I'm pretty sure you posted this already.
Firebird, a Worm AU/Xover?
- Thread starter chibipoe
- Start date
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
Not in so many words, but yes, I posted something similar a while back.
Sheaman3773
(Unverified Writer)
- Location
- Within ~1 AU of Sol
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
I asked for clarification, which chibipoe was kind enough to give.
Ah right, I just had a pretty sever case of Deja Vu and didn't notice whatever difference there is.
DragooKnight11
[INAUDIBLE ANXIETY]
- Location
- State of Confusion
Great chapter. You actually made me feel sympathetic towards Emma. The key bit for me was that it seems she got hurt trying to help someone else. Even if it was from some misguided notion of being 'strong', it's a worthy action. As for whether to continue with a redemption path, I'm ambivalent.
However, I do feel that Taylor did not get closure here. She left with too much emotional confusion, in my opinion. On one hand, she thinks she wants Emma to go die in a ditch, on the other, she's clearly still remembering the fact that they used to be all but sisters. She's not going to really have closure until she decides which she really wants and makes peace with it, or simply stops caring about anything Emma related at all. Peace or apathy. In canon, it was mostly the latter. Taylor grows so far beyond Emma, that their confrontation in Arcadia is nothing more than a minor footnote or irritation to Taylor. Nothing like that has happened here yet. You're not required to, of course, but you did comment that that was what you were trying to do.
Also, I want to +1 the Victoria/Taylor platonic friendship angle. It's so ridiculously common in fanfic that as soon as two characters get along really well, IT MUST BE ROMANCE!!!, that it's quite refreshing and pleasant to simply see a strong friendship. One of the highlights of Acceleration (which is currently my favorite Worm fanfic) is the non-romantic relationship between Taylor and Dinah. Here in Firebird, Taylor could really use such a genuine up front friend, and Victoria could probably use someone to help keep her head out of the clouds.
However, I do feel that Taylor did not get closure here. She left with too much emotional confusion, in my opinion. On one hand, she thinks she wants Emma to go die in a ditch, on the other, she's clearly still remembering the fact that they used to be all but sisters. She's not going to really have closure until she decides which she really wants and makes peace with it, or simply stops caring about anything Emma related at all. Peace or apathy. In canon, it was mostly the latter. Taylor grows so far beyond Emma, that their confrontation in Arcadia is nothing more than a minor footnote or irritation to Taylor. Nothing like that has happened here yet. You're not required to, of course, but you did comment that that was what you were trying to do.
Also, I want to +1 the Victoria/Taylor platonic friendship angle. It's so ridiculously common in fanfic that as soon as two characters get along really well, IT MUST BE ROMANCE!!!, that it's quite refreshing and pleasant to simply see a strong friendship. One of the highlights of Acceleration (which is currently my favorite Worm fanfic) is the non-romantic relationship between Taylor and Dinah. Here in Firebird, Taylor could really use such a genuine up front friend, and Victoria could probably use someone to help keep her head out of the clouds.
- Location
- Crackship Space!
No offense but I thought I was slow.
I know he posted a hint to it in the 'preview' a few days ago...
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
Hah!
Also, chibipoe defies gender conventions. We reproduce like fungus.
- Location
- Australia
Well, fungi do have, like, 3600 different mating types so :lol
Well now. I can see that any sci-fi with sapient fungus as a big thing would have sexual politics that would likely cause civil wars on a regular basis...
- Location
- Australia
Don't worry, almost everyone can make babies with everyone. Only a few exclusives exist in the fungi kingdom.
- Location
- Internet
You know, I kinda wonder what it would be like if Emma did ultimately trigger down the line from all this.
Humph. Offense TAKEN! I am a high class reader! No previews here! I take the whole package, or no package at all. (#Snooty-Sniff)
Chibipoe now considered Sapient Fungus in my headcanon.
Last edited:
Shaithan
Re-class is happiest class
- Location
- The worst part of Germany
So, chibipoe is an Ork?
Dreaming - 2.2
chibipoe
May I tell you of the glory that is Catradora?
- Location
- Astoria, Oregon
2.2
2:53 pm, February 26th, 2011
Chronicles was an immense bookstore that had taken over most of what used to be a warehouse in the older part of downtown. It had multiple floors and sections for various genres that were large enough to be bookstores in their own right. It had endured the countless chains try and run it out of business only to stay standing when they failed, remaining strong when they went bankrupt. It was almost as much a landmark as the fried chicken restaurant with it's enormous chicken with an animatronic beak that sat along one of the main roads into or out of Brockton.
People gave directions by both. Two miles past the Big Chicken, or two blocks from Chronicles. They had both been in Brockton Bay for as long as I could remember. Still, I hadn't been to the store in several years and I stared up the steps leading to its corner entrance for a moment before looking around for Catherine and Minako.
I spotted them both inside and entered, navigating through the throng of people that were here for the signing, closing my eyes for a moment while I focused to block out the enthusiasm and excitement that permeated the area.
"Hi," I said when I reached them, feeling awkward as the walk around town before coming here hadn't helped the mood I had left the hospital in.
"Something wrong?" Catherine asked.
I shrugged. "Just a bad morning that I'm not sure how to deal with it."
"Well," Minako said. "Permit me to get this signed and if you wish, we can discuss it over ice cream. If you do not wish, we can still have ice cream."
I half-smiled for a moment before it faded. "That might be nice."
"Go get your book signed," Catherine told Minako, slinging an arm around my shoulders and waving Minako off with her other hand. "I'll keep Taylor company while you do."
Minako nodded and moved away toward where I could see a tall brunette talking animatedly to a group of people. Catherine released my shoulders and gave me a serious look.
"Truthfully, are you okay?" she asked. "You look pretty down."
I shook my head, looking anywhere but at her as I considered the question. "I don't honestly know. Today… Emma…"
"You had more trouble with her?" Catherine asked.
"Not exactly," I said, taking a deep breath and shook my head. "Just something very unexpected and I don't know how to feel about it. Nothing that I need to bring you two down with." Cheers went up behind me and I turned to see the brunette stepping into a platform and beginning to address the crowd.
"Thanks for coming, everyone, and just… wow, so many people," she said. "I'm, as you might guess, Christa Poe, the author of Acceleration and its sequels. Things got a little jumbled since my flight was delayed because of recent events, so I'm going to start with getting to everyone who has books for me to sign first and then we'll get to the questions. There's a line forming here, I think… right here, yes?"
I watched as she pulled the microphone away from her mouth to talk to one of the bookstore staff, arranging people in a line before sitting down. The signing moved quickly after that and Minako returned, face flushed with excitement and holding her signed copies.
"We can skip on ice cream if you want to stick around for her talking," I said, not wanting to keep her from something she clearly enjoyed.
Minako shook her head. "I have her latest book. She is planning to talk about the one after this and likely to read from it. I do not wish to be spoiled, so we can go. Also…" Minako tucked one of the books into her satchel carefully and extended the others out to Catherine and I.
"Ah, geez, Mina," Catherine said, but accepted the book. "Why'd you go and do this?"
"You are my friends," she said simply.
I stared at the book she had placed in my hands and opened the cover, curious to see what I would find.
Taylor, never give up chasing your dreams. Enjoy the story! ~Christa Poe. Beside her name was a tiny hand-drawn raven.
"Thank you," I said simply with a small, thankful smile before closing the book. Minako ducked her head shyly in acknowledgement.
"Okay, ice cream, then?" Catherine asked, putting her own book away. "Is Frozen Stone still open?"
"That's over near Fugly Bob's, right?" I asked. "I think so. It'll take a bit to get over there, though."
"We have time," Minako interjected. "Shall we go, then?"
I nodded and tucked the book into my messenger bag. "Ice cream sounds good, yeah. Let's go."
