In Nuclear Fire 8
"Goodbye Peter, see you on Monday!" Missy waves at me as she walks to her bus.
"Goodbye, Missy!" I wave back, trying not to think about the fact that we could end up seeing each other much earlier. Like if, for example, she's one of the Wards to respond to tonight's attack. Or if I get captured and forced into the Wards with her.
No, no, those are the thoughts of a defeated fatalist. Very much me-thoughts but I can't allow myself to be like that during the final hours of my preparation.
"So, Peter, will we be going to the factory today?" Taylor asks me after I arrived home. I very much liked that we started calling our impromptu hideout 'the factory'.
"Sorry, but not now. I want to finish this."
She looks disappointed by my answer. "Okay, I have some homework to do anyway. But tomorrow we'll go out on patrol, right?"
"Of course we will!" Assuming I don't spend the weekend behind bars.
I haven't told her about Arcadia and my plans involving it. I just don't think that's a line she's willing to cross. Yes, we attacked the Wards but that was an honest accident while what I'm about to do is a very premeditated affair.
That only puts even more pressure on me to do it right.
And the first step towards my success is the object I'm building now. It cost me all my remaining scrap, but it'll be the most important piece in my endeavor: an EMP grenade. Once activated it'll fry all the unprotected electronics of the area. It'll destroy a lot of useful material but a lot more will be left unscathed, and I'll be free to roam around without the danger of being recorded.
The authorities will be alerted once Arcadia's security system goes down, but with my teleporter I can get in, steal the useful stuff, and get out in seconds.
Also, if they suspect parahuman involvement I hope that the security guards will be ordered to hold back until Protectorate reinforcements arrive. That should give me even more valuable seconds.
"Peter!"
Taylor's voice makes me jump to my feet. "What?"
"Dinner's ready."
"Dinner?" I look at the clock. Already several hours have passed since the last time I checked. The afternoon has gone in a flash during my tinkering. "Oh."
"You look very distracted. More than usual." Taylor's concern is appreciated but ultimately unneeded.
"Yeah, sorry. Just thinking about what will happen with my powers tomorrow." That technically isn't a lie. As far as Taylor knows, I have given up on collecting the necessary materials for the drone and will be dismantling our equipment. I don't feel like correcting her.
Dinner is, as usual, a somber affair. Now even more noticeable after Taylor's improved mood that Winslow has failed to crush so far. And I just can't shake the feeling that she keeps glancing at me.
I help with the dishes and then go back to my room. With my EMP grenade finished I have nothing else to do but wait, and wait, and wait a bit more.
At some point I fall asleep but that's what alarm clocks were made for. It's midnight, I'm still tired, but the sudden influx of adrenaline pushed it away. I ready my visor and check around the house. Danny's asleep and Taylor… is too. Perfect!
I change clothes, tie the Blink Band around my waist, equip the Blade, and teleport away.
My second nocturnal trip around the city isn't anything at all like the one we had with Taylor almost a week ago. That time we went in zig-zag around the city without a clear destination in mind, stopping every so many blocks to check for trouble or criminals to fight.
This time I have a very clear destination in mind and an objective to fulfill.
Arcadia… is most definitely not Clarendon. And I'm absolutely sure it isn't Winslow either. Seriously, no school has any right to be this pretty. It's four stories high, and with an auditorium and gym to boot. The cafeteria's on the southern side, and I can see it because of the massive glass panels that lead to the gardens outside. There's a parking lot for cars and another one for bicycles, with no graffiti or litter ruining the view.
Damn, I wouldn't mind attending classes here.
Another thing that I see, and that's far more important for my problem at hand, are the security guards stationed in and outside the place. With a glance I count eight, three in each of the two main entrances and another two patrolling the place, but my visor reveals several more inside. Also cameras. Lots and lots of cameras.
The good thing is that Arcadia's surrounded by tall buildings, and so I have several places to use as watchpoints while I scout the place.
This operation should have needed several days of scouting just to get a proper feeling for the guards' patrol routes and schedules. I'd have felt more comfortable if I had done this earlier, but that's what the grenade is for: a battering ram that will crack Arcadia open like an eggshell.
