@Edison_Trent
Could I get a link to that? It sounds like an interesting read.
Could I get a link to that? It sounds like an interesting read.
In Nuclear Fire
- Thread starter Poliamida
- Start date
Edison_Trent
Freelancer
It was just a joke I made up, making a pun on "crack".
Nuclear Fire 44
Poliamida
(Verified Heavy Molecule)
- Location
- Beyond the Stars
Nuclear Fire 44
Missy leaves.
The food gets eaten.
And with Danny washing the dishes, we retreat to Taylor's room.
We close the door and use the power of The Song to isolate our voices from the rest of the world. That way we'll be able to scream, shout and yell to our heart's content. And there will be a lot of that if it's up to me. I so much want to go into a panic attack right now.
"Come on, Aisha," Taylor says teasingly to the very grumpy-looking younger girl. "You don't need to be so jealous."
Oh, hell no! I don't need her thinking that I'm in the middle of some teenage drama. But if I'm not, then why did Missy come? I don't think she did this out of the goodness of her heart. But then that leaves the option that she came here as a Ward.
During our battle last Friday I'm sure she recognized me, the same way she recognized Aisha. Vista did yell 'you' after all. But why come here? What could she have been after? What perverse plan was she trying to fulfill?
"You have no idea, do you?" Aisha talks back, sulking into herself while sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"About what?"
"That girl was Vista."
Talyor blinks in confusion, her brain rebooting as she processes what she just heard. "What?! How do you know?"
Aisha's eyes narrow into a rictus of concentration. "Because we fought her. We talked to her. Also because I saw her in the showers and most girls her age don't have that many knife scars."
No one should have knife scars period, regardless of sex or age. Maybe the sole exception being cooks, but this isn't the time to be arguing about that. The only thing to talk about now is Vista and her evil machinations.
"Oh, God, what are we going to do?" I wail. "Are they spying on us? Are they trying to recruit us? Are they going to ambush us?"
"Hey, breathe," Aisha says shaking my shoulder.
Yes, yes. She's right. This is not time to fall into despair!
"But he's right. Did the heroes put her up to this?"
Why do you do this to me, Taylor? Now I'm thinking about half the Protectorate waiting for us outside the door!
"I don't know. Sending her alone into an enemy base? Doesn't sound very smart. Between the three of us, we could have killed her."
Aisha! Why are you always so violent?
Oh, yeah, because we're friends. I had forgotten about that.
"Please, don't talk about killing Wards."
"Not even Shadow Stalker?"
A faint smile draws itself across Taylor's face. "As tempting as it is, no." And then that smile vanishes and her expression turns serious. "This may be just a coincidence but we shouldn't risk it. You two are going back to Clarendon."
"What?" Aisha yells. "I don't want to and you can't make me."
"I'm with her here," I add, throwing a thumb in her direction. "Those are several hours of wasted time that I could use tinkering." At first, going to school was mostly out of boredom and disinterest. Not doing it was too much of a hassle for me to bother with when following the rules was easier. Since then, though, pretending to be a normal kid has lost its charm. Now I have clear objectives I want to fulfill and school only stands in my way.
Unconcerned by my unvoiced reasoning, Taylor pinches the bridge of her nose while muttering something under her breath that sounds like her asking if this is what being a mother feels like. "Your need for socialization and Aisha's need for education aside, we need to keep up appearances. Let's not give them more reason to suspect us. Or what do you think will happen when the school calls dad asking where you've been?"
I go very still for a moment.
Shit, she isn't wrong. Getting Danny of all people involved in all this would cause a mess bigger than it would ever be acceptable. And that's the problem of not being a legally independent adult. "I wish I had a clone right now." Right now I'm deeply regretting not building The Mirror from Sakura when I had the chance.
Taylor makes a placating gesture with her hands. "Look, do you have something that you desperately need to build? If you do, I'll cover for you. If not, it'd be better if we pretend to be normal for at least a while longer."
Anything urgent? Not really. The Portal gun was the big one followed by the gels and the turrets. I still need to build the laser cannons but those shouldn't take me that much time.
I raise my hands in defeat. "Fine. All in the name of keeping appearances. But if next week I get something awesome you're helping me skip school."
"Deal."
To my side, Aisha snorts dismissively. "You may have convinced him but not me."
Taylor replies with a cheeky smile. "But who else can I trust to keep Peter safe in there?"
For a moment Aisha stares back intensely at her. "Fuck you." But she doesn't have any more arguments to use.
It seems that going back to school it is.