The boardwalk was bustling when we arrived and I smiled a bit at the way the sun shone off the water. It was actually very pretty and even the eyesore of the Boat Graveyard in the distance didn't detract too much from it. I turned away from the view and looked in the direction of the ice cream shop that Catherine had mentioned.
There were an awful lot of people between us and there, I noticed again and frowned. The Enforcers were around but there were still plenty of instances of pickpockets and the like. Remembering the night before and what had nearly happened because I wasn't using my powers to keep an eye out, I nudged my foresight into the on setting. Just a few minutes between where we were and the shop wouldn't hurt, and it was good practice.
"You are impossibly good at moving in a crowd," Catherine said in my ear as I led the way toward the shop, guiding us through the crowd without becoming bogged down by people randomly stopping to stare at something or take pictures.
"Just lucky," I said, glancing back toward her. As I did so, I saw a man moving with the flow of people, how his course would line up with mine and he would go for Catherine's purse before taking advantage of an opening to vanish into the crowd.
"So, I was thinking," I said, turning to face her while walking backwards for a moment. "You guys want to come over for dinner sometime? It's been awhile since I've had anyone over…"
"I would not object," Minako said.
"I'm game," Catherine murmured, then gave me an odd look. "Are you sure you should walk like that? You could trip…"
"You're probably right," I said, shrugging and turning back around. Three more steps… now. I spun back around, throwing my arm wide as I did so. "So, what kind of food do you guys like so I can plan what to get my dad to fix? Oh, sorry!" The side of my hand near my pinkie smacked against his wrist, deflecting the grab. My eyes met his and he muttered a profanity before shoving someone to his left and taking off.
"Did he just…" Catherine began, scowling. "He tried to grab my purse!"
"Huh," I shrugged. "Guess that was lucky on my pa-"
I paused with my spoon in my mouth, frowning as the scene flooded into my head abruptly. What the hell was that? Nothing like that happened on the way to the shop. Did I have some sort of retrocognition that showed what could have been as well as precognition?
"Earth to Taylor," I heard fingers snapping and blinked, focusing on Catherine. "You alright? You just spaced out on us."
"Oh, sorry," I said, putting the spoon down in the mostly empty plastic bowl. "Sorry, still trying to figure out this thing from this morning."
"Are you sure you do not wish to talk about it?" Minako asked gently. "We can tell it has upset you, after all."
I took hold of the spoon again, scraping away at the last bits of ice cream, mulling the question over. The two of them had been straight with me so far and they had helped a lot with the Sophia thing. I hadn't told them much about the root of the problems with Emma and Sophia, but they had still helped without having any obligation to do so.
The rest of my ice cream was finished off and I took a deep breath. Feet first, Taylor. "Well, this morning, I got an unexpected visitor…"
There were some days, Victoria Dallon thought, that she really disliked the fact that most people who had powers hid who they were from the general public. She understood why, but at the same time, it created situations like the one she was in now now.
"Everything alright, Vicky?" her cousin asked as they dealt with a group of vandals who had gotten their hands on tinker-produced spray painting gear and defaced several places across town. When the law firm that her mom worked at had been one of them, she had gone out with her cousins to track them down.
"Oh, everything's fine," she said airily. "You know that I'm just glorious."
Crystal snorted and gave her a disbelieving look. "That was bad and you should feel bad."
"Yeah, you do seem a bit out of it," Eric said. "You're usually the first to be punching their lights out."
"I'm fine," she insisted. "Maybe. Yes, I am fine."
"We're done here, so let's go find somewhere else to be," Crystal said. "And Vicky? Tell someone who didn't grow up with you that you're fine. They might believe it."
"You do tend to space out when you're worrying about something you can't punch," Eric interjected.
"You're both ganging up on me," she groused with a half-hearted glare. "Fine. Let's go find something to eat." She didn't wait for either to reply, taking flight and putting distance between them quickly.
Eric exchanged a look with his sister. "I'm guessing we're having hamburgers. Fugly Bob's?"
"Fugly Bob's," she said with a sigh.
Fifteen minutes later and they were in normal clothes, tucked into a booth with their cousin, who was devouring one of the larger burgers hungrily.
"Geez, Vick," Eric said. "I don't think it's going to walk away if you take your time."
She gave him an irritated look and then took a drink of her soda before reaching for some fries, only to find Crystal's hand blocking her.
"Ok, spacing out and bingeing," she said. "Something's bothering you. Is it about last night when you were out? Did you and Dean have a fight on patrol?"
"I didn't go on patrol with Dean last night," she muttered. "And we didn't fight either, before you ask."
"You didn't go on patrol with Dean," Eric pointed out. "Was there someone else? Are you patrolling with other people behind his back?"
"That isn't funny," she snapped, glaring at her cousin before sighing. "I helped out a new cape on her first night out."
The cousins shared a look. "That doesn't seem like something to be this worked up over."
"It's complicated," she said.
"What kind of complicated?" Crystal asked, taking the fries for herself. "Complicated, as you put it, could mean almost anything"
Victoria bit her lip. "The kind of complicated that isn't mine to tell, okay? Not to you guys, not to Dean…"
Crystal glanced at her brother, then looked around quickly before holding a hand over the top of her face. "This kind of complicated?"
"You look stupid like that," she replied. "And yes, exactly like that."
"Seems pretty simple," Eric said. "You know something Dean doesn't, I'm guessing. Tell him."
"Don't be silly, Eric," Crystal contradicted. "If it is what she said, she can't just tell Dean. It isn't her secret to tell!"
"If it's something that is worrying her this much, it might have to be," he said calmly.
Victoria winced. "Let's say that Dean mentioned some investigations into a person when we were… talking." She ignored Eric's snort and went on. "And that person hasn't done anything wrong, but I found out something that confirms the thing they're investigating. Sort of."
Crystal frowned. "Is this a bad thing?"
Vicky shook her head. "No! Well, I don't think so. I don't see how it could be. But telling Dean would break a rule. The whole thing is ready to turn into a mess if it goes wrong, and I don't want it to."
"I assume this isn't something you can't just put them in the same place to talk about?" Eric asked, frowning.
"No," Victoria said with a bitter laugh. "That would be breaking rules twice over. The only way to resolve this would be if everyone involved were a Ward."
"Vicky," Crystal began, looking thoughtful. "Are you sure that keeping this secret isn't dangerous?"
She shook her head emphatically. "No, it isn't."
"Then I think you should keep your friend's secret, if that is who this person is to you," she finished.
"Wait a minute," Eric interrupted. "We aren't big on keeping secrets. This does not sound cool at all."
"Our own secrets, Eric," Crystal said, her voice a touch chilly. "But being part of New Wave doesn't mean we run around giving out everyone else's secrets, if we learn them. We can't force people to take our view of things."
"I'm going to go flying," Vicky said abruptly, tossing some money on the table for her food. "To clear my head and think about this. Thanks for listening, you two." Ignoring the developing argument behind her, she made for the exist and took off as soon as she was outside.
Dean had mentioned how he hadn't been able to pick anything up from Taylor at all back during their meeting at the mall and suspected that she was a cape, but he had, with persuasion, told her that the testing they had done after the incident at her school had said she wasn't a cape.
He had reported that, she knew, but he hadn't said anything else since. Now, she knew conclusively that Taylor was a cape. Telling Dean would be breaking a confidence and the very idea made her stomach churn.
"Damnit, why can't everyone just do what New Wave does," she muttered, coming to a halt above the spot where she and Taylor had sat the night before. She dropped onto the wall, fingers digging into the stone once she was seated. She knew why, logically.
Fleur.
