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A Worm Fanfic
The Taste of Peaches
By: Grounders10
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13
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Emma was coming.
Taylor stared at the clock on the living room wall over the edge of the couch. Her tails hung limply over the far end of the couch. Her sleep the night before had been poor after her dad's news. What else was she supposed to do after hearing that her own personal betrayer was coming. Even her success the night before with making a working portal was being overshadowed by the feeling of dread she was experiencing. Sure she was trying to simply ignore it all, but it wasn't working.
It was Emma, and she was coming to visit.
She buried her face in the throw pillow she was clutching and groaned. Off to her side she could hear Inari eating her way through a plate of bacon. Her dad had given up on not feeding her bacon when they had it. If they failed to give the fox her own plate then she inevitably ate half the bacon right off both of their plates.
"You know, you're being rather overdramatic," Inari said as Taylor continued watching the clock tick away. It wouldn't be much longer before the Barneses arrived and every second that ticked by was just one more second less before everything exploded.
"No I'm not," she denied absently. Had she even told Inari about Emma? Something told her no.
Inari tossed back the last of her bacon then hopped up onto the couch. She landed lightly on Taylor's back and bent down by her ears. "Come on~ Tell your Magical Spirit Guide Inari-chan~ I can help with whatever is ailing you~"
Taylor snorted. "I thought you'd stopped doing that?" she asked as she tried to tune out the annoying lilt of her mentor.
Paws pushed against the back of her head. "Tell me~"
"No."
The paws started massaging her ears and she groaned at the feeling. "Please?" the fox asked once again.
Inari let out a squawk as Taylor rolled over, pinning the fox to the couch beneath her. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment as Inari squeaked. "Fine, but not here," she finally said as she rolled off the couch. She brushed her hair back over her shoulders and adjusted her blouse and skirt. Her ears twitched and flickered about as she searched for sounds of her dad. It sounded like he was downstairs. Probably trying to dig out some of the barbeque accessories.
"Come on," she said as she walked out of the room, pointedly ignoring the overdramatic death gasps of Inari. An action vindicated a moment later when Inari popped up beside her on the stairs. She hadn't thought that rolling onto her mentor would do much. She wasn't fat after all.
"So serious now," Inari observed quietly as they walked up the stairs.
"It's… Complicated," she replied, "And I'm trying to keep dad from finding out for now."
"Finding out about what?" She left the question unanswered as she shuffled Inari into her bedroom and flopped forward onto the bed in a pile of tails. She stared at the wall. Where did she even start?
"Taylor?" Inari hopped up on the bed in front of her and leaned down.
"Yeah?"
"What happened?" Inari asked softly.
"... I don't really know," she admitted before rolling onto her side so she could stare at the door. She really didn't need her dad to hear this. "Emma and I… We were like sisters for years. Our parents were close friends and we spent tons of time together all the time. We did everything together we could, even when one of us wasn't too fond of it." Like her and shopping, or Emma and some of Taylor's less… thought out adventuring ideas. That bicycle could have totally floated if they'd used more pool floaties.
Inari nuzzled the side of her face before curling up beside her head. "What changed?"
"I don't know," Taylor replied, "It's… My mother died the year before last and I was… We were all handling it terribly. Dad still hasn't recovered." She hadn't recovered fully either. She could already feel a few tears gathering.
"Losing family is never easy, Taylor. I've lost enough to know that," Inari replied quietly. Taylor pulled the fox into a hug and lay there with her head on Inari.
"Emma was the one who helped me back up," Taylor said just as softly, "I spent most of those few months in crying jags or just sulking in the corner. She never let me stay there though, and eventually I was starting to feel… Betterish I guess. Enough that when dad suggested a summer camp I was all for it. Went away to summer camp, came back and…"
"And?" Inari prodded with a gentle tone once it became clear that she wasn't going to finish the thought.
"I don't know," she said. That was the key, the important bit. She didn't know. She hadn't a clue what had happened. "I came back and found Emma with a new haircut, and Sophia, though I didn't know her name yet, at Emma's house. I complimented her haircut and…" She could picture that moment when
something she had never seen before on Emma's face appeared and she was promptly tossed out of the house.
"And she tossed me out," she said, "I didn't hear from her again, even when I called, for the rest of the summer. When class started at Winslow, though? She was mean. Biting comments, the occasional push, stealing my homework, using everything I'd ever told her in confidence." She squeezed Inari to her chest as the tears came properly. "I don't know what happened! She just turned mean! And cruel! And I swear if she was behind what happened to my mother's flute I'll-"
A guttural snarl shook the wall hangings of the room and she started in shock as she realized it was coming from her.
"Tay?" a squished sounding Inari said as the fox pressed both front paws against her chest, "Mind, ah, letting up a little?" A blush formed instantly.
"Sorry," she let Inari go and the fox rolled away to flop on her back by the edge of the bed taking large gulps of air.
"Ow my ribs," the former fox goddess whimpered, causing Taylor to wince.
"Sorry."
Inari waved a paw at her. "Don't be. Young Goddesses are emotional. It happens at times, just…. Try to control your strength next time? Or hug a boulder or something. Ow."
Taylor winced. "I'm really, really sorry. I just…"
"Lost your temper a bit. I know, I ow," Inari stuck her tongue out at Taylor who sighed.
"Bad pun. I'm not sorry anymore."
"Fine, be that way," Inari slowly rolled over, "Ow, ow. That'll bruise. You're young, Taylor. In a way I'm happy to see a little anger from you. I was starting to think you didn't feel it."
Taylor rolled onto her back. A new habit for her, but lying on her front had gotten less comfortable recently. "... I just… at this point I just want to know why," she said softly as she stared up at her bedroom's ceiling. "We went from best friends to enemies so fast I feel like my head is still spinning." It had been a year from hell and she was only just starting to feel a little better. More… more like herself if she was trying to be honest. Like the her that had gone to summer camp, which was a scary thought in and of itself.
Inari nudged Taylor's cheek with her nose. "Oi!" she protested weakly as Inari sat down properly next to her.
"You haven't told your father?" Inari asked. She shook her head. "Why not?"
She took a deep breath. "Before it was because I didn't want to burden him and… well he was never there anyways," she admitted, "Now its… Alan is his best friend. How badly do you think dad would react to his best friend's daughter bullying his daughter especially after everything?"
"... I have no idea," Inari admitted after a long moment.
"We'd be lucky to not make the evening news," Taylor deadpanned. Her father had a temper and while it was definitely subdued compared to before, it was still there lurking. She had seen it a few times over the last year over one thing or another to do with the city and the Union.
"That hasn't been the impression I've gotten from him," Inari said with a frown.
"My dad has a very long fuse, but its still there," she replied, closing her eyes with a sigh, "He's so happy to be doing this. I haven't seen him this excited and busy about something in… Years. Since the last time we did something big like this. I don't want to ruin that, Inari."
"You wouldn't be ruining it, Taylor. Emma would," her mentor counseled.
She shook her head, her ears going flat. "No, it would be me. If Emma does something, that's on her, but I'm not going to be the one to ruin my dad's day," she said firmly, "Even if that means I have to pretend I'm getting on fine with Emma."
"... Not the best idea," Inari cautioned.
"There's plenty of room, plus Vicky is coming over. We need to talk about some stuff anyways," Taylor said, "So maybe I'll drag her up here-"
"And talk about things while a girl who hates you for some unknowable reason is in the house? You're the one who doesn't want the god-" Inari paused as Taylor glanced her way pointedly.
"And I'll take her to the Celestial plane," she finished.
"... That might work," Inari allowed after a moment's thought, "But you'll have to put up with Emma until Victoria gets here."
"Easy enough, right?" Taylor said with a twitchy smile. The way Inari just stared flatly at her was enough to confirm that she wasn't doing a good job hiding it. Her smile fell. "Not easy."
"Not easy," Inari confirmed.
"Worth the attempt, though," Taylor muttered. She would not wreck her dad's first party in years over a spat with her former friend. She would make damned sure that if anything happened, Emma would be the one under the bus.
"You are a goddess at least, but I caution you nonetheless," Inari said, "Because social engineering is one of the things mankind is just as good at as the gods. A sharp tongue can get you quite far."
'Not really reassuring me, Inari," Taylor groaned as she rolled onto her side again, facing the door once more.
"I'm not trying to," came the reply.
"I noticed."
"TAYLOR!" They both jumped as their ears picked up her dad's voice as he yelled up the stairs, "EMMA'S HERE!" She felt her heart leap into her throat and she looked at Inari as panic surged through her. The fox patted her gently on the forehead.
"You've got this. Remember, you've learned how to deal with worse," Inari said.
"... I'd rather debut again," she muttered as she rolled into a sitting position.
"You are in a way," the fox replied.
"TAYLOR!"
"COMING!" she shouted back. Her shelves shook a little and Inari rubbed her ears.
"Ow."
"Shush," Taylor replied as she stood up and checked herself in the mirror. A beautiful, if very nervous, girl looked back at her. Her ears twitched as she tried to give herself a reassuring smile. It wasn't working very well. "Let's get going," she said finally as she straightened her skirt and headed out of the room. She may as well get it over with.
As she walked she tried to pull on the last few days of training, but it was a mostly futile effort. This was Emma. Emma. She was so nervous that she paused at the top of the stairs and stared down it for a good ten seconds before Inari tapped her on the leg.
"Go on. I'm right here," the fox said.
"Right," she sighed and started down the stairs. The walk down felt like it took forever and the bottom of the staircase was empty when she arrived. Familiar voices, those of her dad, Alan, and Zoe emanated from the kitchen. Chatting about life it seemed. With no other clues she walked into the kitchen, her eyes darting about for Emma.
"Hello everyone," she said as she walked in, her voice only slightly cracking as the adults turned in their seats at the table.
The ginger woman at the table started to rise, "Taylor, you're-"
"TAYLOR!" The shout came from the left and before more than her ear could turn to face the source someone cannonballed into her side. Her flight kicked in instinctually as she started to tip over. Her arms closed around the person at the same time, pulling them close involuntarily as she tried to keep them both upright. She stared at the mass of red hair buried in her chest. "Mhmph," went Emma as Taylor turned red.
"Emma," Zoe said warningly. The mass of hair shifted and Emma's face emerged from where Taylor had accidentally stuffed her.
"Beh. Nice to see you again Taylor," her older friend said with wide eyes and a wild smile. A very wild smile.
"Hey Emma," she said carefully, freezing up just a little as the other girl squeezed her tighter, incidentally almost putting her face right back into Taylor's chest.
"Hell of a growth spurt," Emma said as she finally let go and took a swaying step back, "Great to see you again."
Taylor eyed the other girl cautiously as the redhead appraised her. There was something off about Emma. Different from high school, and very different from before last summer. Something… She couldn't put her finger on it exactly, but she had never seen Emma like this. Eyes a bit wide, grin a bit too wide, a twitch in her left eyebrow, and a subtle sway to her hips as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. She looked unhinged to Taylor's eyes.
The hell was going on?
"Maybe if you want an answer you shouldn't tackle hug someone the moment you see them again, dear?" Zoe said, breaking Taylor out of her thoughts. She shook her head.
"Sorry, Miss Barnes," she said apologetically as she let herself float back to the ground, "I was- um…"
"Sorry 'bout the hug Tay," Emma sang with that grin. That grin. It was like she was trying to smile at Taylor like she'd used to do for years, but couldn't remember how it went. Or something. All Taylor knew was that it was creeping her out.
What wasn't, was the fact that Emma was either setting up something big, or she was trying to play as though things hadn't changed. Why, she wasn't sure, but she was going to get it out of her later.
"It's fine," she said, giving a smile that didn't reach her eyes to the other girl. She'd play along for now. For her dad, at least, and… Well, something was off here. Something was very off with Emma.
"Here you go Emma," Taylor looked over as her dad slid a large mixing bowl of potato chips and a bowl of dip across the kitchen table. It was stopped from sliding off by a negligent hand from Alan. "Snacks as you asked. You girls have fun, alright?"
"We will~" Emma sang as she grabbed the snacks and walked backwards out of the kitchen with that damned grin. She stepped easily over Inari. "C'mon Tay, TV's calling."
With the care one would normally take around a wild animal, Taylor followed, calling out a hurried greeting to Zoe and Alan as she followed. Her ears picked up the conversation as she walked away.
"God, she looked so spooked Danny," Alan said in an undertone, "How bad have things been that a hug does that?"
"I don't know. I really don't know, but… I shouldn't have stopped holding these parties, Alan. We can only hope this'll help," her dad replied.
She snorted. It hadn't been the hug, though having Emma literally bury her face in her chest had been an odd experience, it had been the smile. Still was the smile. That Emma was still wearing as she set the mixing bowl down on the coffee table before flopping onto the couch. She paused, frowned, and wiggled on the seat.
"Tay, something's wrong with the cushions," Emma said.
"That's probably the salt. We're still trying to get it out of the cushions," she replied as she stopped in front of the other girl with her arms crossed under her bust. "Deal with it."
"Salt water?" Emma sounded confused, "Why would- oh, ooooh, power accident?" Her tone was innocent, as were her eyes, but Taylor just frowned at her.
"C'mon Tay," she pouted, patting the seat next to her, "Let's watch TV."
Inari hopped up on the coffee table. "You've been awfully familiar given everything that's happened," she observed. The redhead stiffened in her seat.
