Goddamn Teenagers (Worm, AU/time travel)

[dc2008]

Thomas was torn. Until he fully and finally retired, he had not realized just how much he valued his involvement with the PRT as a part of his identity. Losing his direct, in-person visibility into the PRT's operations was inconvenient as well, although despite Armsmaster's efforts, he had retained more visibility into their operations than he had expected.

It did greatly simplify the logistics of maintaining his double life. Now that he was merely a retiree and CEO, he was free to set his own hours and make his day planner say whatever the hell he wanted.

Idly, he flipped through his mail, pausing upon seeing a courier package which had been sent to his office address. Opening it, he first removed a gaudy Hallmark card, with a generic message of welcome. The package's only other contents was yet another sealed envelope, which contained a document with a Watchdog cover page.

Blah blah blah, information from Earth Aleph not available on Earth Bet, blah blah, generic language about how while we cannot officially suppress information due to the Constitution, and cannot classify it because it is readily available on Aleph, this information is absolutely being suppressed, blah blah blah, danger of augmenting the capabilities of hostile Thinkers!

Removing the cover page, Thomas found what appeared to be a photocopy of a printout of a Aleph internet site titled "The Evil Overlord's List", with annotations in handwriting he recognized as belonging to Accord.

---

Note:

Looking at canon, I can only conclude that due to divergent timelines and more aggressive information management, this simply was never a meme on Bet.

Also this list, annotated by Accord, would be a real treasure of the highest order.

 

[dc2008]

"Hey guys," Dennis called out as he entered the common area.

"Afternoon," called out Chris from in front of the TV, where he was playing a fighting game.

Missy's own grunt of welcome drifted in from the adjacent kitchenette.

Dennis stuck his head in to grab a snack and immediately regretted it.

"What is Missy doing," Dennis asked, joining Chris on the couch.

"She is doing something profoundly unnatural to marshmallows."

"Fuck you!" Missy's voice called out. "I'm training."

"Fine," said Chris. "Missy is training by using her power to do something unnatural to juggle marshmallows."

"Better!"

Dennis considered that for a moment, before asking "Why marshmallows?"

"Was going to be pennies but Armsmaster said this would be safer. I was doing it out there but someone was being a baby."

"Thank you for your consideration!" Dennis replied, with feeling. Just one glance at whatever she was doing had given him the beginnings of a headache.

"Where's Aegis," asked Chris, eyes still focused on the screen.

"Enduring hurricane Vicky. Someone gave her a copy of that safety stats thing we have to sit through every few months, and she got really into it. I snuck out while she was going on about the benefits of proper footwear."

"His sacrifice will not be forgotten," said Chris with absolute seriousness.

Suddenly, an ominous squelching noise came out of the kitchenette.

Morbidly curious, Dennis and Chris peaked inside to find gooey white impacts scattered around the walls and ceiling.

"Holy shit, Missy! Did that one crater the ceiling tile?"

"Fuck yeah! I'm awesome!"

---

 

[dc2008]

Amy stumbled bleary eyed into the gym. It was too early for this shit.

"Why are you wearing sunglasses inside?" Her gym buddy, damn her, was as usual unnaturally awake at this ungodly hour.

Amy very carefully didn't say the first things that came to mind, pretty ladies gym clothes yum.

Instead she very clearly and articulately responded "Blargh morning light it burns coffee no yet."

Placated, her gym buddy wandered over to the treadmill and, after a moment, Amy followed and got on the next treadmill over. Sadly, she had already learned that no matter how nice it was to appreciate gym buddy's tight legs and bum, the taller and overly awake girl had a stupendously good sense of when someone was staring. Fortunately, pretty lady two aisles over had no such advantage…

---

Notes:

Amy's gonna Amy. Yeah, her eyes are wandering outside the family now but she's still a teenage girl with needs.

Look, it's a work in process.

 

[dc2008]

Emily entered the conference room intrigued. Dr. Weaver's message had been vague, true, but the woman's track record suggested that whatever it was would at least be interesting.

Dr. Weaver waved her over. In front of her were a handful of small containers, a laptop, and a PRT file festooned with warnings of dire consequences should it be opened by unauthorized persons.

