AN: Well, I think I can truthfully say this is back into my writing rotation now. But yeah three fics in that rotation, and my writing time is stupidly limited so mixed bag. Now I've got to figure out my next Archer update. Enjoy folks!
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Hitting a drug den on a Saturday afternoon in broad daylight should not be easy. Waltzing down the street with what looked to be fifty grand and a literal pallet of marijuana hovering over my head should have gotten commented on. But my illusions didn't believe in fair, and neither did I.
"Is this going to be a thing?" Yamamoto asked, grinning bemusedly. "It feels like this is turning into a thing."
"Well, your house is the best place to store things until we get some actual property."
I idly rolled a joint between my fingers. In my efforts to decide what I would and would not let my future gang deal in I'd found pot to be the drug which offended me the least. As a side effect of that research I was… maybe a bit curious. With a final shrug I slipped the joint into my jacket pocket. I could debate morality and teenage rebellion later. Experimenting with a drug that had a recognizable scent wasn't a great idea when I was supposed to be home in twenty minutes for dinner. There was also the question of how impaired mental abilities might mix with my ridiculous powers. Burning down the house because I lost control incinerating a spider would be beyond pathetic.
"And when exactly are we going to be getting said property?"
"When we get a few more capes and stand an actual chance of defending whatever territory we take."
"That could take months, boss."
"I know. I'm not thrilled either, and I doubt Coil's that patient. But we work with what we have, and right now we're it. I won't bring a bunch of normals into things just to get killed."
"Mmm." He hummed thoughtfully before shrugging. "So, dinner at your place, right?"
"Yeah. Dad's making burgers."
"Cool." He hefted up a case soda. "I wanted to bring something, but I'm not much of a cook."
"You didn't need to do that, but thank you."
The two of us stepped out of Rain's house and started walking. I was out of topics so he regaled me with the latest gossip about the school baseball team. Apparently, the past week had been busy; a pregnancy scar, and two players only just managing to outrun some empire goons.
Skipping the rotten first step I walked into the house with a grin that died a swift and merciless death.
Ghosts, all in stupid armor amalgamations and carrying spears lined the walls of the living room. Crusader sat in Dad's chair, Hookwolf was sprawled across my couch and Cricket was perched on the armrest by his feet. Dad was nowhere to be seen.
"You will tell me where my Dad is, and get out of my house, or I am going to kill all three of you and start hunting down every mook stupid enough to get a swastika tattoo." Indigo fire leaked off of me, and my eyepatch disintegrated revealing my brightly glowing replacement eye.
There was a hiss of escaping air behind me and I turned enough to see that Rain had pulled a combat knife from somewhere and jammed it into a can of soda. With a jerk of his wrist the knife moved through the rest of the six pack. Maybe half the soda simply fell to the floor, but the rest sheathed the blade, turning the simple combat knife into a Pepsi longsword. That glint I was loving more and more sparked in his eyes, and his lips were turned down into the slightest of frowns.
Hookwolf only snorted as he twisted from his back into a sitting position, Cricket made a show of examining the blades of her kama. Crusader though was the one to lean forward and answer my demand.
"That's not going to happen. Your father is currently Kaiser's guest… and his condition will be dependent on your cooperation."
My flames surged higher, hotter, and brighter around me.
"You are a God damned fool."
Crusader's eyes narrowed under his helmet.
"I understand that this isn't the politest invitation to join that the Empire has ever issued but you would do well to keep a civil tongue in your mouth… or your father may just lose his."
"Do you people think what I did to Bakuda was a fluke? That the unwritten rules don't apply to you? You might be the largest gang in town, but eight capes aren't nearly so many as you used to have, one is just an exceptionally skilled man and another isn't any good in a fight at all. The Protectorate might actually be able to take the lot of you now, if they were actually willing to take a risk. But you choose now of all times to play games with me?"
"Please." Hookwolf scoffed. "So you took the chink bomber by surprise and burned her a bit. You didn't even have the guts to do more personally. No, you passed off her punishment to someone else. You put on a good show, girl. But you don't have the guts to really get your hands dirty. Besides, words out girly. Your flying solo now, well not counting the chink amateur."