"I- W-well, um…" Emma's eyes dropped and to Taylor's confusion they started darting about the floor like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. She looked up at Taylor a moment later and opened her arms like she was trying to hug Taylor from across the room, a smile that could only be called brittle on her lips. "Come and sit Tay? Please?"
Taylor raised an eyebrow. Emma never used please if she could help it. It had always been that way. She stared the other girl in the face. Emma's hands started beckoning her while remaining spread. There was a manic look on the other girl's face Taylor had never seen on Emma's face, yet something about it seemed to be familiar. She glanced Inari's way and the fox was watching Emma with her head tilted to the side and her tail stopped. Her eyes went back to Emma's.
A few moments passed as Emma's gesturing began a bit more frantic. That was when it clicked. She hadn't seen this expression on Emma's face before, but she had felt it before on her own. When she was so sad after her mother's death that she had felt like she was drowning in her own emotions.
Despite her anger, despite the fact that she should have said to hell with the entire thing and told her former friend exactly where she could shove the pity me act, she walked forward and dropped into the seat next to Emma. The moment she had Emma latched onto her, that wild smile reappearing once more on her face. The suddenness of the move knocked Taylor over and she landed with an 'oomph' with her face in the throw pillow.
She pushed herself into a more upright position. "Emma!"
"Sorry!" Emma apologized, bringing Taylor up short. She apologized. She hadn't done that in over a year. Taylor twisted in her seat to look at the other girl who was lying flopped across Taylor's tails with a fascinated look in her eyes. "Wow, these are soft," Emma said.
Her anger hadn't dissipated, nor had the feelings of betrayal, but for the first time in nearly a year Taylor felt something other than outrage towards her old friend. She felt worry. There was something broken in the girl currently combing, quite gently, through her tails.
She looked to Inari who simply stared back, the fox's eyes wide and darting back and forth from Taylor to Emma and back again. 'Well?' she mouthed to the former goddess. Inari hopped off her seat and quickly hopped up onto the armrest of the couch where she leaned over and practically stuck her head into Taylor's left ear.
"She doesn't seem to be… quite stable, if you ask me," The former goddess said, "Be careful, be gentle. I have no idea what she'll do."
"I noticed," she breathed softly enough that only someone with enhanced hearing could pick it up. Emma was… something had changed since the school year.
"Sooo," Emma drawled as Taylor sat up a bit more so she could lean on the armrest better, "Watcha watch these days?" These words were said as Emma pulled herself over so she could lean against Taylor before retrieving the bowl of chips and their dip.
"... Anything really," she admitted as she watched Emma who just nodded.
"Like before~" she said, "So let's watch… anything!" she clapped her hands and handed Taylor the bowls. Taylor took them and watched as the other girl went searching for the remote.
There was something definitely wrong here, but Taylor wasn't sure what she could possibly do to figure it out. For now, she'd play nice, and play along if Emma was just messing with her, though the odds of that seemed to be dropping with every passing second. Emma's pride had never allowed her to play the fool, even for the teachers.
"Here it is!" Emma held up the remote above her head like it was Excalibur and quickly dogpiled onto Taylor as she flipped the TV on. Emma practically draped herself over Taylor as she took a few chips from the bowl in her lap and dipped them in the french onion dip. On the TV that burger guy from a few days before came on talking about a greasy double cheeseburger with extra extra onions.
It was surreal, like some bizarre illusion, but Taylor could feel and sense the girl draped over her right side with all her senses. This was real, and somehow that worried Taylor more than she had been all day.
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She was crazy. There was nothing else for it. She had lost her mind. All of her experience and time on patrol told her to not dive headlong into territory belonging to the enemy. It was why she hadn't made a run at Kaiser yet. Too much around him. Too much to threaten her, and she knew too little about him.
And yet…
And yet Sophia was walking straight into something that was probably more dangerous than storming into an E88 storehouse.
She stood outside the Hebert residence on the sidewalk where her mother had left her ten minutes before, just staring at the building. The Barnes car in the driveway made it clear this was the right house. She could just call Emma, beg off, claim something came up and not have to walk into the den of the wonder fox and her allies in New Wave.
But that would make her a coward, and she wasn't a coward.
So there she was, standing outside a house she had never entered, on a street she'd never heard of, wearing jeans and a t-shirt under a slightly too warm jacket on a sunny summer Saturday afternoon. It left her questioning her sanity just a little. She didn't need to be near Miss thunder cloud, but...
"God damn it," Sophia sighed, "why did I have to go and make friends with- Damn it." Her feet started moving without her own input as she walked up the driveway and the steps to the door. Rata-tap-tap, she went on the door, ignoring the bell in a vain attempt to be ignored. Maybe if no one answered the door she could-
The door popped open and Mr. Barnes stuck his head out. "Ah, Sophia, you're here," he said with a grin, "Come on in."
Resigned to the fate she'd agreed to, she stepped into the house as he stepped aside. The house wasn't too bad inside. Slightly dated wallpaper and fuzzy carpets, but it had a cozy feel that was immediately recognizable even as Mr. Barnes directed her on where to put her coat and shoes.
"The girls are in the living room, that way, if you want to go join them," Mr. Barnes said, waving down a short hallway from which the sound of a TV could be heard.
"Thanks," she said, nodding to him before walking down the hallway. She paused in the doorway of the room beyond and peered in. The sight beyond was… Calling it not what she expected was putting it mildly.
Sprawled out on the couch across from the TV was the girl of the hour with a bowl in her lap… and Emma draped over her side like moss on a rock while being wrapped in several black tails. Emma was chattering about the show on TV while the foxgirl nodded along.
"What the hell…?" Sophia muttered. A fox ear swivelled to point her way and she froze as the rest of Taylor's head turned her way. Of course she could hear that, because of course the fox ears weren't just for show. She shouldn't have needed an announcement to be able to make that assessment.
"What are you doing here?" Taylor asked, her tone making it clear that it wasn't a question so much as a demand. Emma rolled over.
"Oh, hiya Soooophia~" Emma waved and grinned at her with that same strange smile from the day before, only it seemed looser somehow. Less rigid and possibly more nuts.
"Hey, uh, I'm her 'plus one'. Mr. Barnes said it was fine," she said as her eyes shifted back to the foxgirl who was looking at her with a focus more commonly reserved for those with the ability to turn others into piles of ash just by staring at them. It was an unwelcome realization that she couldn't exactly say that Taylor wasn't in that category of people.
"Chips?" Emma took the bowl from Taylor's lap and held it out eagerly towards Sophia. It was empty except for a few crumbs in the bottom. Emma stopped and looked down. "Out, darn it. Back in a sec girls. Going to get more," she declared, hopping off of Taylor and hurrying out of the room through another archway.
Sophia watched her go with incredulous eyes. What the hell was going on? Was Taylor actually a secret master as well? Was that why Emma was… what even was that? Not a snarky comment, not an insult, nothing, just… Cheerfulness and a very strange expression she still couldn't place.
A sudden voice so close to her suddenly spoke with a tone of demand. "What happened?" Sophia's head snapped around and her heart promptly leaped into her throat as she realized that Taylor was
right there, not even a foot from her. This close, the differences were as clear as day. The girl she had known was still there in the height and the details of her face, but that was it. The Taylor she knew was a nervous reclusive of a girl who ate her lunch in stairwells or bathrooms, who had a permanent hunch as she slouched her way from class to class, who barely needed a few words to drive to the edge of tears or a small push to remind her who was in charge.
This Taylor was, as much as Sophia hated to admit it, basically a goddess. From her legs, to her hips, her waist and her chest, and especially her face, she was everything a teenage girl wanted to look like. Even her inhuman features were radiant with silky looking fur and perfect shape. And all of that didn't include the visible change in attitude the girl had suffered. She didn't slouch like the girl from before did and it made a tremendous difference. She had always been taller than Sophia, but the slouching had made it feel the other way at times. Now she couldn't forget if she wanted to. Taylor loomed over her, her several inches on Sophia augmented by her long fox ears that added yet more inches to the difference. It was enough that she seemed to fill the air above Sophia like she had only experienced around some of Winslow's basketball players. It was an effect worsened by the widespread tails that fanned out to either side of the parahuman foxgirl. Like a peacock, only capable of casually ripping steel apart.
"That's what I'd like to know," Sophia said, putting forward her bravest face. It was, apparently, the wrong thing to say as Taylor took a long step forward, and why hadn't she realized just how long those legs were before? Despite herself, Sophia took a step back, then another as Taylor followed, and then another, at which point her back hit the wall, and more importantly hit a light switch. Tails closed off her left and right as Taylor rested a hand on the wall beside her and leaned in. She was trapped in the very position she'd put Taylor into more than a few times.
As Taylor leaned in her mouth opened in a snarl. Was it just Sophia's brain playing tricks on her, or did the other girl's canine's look just a bit big? "I don't care about now," she hissed, "You were there when I got back from summer camp last year. She was different then, and now she's different now. You saw her eyes, something's broken. Something broke last year and now its broken again, hasn't it? What. Did. You. Do?"
By that point the snarling foxgirl was barely an inch from Sophia's face. Back in Winslow she'd have already punched Taylor for getting uppity, but that was then. Despite her very real fear, she snarled back. "I saved her fucking life bitch." Taylor paused, her face shifting through several levels of disbelief before settling in a scowl. At the very least the tails on either side drooped just a little as Taylor rocked back onto her feet and out of Sophia's face.
"Explain." A fox ear twitched to the side and the tails dropped as Taylor stepped back. "Later," the foxgirl said as she turned in time for Emma to return, humming something that sounded vaguely familiar to Sophia, but just the sight of Emma humming was strange enough. Emma never hummed, ever.
"Everything good?" Emma said brightly. In her right hand was the same mixing bowl as before, now filled with tortilla chips. In her left was a large bowl of what appeared to be spinach dip.
"We're doing great," Sophia said sarcastically. Oh yes, this was going exactly as she'd expected it to go. No, wait, that was a lie. This was actually going better than she'd expected. She'd expected to be put through a wall, or electrocuted, or turned into a human ice sculpture, something other than merely threatened.
"Great! Come on, I've got chips, oh Tay mind grabbing the Cheetos? Thaaaanks~" With that Emma practically danced over to the sofa and dropped onto the one side. Tortilla chips bounced out of the bowl without the redhead noticing.
"... Sure?" The ward in the room said slowly before cautiously walking out of the room while giving the back of Emma's head a look that epitomized confusion. Once the last tail was out of sight Sophia relaxed and let herself sag against the wall. That was far too close to becoming something more.
Knowing that Taylor would be coming back she took the opportunity to properly enter the living room and steal the armchair. If she really needed to get away from Taylor maybe she'd be able to just tip it back and roll out of the way. It wasn't the best idea, that would just be to leave now, but she wasn't going to risk ruining her reputation by running after a little bit of intimidation.
"So what's the game this time?" she asked, sparing a glance for the TV. The TV had been on some cooking show before, but now it was on some animated thing with girls in cheerleader costumes. When the hell had the TV changed- Why was that fox from TV standing by the remote and turning the volume up?
"Gam?" Emma asked around a mouth full of tortilla chips and spinach dip. Her head cocked to the side as she chewed. The very genuine expression of confusion on her face was almost enough for Sophia to call her adorable, but it also sent her stomach plummeting.
"Yeah, game? What's the plan?" Sophia asked again, a hint of panic forming in her gut. Emma couldn't be winging this, could she? She always had a plan, even when the plan went sideways, she had ideas.
"Plan…? Plan…?" Emma repeated absently as her eyes took on an unfocused quality. "Plaaaaaaan. Sounds a bit like flan. You know I could use a flan. I wonder if Uncle Danny would make one if I asked."
"What?" She deadpanned in reply. What the hell was with Emma? Was she high? Had she taken something to try and deal with the sheer terror of coming here? Sophia groaned and leaned back in the armchair. This couldn't possibly get worse… and was it her or was the chair a bit grainy?
"What the hell is with this chair?" she asked, not expecting a coherent answer from her clearly out of her mind friend.
"Salt." Sophia would deny any claims that her heart tried to move into her head as she jerked at the sound of Taylor's voice from behind her. Standing there looking disapproving at her was Taylor with two bowls of Cheetos in her hands. One of which she thrust at Sophia. "Here."
Carefully, fully aware that she was in hostile territory, Sophia accepted the bowl. "So what'd you do to it?" she asked.
"Do? You're the one who sabotages things," the foxgirl replied snidely before walking past her to the sofa. One of her tails swatted Sophia across the temple. It was like taking the flat of someone's hand. She flinched away before going to eat one of the Cheetos. They seemed fine, except for a long black tail hair that had fallen in.
Taylor paused to stare at the TV before looking at her fox. "Really? Again?" she asked.
"Consider it inspirational," the fox replied, prompting Sophia to practically inhale her second cheeto. She hacked and coughed as the cheesy snack got stuck in her throat for a moment. Right. Talking fox, and cheerleader outfit.
"They turned you into a magical girl?" she asked between coughs as she stared at the foxgirl. Taylor slowly turned pink before dropping onto the sofa.
"Blame her," she said, pointing at the fox as she leaned against the armchair.
"You agreed to the outfit," the fox replied blithely.
"You picked that outfit?" Emma said, grabbing Taylor by the arm with a grin. "It looks so good on you. It shows off your legs so well!" If anything Taylor went even pinker as her face shifted through a myriad of emotions before Taylor's eyes caught sight of her own confused expression.