The movement of changing from the Brockton Bay Brigade to New Wave had barely even gotten started when that happened, effectively aborting the intent right out of the gate. Even so, their parents had passed on that legacy to her, Eric and Crystal. Mostly out of inertia, as with them revealing their own identities, it would have been pathetically easy to deduce who the three of them were if they had not followed in their parent's footsteps.
So the three of them had become celebrities and gotten targets painted on their back. No one had tried, but it was something she was afraid of, that she'd go over to Aunt Sarah's and find Crystal and Eric dead one day. Knowing that Taylor was Sirin, and that the Protectorate had been investigating Taylor being a cape and were coming up with nothing, while she now had definite knowledge. But telling Dean was breaking a confidence as well as the rules that every cape who wasn't a member of New Wave lived by.
"Punching things is easy," Vicky said, grimacing. "So, I can't tell Dean because… why?" She bit her lip, kicking the wall with her feet as she considered that question. The answer came a moment later.
"Because I like her and it's nice to have a friend who doesn't have stars in their eyes when they look at me," she said aloud. "Even so, Dean's my boyfriend and I shouldn't keep something this big from him, should I?" The sun began to set as she sat there, wrestling with the dilemma before her, oblivious to anyone or anything passing by.
When she had agreed to fill in for Colin while he conducted his investigation at Winslow, he had neglected to tell her about just how much paperwork involved, Miss Militia thought sourly. The next time she got to spar with him, she would have to make it known how she didn't appreciate the fact quite thoroughly. Reports of every type sat before her, many of which she was convinced that other departments were handing off to get out of having to do them.
She set those to the side for looking into later. There was no reason that she could fathom that required her to sign off on routine orders of toilet paper.
Maybe one of Clockblocker's jokes? Wouldn't hurt to check at least. She considered it before looking at what was next what seemed like a never shrinking stack. She glanced at it, noting that it was a police report. Cape activity that they had been involved in, so likely one of the Independents or New Wave. Miss Militia skimmed down the page, assessing the details quickly.
Merchants, found in possession of drugs, no surprise there… Glory Girl present… new cape was primarily responsible for their apprehension? New cape? She focused on that section, grateful for once that the officers who submitted their report to the PRT had gone into some detail, though not nearly enough for her liking.
"Cape had not chosen a name yet, accepted a suggestion from Glory Girl," she read aloud. "Appeared female, dark haired, costume was black & gold with an emblem like a stylized bird of some sort on upper chest. Accepted name was Siren?"
She sat back in her chair, remembering one of the things she had spent doing in her free time. Reading was one and she considered this report against that.
"Bird-themed, so probably not referring to the Greek," she mused thoughtfully. "Russian, then." She looked back at the report, to see if there was any mention of what the new cape's powers were. Nothing beyond a comment that she apparently had some sort of flight ability. The report mentioned a dumpster out in the middle of the street, so a possible Brute rating?
"Not enough information here," she sat the report down in frustration, mulling over what to do. The police had given details, but nothing that really formed a picture of this new cape for her beyond appearance. The independent capes were one situation that she wished they didn't have to deal with. Too many who had refused membership into either the Wards or the Protectorate for whatever reasons She had even approached some of them herself and been rebuffed, often rather rudely. To add another cape to an already complex situation promised issues if she endured for any amount of time.
There were two groups among them, those who came out guns blazing and made too much of a splash, drawing the ire of one of the larger gangs and were either forcibly conscripted or never heard from again and those who kept a lower profile, sticking to small-time activities.
"Some Merchants who were coming off of an exchange," she read into it, frowning thoughtfully. Nothing that would draw immediate repercussions then, as that was likely one of many that had gone down that night. Skidmark himself was an unsavory and disgusting person, but someone in his gang was at least marginally competent and handled the details he was too wasted for.
She had wondered more than once if Skidmark wasn't simply a front for someone else, but if that was true, they were very good at covering their tracks. Miss Militia sighed and pushed worrying about that for later and returned her thoughts to the new cape. Further reading had mentioned that her and Glory Girl seemed on good terms, which was arguably a positive. The member of New Wave's second generation could be impetuous at times and another cape adopting her attitude could be problematic.
Perhaps Gallant could persuade her to arrange a meeting so that the benefits of a Wards membership could be extended. There were enough issues with how understaffed they were compared to the villains. The independents alone could outnumber them, if you considered the solo villains along with the heroes. More people could only help improve the situation, she hoped.
She typed up a quick note to Colin and sent it off about this issue with a request for his opinion on the matter, summing up all the pertinent details regarding the new cape. As much as she wished he were here in his usual position, she had to admit that the time spent posing as a teacher was doing him some good. Perhaps he would have a better perspective on the matter that helped her make a decision.
Changing screens brought up her current file on the independent parahumans within Brockton Bay where she added the new cape to the list, correcting the error in spelling that the police officer had made for her own records before adding the sparse information to the Protectorate and PRT databases. She glanced at the report once more and set it aside to be filed by her assistant, her mind turning back to the issue of how to approach this new parahuman.
A chime sounded and she saw an email response from Colin waiting to be opened. Two clicks of the mouse opened it up. Her eyebrows went up slightly at the quick response and she looked over his typically terse reply.
Hannah,
See if you can find more details on this Sirin. She had a bird-themed emblem? Perhaps our pyro is finally showing themselves? Send me whatever you can find.
"Short and to the point as always," she shook her head and made notes of his request on her list of things to do. Perhaps she could reach out to Glory Girl personally for information. The report had said they seemed to be getting along. That would sidestep the possibility of Gallant balking at a request to try and convince his girlfriend to tell him about the new cape or arrange a meeting. It was hard to predict what teenagers would do when they didn't have powers, let alone when you did add powers into the mix.
A thought occurred to her. Colin had indicated suspicion that the suspected pyrokinetic could be this new cape. She tried to think of how many brunettes she had seen at Winslow when they had dealt with the Shadow Stalker issue.
Taylor Hebert was a brunette, she recalled with a frown. But the MRI had indicated that she lacked the extra sections of the brain that indicated parahuman status, so had been sidelined as a possible candidate. Colin had his theory that she could have obscured it somehow, but Director Piggot disagreed. Shadow Stalker's interrogation had revealed the girl was convinced that the target of her ire was a cape, but no one had given her words credence due to how obviously biased she had been towards Ms. Hebert.
She winced as she thought of the girl, remembering how poorly she had handled bringing the subject up. The girl's replies rolled around in her head for a moment, noting how she had never outright denied being one. Merely referenced the tests that had been negative to lead them toward the conclusion that she wasn't. Dean's report that he had been unable to sense anything from her when he met her while with his girlfriend flashed to the forefront of her thoughts and she blinked once.
He had mentioned that Victoria Dallon had seemed to know Taylor when they met at the mall and both appeared on good terms with one another. The new cape seemed to be on good terms with Glory Girl as well.
Miss Militia shook her head. "Colin's infecting me with his paranoia. Just because Taylor Hebert is friends with one of the Dallon's doesn't mean she's also this Sirin." She made some more notes on her computer before putting the matters of Taylor Hebert and this new cape aside in her mind. She had more paperwork to get through and fixating on one issue would not help at all.
Colin is really going to regret suckering me into doing his paperwork for him.
Dad had gone out with Kurt and Lacey for the evening, leaving a note for me. I skimmed over it, then dropped it back on the counter. I pulled my costume out of its hiding place and gave it a once over to see if I had missed any damages or spots that needed cleaning. I had a few hours before he would be back, so plenty of time to work on some gloves or finding a way to alter the jacket for when I went out. Perhaps something that I could fit over it with fasteners, like a vest?
I alternated between that and idly browsing the parahumans online wiki page, brushing up on what little information was there about the capes of Brockton Bay. The information there was inconsistent though. The larger groups, such as the Protectorate and the Wards team, or gangs like the Empire Eighty-Eight or the ABB were a great deal more detailed than most of the others. The independents were a mixed bag, filled with conflicting reports and in some cases, signs that people had gotten into arguments and changed the information on the various wiki entries as part of their feuding.