"First, in this flask is a tinkertech liquid which perfectly mimics the effects of alcohol, in this case a nicely aged bourbon, and is entirely self-neutralizing. You can safely consume it, despite your condition, and if you need to neutralize its effects early, you can do so with the contents of that container."

Dr. Weaver then tapped a few buttons on the laptop bringing up a drone feed, with a count-down nearing zero.

"This is a live feed from an active Air Force operation. Thatcampground is the last known location of the Slaughterhouse Nine." She unmuted the audio feed, revealing familiar chatter in familiar tones.
Emily sat down heavily, and watched transfixed as the countdown approached zero. Finally, she heard the words "target confirmed on-site, initiate."

And then there was light.

Elsewhere

Taylor looked up, intrigued, as the PA system interrupted class. She was even more intrigued to hear it wasn't an announcement, but a radio broadcast, and from the audio quality someone had simply set the PA mic next to a radio speaker.

"… again, we repeat, the President has just announced the success of a joint operation to kill the Slaughterhouse Nine. All members are accounted for. They're gone. It's over, it's finally over…"

School let out early.

 

[dc2008]

"Hey, bro, what kind of girls do you like? Up top or behind, blonde or brunette, all social like or more shut-in?"

"What?" Just, what?!

"So Glory Girl is in the girl power thing, and was sad. See, she likes going on double dates and likes playing matchmaker, but her sister cut her off, so I told her I had the best bro in the whole world and he totally deserves an awesome GF so she said 'no way' so I showed her a pic of you working out all sweaty and buff like, and told her how you were taking care of me 'cause Dad's all strict and Mom's always high, and she was like woah so awesome! So, yeah she told me to find out what you like and she'll hook you up!"

Brian blinked. "Aisha, I have to work with this woman, did you, don't, I mean, is this, wait you showed her WHAT!?"

 

[dc2008]

They key theme of this (and some other bits that are coming up) is that Aisha is super-grateful to her bro and is looking for ways to show it.

Brian also has the problem that as far as Vicky and her tranche of high school girls are concerned, Brian sends a lot of signals that he is safe. He's about their age but emancipated which is cool, and has a job and money for reasons (Vicky is like 80% sure he's a cape but totally won't say anything). PRT Lady clearly vouches for him! He's got his own apartment, and takes care of his little sister who has only good things to say! Also he's really fit! And fairly secure in his masculinity, so he's not going to get in a snit just because a girl is good at something or expresses an opinion.

Meanwhile Brian is so very, very done with the high school dating scene. He's been parentified massively, and when he sees the high school girls he sees kids.

 

[dc2008]

"Your children are safe. You are safe."

Kayden struggled to find herself in the fog. The last thing she remembered was driving the children home from McDonalds.

"Your children are safe. No matter what happens, your children are safe."

Kayden slowly clawed her way toward awareness.

"Your children are safe. It is believed that, in a possible future, one or both could play a critical role in the salvation—or destruction—of the world."

That sounded important…

"The Chief Director is highly interested in their continued health and safety and, whatever else can be said of you, you can be trusted to move heaven and Earth for your children…"

Wait what was that.

"The important thing is that, no matter what happens, your children are safe. You will survive to protect them. And Max will never touch them again."

Oh that sounded nice.

---

Note:

For Theo, Taylor is not fucking around. And she'll make damned sure this Aster has a long, full and happy life. And yes, Taylor faked a car crash to extract Kayden and the kids. "Bodies" for Kayden and kids are courtesy of Blasto.

RCB is well aware that, strictly speaking, this is not an efficient use of Cauldron resources, but is also smart enough to realize that Dr. Weaver will be profoundly irrational on this matter, even if RCB isn't sure why.

 

[dc2008]

"Hey bro, this new apartment building is nice and all..."

"But?" Brian knew where this was going.

"... but I think our neighbor is a cop."

Brian had not, in fact known where this was going. "Aisha. Aisha. How did we come to be in this apartment?"

"Because I wouldn't let you move us to a new city now that I met Dr. Weaver and she is my spirit animal and I am going to convince her to be our new mom."

