4.2
I checked the address Noelle had given me, confirming that I was at the right place. The small coffee shop hardly seemed like it would be large enough to fit all of the Travelers, even without me. I also wasn't sure how I felt about them. I had agreed to a fresh start, but the fact that at least one of them had been involved in my kidnapping still gnawed at me.
Noelle, however, hadn't been, which was why I accepted her invitation. That, and I wanted to learn more about the connection we shared. Even now, I could feel her somewhere inside the cafe, an uncomfortable reminder of the week-long gap in my memory.
I wasn't sure about how the connection exactly worked, but the only way I'd learn more was to go in and find out. I took a deep breath and pulled the door open. Immediately, a bell on the inside of the door filled the air with a faint chime, announcing my arrival. I did not see her as I entered and for a moment, I wondered if I had gotten the address wrong.
Noelle's presence, however, still hummed against my mind and told that she was here. I politely declined the server's offer to show me toward a table and went to a corner booth at the back of the shop. I slid in, taking the empty seat and felt her emotions shift at the sight of me. Happiness, the release of some sort of fear, and gratitude so intense I was surprised she wasn't prostrating herself at my feet.
"Morni—," I began, then felt myself flush as an unexpected yawn interrupted me. "Sorry, didn't sleep so well last night, let me try again. Good morning."
"Bad dreams?" Noelle asked. "And good morning as well."
I waved a hand. "Kind of. Haven't been really restful since, well, yeah, that thing from before we met. So, bad dreams and some other stuff." My flush deepened as I thought of the other stuff, and hoped Noelle wouldn't ask. I hadn't figured out how to tune out this connection and there were certain things I did not want to know or feel about what she was doing. "How about you?"
"I'm okay, all things considered." She paused as the waiter wandered over and asked for our orders. I ordered some tea with a bagel and Noelle got a coffee drink that was more sugar and cream than actual coffee as well as two large pastries, both different. I raised an eyebrow at the sight after the orders arrived, and she just laughed and hoisted what might have been a bearclaw once upon a time before being drowned in glaze and chocolate syrup. "What? Do you know how long it's been since I've had stuff like this?"
"I guess a while?" I asked, spreading some cream cheese onto my bagel. "There was a lot I'm guessing was left out of the story. Like, for instance, what it was I was supposed to have cured you of while I was drugged out of my mind."
Noelle's expression fell and she nodded. "There was. Is. Whatever."
"What really happened?" I asked. "I got the feeling there's a whole story here, but like I said, it was light on the details the other night."
Noelle stared at her pastries for a long time, her expression thoughtful. "There's a lot of it I wasn't awake for, so I don't know if I can tell everything. Or if I even should. It's not just my story, after all. It's my team's story too."
"The others," I said. "The Travelers. There's something that you guys didn't mention or even hint at, isn't there?" I frowned a bit. I could tell there was something really big that they were holding on to, but I wasn't going to go digging for it. At least not in Noelle's mind, when I had no idea how deep the connection was.
"There is," Noelle admitted and she ran a hand through her hair, frustration clear. "On the one hand, they're my friends, my team, but the past two years… I'm… I just don't know. I remember it. Can't forget it really. But sometimes I wish it wasn't real. I want to blame them for all that's happened, blame myself… and to blame that pale-assed bitch." She leaned back against her side of the booth, releasing a heavy sigh.
I tried to send a reassuring feeling, hoping to brace up her sudden downswing of a mood. Her eyes suddenly snapped to mine, narrowing ever so slightly. Well. I think I had my answer on whether she was aware of it or not.
"Before I go into that, though," Noelle began, setting her pastry down delicately before waving her hand at the space between us. "I guess you might want to talk about this, whatever it is."
"If I knew what this was, sure," I replied with a sour look at my tea. "But I was drugged out of my mind when it happened, remember? I guess you've had your own share of feedback from me?"
"Just a few," she said as her cheeks turned pink. "I hope my, ah, well, I guess you know what I was doing last night, wasn't too upsetting or distracting."
"I don't think it's permanent," I said, ignoring the heat pooling around my cheeks. "At least, I hope it's not. It isn't as strong as it was the first night on the roof, so at least it's fading somewhat."
"That's good," Noelle murmured and turned her head, looking toward the front for a moment. "As far as my story and my team's. Well, the real question is do you want to know the whole story? I wasn't entirely sane for a good portion of it either."
Her face shifted into an impish grin. "Also, not telling you my entire life story. I know what happens after that and I'm not getting ganked for dramatic effect."
"...What?"