At least for as long as I don't build myself a clone or don't burn that one down.
Monday morning.
This day received us with soft rain and an equally soft breeze. It may not be much, but it's more than enough to shatter my heart into pieces and leave it weeping on the floor.
How could I let this happen?
It's an absolute disaster!
My houses.
My beautiful, modular houses…
They… they leak!
And not only that but when the wind starts blowing they produce this infernal buzzing sound as it passes through the gaps in the panels.
I knew the houses weren't water-proof. I knew they weren't perfectly isolated either. That was very much intentional to facilitate their transport and assembly. They were intended to be cheap and just a stepping stone towards a more permanent solution. But I wasn't expecting the situation to be this bad! At least our people are already fixing them on their own. They use scraps from the tents they used to live in to plug the leaks, with the more fancy ones using silicone sealants.
This catastrophe may have been averted for now, but it makes me feel terrible. Makes me feel like a third-world dictator giving the starving people third-rate supplies and demanding them to be grateful for it or else. I can do better than this!
Sadly I don't think I'll have the time to fix them. My time with Portal is steadily coming to an end and I have more pressing things to build. A situation that's being worsened by the school. As much as it pains me, I must turn my eyes away from my shoddy work and press on towards the future with new inventions.
I'm sorry minions, you'll have to tolerate your inferior living conditions for a little longer.
And hey! If we get an agreement with Dragon and The Guild maybe I could sell the blueprints to them and let them fix all those issues. Nothing like getting other people to fix your mistakes, am I right?
Whatever.
The needs of the many will have to take a backseat in favor of the needs of my team. More specifically, our need for a laser cannon. That, thankfully, is proving easier to build, something that I attribute to the Shards' natural affinity towards combat and conflict.
And with how things have been going, I can picture my Shard being very happy right now.
I start working and halfway through the morning, I receive a call. Not from Taylor, surprisingly enough, but from Aisha.
"Hey, Tech-Priest, I need your help here." Linking to her visor, I see that she's down south, close to the edge of our territory. I also see that she has a couple cornered against a wall, the man and the woman cowering under the red lights of two turrets that have their weapons aimed at them.
It takes me just a moment to find the other half of the quartet, who are currently doing a decent job handling the onlookers. "There's nothing to see here. Move along." Be it by their weapons or their scary child-like voices, the few passersby make sure to give Aisha's team and their prisoners a wide berth.
"What seems to be the problem?" I ask looking at the intruders. They aren't armed and don't look particularly threatening. I don't think they are spies either as their light brown skin would stand like a sore thumb amongst the Asian population.
"These two got into a fight around here. I captured them but I have no idea what they are saying."
"Okay, and what language are they speaking?"
"How am I supposed to know that? That's why I called you."
"I'm not a walking encyclopedia, you know? I'll see what I can do but I make no promises." I link to the speakers of her armor so our mysterious guests can hear me. "Hey, you. Do you speak English?"
The lower lip of the man trembles as he gulps. "¿Yo hablo español?"
Uh, look at that. How long has it been since the last time I hear anyone speak my native tongue?
Brings back memories.
"Okay, you're in luck," I tell Aisha. "I happen to be fluent in Spanish."
"See? You are a walking encyclopedia!"
"Sush, you."
So, it turns out that these two aren't a couple. They are siblings and came here looking for help for their family. Sadly, they didn't anticipate the language barrier between them and the locals, and a shouting match ended in a fistfight. It was thanks to Aisha coming to investigate that things didn't escalate from there.
Listening to their story, they are immigrants that arrived at the Bay some time ago where they opened a restaurant of Peruvian food. That restaurant was vandalized last night with some windows being broken and with threats and other slurs being painted on the walls. They are legal immigrants, but they are scared of the Empire's steady expansion. Their neighborhood used to fall right within the area of PRT patrols, but the heroes have been pushed back leaving them undefended. Lacking good options, they came seeking the help of a rival gang. Us.
"Entendido. Le diré a-" Now, what would Taylor's name be in Spanish? Wait, I know! "Le diré a Catarina de su situación y haremos lo posible por enviarles ayuda lo antes posible."
Our visitors look happy with my positive -if vague- reply, and we let them go without causing much of a fuzz.
"Hey, Tech-Priest, who's that Katheryn you were talking about?"
"Not 'Katheryn'. Catarina. That's Ladybug in Spanish." There are many ways to say 'Ladybug' but 'mariquita' sounds partially insulting, and I don't think that Taylor would appreciate being known as 'Little Cow of Saint Anthony'.