Putting down my work for a moment, I switched pages to the villains section. I wanted to avoid conflicts with any of the larger groups as they either had a lot of capes, like the Empire, or had people you simply did not want to mess with, like the ABB and Lung. The Merchants territory, though, bordered a lot of places where some of the lesser known villains were rumored to operate because the larger groups just didn't care.
The list was fairly large and I looked it over curiously, snorting when I saw the name Grue among them and wondered whether the person using that name was referring to the Old English or that old game it had been popularized in. I kept going until one caught my eye. Boneyard.
"Creates minions, likes to work in a small section of town, stealing from anyone that he comes across." I read aloud, resuming work on the overlay for my jacket. "Can generate them from solid surfaces, like concrete, asphalt or metal." I sat back, thinking about that. It didn't say how many, but that didn't sound like anything I couldn't deal with myself. Last night, I took down some drug dealers more or less by myself, tonight I would try for a supervillain.
My eyes fell on my phone and exhaled. Should I call Vicky and see if she would like to go out again? I gave it a moment's thought, considering what to do. I was leaning toward yes but… I didn't want her to think I needed my hand held, did I? Though, last night had shown having someone as backup could be useful, especially if things went bad.
I sent off a quick text message to see if she was up for it and got a response a moment later.
-Family wanting family time tonight. Boring and dull, but stuck with it. Watch your back tonight! I looked at the message for a moment, equal parts relieved and frustrated. I would just have to be more careful tonight, but I was going solo.
The tips from Vicky had helped immensely. I wasn't flying the way she did yet, but I was definitely covering ground faster, and flying higher. Dad had come home and gone to bed, having apparently had quite a night out with his friends. Which had freed me to sneak out and now here I was, looking for any signs of this Boneyard character.
Maybe I should look at getting some sort of night vision goggles if I'm going to only go out at night? I made a mental note to look into what the benefits and downsides were for that before dropping to a roof nearby, checking the spots I had marked on the phone's map. This was definitely the area Boneyard liked to work in, assuming PHO could be trusted for that, but I hadn't seen a single sign of him.
"I guess I'll get a warmup in," I murmured as the sound of breaking glass on the street below showed a couple of guys keeping an eye out. A moment later, they were wrestling what looked like a TV into their truck before going back to waiting.
I thought about the night before and decided to try something different. I didn't have to get close to them after all, did I? Peering carefully over the edge and making sure that none of them were looking up, I set to work, feeling with my telekinesis to see which ones had shoes with laces. There was enough light from the streetlights for this and I tied all their laces together. They toppled with a shout when they went to take the next thing from the store. Shouts rang out and I heard glass crunch as their friends or whatever came out. They were already trying to untie the laces and I waited until the laces were undone before taking control of them again.
"My shoes are possessed!" one shouted as they found their hands caught and the laces tightening around them.
Satisfied that they were down for the moment, I looked at the other two men and yanked at their jackets, twisting the sleeves and flipping the backs of their coats over their eyes like last time. If it worked before, it was worth trying again. I smiled as it proved to be as disorienting now as it was then, though I almost fumbled zipping up one's jacket as he tried to take it off to escape.
Stealing their belts and using them to secure any hands or feet I had missed, I carefully lowered myself to the ground after confirming that there wasn't anyone lying in wait for me where I couldn't see.
"I don't think these belong to you," I said, looking at each in turn. "So that's breaking and entering, attempted theft and something else I'm sure I'm forgetting." They glared sullenly at me, but said nothing as I placed a call to the police to report this.
Thankfully, the police arrived quickly, having already been on their way thanks to a silent alarm and I got to move on after giving a brief statement. I didn't want to stay out too much later, as Dad usually got up early on Sundays and I didn't want to chance that he'd be up super early and notice I was gone.
I passed over some warehouses that had been abandoned years ago. They had sat there, unattended and left to degrade, grass growing up through the cracked pavement around them. No one had ever bought the property that I knew of and they likely were just a home for squatters now.
Only there was something else definitely going on now, as a flash of light caught my eye, followed by what sounded like a firecracker or the sound a roman candle going off. I dropped down and settled near a window for a better look and tried not to make a sound at the sight of something that looked like it came from a B-list horror movie.
There was a man balanced on a stack of broken packing crates, with four skeletons around him. Across the open space before him, there were several more skeletons, surrounding two people. I watched silently as I tried to figure out what was going on.
"Attack," the man said and skeletons surrounding the two people moved forward, raising limbs that had either clubs or blades at the ends menacingly.
"This again, Boneyard?" one of them asked, the voice identifying as female. She raised a hand and a lights flared down at her gesture, rotating through several colors like a laser light show. I got a good look at a her outfit from the illumination. The outfit looked a mix between what tv portrayed ninjas as and David Bowie in Labyrinth. It was a flamboyant, colorful outfit that almost looked like it should clash horribly, but didn't. There was a coat almost too big for her, that her hands peeked out of, revealing fingerless gloves that sparkles of light flew away from.
Dark blue, red, white and I thought some green were the most prominent colors, with a mask that covered most of her face except for her mouth and eyes. I couldn't tell what color the mask was, exactly, as it shifted colors under the light she was projecting. It was the sort of thing that would draw weird looks from in the daylight. Blonde hair in a wild style crowned the image, with a fair amount almost covering one eye and streaks of red clear under her self-created lightshow.
Almost like some of those pictures I had seen once of japanese rock group members, I thought. I hadn't cared for the music, but the effort put into some of the costumes had interested me when I first looked into designing clothes. The beams of light struck a second later and several of the skeletons shattered into pieces. What were they made of?
I found out as Boneyard raised his own hand and several new skeletons flowed up from the pavement, leaving distortions in the floor before shambling toward the duo with another command from who I could only assume was indeed Boneyard. "We can't all make pretty light shows. I'll stick with my friends since I have an unlimited supply, after all."
"Is that right?" the other one taunted and I realized they were also female. Her outfit looked more functional than her companion's showy display. Military fatigues and a reinforced jacket. The rest was probably reinforced too, if I was not mistaken. She had a pair of what looked like hi-tech earmuffs and some heavy goggles on. Like her companion, her hair was blonde, but the streaks were blue instead of red. Between her hands, something was growing, black and spherical. She flung them out without warning, and whatever it was scattered around them, falling against the skeletons.
"And what was that supposed to do?" Boneyard mocked. "Get dirt on my friends?"
"Bang," she said and I saw a spark flare from her hand. Tiny explosions erupted from all of the skeletons at their joints, the sound like a large pack of firecrackers going off in rapid succession. Nearly all of the skeletons collapsed and Boneyard swore even as more began forming from the pavement around him in response to another gesture from him. I took a moment to examine him as well, noting what looked like some black pants and a purple shirt with a black jacket. On top of that, there were… bones? He had used one of his minions as armor, I guess? A skull covered most of his face and hilariously, he had a top hat on as well.
"That was very rude, Hanabi," he yelled. "My friends don't like being treated so rough! Make 'em hurt!" The mob of skeletons all surged forward and I saw the other girl stumble and kick her leg out, trying to free it from where a skeletal hand had grabbed her ankle.
Hanabi. Which meant the other was probably Rockshow. Hadn't I seen them on the list of Independent capes? That made them heroes if I was remembering right. And this was Boneyard, so I guess they had found him first. Or he had found them? Whatever. They were outnumbered and I knew what I wanted to do.
Last night, Glory Girl helped me, I thought, and tonight, I can help someone else!