She waved a hand, a faint smile appearing on her face. "Gaming thing. A world away, literally."
"Okay," I drank some of my tea and considered. "The short version, then?"
"For that, we'll need, ah, there he is." She stretched to the side and waved a hand, beckoning the slender young man that had just entered over. I recognized him immediately, and I felt my fingers clamp around my mug of tea, but I kept from any other displays as he slid into the booth beside Noelle.
"Taylor," Noelle said with a bright smile. "Let me properly introduce Francis Krouse, my boyfriend."
"We've met, remember?" I reminded her. "This is better circumstances, at least."
"Hey," Krouse said, sliding an arm around Noelle's shoulders. "At least everything isn't burning to the ground around us."
"It wasn't then, if your story was to be believed," I pointed out.
"Oh, I wasn't talking about that," Krouse said, glancing at Noelle with a look that caused her cheeks to turn a cherry red. A veritable flood of mostly positive emotions rushed across from her. The meaning hit me, and I stonewalled it in an instant. Not fast enough though, as I could feel the heat in my own cheeks.
"Breakfast, I am, ah, trying to eat it," she said, glancing at me with some concern. "Did you get the car parked?"
"Ah, the car, yeah," he said, then glanced across at me. "Oh, here, I thought this would interest you." He pulled a folded newspaper from his back pocket and handed the crumpled paper over.
The main headline talked about the recent gang war and I skimmed through it before looking up at him. "Yes? It doesn't tell me anything I don't already know."
"Below that one," he said. "You're front page news. But really, do you always play so rough?"
"Krouse!" Noelle said, almost barking the word out. I blinked at the commanding tone and the way Krouse just sat there in acceptance as she berated him. Her words about calling them her team drifted back to my mind and I wondered if this was what she had meant. She mentioned gaming too, as I recalled. It wasn't something I was into myself, but…
I shook my head and let my thoughts turn away from that and Krouse' teasing or whatever it was to the column he had indicated.
Is The Protectorate Outdated?
Lucy Konita, from the Associated Press,
Recently, Brockton Bay was a city under siege. Two of the various gangs that occupy our city, the Neo-Nazi faction that calls itself the Empire 88 and the Azn Bad Boyz went to war against one another with little regard for what stood in their way. For a week, their conflict inflicted millions of dollars in property damage and resulted in numerous deaths and injuries when the fighting spilled out, often catching uninvolved bystanders in the crossfire.
Through all of this, the Protectorate appeared to be largely passive. Their efforts seemed focused more toward containing the fighting, and halting the spread of conflict into public venues, but little was done to actually curb the conflict at its source. As a result, our town's citizens suffered a week trapped in their own homes, often huddled in the dark and flinching at the smallest sound. Reporters of this agency have personally interviewed many, and each case tells of their harrowing experiences.
Assurances were given that the situation was under control and peace would be restored, but the week stretched on with no reprieve in sight. The Protectorate's mandate was to react and then only for attempting to control the situation. One has to ask why there was no proactive action? Why were these gangs allowed to do as they pleased, largely unobstructed save for the efforts of a few vigilantes and some of New Wave's younger generation?
Which brings us to a recent development within Brockton Bay that preceded the explosion of conflict in this past week. Those of you reading this are aware, certainly, of the independent parahuman who recently found herself the subject of much controversy after video of her confrontation with members of the Empire 88 was made available on the internet. Tagged 'Sirin' by local authorities, this individual was shown in a conflict with the Neo-Nazi faction where she dominated the conflict quite commandingly.
The video shows her overwhelming four members of the Empire and foiling an escape attempt on the part of Cricket, one of the Empire's enforcers after her recent arrest during an altercation with New Wave's Glory Girl. The Protectorate does not arrive or intervene in any way until after the conflict was over. In truth, one wonders why they were even making the effort to show up at all. After failing to keep the dangerous parahuman contained, that same individual was apprehended by an unaffiliated cape. The question posed now is what relevance does the Protectorate and the PRT even have? Just hours after the event, the Empire wrested their defeated members from custody with apparently little effort. Twice, in a matter of days, they were unable to keep hold of prisoners that another cape hand-delivered.
The article continued on, going into detail about the fight and citing several statistics I made a mental note to look into. A color picture of me swinging Hookwolf around like a flail accompanied it, lifted no doubt from some video online.
I had to admit. It was less than flattering. The image was fuzzy, but if you looked you could see the anger written across my face in the pixelated mess. I followed the article to where it continued further in, trying to make sense of what was being said. It seemed to paint a largely positive picture of me, but why? To smear the Protectorate?