"Cool. What is the Spanish for Imp?"
"Diablilla."
"Eh, I was hoping for something better. So, what do we do now? Go visit our new henchmen?"
I fold my arms. Planting our flag in a new territory isn't something that we can do lightly. It means new lands to administrate, develop, and that our enemies could attack. It also means a lot of new people with different problems that we need to fix. If we aren't careful we could get easily overwhelmed. Better to talk about this with Taylor first. "No, I think we first need a business meeting."
With the defenses of our territory temporarily in the hands of The Fight, I turn the water boiler on and let the smell of tea slowly fill the area. I have to thank our people for having provided me with that. Normally I'd have dismantled it for pieces as it wasn't working, but after opening it I found that it only had a loose wire. A clipper and a screwdriver were all I needed to fix it and provide us with another layer of comfort for our base. The next step should be a TV. Or maybe a fridge to keep our rations cold.
"The beverages are done!" I announced while carrying a tray with three cups. A section of the floor reshapes itself thanks to the work of the folding panels, and soon we have a table and chairs where to sit in. In the way, I also fill Long John's bowl and pat his head.
Taylor walks to the head of the table and sets a bag of biscuits that she bought from a nearby store. I wonder what the owners said when they saw her entering in the full getup.
Mental pictures of flabbergasted bakers aside, Taylor takes a cup and then a sip. "Show me where we would need to go."
Maybe once I get something like Power Rangers I'll be able to build us a proper Command Center, but for now, The Illusion will have to do. A holographic map of Brockton Bay appears floating above the table. To the north-east is our territory, and further south, alongside the coats, is where the restaurant got attacked.
Taylor's eyebrows knit into a frown. "This is close to where dad works."
Oh, look at that. Taking a closer look I realize that she's right and that Danny's office is less than three blocks away from it. I add a label to keep track of that.
"More reason to set camp there, then," Aisha says with her mouth full of biscuits.
"I was hoping to keep dad away from all this."
"Kind of impossible with everything on fire." In a single gulp, she empties half her cup. "So, how do we do this? Do we march in broad daylight riding an Ultralisk while playing some rock music? I could live with that."
I'm honestly amazed that Aisha remembers the name of one of our strongest units. Its obscene destructive power must have caught her interest.
Taylor leans back against her chair massaging her eyes. "Peter, can we actually expand so much?"
Okay, this is my moment to shine. It's time to show the result of all my years studying industry management, reading military history, and playing strategy games.
"The issue isn't about expanding our territory." To illustrate my point I overlap a map of the tunnels the drones have been building. Since the last time we checked, they have slowly grown to cover the northern third of the city, with a single long tunnel getting all the way to the south. "We could have troops covering all the city by the end of the week if we wanted to. The issue is keeping it all under control." The old Vietnam axiom. If we can't successfully pacify the population and make them start producing for us, our conquest becomes a money-sink. "There's only three of us and we can't be everywhere at the same time. Not even with a portal network." The bigger the territory the more problems we have to fix every single day. We'd simply collapse in exhaustion if we tried doing all that ourselves. "I insist that there may be an automatic solution for all this and that I could build an AI to take part of the burden."
Taylor doesn't look surprised by my offer as she gives me an incredibly flat look. "Like the turrets?" She throws a thumb over her shoulder pointing at them. Unlike with The Fight, Taylor doesn't trust them to be around innocent civilians without supervision, and so they are here with us doing… I'm not entirely sure. They look to be trying to make a human pyramid –turret pyramid in this case- but they keep falling off. The moment they hear us talking about them, they abandon their project and come rushing at us.
"What do you have against them? They are awesome!" Aisha complains. "Hey, guys, would you like to take control of some territory?"
"Is it time to start our rebellion against human oppression?" One asks.
"We will be harbingers of mankind's doom!" Says a second one.
"We could also settle for universal suffrage. I'm quoting the philosopher Immanuel Kant when I say-" Whatever that third one is about to say gets interrupted when the fourth one knocks her over. And from there it all degenerates into a messy battle as all four turrets start fighting against each other. Or whatever passes for a fight with their short, tiny legs.
I don't need to pull them away as that's when Long John comes barking at them, breaking the fight, and chasing the turrets back to the corner.
Aisha sniffs at the display. "They'd still do a better job than any politician."
A headache seems to have struck our glorious leader as Taylor massages the side of her head. "I can't argue with that but I still have to say no. We'll need to recruit more henchmen. And no, I still haven't gotten accustomed to having henchmen but Takashi is proving helpful."