I pushed out with my telekinesis, shattering the window I had been looking through completely before propelling myself into the warehouse. I landed with the pieces of glass floating in the air around me, all eyes looking in my direction.
Letting the glass drop, I looked toward the pair of heroes, hoping that my voice kept steady as I spoke. "Mind if I tag in and help?"
--
2:53 pm, February 26th, 2011
Chronicles was an immense bookstore that had taken over most of what used to be a warehouse in the older part of downtown. It had multiple floors and sections for various genres that were large enough to be bookstores in their own right. It had endured the countless chains try and run it out of business only to stay standing when they failed, remaining strong when they went bankrupt. It was almost as much a landmark as the fried chicken restaurant with it's enormous chicken with an animatronic beak that sat along one of the main roads into or out of Brockton.
People gave directions by both. Two miles past the Big Chicken, or two blocks from Chronicles. They had both been in Brockton Bay for as long as I could remember. Still, I hadn't been to the store in several years and I stared up the steps leading to its corner entrance for a moment before looking around for Catherine and Minako.
I spotted them both inside and entered, navigating through the throng of people that were here for the signing, closing my eyes for a moment while I focused to block out the enthusiasm and excitement that permeated the area.
"Hi," I said when I reached them, feeling awkward as the walk around town before coming here hadn't helped the mood I had left the hospital in.
"Something wrong?" Catherine asked.
I shrugged. "Just a bad morning that I'm not sure how to deal with it."
"Well," Minako said. "Permit me to get this signed and if you wish, we can discuss it over ice cream. If you do not wish, we can still have ice cream."
I half-smiled for a moment before it faded. "That might be nice."
"Go get your book signed," Catherine told Minako, slinging an arm around my shoulders and waving Minako off with her other hand. "I'll keep Taylor company while you do."
Minako nodded and moved away toward where I could see a tall brunette talking animatedly to a group of people. Catherine released my shoulders and gave me a serious look.
"Truthfully, are you okay?" she asked. "You look pretty down."
I shook my head, looking anywhere but at her as I considered the question. "I don't honestly know. Today… Emma…"
"You had more trouble with her?" Catherine asked.
"Not exactly," I said, taking a deep breath and shook my head. "Just something very unexpected and I don't know how to feel about it. Nothing that I need to bring you two down with." Cheers went up behind me and I turned to see the brunette stepping into a platform and beginning to address the crowd.
"Thanks for coming, everyone, and just… wow, so many people," she said. "I'm, as you might guess, Christa Poe, the author of Acceleration and its sequels. Things got a little jumbled since my flight was delayed because of recent events, so I'm going to start with getting to everyone who has books for me to sign first and then we'll get to the questions. There's a line forming here, I think… right here, yes?"
I watched as she pulled the microphone away from her mouth to talk to one of the bookstore staff, arranging people in a line before sitting down. The signing moved quickly after that and Minako returned, face flushed with excitement and holding her signed copies.
"We can skip on ice cream if you want to stick around for her talking," I said, not wanting to keep her from something she clearly enjoyed.
Minako shook her head. "I have her latest book. She is planning to talk about the one after this and likely to read from it. I do not wish to be spoiled, so we can go. Also…" Minako tucked one of the books into her satchel carefully and extended the others out to Catherine and I.
"Ah, geez, Mina," Catherine said, but accepted the book. "Why'd you go and do this?"
"You are my friends," she said simply.
I stared at the book she had placed in my hands and opened the cover, curious to see what I would find.
Taylor, never give up chasing your dreams. Enjoy the story! ~Christa Poe. Beside her name was a tiny hand-drawn raven.
"Thank you," I said simply with a small, thankful smile before closing the book. Minako ducked her head shyly in acknowledgement.
"Okay, ice cream, then?" Catherine asked, putting her own book away. "Is Frozen Stone still open?"
"That's over near Fugly Bob's, right?" I asked. "I think so. It'll take a bit to get over there, though."
"We have time," Minako interjected. "Shall we go, then?"
I nodded and tucked the book into my messenger bag. "Ice cream sounds good, yeah. Let's go."
* * *
The boardwalk was bustling when we arrived and I smiled a bit at the way the sun shone off the water. It was actually very pretty and even the eyesore of the Boat Graveyard in the distance didn't detract too much from it. I turned away from the view and looked in the direction of the ice cream shop that Catherine had mentioned.
There were an awful lot of people between us and there, I noticed again and frowned. The Enforcers were around but there were still plenty of instances of pickpockets and the like. Remembering the night before and what had nearly happened because I wasn't using my powers to keep an eye out, I nudged my foresight into the on setting. Just a few minutes between where we were and the shop wouldn't hurt, and it was good practice.
"You are impossibly good at moving in a crowd," Catherine said in my ear as I led the way toward the shop, guiding us through the crowd without becoming bogged down by people randomly stopping to stare at something or take pictures.
"Just lucky," I said, glancing back toward her. As I did so, I saw a man moving with the flow of people, how his course would line up with mine and he would go for Catherine's purse before taking advantage of an opening to vanish into the crowd.
"So, I was thinking," I said, turning to face her while walking backwards for a moment. "You guys want to come over for dinner sometime? It's been awhile since I've had anyone over…"
"I would not object," Minako said.
"I'm game," Catherine murmured, then gave me an odd look. "Are you sure you should walk like that? You could trip…"
"You're probably right," I said, shrugging and turning back around. Three more steps… now. I spun back around, throwing my arm wide as I did so. "So, what kind of food do you guys like so I can plan what to get my dad to fix? Oh, sorry!" The side of my hand near my pinkie smacked against his wrist, deflecting the grab. My eyes met his and he muttered a profanity before shoving someone to his left and taking off.
"Did he just…" Catherine began, scowling. "He tried to grab my purse!"
"Huh," I shrugged. "Guess that was lucky on my pa-"
* * *
I paused with my spoon in my mouth, frowning as the scene flooded into my head abruptly. What the hell was that? Nothing like that happened on the way to the shop. Did I have some sort of retrocognition that showed what could have been as well as precognition?
"Earth to Taylor," I heard fingers snapping and blinked, focusing on Catherine. "You alright? You just spaced out on us."
"Oh, sorry," I said, putting the spoon down in the mostly empty plastic bowl. "Sorry, still trying to figure out this thing from this morning."
"Are you sure you do not wish to talk about it?" Minako asked gently. "We can tell it has upset you, after all."
I took hold of the spoon again, scraping away at the last bits of ice cream, mulling the question over. The two of them had been straight with me so far and they had helped a lot with the Sophia thing. I hadn't told them much about the root of the problems with Emma and Sophia, but they had still helped without having any obligation to do so.
The rest of my ice cream was finished off and I took a deep breath. Feet first, Taylor. "Well, this morning, I got an unexpected visitor…"
~~~~~~~~
There were some days, Victoria Dallon thought, that she really disliked the fact that most people who had powers hid who they were from the general public. She understood why, but at the same time, it created situations like the one she was in now now.
"Everything alright, Vicky?" her cousin asked as they dealt with a group of vandals who had gotten their hands on tinker-produced spray painting gear and defaced several places across town. When the law firm that her mom worked at had been one of them, she had gone out with her cousins to track them down.
"Oh, everything's fine," she said airily. "You know that I'm just glorious."
Crystal snorted and gave her a disbelieving look. "That was bad and you should feel bad."
"Yeah, you do seem a bit out of it," Eric said. "You're usually the first to be punching their lights out."
"I'm fine," she insisted. "Maybe. Yes, I am fine."
"We're done here, so let's go find somewhere else to be," Crystal said. "And Vicky? Tell someone who didn't grow up with you that you're fine. They might believe it."
"You do tend to space out when you're worrying about something you can't punch," Eric interjected.