"Next time, I'd say aim for the headline rather than just a sidebar," Krouse interrupted my train of thought, a faint smirk on his face. "Though, I'm kind of envious. We never made the front page at all."
"Once," Noelle said and I didn't need to see the scowl on her face to know there was something painful behind the word. Krouse flinched and ducked his head, speaking to her in low tones that I couldn't quite overhear. Whatever it was seemed to work and she calmed down somewhat, giving me a forced smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Tell you what, how about we get a box for these and go someplace else?" she asked. "There's some other stuff we should talk about somewhere more private."
"Where did you have in mind?" I asked, mulling over what she had already said before Krouse had arrived. She'd mentioned a 'pale-assed bitch' earlier and I wondered who she was referring to.
"We've got a place not far from here," Krouse answered. "Just using it while we get back on our feet, at least. Got abandoned after everything that went down recently."
My smile was a bit forced. "Forgive me, but I can't say I'm all that trusting about conveniently abandoned places after recent events."
He nodded. "Fair enough. Tell you what, we'll go over there. Anything happens, we'll call it my fault and you can kick my ass or whatever. But just me. Everyone else, especially Noelle, is left alone."
"Krouse!"
I waved a hand. "The offer to throw yourself on a sword is… well, appreciated, I guess? But not necessary. I'll just be a bit more attentive to my surroundings this time."
"More attentive?" Noelle asked. "How so?"
I shrugged, unwilling to give away more about my powers when I wasn't sure how much they already knew. "The thing I got abducted for, that I should have used more often. I'm working on correcting that."
"You mean you really can—" Krouse began, cutting off with a grunt as Noelle jabbed him in the side with her elbow.
"Like you said, let's get out of here and talk about it at your place?" I asked as I folded the paper up and tucking it away for later reading. Noelle nodded and we left after getting a box for her pastries.
***
The place the Travelers were staying at was a squat building sitting right in the middle of the strip of the city that had existed as a sort of neutral space between the Empire and the ABB. Naturally, much of the area had been trashed in the fighting and the few buildings still intact were largely vacated.
The building was old, but sturdily built and I could easily see how it had weathered the fighting. Whoever owned it had apparently fled, or worse, and the old brick building was now the temporary shelter of the Travelers.
"The owner decided to leave and we're renting the place at a steal," Noelle explained as we entered a modestly furnished common room. "Everyone else would be here, but I had them go shopping so it's just the three of us. Less tension, yeah?"
Well. That had been a concern of mine. Yet more proof that she was reading me in the same way I was reading her. I really needed to get a handle on that. I moved toward one of the chairs in the living room. "You said something back at the cafe I was curious about. Who's the pale-assed bitch?"
Noelle and Krouse both froze and then he muttered something about getting drinks. Noelle frowned, shaking her head while she gestured towards the couch, inviting me to sit down. I tracked Krouse with my precog, watching as he did exactly what he said, gathering up several cans of soda and heading back toward us. I only relaxed my grip on the future when he had returned.
The two of them exchanged a look and I was surprised to see that Noelle seemed rather indecisive. Slowly, as if trying to pace herself through the memory, she started talking.
"Let me start by saying that I don't want you to freak out, please," Noelle began. "Some of what I'll tell you, well, I've done research since the night you did your thing and I've got a pretty good idea how people in our situation get treated."
"Okay," I said, frowning a bit. "Though, I have to say, starting out with saying 'please don't freak out on me' isn't the best beginning."
"It only gets worse," Krouse muttered.
"Yes, thank you, Francis," Noelle said, turning to glare at him. "That was so helpful."
"Sorry," he said, cracking open his drink with a hissing pop.
"Anyway," Noelle resumed. "The six of us are from Madison. But not your Madison."
"Madison? As in Madison that got hit by—"
"Complicated," Krouse volunteered, looking a bit ill. "Like, you won't believe it."
I looked between them. "Okay, explain?"
Noelle sighed and gave Krouse an uneasy look. "There's moments where I think it's all a bad dream and I'm just in a coma at a hospital somewhere. That's more real than what's actually happened, right? I wasn't even really conscious for the first parts either."
"We're from Earth Aleph," he interrupted and raised his hands at her look. "What? I know you're not thrilled about explaining. Just say it then worry about it sounding crazy afterwards."
Noelle rolled her eyes. "As blunt as he was, Krouse is correct. We're from Madison, just not your Madison. We ended up here when we were getting ready to compete for a sponsorship and… the building sort of turned on its side and we were here."