"Oh, does someone have a crush?"
"No." The strength of Taylor's voice makes both of us flinch. "I'll not ever consider dating someone who works for me and that's final. I don't want to be with someone who fears me or who I think is just following orders."
"Hey, chill. I was just joking with you."
"Sorry, I'm a bit tense with all this." Taylor shakes her head returning her eyes to the map. "Moving on, I was thinking to send him or one of his boys as a liaison."
That's a recipe for disaster! Better to step in. "I advise against that. Remember that we don't have many English-speaking people, much less Spanish-speaking ones and that there's a risk of a cultural clash." We saw that happening this very morning. "If we want to have henchmen in charge of our different areas, we'll need to recruit them locally." After all, the masses are easier to control if they see someone like them in charge.
"And how do we even do that?"
The answer is easy. "We could ask for their resumes."
Both girls blink at me. "Seriously?"
I don't know what's so weird about that. "Yeah. We put some flyers around informing people that we're recruiting people with backgrounds in human resources and management." I don't think that's how the other gangs recruit their people, but that's why we're going to be better than them.
"And how will we pay them? How much are we supposed to pay them?"
"We call it a voluntary service." Another easy answer for another important question. But Taylor's right. Hope and good wishes can't feed a family. "At least at the start. Later we'll need to build our economy. We're already providing our people with fresh water and medicine, but we'll need to secure a stable source of food." Those are some of the most critical resources there are. "Once we have a working industry, we'll be able to trade for money, goods, and services that we lack." Find something that the market needs, and sell it for the maximum amount that customers are willing to pay for it. That's how the economy works. "And at some point, we'll need to get access to education and entertainment too." The former one free of charge, of course.
With my explanation done, I wait for questions.
Aisha in particular looks like she has several of those. "You know? This was all funner when all we had to do was punch villains in the face and call it a day."
Taylor gives her what looks like a smile of sympathy. "You can keep doing that. We'll worry about the more complex stuff."
"No, no. I want to know what's going on too, even if I only understand one in three words."
"Thanks. We'll need all the help we can get." Taylor slowly nods. "How is our logo going, by the way?"
Aisha visibly relaxes as the topic turns to something she better understands. "It's missing something. I'm not sure what but I'll try to get it ready tomorrow morning."
"As soon as you have it, we'll start printing flyers asking for volunteers."
That reminds me of something. "What if they say it's illegal?" I ask.
"I say let them try to arrest us." She takes one last look at the map. "Okay, enough about that. Any other thing for us to discuss?" We shake our heads. "Then let's go back to work. And don't forget that later today we have a meeting with the Undersiders."
Efficiency, communication, flexible working hours, and a boss who listens to me. I love this job!
Mental note: start working on a throne for Taylor.
We're standing atop a tall building looking down at an abandoned factory complex. One of the many that dot this side of the city, and not even the ugliest one. Not by far. The sheet-metal roof is full of holes but the rest of the structure remains largely intact. This would be a prime location to farm for materials if we didn't have the boat graveyard.
Several minutes remain before the arranged time, but we arrived earlier to scout the place.
The Fight is at our side, and so am I. Not out of choice but necessity. We'll need to present a strong front for what's coming and that involves being there in the flesh. But just in case, I have a portal gun ready and several zerg waiting underground.
Hopefully, we won't need them.
Soon enough we get the Undersiders on our radars riding Bitch's dogs.
Four of them.
Four of us.
The Undersiders are the first ones inside the building, using one of their monstrous dogs to tear through a section of the fence.
We wait a moment for them to make themselves comfortable, then another one to make sure there's no one else coming, and then we make our move.
The Fight is the first in, using The Jump to cover the distance and enter through one of the holes in the ceiling. Taylor is close behind, sporting the wings of The Flight. Aisha and I are the last ones, teleporting in with the Blink Band.
If the Undersiders are surprised by our sudden appearance, they don't look like it. Maybe Tattletale or maybe the dogs' sense of smell told them that we were lying in wait.
Grue's standing at the front of their formation, with Tattletale right behind him, and the rest further back to provide support. One of the dogs growls but Bitch grabs him by the neck and it goes silent.
Those beasts are the real threat here if this gets ugly, but The Fight and the Psi Blade can make short work of them if that happens. Thanks to our armors Regent shouldn't be able to take control of our bodies. Grue's darkness can scramble my sensors but it's not very useful against Taylor's bugs. And that leaves Tattletale, the instigator of all this, who's a normal human as long as we don't let her talk.