"Hookwolf, but out. Kaiser asked me to handle this." Crusader's voice had an edge to it that was almost petulant. "And you." He turned back to me. "Did you think we wouldn't notice you hitting our safe houses? There wasn't much evidence, but your brand of disintegration is easy to identify. Did you really think you could simply steel from us without repercussions? And when you've left your little children's gang to strike out on your own with no one but a complete novice as backup?"
"I tracked down Bakuda and plotted out that entire assault on my own and you idiots think I won't be able to find my Dad? That you can just bark orders and have me fall in line?" I took a moment to debate my options, then simply plunged ahead. "Mr. Anders really is underestimating me."
And just like that, I'd flipped the board on them.
"Ahh that's got you attention now doesn't it? All well and good for you to just ignore the rules, but you never even stopped to think I might be able to do the same, did you?"
"How the hell do you know that name." Hookwolf was on his feet.
"Sit down, Brad. The time for attack dogs has passed, this is about diplomacy." The second casual name drop saw him actually transforming and sprouting blades. "Oh, go muzzle yourself. Certain people are tired of having Nazi's in town and they did a lot of digging before bringing it to my attention. You've not exactly been making friends you know."
"You know the civilian identities of some of our members." Crusader's hands shook in his lap.
"All of them, Justin. And I've been sitting on that, playing nice, even counselling against simply releasing that list. The idiots don't seem to realize it would mean war in the streets. That or they're getting close to the point of not caring anymore. They are too enthralled with the idea of weakening your position. Now you repay my restraining touch like this?" I tutted.
Even panicking on the inside and spinning lies on the fly like this there was a thrill buried under the panic. A surge of visceral satisfaction that I only ever felt when I was verbally sparring like this. Coil wouldn't appreciate me pulling the teeth out of his plan like this, but I needed an angle to push, and I needed it now. I'd get Dad out of town and sort out a way to salvage Coil's plan. Then the Empire was going to pay for this.
"Your restraining touch? You really expect me to believe a group of civilians managed to uncover all of our identities? I only have your word that these people exist. For all I know this is something Tattletale shared with you before you split from the Undersiders."
I snorted.
"Oh no. Tattletale, for all that she loves to run her mouth, was absolutely terrified when she found out about this. She knew she'd be the prime suspect; truth of the matter be damned. As for how they found your identities? Well, it only takes one loose string to unravel the whole puzzle. Just how many twin blondes in their late twenties who missed their calling as playboy bunnies do you think there are in this city?"
My grin was all teeth. I honestly had no clue how Coil found their identities but that's how I'd have gone about it. And if this made for trouble in Neo Nazi paradise after things had a chance to settle? Well that was even better. Shame I couldn't think of any way to throw more fuel on that fire.
"You still aren't giving me anything other than your word that anyone but you know this. And given we have your father I have no doubt you would say absolutely anything for an edge."
The ghosts lining the room took a menacing step forward.
"So what, you expect me to give you proof of who else knows?" I scoffed. "No, no. That ship has long since sailed. You'll return my father to me and if he's in good health I might just forget this ever happened."
"Or we kill you now, get rid of your father, and then prepare in case you aren't full of shit." Hookwolf's words were hard to make out, half hidden under the grating noise of steel scraping against steel.
I glanced at the man before dismissing him and returning my focus to Crusader.
"The three of you aren't nearly enough to kill me. Now, you are going to place a call and have my father released, or things are going to get very messy very quickly."
I couldn't afford to bow to the Empire. No matter how temporary such an arrangement might be. If they were smart they would move Dad out of the city, maybe even ship him to their allies in Germany. If that happened my chances of ever finding him, or getting out from under their thumbs would dwindle to nothing. I needed him back now. Even if that meant taking a risky aggressive negotiating tactic when patience and false compliance would otherwise have served better. Hesitating now would mean risking a permanent cage. I had to bet everything and pray.
Crusader didn't move, didn't speak for nearly three minutes. He simply sat there, no doubt weighing his options. Then as one his ghosts charged.
They charged a spot four feet in front of me and six to the left.
Hookworlf took the attack as permission and leapt to a similarly empty spot on my right.