Her words played back in my mind and I poked at my memory, pursuing a thought that had been interrupted earlier. They were from Earth Aleph, so they claimed, from Madison.
Madison… The answer came in a rush and I looked at them both warily. "Madison was hit in two thousand nine by an Endbringer."
Krouse nodded sourly. "You're not wrong. And before you ask, yes, that was when it happened. One minute we're gearing up for a title, the next we get a front-row seat to the pale bitch tearing it up. Or the Simurgh, as you call her."
I exhaled slowly, thinking about what that meant. Simurgh. What did I remember about the Simurgh?
No one really liked to talk about her, but anyone exposed to her song for too long became a ticking time bomb. Didn't matter who they were, once it happened, you could never tell what they might do. Switzerland was testament to that. It was the first and last time anyone ever second guessed that particular Endbringer. Behemoth left cities in ruins. Leviathan left them under sea level. But with the third Endbringer, you were never sure what you were going to get when she left.
And I was sitting in the same room as two people who had been at ground zero for one of her worst attacks. Who were part of a group whose other members had also been there. Simurgh attacks, in particular, weren't something people liked to talk about. After Switzerland and other incidents, like Canberra earlier this year, there was definitely an out of sight, out of mind rule that went unspoken.
People who had the tattoo were treated pretty horribly, if I remembered right, as no one could be really sure when they were going to flip out. And I had gotten involved with six people who could be walking timebombs. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I looked at the two across from me, who were clearly tense, wondering what I was going to do or how I was going to react.
No. I'd said we had a fresh start. I would just have to be more attentive when using my powers when I was around them. If something was going to happen, then I would have warning.
"Ok, and?" I finally asked, adding a flippant tone to my question. "I thought it'd be something serious, like one of you is actually a mini-Endbringer."
Krouse's expression soured and he gave me an irritated look. "That isn't funny."
Noelle sighed. "It wasn't, but I'm glad that isn't the case anyway. Again, I don't know how you did what you did, Taylor, but
thank you."
The gratitude in her thoughts and words was almost overpowering and I swallowed, willing back the surge of emotions. "Okay, I don't want to be rude or anything, but maybe it's time you gave me the full story on this. Like, what the hell was wrong with you that you're so grateful for whatever I did while out of my mind?"
Noelle and Krouse exchanged a look before she nodded. "You're right. It's a bit of a long story though, so I hope you have some time. Krouse, go get some more drinks, please." Krouse did so without complaint and Noelle leaned forward while I began tracking Krouse with my powers.
"This starts near Christmas, back in two thousand nine," she began and I gave most of my attention to her words.
~~~~~~~~
I rubbed at my arms as I walked through the mall. I could have gone flying and found someplace isolated to consider what I had been told, but I wasn't feeling the urge right now. It was nice to just be another face in the crowd. Even if I was considering so many things right now.
The Travelers were from a whole other world. Brought here by the Simurgh for who knew what reason. That was what I kept circling back to, trying to decide what I was going to do. On the one hand, they were Simurgh victims and no one knew they were running loose. Madison had been quarantined, if my memory was right and by all rights I should go and inform the PRT.
I had looked ahead to see what happened if I did that and the events that followed made me wince. That was a bad idea and I had no desire to turn the Bay into a warzone again. The Travelers had a lot more power than they had shown and the PRT coming after them did not go over well. I could have ran a few more possibilities, but I didn't really want to map out a fight with the Travelers, even if I knew how it would end.
When did my life get so complicated? The thought drew a frown from me, and I paused by a snack machine to get a pack of salted cashews. The newspaper I had shoved in my pack crinkled as I returned my change purse to it. I settled on a nearby bench and unfolded the paper, beginning to read the article again and considering what it was suggesting.
The author clearly had some sort of agenda, of that I was certain. As a whole it focused on how others, particularly
me, had done more to oppose the gangs than the Protectorate, who appeared to only be maintaining the status quo. I couldn't help but feel that it was more than a standard news piece poking at the Protectorate and the PRT.
They did make good points, though. If the Protectorate was more proactive, they would certainly be able to bring enough force to bear to shut down the Empire. Lung and the ABB were a different matter, but the same principle could apply there was well, though it was a lot riskier. Lung had endured as the smallest parahuman faction since arriving because he alone was able to go toe to toe with an Endbringer.
Even he, though, seemed to adhere to a status quo. He could take on an Endbringer but didn't appear to do much unless he was poked. The question was why? Why did the Protectorate stop crime, but not stamp on it? The Director had mentioned that Brockton Bay was a powderkeg and if it went off, she wanted it going off at her direction.