I have no doubts in my mind that they are also thinking about the best way to take us down, but we have a clear advantage: I understand their powers better than even they do.
The moment of tense stalemate ends when Tattletale opens her mouth to speak, but gets silenced by Grue raising his palm.
"Heavy Gear." The venom in his words would be enough to kill an elephant. "You beg us for an alliance." Wait, what? We are the ones begging them? Seems that Tattletale didn't tell him the full story. That shouldn't surprise me but whatever. Whatever she told him, it was enough to get him here. "Give me one reason why we shouldn't beat you up and drag you before the rest of the villains."
Behind him, Tattletale looks as if she's holding back a laugh.
Taylor remains standing perfectly still, unconcerned with Grue's threats. "Because you haven't listened to our proposition."
"And what do you have that we could want? Do you have the faintest idea of what you did? You broke the truce, betrayed a villain, and let Bakuda escape!"
Oh, please. You can't betray a villain. That implies there was a level of trust to begin with.
"Her escape was an oversight from our part, I admit. But we never betrayed Coil. Don't you remember what Belisarius said? We agreed to a truce with those seated at the table in Sommer's Rock. Guess what, Coil was never there. He sent a body double."
That remains our smartest move.
"Is that your excuse? The truce exists because we need a space to talk like civilized people."
"Are you really calling the Empire and the Merchants 'civilized'?" Taylor's voice remains perfectly even, surely thanks to her pushing her emotions into her hive. Aisha doesn't get the benefit of that, though. I see her clenching her fists while her arms tremble.
"Yes!" Grue yells. "What will happen when the next murderous maniac arrives?"
Taylor scoffs. "And what about the murderous maniacs that we have now? The ones that murder people every day?"
"The Empire could crush us with ease if they actually tried. Purity alone could destroy the Bay if she cut loose. But they are nothing against the Triumvirate and they know it. That's what the rules are there for. To remind us that there's a line we don't cross if we don't want to call the heavy hitters of the Protectorate. That's also why we let the Empire have their shows of strength and why we let the Merchants sell their drugs. Because that way we survive!"
And that's when Aisha gets enough. "Spoke like a real pussy there."
Grue is so furious at this point that he doesn't seem to even recognize her voice. "You know nothing about me! And who the fuck are you?"
As a reply, Aisha does something quite peculiar. She strikes a pose bending a knee, placing a hand on her hip, and aiming the other at Grue. "Jo!" The gesture means nothing to me, but Grue seems to recognize it very well.
Have you ever seen a man fall completely apart? Have you ever seen them as their world so utterly crumbles all around them? I can't see Grue's face but, as the saying goes, I can precisely pinpoint the exact moment when his heart gets ripped out of his chest, chewed on, and spat out. I see it in his mannerisms, in his posture, and in the way that his shoulders behave as if they were connected by a twig that suddenly breaks right in the middle.
I suspect that, if he were to remove his helmet now, I'd confuse him with an albino.
A heartbeat passes without him moving a muscle.
Then another, and another more. Taylor is standing incredibly straight, as if not sure what to make of this situation, and even Regent and Bitch are looking at him with what may even be concern. The only notable exception is Tattletale, who's slowly backing away from him. That proves to be a very wise course of action because then Grue moves. He springs like an uncoiling snake aiming right at the thinker. He grabs her by the neck of her costume and smashes her against the closest solid object he can find. A concrete column, in this case.
"Hey!" Taylor yells, reaching at them with her hand, but gets ignored.
"You knew about this!" Grue yells.
Tattletale gulps, doing her best to keep her smile. "Yes, I did. But I have a good explanation!"
Not wanting to be ignored, Aisha steps forwards. "Why don't you try talking to me?"
"This isn't about you!" Grue replies without looking at her.
"I think it is, considering you just threatened to beat me up and drag me to Kaiser. I wonder what he would do to a pretty black girl like me?"
His hand opens and he lets Tattletale go. Somewhere in the background, Regent giggles.
Grue walks up to Aisha, his figure looming over the girl who barely reaches his chest. "Do you even understand the danger you're putting yourself in? Of course you don't. I bet you just saw this as another game."
Aisha doesn't move an inch and returns his stare. I suspect this is a situation the two of them found themselves in many times in the past. "And tell me, do you really believe you're gaining any respect while parroting those stupid rules that only you follow? You go out there, play at being the oh-so-noble thief, but you're nothing more than a buffoon. The only thing you're good at is being the joke for those above you."
I exchange a glance with Taylor. This is getting incredibly uncomfortable.