With a hand on his shoulder I steered Rain back through the entrance of the living room and into the kitchen. The boy grinned as he realized I'd been playing with their senses. Really, they hadn't even commented on the very visible indigo fire that had been rolling off of me since the moment I laid eyes on them. I'd saturated the room with the stuff. From there worming my way into their senses was as simple as breathing.
Rather than letting them recover I let my power run wild. The room around them seemed to twist and shift to their senses, causing wild curses to rise up from the room ahead of me. Then for an instant there was a new sense that bloomed into existence from Cricket. A blink and miss it blip that I couldn't explain or react to. Suddenly the woman was charging out of the living room unbothered by my illusions.
"What the-" I cut myself off, stepping back even as I robbed her of her site plunging her world into darkness. The strange sense flared again and a moment later I threw myself away from a swinging sickle blade. I wasn't fast enough. Burning agony bloomed across my face in a line, and making it all the worse was the nova of agony which a heartbeat earlier had been my remaining eye.
I screamed and toppled to the ground. I wanted to curl up and ignore the world, but I wasn't safe. I couldn't let this stop me or I was dead, and Dad and Yamamoto wouldn't be far behind me. I couldn't let that happen. I refused to die here or let anyone else die because I failed.
I stopped being subtle. I made them feel pain. I lit their nerves up with the sensation of skin exposed to open flames. I heard Rain scream something and immediately after hot, sticky liquid splashed across my upraised arms, even as Cricket's senses vanished from my control.
I didn't bother trying to open my eyes. I knew, I knew, I'd just lost my other eye. And I didn't want to aggravate the cut if I could help it. Instead I projected a raven on my shoulder and used its sight to substitute my own.
Rain stood between myself and the living room. Cricket's corpse laid on the floor. He'd cut halfway through her neck from the back.
With a grunt I staggered to my feet and over to the entrance to the living room. Crusaders ghosts had dissipated, presumably because of the pain. The man was curled on the floor screaming. Hookwolf by contrast was a twitching and thrashing mass of blades. He wasn't making progress in any direction, but he was doing an amazing job of shredding the couch and floorboards.
I stared at the two suffering capes through borrowed eyes even as blood dripped down my face. I needed to see a doctor. I needed to figure out what to do with these two. I needed a way to convince Kaiser to hand over my father.
The pain in what was left of my eye spiked and I cursed Cricket and her corpse with all the creativity growing up around dock workers had imparted.
Suddenly through rage and desperation two of my problems seemed to have a common solution. Though the logistics… well if I was trying to send a message of power and force the man's hand anyway... It wasn't as if I could hold Hookwolf. Not for long. Really, if I wanted his reputation to work for me there was only one way to do it.
I extended my right hand and red disintegrating fire rushed forward to engulf the pile of screaming blades. It was a struggle. The more fire I poured out the more blades Hookwolf made in a mad scramble to somehow prevent his demise. I fed purple fire into the inferno stoking the power of disintegration higher and higher. With a final scream disintegration overcame matter generation, and all that was left of Hookwolf was a limb sized chunk of blades and hooks.
With a huff I moved to the now whimpering form of Crusader and kicked him across the temple. The man fell limp and I bound him projected chains.
Turning I faced the grim and slightly green looking Rain I gave him his first ironclad order since he threw his lot in with me.
"Call Coil. I need a doctor, and the name of some of the websites the Empire uses for their propaganda." I stepped cautiously over to Dad's mostly intact recliner and collapsed into it. "And find me some pain killers and something I can use to stem the bleeding!"
I needed to work fast. I needed a plan, for the immediate future and for the coming days or weeks. But one problem at a time, and right now the biggest problem was Dad's safety. I pulled out my phone and after some adjusting for the displaced sense of sight, I finally managed to place a call.
"Faultline? I'd like to hire your crew for a low risk job as go between. Let me tell you what I'm thinking and we can go from there. I need to keep this brief though because I have a lot of calls to make and not a lot of time to work with."
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Over the counter painkillers didn't really solve my pain problem, but they blunted it a bit, and I couldn't afford to be off my game from anything stronger just yet. I'd need to see a doctor about removing whatever was left of my eye before anything could get infected, but bandages would suffice for now.