"You're both ganging up on me," she groused with a half-hearted glare. "Fine. Let's go find something to eat." She didn't wait for either to reply, taking flight and putting distance between them quickly.
Eric exchanged a look with his sister. "I'm guessing we're having hamburgers. Fugly Bob's?"
"Fugly Bob's," she said with a sigh.
Fifteen minutes later and they were in normal clothes, tucked into a booth with their cousin, who was devouring one of the larger burgers hungrily.
"Geez, Vick," Eric said. "I don't think it's going to walk away if you take your time."
She gave him an irritated look and then took a drink of her soda before reaching for some fries, only to find Crystal's hand blocking her.
"Ok, spacing out and bingeing," she said. "Something's bothering you. Is it about last night when you were out? Did you and Dean have a fight on patrol?"
"I didn't go on patrol with Dean last night," she muttered. "And we didn't fight either, before you ask."
"You didn't go on patrol with Dean," Eric pointed out. "Was there someone else? Are you patrolling with other people behind his back?"
"That isn't funny," she snapped, glaring at her cousin before sighing. "I helped out a new cape on her first night out."
The cousins shared a look. "That doesn't seem like something to be this worked up over."
"It's complicated," she said.
"What kind of complicated?" Crystal asked, taking the fries for herself. "Complicated, as you put it, could mean almost anything"
Victoria bit her lip. "The kind of complicated that isn't mine to tell, okay? Not to you guys, not to Dean…"
Crystal glanced at her brother, then looked around quickly before holding a hand over the top of her face. "This kind of complicated?"
"You look stupid like that," she replied. "And yes, exactly like that."
"Seems pretty simple," Eric said. "You know something Dean doesn't, I'm guessing. Tell him."
"Don't be silly, Eric," Crystal contradicted. "If it is what she said, she can't just tell Dean. It isn't her secret to tell!"
"If it's something that is worrying her this much, it might have to be," he said calmly.
Victoria winced. "Let's say that Dean mentioned some investigations into a person when we were… talking." She ignored Eric's snort and went on. "And that person hasn't done anything wrong, but I found out something that confirms the thing they're investigating. Sort of."
Crystal frowned. "Is this a bad thing?"
Vicky shook her head. "No! Well, I don't think so. I don't see how it could be. But telling Dean would break a rule. The whole thing is ready to turn into a mess if it goes wrong, and I don't want it to."
"I assume this isn't something you can't just put them in the same place to talk about?" Eric asked, frowning.
"No," Victoria said with a bitter laugh. "That would be breaking rules twice over. The only way to resolve this would be if everyone involved were a Ward."
"Vicky," Crystal began, looking thoughtful. "Are you sure that keeping this secret isn't dangerous?"
She shook her head emphatically. "No, it isn't."
"Then I think you should keep your friend's secret, if that is who this person is to you," she finished.
"Wait a minute," Eric interrupted. "We aren't big on keeping secrets. This does not sound cool at all."
"Our own secrets, Eric," Crystal said, her voice a touch chilly. "But being part of New Wave doesn't mean we run around giving out everyone else's secrets, if we learn them. We can't force people to take our view of things."
"I'm going to go flying," Vicky said abruptly, tossing some money on the table for her food. "To clear my head and think about this. Thanks for listening, you two." Ignoring the developing argument behind her, she made for the exist and took off as soon as she was outside.
Dean had mentioned how he hadn't been able to pick anything up from Taylor at all back during their meeting at the mall and suspected that she was a cape, but he had, with persuasion, told her that the testing they had done after the incident at her school had said she wasn't a cape.
He had reported that, she knew, but he hadn't said anything else since. Now, she knew conclusively that Taylor was a cape. Telling Dean would be breaking a confidence and the very idea made her stomach churn.
"Damnit, why can't everyone just do what New Wave does," she muttered, coming to a halt above the spot where she and Taylor had sat the night before. She dropped onto the wall, fingers digging into the stone once she was seated. She knew why, logically.
Fleur.
The movement of changing from the Brockton Bay Brigade to New Wave had barely even gotten started when that happened, effectively aborting the intent right out of the gate. Even so, their parents had passed on that legacy to her, Eric and Crystal. Mostly out of inertia, as with them revealing their own identities, it would have been pathetically easy to deduce who the three of them were if they had not followed in their parent's footsteps.
So the three of them had become celebrities and gotten targets painted on their back. No one had tried, but it was something she was afraid of, that she'd go over to Aunt Sarah's and find Crystal and Eric dead one day. Knowing that Taylor was Sirin, and that the Protectorate had been investigating Taylor being a cape and were coming up with nothing, while she now had definite knowledge. But telling Dean was breaking a confidence as well as the rules that every cape who wasn't a member of New Wave lived by.
"Punching things is easy," Vicky said, grimacing. "So, I can't tell Dean because… why?" She bit her lip, kicking the wall with her feet as she considered that question. The answer came a moment later.
"Because I like her and it's nice to have a friend who doesn't have stars in their eyes when they look at me," she said aloud. "Even so, Dean's my boyfriend and I shouldn't keep something this big from him, should I?" The sun began to set as she sat there, wrestling with the dilemma before her, oblivious to anyone or anything passing by.
~~~~~~~~
When she had agreed to fill in for Colin while he conducted his investigation at Winslow, he had neglected to tell her about just how much paperwork involved, Miss Militia thought sourly. The next time she got to spar with him, she would have to make it known how she didn't appreciate the fact quite thoroughly. Reports of every type sat before her, many of which she was convinced that other departments were handing off to get out of having to do them.
She set those to the side for looking into later. There was no reason that she could fathom that required her to sign off on routine orders of toilet paper.
Maybe one of Clockblocker's jokes? Wouldn't hurt to check at least. She considered it before looking at what was next what seemed like a never shrinking stack. She glanced at it, noting that it was a police report. Cape activity that they had been involved in, so likely one of the Independents or New Wave. Miss Militia skimmed down the page, assessing the details quickly.
Merchants, found in possession of drugs, no surprise there… Glory Girl present… new cape was primarily responsible for their apprehension? New cape? She focused on that section, grateful for once that the officers who submitted their report to the PRT had gone into some detail, though not nearly enough for her liking.
"Cape had not chosen a name yet, accepted a suggestion from Glory Girl," she read aloud. "Appeared female, dark haired, costume was black & gold with an emblem like a stylized bird of some sort on upper chest. Accepted name was Siren?"
She sat back in her chair, remembering one of the things she had spent doing in her free time. Reading was one and she considered this report against that.
"Bird-themed, so probably not referring to the Greek," she mused thoughtfully. "Russian, then." She looked back at the report, to see if there was any mention of what the new cape's powers were. Nothing beyond a comment that she apparently had some sort of flight ability. The report mentioned a dumpster out in the middle of the street, so a possible Brute rating?
"Not enough information here," she sat the report down in frustration, mulling over what to do. The police had given details, but nothing that really formed a picture of this new cape for her beyond appearance. The independent capes were one situation that she wished they didn't have to deal with. Too many who had refused membership into either the Wards or the Protectorate for whatever reasons She had even approached some of them herself and been rebuffed, often rather rudely. To add another cape to an already complex situation promised issues if she endured for any amount of time.
There were two groups among them, those who came out guns blazing and made too much of a splash, drawing the ire of one of the larger gangs and were either forcibly conscripted or never heard from again and those who kept a lower profile, sticking to small-time activities.
"Some Merchants who were coming off of an exchange," she read into it, frowning thoughtfully. Nothing that would draw immediate repercussions then, as that was likely one of many that had gone down that night. Skidmark himself was an unsavory and disgusting person, but someone in his gang was at least marginally competent and handled the details he was too wasted for.