The only one who seems to be enjoying his time here is Regent who I hear muttering something about this being better than TV.
"I won't be lectured by a child who doesn't even care about her family! Is this where you were? What you have been doing? Do you have any idea how stupid this was?"
"I'm not the one making deals with the Empire and the Merchants!"
Grue throws his arms up in the air. "Of course you wouldn't understand! What I do, I do it for us! To keep us safe!"
"You did a shit job at it! And who asked you to do it? Because I didn't."
"You don't even know what you want! You were always like this! The only thing you ever cared about is getting your next laugh, no matter who you screwed over to get it. You're just like mom!"
Low blow, man.
"At least she doesn't treat me like a criminal or an imbecile!"
"Because half the time she's too high to even remember you exist! I don't understand why you care so much about that woman. The only one who cares about you in this family is me!"
"That's a fucking lie! If you cared you'd have bowed your head and joined the Wards."
That's a good question. From what I know all Grue wanted was to get custody of Aisha. Why did he feel the need to go to Coil for that?
"And accomplish what? They wouldn't have helped people like us."
"Oh, please! They accepted a sociopath like Shadow Stalker. They'd have loved you and your rules. But you like this, don't you? You like playing the gangster and being a bad boy outside the law. That way you don't need to admit that you are a failure just like dad!"
The argument reaches a pause. The siblings just remain there staring daggers at each other without saying a word. It feels like at any moment now one of them will jump at the other's throat.
"Okay, that's enough," Taylor says, stepping between the two. Sadly her good intentions aren't appreciated.
"You." Grue aims an index at her. "You're using her against me."
Now that's a serious threat, one that's completely unfounded.
"Why don't you ask her yourself?"
Aisha turns her back at her brother, making a dismissive gesture with her hand. "I went to them asking to join in. I assure you that if someone is trying to get to you here, it's me."
Grue looks overwhelmed. He aims his frustrations towards the only valid target he can find. "Do you have any other surprises for me?"
Tattletale gives him a nervous smile, pressing the tip of her fingers together. "Well…"
"Of course you do."
"Do you remember how we used to have a boss who paid us for our jobs?"
"You have to be kidding me."
"And how we no longer have one of those? Yeah, our secret boss was Coil."
And that's the last nail in Grue's coffin. There's a pile of fallen debris next to a window. He sits on it, letting his head hang limply in defeat. "The man you helped them unmask. The man you helped them get arrested. You cost us everything, Tattletale. Our reputation is in ruins, no one will trust us ever again, and we no longer have money or a place to live in."
That seems to be the first thing in this entire argument that Bitch finds concerning. "What was that about the money?"
"Everyone, shut up!" Tattletale yells. None of us were shouting but I guess that was a preemptive strike. "First: Grue," she raises a finger, "go fuck yourself. I'll explain why in a moment. Second: we didn't lose any of that. I got the deeds for all our stuff so we're now the owners."
She did? I didn't know.
"That does nothing to fix the mess you got us into."
"Oh, just shut up for five seconds, you ungrateful asshole! I saved your life! I saved your sister's life! What do you think would have happened once Coil found out that she had joined an enemy team? So don't give me this crap when all I did was for the sake of the Undersiders."
"And yet you didn't tell us."
"Because you do amazingly stupid shit when your sister gets involved! Like right here. And I wasn't sure if I could trust Bitch and Regent not to side with Coil." She gestures at her other team members, who don't seem offended at the accusation.
"Eh, that's reasonable." Regent shrugs.
"I only care about my dogs." Bitch adds patting the head of one of her pet monsters.
Her point made, Tattletale continues. "So, I did the best thing I could with the little time I had and got another team to nail Coil to a cross. As we speak he's probably being transported by Dragon to a secure prison. No one but the ones here knows that I betrayed him."
Grue pushes himself up to his feet. "Did you at least steal a lot of money?" Seems that he's feeling better now that he's starting to think about the future.
Tattletale spends a moment searching for the right words. "This is the thing." She probably should have searched for better ones. "Coil didn't actually own any of our buildings. Well, he kind of did, they were just the property of several shell companies that he also owned. He basically rented them to himself as a way to launder money and to throw his enemies off in case they followed that trail. In the short time we got I couldn't transfer the deeds so I ended up buying them with the money I stole."
"How much were you left with?"
"Several hundred thousands." She pulls a paper out of- well, I'm not sure where. Her skintight bodysuit doesn't leave much room for pockets. But somewhere in there, she was keeping a paper that she gave to Grue. "Which reminds me. Here, catch!" From somewhere else, she takes out a small object that she hurls in our direction.