My eyes narrowed as I thought about the week I had been captive. The powderkeg, as she had put it,
had gone off. And she had done nothing. Ran damage control, but didn't deal with anyone. Didn't even crush the Merchants, the weakest gang. Hell, as far as I could tell, the casualties had been from gang on gang violence.
The edges of the paper crumpled in my hands. Why did the heroes of the city hold back? I hadn't, much, and four of the Empire had gone down. I was sure I could do more than that. I'd seen the crater of Coil's base and the surrounding area that had been done while I was drugged. The amount of damage was still mind-boggling, as it eclipsed what I'd done to the Boat Graveyard by quite a bit.
I couldn't turn that indiscriminately against the Empire, but when I'd fought them, I'd only held back using fire and trying to be nonlethal. Otherwise, I had fought to win. And I had. So why didn't the Protectorate? Lung aside, why weren't they taking down the other villains?
Why weren't they winning?
None of the answers I could come up with satisfied me. I looked at the article, reading it all the way through once more. My frown had only grown as I finished, the cashews long since finished off. Something felt off about the article, but I wasn't sure what it was. I folded it up with the empty plastic that had contained my snack and dropped it in a nearby trash can.
I did some math in my head, calculating how much money I had before starting toward the escalators to go downstairs. There was a small grocery store at the far end and I could pick up a few things there before I went back to the shelter. I grabbed one of the baskets near the store's entrance, thinking of what I needed to stock up on for supplies.
I didn't pay much attention, simply wandering down the aisles and letting my mind drift to what I had learned about the Travelers. The Simurgh messed with people's minds, that much was known. If that was done with something like my own powers, could I detect the 'bombs' she left behind?
More worryingly, the thought I'd had a few times but tried to ignore, could I do the same? I had already screwed with those ABB gangsters weeks ago and I still wasn't sure if letting anyone else know about me being able to read minds or play with people's emotions was a good thing. It wouldn't take much for comparisons to the Simurgh to go out, I was sure.
I grabbed a can of soup from the shelf, checked to see if that was the last thing I needed and started toward the checkout lines. There was enough to last the next few days if I got hungry, and a few extra things that the kitchen at the shelter needed. Pausing at the top of one of the aisles, I ran my list through my head one more time to be sure I had everything I needed.
Tea. I had forgotten to get some. Swearing under my breath, I turned to head back down the aisle. And promptly froze as my eyes slid over the checkout lanes. Standing near the magazine racks that decorated each lane with their tabloid nonsense, with his friends Kurt and Lacey, was my dad.
My knuckles turned white from the grip on the basket. His cheeks were sunken from fatigue and his face had more wrinkles, but there was a lightness in his eyes, something that Kurt told him drawing a half-smile. I watched for a moment, then ducked to the other side of the aisle's endcap. The huge display let me observe the three of them without risking my dad seeing me.
Lacey said something and I saw my dad laugh in response. I shifted my feet a bit, feeling a wistful smile cross my own features. The faintest brush toward his thoughts revealed that he was at ease and I glanced down at the floor, reaching up with my free hand to brush away at whatever was making my eyes sting.
What if I went over? The thought sparked my precognition to respond and I squeezed my eyes shut as the answer played out for me. Angry words would be exchanged and any happiness he was feeling right now would be wiped away in a torrent of spite and disagreement. My hand tightened even further around the basket's handle before relaxing as I came to a decision.
No. I wasn't going over to talk to him. Or even let him see me, if that was going to be the result. He had made his choice and wouldn't respect mine. I looked away and straightened my shoulders before heading off in the other direction, away from those checkout lanes. The exit to the mall would let me avoid them easily enough, so I went there and handed my basket to the old lady manning the nearby checkout.
"Everything alright, dear?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said, forcing a smile. He was happier without me around. "Everything's fine."
~~~~~~~~
The sound of exploding firecrackers kept drawing my focus away from their target: an assortment of goons Hanabi and Rockshow were fighting. I still had no replacement for my costume, but that didn't matter. With darker clothes and the night sky to shield me, I could float out of sight, using my powers freely. Like the night Dauntless had shown up to accost me after I foiled the ABB, I was toying with their emotions.
Only this time, it wasn't just one person and it wasn't the ABB. These guys were part of the Empire, a group that had finally crawled out of the woodwork now that things seemed to be calming down. I didn't really care about them in particular, though. They were only a stepping stone to who I really wanted to find.