Now, where's the science fair? In the gym. What are the defenses of the gym? Three cameras and two security guards.
I can also see the computer lab on the second floor but I doubt I'll have time to hit both places at the same time. Even more so considering that dismantling the computers will take me several minutes each.
As sad as it is, the lab isn't an option.
Ok, I know what to do.
First I'll need to cause a distraction somewhere else in the building to attract the guards' attention. There's a blind spot on the third floor next to a fire hydrant. I'll teleport in, open the hydrant, and then teleport out. An EMP grenade later I'll move in for the kill.
Yes, I like how that sounds.
My visor indicates it's 2 AM. I have spent the last hour just looking at the place but now I'm ready for it.
I can win! I feel great! I can do this!
My little chant done, I clench my fists, set the beacon for my teleporter, and…
And suddenly I find myself face down as someone tackles me to the ground.
Who? How? When?
I trash around but I can't break free of their grip.
A villain? A hero? Maybe Aegis? No, Glory Girl! It has to be Glory Girl!
I try to activate the blade but discover it's no longer attached to my wrist. How did that happen? How did they know it was there?
And then I see a very familiar visor staring down at me. Familiar because I built it.
"T-Ladybug?"
"What.The fuck. Do you think you're doing?" Taylor's tone sends a chill down my spine. She's most definitely not happy with me.
"W-what does it look like?"
"It looks to me like you're about to rob Arcadia."
"Yeah, it is just what it looks like."
She steps out of my chest, grabs me by the neck of my jacket, and pulls me into a seated position. "Can you explain to me what crossed through your head when you decided to come here?"
At least that's a question I can answer. "The science fair."
"The what?!"
"The science fair. I was expecting to find a lot of useful material to farm." She just remains there staring down at me, so I use the chance to ask a question of my own. "And, mhh, how did you find me?"
She pulls her visor out a bit to rub her eyes. "My bugs woke me up when you teleported out of the house." Okay, that sounds amazingly useful. "Then I dusted off my bicycle and followed you here." She throws a thumb over her shoulder aiming at the fire escape.
Bicycle? I didn't know she owned one of those. "But how did you know I was here? I'm sure I was moving faster than any bicycle." To answer my question, she presses the side of her visor. Mine immediately starts beeping, showing an arrow pointing at where Taylor's is. "Oh. I had totally forgotten I had installed that function."
She raises her hands as if fighting against herself to not strangle me. "Why would you do this? Why would you rob Arcadia?"
For the first time since arriving here, I feel the age people believe I have. "Because I need to."
"No, you don't!"
"I do! And why do you care? Why are you trying to stop me?" I talk back, not bothering to moderate my volume. "Taylor, they never did anything for you, they don't even know you exist. You owe them nothing!"
"I care because this is Arcadia! This is the only fucking place in this city that's worth a damn!"
Is she being serious? Is she being this self-righteously stupid? "Oh, please, it can't be as good as you imagine."
"Of course it can't! I already know that, do you think I'm stupid?" Her reaction makes me flinch. "Nothing in my life has ever gone right, so why would Arcadia be any different? But I want to believe that there's a better place! I want to believe that, maybe, there's a place where I could be happy. That's one of the few things that keeps me going every day!"
I… shit. "I didn't know you felt that way."
"Of course you didn't. You never asked!"
Now I feel like I screwed up. "Yeah, that-"
"So why didn't you tell me about this?"
"Because it's a crime." I answer with a shrug. "I thought you'd try to stop me."
"Of course I'd try to stop you because what you're doing is stupid!"
"Well, it was the easiest way I saw to get the resources I needed."
Taylor stands up and walks back and forth before returning to me. "How can you be this smart but so, so stupid?!"
In her defense, that isn't the first time someone has asked me that. "I like to consider that as one of my charming quirks."
"Living with you will be an experience." She pinches the bridge of her nose and under her breath I can swear I hear her counting up to ten. "Okay, what do you need? Can't you get it somewhere else?"
I push myself to my feet. Is she trying to help me? "I thought about assaulting an electronics store but I assumed their security would be higher."
"And you assumed that a school wouldn't have that much security because…?"
"Because it's a school, what kind of monster attacks one?"