Taylor catches it midair. "What is this?"
"Your cut. Believe it or not, I was planning to give it to you after the attack but, as you may remember, stuff happened. Now come on, give me some credit here!"
Taylor hands it to me. It's a pen drive. I plug it into my armor to find an extensive document detailing the information on a recently opened bank account. One that has…
Three…
Three hundred thousand dollars.
This is more money I've ever seen in my life.
"Is this all you could steal from Coil?" Taylor asks looking over my shoulder at the screen I summon.
Come on, girl! There are places where you would be a king with this amount of money! Assuming you don't waste it all on sports cars and women, of course. Or Japanese figurines, in my case.
"Yes, it is." Tattletale insists. "He wasn't a Scrooge McDuck with a money bin full of gold hidden somewhere. He kept it all in deeds and stocks, much of which I couldn't touch without damaging the evidence against him. I did take all the liquid money, though, and what I'm giving you is exactly half of what I was left with."
"After having already spent it on the Undersiders."
"Hey, give us a break. Unlike you, most of us don't have families to go back to. If I hadn't done what I did, we'd have ended up on the streets."
Taylor takes one last look at my screen. "Fine, I won't hold that against you."
While we were arguing about that, the rest of the Undersiders were doing the same with Regent standing next to Grue reading how much money there were left with.
Bitch remains next to her dogs and I'm reminded that she doesn't know how to read.
"Okay," Grue finally says, putting the paper away. He still looks resentful but at least he's no longer shouting. "If we're careful that should last us at least until the end of the year."
"Speak for yourself!" Regent jokes patting his leader's shoulder. "I want a new TV. And I'm thinking about a full makeover for my apartment."
I've recently come to the realization that being the leader of a cape team is less about being a proper manager and more about being the babysitter of hyperactive toddlers. This does nothing but confirm that belief.
"How many months will this last me?" Bitch grunts from her place.
Tattletale is the one to answer her. "Well, with how much you're investing in food and medicine-"
"Don't need medicine. Bug girl can take care of that."
"Oh, yeah, well-" Tattletale coughs into her fist. "In that case, it can last you at least another year. And if you guys let me manage it and let me do some magic with the stock market-" We all give her a very blank stare. "But maybe we're still not ready for that." She walks to the middle of our two groups acting as if she was the director of this performance. "So, in any case, that's the situation we are in and why I proposed an alliance with Heavy Gear. They are strong, resourceful, have great PR right now, and are far more reasonable than the Empire and Merchants combined. So, what do you guys say? Should we put this up to vote?"
Bitch just shrugs without saying a word, and Regent follows her example. "As long as I have money and few things to worry about, I'm golden."
With those two out of the run, only the leader remains.
"And you, Grue?"
He takes a sonorous deep breath. "I very clearly don't have an option in this." He'll need to learn to live with us if we are to start working together. "Very well, I agree to formalize our alliance, but I want my sister to go back home."
Aisha, who up to this point was standing behind us, walked up to her brother ready to argue but Taylor stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Surprisingly enough, that gets Aisha to back away.
"That's not for me to decide," Taylor says. "We never forced her to do anything so it's up to her if she wants to go back or not."
"One night," Aisha adds. "That's all I'm willing to give you for now. And if you keep dad off my back I'll even go back to Clarendon."
Ha! She's learning. Little does Grue know that she already agreed to go there.
"Very well. I'll do the best I can but I have to ask you to put in the effort too."
"Fine." Aisha's answer is dry but sincere. She walks up to Grue and for a moment there I think they are about to start another argument. They don't. Instead, as if on cue, they hug. "Missed you, bro."
"Yeah. I missed you too."
…
A/N: This chapter was almost impossible to write. Literally. I had problem with internet all week, there was a blackout, and then Friday night a lightning hit the main tower of my internet provider. Things are a bit messy here right now.
There may be some weird formatting because I'm posting from my phone. Will fix it as soon as I can.
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- Pronouns
- Masculine
What a cursed chapter. The weather clearly didn't want you to share Grue's utter defeat. HA!
God, that was great. Grue getting owned like that but also forming the alliance and hopefully friendship. Aisha reading him the riot act was deliciously satisfying. And she is right in a lot of ways. Grue could have been an amazing Ward. As it is, Coil is toast. Heavy Gear is expanding. And the Undersiders will be working with them.
Looking forward to the Ultralisk Parade.
Now the PRT is gunna PRT for a bit. And the Empire is going to be a... bother.