"... that is not what you said at the time."

"Eh, that was then, this is now. Wait, is then now? That's some heavy shit, bro."

"What? No, we are not doing this now, anyway, Dr. Weaver and my new job got us this apartment, right?"

"Yeah, she is awesome!"

"Right, yes she is. Also terrifying. But, sure, awesome. Anyway, what is Dr. Weaver's job?"

"She's some kind of secret agent, I think? Except not secret? Wait, what is her job?"

"Let's try this a different way. Who does Dr. Weaver work for?"

"Herself?"

"Aisha..."

"Fine, fine, the PRT, I guess? Except she's sort of a boss there so it's more like they work for her?"

"Anyway, right, Dr. Weaver has a PRT badge, and does PRT things, with the PRT."

"Yeah, sure, the PRT is like totally her bitch."

"So yes, Aisha. The PRT, by which I mean the cops, totally got us this apartment. Which means, yes, there are definitely cops living in the building."

Aisha's face fell. "Oh, that sucks." Then her fade lit up. Brian definitely knew where this was going.

"No, you will not be able to get Dr. Weaver to make the cops go away since she probably put them there, specifically to protect us from Nazis and stuff."

"Wait, cops do that?"

"Yes, sometimes cops actually do their job, especially when the PRT tells them to."

Aisha looked thoughtful and Brian realized she had honestly never considered the possibility that cops might actually protect them.

 

[dc2008]

It really doesn't help that up until recently Aisha deliberately went out of her way to present to and interact with authority in a way basically designed to cause maximum friction. Because The Man never did anything nice for her so buzz off. Aisha likely has never had a positive interaction with the cops.

Couple that with the usual issues relating to race and poverty, the fact that Aisha's mom is drug-addled mess with a string of disreputable boyfriends, her brother was a criminal, as well as the fact that BB has an active and aggressive Nazi presence which canonically has made inroads into the BBPD? For her the cops are basically a gang that wants to take away her mom and brother and make her live with her dad or worse one of her mom's boyfriends.

Hence why it has never occurred to Aisha that Dr. Weaver is a cop. Cops are bad. Dr. Weaver is awesome. Hence, "secret agent", not "cop".

Also, kind of horrifying when you realize that however bad things are in the real world, in Worm race and poverty problems would be substantially worse than IRL.

 

[dc2008]

"Armsmaster," Taylor said slowly. "I deeply respect you and your work. I am especially proud of your efforts to work with Vista. That said, I can assure you that your proposal will be immediately rejected if submitted, and god help us both if Director Piggot hears of this."

"I don't see what the problem is, the potential synergies are very intriguing."

Taylor resisted the urge to massage her brow. She was gaining a new appreciation for all the work her Dragon had put into Defiant. "If we ever were to test this, it would be under controlled circumstances. At a test range. Far from population centers. With a substantial minimum safe distance. Not on an ad hoc field expedient basis in the middle of the city in which we both live."

"I agree that a more rigorous testing methodology would be preferred, however I doubt our would be collaborator will cooperate."

"Skidmark. You are talking about Skidmark, just to be clear?"

"Yes, Vista has achieved very interesting acceleration figures on her own but just think of the possibilities!"

"Vista put a ball bearing through, in order, the test chamber's armored window, her own foot, and a steel plate. If you in the middle of a city combine that with our local provider of trash cannons, people will die…"

Colin leaned forward in his seat to object.

"… and the resulting settlements will inevitably come, directly or indirectly, from your tinker budget."

Colin leaned back, scowling.

 

[dc2008]

After confirming that it was, in fact, Missy at the door, and no one else, Amy let her guest in.

"Hey, Panacea, what's with all the cloak and dagger? And why did you tell Dean to tell me in person, and not tell anyone, and use the special phone number for the ride and stuff?"

Face serious, Amy sat the younger girl down and sat across from her. "This is a special secure apartment Dr. Weaver set up for me, separate from all the spies and bullshit at ENE. And I needed to talk to you about the healing I was called in for the other day."

"Oh. That."