Cricket had seemingly disappeared since the end of the fighting between the Empire and the ABB. With nothing else to do, I had been trying to find someone who knew where she was. So far, I was coming up with absolutely nothing. After the near miss earlier with my dad, I needed to work out some frustration. These guys would suffice and hopefully tell me what I needed to know.
A slight nudge with my powers twisted their perceptions: Hanabi and Rockshow were more imposing now, the alley way they was smaller. Whispering came from the deepening shadows, promising pain. It wasn't hard to make them feel a cold wind, carrying the smell of fire and the faintest hint of brimstone.
It wasn't immediately noticeable, but all five began shifting nervously and I knew one action from either Catherine or Minako would turn this from a standoff to a fight again. A nudge and one of them twitched as he believed he had seen something move. Minako reacted to his distraction, darting forward to drive an open hand against his chest. Light flashed and the man shot backward, landing on his ass. The fight broke out in earnest once more and I turned my attention down to the alley's mouth.
There, one of the Empire was keeping watch, ready to call out if the authorities were approaching so that they could run. I was actually surprised he was still here, with two capes visibly present, but there was probably more to his presence than just being a lookout. With the fight under control at the moment, I could focus on him. A touch of precognition let me track if I needed to intercede with the fight below as I centered the majority of my attention on the watchdog.
I hadn't done anything to him yet, but now, with things under control below, I strummed the chords of his fears and watched how he reacted. Making the shadows darker caused him to look around nervously and dig a hand into one pocket. His emotions shifted and I frowned a bit at what they told me. He was afraid of the dark? Really? Well, it was something I could use. I made the area around him seem darker, like a haze had fallen over the nearby streetlights. My target began fumbling in his pockets for a phone, panic clearly overtaking whatever good sense he had.
Oh, I can't have you doing that. I let him hear the thought and he jumped, spinning around for the person that he was certain had just whispered in his ear. Then the nearest streetlight erupted into sparks, glass falling to the ground. He jumped again, fumbling his grip on the phone and I gave it a boost on the way to the ground, causing it to break apart. The lookout, whose name I had gleaned was Ashley, swore loudly.
His outburst drew the attention of his companions and I suppressed a laugh as their distraction lead to them getting smacked around by my friends. To my surprise, though, Ashley did not break and run. He was frightened, but he was holding firm out of some form of loyalty to his allies. I could see how much he'd endure before his fear became too great.
You're a worthless piece of trash. Ashley swallowed and looked around for a moment, shaking his head. I stared for a moment. I had heard his thought as well, though it carried a different flavor than his own thoughts. A memory? It wasn't one I had plucked at, though and that made me curious. What sort of fear was he burying?
Another nudge, making him think there was something watching him from the shadows. Still, he didn't run. He actually seemed to fold into himself, like he was trying to hide. I considered the reasons why, nudging another string of his fears while swatting one of the gangsters below as he tried to hit Minako with a pipe.
Ashley. What the hell kind of name is that? Fucking girly bullshit. The man jerked again and I could tell those words had hit home. Whatever my efforts were bringing up, it was something he was truly afraid of. A button, something new to push.
What I had been doing was fairly low-tier. Not any different than what I did to the ABB, playing up their fears, making them irrational. The way Ashley was responding was something new, though. Something different. I thought about the meeting with Noelle and the revelation that the people claiming to be indebted to me were not only from another world, but victims of the Simurgh.
I swear by all that's holy that I will beat your ass, you damn little freak! The spotter visibly jumped as the voice came louder. I pushed at the part of him that was afraid of the dark and what lurked there. A metal garbage can shifted by my power, the scrape of metal against pavement made him spin, only to find no one there.
Thought you'd got away, huh, girly-boy? The man stiffened as the words welled up from his subconscious.
Thought you'd done in your old man? That you could prove you weren't some girly little freak? He turned slowly, his fear almost at a fever pitch as a hallucination plucked from feverish nightmares of his childhood loomed over him. Dishevelled clothing, bloodshot eyes that seemed to burn red, each detail was plucked from his fears and sharpened into perfect clarity. A belt swung, smacking against the open hand. There was no sound, but the man's fear made him think there was and he flinched. I wasn't even doing anything now, the man's own fears overtaking all conscious thought with more virulence than anything I could conceive.
He backed up, his thoughts little more than a litany of denial and pleading as he tried to banish long buried behaviors that the specter before him evoked.
You've been hanging with that other freak again, haven't you? That other boy. WHAT DID I TELL YOU I WOULD DO?
I winced a little at the way his thoughts screamed as the wall came up behind him. With nowhere else to back up, he slid down the wall.