A small smile, almost a smirk, formed and Taylor shrugged awkwardly. "It… does look good on me," she agreed hesitantly, "I wasn't really too sure about it at first, but…" She trailed off awkwardly as Emma started going into just why it made her look so good and how happy she was that Taylor was finally 'discovering a colour other than grey'.
Sophia mechanically ate from the bowl as she watched. This… It was like watching a train crash from right beside the tracks. The smart thing to do would be to try and run, but she felt as though her legs were welded to the floor.
What on earth was going on?
"We should totally go shopping. Your wardrobe is probably a complete wreck now that you've had such a growth spurt," Emma said.
Taylor shifted awkwardly. "... You aren't wrong," she admitted, "But I've already been talking with Vicky about doing something about it since…" She gave the redhead a very pointed look of disapproval. To Sophia's surprise the Redhead flinched.
"I- Vicky?" Emma asked.
"Yeah. Victoria Dallon, Glory Girl. We met because her mother helped dad with the paperwork for the Wards," Taylor said as she took a bite of a spinach dip covered tortilla chip. The crunching of the corn chip served to underline the look of confusion on Emma's face.
That, at least, was an expression Sophia recognized. It was the look her friend got when someone flipped the script on her completely. The two times she'd seen it had been when Emma's sister had been involved and it had been the immediate prelude to an intense family squabble that Sophia normally would take great pleasure in reviewing Emma's performance after the fact, to the redhead's annoyance. The pouting it normally provoked was hilariously adorable.
Not that Sophia ever mentioned that fact. She had a reputation to maintain.
This time… This time it was like something in her brain had crashed completely. Like when one of the old computers at school had a BSOD and stopped working.
Sophia put her bowl down on the coffee table and got up so she could reach over and poke the redhead in the cheek.
Prod prod.
"Hey, Emma? Heeellooo? Anyone there?" She poked the other girl in the cheek and found herself exchanging a worried look with Taylor of all people.
"Emma?" Taylor prodded the other cheek with a flat expression before sighing. A moment later a large fluffy black tail swatted Emma in the face.
Emma blinked. "Beh?" she said around a mouthful of fur.
There was a loud bang from the front door. "TAAAAAAAAY~~!" A voice she recognized from the few times Sophia had run into New Wave echoed through the house. Glory Girl was there.
Well shit. She could feel her stomach drop at the thought of New Wave's flying brick. She turned to look towards the front door while feeling the very strong urge to head for the back door. If she was quick she could make it out before brick girl made it-
"Vickyy-eeeee," Taylor shouted, her voice spiking in the most girlish tone she had ever heard from the girl, then something smashed into Sophia's side and down she went. She twisted to land on her back rather than on her arm, and in so doing realized that the idiot foxgirl had apparently tackled her.
Her head smacked against the floor, sending stars through her vision that almost blocked out the sight of said foxgirl falling on her. It certainly blocked out her vision less than the large blouse straining twins that promptly engulfed her head as Taylor landed on her head chest first. The force of Taylor hitting her drove the breath from her lungs, a breath that she was alarmed to realize she couldn't take again around the prodigious gifts of the girl atop her.
Stars bursting in her vision she swatted Taylor in the side with her fist, but between the angle and the general invulnerability of the foxgirl she didn't seem to notice even as she squirmed, driving Sophia's face further into the suffocating mass. This was not how Sophia wanted to die, killed by a klutzy idiot foxgirl accidentally suffocating her with her oversized breasts.
Desperate, Sophia opened her mouth and bit down as hard as she could.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Vickyy-eeee." Victoria Dallon blinked as her friend's shout broke off in a series of thuds, crashes, and loud groans.
Danny Hebert, who had let them in, sighed as he showed her mother and father where to hang their coats. "Things I did and didn't miss," he said, looking at her mother with a sardonic smile.
"I understand far too well," her mother replied as Vicky took off running. She knew the layout of the house pretty well from her visits, and the living room was just straight ahead. The scene she came across made her stop, stare, and promptly burst into giggles, her tail lashing back and forth uncontrollably.
Perched on the coffee table and the nearest armrest of the sofa was Inari and an unfamiliar redhead. Both of them were staring down at the pile on the floor where Taylor was sprawled on the floor with her face buried in the carpet.
With an embarrassed groan Taylor lifted her head from the floor and rubbed the bridge of her nose as though checking for breaks. "Hey Vicky," she said sheepishly, "I think I broke my pride."
Vicky snorted and snickered. "Trip over your tails?" she asked. There was something a bit odd about the way Tay was lying on the ground. Was that a hand sticking out from under her?
A dark-skinned hand and forearm was silently pounding her friend on the side, growing more desperate by the second. "Uuum… Tay, did you… Land on someone?" she asked.
Taylor stopped rubbing her nose and pulled back a bit as she looked down. The action let Vicky see the black-haired top of someone's head sticking out from between Taylor's breasts. She couldn't help but snort and started snickering. "Heck of a way to land."
"Oh shut up," Tay grumbled, planting her hands to get up before her eyes went wide and she snapped into the air with her flight instantly rubbing the inside of her left breast. "You bitch! You bit me!" Vicky stared, more snickering bubbling up.
The black girl who had been freed was taking in great gasps of air. Between gulps she gasped, "You. Tried. To suffo- Cate me. With. Those. Stupid. Oversized. Funbags. You. Psy-"
"They are not oversized!" Taylor shouted, continuing to rub the spot where the black girl had bit her as she glared at the offending girl she'd, apparently, landed on. It was, all put together, a bit too much for Vicky and she doubled over, letting her flight take over as she howled with laughter.
Taylor gave her a dirty look and huffed, crossing her arms under her bust as she floated above the coffee table. "Great lot of help you are," she grumbled. Vicky waved helplessly as she floated over to Tay, completely upside down as her hilarity induced convulsions had sent her into a slow forward roll.
"It's just…Heehee," Vicky covered her mouth with her tail as she grabbed Tay about the shoulders as she floated past. "Awww, don't be mad," she said, "That was hilarious to walk in on."
"Oh, that's nice. I managed to amuse the destruction barbie. Yeah me," the black girl snarked. Vicky's eyes narrowed at the girl. She decided that she didn't really like the pretty black girl that was climbing to her feet. Also, there was something very familiar about that voice. Like she'd heard it somewhere before… possibly while muffled.
"Oh my god. You're glory girl-" The redhead said suddenly, drawing attention as she stared at Vicky like she'd just realized who she was. "... Why do you have a tail and ears like Tay?" The girl's head tilted to the one side with a look of innocent confusion.
Vicky shrugged from her upside down position. "Weird power interaction between Taylor and my sister," she said, "I'd advise not holding both of their hands at the same time, just an fyi."
"Geez, great way to tell people how to get superpowers," her sister drawled from the doorway.
"Hey Amy," Taylor waved, looking very resigned as she continued floating above the coffee table.
"Hey," Amy waved back before she wandered over to the recliner and sat down.
"I was sitting there," the black girl deadpanned.
"Not that I could see," Amy deadpanned back. The two girls stared at each other, the black girl glaring while Vicky's sister just flatly stared back.
"Hey, is it normally this crazy when you have people over?" Vicky asked.
"Not really?" Taylor replied with a shrug, "Vicky, meet Sophia Hess and Emma Barnes." She waved to the black girl then the redhead.
"Hello," Emma said with a wave and this slightly vacant look that seemed to be staring at something behind them.
"Hey," Sophia waved while still stuck in a staring contest with Amy.
"Right," Taylor clapped her hands together, "Need to talk to you about something Vicky. Come on."
Vicky nodded, "Okaaaaaeeee." She let out an undignified shout as Taylor grabbed her by the arm and rocketed out of the room, zipping out the door and up the stairs at speeds that would have gotten Vicky into a lot of trouble at home. Mostly because she would have failed a turn and gone through the wall. The upstairs hallway zipped by and before she knew it they were in Taylor's room and she was coming to rest, still upside down, against several bookshelves on the wall.
She blinked slowly as she stared at Taylor who had flopped onto her bed. A very disoriented white fox stumbled out of her tails and flopped down beside her on the bed.
"The world. Please make it stop spinning," Inari moaned.
"Sorry," Taylor said as she rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling, "But I couldn't handle another moment."
"That girl has something wrong," Inari said in a tone of agreement as the fox rolled over herself.
"Erm… Am I missing something?" Vicky asked as she floated towards the ceiling where she 'sat down'. She'd started doing this a bit more recently. Ever since the incident she hadn't been getting lightheaded anymore.
"... A lot Vicky. A hell of a lot," Tay sighed, her eyes closed, "Let me… Let me start from the beginning."
-0-0-0-0-0-
What even was the beginning? Taylor wasn't sure, not at all. How had things turned out the way they had? Two weeks and her best friend had become… not her best friend. Just thinking about that time made the emotions she'd been trying to suppress for the last several hours rise and try to drown her. Anger, frustration, sadness, and that strange longing for what had been that she'd never really been able to kick. It was the sort of cocktail that could put someone into a mental ward if they failed to control it.
Right then, at that moment, her control wavered as the waves of emotion washed over her, and then...
"... So the beginning?" Vicky prodded as she sat on Taylor's ceiling. Taylor blinked. She took a deep breath and shook her head.
"Yeah… Sorry," She sighed, "Sorry it's just… I don't know where the beginning is, not really. Emma and I were friends, practically sisters. Our parents have been friends forever and…" She trailed off. Why was this so hard to put into words?
"Were friends?" Vicky asked.
"Yeah… It happened last year. Something changed. I don't know what. I don't know why. I went to summer camp for two weeks and…" She rubbed her forehead with a palm. "Came back, went to her house. She had a new haircut, Sophia was there, and I made one comment about how her hair looked good before I got shoved back out the door. When I got to high school a month later she'd gone nuts and turned into a mean bitch."
Vicky drifted down from the ceiling and dropped onto the edge of the bed, rightside up this time. "In what way?" she asked, her voice sounding quite puzzled. She ran a hand over one of Taylor's tails.
"She'd make nasty comments, share things I'd told her in confidence. Didn't matter what. Didn't matter why. She used it all while building up a clique of other girls like her. Well, girls who wanted to be like her," Taylor sighed, "Madison was the one who really got in with her and Sophia. I could tell when a prank, or some sort of sabotage was her idea. She always likes the small and petty twists." Which were the bulk of the stuff that made her academic life a nightmare.
She blinked as Vicky pulled her up and into a hug. "No wonder you didn't seem to want to trust me," Vicky said softly. Taylor could feel the other girl's hands ball up behind her. "Breaking the trust of someone who's basically your own sister... " She let out an explosive sigh and pulled back from the hug, leaving her hands resting on Taylor's shoulders. "It makes me want to punch her but… I'd probably kill her if I did that, right?"
"Well she isn't a parahuman as far as I know," Taylor replied. There was, admittedly, a small chance that she was, or had been replaced by one. She'd be lying if she claimed to have not entertained the idea to explain the complete one eighty in her old friend's attitude.
Vicky groaned. "She's so not worth going to the birdcage over. So…" Vicky's ear twitched and she glanced towards the door.
"Something wrong?" Taylor asked.
"Eh… I thought I heard a creak," she said before shrugging, "Probably just your house being old."
"Hey!"
"Not a bad thing, Tay, really," Vicky grinned, "I'm just not used to hearing so much yet." She wiggled her ears. "These things pick up a lot."
"It's a bit much, isn't it?" Taylor commiserated. They sat there listening to the house for a moment before Vicky shook her head.
"Right," she said, "Where was I? Oh, yeah. Tay, if she's so evil, why's she downstairs and not out on the steps?"
"Because our parents are still friends and I'm not going to ruin one of my dad's oldest remaining friendships over Emma being a bitch," Taylor replied flatly.
"Uh huh, and the reason you were in a pile downstairs?" Vicky asked.
She blushed. "Emma sat on one of my tails and I didn't notice when I went to greet you," she said, looking away in a vain attempt to hide her embarrassment. Inari patted her on the leg.
"We all do that at least once," the fox said, "though admittedly it's easier when you have more tails."
"... Thanks?" she sighed.
"And why were you even sitting with her to begin with?" Vicky asked. The blond foxgirl had a very confused look as Taylor met her eyes.
"... I think there's something wrong with Emma." There had to be.
"Gee, you think?" Was Vicky's sarcastic reply.
"I'm being serious Vicky," she snapped, "Something's wrong with her up here." She pointed a finger at her own temple. "At first I thought she was just trying to pretend everything was normal. Like we'd just drifted apart or something. I didn't like it, but… Well if she's willing to fake it in front of our parents then that's fine by me. I can deal with a little bit of drama for a day, right? But then… She dragged me over to the sofa and invited me to sit with her like we used to and… There's something wrong with her, Vicky. I can see it in her eyes. She's… I'll say or do something and it's like we're on stage and she's forgotten her lines all of a sudden. Hell,
Sophia has been worried about her as well, Vicky, and I've never heard her so much as wonder if someone was okay after they fell down the stairs!"
She took a deep breath. "She wasn't like this in June so…" she shrugged helplessly, "I have no idea what's going on with her and now I'm just worried. I hate what she's been doing for the last year, but I can't just forget the years before that… you know?" Vicky pulled her into a hug again. Unlike before she returned it, even going so far as to wrap a few tails around the other girl.
"Are you sure she's actually got something wrong and isn't just… Acting?" Vicky asked softly.