"Yes, that." Amy looked directly at the younger girl, and took her hand. "I need you to answer me honestly. Are you in danger? Is anyone at home or at ENE or anywhere pressuring you to do anything or having you do anything or is anything happening anywhere anyhow for any reason that makes you uncomfortable?"

"No?" Missy sounded confused.

Amy sighed. "Armsmaster called me in the fix your foot, and specifically asked me to do it 'off-the-record'. I was told the injury occurred during power testing but your power, one, is Manton limited and b, has nothing to do with wounds of that type. Specifically, Missy, I know what a bullet wound looks like. Do you understand why this is incredibly suspicious and alarming?"

"But it was power testing! And it wasn't a bullet!"

"You're telling the truth," Amy said under her breath. She refocused on the younger girl. "Missy, Vista, what happened, exactly?"

"Well, you see, my power can't directly make things go faster but if things are already falling or are thrown, I can make it so they fall further, and I can shape space so they keep falling, and…"

When Missy finished, Amy stared blankly past her for a moment, and then got up and began bustling around the apartment.

"Amy?"

"Vicky was just here, I know I left it somewhere, there!" Amy turned around holding a small sheaf of papers and, to Missy's surprise and confusion, lightly bopped Missy on the head with them.

"Bad cape," said Amy with exaggerated patience. "No pointing at yourself or anyone you don't want to hurt a power-generated orbital drop weapon simulacrum, Christ." Bop. "No deliberately subverting safety protocols, even and especially if Armsmaster tells you to, what was he thinking." Bop. "And no trying to cover it up with 'off the books' healing, what were you thinking, what if Victor or a hostile thinker found out." Bop. "I expect this sort of thing from Vicky, not you, you know better!"

Missy appeared distinctly unamused.

---

Note:
It hasn't come up yet but Taylor pushed through some significant safeguards regarding Amy's healing. Stuff like medical ethics guidance, strict limits on her healing stuff that would otherwise heal easily with ordinary care (enforced by financial penalties on people who are not Amy), making sure that where patients can pay their insurance is billed (because if something is free it gets taken for granted), burnout precautions, ensuring she is never pressured to make a heal/no heal decision, etc.

Basically, Amy is a medical provider, and a cape, and a teenager, which are all major risk factors, and it's a goddamn miracle she holds it together as well as she does.

 

[dc2008]

"Danny, could I ask a favor?" Taylor asked her not!father.

"Sure," he replied.

"Do you have a picture of Annette you could spare? What with everything that happened, all of mine were lost a long time ago and oomph."

Taylor's request was interrupted by Danny's hug.

Elsewhere

"Hey, Crystal?" Eric asked after his cousin (finally) wandered out.

"Yo."

"Who is Dr. Weaver and why is Vicky so Vicky about her?"

"Heck if I know."

Earlier

Sarah Pelham set down the packet of papers, and looked at her niece. "Victoria, I do appreciate your enthusiasm, but before trying to implement," Sarah gestured at the paper, "all of this, maybe first talk to, Dr Weaver was it? The Protectorate doesn't do all of this for all of their capes? And, well, some of us aren't brutes and so weight is an issue?"

Sarah looked back at the packet. "It's also possible you've thought of something that hasn't occurred to them yet?"

"Thanks! That's a great idea, Aunt Sarah!"

That Morning

"Morning," mumbled Mark as he shuffled into the kitchen. He then paused, looked around, and asked his wife. "Where are the girls? It's awfully quiet this morning."

"Amy went running and then was going to brunch, and Victoria is at the PRT's testing facilities throwing things at old New Wave uniforms."

 

[dc2008]

"Aisha, have you seen my, wait, what are you reading?"

"Rude, I've known how to read for years."

Brian pinched his nose. "That's not…"

"It's a PRT Trooper thing on anti-thinker strategies. Don't worry, Dr. Weaver gave it to me."

That's not actually going to make me not worry, Brian didn't say. He'd quickly learned that while Dr. Weaver wasn't likely to give Aisha anything dangerous as Dr. Weaver understood the word. However he'd just as quickly learned that Dr. Weaver had a skewed sense of such things. Honestly, sometimes it was like the woman grew up in a containment zone.