She had wondered more than once if Skidmark wasn't simply a front for someone else, but if that was true, they were very good at covering their tracks. Miss Militia sighed and pushed worrying about that for later and returned her thoughts to the new cape. Further reading had mentioned that her and Glory Girl seemed on good terms, which was arguably a positive. The member of New Wave's second generation could be impetuous at times and another cape adopting her attitude could be problematic.
Perhaps Gallant could persuade her to arrange a meeting so that the benefits of a Wards membership could be extended. There were enough issues with how understaffed they were compared to the villains. The independents alone could outnumber them, if you considered the solo villains along with the heroes. More people could only help improve the situation, she hoped.
She typed up a quick note to Colin and sent it off about this issue with a request for his opinion on the matter, summing up all the pertinent details regarding the new cape. As much as she wished he were here in his usual position, she had to admit that the time spent posing as a teacher was doing him some good. Perhaps he would have a better perspective on the matter that helped her make a decision.
Changing screens brought up her current file on the independent parahumans within Brockton Bay where she added the new cape to the list, correcting the error in spelling that the police officer had made for her own records before adding the sparse information to the Protectorate and PRT databases. She glanced at the report once more and set it aside to be filed by her assistant, her mind turning back to the issue of how to approach this new parahuman.
A chime sounded and she saw an email response from Colin waiting to be opened. Two clicks of the mouse opened it up. Her eyebrows went up slightly at the quick response and she looked over his typically terse reply.
Hannah,
See if you can find more details on this Sirin. She had a bird-themed emblem? Perhaps our pyro is finally showing themselves? Send me whatever you can find.
Colin
"Short and to the point as always," she shook her head and made notes of his request on her list of things to do. Perhaps she could reach out to Glory Girl personally for information. The report had said they seemed to be getting along. That would sidestep the possibility of Gallant balking at a request to try and convince his girlfriend to tell him about the new cape or arrange a meeting. It was hard to predict what teenagers would do when they didn't have powers, let alone when you did add powers into the mix.
A thought occurred to her. Colin had indicated suspicion that the suspected pyrokinetic could be this new cape. She tried to think of how many brunettes she had seen at Winslow when they had dealt with the Shadow Stalker issue.
Taylor Hebert was a brunette, she recalled with a frown. But the MRI had indicated that she lacked the extra sections of the brain that indicated parahuman status, so had been sidelined as a possible candidate. Colin had his theory that she could have obscured it somehow, but Director Piggot disagreed. Shadow Stalker's interrogation had revealed the girl was convinced that the target of her ire was a cape, but no one had given her words credence due to how obviously biased she had been towards Ms. Hebert.
She winced as she thought of the girl, remembering how poorly she had handled bringing the subject up. The girl's replies rolled around in her head for a moment, noting how she had never outright denied being one. Merely referenced the tests that had been negative to lead them toward the conclusion that she wasn't. Dean's report that he had been unable to sense anything from her when he met her while with his girlfriend flashed to the forefront of her thoughts and she blinked once.
He had mentioned that Victoria Dallon had seemed to know Taylor when they met at the mall and both appeared on good terms with one another. The new cape seemed to be on good terms with Glory Girl as well.
Miss Militia shook her head. "Colin's infecting me with his paranoia. Just because Taylor Hebert is friends with one of the Dallon's doesn't mean she's also this Sirin." She made some more notes on her computer before putting the matters of Taylor Hebert and this new cape aside in her mind. She had more paperwork to get through and fixating on one issue would not help at all.
Colin is really going to regret suckering me into doing his paperwork for him.
~~~~~~~~
Dad had gone out with Kurt and Lacey for the evening, leaving a note for me. I skimmed over it, then dropped it back on the counter. I pulled my costume out of its hiding place and gave it a once over to see if I had missed any damages or spots that needed cleaning. I had a few hours before he would be back, so plenty of time to work on some gloves or finding a way to alter the jacket for when I went out. Perhaps something that I could fit over it with fasteners, like a vest?
I alternated between that and idly browsing the parahumans online wiki page, brushing up on what little information was there about the capes of Brockton Bay. The information there was inconsistent though. The larger groups, such as the Protectorate and the Wards team, or gangs like the Empire Eighty-Eight or the ABB were a great deal more detailed than most of the others. The independents were a mixed bag, filled with conflicting reports and in some cases, signs that people had gotten into arguments and changed the information on the various wiki entries as part of their feuding.
Putting down my work for a moment, I switched pages to the villains section. I wanted to avoid conflicts with any of the larger groups as they either had a lot of capes, like the Empire, or had people you simply did not want to mess with, like the ABB and Lung. The Merchants territory, though, bordered a lot of places where some of the lesser known villains were rumored to operate because the larger groups just didn't care.
The list was fairly large and I looked it over curiously, snorting when I saw the name Grue among them and wondered whether the person using that name was referring to the Old English or that old game it had been popularized in. I kept going until one caught my eye. Boneyard.
"Creates minions, likes to work in a small section of town, stealing from anyone that he comes across." I read aloud, resuming work on the overlay for my jacket. "Can generate them from solid surfaces, like concrete, asphalt or metal." I sat back, thinking about that. It didn't say how many, but that didn't sound like anything I couldn't deal with myself. Last night, I took down some drug dealers more or less by myself, tonight I would try for a supervillain.
My eyes fell on my phone and exhaled. Should I call Vicky and see if she would like to go out again? I gave it a moment's thought, considering what to do. I was leaning toward yes but… I didn't want her to think I needed my hand held, did I? Though, last night had shown having someone as backup could be useful, especially if things went bad.
I sent off a quick text message to see if she was up for it and got a response a moment later.
-Family wanting family time tonight. Boring and dull, but stuck with it. Watch your back tonight!
I looked at the message for a moment, equal parts relieved and frustrated. I would just have to be more careful tonight, but I was going solo.* * *
The tips from Vicky had helped immensely. I wasn't flying the way she did yet, but I was definitely covering ground faster, and flying higher. Dad had come home and gone to bed, having apparently had quite a night out with his friends. Which had freed me to sneak out and now here I was, looking for any signs of this Boneyard character.
Maybe I should look at getting some sort of night vision goggles if I'm going to only go out at night? I made a mental note to look into what the benefits and downsides were for that before dropping to a roof nearby, checking the spots I had marked on the phone's map. This was definitely the area Boneyard liked to work in, assuming PHO could be trusted for that, but I hadn't seen a single sign of him.
"I guess I'll get a warmup in," I murmured as the sound of breaking glass on the street below showed a couple of guys keeping an eye out. A moment later, they were wrestling what looked like a TV into their truck before going back to waiting.
I thought about the night before and decided to try something different. I didn't have to get close to them after all, did I? Peering carefully over the edge and making sure that none of them were looking up, I set to work, feeling with my telekinesis to see which ones had shoes with laces. There was enough light from the streetlights for this and I tied all their laces together. They toppled with a shout when they went to take the next thing from the store. Shouts rang out and I heard glass crunch as their friends or whatever came out. They were already trying to untie the laces and I waited until the laces were undone before taking control of them again.
"My shoes are possessed!" one shouted as they found their hands caught and the laces tightening around them.
Satisfied that they were down for the moment, I looked at the other two men and yanked at their jackets, twisting the sleeves and flipping the backs of their coats over their eyes like last time. If it worked before, it was worth trying again. I smiled as it proved to be as disorienting now as it was then, though I almost fumbled zipping up one's jacket as he tried to take it off to escape.
Stealing their belts and using them to secure any hands or feet I had missed, I carefully lowered myself to the ground after confirming that there wasn't anyone lying in wait for me where I couldn't see.
"I don't think these belong to you," I said, looking at each in turn. "So that's breaking and entering, attempted theft and something else I'm sure I'm forgetting." They glared sullenly at me, but said nothing as I placed a call to the police to report this.