"... I don't know, but I'd have thought she'd warn Sophia about it beforehand," Taylor replied. She flopped back onto her bed, only barely missing Inari in the process as the fox dived off the bed. "Sorry!"
"Pay more attention," Inari huffed as she hopped up into Vicky's lap. "On the topic of Emma, I haven't met her before, but she did seem a little… unhinged. I doubt she is faking, or at least that she is faking in a manner anyone sane would expect."
Taylor grimaced. "And isn't that a worrying thought," she sighed.
"That's one way to put it... " Vicky glanced towards the door again, her ears twitching. Taylor's own ears twitched at the sound of someone walking into a door on the second floor. Probably her dad.
"So…" Vicky looked back with a cheeky grin, "What do we do oh great and mighty Ward?" Taylor snorted.
"I can't deal with her yet," she said with a heavy sigh. Her tails flicked in dissatisfaction at her own comment. "I don't want to deal with it here. There's something we need to talk to you about anyway, but not here where we can be overheard." Rather than get up normally she floated off her bed and into the middle of the room.
"You realize I'm not allowed off your property, right Tay? Hell, I had to wear a trench coat to hide my tail just to get mum to let me come!" Vicky protested. "Me, in a trenchcoat. Do you have any idea how hot it is today?"
Facing the windows, with blinds currently pulled down, she reached out a hand and breathed out softly. "Only like twenty-five or so? It's quite nice right now."
"It felt like thirty-five," Vicky grumbled.
"And we won't be heading into the city anyways," she said. The last few days of portal practice had really paid off. She reached out for the Celestial Plane and with only a little difficulty, entwined it with the resonance of Earth Bet. A spark appeared in the air. Shining white, the salty scent of the ocean wafted off it to fill the room as she pressed more power into it. She had only accomplished this properly once before, and she had dropped it rather than go through, but she could feel the bridge forming before her as the golden note of the Celestial Plane spilled forth into the inky pre-storm atmosphere of Earth Bet.
"What the hell is that?" Vicky asked.
"A portal to somewhere we won't be interrupted," Taylor said absently. Her focus was on the burning spark that was slowly widening out into a hoop, through which poured a familiar pure white light. Already she could see the grand architecture and statues of the fortress through the portal. Her focus wavered for a moment as she recalled the night when she'd finally broken through to the Celestial Realm. The light had warmed her in a way she couldn't remember it doing before and she had immediately lost her focus then and there from the surprise. Even now, after she knew she could establish a portal, just seeing that golden light and feeling it wash over her was enough to make her mind wander.
"Since when could you open portals, and to where?" Vicky demanded as she left the bed and floated over to stare over Taylor's shoulder. The blonde's words snapped her mind back into focus. "Wow… Where is this?"
"The Celestial plane," Inari said, "Home of the Gods." Vicky turned to the fox, then back to Taylor.
"What is she talking about?" Vicky hissed into her ear.
"Complicated. Give me a- there," Taylor sighed with relief as the portal suddenly snapped from the size of a basketball to large enough two large men could walk upright and shoulder to shoulder through it. It was, perhaps, just big enough for her to avoid getting her tails stuck on the edges. A steady hum emanated from the completed portal, loud enough that it drowned out most other noises from the wider house. More importantly it was no longer weighing on her mind quite as much now that it was no longer trying to unravel.
Through the hole in reality was a square of stone slabs, surrounded by buildings in the stylings of the italian renaissance, and decorated with statues of Jaguars and other large beasts. Like the other areas of the fortress the square was filled with people going about their day, though unlike some sections it seemed that such things didn't include fighting stone monsters for the rest of human history.
"Ready?" Taylor asked over her shoulder. Vicky gave her a wide-eyed stare.
"Where?" she asked again, "And since when?"
"... Since last night," Taylor said with a shrug. It had been a pain in the ass to get working, but now that the portal was open it was barely taking her any concentration. Though expanding it would have probably been impossible. "And we're headed to what Inari calls the Celestial Realm. I'll explain more there, where we can't be overheard."
"... Sure," Vicky hesitantly put a hand through the portal. "It doesn't feel likeI'm stepping through anything."
"It shouldn't. Strange barriers during a portal means someone is screwing with you," Inari said as she stepped into the square, "You coming?"
Taylor stepped through, giving Vicky a little nudge with her tail as she did so. The light of the Celestial Realm was welcoming as she stepped fully into the light. It felt warmer than from the other side of the portal, leaving her with a relaxing tingling sensation that came with a strengthening feeling of revitalization. She sighed and stretched, tossing her hair as she simply enjoyed the sunlight. It felt warmer and better than the sun on Earth Bet. It was hard to describe how, other than just 'better'.
"So… We're here," Vicky said as she looked around the square. "Why are there so many statues?" She walked over to a woman in a scandalously low cut dress who was walking with two young men in armour, one on each arm and laughing uproariously. It wasn't the only similar statue. Many of those walking were in couples or trios.
"There's a place I want to show you, but I'll explain everything as we go. If you don't mind, Vicky? It shouldn't be far… I think?" Taylor glanced down at Inari.
"The peach garden is…" The fox looked around carefully, "That way," she pointed to one of the exits from the square, "Half a mile, shorter if you fly."
"You took me here, which you still haven't explained," Vicky said pointedly, "For a garden?" She prodded one of the young men in the chest, hard. The metal breastplate, one of the few things not stone, rang with the blow, but did nothing more. Vicky shook her hand with a hiss. "Ow. What the hell is that made of?"
"... It's where I gained these," Taylor waved her tails and Vicky fell silent. Taylor waved for her to follow as she led the way out of the square, past a phalanx of spartan warriors that seemed to have been blocking access into the city. In death, however, they simply stood there as the two foxgirls and the former goddess walked around them.
"Can I get a few answers, please?" Vicky asked urgently as they proceeded past the military checkpoint.
"This is the Celestial Realm. According to Inari it is, was, the home of the gods until about a century ago when they all died," Taylor said.
"Gods? Like previous parahumans?" her friend asked.
"No. I mean gods," Inari said.
The look Vicky gave Inari could only be described as the sort given to the mentally infirmed. "Which were like, ancient parahumans if they even existed," she said slowly.
"I'm not sure I believe her either," Taylor admitted, "But whatever you want to call them, this isn't a normal place. The laws of physics don't really apply here. We're on top of a mountain right now, above the clouds."
"The air doesn't feel very thin," Vicky said.
"It won't. It's… Why don't I just start at the beginning, again," she said, sharing a smirk with Vicky. This was, after all, the second time she would be 'starting at the beginning' in what had to be less than ten minutes.
"It can help," her friend replied.
"Right so… I got locked in my locker on the last day of school…"
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Well that happened," Sophia deadpanned as the last inch of Victoria Dallon's tail disappeared around the corner. The video the day before had made it clear just how fast Tay could move, but nothing of it had shown a thing about how ably she could maneuver. A lot of capes could move quickly, but most of them had to take it slow in close quarters.
Panacea shrugged and pulled out a book, pointedly ignoring the both of them as she leaned back in the recliner. Well if she didn't want to deal with them then Sophia wasn't going to make her. In fact, if she really wanted to leave then that very moment was probably-
Emma stood up and tiptoed past her. Sophia watched her with a mixture of bemusement and confusion. "What are you doing?" she asked as the other girl leaned out to peek around the corner of the doorway the two foxgirls had disappeared around.
"Checking," her friend replied, before she walked away from the door.
Sophia dropped onto the sofa. "Ah," she said, finally getting what was going on. Emma was trying to play innocent, probably to avoid the same sort of trouble Sophia was worried about, though she seemed to be having a bit of an-
Emma's hand clamped down on her wrist. "Come on," she said, hauling Sophia off the sofa.
"What?" She asked flatly as the redhead dragged her to her feet and pulled her towards the door.
"We're going to listen in," her friend replied as though it was the most sensible thing in the world. Which it wasn't. It was, as far as Sophia was concerned, the least sensible thing Emma had ever said.
She tried to tug her arm free, but it was like Emma's grip was made from literal iron. Panacea glanced up over the edge of her book as Sophia was dragged past. She raised an eyebrow at her.
"You want to eavesdrop on the two girls with animal hearing? Are you nuts?" Sophia demanded as Emma pulled her around the corner.
"We'll be really, really quiet, kay?" Emma said as she hauled Sophia to the staircase. Behind them Panacea poked her head around the corner, watching them with a dull curiosity.
"What are you two doing?" she asked with a flat accusatory tone.
"We're going to listen in," Emma declared, not even pretending to have tact.
"There is no we!" Sophia said, "I very much like not getting electrocuted by an angry foxgirl!" Emma pouted at her.
"But then how are we supposed to know what they're saying?" Emma asked with wide puppy dog eyes. Sophia stared at her as though she'd declared the sky was now made of marshmallows. After a moment of staring at each other Emma sighed and rolled her eyes. "Just trust me, kay Sophia," she said, dragging her the last couple of feet to the stairs.
"... Are you listening to a word I'm saying?" Sophia asked.
"Yup. Now, follow me, and watch your step. If we don't want to be noticed we'd better not step wrong," her friend said, looking up the stairs as she continued on like she wasn't hearing Sophia at all. "Some of the stairs creak."
Without letting go of Sophia she stepped onto the steps carefully, putting her weight down slowly onto the second step. She continued up, pulling Sophia along. Without much choice that didn't involve hurting Emma, which she would admit was becoming an increasingly tempting option since something was clearly loose in that head of hers, Sophia followed her up. She matched the redhead step for step as they ascended the stairs. A glance behind showed that Panacea had decided to follow them for some reason. The brunette was following their lead rather well.
Well, she decided, perhaps they weren't likely to die if they got caught. Glory Girl was unlikely to kill them if Panacea was with them. On the other hand, there likely wouldn't be any evidence they'd been crippled when everything was over and done with.
With that morbid thought bouncing around inside her brain, Sophia focused on the one thing she wanted most at that moment: Not getting caught. Which was proving to be easier than she'd have expected, to be entirely honest. Despite the age of the building, their crisscrossing path up the steps failed to produce a single sound until they reached the top of the staircase. A creak cut into the quiet air. All three of them froze, their forms locking up as they listened for the sound of a door flying open.
When nothing came Emma turned to Sophia and silently mouthed, "That's new." She rolled her eyes. Trust the place to have gained a few issues over the last year. The redhead turned back and kept walking, with Sophia's wrist still trapped in her hand. They continued down the hall with Emma doing a little tippy-toe dance from spot to spot seemingly at random. Sophia tried to imitate it, but the girl clearly knew this place better than she did her own home. How much time had Emma spent here to know every individual loose floorboard and creaking floor joist?
Sophia lacked that knowledge, and while she was a track star, she was not a ballerina, or a ninja. She stumbled while attempting to follow the invisible maze Emma was laying out, and tumbled into a closed door. There was a loud bang as the wood door rattled in its frame. The three of them stood there, frozen once again. Panacea stared at her with an expression of exasperation while Emma seemed to have turned into a frightened deer as she gazed unblinkingly up the hallway.
A moment passed, then another, and then a few more. Sophia let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. The foxes had to be into some really intense discussion or just didn't care that there was a trio of bumbling idiots in the hallway… She refused to admit that she was the only one making mistakes. Panacea didn't have to deal with a limpet hanging onto her arm.
Emma tugged her captured arm and once Sophia was looking at her, pointed to a spot on the floor insistently. Taking it slow, Sophia placed her foot on the floorboard and was happy to not hear it creak. That didn't mean it hadn't, mind you, but being paranoid about sounds beyond her hearing wouldn't be good for her sanity.
It took a few directions from Emma, given with her silent but insistent pointing, but they got moving again. They crept their way up the hall without any more incidents and as they approached the door at the end of the hall the mumble of voices reached out to them. Then, as they stepped up to the door a hum appeared, rumbling through the closed doorway. Emma knelt by the door and slowly, carefully, turned the knob.
As the door opened Sophia stepped around Emma to the other side so she could get a better angle to peer through the crack in the door. The briney scent of the sea hit her like she was on one of the piers. She blinked at the unnaturally brilliantly bright light that seemed to be filling the room, but could just make out what appeared to be a large ovular hoola hoop of glowing energy in the air. Occasionally, sparks would fly off and vanish in mid-air before they hit anything, even the floor.
"What the hell?" She whispered under her breath, then froze up as an ear twitched on Taylor's head. Then a hand reached up to scratch the offending appendage. The foxgirl was standing beside the opening while Glory Girl stuck her hand through and waved it about. The raven haired girl rolled her eyes and stepped through the portal, pulling the blonde girl along with her. The white fox followed at their heels as they disappeared from sight.
That seemed to be the limit for Emma's good sense, as she pushed the door open and walked in, seemingly unconcerned with the high chance of being spotted. Sophia tried to exchange a look with Panacea, but the healer simply brushed past her and into the bedroom. Stifling a sigh out of fear of being heard she followed the two other girls into the room.
She barely spared a moment looking at the remarkably normal looking bedroom before moving to join the other two in peeking around the edge of the portal. She had to squint through the bright sunlight that poured into the room. It was like high noon on a cloudless day in Miami. Despite the sunlight shining into her eyes, she could make out the plaza beyond. The scene beyond was disturbing.
"Are those statues?" she asked rhetorically as she stared into the portal. She didn't worry too much about being overheard since the two girls they were worried about were walking away from the portal, apparently unconcerned about leaving a hole in reality behind them.