He tried a different approach. "I'm glad to see you reading, but I'm curious what led you to choose that, specifically?"

"Lisa was being a petty little bitch. She's too obnoxious and punchable to be a real thinker, but if I can learn how to deal with real thinkers I can deal with whatever she is."

You know what, I'm OK with this.

 

[dc2008]

I will say, at a very high level and for purposes of the story, the following:

1) New Wave's current uniforms provide less than ideal protection.

2) in particular, they have not made any particular effort to game theory out adverse engagements. For example, the uniforms don't really consider power nullifiers, or matchups that otherwise are strong counters to New Wave's members.

3) The problems are actually particularly egregious for Victoria and Amy, For both girls, there was a false sense of security, Amy because she is a non-combatant and Victoria because she is "an Alexandria package".

4) The younger generation doesn't go to A-Class or S-Class fights, with the possible exception of Crystal. Carol absolutely does not go, and has firmly stated when asked that so long as she has minor children she will refrain unless BB itself is attacked. I haven't decided if the other adults go, but as between Sarah and Neil at least one of them always stays home so as to ensure someone will survive for the kids.

This is part of the reason New Wave's uniforms are not better—dealing with high-lethality threats is not really something they prepare for.

 

[dc2008]

"Hi Aisha! Ready to go running?"

"Sure," the younger girl said with a grin. A grin that, even after the short time they'd known each other, Lisa recognized. She is planning mischief, Power contributed pointlessly. You are the target. No, shit. Usually Power was more helpful.

As they walked toward Lisa's car, Power continued. She is moving her arms in a deliberately unnatural fashion, and her gait is uneven. Lisa felt a headache begin to settle in.

---

Note: Yes, Aisha is intentionality doing a lot of very specific slightly odd things, while focusing on Lisa. Specifically to set off Power and bury Lisa in nonsense details.

 

[dc2008]

"I can't believe you would do this to me!" Lisa exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "Here I thought we had something, and you betray me!"

The older woman looked unimpressed. "I'd give that performance a six out of ten at best. You can do better."

Lisa did not pout. "It's not fair, you giving Aisha an advantage like this! Whatever happened to a level playing field!"

The older woman, if possible, looked even more unimpressed. "You are a parahuman. She is not. This was never a level playing field."

"But why!"

"Training. For you. Unlike many training exercises, both you and the opfor will be highly motivated to succeed."

The older woman took on a very earnest, innocent expression. "I have emphasized to Aisha just how very important this is to your future endeavors, and indeed your very safety. I am sure she will approach it with an appropriate level of dedication and gravitas."

"But! You! Hey! Arrrrrrgg!"

 

[dc2008]

A few things to consider in Taylor's approach here:

1) There are no losers. Lisa's win condition is "make it so Aisha can't use anti-thinker stuff to mess with me." Aisha's win condition is "annoy Lisa back as part of this game they're playing." Both will feel like they won.

2) I will point out that Lisa being a brat to Taylor is a sign of trust and comfort. Taylor is objectively terrifying, Power is very clear about that. However Power is also very clear that Taylor wants good things for Lisa, and Lisa's intuition agrees, even though Lisa knows Taylor can reliably fuck with Power.

3) This is a Big Fucking Deal for Aisha because she is being trusted with responsibility to teach Lisa. Aisha likes Lisa and wants good things for her, but it's also the matter of trust. Few people have ever trusted Aisha with anything. And Taylor has emphasized how important it is for Lisa to learn this stuff. Now, Taylor know that if this doesn't work there is time to switch to a different approach. Aisha likely realizes this sooner or later. But Taylor still went to Aisha first.

4) Lisa and Aisha are the kind of ridiculous that they will both put substantially more effort into this than is at all sane or rational. Lisa doesn't really care about some faceless PRT trainer telling her to do better, but Lisa is really motivated when Aisha scores some stupid petty point on her.

5) The entire experience is going to push Aisha to get better at learning and research, as she pushes herself to learn increasingly sophisticated anti-thinker measures. Who knew learning could be so fun?