Thankfully, the police arrived quickly, having already been on their way thanks to a silent alarm and I got to move on after giving a brief statement. I didn't want to stay out too much later, as Dad usually got up early on Sundays and I didn't want to chance that he'd be up super early and notice I was gone.
I passed over some warehouses that had been abandoned years ago. They had sat there, unattended and left to degrade, grass growing up through the cracked pavement around them. No one had ever bought the property that I knew of and they likely were just a home for squatters now.
Only there was something else definitely going on now, as a flash of light caught my eye, followed by what sounded like a firecracker or the sound a roman candle going off. I dropped down and settled near a window for a better look and tried not to make a sound at the sight of something that looked like it came from a B-list horror movie.
There was a man balanced on a stack of broken packing crates, with four skeletons around him. Across the open space before him, there were several more skeletons, surrounding two people. I watched silently as I tried to figure out what was going on.
"Attack," the man said and skeletons surrounding the two people moved forward, raising limbs that had either clubs or blades at the ends menacingly.
"This again, Boneyard?" one of them asked, the voice identifying as female. She raised a hand and a lights flared down at her gesture, rotating through several colors like a laser light show. I got a good look at a her outfit from the illumination. The outfit looked a mix between what tv portrayed ninjas as and David Bowie in Labyrinth. It was a flamboyant, colorful outfit that almost looked like it should clash horribly, but didn't. There was a coat almost too big for her, that her hands peeked out of, revealing fingerless gloves that sparkles of light flew away from.
Dark blue, red, white and I thought some green were the most prominent colors, with a mask that covered most of her face except for her mouth and eyes. I couldn't tell what color the mask was, exactly, as it shifted colors under the light she was projecting. It was the sort of thing that would draw weird looks from in the daylight. Blonde hair in a wild style crowned the image, with a fair amount almost covering one eye and streaks of red clear under her self-created lightshow.
Almost like some of those pictures I had seen once of japanese rock group members, I thought. I hadn't cared for the music, but the effort put into some of the costumes had interested me when I first looked into designing clothes. The beams of light struck a second later and several of the skeletons shattered into pieces. What were they made of?
I found out as Boneyard raised his own hand and several new skeletons flowed up from the pavement, leaving distortions in the floor before shambling toward the duo with another command from who I could only assume was indeed Boneyard. "We can't all make pretty light shows. I'll stick with my friends since I have an unlimited supply, after all."
"Is that right?" the other one taunted and I realized they were also female. Her outfit looked more functional than her companion's showy display. Military fatigues and a reinforced jacket. The rest was probably reinforced too, if I was not mistaken. She had a pair of what looked like hi-tech earmuffs and some heavy goggles on. Like her companion, her hair was blonde, but the streaks were blue instead of red. Between her hands, something was growing, black and spherical. She flung them out without warning, and whatever it was scattered around them, falling against the skeletons.
"And what was that supposed to do?" Boneyard mocked. "Get dirt on my friends?"
"Bang," she said and I saw a spark flare from her hand. Tiny explosions erupted from all of the skeletons at their joints, the sound like a large pack of firecrackers going off in rapid succession. Nearly all of the skeletons collapsed and Boneyard swore even as more began forming from the pavement around him in response to another gesture from him. I took a moment to examine him as well, noting what looked like some black pants and a purple shirt with a black jacket. On top of that, there were… bones? He had used one of his minions as armor, I guess? A skull covered most of his face and hilariously, he had a top hat on as well.
"That was very rude, Hanabi," he yelled. "My friends don't like being treated so rough! Make 'em hurt!" The mob of skeletons all surged forward and I saw the other girl stumble and kick her leg out, trying to free it from where a skeletal hand had grabbed her ankle.
Hanabi. Which meant the other was probably Rockshow. Hadn't I seen them on the list of Independent capes? That made them heroes if I was remembering right. And this was Boneyard, so I guess they had found him first. Or he had found them? Whatever. They were outnumbered and I knew what I wanted to do.
Last night, Glory Girl helped me, I thought, and tonight, I can help someone else!
I pushed out with my telekinesis, shattering the window I had been looking through completely before propelling myself into the warehouse. I landed with the pieces of glass floating in the air around me, all eyes looking in my direction.
Letting the glass drop, I looked toward the pair of heroes, hoping that my voice kept steady as I spoke. "Mind if I tag in and help?"
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I laughed way to hard at this and my sister thinks I'm insane. Well done =)
- Location
- Internet
Is that a poke at Synesthesia?
Doctor Faciliar? What you doing in Brockton, doing that Voodoo you don't supposed to be doing?
Overall, I think this was a very nice chapter. We even got Vicky being honestly deep and contemplative, rather then an airhead like people portray her. Here, she is honestly conflicted and trying to reason out what to do.
And MM and Paperwork.
There are many, many guns in Armsmaster's future.
In the future Taylor might want to take the guess work out of figuring out motivations and who are villains by doing some light telepathic scans of everyone when not pressed for time and get more skilled in that area.
The retcon effect that occurred is presumably an indication that Coil's power is timeline splitting rather than simulation modeling. Presumably she noticed it because some butterfly effect resulted in very different results between the timelines and would otherwise not notice it. It also indicates that the bleed over between the Phoenix Force thoughts (such as it is) and Taylor's is still occurring.
The results of the brain scan that resulted in a complete negative of even a potential might indicate that either this Taylor never would have triggered or the bleed over from the Phoenix Force has also changed her brain structures to some extent (if a genetic comparison was made before and after, there might be some differences).
The retcon effect that occurred is presumably an indication that Coil's power is timeline splitting rather than simulation modeling. Presumably she noticed it because some butterfly effect resulted in very different results between the timelines and would otherwise not notice it. It also indicates that the bleed over between the Phoenix Force thoughts (such as it is) and Taylor's is still occurring.
The results of the brain scan that resulted in a complete negative of even a potential might indicate that either this Taylor never would have triggered or the bleed over from the Phoenix Force has also changed her brain structures to some extent (if a genetic comparison was made before and after, there might be some differences).
Jim Starluck
CO, ICS Vanguard
- Location
- Cincinnati, OH
Spectrum
Tell me a secret~
- Location
- Behind you~
Fuckin' hell Victoria, why is this even a dilemma for you?
Stepping back a bit, I mean why seriously is she even *thinking* about telling Dean? He's her on-again, off-again boyfriend. Big whoop. And why does she even vaguely care about the Protectorate's investigation? This just seemed like artificial drama and thinkiiiing from her perspective to me.
Did you mean Sirin here, given Colin gets it 'right' later?
- Location
- Internet
Because she might actually care about Dean at some level? Just because they have a rocky relationship doesn't mean she doesn't actually really like him. The fact that they keep getting back together hints at this at least somewhat.
And for all her Flaws, Glory Girl is a teenage girl. And Teenage Girls will stress out over lots of things that might not seem reasonable right off the bat.
- Location
- Little Rock, AR
Catherine and Minako Spotted.
And really Miss Militia. I mean maybe it's just because we know buy tall brunette Cape friend of Glory Girl and Tall Brunette cape friend of Glory Girl. I mean they might not be the same person on the outset but you still got two tall brunette female capes and an outreach.
This would already be over if Colin was reading the report. Hed match the symbol.
And really Miss Militia. I mean maybe it's just because we know buy tall brunette Cape friend of Glory Girl and Tall Brunette cape friend of Glory Girl. I mean they might not be the same person on the outset but you still got two tall brunette female capes and an outreach.
This would already be over if Colin was reading the report. Hed match the symbol.
Hotdog Vendor
Author of 'Sisters of Rail'
- Location
- (5 + 3 * sqrt(5)) / 8
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Coolness!
So does this count as a meta-cameo-SI?
So does this count as a meta-cameo-SI?