"Looks like it," Panacea muttered just loud enough for her to hear. There were a lot of statues. Men and women in archaic clothes from centuries or millennia past. No two were the same as each other. It was like a life-sized diorama set in what looked like a fantastical fortress.
"So… Do you think Taylor kidnaps people to turn them into statues?" Sophia asked as she gazed at the nearest statue.
"I do-" Emma walked past both of them and straight through the portal.
"Idiot!" Sophia snapped, lunging after her friend. Passing through the portal had no feeling. One moment she was in a bedroom, then next in a sunlight plaza surrounded on all sides by stone buildings that loomed like small skyscrapers over them. She grabbed the redhead by her shoulder and spun her around. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.
Emma just looked at her like she was the crazy one. "Following Taylor," she said, "We aren't going to be able to listen back at the door."
This wasn't spying on Taylor. "So your brilliant idea is to walk through a hole in reality to… somewhere in order to follow a girl who does like
either of us so we can listen to her say… What? What if the portal closes and they leave us here? Look around! There's nothing here!" She waved at the plaza around them as she vented at the redhead. Vented quietly. The last thing she wanted was to get caught.
"We're following them," Emma insisted, only for Sophia to grab her by the arm as she tried to turn away.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! You've been acting nuts since yesterday!" she snarled as she grabbed the redhead by both shoulders and shook her. "Why is this so damned important?!"
"Let me go!" Emma pulled against her grip writhing like a snake in Sophia's grasp, "We need to follow her! Let me go!"
"We," Sophia spun Emma around, twisting her arm behind her back as she did so, "are leaving before that portal closes."
"Yeah, about that," Panacea drawled, getting Sophia's attention from where she was examining a statue, "It vanished a moment ago when Taylor and Vicky walked past that phalanx over there."
Sophia's head slowly tracked to where the portal had been, directly next to an officious looking man in armour styled like that of a Roman Legionnaire posed as though he was holding a clipboard. There was a distinct lack of a portal. No hum, no glow, not even a spark remained.
"... I am so telling your dad when we get back," Sophia growled to Emma who simply grinned smugly back at her.
"Guess we're following her now, riiiight?" the redhead smuggly informed her. Only their friendship over the last year stopped her from punching the other girl.
"Guess we are," she ground out, dragging Emma around, causing the girl to yelp, "But I'm leading and you aren't getting out of my sight."
"But Soooophiiiiaaa! How can I know where they are if I'm being dragged around?" Emma protested as Sophia shoved her along.
"By shutting up and listening," she replied as she guided the other girl in the direction of a phalanx of statues standing in one exit of the square. A glance over her shoulder proved that Panacea was following her with a strange look on her face.
The march across the plaza was infuriating as Emma occasionally struggled and tried to run ahead. It was getting to the point where she was wondering if Emma had been mastered. There was something distinctly unhealthy, and implausible, about the girl's monofocus on her old friend. Even compared to her usual unhealthy obsession with making said girl's life hell. It was either she was mastered or… Well the only other option was that she'd genuinely lost her mind and Sophia wasn't sure which option had her worried more.
Their attempt to follow the two foxgirls ended abruptly as they reached the edge of the square. Emma, in the lead by dint of being held in front of Sophia, was the first to discover the presence of some strange energy field right in front of the phalanx of soldiers. Specifically she discovered it when Sophia accidentally shoved her face straight into it. The field sparked into visibility with blue light that shimmered with the force of the impact.
"Ow," Emma whimpered as Sophia stumbled to a halt just barely an inch before the barrier. She let go of the other girl, who stumbled back, tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground. "Oooow," Emma groaned from her seat on the ground.
Sophia ignored her and reached out to touch the barrier. It sparked as her fingers approached and she flinched back. She hated electricity and there was definitely something electric about the barrier. It hadn't electrocuted Emma, but she hardly wanted to take chances.
"Oh great. Taylor has a barrier…. Wherever this place is," Sophia snarked as she took a step back. Panacea stepped past her and poked the glowing energy field.
"It tickles a little," she said before gently rapping her hand against it. Ripples rolled out across the air, but nothing bad seemed to happen to Panacea. "I bet there's another two on the other exits," she said, looking at Sophia with a raised eyebrow.
"No bet. This place looks like a fortress. Guess we shouldn't be surprised it has defences," Sophia replied as she looked around. That said, this plaza may have been surrounded by a place that was very obviously a fortress, yet the building she could see around the plaza had the appearance of stores. A market perhaps?
"Let's look around. I'd rather not wait for the wonder foxes to come back," Sophia said as she dragged Emma to her feet, "Maybe there's a way around." Not likely, but it was possible that whoever designed this place was as paranoid as she'd peg the PRT to be. If they were then… Well, she imagined being a statue would be better than slowly starving to death, just.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Some of these statues were beyond creepy, Victoria decided as she stared at a stone tentacle that was smoothly emerging from a wall fifteen feet above her, frozen in mid motion as it knocked aside a group of chain mail armoured men. It wasn't the only one in this corridor, either. More stone tentacles stuck out of walls and the floor, all seeming to flow out of the solid stone and tiles like water. In fact… She peered closely at one tentacle. It seemed to have the pattern of the old tiles on the floor.
"So, these were all alive a hundred years ago?" she asked, hoping for a different answer.
"They were," Inari confirmed from where she was riding in Taylor's arms.
"You know how hard that is to believe, right?" Vicky asked her as she walked around the tentacle and the phalanx of soldiers it was in the process of slapping aside. "Like, everyone knows superpowers only came about in the eighties."
"I've been saying the same thing," her fellow fox person, and wasn't that a strange label to have, agreed. Taylor brushed hair back from her face as she peered at an armoured knight that was pinned to the wall by another tentacle that seemed to have flowed out of the wall and around him before going back into the wall.
"Divine powers are not the same as parahuman powers," Inari replied, giving Taylor a hard look. Her friend shrugged.
"Well you were right about me not hallucinating this place, so I'm willing to be convinced," she replied.
"I dunno," Vicky said doubtfully as she took to the air and wandered up to examine some of the 'flying' statues. "This could still be inside your head, like a mindscape or something you can enter. Like those stories Amy likes reading."
"A what?" Taylor gave her a very confused look.
"Never heard the term before?" She asked, and received a shake of the head in return.
Inari sighed. "Mindscapes are not physically enterable. They're just methods for organizing one's thoughts, not hidden planes of existence inside your head," the fox complained, "Look, I get that coming here isn't definitive proof, but I can provide evidence for both of you. I'm not crazy and neither is Taylor!" She huffed loudly and burrowed into the dark-haired foxgirl's arms.
Taylor patted her on the head. "There there. Not very fun being thought crazy, is it?" she asked with a too sweet smile.
"No one thought you were crazy," Inari mumbled.
"You mean other than the people who heard you proclaim my godhood?" Taylor replied dryly.
"I thought she was just joking or some weird power-based outlet for your repressed ego," Vicky said as she waved a hand above the statue. Taylor gave Inari a pointed look that simply dripped 'You see my point?'
Vicky ignored their byplay as she continued waving her hands over the statue. There weren't any wires or visible supports. She zipped over to another and checked it as well. No wires there. She was running out of explanations, but perhaps there was some truth to the fox's mad claims. It couldn't be godhood, but how else would ancient parahumans view themselves? "So… I can't figure out how this works," she said finally, "They're just… floating here." It made no sense at all.
"Everything within a hundred leagues of the mountain was frozen in its last moment when it turned to stone. A deliberate sacrifice made by the gods to force out the creature's influence," Inari said.
"I can understand why. If there was fighting so far into the fortress as this," Taylor said, a concerned expression.
"We're barely a quarter of the way into the fortress Taylor," Inari said. Taylor stopped where she was and looked down at the fox. Goddess… Spirit thing that was probably a repressed aspect of her friend's subconscious desire to be liked and/or adored after Emma abandoned her.
"I walked for hours to get this far last time," Taylor said with the tone of someone horrified at the possibility.
"Hours?" Vicky asked.
"Yeah. This place is… This place is gigantic," Taylor said, breathing out in horrified awe.
"So how far did the 'monster's'," Vicky air quoted the word, "get into the fortress to cause this?"
"The front gates were holding, but the wardings weren't. As you can see, things were sneaking through the wards whenever they flickered under the enemy's assault," Inari said, gesturing to the horrific visage of what was probably the head of the cephalopodic entity responsible for the tentacles. It loomed out of the ceiling above them, a maw of thousands of arm length teeth gaping down at them like the worst chandelier Vicky had ever laid eyes upon. In fact there was something twisted about the eyes. They didn't seem to stay still. Not that they moved, but that the number seemed to change everytime she looked away. Four. Five. Seven. Three. Five. One. Two. Ten.
She looked away and shook her head. Something was lingering in that statue unlike the rest.
"We'd lost contact with the rest of our forces. The monsters were running rampant across a hundred worlds, and many more had simply been abandoned to their fates. This option was enacted because it ensured that despite the utter annihilation of Celestial Culture, there would still be peoples left to rebuild in time," Inari said as they reached a crossroads, "That way." They followed the fox's directions and several hundred meters down the hallway was another phalanx and beyond it the hallway opened up into a garden where a fountain burbled and behind it stood a great peach tree of stone.
Taylor gasped. "That's the garden," she said, stopping to stare at the garden.
Vicky's eyes narrowed. So this was where Taylor had changed. She shifted her gaze from Taylor and Inari to examine the stonework and structure. It was possible she'd been exposed to something here that wasn't visible to an ordinary girl. Maybe a bit of Tinkertech or some strange fire and forget power. Who knew what could have happened.
"So," she drew their attention back to herself as she continued surveying the area, "how does this all connect back to me? I mean, why show all of this to me?"
Taylor shook her head as though trying to clear it. "I- Inari has a theory," she said, looking down at the fox.
"Your blood has a bit of gold in it, right?"Inari asked pointedly.
"I mentioned it to Taylor," Vicky said, turning back to the fox.
"And Amy can't understand your biology anymore, correct?" the fox continued.
"Yes? What are you getting at?" She asked, floating down to meet the fox's gaze at an even level. She crossed her legs like she was sitting on the air.
"It is possible, however improbable, that your blood and your biology, now contains traces of a divine bloodline. Taylor is a Goddess, her blood is gold."
"Ichor." Vicky blinked as Taylor blurted out the word. Inari looked startled for a moment before seeming smug.
"What?" she asked.
"Ichor," Taylor repeated looking mildly stunned, "According to Greek mythology the blood of the gods is known as Ichor and appears to be molten gold. Not only that but it's said to be poison to mortals. There's more I think, but I can't recall it."
"You've hit the salient points," Inari said dryly, "Though the poisonous bit was limited to the Olympians. They were assholes and set that up deliberately." Both of them stared at the fox, who stared pointedly back. "Also, I don't believe all parahumans in this age have golden blood. In fact, none of them do. A strange difference, wouldn't you agree Victoria?"
"... Get to the point," she replied after a moment.
"My point, Victoria, is that you. Are. A. Demigod," Inari said, jabbing her in the chest with each word, "The proof is in the blood Miss Dallon. I don't understand how, but you are. It is weak right now, but that will change with time."
"Unless you're wrong," Vicky replied, crossing her arms.
"The only way I'll be wrong is if Taylor is crazy," Inari replied.
"Oi!"
They both ignored Taylor. "Or you're a creation from some ancient parahuman who thought they were a god," Vicky replied.
"A parahuman's powers are strict, arbitrarily nitpicky, and rooted in the physical world," Inari replied, "A god's are nebulous, evolving, and rooted in the conceptual, yet all gods share a core nature that expresses itself identically. You're going to show signs of some of Taylor's powers as well, and when others show up with those same power sets? That enhanced form that belongs to a god? Will you still claim that Taylor isn't a god? That I'm wrong? I think not."
"... You are far too smug for something so throwable," Vicky replied, glaring at the fox, "And if, if, you can prove that bunch of claims then maybe I'll accept your story. Maybe, and anyone else who winds up in that weird power interaction with her and Amy doesn't count."
"I'd like to avoid that happening again, actually," Taylor said, "I'd really rather that not get out. Can you imagine the number of people who'd swarm us looking for superpowers?" Vicky and Inari both winced.
"Point," the fox muttered, earning a nod from Vicky.
"Yeah, really not desirable," she agreed as her mind turned to the number of people who would try and kidnap the two of them just to control who gets what power. While Taylor was probably more than capable of handling herself, her sister was still mostly just a healer, even if she could do more when needed.
"Let's just… Get over to the tree. I need to check something," Taylor said, walking quickly down the hall. Vicky floated along beside her. Her gaze switched back to the walls and statues. There was something about the architecture that bothered her. Maybe it was the mishmash of influences, or the hilariously high ceilings, or the overly broad corridor that resembled a sixteen lane interstate highway more than a fortress hallway, or maybe it was the blatantly impossible floating lights and strange statues.
Or maybe it really was just everything. Except the sunlight filtering in through the tall stained glass windows. That was just refreshing on her skin for some reason, a fact that was also reluctantly filed under disturbing.
No, for now she'd keep a close eye on everything. Her friend was having a hard time, and she was going to be there for her. Even if this was without a doubt the creepiest place she had ever been.
-0-0-0-0-0-
A silver goblet bounced off the wall of the richly decorated dining room Sophia found herself in. She hadn't expected a lot when their little trio had started poking around the square and discovered that while they couldn't leave via the three boulevards, they could enter the little shops and homes around the square. As it was, her expectations weren't being exceeded by any grand margin.