I can only imagine the face she's giving me underneath her mask. "Of course, of course. But why Arcadia?"
"Because of the Science Fair as I said. They have a lot of different stuff. I'd be like a child in a candy store there!"
"And you can't find it somewhere else? Like…" She takes a step back and clenched her fists as if not sure what to say. "Like Winslow?"
I have to do a double-take at that. She's talking about attacking her High School. That hellhole of a place that should have been razed to the ground years ago.
Why didn't I think about that?! I'm a goddamn moron!
"I-"
"They have a computer lab! Some thirty computers in there, and the principal's office has an a/c unit and a better computer than anything we have in the lab."
"We-"
"S-so, if I take you to Winslow, can I convince you to not rob Arcadia?"
I take a moment to process everything she just said. "Yes, yes you can."
With a swipe of the blade, I cut open Winslow's back door, together with the chain that binds it.
We are in.
There's no need for scouting or complicated plans here. No security guards patrol these corridors, with only one at the entrance. Security cameras are almost nonexistent too, with some few real ones and many decoys.
What there is plenty of, is litter that the janitor hasn't cleaned yet, and a lot of graffiti spread over the walls. There are also broken locks, broken windows, and chipped paint.
"This is not a school, this is a bloody spittoon!" I don't bother hiding my voice as there's nothing, and no one, to hear us there.
"Don't remind me." Taylor hugs herself and glances over her shoulder as if expecting someone to jump out of the shadows. "These hallways look so big when there's no one in them."
"Try to imagine how they look to me." Something that my smaller size doesn't help with. "Now, where to?" I can use the visor to find my way to the lab but letting Taylor lead me sounds like the polite thing to do.
"Over here."
It's on the second floor where we find our objective.
"Oh, this is nice." As she said, there are some thirty computers neatly arranged in lines of fifteen. It would be impossible for us to take that many computers with us back home, but I don't need the entire things. "Help me break them open. I only need the electronics, so take out the motherboards and ignore the rest."
She wasn't kidding, those computers are old but they will fulfill their purpose as raw materials.
"Shit!" Taylor's curse is accompanied by the sound of a cracking motherboard. "Sorry about that."
I look at what she just did, and an idea comes to my brain. The main thing is to have fun, isn't it? I check my visor and… oh, look at that, Winslow's sole security guard is across the street buying cigarettes at a 24/7 store. What a tragedy. "Don't worry about it, I'll recycle it anywise so don't be afraid to be a little rough." I pull another component, tearing the wires out, and as I do so I very purposely hit a monitor with the back of my arm. It hits the floor with a bang of broken glass. "Oops." I tell her with a smile.
I can't see her face, but I know that underneath the balaclava she's smiling too.
"Oh, Tech-Priest, how clumsy of you." She grabs one of the towers, drops it against the ground, and with a foot pressed against it she tears the wires out. "That's how you do it."
We hurl the keyboards across the room, smash computers opened with chairs, and even nail the mouses into the styrofoam ceiling.
We laugh as we trash the place, leaving pieces scattered all over the room. An hour later we are done, with our bags full of useful components and time to spare.
"Hey, Ladybug."
"Yes?"
"Want to go check if your headmistress has anything interesting?"
I can see her smiling underneath her mask.
One of the few cameras that does work is the one that leads to Blackwell's office, no surprise there, but the most worrisome thing is the proximity sensor. It's an older, cheaper model that will send an alarm to the authorities if activated. Same if I cut the power because it has a back-up battery.
Good thing that the EMP grenade will burn both the camera, the sensor, and the battery in one fell swoop, meaning that no signal will escape Winslow.
"Three, two, one." I make the countdown and the device triggers. It doesn't explode like a conventional grenade but unfolds as it emitted the pulse. Very useful for stealth operations. "Okay, let's go in." I also made a small field modification to reduce its radio of effect to just a couple meters, meaning that the only affected room is Blackwell's.
"Ugh, what's that smell?"
"Burnt plastic, Ladybug." After opening the door I see that the main server has been toasted. I also see several shelves with files and a desk where Blackwell's personal computer rests. Thankfully it has been spared due to being unplugged.
"I never liked this place."