 

[dc2008]

Brian opened the door and was immediately suspicious, as he he had learned to always be when Lisa brought him gifts.

"Coffee?" She said with a weak smile.

Brian looked at her skeptically. "Where is Aisha?"

"Getting 'camouflage master' clothes with the rest of the girl power junior division, and no I don't know what that means, she clearly wanted me to ask and I wasn't giving her the satisfaction."

Brian was pretty sure he did know, but would worry about that later. He sighed. "Lisa, you are here, with the coffee I like, and are being polite. Either this is a very ill-advised pick-up attempt or you want something."

Lisa laughed. "Yeah, I deserved that. But I did bring coffee?"

"What do you want?"

"So Aisha got this book and…"

Brian held up his hand. "I'm going to stop you there. I am not getting involved in whatever idiotic thing you have going on with Aisha."

"But Brian!" Lisa didn't whine. "We have been through so much together, you can't make me do this alone!"

Brian took the coffee, and shut the door. God, I'm too old for this shit.

 

[dc2008]

A big problem is that since Lisa got her powers she has very little experience interacting with peers. Generally, the people she interacts with are either hard trumped by her powers, or they hard trump her (due to powers or life experience). In particular, in canon Lisa's long-fought thinker battle with Coil had to have played a major role in her becoming the savvy operator she is by the time of Ward.

Put differently, Lisa has very little experience dealing with people in situations where it really matters how much wis she brings to the table, and so if anything her use of wis started to atrophy.

Also, teenager.

Aisha is a good match for early canon Lisa, because basic anti-thinker precautions are well within her abilities to learn (they are designed to be used by even marginally intelligent and trained junior troopers), and Lisa is currently just utter and complete garbage at dealing with even the most basic anti-thinker measures.

 

[dc2008]

"So how is this going to work? You gonna put me in a clown suit and parade me around town?" Alec asked, laconically.

"Absolutely not. First we will want to determine to extent of any lingering effects from your family. Compared to other victims, you are in remarkably good shape."

Alec rolled his eyes.

The older woman ignored him, and continued. "Still, the suits will want to be sure. Until such time, it would be appreciated if you could keep a low profile, and we will sadly have to limit the time you spend, as it were, 'in the office'. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your cooperation. Your remuneration, of course, will not be affected."

Alec stared at her, dumbfounded. "You really are going to pay me to sit in this apartment, eat take out, and play video games."

"Neither I nor anyone else with the white hats would ever express it in public or in writing in those terms."

 

[dc2008]

"Hey, bro, what's Alec like and why is Lisa telling me we should date?"

Brian's blood ran cold. First, second, and third, oh fuck no. But he knew better than to just tell Aisha no.

Deflect, deflect.

"He is the only person I've ever met who can make bacon cheese fries suck. Also, he kept trying to convince Lisa that all household tasks were women's work."

Aisha wrinkled her nose. "Man, fuck that, mothering Mom was bad enough."

Oh, thank God.

---

Note: Canadian bacon cheese fries here is poutine. It's an acquired taste.

 

[dc2008]

Rachel watched warily as Lisa approached, accompanied by the woman from the PRT.

"Hi, Rachel!" Lisa called, with a toothy grin. "How's your new business empire?"

Rachel bristled, bit before she could respond, the woman out a hard on Lisa's arm. "Lisa," the woman said firmly.

Lisa, thankfully, shut the fuck up.

The woman pointed to a chair on the porch. "Sit. Stay."

Lisa glowered at the woman, but obeyed. Without complaint. This was new.

The woman slowly approached, stopping close enough to be heard but not too close. She smiled with no teeth and something about the woman's posture made Rachel relax.

"Are the dogs OK?"

Rachel nodded.

"Enough food, water, other things?"

Rachel nodded again.

"Do you need anything."

Rachel shook her head.

"Like I said before, we want to pay you to train rescue dogs. For us, getting trained dogs is very, very hard. Much harder than getting trained humans. We absolutely don't want the dogs to fight."

Rachel shifted. That didn't make sense to her, dogs were much easier than people. But PRT were cops and cops were stupid.