"You know that's probably expensive," Panacea said dryly as she examined a case of similarly ornate and jewel encrusted goblets. More jewel encrusted actually, since the ones that had been set out on the table only have a few tastefully accentuating their engravings.
Sending her a glance that clearly conveyed her utter lack of caring, Sophia moved on from the dining room. She kept a close eye on Emma. The redhead was humming to herself in that weird uncharacteristic manner once again as she examined what Sophia was pretty sure was a gold encrusted Hookah on a small table by the window. They were up on the second floor, above a small shop that hadn't seemed to sell anything of note, and Sophia wouldn't put it past the scatterbrained idiot to jump out.
"Is it just me or are these places full of just… gold and silver and…" She waved her hand at the room. From chandeliers to candelabras to the silverware and plates, everything was ostentatiously decorated, and it wasn't just this place. Of the five places they had ducked into they had found each and every one of them to be highly decorated, though admittedly with no two identical aesthetics. The previous shop had, on the inside, appeared to belong somewhere in Asia, while this one cleaved more towards a French parlor style, and yet both had quantities of precious metals and gems that boggled the mind.
"It's odd," Panacea agreed, "The outsides don't seem to suggest anything like this wealth." She wiped a finger across the top of the cabinet and frowned exactly like she had the last several times they'd been inside.
"You keep doing that," Sophia noted as she examined the single lone statue in the room, "Going to explain?" It was of a man dressed like he was attending a nineteenth century dinner party. In his stone hands was a glass bottle with some red liquid that sloshed when Sophia jiggled it a little. Wine probably. It was the most food they'd found so far.
"There's nothing here," Panacea said as she rubbed her two fingers together. Her back was to Sophia. Sophia glanced her way then back at the bottle. She didn't really like drinking that much, but she could use something to drink, really. They hadn't even found water yet and it had been nearly an hour by the time on her watch. Her mouth was definitely a bit dry.
She grasped the bottle under the neck and jiggled it. It definitely moved a little, but the statue's grip was too tight to get it loose. Fortunately she had a way around that. A glance confirmed that Panacea was still examining her fingers. "Well yeah. I've noticed," she replied before briefly turning into shadow and dragging the bottle with her, and out of the statue's grip.
She examined the bottle closely. It seemed to be in french, but she recognized the 1803 label written on it. Two hundred and eight year old wine. Now where was a wineglass… Right, goblets.
"Not like that," Panacea said, "Dust is usually made of dead skin cells, or other tiny things, but this? It's just dust and there's barely even that. It's like whatever happened, happened yesterday."
She borrowed a goblet from the table and went to pull the cork. Her fingers closed about cold stone. The cork was rock. Solid stone. She rolled her eyes and gave it a tug. It refused to so much as quiver as she strained at it for several seconds. "So, even the dust is stone?" she asked to keep Panacea focused away from her.
"Sounds about right," the new wave girl said, "But how is-" There was a loud pop as Sophia lost her patience and removed the cork the same way she'd removed the wine from the statue. As Panacea spun around Sophia was already back to normal as she poured a shimmering, glittery red liquid into the goblet. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Getting a drink," Sophia replied as she lifted the full goblet to her nose. She gave the liquid a sniff. It smelt like wine to her, and she had drunk wine on a couple of occasions. Her mother's attempts to make her more 'cultured' as she'd put it.
"Is that even drinkable?" Panacea asked suspiciously. The brunette stared intently at the goblet.
"I'm thirsty enough to find out," Sophia replied as she sniffed the 'wine' once again. It definitely smelt of alcohol. Not in the strength to suggest it might be a disinfectant, but definitely like the wines she'd had tried before. It actually smelled like the best wine she'd ever smelt, if she was being honest with herself. "Smells safe."
"I really should stop you," Panacea deadpanned.
"Stop what?" Emma asked, looking away from the Hookah she had been prodding throughout the entire conversation.
"Sophia found a strange drink," Panacea said. The redhead blinked and turned guileless eyes on Sophia.
"Finders keepers. Besides, getting the top off that bottle was a pain in the ass. Damned cork had turned to stone," she grumbled as she sat on the edge of the table. She set the bottle down next to her and raised the goblet in salute to Panacea. "Don't come complaining when you're thirsty," she said and tipped back the goblet. Whatever the other girl's reply was, was lost the moment the wine, and it definitely tasted like wine, oh god did it ever, hit her tongue. Flavour exploded on her tongue, a starburst of grapes, and alcohol, and a thousand flavours subtly wound together that she couldn't even begin to describe. The world was drowned out in a swirl of colours that exploded across her taste buds. Phantom sounds danced on her tongue as a slight fizz burned its way down her throat.
And then it was done, leaving only a lingering tingle in her mouth as she stared blankly at the empty goblet. Her hand was halfway to the wine bottle for more when she registered that the fizz wasn't going away. It was growing, changing, burning. She dropped the goblet, which bounced off her leg and rolled across the fancy carpet into a corner, and slapped a hand over her mouth to contain a scream as she doubled over.
"Sophia!" Emma ran over to her side, panicked. She waved her off as she sucked in a gasp of air.
"Fib," she said as her inflamed tongue fumbled the word. "Fib fin… Fine," she managed to get out a moment later as she waved Panacea off. "Spicy." The other girl went from worried to deadpan in an instant.
"Oh really?" the heroine asked flatly.
"Yes, oooh god," she hissed out, as she sat bent over at the waist and leaning against her knees. Beads of sweat rolled down her face and she felt like she was burning up from within. "Ems, remember that," she coughed, "Reaper challenge at Fugly Bob's?"
"Yeah?"
"Think that, but ten at once," she gasped, leaning back. She gave the bottle next to her a pointed look and licked her lips, wincing at the trail of fire she left on her skin. Despite the heat she wasn't feeling thirsty anymore, but the taste, the flavour was enough that she was almost willing to give it another try. Almost.
"Ow," Emma winced.
"Want some?" Sophia asked, as she slowly sat up, despite the urge to bend over and let the heat pass.
"Not a chance," Panacea replied with a sniff, "You're an idiot."
"Pfft, I'm fib- Fin Finny- Fine," she said after a few tries. She gave her head a shake as a wave of vertigo hit her. "Bit strong though," she said after a moment.
Panacea shook her head and, clearly having had enough of the entire thing, turned away and walked over to the stairs leading down. Sophia shrugged and casually replaced the cork in the bottle with a shadowy hand. She swayed a moment as she stood up. The wine had had a lot more kick to it than she'd expected.
"You good?" Emma asked. She shrugged.
"Never better," she replied with a smirk. She wasn't even feeling the sore shoulder she'd gotten from a patrol a few days ago. Sometimes the punks got a little lucky, but now she wasn't feeling it. Which was great. "Let's get going," she said, absently picking up the bottle.
Emma grinned. "Yeah, I'm sure there's a way through one of these buildings," she said, hurrying off after Panacea.
Sophia made to follow her, but paused as she spotted a wine rack in the corner with a decorated red and gold bag hanging from a corner of it. The wine bottles looked like the same sort as the one she was holding. It took only a moment of indecision before she wandered over to the rack.
Five minutes later she stepped out of the small shop and into the square with the bag full of wine over one shoulder. Panacea was waiting by the door of the next building, the third widest in the square by the looks of it, where she was examining the provocatively dressed statue of a woman leaning out of the open door. The statue seemed to be making gestures towards a particular group of soldiers who were walking past, one of whom had just begun to break off.
"Where's Emma?" she asked the brunette as she peaked through the doorway. It wasn't much of a door, being entirely composed of jade beads on string. The inside was a small receptionist room with two sets of double doors on either side and a set of stairs leading up. It smelled faintly of lavender, despite the fact that there shouldn't, by all rights, be a plant to make the smell in the first place.
"Upstairs," Panacea said a little distractedly before glancing Sophia's way. "Really? More?"
Sophia shrugged. She wasn't feeling particularly confrontational at that point. Kinda mellow actually, if she was willing to be honest. Which she wasn't. "It was good. Bit of a burn, but good. 'Sides it's basically survival scavenging. Worst case, we've at least got something to drink," she said with a shrug while walking into the building with a swagger. The other girl didn't follow her, probably too prudish.
Sophia paused at the foot of the stairs and peered upwards. It was a tight stairwell that turned sharply halfway to the next floor, cutting off line of sight with a wall. She shrugged and walked up, eyeing the paintings on the wall and the statuettes on display as she went. The moment she turned the corner, however, she blushed.
"Right," she sighed as she stared at a particularly provocative statuette that recreated the painting hanging beside it in exquisite detail. "Shoulda guessed. It's a brothel," she sighed, shaking her head as she walked past the many debauched paintings. She was surprised Emma hadn't immediately turned around and run out, but then there was something strange going on in that girl's head. Who knew what she was thinking at the moment.
"Ems! You here?" she called as she reached the top of the stairwell in a corridor of identical doors and debauched decorations. She didn't get a reply, so much as there was a loud crash from the next floor up. By some sensible design the next flight of stairs was right there, and she quickly followed the steps up, taking two at a time. Despite the way the world wobbled slightly when she sped up.
"Ow," she heard from down the hallway on the next level as she came off the steps. She hurried down the hall, decorated in equally tackless fashion to the floor below. Her borrowed bag rattled as she ran, ducking around a pair of statues in the hall, before she came to a halt by the last open door on the floor. Inside Emma was sitting on the well made bed with a stack of ornamental hair combs. She had stuck a green jade comb in her hair as she looked over the others which ranged from more jade green combs, to dark shades of black and brown. There was one comb in what looked to be Ivory.
"So, what happened?" she asked. The ditz looked up from the combs.
"Hm?" She mumbled around a wooden hair comb.
"I heard a crash."
"Mmm," Emma popped the comb out of her mouth, "Knocked that over," she waved to a box on the floor by the large dresser that ran along one wall. Sophia glanced about the room. It was as fancy looking as the rest of the building, with an upscale victorian-esque aesthetic, dark wooden furniture, and a red and gold wallpaper. There was a closet, and a wardrobe, to one side of a large vanity. Paintings of a beautiful black haired woman decorated the wall… Who looked suspiciously like the statue in the doorway of the closet. Someone was apparently quite the narcissist. The box on the floor between the dresser and the bed had scattered jewelry and make up across the floor.
"Comb?" Emma offered with a hum, holding out the thick bristled ivory comb.
Bemused, Sophia accepted it. She turned the accessory over in her hand she noted the gold leaf maker's mark on the base of a pomegranate in a golden circle. "What brought you up here?" She asked.
"Searching," her friend replied with a shrug. Sophia raised an eyebrow before walking over to the scattered jewelry. Picking out a silver ring with a braid of glittering diamonds along the band, she examined it carefully. It looked a bit big for her, but then she was hardly done growing up. Either way, it looked very expensive. With a shrug she dropped it and the ivory comb in with the wine. It was joined a moment later by a nice gold necklace. As she was bent over something caught her eye, a silver banded cylinder that was sticking out from under the bed.
"I thought I heard a voice," Emma said conversationally.
Sophia paused momentarily, her hand stretched out to the cylinder, before picking up the item. "Oh really? In this dead place?" she asked. Her friend shrugged.
"It sounded like an English woman's voice, kinda snobby too," Emma said as she returned all but the Jade comb to the dresser. She set about restyling her hair with a small hum.
That was worrisome. She glanced around as she weighed the silver banded wood cylinder. On one end it was fairly rounded and there was a slight curve to it. The other end had a small concave lens-like structure on the end of a half-centimeter long metal stick. There were a couple of buttons on the side.
Voices weren't a good thing to hear in a world full of capes, though Emma didn't seem any more nuts than before, so maybe it hadn't done anything? Or really was just a case of her hearing things that didn't exist. "From where?" she asked.
"In here."
Sophia looked around again. There was nothing but the statue in the room, and it was very clearly not moving, nor making a sound. There wasn't anything making a sound other than the two of them. "Well they aren't here."
"I noticed," Emma sighed, "Ah well." She stretched and hopped to her feet. "I guess this place is a bust as well." Her hair had been restyled into a small bun with a cascade of hair flowing down behind her. It was a bit crude, she hadn't really taken all that much time, but it always impressed Sophia how quickly her friend could do that sort of thing.
She shook her head as she stood up and examined the wooden cylinder. It didn't really look like anything. To be safe she pointed the little concave metal lens away from her and flicked the first switch.
Both of them paused as it started vibrating with a loud buzzing sound.
Emma blinked. "Well I guess it is a brothel," she said with a small smirk. Sophia rolled her eyes and flicked it off before tossing it away. Trust her to find some statue's 'funtime toy'.
"Shoulda seen that one coming-" the 'toy' hit the corner of the vanity and with a 'ksssssh' a bright white beam of energy flashed into existence before searing a clean slice straight through the side of the wardrobe. Emma jumped back with a yelp as Sophia stared. The blade hadn't even slowed as it carved right through the dresser.
Said blade rolled on the uneven floor, the blade slowly searing a path straight through one of the dresser's legs. Moving carefully Sophia stepped past her friend, then over the slowly sliding lightsaber. She picked it up and flicked off the switch. "Well," she bounced the sword hilt that moonlighted as an adult toy in her hand, "This is one hell of a brothel. Eh, Emma?"
"I guess?" Emma shook herself before shrugging, "Let's get going." She turned and without another word walked out of the room, only to pause, her head tilted as though listening to something. She shrugged and kept moving. Sophia stared after her before pocketing the multipurpose sword into her bag. All other things aside, it was a lightsaber.