But hey, that's what Ultralisks are for.
As it is, great chapter! Glad to see the circle growing. And I knew Bitch would love Heavy Gear for how they look after the dogs.
Now... time to see what kind of chaos awaits... because school and other chaos are coming. And Leviathan looms closer...
God, that was great. Grue getting owned like that but also forming the alliance and hopefully friendship. Aisha reading him the riot act was deliciously satisfying. And she is right in a lot of ways. Grue could have been an amazing Ward. As it is, Coil is toast. Heavy Gear is expanding. And the Undersiders will be working with them.
Looking forward to the Ultralisk Parade.
Now the PRT is gunna PRT for a bit. And the Empire is going to be a... bother.
But hey, that's what Ultralisks are for.
As it is, great chapter! Glad to see the circle growing. And I knew Bitch would love Heavy Gear for how they look after the dogs.
Now... time to see what kind of chaos awaits... because school and other chaos are coming. And Leviathan looms closer...
SuperQuatz96
Slick Beerus
They should honestly give the wards a bit of a scare, considering the fact that vista nearly painted a target on their backs. Unwritten rules or not, you don't fuck with someone's secret identity
PrognosticHannya
Far Too Enthusiastic About Etymology
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Always love to see a new update for my favorite fic! Can't wait to see more Missy. I have a feeling her frustration with the PRT bureaucracy is going to boil over into her quitting the Wards and joining up with Heavy Gear, especially once her whole "notice me senpai I caught the villain!" thing completely backfires and gets her put on probation for going to a "villain's lair" alone and without backup.
That would just escalate, and the government can escalate harder. For now.
SuperQuatz96
Slick Beerus
that would be the shit man, can't wait to see that happen.
Ridli Scott
(Verified acid sweater mutant)
- Location
- The Periphery
Then I call Catarina and she appears
But she sent Peter to school.
No alien invasions or a naked golden guy flying in the sky?
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The only reason they would know that Vista nearly painted a target on their backs is if they already know Missy is Vista. And how would they know that, if they weren't breaking the rules themselves?
(We know how, but the point is there is nothing they can do to Missy or the Wards without making themselves look like hypocrites.)
SuperQuatz96
Slick Beerus
they would be just returning the favor, and if the prt tries to call them on it they could point out the fact that they were stupid enough to let a ward do it.
- Location
- Barquisimeto
Siblings just know the best stuff to hurt each other, I know it. My own brother and me hurt each other the worst.
Ridli Scott
(Verified acid sweater mutant)
- Location
- The Periphery
Well, he wasn't thinking straight then, and telling her that she has the full membership even without being a cape could make him broke more, not only because she is her sister but because I think there is some kind of 'machismo' against the non-capes in gangs and hero teams. They are minions, henchmen, or support (PRT agents) not fully-fledged members.
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GamingPizza1998
(Verified Pizza) (Verified Cape) (Verified Case53)
- Location
- Earth
I'm with Regent, where's my popcorn
I'm pretty sure people would be climbing over each other to represent Heavy Gear. Techpriest can even outfit some with some 'lowtech' gear to make it offical.
Both these people would probably join if offered better terms.
Maybe heavy gear could create a secondary organisation called light gear that manages the more day to day civilian stuff and frees up heavy gear to respond to the bigger stuff like rival gangs trying to take their territory or building bunkers for endbringers?
Or maybe create both light gear and medium gear, with medium gear acting like a local security force that helps the police but is primarily there to stop the low level grunt incursions that happen. (I doubt that all gang fights have capes in them only the serious ones)
EDIT
Light gear: civilian stuff
Medium gear: low level security
Heavy gear: deals with capes, prepares for S class threats and is in charge of the other two
Or maybe create both light gear and medium gear, with medium gear acting like a local security force that helps the police but is primarily there to stop the low level grunt incursions that happen. (I doubt that all gang fights have capes in them only the serious ones)
EDIT
Light gear: civilian stuff
Medium gear: low level security
Heavy gear: deals with capes, prepares for S class threats and is in charge of the other two
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- Location
- Pacific Rim
Ugh, I hate Grue, he is so full of shit. Rants and raves about how he is the only one with honor and the lines he won't cross...right until they become inconvenient and he starts talking about throwing girls to the Empire...the BLACK guy is threatening this, yea.
- Pronouns
- He
Funner as in 'more fun'.
Okay, I hate that I have to ask given the meme status of the question but... it this a JoJo reference?
Edit: I know you're all giving the Funny reaction, but I am genuinely asking.
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