meaning?" Alexandria prompted him, once everyone had finished shifting to a more 'attentive' body language.
"In the past six months, utility usage patterns and other passive indicators suggest there has been a drop in the city's population of approximately 1% which is not otherwise explained," the Man said. For his own comfort, he presented slides full of charts and numbers, but it was a prop and barely that. Sure, the data on the slides was true and accurate, it just went over everyone's heads aside from his explanation of them. Still, clicking through them helped pace things. "This coincides with a dramatic drop in crime rates across the board, particularly gang related crimes. Predictably, this includes a dramatic reduction in missing persons reports and otherwise inexplicable disappearances. I've checked, and every resident of Brockton Bay has their identity and location verified or explained at some point in the last month. And every month before that."
"I'm really not sure what you're suggesting," Legend said. "Are they there, or not there?"
"Yes," the Number Man replied. "There are over three thousand fewer people total, but each individual person is present, or at least accounted for. As I said…"
"... the numbers don't add up," Alexandria finished his sentence. "Do you have a working theory as to what's going on?"
When Number Man shook his head, people turned instead to Contessa. She frowned deeply and shuddered. "I've tried a few ways of phrasing my Path to Victory request, but it keeps concluding with the message 'BAD END'. Wait, I think I've got one, sort of."
"Well?" Alexandria prompted.
Contessa dialed the conference table's built in phone, and everyone waited a moment while it rang, then stayed stark silent when someone picked up on the other end.
"You know who," Coil answered, presuming correctly without giving anything away on his end.
"What does BAD END mean," Contessa asked curtly.
"You say you'll owe me a favor?" Coil asked with false joviality. "Well, I suppose a bit of advice…"
Normal people might be confused, but the conspirators knew enough about what was what to make sense of it, even Legend who was normally left out of the cloak and dagger stuff. "Yes…"
"Don't ever play pranks on Honey Bee. She could out-prank Nilbog," Coil replied, then hung up on the world's most powerful conspiracy of capes.
"Honey Bee?" Eidolon questioned.
"The newest Ward in Brockton Bay," Alexandria filled in from her eidetic memory. "Civilian name Taylor Hebert. Suspected joint trigger with new villain The Monarch. Some kind of close relationship with the independent heroes known as The Super Friends. Powers include remote mastery of bees and wasps, as well as alleged immunity to pranks."
"What does that even mean?" Eidolon asked.
Alexandria shrugged. "It's in her file. Details were not included."
"Why Nilbog?" Legend asked. "I mean, he didn't seem like the pranking type…"
"Do try to keep up," Doctor Mother criticized. "He's saying she's an S-class threat, and if we try to take her out it's likely to end up like Ellisberg. Given his power, he's probably tried."
"So wait, are we thinking she's evil then?" Legend asked.
"Perhaps not," Doctor Mother concluded. "She is a hero, after all. But things would go very poorly if someone pressed one of you three too hard. If we press her too hard, she may do something unfortunate."
"We could just, you know," Eidolon made a gun shape with his fingers and pantomimed firing.
"She hasn't even," Legend began.
"She made three thousand people disappear, without anyone noticing," Number Man said. "How much more must she do?"
"BAD END," Contessa pointed out. "Killing her leads to a BAD END."
"Do you have a Path to a GOOD END?" Legend asked exasperatedly.
Contessa pondered. "Maybe.. my power insists this will work, but I'm skeptical and I certainly don't know how it works."
There was a long debate over it, but Contessa's power didn't offer anything substantively different, and over Legend's objections they finally decided to go forward with it. Once more, Contessa dialed a number, this time an old payphone.
"Wrong number," Jack sing-songed into the receiver when he answered.
"Funny," the Number Man said. "Someone in Brockton Bay is trying to beat your high score."
The line clicked dead, and the conspirators looked around the room at each other.
"What have we done?" Legend asked, forlorn. It was rhetorical, but he kind of wished someone would have answered it.
Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
So Jack will feed the Hive, one way or another... and not only does that make it impossible for him to work his magic on Zion, it may well allow Taylor to work her own magic on Zion...
- Location
- California
To this news, their can be only one response:
GG, Brockton Bay.
GG, Brockton Bay.