She paused to pocket a palm-sized wooden box on the corner of the dresser. A glimpse inside had revealed a small stack of rings and pendants of different styles. Maybe she'd be able to sell them later. It was the least she could get out of this misadventure, assuming they didn't die.
She took the steps at a slower pace than her way up, but soon emerged back into the eye-watering bright light of the square. Panacea was easy to find. The brunette was standing under the awning of the next building, a shop with what looked like a stone fruit display out front. The front door was blocked by a man and woman walking out arm in arm.
"Where'd Emma go?" she asked, feeling a bit like she was starting to sound like a broken record. Keeping track of Emma was getting on her nerves. It was like minding a toddler! There was a reason she had never taken up babysitting.
"She's poking statues," Panacea said as she lifted an apple up and stared at it for a moment before dropping it back on the pile. Sophia turned away and looked around the plaza. In the bright light it was easy to spot the red hair of her friend. She was half visible behind another fruit stand. She seemed to be patting a statue that was only half visible. Strangely it seemed to be a proper statue of a jaguar rather than one of these 'frozen in the moment' human statues.
"She was hearing voices upstairs," Sophia said after she spent a moment watching.
"Oh really?" Panacea didn't sound surprised.
"She described it as 'snobby and English'," she added.
"Odd." Panacea raised an eyebrow at her before looking back to the redhead.
"She said she followed it into a room upstairs, and then couldn't find the source. When I got there she was playing with a pile of combs. She kept the Jade one you can see in her hair," she said, waving at her malfunctioning friend. She leaned against the apple display. She was feeling a bit thirsty again. Perhaps she should have grabbed a goblet along with the wine. Maybe it would be best to double back and pick-
A scream from Emma jolted both heroines. Sophia looked up from the paving stones she'd been staring at while thinking. She looked up in time to see Emma vault a display of solid stone melons as she sprinted straight towards them with a look of terror on her face, and a very large and animate jaguar statue at her heels.
"Oh hell no," she cursed as she reflexively grabbed the lightsaber in her bag, "Here! Hold this!" She shoved the rest of the bag into Panacea's hands as she sprinted towards the Jaguar.
"ARE YOU NUTS!" the other heroine screeched behind her.
"NO MORE THAN YOU ARE!" She shouted back. There was a lump of worry in her gut as she charged forward, however. This wasn't a gangster, and she didn't have her crossbow. She was basically banking on a weapon that had only proven it could harm wood so far to try and stop something that could very well be made of solid stone, or possibly metal if it was a tinker's robot statue.
And that wasn't even considering that there was probably no practical way of not using her power at some point.
Her run was a bit wobbly at first, that one goblet of wine was still running through her system and it had packed a punch, but it evened out, mostly, as she ran. Still, the jaguar gained on Emma far quicker than Sophia would have liked. It smashed aside fruit stands and sent statues tumbling to the ground as it barrelled towards them. She reached Emma as it made a final lunge that would have landed square on Emma's back. She hooked the other girl with her arm and threw the two of them to the side.
As they fell to the side it was more instinct than conscious thought that recognized the fact that she hadn't been fast enough. The jaguar's paw, as large as her head and tipped with stone claws, was going to catch both of them in the torso. With a jolt of fear she reflexively phased into shadow, the world plunging into that murky half-mist as she retreated out of the physical… And dragged Emma with. The stone paw whistled through their immaterial forms, barely sending a ripple through them, before they hit the ground and popped back to normal.
She forced herself to not think about what had just happened through a desire to not die more than anything. Her power didn't let her phase other people out of the world. It just wasn't possible, and it wasn't like she hadn't tried in the past. Something funny was going on, but at that moment she had bigger worries, so she disentangled herself from her panicking friend and rose to her knees as she ignited the lightsaber. The bright white beam seemed anemic in the blinding sunlight.
The jaguar snarled in an alarming imitation of a real jaguar and swiped at them again as she was trying to rise. The white blade caught the strike behind the wrist and half of the Jaguar's front leg was cut off as the blade burned clean through what proved to be solid stone without issue. She phased through the stone paw as it continued on its course to bounce off the ground beside Emma.
She lunged forward herself, instinct leading her on as she took an untrained swing at the stumbling construct's head. A deep gash across its left eye was all she managed, though from the way the stone creature reacted it had some idea of pain. With a pained snarl it made an awkward lunge at her that saw its other front paw get cut off at the shoulder before another swing took its head straight off.
The construct stumbled around for a few moments in clear disorientation before it stiffened and fell to the side, inert once more.
Sophia breathed out a sigh of relief. "Well that's-" The scrape of stone on stone alerted her first and she turned to the rest of the plaza. Worry rolled down her spine as the many jaguar statues around the edge of the plaza climbed down from their pedestals. Rumbling growls drifted on the warm air from all sides.
"Oh what the fuck," she swore. This was not going to be fun.
-0-0-0-0-0-
It had been a month since Taylor walked in this garden. Since she stood beneath the stone peach tree and tasted the golden peach things had changed so much for her, and yet, as she stood there beneath the stone tree looking up at the stone branches, surrounded on all sides by the statues of Amaterasu, Thor, and Poseidon and the many others things felt just as confusing as they had those days she spent climbing the mountain in the first place. Things had changed, at least, since then. She was beautiful, had a wonderful friend in Vicky, and had the sort of superpowers that could make a real difference in the world. And yet-
Her thoughts wandered as her eyes found the branch she had been looking for. The branch that had held her peach was stone now, the last remnant of life in this place finally swallowed by whatever had been inflicted upon this place.
She blinked back tears as she looked up at the spot where the peach had hung. "Was that the last peach?" she asked Inari, turning her attention from the tree to the white fox at her feet.
"From here. I'm sure a few escaped the war somewhere," Inari replied as she looked past Taylor to the tree as well, "But only the power invested in the peach allowed it to resist this long. Had no one come in time even it may have succumbed one day."
"Are we in danger?" Vicky asked as she looked away from examining the statue of a statuesque woman in a toga with an Owl on her shoulder. Taylor thought that it may have been Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom and Warfare.
"No. The tree was only in danger because it was present when the spells were cast," Inari said with a shake of her head, "We could stay here a thousand years and be in no more danger than any other ruin in the many worlds."
"Hrm…" Vicky frowned before turning her attention to the statue of a one armed norseman.
Taylor peered at the statue herself. "Tyr?" she asked Inari, gesturing at it.
"Yes," Inari confirmed before pointing to one of a fat Grecian God, "Dionysus." She shifted to the short-haired man next to him. "Hermes." A short cheerful, dumpy looking woman came next, "Hestia." So it went. Most names were unknown to her, but there were a few stand outs. Freya and Heimdall of the Norse, arm-in-arm; nearly half the Greek pantheon, curiously missing Zeus, though perhaps that explained why Poseidon had been chosen; Bastet of the Egyptians, with two cats nearby; the Celtic Goddess Danu, with a pair of Crows frozen in the air beside her; and even Susannoo and Tsukiyomi were in attendance. The one that most surprised Taylor, however, was the last person Inari pointed to.
They were tall and wearing a kimono. The slightest hint of a grin graced their lips as part of a mischievous, half-lidded expression that communicated something other than the serious and worried looks of everyone else in the circle. It was the look of someone who knew they weren't about to die. Someone who had a plan.
"This is me. Was me," Inari said, correcting herself a moment later. Taylor peered at the smiling statue. She couldn't tell if the statue was male or female, just that it was very smug.
"This was you?" Vicky floated over. She examined the statue with a raised eyebrow. "Were you a boy or a girl?"
"Yes and no," Inari replied, waving a paw vaguely in the air.
"... So you were a boy?" Vicky's head tilted to the right at the same time as her right ear did.
"Nope," Inari said. Both girls looked at her.
"So you were a girl?" Vicky asked slowly.
Inari shook her head. "Nope," she said. They two foxgirls exchanged looks.
"So which is it?" Vicky asked, looking annoyed.
Inari looked up at her and grinned. "Yes."
"Ah," Taylor sighed as she watched Vicky go through a full body twitch. "Vicky, you're aware legends talk about Inari being both, right?" The blonde foxgirl looked up from glaring at the smugly smiling white fox, who promptly stopped smugly smiling.
"Seriously?"
"Yup."
"... Huh," Vicky peered closely at the statue, "... That's different."
"Welcome to mythology," Taylor deadpanned with a shake of her head.
"Asian mythology isn't really my thing," Vicky replied with a shrug, "So, you said you needed to check something?"
"Wanted to check is probably a better description of it," Taylor said as she looked back up at the branch above, "I was wondering what had happened to the tree and those three." She waved at the statues of Amaterasu, Poseidon, and Thor. "I wanted to see if they'd react to me again or if the tree had somehow recovered or something, but…" She shrugged and sighed.
Vicky landed and hugged her from the side. "Don't feel too bad, even if this place is weird and creepy," her friend paused, "Don't take this the wrong way, but... I really hope that this isn't in your head."
"... Why?" Taylor slowly as the blonde pulled back.
"Because a fortress full of statues is creepy?" the older heroine replied.
She glanced around. "Point." She really did hope this wasn't all in her head. It would say really bad things about her state of mind. She could imagine trying to explain it to Director Piggot. What was she supposed to say? 'I swear that I'm not crazy, regardless of the number of creepy statues I keep in my head?' Given the Director's reputation it probably wouldn't fly.
"So, for how long have you been planning to take me here?" Vicky asked.
"Since last night," she said. It had been around eleven the night before when the breakthrough had occurred and she'd found herself staring at a fluctuating ring of light -- through which poured that pure golden light -- that popped a moment later as her attention failed. They had stayed up until three am when her dad intervened after being woken up by her cheering as she kept a portal open for three minutes without it popping.
"Clicked? Guess it's like some of your other stuff and needs practice, I guess?" Vicky asked as she once more lifted off from the ground.
"I've been at it for almost two weeks now?" She glanced at Inari who nodded.
"Quick, but hardly the fastest student I've ever had," the fox said with a shrug, "Still, it does show talent which is good."
Taylor ignored the smug grin on the ex-goddess's face. "What time is it?"
Vicky checked her cellphone. "Oh god. We've been here over an hour. It'll be dinner soon and if they can't find us- Mom is so going to ground me," she groaned.
Taylor winced before giving her friend a hug as an apology. "Come on, we'll fly back to the plaza," she said, "And if we're late I'll take the blame." She scooped Inari off the ground.
"Won't stop Mom from grounding me," Vicky complained as Taylor took off and they both zipped over the massed ranks of dead gods and spirits and into the corridors of the fortress. The flight wasn't long enough to get boring, not that she was sure it was possible since flying through the tentacles of the earth-kraken-thing was good fun when travelling at full speed. But as they approached the portal plaza a few minutes later any chance of boredom vanished when the echo of something large growling reached them. They came to a halt immediately.
"Oh no," Inari groaned.
"I thought this place was dead?" Vicky asked.
"Inariiii?" Taylor asked pointedly.
"Everything is dead," the fox said with another groan as the loud crack of crumbling stone reached them, "But some things were never alive to start with… Like the security golems." She looked pained and worried. "And something apparently set them off up ahead. That or the circuits have finally kakked and the golems are literally tearing each other to pieces, but that wasn't supposed to happen for another five hundred years."
"Let's go find out," Vicky said as she took off towards the plaza, "We need to get out of here anyways!" Taylor hurried after her, a pace that increased once a very human scream reached them a few moments later. Even Inari stayed silent as they flew. The white fox clearly had no idea what was happening.
Turning the corner at maximum speed they zipped over the phalanx in the entrance of the plaza before they fully took in the scene. A dark shape was dancing around and through the strikes of a half dozen large stone Jaguar golems, very occasionally reforming into a dark-skinned girl about their age. In her hand was a white blade that turned to white wisps of glowing vapour whenever the girl shifted, and yet those wisps seemed to cut through the beasts as well as it did when solid. As they watched the girl flipped over a Jaguar and removed its head, and part of its right shoulder, with a flick of the blade. It joined the pile of a dozen like it, and they could see a dozen more like it converging from across the square.
The girl turned to face another Jaguar and the light caught her face. "Sophia?!" Taylor shouted at the same time Vicky shouted, "She's Shadow Stalker?!"
"How the hell is she here?!" Taylor demanded.
"Ask questions later! Get down there and I'll turn off the security," Inari replied over the whistling wind.
Down below Sophia bisected another Jaguar horizontally. Behind her a jaguar took the opportunity to leap at her from her blindspot. Before its blow could land on the black girl's exposed back the meteor known as Victoria Dallon crashed down on its spine. The golem collapsed as its center of mass was shattered into pieces that pelted the area around them. Sophia whirled and barely halted her panicked sword swing before it hit Vicky.
Taylor mimicked Vicky's method and slammed down hard on the next one to try and take advantage of Sophia's distraction. The cloud of stone dust that the jaguar turned into made her cough as she accidentally inhaled it. It also had the effect of making her the second person to have a glowing white lightsaber pointed at her face. She leaned back warily as she stared at the sweat soaked parahuman. Sophia looked like she had run a marathon in the middle of a desert. She practically glittered with all the sweat. The tank top she was wearing was practically painted on from how damp it was.
Behind Sophia one of the jaguar bodies turned into particles of white-blue light and disappeared with a soft tinkle. At the same time Vicky punched another jaguar, turning it into a shrapnel bomb that Sophia reflexively phased through.