Pleasedonthurtmedaddy!
YoulittlefreakIll—
I tuned out his thoughts. I considered trying to jar him out of his stupor, but there wasn't any point. He wasn't going to be a threat to anyone like this. Just by nudging his fears in the direction I wanted, I had reduced him to a sobbing wreck.
Just like the Simurgh did. My lips thinned into a frown. It was different from that.
I was different than that.
I landed after the last of the group that they had been fighting went down. The two of them looked at me, relaxing slightly when I gave a nod to indicate that they were all out. Even the ones that had started to stir were now sound asleep, a nudge from my powers ensuring that.
Catherine looked around at the fallen with a frown, taking a moment to eye the entire scene before her eyes fell in the same direction that Minako's had.
"What about that one?" Minako asked before Catherine could say, indicating where Ashley was at the mouth of the alley, still out of it.
"He isn't going to be bothering anyone." I shrugged without looking in his direction. I dug my hands into my pockets, feeling a sudden chill. "Severe daddy issues, I think."
As if he's the only one.
"No one got a call out for backup, did they?" Catherine asked, digging out her phone.
"Ashl—, I mean he tried, but I smashed it."
"You know his name?" Minako asked
"Ashley," I told her. "It's… kind of hard not to pick up things. I tune out most thoughts, but distracting him, well, it's close enough of a rapport that privacy's right out the window. At least for surface thoughts."
And for buried fears. I pushed aside the glimpses I'd gotten into what really terrified him. I was not going to feel sorry for a member of the E88, regardless of what his daddy did to him when he was a child.
"You want me to fly you guys home?" I asked. "I can go float up out of sight while you give your report when the PRT or cops pick these guys up."
"That would be amazing," Catherine said before sighing. "But Dad's big on keeping with routines and I don't want to upset that right now, especially since he at least seems to be tolerating you."
I grimaced. "Right. See you at Chronicles this weekend?"
"Yes, coffee, and then we can keep looking for someplace to replace the firehouse," Minako said.
"A pity I can't find another conveniently decommissioned place like that," I replied with a grin. "That'd make this all so easy."
"It was too easy to begin with." Catherine snorted. "I'm surprised you didn't have police showing up to arrest you for squatting. Utilities and everything still functioning? And no one noticed the bill going up? I'm not even sure they noticed it getting burnt down."
"More than once," I muttered, remembering my dream and waking to find myself and the bed on fire. "You're right though, it was too perfect to be true. But even so, it had everything I needed. Space, privacy and all that."
"We will find something else," Minako said, laying a hand on my shoulder. "It may not be as well set up, but we will find someplace."
I smiled wanly, reaching up to give her hand a squeeze. "I know."
"Ok, Chronicles, ten am, and don't be late," Catherine said. "Now go before the cops and such show up."
"Yeah, yeah," I said, forcing a smile. "I'll catch you guys on Saturday." I was airborne a second later, giving them both a wave as I departed ahead of the growing sound of sirens. I rode up higher into the night sky, considering what I wanted to do now.
I could keep looking for information on Cricket and her whereabouts. I didn't want to have to be constantly looking over my shoulder or making repeated fly-bys over the house to check on my dad. I was mad at him, but I didn't want him dead and I didn't like even thinking about the thought that someone would attack him to get at me.
Cricket remained a missing element. I had no idea where she was or if she had found out my name. They were questions I was going to find answers to. No matter what.
Even if she didn't, I wasn't sure I could just ignore the Empire and assume that they wouldn't come after Sirin, after me. My actions were seen by many as the spark that had set off their recent misfortune and I knew that they had lost some of their own in the fighting.
A few had even been confirmed. Victor and Othala were caught in a bubble of frozen time; apparently Bakuda had gotten the idea off one of the Wards' powers, Clockblocker. Fenja and Menja had taken some damage, but were still alive as far as I knew. And Rune, one of their youngest members, had died as well.
Stormtiger, Krieg, and Kaiser were still active. Purity was as well, but I could remember her claiming to not be part of them any longer. I didn't know how to find Kaiser or Krieg, and the little I had heard as rumor on the street gave no hint about where Cricket might be. No signs of her being active, no word that she was dead or alive. Not even a twisted monument like what had been erected around the spot where Victor and Othala were at.
She was just missing. And I didn't like it, not knowing. She could be dead. Could have died long before she told anyone what I looked like. Or she could be lying in a hospital somewhere, breathing through a tube and I was worrying for nothing. Until I knew, though, the fact that she could be out there, trying to hunt me down gave me pause.