"No fucking around," Rachel eventually replied. "And your people treat the dogs right."

"Can you help us learn? You are better with dogs than us."

"No funny business and no assholes."

"We can send out people for you to meet. You tell us which ones can learn."

Rachel considered, the nodded.

"We also want to get you someone to help with people stuff you don't want to deal with. You can pick who you like."

Rachel nodded slowly. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Still she had to know.

"Why. Why be so nice."

The woman looked thoughtful. "Back home I have a friend. You remind me of her."

Rachel shrugged. Whatever. She didn't trust the woman yet but the woman was much easier to talk to than most people. And worst case she could always take her pack and run.

 

[dc2008]

Thomas poured himself a badly needed drink. He didn't bother to split the timeline.

Since that fateful visit, he had enjoyed more success in the Bay than ever. Being able to recruit parahuman support from among his trained, trusted, disciplined contingent of mercenaries had resulted in significant gains. The results were substantially greater than any he had ever obtained when attempting to assemble useful teams from the usual bands of parahuman misfits and lunatics.

Yes, his withdrawal from the PRT had limited his direct insight into the PRT, however Cauldron had continued to provide insight into local operations. Combined with his parahuman power and his remaining spies, his overall view of PRT operations had actually increased. This was only assisted by Piggot's recent reprioritization of resources, even as it placed the Empire under ever-increasing pressure.

However, Cauldron insights could be a double-edged sword. Like this latest tidbit, helpfully tucked into a Hallmark valentine's card, slid under his front door.

He glanced back down at the deeply disturbing message:

"Armsmaster supervises, in Brockton Bay, a detection suite that is among the world's most sophisticated, esoteric, and eccentric. Following the debut of Clockblocker, special attention was directed toward any indicators of potential temporal anomalies.

"When analyzed with readings obtained from and around parahumans whose powers are suspected or known to have temporal elements, Armsmaster and Dragon concluded with substantial certainty that during the past several annual periods Brockton Bay has been entirely free of anomalous temporal readings.

"These measurement periods do overlap significantly with your own periods of activity within the region.

"We have recently obtained information suggesting that in some instances powers may simulate temporal effects through a combination of precognitive and master effects."

He set down his now-empty glass. Christ. Some things I really would rather not know.

---

Notes:

As usual, multiple things are happening.

First, this is a display of dominance. This is information is presented in a way that makes it look trivial for Cauldron to obtain, but would be impossible for Coil to get. Moreover, Coil cannot verify this information, emphasizing his subservience. Yet further, even though Coil can't verify the data, he can't afford to disregard the possibility.

Second, and related, this is a warning. Coil was undoubtedly entertaining some thoughts of getting clever with Cauldron. Do they know? Could they know? It's the equivalent of a parent occasionally giving a teenager a very significant look for no reason. The parent doesn't actually know what the teen did, but the teen doesn't know that.

Third, it will generally make Coil more cautious and less likely to do overly clever stuff.

Fourth, Taylor does simply enjoy fucking with the man.

 

[dc2008]

"Hi Dinah, how was your what are you wearing!?"

"Camouflage! I have a couple sets if I ever have to go to the bad part of town, so I fit in and don't look like an easy target! We also practiced how to walk!"

"Honey, why is that a thing you feel you need to be practice?"

Dinah shrugged. "Dr. Weaver seemed to think it was a good idea? Or maybe it was a trick? In exchange we taught Aisha about dressing and acting more respectable. I don't know, it was fun to hang out though."

 

[dc2008]

Lisa fumed on the drive back to town. "I can't believe you dragged me out here! You clearly didn't need me to talk to Rachel, you did that fine! And when I tried to help you told me sit down and shut up!"

"Have you ever had a dog?"

"No?" Lisa sounded confused.

"I have."

Lisa made a sort of inarticulate growl. "Setting aside you literally telling me I need to speak dog to talk to Rachel, which, oh my God I don't even, that doesn't explain why you had me sit there silently for an hour!"

Taylor shrugged. "I didn't want to come empty-handed, so I gave her a gift no one else could."

Lisa put her head in her hands. "I hate you."