"You were dragged here often?"
"At the start to discuss my conduct. Then I stopped complaining." There's a slight temblor in her voice, as if she's holding her anger back. I hear a cracking sound and see that the files and books are being covered in insects. "Why did no one believe me?"
That only cements my decision of what to do with this place, and I rush out of the office. "Follow me."
"What about the AC?"
"Ignore it."
"O-okay."
Our backpacks are full, and so are our pockets. This had been a great raid, amazing in fact, and these materials will last me a long while.
But there's one last thing to be done.
With her longer legs, Taylor has no trouble catching up to me as we go into the Gym. "Why did we come here? There are no computers here."
"I'm not here to collect materials, Ladybug."
On the back, there's a room with two important things: one is the storage full of wooden equipment, and the other is the pump station that controls Winslow's fire system. I'm kind of surprised that Winslow has one of those.
The Psi Blade makes short work of the engine, splitting it in half.
"What was that for?" Taylor takes a step back in surprise.
"To help me burn this place down."
She flinches at that. We had a lot of fun ruining the place, but burning it might be too much for her. "What?"
"Yes. This place is a hellhole. It's hurting you, and will only keep hurting you until you're done with it. I don't want you to go back here."
"I know that but-" She clutches her sides. "But that's a step too far."
Ok, I need to put my foot down. She needs to hear some hard truths. It will hurt but it's for her own good. "Ladybug, just once in your life, stop being the victim!" My words make her recoil. I have delivered a good punch and now I need to keep going. "It feels good, doesn't it? It makes you feel righteous, superior to your bullies, and it gives you the right to complain." I should know. I spent years acting like that. "Well, guess what? It doesn't fucking work like that! It's a drug, a placebo! Complaining does nothing and is just an excuse for you to avoid taking any action! If you are gonna be like that you might as well have stayed in that locker!" My words are violently cut short as I see stars, my surroundings spinning due to the fist that Taylor just delivered to my jaw.
"You fucking asshole!" She cries out.
I straighten up, checking if there's anything broken. "Now that, that's what I wanted you to do."
She sniffs, folding her arms over her chest. "What you said was terrible."
"But you didn't just take it and instead forced me to shut up."
"It doesn't work! Guess what, Sophia is stronger than me!" That's the first time she names one of them. "I tried that once. She just pushed me into the floor and didn't stop hitting until I gave up!"
That must have sucked, sure, but she still doesn't see what I was trying to tell her. "Ladybug, you don't fight your enemies where they are stronger. You are taller and bigger than me, so you could outfight me, but against your trio? You fight them in a field where you are the stronger one."
She clutches the side of her head. "You're talking about using my powers again."
"Yes. Or mine." That reminds me. "That was why you brought me here, didn't you? Why did you point me to Winslow if you didn't want me to do something stupid about it?"
She averts her eyes. "I pointed you at Winslow because I didn't want you attacking Arcadia."
"That's a lie and you know it. If you wanted that you could have pointed me towards Immaculata or Clarendon. Face it, you want this place gone, and don't want to accept that you're using me to get rid of it."
"I..." She keeps glancing between me and the destroyed engine.
Ok, ok. I am making progress. "Look, the system is against you, you won't win inside it. The only way you
can win is by fighting on your own terms."
"This is not fighting! This is running away!"
Oh, for the love of me! How can she be this stubborn? "And what will staying here and getting beaten up every day accomplish?" I push back. "All that you are getting right now is making yourself miserable because you are too bullheaded to admit that you are in pain! Just end it! End the pain already!"
Taylor looks at me as if about to say something. And then she starts chuckling, and that chuckle turns into a laugh. "We'll both end in prison before the year is over, won't we?"
Her laugh proves contagious. "Only if we fail."
She keeps staring at me for what feels like an eternity. "Fuck it!" She throws her arms up in the air. "We might have left too much evidence here anyway. But give me the blade, I'll do it."
There isn't anything else to say after that. We walk to the storage room, and with the edge of the plasma blade, Taylor sets one of the wooden crates on fire.
We teleport to a roof across the street and don't go back home until we see the flames spreading into the main building.
Next morning we wake up to the news that Winslow has burnt to the ground.