A half hour had just barely been enough to hash out a plan of action Coil approved of. Now it was time to put it into effect. Everything dangled from a string. My reputation hadn't been enough, my knowledge hadn't been enough, and my Hail Mary play to turn the tables had backfired. I was lucky to even be getting a second chance. I couldn't afford to fuck this up now.
Coil had been good enough to send over a mercenary who knew how to use a video camera. With a deep breath I pulsed out fire, hiding my bandages behind an illusion of what my face would look like once it finished healing. A scar running not quite horizontally across my face, both eyes blazing with Indigo light as if they were searchlights, proclaiming to the whole world that I was watching. My face, for the first time, was not obscured by shadow. I was sick of the damn charade, and it clearly wasn't doing me any good. Besides, my time could be better spent if I wasn't wasting my day sitting in a classroom… And I still couldn't get the damned fake eyes to not glow!
I glanced over at Rain who nodded seriously. I looked to the merc and waved my hand imperiously. The light on the side of his camera changed to green and I started to speak.
"Kaiser, I honestly expected better from the Empire. Did you really think you could get away with just ignoring the unwritten rules like that? You underestimate me, Max." I glared at the camera. "But we'll come back to just how woefully unprepared for me your group truly is in a moment. Before that I'm sure you're curious about the fates of your idiots." I waved to the camera man and the lens spun, zooming out. At my feet was Cricket's corpse and Hookwolf's metal limb.
"When I proved to them I knew all of your civilian identities, they decided the best course of action would be to kill me." I smirked. "They failed and I returned the favor. I'll miss my eye, but it's not exactly going to slow me down."
"Now if it were me, knowledge of civilian identities would be more than enough of a bargaining chip, but given the response from these idiots I suppose not." I waved to the left, the camera panned over, revealing the tied up form of Crusader. "So, I've got an extra bargaining chip this time. You have my Father. I have one of your rapidly dwindling number of capes. I have enough information to burn your organization to the ground and you all along with it. I'm giving you one chance. My father is to be delivered to Faultline's bar by midnight tonight. If he is, Crusader will be released to return to you. If my father is not returned then Crusader dies, and I'll be coming after your Empire with everything available to me. Civilian identities, assassinations, burning your businesses to the ground with your idiot followers still inside. I am done playing with you fools. If my father is returned in good health, I promise not to go after your civilian identities."
"Finally, Purity, Night and Fog. I know that you have broken from the rest of the Empire. Consider this a warning. Stay out of this and I'll leave you alone. Side with the Empire and I will treat you just as I would the rest. No child should be forced to grow up without a mother, but I won't sacrifice my father for an ideal. Take the hint and stay out of this."
I took a moment and let red fire pool at my feet before spreading and engulfing what was left of Hookwolf and Cricket. It only took a few seconds for the corpses to vanish beneath the flames.
"Clocks ticking, Max. Do not push me again, or my next video will include more than just your first name."
The camera's light switched to red and I sagged against Rain.
"Alright let's go. Load up the Nazi and get that posted. I need to see Coil's doctor."
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"Morgana."
"Faultline! Is he?"
"Your father was dropped off five minutes ago. He's alright and we're on our way out of the city. Here I'll let you speak to him."
"Taylor?"
"Dad." I sagged back into the bed I was resting in. "Thank God. I wasn't sure… I knew it was a gamble and I'm sorry but if they got you out of the city I might not have ever found you and they'd have had me under their thumb forever. I'm so sorry I know it was stupid but I just couldn't and I put you at risk and I just…" I wasn't sure what to say. What to think.
Dad's sighs made me want to cringe.
"I understand Taylor. I could wish it hadn't been so dangerous for either of us but it worked out alright this time. Are you alright? I heard you were injured but no one seems to know how badly."
"Cricket tagged me. I lost my other eye. It sucks. But I can deal."
"Oh, Taylor."
I swallowed and pushed on.
"Things are going to get really busy Dad. Busy and dangerous. I promise I'll smuggle you back into town when things have settled a bit. But right now, I need to heal and then I'm going to be busy picking off the Empire while they try to find me first. I can't have you caught in the middle of this. You'd never be safe."
"... I could make my own way back Taylor. But I know that would only make you worry more. Be safe, little owl. I can't lose you too."
"I will be." I promised. "The Empire won't ever even see me coming."
"I love you."
"Love you to Dad."