"ALL GOLEMS HALT! OVERRIDE ETA-ALPHA-RHO!" Inari shouted, her voice carried across the square and Taylor paused a reflexive swat of her tails at a jaguar that came to a sudden and complete halt. "ALL UNITS ARE TO RETURN TO STANDBY! THE SITUATION IS IN DIVINE HANDS!" Without a word, other than the sudden lack of growling, the jaguars turned and walked away.
Sophia's sword dipped then disappeared, leaving the exhausted looking girl holding a wooden and silver hilt. "What took you?" she asked as she took an unwanted step back that turned into a fall as the exhaustion knocked her off her feet.
"What are you even doing here?" Taylor asked as she stepped over to the black girl's side and squatted down next to her.
"I don't fucking know!" Sophia practically howled, "Emma literally dragged me upstairs after you and then ran through that portal thing you had open in your bedroom. I was planning on dragging her back when the stupid thing closed." She sounded the closest thing to distraught that Taylor had ever heard Sophia sound.
"Seriously? It was only open for like a minute," Taylor groaned. What the hell was Emma's malfunction?
"More like two," Sophia replied. She didn't look like she wanted to move anytime soon, "Panacea followed us as well. She's over there with Emma." She waved vaguely over her shoulder at the building she was right in front of.
"Amy's here?" Vicky demanded.
"Over here Vicky!" Amy said as she stepped out of the building. From behind her came a familiar redhead. Emma's eyes went wide as she spotted Taylor and she ran the short distance before literally throwing herself at Taylor. That second of warning was enough to brace for impact and she easily stopped herself from being knocked to the ground next to Sophia.
"TAY!" She shouted as she tackled Taylor.
It didn't help the fact that the buxom redhead was now trying to suffocate her with affection. She pointedly ignored the snickering from Inari.
"Emma, get off!" she complained as she stood up. Emma didn't let go, but being taller she was soon out of suffocation height. She gave the redhead a sharp look. She was looking even more unhinged than before with wide bloodshot eyes and her hair up in a messy style held together with a single green jade hair comb. This… This was not Emma. This was not her Emma or even the Emma she had spent the last year being tormented by.
She grit her teeth as a surge of anger went through her and she pulled herself out of Emma's grip. "Idiot," she snapped and the girl's eyes went wide, but she had already turned away as she thrust a hand out and reached for the inky feeling of Brockton Bay. Unlike before her world jumped into focus and the portal blazed into existence going from a blinding point of light to a burning, yet stable, circle in a heartbeat.
"Everyone through," she said, grabbing Emma and pushing her through the portal. Vicky, providing support for a beaten up and exhausted Sophia, followed a moment later while the academically disinterested Panacea, who had an oddly fancy bag hanging over one shoulder, brought up the rear with Inari. Once that pair was through she slammed the portal shut. It popped, sending sparks of power cascading around the room that sank into the floor, furniture, and even people.
That done, she spun Emma around and grabbed the visibly frightened girl by both shoulders as she felt herself swell up from within with a combination of anger, worry, and frustration that had been building up all day. Then she opened her mouth and it all came pouring out all over the terrified redhead.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Danny counted the burger patties again. Two… six...ten...? Didn't he pull out a few more earlier? He turned to Alan who was talking with Mark Dallon by the steps. The short haired man was lounging with a beer beside his wife as she chatted with Anne who was holding the burger buns. Beside them were the Pelhams, the other half of New Wave, who were chatting with Kurt and his wife as well as some of the other old friends he had invited. It was the fullest he had seen his backyard in years.
"Hey Alan," he called.
"Yeah?" his old friend turned from the conversation, "What's up?"
"Can you check the kitchen? I think I left a few patties on the counter," he said loudly.
"I'll check!" As Alan disappeared into the house he turned back to the already cooking food on the barbeque. Several large steaks were cooking away on one half, while the patties cooked away on the other half of the barbecue. He gave them all a flip after a moment's examination.
A few minutes later Alan showed up with a large plate of burger patties. "Looking for this?" he asked with a grin.
"Yeah, a bit," he chuckled as Alan set it down with the rest of the uncooked food, "Everything looking good inside? The girl's doing fine?"
"No idea, I didn't poke my head into the sitting room. TV was going though," Alan said with a shrug, "They'll be fine."
"Yeah well, I worry a bit about Taylor. After the last couple of years being around so many people now…" He shrugged helplessly. Alan patted him on the shoulder.
"She'll be fine. Don't worry about it Danny. Girls their age bounce back quickly," he said firmly.
"Yeah, well, I can't help but worry. Still, she seems to be doing a lot better recently. I think it's all the activity," Danny replied. She seemed so much more like she was before Annette died. It wasn't perfect, but she was so much more bright and cheerful the last few weeks. He shook his head and reached for the metal bowl with the melted butter to brush over the steaks.
"Yeah I get you. Hell I worry about Emma at times and-" Danny yelped as a powerful static shock jumped from the bowl to him.
"Ow- shit-fuck- damn it," he waved his hand like it had a snake hanging off it. Alan snorted before pausing. He lifted an arm.
"The air isn't that dry," he said as Danny felt all the hairs on his arm stand on end. There was something electric in the air that made it feel greasy. Like the air before a thunderstorm. The sky rumbled and he turned his gaze skyward. The few fluffy white clouds had turned dark and ominous at some point in the last few seconds.
"Alan I think-"
"EMMA YOU COMPLETE AND TOTAL IDIOT! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED!" With a blast of noise worthy of any storm, his daughter's angry voice blasted out the upstairs windows. The shockwave that rippled out from the house carried a static charge that made people's hair stick up. It shook the trees, pushing all of them away from the direction of their home and sending napkins into the air along with the lighter condiments and setting off car alarms all over.
Danny and Alan shared a long suffering look. "You know, I don't think Annette ever broke glass while chewing them out for something stupid," Alan mused.
"Annette also didn't have superpowers," Danny reminded him. His friend nodded once.
"Want me to take over?" he asked, nodding to the grill.
"Thanks," he handed over the flipper and the apron, "Excuse me, I need to go find out what chaos caused that reaction."
"Better you than me," Alan said, saluting him as Danny hurried inside. Yes the house was fuller than it had been in years, but he had forgotten the little annoyances that came with it. Oh well.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Max had been in this position before. Looking through a one way glass pane at one of his men lying in a bed hooked up to machines. Normally him being there was a show, a presentation of his 'concern' to the families of less important members of the E88. At least amongst his regular non-parahuman officers. There were so many people getting injured in the regular rounds of gang violence that just visiting the idiots and thugs would have taken up his entire week at times. Still, he made a point to visit them as well on occasion. Even a false show of compassion could secure an immense amount of loyalty.
It had, however, been a long time since he was concerned about the person in the bed in a non-professional manner. Victor was young, but he was loyal, capable, and one of his most effective parahuman agents. Everyone always underestimated the potential of an incredibly skilled soldier.
To see the normally bold young man lying unconscious in bed was bothersome, mostly for the fact that it actually bothered him more than the loss of Hookwolf did. They could get Brad back, along with Stormtiger if they acted with care. Both were still under guard at Brockton General Hospital and sympathizers loyal to them would pass on the schedules for their release. They would get them back and Othala would finish healing them up. It was a tried, true, and proven strategy for negating losses. It was a rare black day when they couldn't retrieve one of their own from the PRT. And yet, despite half the usual plan having already been achieved by default, the second was not working.
Othala's powers were not absolute. Regeneration didn't matter if your body was atomized like Nidhogg's had been the year before. She had limits, but those limits had always been a requirement for the person to at least meet some vague definition of alive. Victor was alive. He was breathing, Max could see his chest rise and fall as the pretty young nurse checked his vitals, and yet Othala's powers did nothing. Had they lasted for longer than two minutes at a time he would have thought worse than nothing due to the state of Victor's body.
The young man looked aged. His skin clutched at a frame that had seemingly lost all its muscle and fat. A near-skeletal mess papered over with blotchy skin and thinning blonde hair. The skin of his face was taut and clingy even as his lips were curled back. It was, to say the least, a thoroughly disturbing sight. Had he not seen the man's chart he would have assumed him to be a leper or a victim of a famine.
The truth was perhaps more disturbing.
The man was, on paper and despite appearances, in good health. His blood work was fine. His breathing was fine. His heartbeat was steady. Even his cholesterol was perfect. In fact, it was better than the last time he had been tested, according to the doctor. And yet, despite all of that, the man looked as though he was dying of starvation despite it having only been a couple of days. A few days with repeated exposure to Othala's regeneration.
The door to the observation room creaked open. He would have to get someone to look into that. It should have been oiled before it started creaking.
"How is he?" asked the familiar voice of James "Krieg" Fliescher.
Max waved a hand towards the glass. "See for yourself," he replied. Krieg was one of his most important men. In fact, one of his three most important Parahumans. Only Brad and Kayden were his equals. At least when Kayden wasn't being difficult -- like she currently was -- and Brad wasn't arrested -- like he currently was.
Accompanied by the loss of Stormtiger it left them in an awkward situation. While the merchants had fled to their holes once again, Lung had already started sniffing about the borders of their territory. They would have to remind the dragon of their strength sooner rather than later.
"Oh verdammte Scheisse. Oh verdammte... He looks half dead," James breathed, as aghast at the change in his subordinate as Max was.
"Not according to the Doctors," Max slipped the file out of his arms and handed it to his subordinate.
James accepted the file, but only opened a minute later after he managed to pull his horrified gaze away from Victor. He was silent until he suddenly shut the file with a clap. He slammed his free hand into the plexi-glass, sending a spider web of cracks through it. "What is this Scheisse! He's practically dead in there!" He waved the folder at the bed.
Max ignored the damage and simply put a hand on his subordinate's shoulder. Property damage was simply the risk one took when dealing with parahumans. A new pane would be in before morning.
"This is diese Fuchs hündin's doing, and they call her a hero!" Krieg snarled, "Look at him! It would have been kinder for her to put a bullet through his skull!"
"I know, I know," he said calmly, "We will get revenge, in time. For now, all we can do is hope and pray that whatever happens, Victor will return to us in time."
James took a deep breath and nodded as he let it out. Max withdrew his hand as the german regained control of his emotions. It was rare that Krieg lost his temper, but seeing such a close companion in such a state made it only natural. "For now we wait," Max said, "I want a team ready to move when word reaches us of the PRT's plans to move Brad and Stormtiger. With luck we can make Victor our only loss."
"I've assembled Crusader, Cricket and Alabaster. With myself, you, along with Fenja and Menja we should have more than enough manpower to properly contest the PRT," his lieutenant replied.
"Assign Alabaster to maintain our ABB border along with Crusader. Neither has the mobility we will need and their presence should remind Lung that a couple of missing parahumans still leaves us with more than enough manpower," Max replied, turning away from the window, "Tyrfing should be more than enough to keep the other gangs in line for now."
"I'll make the changes," James replied.
"Good. I need to head out. Keep an eye on Victor for me, would you?" he asked.
"I'll let you know if anything changes before I have to get some sleep," his lieutenant confirmed.
"Good man," Max patted him on the shoulder before leaving the room.
As he walked down to his car his mind turned over the most pressing issue, Corentine. They would have to get some measure of revenge for what she had done to them, but what? He couldn't simply have someone off the record kill her father, or even arrange for her death. Regardless of her personal might, the girl was disturbingly well placed in the politics of the city already. As a Ward she had the implicit backing and protection of the PRT. Her father was the de facto leader of the Brockton Bay Dockworkers Union as well. That was a name he was all too familiar with, annoyingly so. They were ancient by the standards of the city. A relic of Brockton Bay's Golden Age, but a potent one. While they were hardly the tens of thousands strong horde they had once been, they still represented a not inconsiderable problem for anyone looking to take control of the docks. Beneath Danny Hebert's leadership they were probably one of the only organizations in Brockton Bay that actively resisted corruption on a personal level. Killing their well loved leader would result in rioting dockworkers coming down on the E88, and while they had more than enough firepower to deal with a riot, there was no good way to spin the deaths of so many white american blue collar workers with his backers. Even if many of them weren't, it would still see the E88 lose a lot of its soft power in the city.
No, Corentine was a problem. One without any easy solutions.
He had just climbed into his car and started up the engine when his second cell phone, the one he kept for E88 related business, started ringing. He checked it and raised an eyebrow at James' name on the caller ID.
"I just got into my car. What could have possibly changed?" He demanded.
"Victor's awake."
Max turned off his car. "On my way."
-0-0-0-0-0-
A/N: A loooong time coming, but an important chapter. Things are moving in Brockton Bay~ A thank you to everyone who has waited so long for this chapter. Apologies for being late, but I wanted the chapter to be the best it could be rather than rushed after the break. It took a while to get back into the swing of things and I had to remind myself that sometimes it's a good idea to take a step back and redo the scene from the start. Sometimes you just come at a problem from the wrong angle.
So, a thank you to my Patreons~ Your support over the last seven months has been grand~ Anyone who wants to join them can check out the link in my signature.
My Discord is also below. Feel free to join us. We're a friendly crowd.
And thank you Gekkou_Yoko for your help again~
*sleepy Gekkou* Un, *flops on top of Grounders* btw, sthap making me typo-fix chur A/N's
*patpats the Gekkou* Sleep~ And I do not! *pouts*
Fibber fibber! I had to fix Patron to Patreons!
*Pouting Kitsune*