I had to find out and the only way I… I came to a halt over the bay, a thought occurring to me. I could find her the way I had found Emma when Mr. Barnes had shown up at the front door. I closed my eyes, letting the same pattern play out across my mind, skimming over those I was familiar with. I felt frustration build, though, as a fact I had overlooked became clear.
I had no idea what Cricket's mind or whatever, what her
psyche, felt like. I'd only been in her presence twice and neither time had that been something I was focused on. I sighed and ended my search, mulling over this as I floated there.
Why was I afraid? Cricket's power was insignificant compared to mine, but I was afraid of her being alive knowing what she knew. Why?
Because twice, she had hurt me. Even that first thug the night I blew my identity to Vicky hadn't come anywhere near as close. And she had seen my face, then figured out who I was when I confronted her in costume. Now, with no idea where she was, I had this looming over me. Something had to be done. Again, I thought of the article I had read earlier in the day, decrying the Protectorate's maintaining of the status quo.
A moment later, I dug into my pack and withdrew a dark length of cloth. I stared at it for a moment and then nodded, turning back toward the city, toward the Empire's territory. Something had to be done and I was going to do it.
***
Dogs barking filled the night as they ran in every direction, some attacking humans, most fleeing from the wrecking building that had served as a dog-fighting ring for Hookwolf. It was ruins now, some parts of it burning from where I hadn't held back. I walked forward, staring at the man who was crab walking away from me.
I brought my hand forward, palm up, purely for show and raised it slowly, watching the man's eyes widen in panic as he was lifted from the ground. He tried to twist his arms, his legs, but failed. He had tried to fight, but as the only cape present, he hadn't presented much of a challenge.
"I want you to take a message to your boss," I said clearly, raising my voice a bit so I was heard over the continuing collapse of the building. "Can you do that?"
"Kaiser's gonna fucking murder you, you crazy bitch," Stormtiger snarled.
I smiled, though he couldn't see it over the scarf wrapped around most of my face. Between it and the hoodie I'd pulled up, my eyes were the only thing visible. That, and a bit of my hair that had slipped out from the back of the hood. "If Hookwolf, Cricket and his two whores couldn't, I don't think I'll have anything to worry about from Kaiser."
Recognition flared in his eyes. "You're that bitch who attacked them, the one Cricket—"
"Where can I find her, by the way?" I asked, reaching toward his thoughts to see if asking would put it in the forefront of his mind. Her location was not present, but there was a trace of something there as he spat at my feet.
"Not telling you a damn thing, bitch!"
I crooked a finger and he floated closer. Cricket had taught me one important lesson and I kept him from moving at all. I wasn't keen on getting my nose broken again.
"You're wrong about that, Stormtiger," I told him, reaching up.
"Don't fucking touch me!" His voice was a touch shrill as I caught his head between my palms.
"You're going to tell me
everything I want to know." I caught the thread of his thoughts, chasing after anything that had to do with Cricket and pulled. Stormtiger screamed, thrashing against my grip to no effect. His efforts to resist didn't slow me at all and the world fell away around us as the images from his memory revealed what I sought.
Cricket, eyes wide and blank, laying in what appeared to be a hospital bed. Stormtiger was sitting beside her, looking unhappy. I didn't bother drawing the words he was saying out. The emotions coloring the memory and the way she laid there, unresponsive, told me everything I needed to know.
Stormtiger fell to the ground as I released him, his screams tapering off, replaced by gasping breaths as he gulped air.
"Thanks for that," I told him, turning the memory over in my head with some satisfaction. "I don't have to worry about Cricket any more, right?"
"Kaiser's gonna—" Stormtiger began, clutching at the sides of his head while trying to climb to his feet. "We're gonna—"
I held up a hand and looked around the wrecked warehouse that had served as their dog-fighting ring. "You'll forgive me if I don't take your threats seriously, I hope?"
"Bitch, the Empire i—" I used my powers and knocked him out, watching as he slumped. I gave the wrecked building one last look, thinking on what I had seen in his memories. Cricket was a non-issue. But that didn't mean she hadn't told someone what she had figured out.
"And you couldn't have known the answer to that, could you?" I glared toward Stormtiger before I took off, leaving the wreckage of the Empire's dog-fighting ring behind. Someone in the Empire might know, which meant this wasn't the end of it. At least not for me. I was certain she had told someone and I wasn't going to stop until I found out.
Well fine, if you have to one-up Silencio, I suppose that's the way to do it. Careful though, people will start calling you Wonder Woman.
